The Tides of Change

[Aegis]

The thing about public speeches is that they tend to attract a lot of public attention, desired or not. And while the words were quite clearly given in protest against the Elements, those soldiers, mostly Land Troops that police the city, did not interfere. They were words, and they passed the word on to their superiors while watching the events unfold. At least there were those that supported the Elements, or at the very least, a peaceful resolution to problems plaguing their society. And so, the few Elements that had been in the area waited it out.

At least until the woman of the harsh stare stirred up the witch hunt, and began to kill those among their ranks. And so, the Elements drew their weapons, and rushed into battle, knowing reinforcements were already on their way. And they focused on getting the innocent, the nonviolent away from the angry mob, and down alleys and roads they had control of and access to. The Elements, their numbers mostly recovered following the interrogations, stood up to the mob.

And they fought against the mob, meeting them with sword and shield, with club and spear. The Elements gave ground when it was needed so as to not be overrun, and continued to let the mob press forward, away from the rest of those at the protesting speech. And then a horn boomed through the storm, once, twice, thrice, a fourth time. Reinforcements had arrived.

Land Troops arrived on foot and mounted upon Hafrein, with Land Deputy Lorstran Philt at the helm, heavily armored, pointing his unique sword at the mob. "Capture those people! Defend yourselves brothers and sisters!" His assistants, Jo, Selenia, Tianna, and Alani were all accompanying him, all armored and armed. Their large deer mounts pushing at the rioters with their antlers, biting and kicking anyone who came too close.

Thunder cracked loudly overhead as the Elements began to push back the mob. Land Deputy Lorstran Philt looked over his shoulder at the Special Assistant to Thorst Fall, clad in her unique red leathers. "Blackwood. Capture that woman." His sword was pointed at Max, the wild woman who kicked up the frenzy.

Meanwhile, the members of the Crystal that had been watching Mercedes give his speech shook their head. They'd had such high hopes for him. They were going to bring about proper change. But violence changed nothing. Those members disappeared from the crowds, and they would not approach Mercedes again. They were wrong about him. He was nothing but a foolish hot head. No real change could come from one such as him, just death. He was as just as big of a problem as the Elements he rallied against. Following this, he'd find the group disappeared, into the wind.

More horns continued to blow, and more Elements began to arrive, coming from all directions. Those not in Max's frenzied mob were let escape to freedom so long as they weren't drawing a weapon or otherwise attacking them. Those fighting back though were met in combat and given no quarter. The noose was closing, escape was being cut off. Everyone there didn't have long to react.

And still, the rain kept falling, washing away the blood as quickly as it painted the stones underfoot.

Mod Note

Congratulations, you've come to the attention of the Elements. Max and her frenzied crowd are now in a combat scenario and it must be treated as such. Everyone else is currently able to fight, escape, or some other action as they see fit.

Sephira is also posting immediately following this post.

And to clarify, this thread is still open to new arrivals.

[Sephira]

The call had gone out, once again Elements were being attacked, and this time it was in their own homes. Earlier that season Sephira had dealt with a mob of rioters outside Elements Hall, the building had taken heavy damage but they had managed to repel the attackers and push the crowd back. Their success had been due in no small part to Max and a local mercenary joining the fight. Max herself had killed the ring leader of the men: Raven Mask. The woman could be rash and unpredictable but she had guarded Sephira’s back when she had needed her help. It was something that the woman would never forget.

It was overcast overhead, and storm clouds milled in the sky, thunder occasionally rumbling in the distance. Sephira finished belting on her weapons and affixed a black onyx pin to the crimson collar of her coat. It marked her as the special assistant to the Militant, and gave her certain privileges when it came to duties that fell outside her work as a Flame Element. Just as she finished readying herself within the half-repaired Element’s Hall, two of the Land Assistants came rushing past, calling for her help while commanding other Land Elements to join in the defense. An anti-Element riot had broken out, and a mob was quickly forming. Evidently one Element had already been slain, simply for belonging to the military. Instructed to follow the Land Troops, and to get to mob as soon as possible, Sephira rushed out of the Hall and reached out to the ambient ether surrounding her. It swam into her grasp and her Rupturing Spark flared in anticipation. Her propensity to avoid using her magic in public could be set aside for now, this was a state of emergency, and she needed to move as quickly as possible. Thankfully, Rupturers were uniquely suited for such things.

Ether wove through her grasp like silk on a spinning wheel and she looked above her to the rooftops lining the streets. Taking a breath she tethered herself to a pocket of ether some eighty feet away, above a rooftop. The mage vanished into a Blink, scarlet light spilling from the gash in space before sealing itself as she passed through. Sephira burst back into existence above the Scalvoris Town skyline with a deep thrumming boom. Skysteps erupted beneath her like tiny portals under her feet and she shot through the air, following the path of the Land Troops. Her hair screamed behind her as she ran. Occasionally the mage would tether herself to another pocket of ether and snatch herself forward another few dozen feet. She crossed the distance quickly, easily keeping pace with the mounted Land Deputy and his Assistants.

When she finally arrived at the scene Sephira emerged out of a Blink portal at street level. The boom produced by the gash in reality announcing her presence as she appeared at the side of the Land Deputy in a flare of crimson radiance.

“Blackwood. Capture that woman.”

The words rang in her ears like the peal of a distant bell as she immediately set her eyes on the person that had incited all this violence...the woman she had been ordered to capture.

Max.

“You did this? What exactly are you hoping to achieve?” Her voice was halting and a little unsure. She knew of Max’s unpredictable and rash nature, but to kill someone outright for simply being an Element? It didn’t make sense.

Sephira paused briefly before stepping toward Max while the Elements fought off the mob. Manacles hung off her leather belt, ready to be used at a moment’s notice.

The mage’s eyes were dark, this was not something she relished in. Sephira had been there that night, she knew the pain and suffering the cultists had caused, especially to Max, but that didn’t justify this.

“Don’t make me do this.” Sephira said solemnly. She considered Max something of a friend, someone who had your back in the thick of things, not...this.

“Come in quietly and we can talk Max. It doesn’t have happen this way.” Regardless of her response Sephira’s hand sat firmly on the hilt of her sword.

Come what may, she was prepared.

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Amaris]

- common / murnasian

The councilor sucked in a breath, ready to fire back a rebuttal when they spotted him in the crowd. Perhaps they had become hyper aware of the man out of fear, or maybe he was just noticeable enough to see pushing through the throng of bodies. If they had been afraid before, the look on his face as he drew closer had them terrified. More so than the thought of the crowd turning on them. Swallowing thickly, they tore their gaze away from Volker as he rushed towards them.

His liking of the mixed blood, as well as Oor’s more flirtatious remarks towards them, was not lost to them. Amaris had dealt with the two in Viden, and suffered immensely with how close the pair had remained. Even now, they could pinpoint the exact source of the thundering of their heart and it wasn’t the anxiety of misspeaking and making things worse than they already wear. They glanced down at the older man, attempting to school their features before forcing their attention towards the speaker that had seen it fit to start all of this.

His points were frankly ridiculous. They had been fortunate in not losing family - far removed from the reaches of Scalvoris Town and tucked in the safety of the trees - but others had not had such luck. But. “I would be angry; I would demand justice for them. But will violence bring back the dead? Will it raise them from their graves if these people go out and kill other innocents? The council is doing their job and an investigation is underway. This is how you solve this problem - you out it with careful precision. A riot is just tragedy waiting to happen, another obstacle to justice. Just more pain and suffering that could be avoided.”

They chanced a glance over at Volker, weighing the options of calling him out by name. Would he see it fit to dispose of them if Amaris gave away his identity? A risk they would not be taking on top of the one they had already. But whatever they might have chosen was lost to Max. She was right; Amaris had not been there. They not lost anything or anyone to this unfortunate event. And perhaps, even if they had been there, they might have well been a bystander. But this was something they were here for. And the mixed blood had not chosen to stand by and watch more chaos take hold of the people standing before them.

But that was all they could do as the trance of vengeance took hold and the crowd surged forth. Those lead by Max and her men began their war on the Elements as those same troops worked to get the uninvolved to safety. This was the chaos they had hoped to avoid, as shrieks and wails aligned with the thundering of the skies. They stood for a moment, soaking both the rain and outcome of their having done something. Stupid, stupid. What had they thought their words would do? They ignored Oor and his suggestion to leave, and the Elements that might have tried to pry them from their spot. When they did move, it was to follow the surge of the crowd with the same numbness they’d felt as they’d carried the torso of that poor man to the Elements the season prior.

The point of returning to Scalvoris Town had been to think that maybe it was a matter of circumstance that had them experiencing such trauma. That things had gotten better in their absence or maybe they could see things from a new perspective. And they’d tried to do so, only to be met with this. Death and more death. They followed the wails to the first home infiltrated, took in the shattered glass and the rain pouring in through it.

Amaris had never experienced war, but they had been a witness to death more than they would have liked. They didn’t enter to see the element with his eyes open wide, unseeing. They could already imagine it, and that was enough. What they turned away to see was more than just a gathering of people waving their weapons about. It was battle. It wasn’t the same as tavern brawl they’d had to step into.

Had they underestimated these people? No; they’d known that this would be one outcome. What they had overestimated was their ability to compel, and their understanding of the bereaved. A weight settled over them, holding them in place like heavy hands on their shoulders. Look at what you have done, a voice seemed to say, All you did was delay the inevitable.

They were quickly coming to a few conclusions. The first was that they had been useless. The second was that this was what the crowd had desired and thought they needed, but it would not be enough. Sooner or later they would turn from the elements and look to the council, thinking them just the same as Max had suggested. The third and last was that this was only the beginning. It had not been the incident at the docks to be the tipping point, but this very moment. And there was nothing they could do but save who they could and hope for the best. It was this conclusion that had them moving again, seeking out the injured to pull them aside. Maybe it was the focus of helping someone else that made them forget for the moment that if they were stronger, smarter, better, they might have prevented this. But they were not. They were uselessly tall, not as smart as their twin or their father or their mother. Wrapping a bandage around a wound and giving away the cloak off their back was all they could do.

Something other than thunder sounded, and was soon followed by unintelligible words. Orders, commands given as elements cut down rioters and vice versa. But still, they assisted those they could and dragged away the slowly dying to somewhere the mixed blood could try in vain to ease their suffering.

[Faith Augustin]

65th Ashan 718

The call had gone out and so they arrived. Faith had been at the Order of the Adunih and, as it happened, Padraig had been there with her, just about to go out together for a meal. But then, in came the reports. Once more, Elements were being attacked and Faith looked at Padraig with serious silver eyes. They could just ignore it, they could just go about their trial but, as Faith strapped her sword belt on, she knew that she could not and nor could he. Because this was their home, this was where they lived and violence was not the way.

So, the two people in Scalvoris known as Professor Augustin arrived, also. There was chaos and there was a man, standing and shouting. Swearing, yelling and inciting violence and he, Faith knew at a glance, he was the ringleader of this. But this was violence and people were dying because this man incited them too. And there, there next to the man was the one from the Council Meeting. He called the ringleader Mercedes and Faith glanced at Padraig."We need to break up the crowd. He needs to be silenced." The one who needed silencing, of course,was Mercedes. "Keep safe," she said, softly. "Together?" He knew what she was going to do, she didn't need to tell him.

And then, she walked forward and she breathed in, getting her defenses ready. She was terrified, there was no doubting it, but equally she knew that what they had here was a mob. The mob functioned because it followed, the members took on the mentality of the mob and she knew that what she had to do was reinforce their individuality, their ability to hear and understand. To be responsible.

"What is this?!" Faith was short, tiny, but she had a presence and a pair of lungs that she rarely used. "What are you doing!? Violence will bring more death, nothing else! This is not justice, these people have not wronged you. You!" Her gaze was directly on Mercedes as she walked towards him. "You incite violence in others, while protecting yourself?" She kept walking, and she kept appealing to the crowd, those that she could. "STOP THIS! You know me, do you not? Arl'su!" She called the man's name, one of the people swept up in the mob. At the sound of his name, he stopped and turned. "I held your daughter's hand while we waited for you to wake, after your surgery! Thellma! You! You who came and we helped time and time again. You are better than this!" And that was what Faith would do. Each person that she could, she would sway.

Because Faith was known here, Mercedes was not. Faith was respected here and had healed many of them. Max included. Faith walked among them and she would stand, putting herself between someone attacking and their victim, look them in the eye and defend herself but not attack. Every time, she said their name. Reminded them of who they were. Who she was and tried to make them see what they had done, what they were about to do. "Why would you listen to this man? This coward who seeks harm and vengeance? Why? He is no one! No one!" Faith turned to Mercedes, and in sight of every one of them, every person he had coerced, she shouted. "He is a coward, using you to enact his vengeance. Nothing more."

And so, Faith moved among the people. Not keeping away from them and standing apart as Mercedes was. Using her reputation here in Scalvoris, her perfect memory thanks to Vri's blessing and her unending, untiring work for the people of Scalvoris, Faith sought to turn the mob, once more, into individuals. Because that would be the time that the violence stopped.

If, however, anyone attacked her, she would defend herself. With steel or whatever she needed. After all, she had defenses which, as yet, no one but Padraig knew of. She spoke for peace, but she would not allow anyone to be harmed if she could help it, so she stepped in front of attacks, defending those she needed to with her sword, but not attacking any citizens of Scalvoris. Unless, of course, one of the instigators got in her way in which case she would not hesitate to take them down. But even then she had ways and means to do so.

Because, she needed this to stop in order for her to get on with healing the injured.

Off Topic

Just to clarify - the knowing lots of people and their names is enhanced by her ability "Eidetic" from Vri, which means that she never forgets anything. Skills like leadership etc, in CS

[Lavana Tharn]

Tharn

Lavana could have saved lives if it had mattered to her but behind the steel visor of her extravagant plate helm. She could hide her inhibitions and transform into a fucking murder machine of brutality and carnage worthy of her sisters praise. She felt empowered behind the visage of a metal valkyrie as shed engage behind the the elements when threatened with force.

It would all begin with swords in the wind.

Her polished steel claymore mirrored it's surroundings before she brought it down on an unarmored man trying to assail an element with a dagger, that had fallen and landed on the ground. Her wild Amber eyes were crazy with a blood lust that bordered obsession as she hit that rioter clean between the neck and shoulder as she used her strength and disciplined will to keep going blowing through his collar bone and driving her steely blade into the poor sods chest as if he'd been struck by a battle ax before ripping it free smiling something wicked as sanguine wrapped and trailed across the length of her reflective steel. Shed show no quarter as shed defend an Element whod been accosted, who's life had been threatened.

Shed made her statement as she stood stalwart in defense of the Elements,

This bitch had been given a fucking license to kill; within the purview of self defense of course . Kura was right, she could wield her skills to better her fellow man. She knew what she foresaw, she knew shed revel in this typhoon of steel and anguish this soiree of violence. A certain nameless crazy bitch called this in the council long before it happened.

She was dripping in fresh steel armor, while the band of Celarion glowed around her bicep as she simply reveled in the chaos around her. The gore fiend was in the thick of a possible battle and glory, before stopping at the words of a familiar voice. The mortal born flicked her wrist, causing her sword to wisp the liquid slick of scarlet off of her blade onto the ground with a nonchalant flare; as she lusted for blood and death again.

But a familiar voice caught Lavanas attention and it was directed at her home girl Max. The mortal born found herself on the opposite side of the battlefield, as she felt dread pound in her heart while amber eyes already knew the ex hounds answer; hers would have been the same.

While she stood composed, as she breathed through her nose and exhaled. Shed rely on her mark of Qylios, and attempt to bond with Sephira. Should she accept shed receive a glowing band around her wrist, and between them Lavana could share her thoughts and insights on Maxine to Sephira as she watched them and the pain this was causing her as she stepped towards Sephira. But she knew this Rusalka, knew her mastery over unarmed combat theyd fought and killed together. This was her friend, and she could relay tactics to the flame element Sephira. It would be an exercise of discipline, she wouldn't allow Sephira to take her life.

Stop Her, Not End; anything further then apprehension and Lavanas blade would turn.

Lavana Tharn, A Daughter of Devestation knew who she was and what she stood for as she took her side with Sephira.

Off Topic

Celarion Abilities;
Bond Minor.
Bound In Battle.
To Sephira if accepted

[Patrick]

Right at the time he'd decided to further crack jokes about what seemed to be just an angry mob, the mood immediately soured the effort as many started to riot within the street. So much happened so quickly that it was really quite astounding to watch, and it all carried out without a single drop of booze to fuel the bloodbath. Rharne. He suddenly missed it now even if the squabbles there were petty, probably because they never resulted in killing others as they did here. "What..." His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch the whole scene, shock a prevalent impression in the mind as the scene unfolded before him.

Peace talkers had arrived that much had been easy to discern, but that swiftly unraveled into the riot into a brief if not chaotic bloodbath. "Audrae's wretched knickers!" He swore with a few steps taken back closer to his lover's table, a little unnerved by the event as he stood by unsure what to do. Then of course these military units they stood so sternly against stepped in, determined to restore what fragile peace had been broken from the riot leaders. The man and woman at the helm of the mob now their fixation, the rioters were caught up in their scruples at first but then; everything seemed to change as the fires of anarchy slowly waned. Even in this dampened chilly weather, such a thing couldn't surely last for long.

Horns blared within the air of the streets as more and more would come, and the spectacle before them unfolded almost as rapidly as it began. That's when Patrick caught sight of... her. A woman of particular interest that seemed to be the military type, yet the brief glimpse of her fit form wasn't all that caught the Rharnian's attention. He knew that distinctive quality of compression well enough by now, that identifying it became close to second nature the moment he'd witnessed. "Whoa!" His eyes widened with awe as he nearly dropped his jaw, a glance back to his lover behind him in utter surprise. "I wanna be able to do that!" He remarked seeing as how he'd never practiced further than Blinking, save for a few portals he'd created through compression.

As things progressed another seemed to intervene in on the madness at hand, her voice also distinctive while her appearance proved difficult to place. Faith. Already a recent memory of her pained in a place where the sun didn't shine, but even then that mattered little compared to his initial surprise. Clearly she'd been called here by the Order she served passionately, and quickly became a noticeably loud voice among the crowd. "Ooooh jeez. If the cavalry hadn't arrived before, it certainly has now from the looks of it." He mused with a turn to grip the cup of tea before Alistair, a taken sip made him grimace as he placed the cup back down. Yuck! So gross without at least ten spoonfuls of sugar, even then he still thought the stuff wretched.

He sighed and looked from his fellow companions back to the event they watched, still not quite sure whether or not he should involve himself. "So," He murmured aloud to Kian and Damien, "what should we do boys?" Whatever the decision he would follow their lead, little question asked in regards to whatever they chose.

[Padraig]

[img]/gallery/image ... ge_id=4018[/img]

The promise of a quiet, relaxing evening ahead for Faith and himself was shattered when the call came in. The news hadn't exactly come as a surprise, the tension in the city surrounding the Elements and the disaster had been building for some time. Before that even, and Padraig had his own bone to pick with the city's security force.

The last thing he wanted however was for Faith to be caught up in the middle of high emotion coming unhinged. But one look at her and he knew that there wasn't a chance of talking her out of it. She'd go with or without him and so on the way, he ducked into their home and put on his leather armor, and armed himself with sword, bow and dagger. There were those, and the blessings that followed him wherever he went.

And when they arrived, he and Faith, Padraig wondered if they were already too late. A few faces he recognized and many he didn't. Of course a few of the known, were also known hotheads not disinclined to violence...or at least talking about it. The man who Padraig thought might have been responsible for in part whipping the crowd into a frenzy, clearly had a personal grudge to settle against the Elements.

On the one hand, the excessive if unimaginative use of vulgarity had the potential to turn many away who'd brand him as just that. An unhinged nut with a personal agenda. Or several, considering he wasn't alone. On the other hand, it might speak to those of like minds who also had scores to settle. That was the dangerous bit and needed to be stopped. There was nothing to gain, nothing at but plenty to lose. A mob turned loose, unthinking, whipped into mindlessness guaranteed the further loss of innocent life.

"There's more than just one," he said to Faith when she said the man needed to be stopped. "There are others who've jumped on that bandwagon." But yes, as always, together. Naturally Faith strode forward and spoke up, and Padraig remained at her side. They were connected through a number of ways, not the least, the rings on his arm, and those on hers. She'd said in essence what he would, more or less and it wasn't necessary to add more. Except to show a sense of solidarity. You're better than this, she said, and he called out to the crowd, all of them in an effort to be heard. "You all are! And what will any of this accomplish. Absolutely nothing but more people hurt! There are better ways."

Just as Faith was however, as they moved through the crowd he was prepared to defend himself and her both if necessary. Though he'd start nothing himself, or be no better than the ones that were stirring up ordinarily reasonable and peaceful citizens.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

When word of the riot on the docks reached the Council Hall, Kura let out a low growl and left her office. "If anyone comes lookin' for me, tell them I'll be back shortly." she said on her way out of the building. Once outside, she paused for a moment in thought, then nodded to herself and hurried to the Menagerie. Due to timing, she got there just after the Element reinforcements headed for the docks.

At the menagerie, she rushed over to where the mounts for the members of the still imprisoned Air Elements that had been stationed in Scalvoris Town were being stationed. Once there, she gestured to the workers there. "Open the stalls for every Enormowl here. Just the Enormowl's, though." she said, and when the workers hesitated, she growled. "Go! There's a riot on the docks, we don't have time for a jurisdictional pissin' contest!" she snapped, and the workers started on her request immediately. As soon as the doors were opened, Kura took a deep breath, then triggered Parliament of Owls, her aura bursting out from her as it formed into the shape of a massive owl. The eyes of every owl, Enormowl or otherwise, turned to a glowing gold and they all looked down at the Mortalborn, their voices sounding in her head.

Kura, her own eyes now glowing gold as well, held up her hands for silence. "We have work to do. Take off!" she commanded, and the Enormowls, almost as one, lifted off. One of them, almost unbidden, flew down next to her. A moment of silent communication between Mortalborn and bird passed, then she nodded and climbed onto the back of the large bird. A moment of flight to gain proper altitude, and Kura and her wing of co-opted Enormowls, about 40 of them at a glance, flew towards the riot. Fortunately, thanks to the connection between her and the owls, the fact that she had never flown one of the massive birds was less of a problem than it would normally be, since they could speak to her and her to them.

The trip to the riot was incredibly short, and Kura didn't go in for a landing immediately. Instead, she had them pull into a tight circle directly above the rioters. For a moment, almost a full bit, the riot were completely cut off from what little sunlight was piercing the clouds. Then the great birds broke and started to hover closer to the ground in a circle around the rioters. All save for two, who held back.

The Enormowl carrying Kura dropped closer to the ground than the others, and Kura slid off the great bird. The moment her feet touched the ground, Kura took a step forward and took a deep breath before letting out a thousand owl shriek, the voices of thousands of owls echoing in her own. But more than that, the Enormowl's spread their wings and let out their own shrieks, amplified by the same voices as Kura's thanks to Parliament of Owls. All save for two, how in the cacophony, dived for the two leaders of the riot, talons spread. If not stopped or dodged, they would grab them up and carry them far enough above the riot that a fall from that height would be painful and debilitating at best.

Once the shriek passed, Kura stepped forward again, her eyes and the eyes of the owls all still glowing gold. "This is how you honor your dead!? By startin' a riot that will get more innocents killed, by turnin' into a lynch mob goin' to drag people from their homes and murder them!? Is that what you think they want!?" she shouted at the crowd, the voices of the owls echoing in her own. "Scalvorins go to great lengths to honor their dead, keepin' them in their homes for three days, but now you seek to make more people feel your pain! For what, the petty revenge of two people so incapable of seein' beyond their own desires that they would give the people tryin' to tear Scalvoris apart exactly what they want!?" she snapped.

Pointing at Mercedes and Max, whether they were in the air or had managed to avoid the owls, she calmed her tone somewhat. "These two claim that the Council is lettin' the Elements who were part of the cult go unpunished! I can, with every authority to make the claim, say this is not so! Some of you know me as the Councilor of Foreign Affairs. Some of you know that I was fightin' the cult at the docks, that I had been taken by them too. I have been party to the investigations, kept track of them throughout the whole process. Cults, by their nature, are small things, and many died at the docks that night. We have a dozen more suspected cultists in custody right now. The men that were released love this island and it's people as much as you yourselves do!" she said, before gesturing at Mercedes and Max again.

"These two would pit the people of Scalvoris against themselves, turn us on ourselves for their own selfish ends! They would have you believe they care for the people of this island, would they not? Yet they stir you to a mob that will only bring more needless death and harm! They seek their own vengeance, care only for their own desires! And they, cowards that they are, would use you to gain it for them, lackin' the skill and power needed to get it themselves! Are you people really willin' to let yourselves be used as someone's pawns?" she asked, her tone clear and calm.

[Alistair]

Violence began to erupt. Not immediately, but with the arrival of the Elements - their military Alistair had learned - two opposing sides quickly began to go into blows. The only thing was, Alistair didn't see there being any singular chance in which the rebellious faction had a chance. They were going to get slaughtered, tried for treason, or even worse. The punishments of governments affronted were some of the worse. The torture. While people tried to paint Scalvoris as a land of the good, no city or realm truly was. This was a dark, despondent view. And what was the justification? Why were so many people defying the military? He did not understand.

Soon enough, friends began to join in. Faith? Kura? And then, one not so friendly person, he noticed... Valtharn?

"Lord, this is a mess," he mumbled to himself, glancing sidewardly at Patrick and sighing. Damien nagged on Kian to simply leave with him, but the mage was not sure he wanted to. This was an opportunity for him.

He waved his offhand, making gestures towards the crowd. One after another, portals began to open at certain points within the crowd, Alistair focusing his conscious and energy towards maintaining them. Then, he waved his hand back, slowly. With his motions, and as his ether slowly tethered into each portal, the near-dozen portals he created within the mob all began to emit a pushing, and pulling effect. Some had one effect, others had a different one; the effects were matched based on their position, and the result was the townsfolk being dragged one way, losing their balance, only to be pushed into a different direction. The crowd would quickly be made dizzy, disoriented, fatigued and most importantly dislodged. Many of them would simply stumble to the floor and lose their dog in the fight, with many others falling prey to confusion, fleeing or altogether ceasing the fight. Alistair only maintained this stockade of portals for a short time, until the effect he wanted was garnered.

Then, he blinked to stand beside Faith, his face shifting to normalcy as his genuine appearance was revealed. Patting her on the shoulder, he grinned.

"Along with my sister here," he referred to Faith, "I see no value in your rage. Cease your violence, your senseless anarchy. There is nothing to be gained from biting, beating and clawing at one another. Bring your protestations to the square by means of words and wisdom, not madness."

If he was correct, this man was Mercedes, the one he'd met in battle while treating a fallen soldier. That man died due to his actions, and Alistair since wondered the purpose of them. He himself was a mage resisting a tyrannical power, but were the elements tyrannical? They did not light men like Mercedes on the pyre by nature of who they were. So where did the scorn descend from?

"Faith," he turned his head to face the woman, "I could kill that man," he said. "I'm fast enough to catch him. But I want to know his reasons. Why are they defying the Elements? What has befallen Scalvoris?"

Off Topic

Alistair used portals, pushing and pulling to break up the crowd and push them to the point of dizziness and fainting. Just a heads up. Please hire me as your riot police.

[Max]

Fire had caught and the chaos spread like flames throughout the vicinity. More windows had been shattered, doors broken down to get to the scapegoats for the sins of another. Just as quickly as the riot had started, the regrouping Elements had staged an answer with melee and mounted troops. The response of the crowd became a mixed bag. Some, recognizing the loss of advantage, had thrown their weapons down and fled in hopes they'd escape apprehension or death. Others only saw their gripes validated and turned to wield their weapons on those that moved to engage them. Max stood in place, her eyes far down the street toward where Mercedes still remained. The rioters rushed past her, leaving her alone when the first Element came toward her with a club in hand.

He swung, and with a yell Max side-stepped the attempt and brought her gladius screaming down upon his leather-gloved hand. The blade cleaved through flesh and bone with sickening ease. The spiked club slipped from the troop's grasp as he squealed, clutching his mangled appendage with his good hand. Max grasped him by the collar and guided the point of her sword into his neck. It was when she tugged it free to seal the man's fate that an ear-splitting shriek rang through the air. She shoved the soon-to-be corpse away from her before she dropped to a knee. Her hands lifted toward her ears, expression contorting with irritation. The Rusalka had heard the sound before when it had been wielded against the cultists in the amphitheater. In any case, it meant only one thing: Councilwoman Kura had arrived.

Squinted eyes opening again upon the ground, her brow furrowed at the growing shadow at her feet. Realization struck, and she'd hardly had time to look up and dive sidelong before talons raked closed upon the street. A swing of her sword warded off any follow-up dives. The Enormowls flew off empty, but as she looked around having noted its flock in the sky, reality started to sink in. Scalvorian authority was closing in tight. Maxine was separated from most of the other rioters she might've banded together with to draw strength from numbers. This hadn't been a tavern brawl out of hand or an unruly fist thrown into the face of someone with clout. What she'd done this trial was the worst thing she'd ever done, and by the looks of it, there was no discernible way out of it. A familiar voice rose above the madness surrounding her, and rising from a knee, Max turned to face the Element tasked with her capture.

Her hand reached back to wrench the soaked black hood down from her head to reveal her face to Sephira. Her dark hair hung straight, raindrops dripping from the ends. Deep, dark circles rested beneath her eyes, the wrath in her gaze clouding with a combination of anguish and desperation when she looked toward the Element in her path. The clink of the manacles hanging from the woman's belt somehow rang louder than the sound of combat surrounding them. The voiced question sent the Rusalka glancing down toward her bloodied gladius before focusing back upon Thorst's assistant. Sending Sephira, of all the Element soldiers, to bring her in here and now? It was a sickeningly perfect type of poetry.

"I have to find him," her shaking voice carried through the storm. "He's one of them. He's out here somewhere. I have to." She needn't say his name. She trusted Sephira had the sense to know just who exactly she was talking about, the person in her mind she'd been hunting all along. Earth Mask had done a far greater number on her than the spear he'd shot up through her foot. He'd settled into the dark corners of her mind, appearing like a wraith to hunt her in her dreams and within the shadows of the rooms she entered. Only the Ambrosia she'd bought from DuCarinos had provided her with a salvation from rest. She'd fought off sleep for weeks now, obsessing relentlessly over finding Earth Mask in life so she might be free of him. Her supply had emptied trials ago though and it seemed clear she was paying the price of its absence. Garnering dissent in Scalvoris has started as a means to an end. But this? This was something else. Her attention found the Element woman's hand where it rested readily on her sword hilt. Her fingers wrapped tighter around her own. Something within her cracked the internal absolution she'd carried with her this trial. Her chest tightened, the harshness in her murderous stare lightening as though pained. For the first time, Max found herself plagued by scruples. Then the second soldier arrived. The detached survivor felt something inside her shatter.

"You too?" Her mask slipped, the injury this betrayal had wrought on her clear in her expression. Just as soon as Lavana's treachery broke her, she bandaged the inner wound with hard stone as cold as the steel blade in her knuckle-white grasp. "You stand with them but you're not one of them. I've seen you. Just like you've seen me. We're the same. You know its true!" Her abyss-like gaze glanced to the glowing bands. A contemptuous twitch came to her lips as she looked between the pair. "Do they know how you happily smashed their missing little receptionist’s face in? Did you tell them how you laughed? Let me give you the short version, Flame Element. It involved a brick and it sure as shit wasn’t quick. Was that Alva who did that or Lavana? Your two faces are giving me whiplash." Perhaps the Flame Element should've brought an extra pair of manacles along.

Besides Mercedes, Lavana had been Max's closest confidant. Perhaps her only confidant. She'd shown a rare trust to this woman, and once more she was reminded why letting her guard down for anyone was a most grievous error. Now they stood on opposite sides of this battlefield, the Mortalborn squarely backing those that would put her either to the sword or in chains. To Max, those two ends were the same. Raskalarn's daughter was here to condemn her. As for Sephira, Maxine had fought alongside her twice now. In both instances their adversaries had worn masks to battle. Absently, she found herself wondering if all the people the Element had slain had been faceless. Had she ever killed someone she'd really known? The Rusalka had. She looked to Sephira with her gladius still at her side.

Are you ready to kill me, Blackwood?

She reached into her cloak to procure the bone dagger she'd been saving to bury in Earth Mask. The Mortalborn would no doubt remember the blade vividly. Instead of wielding it in her free hand, she let it skitter across the wet ground toward the woman's feet. "Go on then, Lavana!" She growled with wide, challenging eyes. "Make mommy proud!" The sound of pro-Element voices raising down the street and a mage turning the rioters docile was far from her attention. The tiny voice of self-preservation in her head suggesting she lay down her arms had been violently put to rest. Max was a wild animal that they'd just backed into a corner. Now who would be the one to try and put her in the cage?