The Three-Edged Sword: Rallying to War

[Soul Reaver]

The golems blast themselves into fragments, unleashing waves of negative energy.  It took only a second to hit Soul Reaver, but he recognizes its signature from his earlier encounter with the Shaiton Lord.

Soul Reaver had long learned to channel his emotions to his own benefit, and knowing what he did now, he allowed the surge of anger to find expression and focus through him, lunging forward into the retreating Shaiton ranks, slashing and tearing through them with elevated ferocity.

His Daemonic allies, strangely, did not seem too affected by the wave - short of a subtle widening of Blightwing's fanged grin.  Perhaps their nature was such that increased hatred and anger was not even within the realm of possibility?

Soul Reaver's spell, meanwhile, shifts in its nature.  With a deafening crack the ground heaves upward, opening a web of deep fissures that swallow those Shaiton too slow to leap to safety.  The cold rain turns into freezing, razor sharp shards of ice the size of daggers, driven by the gale-force winds straight at the enemy, yet somehow missing Soul Reaver's allies by a hair.

Soul Reaver's rage subsides, and he slows his assault, leaving the ground behind him littered with bisected Shaiton corpses.  He turns his head - how did his companions fare?

[Shadow Chorus]

The bellowing Warboss roared his triumph as the Golem crumbled underneath his blazing fists, the darkness of their deaths washing over him and his forces like a wave of spilled blood, relishing in the triumph of a glorious battle.

For Orks, rage, violence, exultation in carnage, and bloodshed are integral parts of their very being. The influence the darkness attempted to assert upon the Avatar of Gork and Mork was like throwing a bundle of kindling onto a roaring inferno. The Warboss hardly noticed the difference, and kept plowing his way through his enemies with the same single-minded glee he always did. A few of his boyz may have gotten a bit more rowdy than normal, and a few brawls may have broken out among his forces, but the Nobz, similarly used to being saturated in fury and violence, though perhaps not to the same extent of their Warboss, quickly got the ladz back in line, directing their fury and bloodlust back at the gits they were supposed to be krumpin'.

If anything the effects of the wave may have made the Orks more dangerous to the Shaiton than anything; a green wedge was driving its way into the enemy forces now, the Boyz even more eager to get stuck in than before. With the Seraphim all hiding behind shields or writhing on the ground like they'd already been snikked, the only fight worth having was dead ahead in the Shaiton lines. And the boyz took to it with gusto, bullets, axes, and flung Grots rending the air like a tidal wave as they hurled themselves heedlessly at their designated foes.

A right an' propa WAAAAAAAGH!!!, all things considered.

[Fallen Templar]

As the golems detonated, Phaerys hastened to create a gout of flame that would fend off the oncoming waves of darkness. However such desperate measures did not afford the same degree of protection as Jharm's shield of light. The darkness swept over Phaerys and the Seraphs surrounding him, some of them engulfed by dark fire and others falling into a mindless rage. The Ataran's conjured fire guttered like a candle in a strong wind, and he felt that same irritation as before. This battle was a distraction from directives sorely neglected, and the berserk Seraphs were viable specimens for further study.

Phaerys fell upon the nearest one in a whirlwind of taloned limbs, catching them in mid-lunge. Armour and flesh alike were stripped away at the molecular level as he attempted to examine the full extent of the corruption. How did it spread? Could it be halted?

Of course, a warzone made for a poor laboratory environment. Phaerys' efforts were stymied when he was blindsided by an attack from a Shaiton amid the battle still raging around him. A blade bit deep into the Ataran's back, opening a small rent and causing the energy that made up his true body to vent out like a small solar flare. The Shaiton was caught right in the face by the intense light and heat, giving Phaerys an opening to swiftly turn around and cast a handful of alloy shards into its torso.

With a moment to spare, Phaerys quickly reached an arm back to repair the suit breach. That fleeting moment of peril was enough to have brought him back to his senses. It may not have been his duty, but their battle line had to hold firm. And Gulgrim's green tide was sure to swing the momentum back in their favour. Falling back to a suitable position near the Orks' destructive wake, Phaerys prepared to offer fire support once more. A volley of fireballs arced overhead and into the Shaiton around the backlines, softening them up for the inevitable advance of the main force.

[Kitharsis]

The golems are felled more easily than Kitharsis wagered.  Their bodies explode into two more black waves of darkness.  Kitharsis grits his teeth as the wave washes over him.  There is no trace of the darkness of Tirthandaran power within him, thankfully.  He wonders what effect this would have had on him in the past.  It brings back sour memories, reflecting on when he turned on his friends.

He expels the darkness from his body, his eyes glowing a faint amber.  His own power within makes quick work of it.

Vee, once again, is energized by the darkness.  He takes another mental note.  She is working on the side of the Seraphs for now.  But her affinity for the opposing sides power is a growing concern.

Kitharsis is brought out of his dwelling thoughts as a Shaiton warrior lunges at him in a desperate attempt to catch him off guard.  One of his floating swords parries the blow, followed by the other two skewering the soldier through the chest.  Wasting no more time, Kitharsis continues his charge forward to the fort.  Whatever was waiting inside will be more to deal with than these golems were.  A growing mass of sand builds behind him as he prepares for the encounter. 

[Veldanya Venalla]

The "invigorated" surge of Ork boyz overwhelms the surround section of the Shaiton lines, causing it to completely collapse, leaving the way clear to the hole blown in the wall by Phaerys. Confirming that his Seraph forces were close behind to fill the gap in the lines and tend to the fallen, Jharm hoists his hammer up and dashes for the makeshift entrance.

"With me my friends!  We have little time!"

Entering the fort he pauses for a moment to ensure the rest of the Companions are with him and then continues to move further in.  They find little resistance as they dash through the hallways, eventually arriving at a large door.  The moment they reach the door a chuckle can be heard within an a feminine voice rings out.

"Ahh welcome "Companions.  I've been expecting you.  Do come in..."

Jharm frowns and looks to his friends.

"That...would be Nethalika.  She wields the Darkness better then any of the other Shaiton.  Undoubtedly with the first crystal removed it wont be as easy this time."

With that he throws the door open and moves in.  The group enters what looks to be something akin to a throne room.  At the other end of the room sits a throne, seemingly crafted from some matter of pure black rock.  Sitting on the throne is a woman, her one leg draped over the other.  Form fitting ebony armor covers most of her body.  Her skin pale white, almost akin to a Seraph but her eyes are orbs of inky blackness and she as long dark hair flowing behind her.  As the companions enter she smiles and stands up, her wings unfurling to reveal that while the Seraphs have feathery wings, hers is more akin to a bat.  Behind the throne is another of the large crystals like the one from the first fort.  This time however there seems to a faint purple dome over the crystal and looking upwards one can see 5 smaller crystals floating in the air, faint tendrils seeming to flow down to the shield covering the large one, similar shields visible over the shards as well.

"Again, greetings.  I must say you all have certainly managed to cause quite a bit of trouble.  Dervagon was rather...miffed about the defeat you dealt him, though it seems he enjoyed the ferocity some of you displayed."

She smirks and looks in the direction of Gulgrim.  She then turns her gaze to Vee and pauses a moment, her eyes seeming to briefly flash before she turns her attention back to the group in general.

"Anyways...one does not need to guess as to why you are here, so idle banter I would say is...unnecessary."

She smiles again and reach behind her she lifts a ebony staff off the side of the throne before kissing her hand and blowing it in the direction of the Companions.  Dark purple smoke begins to flow off her hand, falling to the floor and rolling down the room, quickly filling the area behind it as it races towards Jharm and the others.  Her form then shimmers and seems to split, leaving 3 identical Nethalikas standing in front of the throne.  All 3 raise their staffs towards the ceiling, their voices ringing out in unison.

"Embrace Darkness!"

Dark orbs come screaming down from above, heading directly at the Companions.  Jharm takes to the air, floating above the Companions and creates a shield around himself, two of the dark orbs slamming into it and exploding.  Raising his hammer he shouts out in return

"For the Light!"

Shining orbs of Light now descend from above, barreling down towards the trio of Nethalikas.

[Veldanya Venalla]

As the Shaiton forces buckle and give way, Vee looks around, her helmet rescinding back down into her suit.

"I must say, those Orks certainly know how to cause destruction."

She gazes down at her hands and frowns slightly.

Once again though it not only washes over me but...I almost feel stronger from it.  And still no help from you I assume? [no answer seems to come] I grow tired of the silence, in addition to everything else.

"With me my friends!  We have little time!"

Vee comes back from her thoughts as she hears the Seraphim call out and dash for the makeshift entry of the fort.  Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts she follows after, blasting away a few Shaiton that attempt to fill the gap.  Following behind Jharm she gazes around as they head through the hallways.

This seems...familiar in a way...but why?  I have never been to this place before.

Reaching the doors she hears a chuckle as someone speaks out

"Ahh welcome "Companions.  I've been expecting you.  Do come in..."

"That...would be Nethalika.  She wields the Darkness better then any of the other Shaiton.  Undoubtedly with the first crystal removed it wont be as easy this time."

Jharm throws the door wide and they head in.  Vee looks over the figure, noticing how similar but also polar opposite she looks compared to the Seraphs.  Her thoughts are interrupted though as the woman looks directly at her.

What are you hiding?  I sense something...

Vee tenses up, fighting against the mental invasion, feeling her own power bolstered by her seemingly silent companion.

Could it be?

But then Nethalikas eyes flash and Vee feels the invasion subside

"Anyways...one does not need to guess as to why you are here, so idle banter I would say is...unnecessary."

Nethalika then seems to blow a kiss in the groups direction as purplish smoke flows from her hand and down to the floor, rolling towards the party.  Without hesitation (and knowing if it will help) Vee once more activates the helmet of her suit, the metallic plates sliding up over her head and sealing. 

"Embrace Darkness!"

Dark orbs start falling towards Vee and the others.  Dashing towards the trio she disappears a moment later, reappearing behind the Nethalikas, perched on the top of the throne.  Pointing her guns downwards she unleashes a barrage of gunfire at the triple threat.