Tales of Heroes and Demons (IC - Character - Fantasy)

[Sao Nova Europa]

TALES OF HEROES AND DEMONS



OOC - Uncaptioned Map - Captioned Map - Discord Link

The Golden Realm dominates the continent of Dalu but under the governance of Chancellor Jia Wanli, the thousand years old empire has been declining. The Imperial Court is dominated by factionalism while influence in the provinces is receding. The Order of Heaven and other righteous Martial Orders have to face a resurgence of the Demonic Sect. In the Ocean, pirates raid with impunity. In the New Province, the Order of Fire keeps the flames of the old religion lit and the dream of a restored Kingdom of Geowrofeth alive. In the Desert Lands, the simmering conflict between the Walaihan Emirate and the nomadic Faiheem threatens the stability of the region. In the far northeast, the Dwarf Kingdom of Svargen is contemplating an invasion.

It is a time of Heroes and Demons...

[Kaledoria]

The two-horse-wagon turned around the corner. Marten Tensten, sitting on the coach driver's bench saw the road-block ahead and slowed the wagon down. His companion, Eadwulf, sitting on his horse came up from behind. After a short assessment of the situation, Eadwulf rode forward and looked around before returning: "Yes, it's a trap, I saw four guys, one of them with a bow. Overall, I'd expect no more then a dozen unless they are especially good at hiding."
"Equipment?" Marten asked "Poor," was the answer. "Detour? Like two days I guess?" - "Yeah, two at least."

Marten put on his helmet, decided on a course of action and the wagon moved again. "Everybody out!" he shouted when at the roadblock. Four more knights, armed and in full armor emerged from the wagon. Marten jumped from his bench and took position beside them. "Dear local taxmen," he announced in a loud voice. His accent confirmed what the style of their armors already made plain as day, that the knights were from the new province. We payed out tolls at the toll-both when entering your realm, so we do not feel obligated to any further payments. We do not need any further protection, as we carry no valuables besides our excellent weapons, which we, as knights of the North, know very well to use. Thank you, for letting us pass unbothered." Marten was not sure, whether the sarcasm really translated well but they were not attacked, so everything was fine. He nodded to Olaf, who handed him his axe in return. Olaf then moved to the one end of the barricade (a simple log on two hip-high rests), surrounded by the others. He breathed in, and out, in - and let out a guttural shout, before flipping the log over, all the way to the other side into the woods. It might not have been a very thick oak or a really long pine log, like they had at home but still a feat of strength that should normally take three or four guys.

Marten went back to the bench and with his knights in formation around it, he slowly moved through the spot. The highwaymen in the bushes around them had obviously done a risk/benefit analysis and decided that this target was not worth it. After a while the knights on foot jumped back onto the back of the wagon.

---

It was the last evening on the road, they had found a cottage at which they could rest for the night. Olaf and Wesley were crafty and helped the farmer with some repairs, he had postponed for a while now, Gadric was hacking wood, Eadwulf and Oswin were cleaning the barn, while Marten taught the farmer's wife some movement techniques - exercises that, if done every morning, could relieve her of her chronical back-pain. They had enough money with them to pay, of course, but it was seen as more noble to actually help the common folk with their daily tasks, as compensation.

Later, Gadric explained the plans of the upcoming days to the others in more detail: "We'll take an inn once we are in the Heavenly City. Simple lower middle price range, it's probably not up to standard for a Baron but we are playing to the prejudges the Imperials have against us of the New Province. Our goal is to get an audience with the Emperor. Normally I would approach his ... Minister of Rites, I thing is the name here. However we are here on matters of the state not just courtesy, so I think it's even better to go all the way to the Chancellor and ask him about an audience with the Emperor. After all, recognition - legitimacy is the goal for us here so we should go the extra steps. Now obviously, both Chancellor and Emperor are busy, important people so this will probably take some time, so we should be prepared to stay in the big city for a week or two. I know of some local guides we can hire, not only so that we can see the interesting places but also to get you aware of cultural differences and the local dos and donts." Gadric gave a few examples of the local customs. Among the group he was the only one who had really visited the capital before (Eadwulf had passed through once but had spend the only night he had in a shack on the outskirts with the other caravan guards with which he had traveled back then. A decision, that the other knights, who had heard amazing tales of the wonders of the capital could barely understand).

Meanwhile Marten was thinking about the Emperor. He had heard conflicting things about the Golden Emperor. Obviously Marten hoped to be able to come before his liege in a grand hall and that the Emperor would loudly announce him as "Duke Marten of Cathwelly" in front of a mass of other (very important) petitioners of the day, but on the other hand he feared, that he could also be given short shrift and a recognition "on behalf" of the Emperor by some lowly Eunuch. Marten was not a very political man but his father had made it clear, that the Duke of Cathwelly ruled only through the cooperation of his Barons and the strongest weapon in the Ducal armory to ensure this cooperation (besides the Ducal Retinue) was, if the Barons knew, that the Duke had the confidence and respect of their Emperor.

[Acharybdis]

A bell's chime broke the monotony of the ocean's waves slapping softly against the Tempero's hull. The room was silent for a moment before the bell toll again. Incense smoke filled the room with a rosemary scent. There was so much smoke that it slightly hinders visibility in the room. However, this wasn't an issue for the occupants. A shrine maiden sat in one corner of the room, holding a guzheng on her lap. Another maiden sat in the opposite corner ringing a small mediation bell. A third maiden was sitting in front of an altar with various ceremony items on top of it. She was mixing something in the bowl. In the middle of this were Eunbi and a priest dressed in a white ikan sokutai. Additionally, the priest wore a black eboshi. Eunbi wore her white and red hanbok. The two were sitting on their knees facing each other. To their right, Sun-woo and Il-sung kneeled in their formal wear. Miya and Hong mirror their actions but on the opposite side of Eunbi and the priest. The priest takes Eunbi's right hand and places it over her heart.

"You need to let go of your worries and concerns. Your mind must be completely empty. Devoid of any thoughts or emotions." The priest commands Eunbi. "We only have one chance to get this right." He dips his right hand in a bowl and covers it in bright blue ink. Eunbi had her eyes closed for this entire process. Next, the priest grabs Eunbi's left hand with his left hand and positions it flat on the ground. He begins to trace out a sigil on her left hand in blue ink. His work was precise and didn't waste any of the ink. The maiden with the guzheng began to play it softly, filling the room with a relaxing and serene atmosphere. Eunbi relaxes her muscles as she let the music gently crawl up from her fingertips to her upper arm. The music flow from her shoulder into her ribcage before racing down her torso and entering her legs. Everywhere the music notes travel, her muscles and body become lax. The notes exit through her toes, filling them with potent energy. The priest finishes translating a sigil onto her hand that glows blighty upon completion. He picks himself up to stand before the Flower of Seven Sins team. Each member of the team has a similar sigil on their left hand.

"This ceremony will not only help you fend off your demons, but it will also assist you in your Qi training. The sigil will make it easier for you to detect Qi in your surroundings as well as make your body more sensitive to Qi fluctuations. Furthermore, the atmosphere constructed by my assistants will help prevent any distractions that might mess up your training. My previous clients have even told me that the atmosphere provided them moments of inspiration and allowed them to reach levels they never thought possible."

Prey. A voice echoes throughout Eunbi's head, breaking her concentration. She was about to scorn the voice for interrupting her training session when she felt the Qi in the air shift. She tunes out her surroundings as she completely focuses on the Qi fluctuations. It felt like two Qi signatures with Force Formation level 5 were approaching her ship. However, something felt off with one of the signatures. The Qi felt very unstable, as if it was a large, burning bonfire dying out very quickly. The Qi signature didn't feel like Force Formation level 5, yet it was. The voice starts laughing hysterically as Eunbi ponders over this sensation. This laughter clues Eunbi on what she was missing about this Qi formation. The demon would only laugh when it discovers something ironic.

A forbidden Qi training technique that allows for cultivators to level up at the cost of lifespan. This technique, in particular, seems to be constantly draining its user. The cultivator would shorten their lifespan to only a few years with the technique. Eunbi sighs as this technique meant that someone else wanted a death match with her.

"Are there any other cultivators with them?" Eunbi asks the voice once it stopped laughing.

Yes, but those cultivators aren't even worth our time. You will let me devour one of the force fivers, right? Preferably, the one that didn't sign their will already in order to fight you.

Eunbi didn't respond as she heard hurried footsteps coming closer to the chamber. One of the crew members burst through the door before coming to a stop at the entrance. His voice froze in his throat as he realized he interrupted an important procession. He kotows to Eunbi's back as the other occupants stop what they were doing and look at him. Eunbi slowly opens her eyes as she realizes that the ceremony won't be able to continue.

"Report." She commands the pirate.

"There is a government vessel approaching our vessel. We tried to employ evasive maneuvers like usual, but it seems this ship's goal is... us," He hurriedly explains.

"Tell the men to get ready. We are going to engage in combat. My staff and I will be out shortly to assist. You are dismissed." Eunbi instructs as she stands up abruptly. She offers an apologetic smile toward the priest before motioning to her team to follow her.

This will be fun.

Around ten minutes later, Eunbi and her team were standing at Tempero's bridge. The Tempero evaded the other ship long enough for Eunbi to change. Then, Eunbi commanded the Tempero to stop so that the slower and larger government vessel can catch up to them. She watches her pirates get ready as the other ship approached. When the two ships were closed enough, five people jump from the other ship onto Tempero's deck. Sun-woo laughs at the demonstration and brings his fan up to conceal a portion of his face. The Tempero's crew spread around the newcomers and held their weapons tight. The Tempero's crew wasn't weak compared to other pirate ships. In fact, their crew had a few Soul Formation cultivators. However, the crew could clearly feel the power difference between them and the newcomers. A sigh of relief escapes their lips as Hong commanded them to stand down. The Tempero's staff walk to the edge of the bridge to look down at the newcomers. Three of the newcomers wore white and green cultivator robes, while the pair in the front wore ornate golden armor. The pair consisted of a young man and an old man.

The younger man's face turns red when he sees Eunbi at the head of the group. Hong chuckles before flicking her wrist. The young man cried out, holding his left cheek. Impaled in the deck behind the young man was the knife that Hong threw at him. She puts one foot on the railing before looking directly at the young man.

"You better watch how you are looking at our leader. Otherwise, I might not miss next time." She snarks and twirls another throwing knife in her right hand. "You don't even deserve a second of our time if you can't block a simple knife." She flicks her wrist again to throw another knife, but the older man catches it.

"Oh, so there is someone here that knows how to fight. Care to find out how many you can block before your defense falls apart." Hong pulls out five throwing knives and holding them in one hand to prove her point.

"Can I speak to the adult here, or will you keep letting your dog talk for you." The old man says while looking directly at Eunbi.

"I didn't want to say anything, but aren't you acting a bit presumptuous on someone else's ship. Who gave you the right to speak. I would rather let maggots speak than hear your irritating voice," Sun-woo comments. Sun-woo and Hong cast glares at the group, which the young man and his entourage were happy to reciprocate. Eunbi leaps off the bridge to stand in front of the old man.

"You better speak fast, or I can't promise that you will make it back to the mainland alive. There is only one reason why land-dwellers like you would go out of their way to find me." Eunbi says dryly. To prove her point, one member of the entourage's face turns a bit green. The young man snarls before summoning a ball of energy to attack Eunbi. The fight was over before it began as Eunbi quickly turns and grabs the young man's throat to slam him on the deck. Eunbi lets go of him and jumps back quickly as the old man stabs his sword where Eunbi was a moment ago. Eunbi pulls out her scythe as the crew makes room for them.

"You know, the one thing I don't get is why you land-dwellers think fighting in the ocean is the same as fighting on land. In the ocean, we pirates are king. With that in mind, please don't tell me that young man is the person who wants to challenge me. He made his qi foundations unstable, and he doesn't even know how to fight at sea. To top it off, he couldn't even block a simple knife. How does a cultivator get to such a high qi level without knowing how to fight? This is why my training session was interrupted!?! ." Eunbi angrily shouts. The young man rubs his throat and throws off the hands trying to help him get up. He draws his sword before charging weakly at Eunbi.

"You monster! You killed my sister! I will bring you down even it means I die here." The young man shouts. Eunbi tsks and simply swings her scythe, knocking the man to the side of the ship.

"Go to the underworld by yourself if you are so eager to die." The young man holds himself up with one arm before looking at the older man.

"Martial Order Leader, help me! I didn't bring you along so that you can watch me get beat up." The young man barks.

"Oh, a martial order leader. You must be a just..." Eunbi taunts before getting interrupted by the old man. Eunbi barely brought her scythe up in time to block his qi blast. Even then, the blast threw her backward into the ship, breaking one of the walls. Smoke comes from the rubble. The old man waits for a moment before smiling to himself. He turns around to help the young man before jumping into the air to avoid a hail of arrows. His dodge was short-lived as the arrows changed directions to come toward him again. He blocks to the best of his ability, but every arrow dealt a heavy blow to him. He lands on the ground with a bit of blood dribbling out of his mouth. He looks back to the hole where he threw Eunbi to feel a dominating presence emanating from it.

"Now I am angry! This little piece of art decided not only to interrupt my session but also damage my ship!" Eunbi roars from the crater. This was the only warning the old man gets before Eunbi appears at his side in her battle-form. She swings the scythe at the old man, which he blocks with his jian. The exchange still threw the old man off the Tempero onto the government vessel. He landed with a crash as he rolls to recover. Eunbi jumps off the Tempero to slice at the old man with a giant qi slash. The old man quickly responds in turn with a qi shield to protect the vessel. The clash forces the man back ten steps while Eunbi continues charging as if his retaliation didn't even bother her. He knew Eunbi was tough from the government's report on her, but this warrior clearly excels those reports. He wouldn't have come here if he knew such a large gap existed between them. He only wanted to make sure his martial order's genius didn't die early. The old man knew some connections that could help mitigate the damage that the genius did to himself. The old man agreed because the genius's training was slowing down due to his desire for vengeance.

"What are you standing around for?!? Help me kill her!" He bellows as the soldiers standing around him. The soldiers quake in fear as if the martial order leader didn't stand a chance. What hopes do they have in stopping her? However, if they escaped and didn't help him in his fight, he would kill them all later. The soldiers stuck between a rock and a hard place decide to help the old man with a bit of gentle persuasion from the old man's martial order's disciples.

The soldiers manage to stop her onslaught by distracting her with their attacks. Eunbi tsks under her breath before directing qi blasts to kill the interlopers.

"Are you that scared, old man? You can't handle me by yourself, so you call upon these cannon fodder!" Eunbi snarls before killing another soldier with her scythe. She looks around her in an attempt to find her opponent. The martial order disciples also decided to help their martial order leader put down Eunbi. Eunbi mainly blocks during these exchanges and only retaliates when they slip up. Suddenly, she senses a strong qi signature approaching her. She tried to turn to address it, but the young man from earlier decided to launch a frontal assault at the same time. The old man slice at Eunbi's back with the force of a dragon. The collision threw dust up into the air; when it settled, Eunbi was still standing. A hand made up of black qi sprout from her back, catching the blade inches from her back.

The old man looks on in horror as the hand sucks the qi from his attack, rendering it inert. The fighting around Eunbi came to a standstill as everyone was shocked to see her still standing.

"What... are you?" The old man pales. Eunbi slowly turns to face the old man. Her bright blood-red eyes made the old man felt like he was looking at death-incarnate. Eunbi grins like a madman as the hand turns into a silhouette of a tengu. The tengu wrestles the jian away from the old man and breaks it in its hands.

"Your worst nightmare!" Eunbi laughs as she brings down the scythe to slice off his sword arm. The old man didn't resist as he was still in shock. Eunbi moves her scythe beneath the man's chin and kills him with no hesitation. Eunbi looks to her ship before calling her crew to arms to capture the government vessel and takes its crew as prisoners. She stumbles a little bit as the backlash starts to kick in. Her crew cheers as they climb aboard the ship, but it sounded so far away to her. She sat down on the floor as the tengu disappears back into the air. No one saw this except the young man, and he didn't want to waste this opportunity, so he approached Eunbi with his weapon drawn.

"Heh. You make fun of me for my parlor tricks but look at you now. Weak. I will complete my vengeance and let my sister's spirit finally rest. Any last words?" He smiles.

"Yeah. You talk too much." Eunbi says weakly. He shakes his head before bringing his weapon up to deal the finishing blow. A lance pierces through his chest, stopping him.

"Like she says, you talk too much," Hong said. She pulls out her lance, letting the young man's corpse collapsed on the ground. Sun-woo tsks in disgust behind Hong, and Il-sung stood in front of the group to protect them from any interlopers. Miya kneels down next to Eunbi and holds her up.

"You can rest up, captain. Leave the rest to us." Il-sung advises.

"The rest? Man, I thought for a moment that she was planning to take the whole ship by herself" Hong chuckles. Eunbi smiles softly to herself before blacking out.

[Ceystile]

Cara "Monty" Montserrat
It'd been an exhausting day, blood absolutely everywhere and soaking absolutely everything. The familiar smell of healing herbs and copper hung in the air like an unwashed cloak, and Doctor Cara Montserrat, Monty as she was known to patients and friends felt the blood seemingly soak into her very bones as she washed the surgical tools in a mixture of water, wine and vinegar. It wasn’t an out of the ordinary day, but very exhausting. Two surgeries and the last patient nearly bled out, it had taken them every ounce of effort they had to keep the poor sod from croaking right there on the table.

“Doctor?” Cara turned around to see one of her nurses, a plump and fair-skinned girl with the pale blond looks of most from the New Province. No, Geowforeth she thought savagely, a black bolt of anger jolting through her like sparking lightning. This was the kingdom of Geowforeth, no matter how much the Imperials would try to erase that fact. They could spill every drop of native blood and this would still be stolen land. The nurse called her again and suddenly she was jolted back to reality. “Oh! What is it?”
“That last patient…I’d never seen so much blood before.”
“Imperial blades, I heard. Apparently the poor bastard had been part of a resistance group. He would’ve bled out had the Golden Pricks had better aim.”
“Monty, do you wish to be overheard?!”
“By who exactly?! What are they going to do, attack medics?! What am I kidding, of course they would.”

[Acharybdis]

A tolling bell echoes throughout Eunbi's mind, slowly thrumming across her entire body. A loud chime rings in her ear with every third bell toll. She groggily opens her eyes to find that she is lying down in a gray plain devoid of any life. A glance downward reveals a mirror image of herself staring back at her. However, this mirror image isn't a complete reflection of her current state as the image don Eunbi's combat form and smiles sinisterly at Eunbi. Eunbi sighs dramatically before pushing herself into a sitting position. The change in position allows her to see the approaching menacing gray fog.

Eunbi could hear screeching and the sounds of flapping wings coming from the fog. Shadows appear and disappear in the mist. Eunbi remains unphased as several tengu-like humanoids appear from the mist and land ten feet away from her. They position themselves so that they could circle Eunbi. The group of tengu screech and wave a multitude of weapons at Eunbi from scythes, swords, spears, and halberds. Out of the fog come looming gray statues of cultivators with glowing red eyes and white hair. More tengu appears sitting on rocks staring at Eunbi. The commotion dies down as a black and sinister-looking throne emerges from the shadows. On the throne sits an ashen demon with glowing red eyes in a prideful position.

"Welcome back, Eunbi. It seems my power is just too irresistible." The demon says with a gloating smile. Eunbi rolls her eyes at this comment.

"You think very highly of yourself for a demon trapped in a weapon. You can't even interfere in the mortal realm without me." Eunbi remarks, which brings a frown to his face. The frown quickly vanishes as it appears.

"Your attitude will change once you join my legion." He laughs and points to statues.

"That is what you think. I won't lose like my predecessors. I will dethrone you." Eunbi says. The demon laughs as he motions for one of the Daitengu to step forward. The Daitengu kneels before the demon as he whispers words to it. Red tendrils creep from the throne and pause for a second before flowing into the Daitengu. The aura of Daitengu increases tenfold as the red light illuminates its entire body. Then, the light dies down as the Daitengu looks back toward Eunbi.

It was the only warning Eunbi got before the Daitengu charge at her. She vanishes from her spot right before the Daitengu pounds its fist where she was. The Daitengu quickly rips its hand out of the ground to block a golden ethereal jade seal from Eunbi. Smoke explodes outward from the collision and conceals the battlefield temporarily. A spear pierces through the smoke towards the throne, where it collides with a golden qi shield.

"I see that your minions are getting better," Eunbi smirks as she comes out from behind the shield. She launches herself toward the Daitengu, covering her right fist with golden qi. The Daitengu catches her fist, scattering the smoke. Eunbi's smile grows as the tips of her hair start to turn white, and a tint of red flashes in her eyes. She grabs its arm with her free hand and throws the Daitengu into a crowd of tengu. The other tengus try to help the Daitengu up, but the Daitengu shrugs off their help.

"What? You can't keep up," Eunbi mocks, infuriating the Daitengu. Half of Eunbi's hair turns white, and one of her eyes now has a blood crimson color. She exerts a domineering aura as she looks down at the Daitengu. A golden finger descends towards the Daitengu, which it counters by creating a black avian claw of qi to catch the finger. The claw barely manages to dissipate the finger.

"Hahaha! Is this your best champion? Barely able to handle one finger." Eunbi laughs as her battle-form transformation completes. Her grins grow larger as she throws two qi fingers at the Daitengu. The Daitengu summons two claws in defense. However, it isn't enough as the resulting bout throws the Daitengu back to the feet of the throne. The demon doesn't even get a chance to react as Eunbi teleports over to the Daitengu and grabs it by its throat. She stares at the demon before killing the Daitengu.

"Glad to see you can still handle my weak minions." The demon smiles. "I can't wait for our fight." The demon reiterates this point by pointing to ethereal red chains binding him to the throne. Some of the chains show signs of weakening, while others lie broken around the throne. The chains become invisible again with a flick of his hand.

"I will be waiting," Eunbi states and drops the Daitengu. She turns around as the plains fade away, and she awakes for real this time.