A New Dawn

[Oddood198]

Arren heard Reveka's mental scream, and whirled around to see what was wrong, and saw her using some kind of magic to manhandle the shadows behind him. "Nice job!" He said, grinning at her, then went back to fighting.
After Etho had laid out his plan, Arren pointed out the most important flaw, "The problem with that," He paused, kicking a beast away and cutting it deeply, "is that we can't get out if that cloud of shadows is still out there." He thought for a moment longer, there seemed to be no end to these monsters, and the group couldn't hold them off forever. "But, if it's the only way to buy some time, we'll have to do it."

[Wolfsong]

Ethinine nodded, and proceeded to bring the roof down. Carefully of course, so as not to bring it down on them. Slowly, pebbles fell, then larger rocks, then boulders. Within moments, the entire path had been covered by the debris from the roof. There wasn't a crack for those shadows to get through. He smiled faintly, then turned to Arren. "So what do you say we do?"
Reveka watched him a long moment. "Arren, I..." Then she felt something, a familiar essence. It wasn't in the cave, but it was close. That much she could tell. The essence-was it-
You are MINE, Bearer of the White Wings!
"He's here!" she mentally cried out, jerking away from Callysta, eyes wide in fear. "He's coming!" She scrambled back, soon running into the cave wall. She pushed against it, her blue eyes open as wide as they could, filled with horror and fear.

[Oddood198]

Arren thought about their next step for a brief moment, then turned around to face Reveka when he heard her. She seemed about ready to say something, then she stopped. "Reve--" Arren began, but was cut off by her mental screams. He dashed to her, dropping to his knees in front of her as she cowered against the wall, he dropped his sword to the side and grabbed her shoulders, trying to get her to look at him.
"Reveka! Reveka! Who is it, what's wrong?" He shouted at her. She was terrified of... something. "Blast it all..." Arren muttered. He picked his sword up off the ground, then, carefully, so as not to hurt her, picked up Reveka in his arms, like an oversized child. We'll have to gamble on the way we came... He thought, then shouted a single command, "Move!" With that, he started dashing back through the cave, toward the entrance.

[Wolfsong]

Ethinine, like everyone in there probably, was startled when Reveka suddenly flung herself against the wall. Arren picked her up and commanded them to run, and then started for the other entrance. Worried, Ethinine followed. "What are we doing?" He asked as he followed.
Reveka clung tightly to Arren, breathing quickly. She could feel it, the essence coming closer. He was coming straight toward them!
"Arren," she quickly said. "Arren, its the man from my dream. His essence...I'd know it anywhere. Arren, he called himself the Hand of Darkness! The Bearer of the Black Wings! He's coming straight for us now!"

Jadis, followed by Shaddoc, trailed the men until they came to a stop. They were standing before a cave, but there was something odd about the entrance...
"Its quite a substantial block," the first man said. He raised his hands, as though pressing against something. "But...fragile, if you know just where to push."
There was a loud crack, like the shattering of glass. The man smiled. "Finally..."
"Sir, would it not be better if I went in?"
The first paused, then turned. "Why would that be?"
"They are bound to be tense now, ready to attack anything that moves. True that you could take anything they throw at you, but it would take precious strength. I, I can command from the back lines, but you, your darkness cannot afford to weaken. Let me."
The man slowly nodded. "Very well. Go. I will go aloft, and wait for you." He suddenly leapt up, vanishing into the sky. Easy to do considering the massive dark mists. Gamaliel on the other hand entered the cave.
Jadis was silent a long moment, then said, "Shaddoc, here's the game plan. I'll go in first, then if I'm not out in five minutes, come in after me." Noting the expression on the other's face, he said, "Please? Here-" he took the talisman and gave it to Shaddoc. "Wear this. You'll probably need it, considering how few times you've been so deep in the shadow world. I at least know what to watch for." Before Shaddoc could reply, he broke into a run and entered the cave.

[Oddood198]

"Isn't it obvious, you fool? We're fleeing for our lives!" Arren snapped back over his shoulder at Ethinine's question, he thought that that answer would be obvious.
Arren glanced down at Reveka as he ran, she looked completely terrified, like she had seen -or perhaps, sensed- a ghost. He didn't believe in all the Grand Sage's 'visions in her dreams' nonsense, but he also didn't believe Reveka would get so worked up over nothing. "Well, we don't seem to have another option here." Arren said, "The way behind is now collapsed, and there's a horde of... something on the other side. Our only option is ahead, and we'll deal with what comes, when it comes."

[Wolfsong]

Reveka whimpered a little, but didn't reply.
Ethinine, a little irked but understanding slightly, answered, "I was only curious, since you'd been so against leaving that way earlier-" He gasped, feeling the shield, which he was still holding up, shatter. He gasped, eyes widening in pain as his spell was broken. He stumbled and clutched at the wall, shuddering. "Someone just broke it!" he gasped. "Someone just tore it down!"

OOC- Goodnight all, see you again Tuesday!

[Koneko-chan]

Callysta had a mixture of expressions, surprise, fear, concern. Her head jerked to look at Ethinine behind her, her mouth was agap "What!? T-that can't be.. No.." She put her face in her hands "Oh no.. What do we do?" She said, trying not to break down. She looked over at Reveka, she looked terrified, but, who wouldn't be? Seeing her expression made Callysta's heart sink and she was more horrified. Callysta took a deep breath, did it once more, she let her shadows cloud over her eyes "I can't see the intruder.. It's very blurry-- very vague, just a figure." She mumbled once again, more intending to herself, she shook her head and the shadows disappeared.

OOC: ^^^^^ Hope that wasn't too much, she doesn't do that power a lot because it takes so much concentration, she has to do it when she's atleast sorta calmed. If it's too much, I'll edit it, no problemo, Wolfie~ :3

[Oddood198]

Arren gritted his teeth in frustration as he ran, It just keeps getting worse and worse, every second! He thought in absolute annoyance. He knew it likely wouldn't be comfortable, but he then lifted Reveka and pretty much slung her over his shoulder, facing behind him. He raised his sword in his other hand, I don't even care what this thing is or what it calls itself, if it gets in my way, I'll cut it to pieces. He thought.
Then, midway to the cave exit they had decided on, in the almost pitch darkness where Reveka wasn't providing any light, Arren found himself suddenly flying through the air and falling backward. He twisted and spun during his fall, getting to a position where Reveka wouldn't be hurt, and in the process he hit his stomach and face straight against the cold stone floor. "Now just what in the..." He growled, struggling to rise. He saw someone unfamiliar in front of him, a man, and it quickly fell into place that he had run, full-speed, into this man. "Now just who in the darkness are you?" He growled, holding a hand over his nose, which he found to be dripping blood.


OOC: I think... This one isn't any good... I'm too tired to tell...

[Wolfsong]

OOC- lookg good guys, both of you. I'd like to ask you to wait until I can return, and until Claec posts, since I'll need to play in. So sorry, but can you please wait for me? Oh, and syphon can post too, since he needs to catch up.
See you Tuesday, peeps!

[ClaecElric4God]

"Jadis, wait!" Shaddoc exclaimed, growling in frustration when Jadis ignored him and kept running. He looked down at the talisman Jadis had hurriedly shoved into his hand. When he'd told Jadis he didn't have anything to shield his essence, he'd never dreamed Jadis would give him such a valuable object. Of course, knowing Jadis, he'd want it back sooner than later. Shaddoc quickly put the talisman around his neck. Now he had all the more reason to survive, so he could get this back to Jadis.
And that brought up another question. Was he really going to sit here and wait for Jadis to not come back? Sure, Jadis could take care of himself, and he'd be offended if Shaddoc thought he couldn't. But Shaddoc had also seen the men they were up against, and by the conversation they'd overheard, this would be more than a five minute expidition. There was something seriously big going on, and Shaddoc wasn't about to let Jadis handle it on his own, especially after that huge speech he'd given about wanting to back Jadis up and fight alongside him. Another thing, he realized that by not responding to Jadis' request, he'd looked like a scared little kid. Shaddoc didn't have a lot of pride, but there was his dignity to think of. In the confusion and intensity of the moment, he'd just been too stressed to think of anything to say, but he knew he'd had an expression that looked like he was too scared to be of any use.
After weighing his options and considering it for a moment, Shaddoc sighed, readied his bow, and ran into the cave, determined to catch up to Jadis.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- ...man you guys must hate me. I never come on when I say I will. Sorry people, everything seems to happen to me.

Whimpering, Reveka was struggling to regain control of herself, surprised at her sudden breakdown. She was normally completely controlled no matter what happened, but one touch of that essence and everything in her fell apart. "You've got to pull yourself together!" she scolded herself. "The others' need you alert!"
Arren suddenly fell back, and she just missed having her head busted. Oddly, that was what she needed to pull herself together, as she scrambled to her knees, glowing brightly.

Jadis gasped as light suddenly filled the tunnel ahead. He heard Gamaliel shout in surprise and some slight pain; obviously he was too close to whatever was shining. Grinning, pulling his headband a little lower to better protect his eyes, he closed the distance.
Gamaliel, with one hand covering his eyes, was facing five people, whom Jadis recognized as the people from the forest. The black-haired boy lay on the ground with a somewhat bruised expression, blue-robe had stumbled against the wall, red-head seemed to be trying to figure out what to do, and the man looked concerned and worried together. However, it was the black-haired girl, on her knees beside the fallen, who attracted his interest, due to the fact that she was glowing!!! Unusual phenomenon, but he'd worry about that later. Before the man could recover, Jadis lept forward, sword pointed.
Gamaliel stiffened as the sword went right through him. Jadis, on the other hand, was surprised to see that, instead of blood, wisps of shadows trailed trhough the wound. "Well," he thought, whipping his sword out. "I suppose it makes a kind of grim sense." He swung the second sword toward the man's head. Gamaliel's hand shot up, and the blade caught on the metal grieve. Deciding it better to not let the guy get his hand free, Jadis pushed hard on that arm while the other brought the first sword around again. The other hand blocked that one too, and then Gamaliel push-kicked Jadis back. Jadis, stumbling, fell back against the wall, grimacing as his head hit the rocks. Gamaliel lept toward him, left arm back to punch. Jadis barely caught it with his open hand, and struggled to avoid the strikes from the other hand.
"Hey you!" he shouted at Arren. "Don't just stand there gaping, fool! Unless that sword's for decoration only, help me out here!"

[Oddood198]

OOC: Don't worry, Wolfy. We only hate you a little bit.


Arren was watching the situation unfold in front of him as, all of a sudden, there were two men that were engaged in some life-or-death struggle. Who in blazes were they? Why were they fighting? And, Light, why was that man's head so hard? Arren wondered this last thing as he noticed a throbbing headache begin to form deep in his skull.
One of them men shouted at him to help, but he couldn't tell which one because of the sheer confusion of the melee. Arren would have tried to get everyone around them, but the combatants were taking up too much space in the already narrow tunnel, so that wasn't an option. He raised his sword, I'll just make a path, then. He thought, then ran forward swinging his sword in a wild, yet controlled fashion, figuring either the combatants would get out of his way or be cut down and stepped over.

[ClaecElric4God]

OOC: You?! We hate you? You're talking about the awesome GM, who makes everything amazing? I'm the one who keeps holding up the show.

Shaddoc saw the light engulfing the tunnel, and quickly threw up his bow arm to shield his eyes, simultaneously pulling an arrow out of his quiver with his left hand. Whatever was up ahead probably wasn't any good, and he wasn't going to take any chances. As he got further into the cave, Shaddoc heard voices, and metal clashing. He inwardly smacked himself for letting Jadis go ahead without him. When Shaddoc felt like his eyes had adjusted to the light, he dropped his arm and notched the arrow, drawing the bow back and looking up to see what was going on. His eyes quickly took in the situation, and he saw the group of people, the man they'd been following, and Jadis. But in the heat of the moment, with his adrenaline pumping and the sense of danger all around, all Shaddoc's mind registered was the glowing girl (which was kind of hard not to notice) and the fact that Jadis was locked in mortal combat, and didn't appear to have the upper hand. Shaddoc breathed in sharply, then yelled loudly:
"Hey, you!" As he yelled he pulled the bow up to his cheek, and almost without thinking, he let loose the arrow, straight toward Gamaliel's heart. In the same motion he pulled out two more arrows, shooting them in direct sequence. Almost before the last arrow had taken flight, Shaddoc pulled out another arrow, notching it as he ran toward the fight. If need be, he'd drop the bow altogether and fight alongside Jadis with his dagger. But for the moment, he held himself back to cover him long range.

[Koneko-chan]

OOC: Awe, don't say that Wolfie, we don't hate you, it's fine~! C:


Callysta lost her breath watching the battle take place 'W-who are they?' She noticed the two young men fighting the man. She got in a stance, closed her eyes, hands open; suddenly formed in her hand was a shadow lance, she stared at her hand, she was hoping for something simple she could throw, but oh well.
"How do I even use a lance?" She asks herself quietly, sighing, she advanced quickly. Coming toward the man, she couldn't help but her train of thought being jumbled, Callysta thrust the lance toward the man's shoulder, wondering if she missed or if it worked.

OOC:Sorry if this was rushed.

[syphon]

Trying to help arren and the others, talos fought the unkown figure who seemed to give off a sinister dark presence. Arren came charging in as talos avoided it. Talos also noticed callysta was up to something during his fight. Just then he saw callysta throw something, talos side stepped as fast as he could. In aguish the figure yelled, talos noticed it was a spear that had been thrown and it gashed the figures torso's side. Since when did callysta have a spear he thought. Either way it helped "nice work callysta" he said in a suprised tone of voice.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- what's that about holding up the works, Claec? I"M the one who's late here!

Jadis, though he didn't let it regester on his face, was extemely grateful to see Shaddoc. What he wasn't grateful for however was that boy swinging a sword dangerously close to his head and a lance narrowing missing stabbing him through the arm. At least Gamaliel was obviously affected by it, because his body went limp. Jadis thrust him off and leapt to his feet, his claws equipped now, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Gamaliel stumbled back, then raised his eyes to study the group. Grimacing, from pain and an even deeper emotion, he hissed, "This isn't over. You will be caught before you get anywhere near the border!" and like that, he disolved before their very eyes. The wisps of shadows left sailed out of the cave, disappearing.
Jadis, irked still, grabbed Arren's swordarm by the wrist and twisted the sword from his hands, catching it in his free. "Thank you anyway," he said. "But we'd probably have actually done better if you stayed out of the way. Anyway, if you want to get out before the shadows become monsters and tear you apart, follow me." He turned to Shaddoc, grinning slightly. "Thanks for coming to watch my back," he said. "Will you watch my back on the way out?" He started walking as he listened to Shaddoc's reply.

Reveka stared at the battle, frozen in place. She was scared slightly, and it hindered her. When the dark man vanished, and the other said he'd lead them out, she turned to Arren. "He has Light within him, and its strong. I think we can trust him. But...honestly Arren, I'm scared."

[ClaecElric4God]

Still slightly hyped from the fight, Shaddoc bit back an irritated remark about idiots who take on more than they can handle. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and like that he was back to his old self, the familiar blanket of calm reserve flowing over him. He quickly fell into step beside Jadis, relaxing his bow arm, but ready to pull it up at a moment's notice.
"Your back hardly needs watching, my friend," Shaddoc replied. "It's your front that I'm worried about. How you've survived this long is beyond me." But even as he complained, he felt a small sense of satisfaction at a job well done, and wished he'd started doing this a long time ago.

[Oddood198]

Arren grimaced when the man roughly removed his sword from his grasp, but even worse was when he started walking away with it after telling Arren he shouldn't have gotten involved. Now, Arren was getting angry. Very angry. He was about to confront the man and demand he give them an explanation for just what in blazes was going on, but stopped as he heard Reveka thinking to him. He sighed, looking at her.
"Don't worry, it'll be OK." He said, then, softer, so that only Reveka could hear, "I think we're all scared to some degree, and little wonder. But I'll keep us safe, promise." With that, he took Reveka's hand witht his that wasn't wet from his nosebleed, and started walking through the cave. To the man in front, Arren firmly and in a rather unfriendly tone said, "I want my sword back."

[Wolfsong]

"My front?" Jadis grinned at him. "Maybe." He was feeling surprisingly better now, oddly. But then, lately he'd been having his unusual bouts of humor when he was in the middle of something tense. Funny.
"I want my sword back."
He glanced back and grinned ironically. "Oh do you?" he said, carefully spinning it in his hand. After a small, fancy flip he tossed it at Arren, still grinning. "Well then, I suppose you may. Just make sure you slap at the appropriate monster and not me."
He ignored Arren's bitter look and continued walking, thinking. These teens...an odd group. And the two men of shadow seemed to think they were important. "And that's the only reason I'm here, because its a chance to thwart the Dark. Can't say however, if this boy is always like that, that I'll be always glad I did this. Hoo boy..."
They reached the exit, or entrance, of the cave. Jadis glanced around cautiously, then remarked to Reveka, "If you can, turn the light down. They can already sense your essence, don't give them something to look at either."
Reveka quietly stopped her light. Jadis glanced around one more time, then started walking to where he knew the border was. "Just follow me," he said. "We should be out momentarily. If I turned the right way, that is...oh well, maybe we'll run into Nigal at worst."

[ClaecElric4God]

Shaddoc watched the exchange between Jadis and the boy, wondering how much more of Jadis' cold attitude it would take to start a fight, and deciding he'd have to be the one to break them up. Of course, a few minutes ago he might have found himself roughing the kid up for almost killing Jadis. But now that the moment had passed and everyone was fine, he was thinking about this ragtag group of kids. Looking back on the incident, he'd noticed that at least some of them seemed to have some sort of powers. Between the glowing girl and the lance that he'd seen disappear into thin air, these kids were definitely not normal. And what were they doing out here, by themselves, in this cave? True, the kid with silver hair looked to be about his age, but still... They all looked so overwhelmed and unprepared. Considering how shaken up they looked, they obviously weren't used to this kind of thing. And more importantly, what had they done to cause the Dark to go on a manhunt for them? Shaddoc started getting uneasy, then reprimanded himself.
They're just kids, he reminded himself. There's nothing at all threatening about them.

[Oddood198]

OOC: Or so he thinks.


Arren caught the sword that was tossed to him, then, when the man turned away again, he let go of Reveka's hand and stepped forward, placing the tip of his blade on the man's shoulder, next to his neck. "Hold on a moment, there." He said, his tone low, and his eyes were glaring sharply, "I'm not taking one step to follow you until you prove that I can trust you. Perhaps you can start by explaining who you are, who that other person was, what those monsters are after us for, and where you intend to take us." Arren was very, very angry right now. Starting with being tackled by a sheep all the way up till now, the outside had proven itself to be an infuriating place where just about everything was going exactly the opposite of how it should have.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- that's what I said to Claec, Odd.

Jadis froze as he felt the blade softly prick his skin. He closed his eyes as he listened to the teenager threaten him. "I've decided," he said slowly, instantly whirling away at a pace the blade couldn't follow and smashing into Arren, punching him in the solar plexis and taking the sword again in one fluid motion. "That I hate brats. Especially teenagers who should know better."
He stepped back, watching Arren double over. Reveka gasped and put her arms around him, glaring at Jadis. Jadis waited a moment, then said, "However, to keep you in line until I can finally get away from you, I will tell you a few things. That person was somebody obviously of higher rank, possibly the general, for the shadow army. Why they're after you, I don't know. As for me, well, lets just put it simply that the Darkness owes me, and I'm getting my payment in blood. Now please, get a move on, before they find us again. We got rid of that one, but there is another hanging around somewhere."

As his back was turned, Reveka stuck her tongue out, an unusual display of childishness for her. She helped Arren stand. "Are you alright?"

[ClaecElric4God]

Shaddoc closed his eyes and stopped to watch the inevitable. Why was this kid so pig-headed? He'd hoped the kid would be smart enough to let well enough alone and be grateful for being rescued, but he figured it was too much to hope for, considering how arrogant he obviously was. Now Shaddoc just had to be the referee to make sure they played nice and no one got killed. He watched Jadis' inevitable reaction, and grimaced for the kid when the blow landed. Once Jadis was done ranting, Shaddoc put a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Jadis. They obviously have no idea what's going on. Give them a break." Then he turned to the group and gestured for them to follow. "Sorry for my comrade's behaviour. He isn't usually like this...Well, no, he really is. But regardless of how you may feel right now, he really is trying to help you. I suggest you listen to him."
Shaddoc turned back to Jadis.
"So what's the plan?"

[Oddood198]

Flash of light, air rushing from his lungs, the ground getting closer, and his nerves shouting that he was in pain. That was the only recollection Arren had of that period of a few seconds, between demanding answers from the man and Reveka trying to help him stand.
"I'm... Fine." He gasped out between deep, labored breaths. Getting the wind knocked out of him was never a pleasant experience, and this time he got a bruise straight to his pride, as well. With Reveka's help, he stood up to his feet and found his balance again. He listened to the second man's apology, not saying a word. When they had both turned away, Arren narrowed his eyes at the back of the first man who was, again, walking off with his sword. "I think I want to kill him." He muttered.

[Wolfsong]

Reveka was quiet, still holding Arren. "He said there was another man, or something, hanging around. What do you suppose he meant?" Then it suddenly occured to her that maybe this wasn't the time to puzzle over something that particular man said, considering Arren's last statement.

"Pretty simple, I guess. Just walk to the border of this particular wave, and hope we don't get ambushed on the way out." He glanced back at Arren. "I'll give you your sword back, once we reach the capital. Please behave yourself until then, I really don't want to have to kill you myself." with that cheery remark, he left the cave and stepped into the open field.

Reveka winced. Yeah, now was not the time to mention that man. "Oh dear...."

Everything was quiet, strangely quiet...dangerously quiet. He glanced around, then said quietly, "Keep moving now, I'm not sure where that other one is, but best move quickly. Follow!" and he started into deep forest. The wave, as he recalled, had covered about half of it. So if they just kept going, they'd reach the brighter edge soon enough.

[Oddood198]

"I don't know, but I guess we should keep an eye out for... Something." Arren said, continuing to walk. He noticed his nose had begun bleeding again from the stomach punch, and moved his hand to block it. He couldn't help but openly scowl at the man at his last remark before leaving the cave. Definitely want to kill him. He thought.
He left the cave as well, looking outside for the blanket of shadows that had covered them. "What do you think?" He asked Reveka, almost silently, "Should we run back and go back home, before we get caught up in something more troublesome?"

[Wolfsong]

"That...might be better, actually. He's got Light in him, but...he's dangerous too. I'm truly scared." she looked about anxiously. "At least...that essence from earlier is gone."

[Oddood198]

"Not that I doubt your senses... But I don't detect much Light at all in him." Arren said quietly. Reveka was infinitely more sensitive to these things than he was, so he had to trust in her judgement. Still, she couldn't be right every time. "If you want to leave, we'll leave. If you want to stay, we'll stay. You're the one who brought us here, and I promised I'd show you everything you wanted, so it's your choice."

[Wolfsong]

Softly, Reveka considered this. She was tired, extremely tired. And scared, nothing could change that. She wanted to get away, wanted to escape this terrible place. Maybe...maybe when things were calmer....
"Lets go back," she said quietly, simply.

Jadis didn't like how quiet they were being.
Great teens and people he was sure, just maybe extremely tense, but they hadn't struck him as silent. Particularly the loudmouthed idiot behind him. They shouldn't be this quiet.
"They're plotting something," he muttered to Shaddoc. "The kids I mean. I have that feeling you get, like when you just know someone's pointing something sharp at you? Only...less cold."
Then he heard a sound, and jumped slightly. Just ahead, a group of shadow, men on horseback fighting, trying to get away. "Nigal!" he shouted, eyes widening as he saw his teacher get pulled off his horse. In an instant he leapt into the fray, slashing wildly in his attempt to get to Nigal. "Get back you filthy scum!"

[Oddood198]

Arren nodded, "OK." He said simply. In that moment, a battle came into view, several men on horses battling against the shadow monsters. The man who had been acting as their warden for the past few minutes yelled something, probably a name, and ran forward. In that moment, "Run." Arren said simply, then turned, taking advantage of the diversion, and starting running toward the woods they had come from, pulling Reveka with him, and he trusted Callysta and Etho would follow them.