The Three-Edged Sword: Rallying to War

[Shadow Chorus]

"Hahaha! This is what we like best!" The Warboss bellows as a new opponent launches themselves from a portal at him. As they approach, those spectral green arms form up around Gulgrim's form and brace themselves, catching the oncoming blades on their bulk and causing sparks to fly between the WAAAGH!!! Energy and the darkness of the greatswords. As the forces grind against each other in deadlock, Gulgrim leans forward, his massive, toothy maw getting mere inches from the armored face of his opponent, his grin growing even wider, if that were possible, before he uttered a single word, quietly, almost intimately, to his enemy.

"Boo."

At that, Gork's Teef and Mork's Teef sprang into Gulgrim's hands, and with a crackle of lightning, the Shoulder portions of Da Stompy Suit manifested on the Avatar's broad back, the paired deffguns and the twin Kustom Shootas roaring to life and unleashing a point blank fusillade into the Shaitan opponent while the spectral arms fended off the enemy's weapons. Bullets powerful enough to rip through ceramite sped blazingly across the devastatingly small gap between the two, and even as his fingers laid on the triggers, the Retractable bayonets on the paired shootas sprung forth, and Gulgrim lunged both of his physical arms forward, intending to impale his opponent even while torrenting fire directly into its body.

There would be no dancing around each other or fancy spellwork for the Avatar of Gork and Mork. There was fighting to be done, and it was time to get stuck in.

[Fallen Templar]

The Companions' initial assault on the guardian proved to have little effect, it simply teleported away and started drawing power from the crystal. Jharm's follow-up attack on the crystal itself yielded some result, however brief. There, that must be the weak link in the chain that bound both crystal and guardian. But putting the theory into practice wasn't going to be such a simple matter...

Phaerys took a step back as one of several portals opened up beside him, with a copy of the guardian storming out almost immediately after. He had to give himself a sudden, sharp gravitic pull backwards to narrowly avoid getting cleaved in twain by the oncoming greatsword. As he did so, the Ataran flung his handful of superheated alloy shards toward the guardian's head.

If brute force from the others had been insufficient, he could at least try to slow it down, buy himself enough time to lend aid in destroying the crystal. Without a proper melee weapon of his own, Phaerys had little choice but to propel himself further away and give himself a precious moment or two to act.

Aiming at the guardian's legs, Phaerys launched a volley of focused plasma beams. The heat was more than enough to melt most metals. One good hit in the knee joint would likely weld it in place, unable to move.

[Veldanya Venalla]

The Warbosses bullets strike true, the sound of the impressive firearms bellowing throughout the large chamber, echoing off the walls and creating what could only be considered a glorious "song" to the Warchief as his target is blasted full of gaping holes before being impaled by Gulgrims physical arms.  At the same time Kitharsis' swords clanging loudly against the incoming greatswords, the sound though covered up by the veritable cacophony of Gulgrims onslaught.  The third sword surges forward just as the figure loses his footing in the swirling sand beneath him, the weapon punching through his chest.  A spurt of dark shimmering ebony blow sprays out from behind him as the tip of the sword exits his body.  The greatswords of the figure attacking Phaerys swing downwards but the super-heated shards spray over his helmet, the heat transfering to the metal helm and while not doing an overly significant amount of damage, clearly succeeds in the intent as his weapons miss their mark and cleave down into the stone floor, leaving large gouges in the architecture.  The figure has little time to regain his bearing as beams of plasma slam into his legs.  The dark ebony metal of his armor begins to glow, almost turning into an orange-reddish hue as his head rolls back and a howl of pain echoes from within his helm.

It is roughly at this moment that Soul Reaver manages to briefly overpower his opponent and unleash the Spear of the Apocalypse.  The glowing spear whistles through the air, smashing into the pulsating crystal and light floods the area, blinding all present.  A few seconds later the light fades to reveal the crystal still standing but a significant chunk missing from the structure.  Then cracks begin to spread from the gouge and spread over the ebony crystal before it explodes, a wave of darkness now washing through the area.  As the wave hits each of the figures (or what is left of them) they seem to melt away, being sucked back towards the point of the explosion.  While each of the Companions can feel the Darkness wash over them it doesnt seem as if it impacts them much.  The same can not quite be said for Jharm or Veldanya. 

The Seraphim groans in pain as the wave washes over him, the usual glow of Light from within him fading away briefly.  Grunting he slams a hand down into the stone as pain washes over him.  On the other hand the opposite effect seems to happen with Veldanya.  As the wave washes over her, her figure seems to almost shimmer slightly, a faint outline of ebony darkness glowing around her before seeming to almost fade into her.  As the explosion of Darkness fades away it becomes clear that the crystal is gone, only the very base of hte structure remaining.  Floating above the destroyed base is the Shaiton warrior.  Raspy breaths of exertion slip out of his helm as drips of oily black fluid leak from gouges in his armor.

"Ahh...w....well done I must say.  It has been quite some time since I have witnessed such power and ferocity."

An ebony portal appears behind him as a large shadowy hand springs from within it and seizes the Shaiton and yanks him back in.  A deep voice seems to boom out from all around, piercing into each of the Companions minds, all can easily sense significant power as the voice invades their minds.

"Yes....well done "Companions".  You have managed to destroy a crystal, though this matters little in the end.  You can not hope to defeat the only true and proper answer, but please...keep trying.  She awaits you at the next one."

Then with that the voice vanishes and the room is left almost eeriely quiet in comparison to how it was a few moments ago.  Taking a few deep breaths Jharm gets back to his feet, looking around.  His glowing eyes settle on Veldanya as the ebony glow fades away.  Confusion flashes across his face before he refocuses. 

"Well done my friends, with this crystal destroyed my people can now more easily advance closer on our target."

His eyes close briefly before reopening and looking over each of the Companions. 

"The others will tend to what needs done here.  Our goal is to, in essence, repeat the process at the next fortress and crystal.  That said I doubt it will be as simple.  The fact that the Darkness stated "she" leaves little doubt to who we will face next.  The one we faced just now was Dervagon, the General of the Shaiton forces.  Our next opponent will undoubtedly be Nethalika, the Ebony Mistress.  As Nethanya is the leader of the priests of Light, Nethalika leads the priests of Darkness."

He turns back towards the door they entered through, once more glancing over at Veldanya for a moment before heading out of the room.

"Come, we have little time to waste.  Every moment we tary is another moment that He has to draw closer to fully returning.  Vee, call in the Aisgeim and let us be on our way."

--------------------------------------------------------------Vee's PoV------------------------------------------------------------
As the wave of Darkness washes over her she tenses, unsure of what to expect given that it clearly hurt Jharm but seemed to do little to the other Companions.  Instead, she feels not discomfort or pain but...a slight surge of power as if....she is taking the Darkness into her?  She looks over and sees the Seraphim gaze at her, a flicker of confusion on his face before he begins speaking.  Ignoring what he is saying she focuses inwards, scanning.

What is going on?  Why are you not answering?  None of this makes any sense.  Answer me damn it!

A single word flits through her mind.

Soon...

She scowl slightly as she returns to listening to what Jharm was saying.

"Come, we have little time to waste.  Every moment we tary is another moment that He has to draw closer to fully returning.  Vee, call in the Aisgeim and let us be on our way."

She nods, focusing inwards as she moves to follow the Seraphim outside and to the waiting Aisgeim.  As the group make their way outside they see the vessel waiting, entry ramp open, engines idling as she sits ready to take off the moment all are aboard.

[Soul Reaver]

There is a small sense of relief for Soul Reaver as his plan works, with cracks rapidly spreading over the crystal's structure.  Apparently there was a limit to the crystal's self-repairing powers, as he had hoped.

When the crystal erupts into a wave of darkness, that feeling is momentarily replaced with feelings of rage and hate - almost involuntarily, Soul Reaver lunges forward to skewer the opponent that, in that same instant, has melted away into little more than insubstantial vapour.

Though the feeling is only momentary for Soul Reaver, and he senses the spiritual effects as brief flickers for most of his companions, the same cannot be said for Jharm.  Even without his abilities, Soul Reaver would have been able to see Jharm fall to his knees from the effects and give a grunt that sounded like he was in physical pain.  Natural, perhaps, that Jharm would be so affected: after all, the energies released must have been the complete antithesis of his being.  More concerning perhaps however was how the wave seemed to impact upon Veldanya: not only did it do her no harm, but she almost seemed to absorb it, like a body of water might absorb a smaller drop.  Almost imperceptibly, Soul Reaver's brow draws into a frown.

When the wounded Shaiton general speaks, Soul Reaver's attention snaps to him.  The destruction of the crystal had not taken this foe with it.  But before Soul Reaver can act, their foe is spirited away by a dark hand.  Soul Reaver listens to the taunting voice, and his expression darkens: there was no doubt this was not the last they had seen of this particular enemy.  Even without his continued survival, the remaining crystals were likely to pose a larger challenge - the addition of a now vengeful and likely better-prepared Shaiton general would only serve to make things even harder.

As Jharm calls on the the companions to rejoin them on the Aesgim, Soul Reaver quietly walks up next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.  He speaks quietly.

"Jharm, I saw the effect of the crystal's destruction on you.  We seemed to weather it without major effects but..."

He leave the thought hanging for a moment.

"As you said, this is a process that we will need to repeat.  Will you suffer similarly in the future?  Or worse?  Should you even be present when we destroy these crystals?"

Without speaking, Soul Reaver then communicates to him more subtly.

And I am sure that the effects of the dark energy wave upon Veldanya did not escape your attention either.  What do you make of that?

By then he has arrived at the Aesgim, where his Daemonic cohort already await him.  They seem to have weathered the assault rather well, with only moderate injuries amongst the Cruelbeasts - the Daemonspawn, with their regenerative abilities, held back the bulk of the assault under Blightwing's capable direction.  Thanks to the speed of their success, Soul Reaver felt he could keep the Daemons around for the next assault as well.  Once more he Discorporated them into black mist and with a wave of his hand had them take up their swirling position in the rear of the craft.

Meanwhile he looked over at Jharm, one eyebrow raised, silently prompting him for answers...

[Veldanya Venalla]

The Seraphim pauses briefly as he feels the hand on his shoulder.

"Jharm, I saw the effect of the crystal's destruction on you.  We seemed to weather it without major effects but..."

He pauses for a moment before continuing.

"As you said, this is a process that we will need to repeat.  Will you suffer similarly in the future?  Or worse?  Should you even be present when we destroy these crystals?"

The Seraphim looks at his friend for a moment.

"I appreciate your concern Soul Reaver.  It was...an uncomfortable experience and not entirely unexpected.  Such crystals generally consist of condensed Light or Darkness, of course dependent on the side creating it.  In truth, I am not concerned as much about the crystals themselves really.  Given how things are already seemingly progressing this has already gone beyond what we have before."

He moves as if to continue onto the Aisgeim when Soul Reavers mental message comes through.

And I am sure that the effects of the dark energy wave upon Veldanya did not escape your attention either.  What do you make of that?

His gaze shifts to the ground for a moment before an ever so subtle shrug can be felt by Soul Reaver before the Seraphim contiues towards the Aisgeim and boards even as his response can be heard.

In truth....I do not know.  When we started I thought I knew...but now...well...I am no longer certain.  It is clear though that something seems to be in motion that I had not initially expected.

His gaze briefly flicks over to the newcomer as she slips past him, heading up the ramp and into the ship.  As she passes by she raises her right hand, a cigarette manifesting betwen two of her fingers as she almost seamlessly brings it up to her lips and snaps her thumb and forefinger of her left hand together to produce a flame and light the end.  Pausing for a moment she takes a deep inhale and holds it for a moment as the flame at her fingertips fades before she rubs her forehead and exhales.  A thick plume of smoke slips free as she briefly gazes over at the two and then heads further into the ship.

[Kitharsis]

As the wave of darkness passes through them Kitharsis feels an all too familiar feeling prickling his skin.  It passes just as quickly.  A fleeting reminder of his all too recent past, faint as it was. 

The copy of the armored guardian melts away in front of him, and Kitharsis lowers his weapons.  The floating swords return to his side, and the sand at his feet coalesces around him.

The guardian utters a remark, before being pulled into a portal behind him.  Another being mocks them, before vanishing also.  It appears they have caught the Shaiton's attention.

Jharm explains who these beings are after he recovers from the darkness.  It appears to have affected him more than the rest.  Except for Valdanya.  She appears to have had the reverse affect from the darkness.  An interesting development that will need to be watched.  After all, she was a newcomer with unknown origins.  A spy, perhaps?

He doesn't allude to any suspicion, as he follows Jharm back toward the Aisgeim.  Soul Reaver asks the questions on Kitharsis's mind.  He listens intently to their exchange.  As they switch from words to thoughts, he sighs and continues on his way.  He trusts their judgements, as always.

Outside of the base Kitharsis is met by the remnants of his summons.  The giant scorpion still stands proudly, its armored carapace having protected it assuredly.  The smaller golems did not fare as well, evidenced by two piles of sand scattered on the ground.  Only one of the pair of smaller scorpions has survived as well.  It stands guard of its twin even now.  The large golem was missing an arm, but still stands at the ready.

Kitharsis thanks each of them, and with a wave of his hand dismisses them all.  They return from where they were summoned.  They all will be returned whole, as is the nature of these summoning runes.

As he boards the Aesgim he digs through the rune pouch at his hip, selecting the next round of combatants.  The next base will likely be more fortified.

"Now that they know we're coming, the next base will most likely be more heavily guarded.  This Nethanya will surely see to that.  What is the plan for our approach this time?"

[Soul Reaver]

Jharm's first reply elicits Soul Reaver to answer with an empathic hand on his shoulder.

"Let us know if the burden becomes too much.  We can carry it for you."

The reply to his second, mentally-asked question is more terse and strained.

I see.

It sounds like Soul Reaver has made up his mind about something.

As everyone files into their positions in the Aesgim, Soul Reaver addresses Veldanya directly.

"My lady, you have our thanks for your skillful assistance in this battle.  It is an honour to fight alongside you."

He gives a slight bow before straightening up again.

"However, I could not help noticing that when the Shaiton's crystal erupted, it released a surge of negative energy that washed over us, evoking momentary feelings of dark rage and hostility... except for Jharm, who the energy seemed to outright injure..."

Soul Reaver's gaze is unwavering but betrays no emotion.

"...and you, who seemed to absorb the energy into yourself.  I am sure you can understand my concerns in this regard.  Do you know - or suspect - why this might have been the case?"

[Shadow Chorus]

Gulgrim is almost disappointed that his opponent didn't have more fight in him. Overall this skirmish had been disappointingly brief, and the Avatar of Gork and Mork grumbled to himself as he reboarded the Aisgeim. At least the next fight wouldn't be too long in the offing. Having figured out where he had dropped from last time, the Warboss took up position there again, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for everything to get moving.

Idly, he began to check his weapons and tinker with his kit, pulling a spanner and welding torch seemingly from nowhere and beginning to make adjustments to his Cybork right arm. It was clear that the Warboss was right-handed in most of his mannerisms, but he seemed to have little trouble using his left hand to perform work on his right, nor did he seem to have need of eye protection as sparks flew from the work he was performing, tuning up the responsiveness and adjusting some of the finer details of his metallic limb.

Even in moments dreadfully lacking in combat, a true Warboss is never idle. Always preparing for the next fight.

[Fallen Templar]

Phaerys braced himself for the wave of darkness to hit. To his surprise, it harmlessly passed through him, save for the brief flicker of frustration over a duty left undone. The guardian's copies - on the other hand - had seemingly shared the crystal's fate, and the guardian itself had been pulled away to who knows where. The Ataran suspected that they would face it again before long. Jharm's own knowledge of this and other figures in the Shaitan leadership would prove invaluable in taking the next fortress.

As for the Seraphim himself, both he and Veldanya had been noticeably affected by the wave of darkness, albeit in different ways. As a native of this dimension, it was only natural for Jharm to be the most susceptible to any ill effects. But what of the gunslinger? If anything, she appeared to have absorbed this energy.

The more of these crystals they had to destroy, the more likely this could become a major issue. But if Soul Reaver had faith in Jharm, Phaerys was content to trust his judgement, at least for now. There was time enough to devise a contingency for if the worst should come to pass.

For now, they needed to press the advantage while they still could. Phaerys followed Jharm back to the Aisgeim and hurriedly ascended the ramp. Once inside, he began sorting through the combat data against the guardian in preparation for their next encounter. He looked up from his work when Kitharsis voiced his concerns in actually getting there.

"If our only goal is to destroy the next crystal, we may have to quickly bypass their defences and avoid a prolonged battle," replied Phaerys. From a dimensional compartment he retrieved one of the seismic charges he had created earlier and inspected the device. "I am able to assist in breaching the walls, however there is still the matter of holding off their ground troops. Can we still expect reinforcements of our own?"

[Veldanya Venalla]

Veldanya pauses as Soul Reaver speaks to her.

"My lady, you have our thanks for your skillful assistance in this battle.  It is an honour to fight alongside you."

He bows slightly to her, her gaze settling on him as she takes a drag on her cig as she almost seems to expect the next part.

"However, I could not help noticing that when the Shaiton's crystal erupted, it released a surge of negative energy that washed over us, evoking momentary feelings of dark rage and hostility... except for Jharm, who the energy seemed to outright injure...and you, who seemed to absorb the energy into yourself.  I am sure you can understand my concerns in this regard.  Do you know - or suspect - why this might have been the case?"

She gazes down at her free hand, darkness faintly wafting off of it, looking akin to dark black smoke almost. Her lips part as if she is about to speak but then she seems to hesitate.

Why?  You are preventing me...and I demand to know...why?

She receives silence in respones.  To Soul Reaver she gives a slight shrug.

"I have...my suspicions but nothing for certain."

She takes a final drag on her cigarette before letting it slip from her fingers, the butt crushed beneath the toe of one of her boots before she looks to Jharm.

"Im going to head up to the cockpit and get us to the next one as fast as possible."

She then turns and makes her way further into the ship.  Jharm turns back to the Companions, looking to Kitharsis and then Phaerys.

"Yes, undoubtedly Nethalika will be ready and waiting for us as our assault on the first fort has demonstrated our capabilities.  That said, there isnt much alternative open for us other then battle.  Phaerys, your offer of wall breaching is gladly accepted as we will undoubtedly be reaching the fort before the bulk of our forces arrive to assist like they did here."

Just then a voice enters Jharms mind, the voice belonging to General Drayvon.

Seraphim, we are advancing towards the second fort but something is not right here.  While we are still facing some resistance, it is clear that the bulk of the Shaiton forces have begun pulling back.  The advanced scouts are reporting that it seems like they are reforming at the second fort.  This is concerning...

I agree.  Advance the army with all possible speed, myself and the others will travel on the Aisgeim as before.  If the Shaiton are indeed pulling back as fully as you say, exploit the opening to create portals as close as possible so reinforcements from the city  can march in ahead of you.

It shall be done Seraphim!

Jharm looks between the Companions.

"It would seem my friends, that the Shaiton forces are rapidly withdrawing and reforming at the second fort.  While this does mean that my people are rapidly advanding and likely will reach the fort sooner then initially anticipated, it is also concerning.  Never before have we seen the enemy do such a thing. It's as if they WANT us to reach the fort?"

He looks around, verifying that all of the Companions are on board.

Vee, we are all on board, get us into the air and to the second fort with all possible haste.

The cargo doors raise up as the engines of the Aisgeim spin up and the vessel lifts into the air. it takes off, screaming through the sky.  Far below, the Seraph forces rapidly march, advancing onwards even as winged Seraphs fly overhead and land, creating portals almost within eyesight of the Shaiton forces.  The Aisgeim draws nearer to the fort, display monitors attached to the walls showing the Shaiton army lined up just in front of the fort, ranks going back tenfold, the frontline equipped with large tower shields, forming an almost solid wall of blackened metal as they seem to await the arrival of their opponents.  They do not have long to wait as Seraph forces pour from the portals and soon enough, white steel crashes against the blackened "wall".  As before, crystals erected on the roof of the fort glow brightly as they fire beams through the air, targetting the advancing Ork warships.  Strangely though, it seems like, unlike last time, the crystals are not targeting the Aisgeim as it approaches.  The gates of the fort are visible but standing in front are two gigantic figures that look almost humanoid in shape.  Their forms seem to almost be crafted out of the same black steel that the Shaiton arms and armor are, giant purple crystals where eyes would be (for a humans face) and dark green gems look to be embedded in the giants palms.

"Damn, those are Siege Golems.  Their strength almost matches my own, their steel forms reinforced both physically and magically.  Those eyes of their work similar to the crystals, emitting blistering beams of Darkness, while those green gems upon their palms can generate vile gases, causing those who breathe it to suffer an excruciating death as they struggle to breathe even as their body is melted away.  The troops around them are of little concern but we must disable the golems with all possible haste as they would almost certainly seek to follow us into the fort and facing them as well as whatever Nethalika likely has waiting for us within would be problematic to say the least.  It would seem best for us to drop in as before, focusing all that you have on those golems.  Phaerys, if able, do what you can to take the doors down so once the golems are felled we can immediately head in.  Vee, I am assuming you are listening in, same as before and join us as soon as you can."

From the speakers Vees voice is heard:

"Sounds good to me, with those crystals seemingly ignoring us, I should be able to drop you right on top of those things."

The Companions can feel the Aisgeim shift sharply as it screams towards the fort and then banks.  As at the last fort, the klaxon rings out sharply a few moments before the hatch slides open, allowing the Companions to depart and unleash their assaults upon the Golems and Shaiton below.

[Kitharsis]

It appears that the Shation forces were pulling back, something they have not done in the past.  The Companions certainly have their attention.  Whatever waits for them at this fort will not be a pushover.

The hatch slides open with the sounding of the klaxon.  Tenfold rows of Shaiton stand before them, with two large siege golems standing guard at the gates to the fort.

Kitharsis charges forward, blazing sword in one hand.  The other grabs a handful of runes from one of his pouches.  As he nears the solid black metal shield wall he leaps into the air and whips his hand in an arc.  Runestones spray across a wide section of the Shaiton in front of him.  He lands and plants his feet, his floating swords deftly working to deflecting any projectiles coming his way.  This will take a moment of concentration.

The runestones bounce off metal Shaiton armor and shield, filtering down between the soldiers.  With a grunt Kitharsis clenches his fist, surging power through the many runestones.  Flashes of yellow energy ripple through the Shaiton ranks as massive amounts of sand explodes outwards from each of the runes.  This breaks apart the tight ranks of the Shaiton forces, ruining the solid protection of their shield wall, and allowing both the Seraph forces and the companions a chance to advance.

Kitharsis wastes no time and leaps into the sand covered battlefield, widening the gap in the Shaiton defense's.  He purposefully advances toward the fort, and the two siege golems.

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver watches intently, taking silent note of Vee's hesitation before answering.  After Vee leaves to go to the cockpit, Soul Reaver's brows furrow into a scowl and he turns to look over at Jharm, glancing at the others through the corner of his eyes as well.

"A rather evasive answer.  I would have liked to hear more of those 'suspicions'.  I suggest we remain vigilant."

Soul Reaver listens as Jharm outlines the coming conflict with Nethalika, then withdraws to his thoughts as the Aesgim launches and approaches the fort.

As soon as they arrive, Soul Reaver follows Kitharsis out of the hatch and lands behind him as he opens up a breach in the Shaiton shield wall.  He wastes no time charging forward into that breach before it can reform, Blooddrinker in one hand deflecting incoming projectibles and cleaving foes in two, while his other projects a blast of lightning that leaps through multiple shield-wielding opponents in a row, throwing the defenses into even greater disarray.

Following swiftly behind him are his Daemonic minions: the Steelheart, Fire Demon and Blightwing the Shadowlord acting as spearhead while the remaining Lesser Daemons act as a wedge, widening the path and maximizing the chaos left by Soul Reaver's brutal charge.

[Fallen Templar]

Phaerys gave Jharm's suggestion due consideration. He gave a nod in response to the Seraphim, protectively cradling the seismic bomb in one arm and awaiting the signal to deploy.

"Understood. I shall do what I can."

When the klaxon sounded, Phaerys was hot on the heels of Kitharsis and Soul Reaver as they exited the Aisgeim. The siege golems' poison gas might not have concerned him, but the rays of darkness and their sheer bulk were still enough of a threat. He resolved to give them a wide berth if possible en route to the walls.

With a substantial breach already made in the Shaiton shield wall, Phaerys rushed in and lent his own aid to the assault. In ones and twos, several Shaiton soldiers parted company with the ground before being slammed back down to crush their fellows with amplified gravitic force. Phaerys carefully coordinated these impacts to help clear a path towards the fort itself.

The Ataran advanced along this path, mindful not to stray too far from his allies lest he get cut off from them. Any Shaiton who would have been near enough to lash out at his metallic form would find themselves also being used as improvised ammunition to break the blockade.

[Shadow Chorus]

While the others may concern themselves with fortifications and the masses of the enemy, Gulgrim was as ever only concerned with one thing; krumpin' the biggest and baddest enemy on the field. Heedless of the lesser Shaiton forces as he launches himself from the Aisgeim's hold, Gulgrim flashes with green energy as he craters the ground on impact, sending lesser enemies flying as he emerges from the smoke of his impact adorned in the Stompy Suit, the bulky, tank-like warsuit the Warboss only wore when he -really- wanted to blast something apart.

Ignoring the attacks of lesser foes deflecting off the plates of his armor, Gulgrim turned the full firepower of the Stompy Suit on the first of the Siege Golems to meet his gaze. Devastating walls of fire, of every type the Orks can conceive, hurtle down range at the massive construct. Enormous bullets, hissing blasts of plasma and searing lasers split the air between Gulgrim and his prey, and as he stomps forward his scissoring Power Klaw, Da Rippa, cleaves through the ranks of any lesser Shaiton foolish enough to attempt to stand in his way as he charges. His building battle-lust manifests as well in the crackling energy field around him, iconic to the Warboss at this point, which sizzles and spears nearby enemies with energy of its own volition, turning the Warboss into a one-ork battering ram, cutting a swathe through the weaker foes as he advanced towards his chosen enemy.

"I iz da Avatar o' Gork an' Mork!" The Warboss bellowed, his voice carrying over even the din of his own warsuit."An' I iz made fer fightin' an' winnin'!"

[Veldanya Venalla]

The wall of Shaiton defenses collapses under the barrage of sand and daemon, others being launched about by Phaerys' gravitational assault.  The siege golems are another thing though.  The two large figures lock their "gaze" on the Companions as they release something akin to a wailing screech.  The one focuses on Gulgrim before it is assailed by a veritable wall of various projectiles, its body shuddering as it endures the assault but not faltering.  Its eye gems pulse a briliant purple before thick purple beams blast out towards the Warboss, while at the same time the fingers of its hands spread out and plumes of thick green gas start to seemingly flow out of the green gems embedded in its palms.  The other golem turns towards Kitharsis and Soul Reaver.  One eye gem beam blasts out at Kitharsis while the other eye gem targets Soul Reaver as its palm gems also seep out the green gas.  The Shaiton around the golems seem unphased by the gas, but the few advancing Seraphs that it washes over clearly are not.  The angelic warriors scream out in pain as the toxic miasma seems to begin to burn their skin.  They drop their weapons, grasping at their throats and, those that arent immediately cut down by the Shaiton, collapsing to the ground spasming before going still.

The Seraphim growls at seeing this.  He extends a hand, a shield of light manifesting a few feet in front of him.  The gas flows against the shield, unable to pass through the shimmering surface, giving the Seraphs behind the shield time to retreat backwards.

"Seraphs, fall back!  Leave them to us!  My friends, do not let the toxin touch you!"

Vee meanwhile grimaces at the sight and shakes her head slightly.

"Gas warfare...I know the terror of it all too well."

Some text seems to briefly flash across her eyes before suddenly metal plates start to extend out from her chest armor, sliding upwards and over her head and downwards, under her boots, leaving her now fully encased in the suit, two dark blue glowing eye plates being the only discernible feature.  Her voice sounds altered, as if speaking through a mask or something.

"I suppose my lessons at home shall prove beneficial here."

She slips her hand cannons from their holsters as she seems to step backwards, vanishing into the shadows.  Appearing a moment later above the siege golem going after Kitharsis and Soul Reaver she lands on its head, both gun barrels pointing downwards as she unloads a barrage of rounds targetting its head and those eye gems.

[Soul Reaver]

A lance of darkness spears toward Soul Reaver from one of the Siege Golem's eyes.  Unfortunately, Blooddrinker is currently caught half-way through a hulking Shaiton warrior, and Soul Reaver is unable to wrench the weapon out in time to deflect it.  He raises the palm of his gauntleted left hand instead and the beam strikes it full-on.

The Black Steel Gauntlets spark as the beam blazes into a dark corona from the point of impact.  Soul Reaver grits his teeth: even within the enchanted metal he can feel the skin on his hand blistering.  But he only needed that moment - Blooddrinker is pulled free with a wet sucking sound and the flat of the blade intersperses itself between Soul Reaver and the beam, its enchantments more than capable of withstanding the blast.

Over the screaming sound of the impact and the blazing darkness, Soul Reaver manages to see the green gases creeping toward him and hear Jharm's warning.  Even as Vee turns her attentions to the Golem attacking him, Soul Reaver closes his eyes and chants the words to a powerful Druidic spell.

The skies above fill with rolling black cloud... and a wall of air surges from behind Soul Reaver, whipping up debris and pebbles, carrying with it scattered drops of icy rain.  A magical storm blasts forward, whipping Soul Reaver's cape and hair in front of him, and, hopefully, driving the gas away from the Seraphim forces.

Then, there is a blinding flash and deafening boom as a bolt of lightning bridges earth and sky, spearing down onto one of the golem's outstretched hands!

Beneath his feet, the ground begins to tremble...

[Kitharsis]

One of the siege golems focuses its attention on Soul Reaver and himself.  Apparently with its attention comes a thick purple beam blasting their way.  Kitharsis raises his right first in front of him.  A wave of sand rises before him, obstructing the purple beam of energy.  Knowing this wouldn't deflect the whole blast, Kitharsis quickly channels energy to the back of his right hand.  A pattern of a shield appears on his skin, which quickly materializes. 

As the beam pierces through the sand barrier Kitharsis deflects the rest of the blow with the glowing shield of energy.

But as soon as that threat was averted, the golem spews out thick clouds of green gas.  Realizing the threat, Kitharsis halts in his tracks.  Luckily Soul Reaver cast a spell with wind attempting to drive away the toxic gas.

The green gems appear to be the source of the gas.  Dealing with them should stop the toxins from being released.

Kitharsis braces his right arm with his left and focuses energy into his right palm.  The shield pattern is gone from the back of his hand, and instead a large circle appears on his palm.  With a grunt a thick beam of energy rivaling the golem's blasts toward the golem's hand.  Followed quickly by another targeting the other hand.

[Shadow Chorus]

Gulgrim's grin only widens as the enemy returns fire at him. As the golem's eyes begin to glow, the massive Warboss slams a foot to the ground, force and bolts of Green energy ripping up a chunk of rock to intercept the incoming beam. Though the bulk of the stone would not deter the blast, it delayed it long enough that once it bore through the obstacle, Gulgrim was no longer standing in its path. The Warboss stood to the side, burning green flame beginning to swell around his frame in response to the spreading gas, a burning shield sheathing the Warboss, sparking and popping wherever the gas grew close to him, turning him into a blazing silhouette as he charged through the battlefield, rushing toward the Golem. As he surged forth, bits of metal and scrap seemed to drop out of the wreath of flames, the heavy pieces of Gulgrim's armor falling away to grant him speed and mobility, Deffguns and heavy plates falling away only to vanish into the ether behind the Avatar.

Building up speed, Gulgrim's charge eventually reached a crescendo as, with a bellowing roar, the Warboss kicked off the ground and launched himself, a blazing green meteor of destruction, towards the chest of his opponent Golem, a semi-physical, semi-energy comet blazing the distance, raw destructive energy aiming to punch a hole through Gulgrim's enemy, or failing that, drive them to the earth so that the Warboss could pummel them into submission. All the while, like a warning of doom, came the Warboss's bellowing cry.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!"

[Fallen Templar]

As Phaerys continued to carve a path through the Shaiton, the vibrations of titanic footsteps alerted him that the Siege Golems were moving to directly engage the Companions in battle. The Ataran himself was beneath their attention for the moment, and so he advanced towards the wall, mindful of the collateral damage the Golems' weapons could inflict.

Completely lacking an organic physiology, Phaerys was unaffected by the toxic gas that had brought such an agonizing death to the Seraph troops in front. He glanced back to see that the rest had fallen back, under Jharm's protection. This was good, thought Phaerys. He did not wish to risk harming them if his hypothesis proved correct.

A pair of his arms outstretched, hands held up and palms aglow. From them erupted torrents of fire, cutting a deadly path the rest of the way to the foot of the wall. If the golems' gas proved to be combustible in nature, it wouldn't even break his stride.

As soon as he judged himself to be near enough to the wall, Phaerys armed the seismic charge cradled in his other set of hands. The disc-like object lit up around its edge, and he quickly flung it into the wall. Perhaps too quickly. The instant it collided with the brickwork, it detonated, sending powerful tremors through the wall and the very ground itself. Fissures were liable to open up in both. Phaerys broke into a run and fought his way back to the others, lest he fall into one of these fissures himself.

[Veldanya Venalla]

The already chaotic battlefield somehow quickly descends into even further chaos.

The Companions almost synchronized efforts prove quite successful.  Gulgrims rampage flattens the one golem out on the ground as the Ork Warboss proceeds to pummel it wildly.  Meanwhile Kitharsis' attacks slam into the green gems embedded into the other golems palms, shattering the gems and causing the construct to reel as if in pain, the lightning bolt from the storm created by Soul Reaver screaming down towards the creation and veering from the palm to slam into one of the eye gems and shattering it.  A brief moment passes as both construct are severely damaged and almost disabled.  Then a thrumming can be heard, increasing in pitch.  At the same time that Phaerys' mine detonates, both golems self-destruct, the entire area awash in explosions.  Phaerys' mine blasts a massive hole in the wall, while both golems explode in an almost blinding flash of pure darkness.  Realizing what was happening, Jharm quickly raises up a large shield of light, nearby Seraphs quickly moving to form up behind it.  From each exploding golem a wave pulses outwards, washing over all of the Companions and any forces not behind the Seraphims defenses. 

The Shaiton seem completely unphased while any exposed Seraphs seem to have various effects.  Some howl in pain, shaking in pain and agony before collapsing to the ground awash in purple fire while others howl in rage and turn their weapons against their comrades and a brief onslaught occurs as Seraph battles Seraph.  Like the last time a wave of darkness washed over the party, Vee not only seems unphased but almost seems to absorb the darkness washing over her as she practically dances through the Shaiton forces, her guns booming with each shot.  She does pause however as the Shaiton forces start to fall back and she turns her attention to her newfound comrades, unsure of how the dual waves may have affected any of them.