The Eye of Terror: The Labyrinthine Depths of Chaos (Part I)

[Faidth]

A barrage of autocannon fire is directed towards Faidth, but Soul Reaver's early interventions help to keep the majority of the projectiles at bay.

Suddenly, a throng of Bloodthirsters are unleashed upon the companions. One takes a direct route towards Faidth, its bloodstained, bronze axe glistening in the sickly reddish light permeating from the Eye. The creature brings its axe down upon Faidth, and the young Fyrellian, still aflame, deftly leaps backward, her Skeerya still spinning around her to reflect any indirect fire from stray rounds (Chaos and companion alike.)

Before Faidth can take an offensive, the Bloodthirster strikes at her with its whip, catching her around the leg and yanking her off her feet. Faidth lands hard upon her back, and the Bloodthirster reaches down with a massive, red, hand and seizes her around the throat, ignoring the flames that bite at its fingers. It answers Faidth's gasping breaths with a wretched sneer, before gleefully tossing her high into the air. It brings its axe forward to swat her out of the sky, but the creature finds itself swinging at air. The young Fyrellian is nowhere to be seen.

Faidth's teleportation allows her to appear in mid-air, behind the creature. Instinctively, she swipes at its massive, leathery wings with her skeerya, embedding the blades deep into the sinewy fibers within. She allows gravity to do the work for her and rakes the Skeerya through the wings as she descends towards the ground. The creature bellows in anger and violently shakes Faidth off its back, tossing her several yards away. She lands heavily upon the ground.

The wind knocked out of her, she clambers to her feet and turns her gaze to the Bloodthirster once again. She slams her clenched fist into the ground, looking to unbalance the beast. A gout of flame engulfs the ground before her and erupts with such force beneath the creature's feet that it causes the beast to stagger backward.

Faidth uses this opportunity to launch herself forward, towards the Bloodthirster's head. Her outstretched hand connects with the side of its head, activating her stun ability. Being an organic creature, the Bloodthirster is unable to counteract the stun, and falls to the ground with a groundshaking thud.

Faidth slams her Skeerya into the creature's throat, effectively severing its claim to life.

[Faidth]

GOD-MOD FOR SEPHER (#2)

Sepher continues to mow down lines of enemies with his blade, Crimson Wind. However, the sound of immense wings coming closer to him are impossible to miss, and he turns his face skyward in time to see a Bloodthirster descending upon him.

Sepher quickly resorts to his Daemonic Concentration Transformation and attempts to channel a daemon soul into his right arm. The creature attempts to resist Sepher, but his powers are far too great, and the subservient creature find itself contained in Sepher's arm. The Bloodthirster swoops downward, but Sepher leaps into the air, his outstretched, daemon-touched hand firmly connecting with the creature's torso.

 The Bloodthirster is unprepared for the sheer amount of force in Sepher's arm and is effectively knocked out of the sky by the devastating blow. The creature of Khorne slams into the ground, and Sepher wastes to time striking another heavy blow into the back of the creature's head. The Bloodthirster strikes at Sepher, knocking him away, and providing itself a few moments to regain its composure before renewing its assault. It quickly climbs to its feet and collects its battleaxe from the ground where it landed.

The Bloodthirster strikes forward with its axe and Sepher moves to dodge the blow. However, he is not expecting the battleaxe to be merely a feint, and he finds himself caught off-guard by the Bloodthirster's whip. Sepher's armor is able to soak the majority of the damage. However, the end of the whip manages to penetrate a weak point in his armor, leaving an unforgiving wound that spills blood down his side and splatters upon his armor.

Sepher watches as the battleaxe crashes down upon him, but he quickly sidesteps the blow. Instead, the axe slams into the ground, where the blade becomes buried in rock, rubble and ash. The Bloodthirster attempts to dislodge it, but Sepher seizes the battleaxe with his daemon inhabited hand, and with his immense strength, is able to tear it both out of the ground, and from the creature's grasp.

He turns the axe on its former owner, embedding the blade deep into the skull of the Bloodthirster before him. The sounds of tearing flesh and shattering bone add to the already deafening noise of the battle and Sepher scans the battlefield for the next challenge.   

[Cameron]

One by one, the Bloodthirsters fall to the companions. The sound of combat and unholy screams of rage come from the sky as the elementals and Assault Marines handle their Bloodthirsters in the air. Garr, Kari, and Karyl outnumber the three Bloodthirsters that were sent after them thanks to the flanking Assault Marines, and although 3 Marines fall, the daemons are sent crashing to the ground one by one in bloody heaps.

Kalana and her makeshift Terminator Assault Squad have just teleported out of the fray when a Bloodthirster arrives to claim her. The Bloodthirster knows the Terminators are armed with lightning claws, so he stays airborne and uses his whip to pick off the Terminators one by one. Each Terminator caught in the lash is swept up and hurled a great distance from the battlefield, where they die on impact with the ground. Swiftly losing four of her seven marines this way, Kalana takes action. She whips her sniper rifle from her back and loads a clip of shredder rounds, which are designed to do as much damage to flesh as possible. Kalana then swiftly and accurately pumps two rounds each into the sinewy tendons that connect the Bloodthirster's wings to his back. These shots are successful in rendering the wings useless, and the Bloodthirster crashes to the ground. The remaining Terminators leap into action and tear into the disoriented daemon with their matter-displacing weapons.

The assault wounds the creature but does not fell it. He quickly reorients himself and lashes out with his whip, knocking all the Terminators off their feet. He moves to slay them with his great axe, but Kalana is suddenly there before him. Having traded out her sniper rifle for her psy-blades, she turns aside the huge axe and cuts through the tendons in the wrist of the daemon's whip hand. This renders the hand useless. The whip falls harmlessly to the ground as the daemon roars in rage. He lashes out again with his axe but Kalana deftly dodges it. The marines regain their footing and attempt to press the assault, but the mad swings of the creature's axe forces them back. Kalana attempts to dart in for the killing blow but the daemon swings to one side and brings a cloven hoof into her midsection, knocking her to the ground.

The Bloodthirster cackles madly and raises his axe for the killing blow. As he begins the downward swing, Kalana places a hand to her forehead and hits the creature with a mind blast. The daemon reels from the psychic blow and the axe falls just wide. It is once again disoriented but still has the presence of mind to attempt another swing. This is interrupted by a Nemesis force halberd which takes the Bloodthirster's axe arm off at the elbow. The owner of the weapon is a Grey Knight Terminator who had just teleported in from another part of the battlefield. He leaps back and the rest of his squad tears into the crippled Bloodthirster with their own Nemesis weapons. They are quickly joined by kalana's remaining Terminators and their lightning claws, and soon there is nothing left but a bloody mess.

The Chaos Sorcerers in the back of the force are horrified. Never before had such a large force of greater daemons been loosed on a single battlefield, and never before had an opponent stood up to even a fraction of the power of such an assault. It was taking all the concentration and effort the sorcerers could muster just to keep the remaining Chaos forces from routing. Still unable to hail Abbadon or any of the other Lords, the commanding sorcerers make the only remaining logical choice. They order the Black Gate to open.

The screaming of metal melded with the screaming of the slaves who's flesh coated the Black Gate is enough to pierce the soul of everyone who hears it. The Gate grinds open slowly, being pulled along it's course by the outstretched mutated limbs of the lowest slaves melded to the gate. As it finishes opening, a terrifying sight can be seen just beyond. Three huge constructs of steel, cables, armor, and brass lurk just behind the gate. They rise in unison on their four piston-driven legs as skull-shaped heads with glowing violet eyes swivel to regard the battlefield spread out before them. The sorcerers release the spells and wards restraining the infernal warp creatures residing in the hull of each dread machine, and the multi-limbed death dealers leap into battle with horrible ear splitting screams. They trample their own forces in their frenzied rush to bring their huge crab-like pincers and spinning blades to bear on their eternal foe, and weapons bristling from almost every flat surface of the machines begin to spit bolter and las fire into the Space Marines. Huge battle cannons set under each Defiler's head open up, obliterating tanks and groups of marines alike. The Marines return fire, but the Chaos Sorcerers use all their remaining energy to erect and enforce their most powerful protection enchantments around the hulks of metal as they stride into melee combat. Bolter rounds and las blasts bounce harmlessly off the barriers and the Defilers continue unabated, crushing everything in their path. It will be up to the companions to stop them before their allies are routed.

[Soul Reaver]

 The last Bloodthirster falls beneath a mass of allied marines, their Nemesis weapons rising and falling, spraying the area around them with tainted blood.  The psychological impact of the allied victory on the Chaos forces was almost palpable.

But Soul Reaver's eyes narrow as the massive black gates open, and the three giant Defilers emerge from the gateway.  Explosions rock the ground and beams of concentrated heat and light hiss through the air.

The space marines' return fire, however, seems oddly ineffective.  A missile, though apparently dead-on target, detonates harmlessly against the Defiler's hull.  The towering machine does not even flinch, instead turning its baleful gaze on the offending marine before tearing him apart in a hail of assault cannon fire.

The Defilers were clearly reinforced with sorcery, and would stand up to far more punishment than usual.  A simple spell would likely be insufficient to stop their assault.

Soul Reaver's gaze is drawn involuntarily to his blade.  Yes, Blooddrinker would be more than sufficient to cleave through these enchantments and gut the metal beasts.  But with the massive amount of fire they were levelling, the real challenge would be getting close enough to use it...

Soul Reaver picks the Easternmost Defiler - the one closest to his position - as his intended target.  He runs toward it, zig-zagging across the crater-strewn battlefield, vaulting over the smoking hulk of a fallen dreadnought and leaping past the lifeless bodies of chaos marines.  A chaos terminator, still standing despite all the carnage around him, levels his assault cannon at the incoming Soul Reaver, only to be beheaded a moment later by Soul Reaver's blade.

Explosions rock the ground and hails of bolter fire fall around Soul Reaver, but his agility, magical protections, and the plentiful cover spare him from serious harm.  Finally, he judges himself to be in range, and slides into cover behind a huge granite boulder.

He would have to be quick, for the Defiler had likely noticed his position.  Sorcerous energies swirl around him as he completes a powerful Tremor spell, and slams the palm of his hand onto the ground.

The earth around the Defiler begins to shake and ruputure in a mighty, yet strangely localized earthquake.  With an earsplitting crack a huge fissure opens in the ground beneath it, and massive spires of rock jab randomly upwards at the same time as one half of the ground it is standing on tilts sharply and plummets several meters downwards.

Soul Reaver does not have the opportunity to judge the effectiveness of his tactic.  Hoping for the best, he makes a massive leap from behind the saftey of the boulder, intending to clear the remaining six metres to the Defiler in a single jump and bring Blooddrinker down upon its hopefully disoriented form.

[Veldanya Venalla]

Jharm watches as the remaining bloodthirsters are eliminated.  Their victory is shortlived though as the screech of metal and tortured wailing brings the Seraphim's focus onto the black gate as it slowly opens.  Out stride three metal monstrosities known as Defilers who promptly begin to lay waste to all around them.  He watches as the Space Marine fire seems to fail in harming the things.  Realizing that the sorcerers have probably shielded them he decides against attacking them with magic.  Focusing inward the holy being begins to chant, the head of his massive warhammer glowing brighter and brighter until it looks like it is composed solely of light.  Erecting a shield around himself to hopefully protect against most of the defilers attacks the Seraphic high above the battlefield until he is behind the Defilers.  He then streaks down towards the back of the center one,  aiming to bring the glowing head of his warhammer crashing down into the defilers twisted head.

[Danyael]

These blokes just didn’t know when to throw in the damn towel. Danyael sighed from deep within the earth as he watched through his senses as the metal monstrosities made their overtly dramatic presence known. He watched the hailstorm of energies vie for supremacy against each other as the Chaos sorcerers’ chants reverently spewed vile spells around the automatons. Danyael’s eyes watched the intensifying energies surrounding the beasts before finally realizing that the Sorcerers were doing more than reinforce them. They were subduing them as well. Truly was there more than meets the eye, as Danyael suddenly realized that the Defilers were more than just machines. There was something actually living within the armor of the titans themselves. Something alive, angry and incredibly violent. Daemons. What else could there be? And if Daemons were involved, then an entirely new tactic was called for.


What might get through energy defenses would be pulverised by either the pincers or the massive weapons the creature’s brandished. He could see no known weakness that could be felled by a direct, head on attack. But perhaps it was time for another test of defenses. Perhaps overusage of dreaded shows of power weren’t needed. Spellcraft, noteworthy as it was, may not indeed be the best approach for this sort of endeavor, calling for something of a simpler necessity. No brilliant displays of ethereal speed, no calling of old deities and greater hosts. No, perhaps it was time to, at least for the moment, keep it simple and see how far that goes.

Get back. Danyael’s mental voice called out to as many space marines as he could connect to, given the timing of the circumstances. He would probably be condemned once again for this, but it was something that needed to be done. And do it he would. He felt the rumble in the earth and the crackling of energies surge through the skies. He felt his companions make the first move, just as he felt the lives of the Chaos Marines being snuffed out by the stampeding Defilers. He watched through the battlefield that was now his cocoon, as the hurricane of powers looming around them thundered with energies clawing and lashing at each other. And all the while, he waited - then acted. Like the unfolding of hands, the earth directly beneath the third Defiler opened wide into a gaping, endless  maw below, leaving nothing for it to reach out for; nothing for it to clamp onto. Hopefully his marine allies would have gotten away in time, but he could not focus on them and their enemy at the same time. Not yet. All he knew was that either the Defiler would find a way to survive or it would plummet through the abyss in loneliness. One way or another, there would be a fresh strategy from it.

[Faidth]

   The gut-wrenching cries of the screaming souls bound to the gate pierce Faidth’s ears and cause her stomach to take a sickened lurch. She watches in horror inflicted fascination as the Defilers emerge from behind the gates and make their way onto the battlefield. The destruction that ensues is jarringly abhorrent.

   Faidth notices the Seraphim plummeting towards one of the Defilers and resolves to aid him. She barrels across the battlefield, leaping over dead bodies and weaving through enemy fire as she makes her way to her target.

   She feels her body being accelerated through the space between and finds herself teleported above the creature’s head. Before the Seraphim’s blow can connect, she presses her outstretched hand to the Defiler’s skull. She uses her stun ability with the intent of momentarily shorting out the creature, ensuring that it cannot defend against the Seraphim’s attack.

[Kitharsis]

Kitharsis sits entombed in sand and rock after his battle with the Bloodthirster. The chaos marines are hammering his location with fire now that the greater demon has been ground off this mortal coil. It will take quite a distraction to turn their attention away from him apparently.

Screams and grinding metal assault Kitharsis's ears as the gates drag themselves open. The fire assaulting his location subsides as the chaos marines prepare for what is coming. Unsettled, Kitharsis shakes off his sandy tomb and rises to his feet once again. 

The defilers burst through the gate and go on a rampage through their own troops. These walking death machines were a terrible bastardization of technology. With a sneer Kitharsis bends down and re-ties the strap on his jug over his shoulder. The remaining sand on the ground quickly pulls itself back into the welcoming mouth of the jug as the giant lumbers toward the defilers. 

Soul Reaver was dodging and ducking around the battlefield. The warrior was wasting no time to directly attack this newest threat. Kitharsis admires his vigor and begins trotting quickly after him, ducking and dodging as he tries to keep pace. The tremor spell is a perfect distraction and Soul Reaver is already leaping directly at the defiler by the time Kitharsis reaches the boulder. The Tirthandara crouches low behind the boulder and braces himself. 

A torrent of sand bursts from the jug at his back. It rises into the air and solidifies into a giant fist. Kitharsis smacks his own fist against his palm as the giant fist does the same to the Defiler. It's aim is the opposite side of the Defiler as Soul Reaver is assaulting. The heavy fist will deliver quite a blow if it connects. Solidified enchanted sand mixed with Kitharsis's will is a very potent combination. 

[Faidth]

Soul Reaver launches an attack against the easternmost Defiler. The ground erupts in a furious display of trembling earth and bone-crushing rock. The force of the focused earthquake is enough to knock the Defiler’s crab-like appendages from their stable footholds in the ground. As Soul Reaver, Blooddrinker in hand, closes the distance between himself and the Defiler and seeks to strike out at the exposed underbelly of the Chaos beast, something shifts in the creature’s undercarriage.

A whirring noise and loud series of clicks alerts Soul Reaver to danger as several mounted guns can be seen emerging from the creature’s once vulnerable abdomen. A flurry of shots explodes from the guns and the projectiles seek to tear Soul Reaver apart, and attempting to leave him a mangled bloody mess.

However, the well-timed interventions of Kitharsis culminate in some degree of success as a massive, sand-formed hand slams heavily atop the creature, collapsing half of the guns, and leaving the rest lacking a formidable amount of accuracy.
 
Meanwhile, a second Defiler raises its eyes to Jharm as he seeks to embed his warhammer upon the creature’s skull. Thoroughly distracted by the seraphim, the Defiler has no time to react to the shifting energy behind him and the light touch upon its skull. This sensation is followed by an intense amount of searing pain, and the creature roars before momentarily losing consciousness at the effect of Faidth’s Stun ability. Jharm’s warhammer connects with the creature’s skull, causing the Defiler to fall to its knees, as a foul mixture of blood and ichor seeps from its head.

However, it is not long before the creature regains consciousness and turns its full attention to its opponents once again. It swipes out with two of its massive, rending claws, one attempting to seize Faidth around the waist and sever her in two, and the other to rip apart the seraphim.

Danyael commands the united Space Marine forces to clear the area, and the majority commences a tactical withdrawal, though several allied forces are mowed down by enemy gun fire or the ravenous claws of the Defiler. Danyael’s attention is focused firmly upon his enemy and he uses his power to open a great, gaping maw beneath the Defiler. A look of what could almost be described as shock passes over the creature’s visage as it stretches out, its claws grasping for some kind of foothold. However, there is nothing to be found but open air and the creature begins to plummet downward.

Moments later, there is an earsplitting explosion and bright, flashing hues of red, orange and yellow flame erupt from the crater. The creature accelerates upward, the jet-propulsion system beneath its undercarriage in plain view as it blasts overhead and lands atop the black gates. Its appendages establish a firm grip on the gates as it spreads its claws wide and screams out a fierce roar. Simultaneously, the sounds of its Battle Cannon and Reaper Autcocannon can be heard across the battlefield as it mows down friends and foe alike.

[Soul Reaver]

In mid-air, Soul Reaver feels his stomach lurch sickeningly as he looks down and sees an array of guns sprout from the Defiler's undercarriage.  He only has a split second to regret his brash move, and then the weapons open fire.

The Protection from Missiles spell around Soul Reaver flares into an almost blinding white sphere as hundreds of shells impact on its rippling surface.  Behind it, Blooddrinker and the Somnus blades are a blur of movement, swatting and batting projectiles out of the air with a mind of their own.  A firey trail of sparks and splintered metal trails Soul Reaver as he plummets toward the Defiler.

Despite his best efforts, it is impossible to deflect all the incoming fire.  Many of them, deemed too inconsequential to bother parrying, graze Soul Reaver's face, arms and legs, or ricochet off his armour.  One, however, punches through his breastplate and into his lower right torso.  Another slams directly into his right kneecap, shattering it into pieces.

Fortunately, Kitharsis' timely intervention prevents any worse damage from occurring.  A massive fist of shifting sand crashes down onto the Defiler, squashing and bending most of its mighty guns.  Many are too damaged to continue firing, and two more explode as their bent barrels trap the explosive shells on their way out.  The impact momentary prevents the Defiler from properly aiming its remaining guns, and that moment is all that Soul Reaver needs to make his landing.

Swatting aside the few stray shells still headed in his direction, Soul Reaver lands right on top of the Defiler's exposed underbelly, in the midst of the sand-blasted guns.  Soul Reaver's face is a grimace of pain and blood sprays from his wounds onto its twisted metal bulk as he hits, but now he was in range.

Blooddrinker falls in a red arc, the blade hungering for destruction as Soul Reaver prepares to scour the weapon down the entire length of the machine.  He would gut this abomination where it lay!

[Veldanya Venalla]

Jharm feels his hammer connect with the skull of the Defiler, severly wounding it and temporarily knocking it out of commission...but unfortunately not long enough.  The Seraphim watches as the Defiler comes to and swing its massive claws at him and Faidth.  Quickly shielding himself and Faidth (not knowing whether her teleportation will occur or not) Jharm swings his hammer at the oncoming claw, hoping to cripple or at least stop it, while releasing a brilliant flash of light at the head of the Defiler, hoping to blind it.

[Daccio]

Sepher breathes deeply and with a sharp twist of his wrist, he dislodged the axe that was buried in the skull of the daemon. The skull of the slain deamon popped like a rotton melon, ichor dripping off the axe he plundered from the enemy.

In his right hand, he held crimson wind, the blade had formed back into its typical katana. In his left, the arm that was imbued with the demon, he held the bronze axe. He scanned the battlefield as blood ran down his side where he had been struck by the damn deamon.

He saw one of the defilers land on top of the black gate in a flurry of flame, and various armorments extended from it. It began to mow down allies.

"Enough" Sepher growled to himself. He started stepping towards the black gate and the deamon killing his allies. Faster he stepped before he found himself running. A well of energy formed in front of him, creating a shield of air. It was not a shield to stop bullets. It was a shield to divert them just enough to miss. It used much less energy that way and allowed sepher to put the energy where it needed.

He drew back the deamon transformed arm which held the bronze axe. Sephers muscle corded and he bellowed, putting every ounce of energy into his arm. With a bestial roar his arm snapped forward, releasing tons of pressure.

Sepher hurled the axe, the blade leveled with the skull of the beast that was gunning others down. The blade sung as it cut the air, on a deadly course of razor sharp metal.

He wasnt sure sure if he was going to hit, but he put every ounce of effort he had into the throw, and was determined to follow through. Power began to well in him as he charges towards the gate and the beast. He prepped a deamon transfomation that he hoped would help change this battle.

(ooc)

[Kitharsis]

Kitharsis winces with Soul Reaver as the multitude of weapons open fire on the leaping warrior.  In one fluid motion he unstraps his jug and leaps out from behind the boulder.  In the span of a blink he wields his warhammer in both hands as he charges towards his opponent.

Having connected with its target the giant sand fist crumples and cascades down the metal shell of the Defiler.  The sand falls with purpose as it seeks out the cracks in the Defiler's armor.  It collects at the joints of its legs and does its best to hinder the Defiler's movements.  The huge claws are given extra attention as more sand bursts out from the jug and targets the dangerous appendages.  Hopefully this is enough to both allow Soul Reaver to complete whatever he has planned, and to provide enough time for Kitharsis to approach the Defiler unharmed.

The Tirthandaran warhammer has been glowing intensely in Kitharsis's hands as he channels energy through it.  Soul Reaver, while wounded, is pressing his attack and tries to slice the Defiler down the middle.  Kitharsis seeks to add to this attack.  However successful Soul Reaver is with his slash, Kitharsis is intending to seal the deal.  He leaps in directly after Soul Reaver and delivers a heavy, energy charged blow to the middle of the cavity caused by Blooddrinker.  The power of the swing and the resulting explosion of pure Tirthandaran energy should be enough to render the Defiler fully incapacitated.

[Faidth]

The Defiler's claw reaches out for Faidth and she watches as the seraphim shields both himself and her from the blow. She sees him strike out with his warhammer and a brilliant flash of white light soon follows. Taking advantage of Jharm's attack, Faidth resorts to a hasty Atom Transfiguration. Her hand stretched out before her, she focuses her attention on dissecting the components of the Defiler. Her gaze falls to the powerful armaments upon the creature. The rounds in the creature's autocannon have the potential to explode, or at the very least, render the gun inoperable. Her eyes flash orange as the transfiguration takes effect and Faidth attempts to unbalance the creature by affecting its armaments.

[Cameron]

The first Defiler can do little more then swipe his claws ineffectively as Soul Reaver lands on it's exposed belly. Swiftly moving sand chokes the Defiler's gears and pistons as it struggles, and it can do nothing to defend itself. Soul Reaver's attack rips open a huge gash in the Defiler's undercarriage just as Kitharsis strikes with his overcharged hammer. The resulting explosion rips the Defiler apart and tosses Soul Reaver and Kitharsis clear of the wreckage.

Jharm's hammer blow cleanly knocks the second Defiler's claw clear of himself and Faidth. The Defiler roars in anger and turns all his guns on Jharm, opening fire. But Faidth's atom transfiguration kicks in at that exact moment. The Defiler's autocannon and many of his other guns explode suddenly and violently. The Defiler is rocked backwards and is temporarily defenseless.

Sepher's axe hurls through the air and impacts the magical shields surrounding the third Defiler. It is slowed briefly by the barriers, but it breaks through and impacts the Defiler's metal skull. Though it has been slowed down enough not to destroy it, the axe jams itself into the skull and temporarily blinds it. It flails around awkwardly, firing all it's remaining guns in random directions.

[Soul Reaver]

Defensive magics hiss and metal screams as Blooddrinker strikes true, bisecting the Defiler's armour plating as if it were ripe, hot flesh.  Teeth gritted, Soul Reaver clenches the hilt in both hands, violently ripping the blade along the Defiler's belly.  Sparks and dark flames erupt from the wound.  Soul Reaver ducks his head as a pained claw ineffectively slashes past just above him.

Then Kitharsis' hammer slams into the Defiler.  Its entire massive bulk lurches beneath Soul Reaver's feet, throwing him off balance, and then moments later, it explodes into a brilliant orange fireball.  The hot flames lick at Soul Reaver's heels as the shockwave throws him through the air.

Soul Reaver hits the ground about twelve metres from his original position, absorbing the impact with a skillful roll over his armoured shoulder and skidding to a stop amidst a cloud of grey dust.  His blood-speckled face quickly scans the battlefield to assess the situation.

The other two Defilers were stunned and damaged, so they would likely fall soon as well.  However, the Sorcerers who had summoned them... they would need to be dealt with.  Already they had unleashed Daemons and mechanical monstrosities upon him... whether they were about to call upon further horrors or attempt to flee, Soul Reaver was not inclined to let them live.

With most of the enemy force routed and the Defilers otherwise preoccupied, Soul Reaver had a clear view to the Black Gate where the Chaos Sorcerers are huddled.  Attempting to clear the distance on foot - particularly with his injured leg - would give the enemy too much time.  Other measures were required.

Soul Reaver focuses instead on the smoking, burnt-out wreckage of a tank near the gates and behind the sorcerers.  Picturing his destination in utmost detail in his minds eye, he speaks a few syllables of magic, and disappears in a blaze of red light.

The usual stomach-wrenching feeling of his Teleportation fades almost immediately as Soul Reaver drops half a metre out of thin air behind the tank.  If the Sorcerers had not detected his presence from his use of magic, they would surely notice him soon.  Soul Reaver draws back Blooddrinker, leans out from behind his cover, and hurls the sword like a boomerang at the gathered sorcerers.  The blade cackles faintly as it spins in a crimson disc, curving through the air towards its victims...

[Daccio]

Sepher hurtled towards the gate and the stunned defiler, ignoring the pain of his wounds, focusing his energy on the task ahead. Seeing the axe get through he magical defenses of the defiler on the gate, sepher knew what he had to do. He would become more powerful this day, and this defiler was his prey.

Drawing upon the concentration that afflicted his arm, sepher diverted the energy into his back. With a roar of pain, and a visile transformation, a pair of gigantic daemon wings sprouted from his back. The tearing of flesh can be heard to those in the vincinity as drops of blood fell to the ground.

Gripping Wind in his left hand, he leapt upwards, propelled by his run, hurtling towards to defiler on the gate. A burst of chaoticl energy issued forth from wind as he swung it, hopefully impeding the magical defenses enough that he could get through.

He drew back his empty right hand, and with a bellow, sepher slammed into the defiler, putting his hand to the metal exoskeleton.

The world went dark to sepher, as he drew on a power so feared and respected by daemons that they would go out of their way to kill him to stop him. He slowly drew his hand back and lightning arced between his hand and the defiler, sparks shooting off visible to those watching. With a sudden motion, he closed his fist and braced himself, as he attempted to pull the daemon soul from the defiler into his own body.

[Kitharsis]

Kitharsis's hammer crashes down and connects with the Defiler in a most satisfying manner.  The explosion results in a slight chuckle as the force of the blast pushes him into the air and away.  A clumpy, crumbling bowl of sand forms under and behind him to shield himself from some of the debris.

He lands rolling forward, encased in a sandy ball.  After a skip and a jump the rolling ball loses form and falls down around him as he comes to rest.  His ears are ringing and the sudden flash of the explosion has put spots in his eyes.  Blinking, he stands and shakes the sand out of his mohawk and the ringing out of his hears.

He feels Soul Reaver do some blinking of his own, and catches only a fading flash of red light where he once stood as he turns to look for him.

No time to stand around.

Sand dances and streams behind Kitharsis as he trots back over to his jug.  The strap is quickly tied and he takes off towards he Defiler on the wall's direction.  He knows Sepher is more than capable of taking down a Defiler.  The axe in the things head is evidence of that, but a little help never hurt anyone.

The random gunfire is quite a concern.  Bullets, rockets, and all sorts of other artillery spew into the battlefield. The barriers are still hampering ranged attacks, requiring another intimate encounter with these foul creations.

Piles of sand still litter the ground from a few moments ago, but having such a low reserve of energy leaves him few options.  Sepher's roar of pain paired with the sound of tearing flesh was startling, but intentional.  Kitharsis watches as the man sprouts wings and leaps into the air. 

Sepher flies towards the Defiler and slams into it.  The buildup of power between Sepher and the Defiler is immense.  He is doing something dangerous, and Kitharsis thinks better of being in the middle of it. 

But the Defiler isn't going to take it lying down.  Soul Reaver's face full of gunfire moments ago is evidence of that.  Mid stride Kitharsis unstraps the jug of sand from his back.  He holds tight to the worn leather cordage and uses the jug's momentum to swing it in an arc around him.  With a grunt he lets go and launches it into the air.  It careens towards Sepher and the Defiler, slamming into the barrier.  Upon impact the sand tears out and grinds through whats left of the magical shield.  If it gets through Kitharsis will direct it to clog this Defiler's joints and gun barrels like he had done just a few minutes ago.

[Veldanya Venalla]

Jharm watches as the Defiler's weaponry violently explodes.  Seeing an opening, the Seraphim launches himself at the machine before him, latching onto it while it is defenseless.  Closing his eyes he focuses as his hands beging to glow, the light seeping into the Defiler and almost hunting down the Warp Soul within as Jharm attempts to exorcise the metal behemoth, purging it of the vile evil that hides within.