The Rise of the Fallen (Graded)

[Aegis]

Zi'da 10, 718, Afternoon

It was a clear day over Yaralon. It had rained in the morning, but had passed and clouds had cleared out. The winds were calm, the sun bright, one of the signals of the coming Dry Season. It was especially quiet in the northeastern most burho in the corner of the city. The burho had been haunted for a full season now, and many of the residents had moved to safer or nicer burhos, others were staying with friends and family until someone fixed the hauntings. After all, it wasn't the first time something terribly strange in a burho in Yaralon.

Some people stayed behind, of course. People who were not perturbed by ghosts, people who were too stubborn to leave, etc. However, on the walls, the mercenary companies in charge of guarding them couldn't leave. The duty was too important, and profitable, and if a company left, another would take their place. Especially in the comfortable tower duty in the corner. The northeast tower was a fairly comfortable position, shielded from the elements, had built in housing for recuperating and such. It was large enough that it typically housed three to four companies at any given time, a few hundred mercenaries total. And while ghosts made their job more annoying, the mercenaries suffered to keep their jobs.

It happened quickly and without warning.

The ground just outside the entrance to the tower crumbled away, opening up into a deep pit. The tower was designed to withstand heavy sieges and artillery from the outside. But it had not been designed to float, and as such, the tower collapsed into the ever widening pit, killing the majority of the mercenaries within it, and releasing a heavy cloud of dust and debris for a few hundred yards around the pit.

Then the first snarl rang out into the heavy, dusty "fog". It was loud, wet, and vicious sounding. Soon, another joined it. And another. And another. This was followed by quick shambling footsteps over stone, growls growing and growing within the dust cloud. It continued to grow nonstop, until the entire dust cloud seemed to be filled with the vicious, unseen sounds.

From a distance, those who saw the tower collapse immediately knew the danger it put the city in. An unprotected hole in the city's protective perimeter meant any manner of wild beasts could come in and feast on the citizens. It had happened before and would happen again. The mercenaries manning the walls closest to the collapse stood at the ready, as they always did, bows and spears and siege weaponry armed and ready, but they knew that until the tower was rebuilt, their job just became infinitely harder. They knew a fair number of their own would be dead by season's end. They looked out over the huge, growing dust cloud, unable to see what was causing the noises within, but they knew it couldn't, and wouldn't be a good thing. But their duty was to guard the walls and keep anything else from breaching the newly formed hole.

Someone else would have to deal with whatever was obscured in the cloud.

The dust cloud continued to grow and expand, despite the collapse having been over, and all the cats that had been roaming the burho soon began to seek sanctuary at Mastemyr's home, meowing loudly outside the walls, clawing at the door, roaming the roof, all trying to get inside by any means possible. The cloud was inching closer toward the mortalborn's home, a mere ten yards away.

!	Message from: Aegis
	Open to anyone, no post order. Mastemyr and Cervantez have signed up for this but there's slots for others. I'll reply in a week at latest.

[Rabu]

Rabu was afraid of quite a few silly things, heights, butterflies, song birds but surprisingly not ghosts. The mystery surrounding these strange otherworldly apparitions was enough to capture the Mortal born’s interest. The fact that the ghosts scared most of the loud and boisterous populace away was a bonus. Rabu had no ill will against them but The few relationships he had formed in Yaralon were typically one on one. It was far too intimidating to approach a group of scowling faced Yari natives, divide and concur was a much easier tactic.

With things being as quiet as they were, the tunawa decided he would practice his flute playing. He’d been given a flute as a parting gift which was odd considering he had no idea how to play it. He put the instrument to his lips and inhaled deeply. When he felt ready, he let out the air but was startled by the awful noise that came out, like a cat in distress. He frowned and examined the instrument for a moment before gaining the confidence to try again. This time the earth shook underfoot and a loud booming noise rattled in Rabu’s ears. It only got worse as an entire tower collapsed soon after.

Rabu’s heart beat loudly in his chest, and he bit his lip as he looked in the direction of the noise and saw a large cloud of dust stirred up by the outer wall. He couldn’t be sure but he saw the faint silhouettes of figures in the durst and was certain there was a breach in the cities defences. In his mind the sensible thing to do was to run away but instead he saw a group of cats all crying out in distress. The animals called upon Rabu’s protective instincts and before he knew it, his legs were moving towards the cats. The tunawa wasn’t sure what his plan even was but he was hoping he might be able to alert the house owner and help them escape whatever danger was entering the walls.

Rabu was alarmed to see that the Dust cloud was moving closer to the house were all the cats seemed to be gathered. Despite their survival instincts the cats weren’t running but instead trying desperately to get inside the house.
“Run Cat friends!” Rabu cried as he began running to the them, His arms were flailing about and beads of golden sap welled up in his eyes. “Invaders! Bad tings! Run Run!”

[Aetu]

A2 had been out and about when she heard the sound. The two katana on her back clanged against each other as she turned to see a dust storm of sorts form in the distance. “Hey, didn’t there used to be a tower over there? What happened to it?” She knew that if something was wrong then it was up to every mercenary of Yaralon to defend the city with their lives. Duty bound to investigate, A2 set off to help as best as she could. The optimist in the back of her mind told her that it was probably just some structural problem, but the pessimist told her that this could be a full scale invasion.

Before long A2 paused by a Tunawa who was standing outside of some house. Listening closely, the woman was able to discern that the Tunawa was worried about the wellbeing of all the cats that were running around. “Oi,” she shouted upon recognizing Rabu from the day at the swamp, “Rabu, forget about the cats! Get out of here before things get ugly! Unless you plan on defending them with that flute of yours!” A2 approached the Tunawa and looked more closely at the house. She had no idea who lived here but these cats really seemed to want to get inside.

A2 looked back out at the dust cloud again and wondered if she too should be trying to get inside. It wasn’t like she wanted to die for nothing and it’d probably be easier to form a plan somewhere safe.

[Cervantez]

☠ Zi'da 10, 718, Afternoon ☠
☠ Mood: Cautious, Curious
☠ Current Thought: The Hell is happening now?!
☠ Current Theme: Bloodstained Philosophy
☠ Attire: Current Outfit

☠ The trial was already off to a terrible start. The necromancer couldn't sleep for whatever reason, tossing and turning all night. Then he found himself forced from what sleep he did have to the loud and boisterous sound of something crumbling.

whatever it was reverberated throughout the entirety of the city, the ground shaking from it. Something was off, and the necromancer knew as much. To add to his ominous suspicioins, Njama was howling, no roaring, at the top of the mighty hounds' lungs, and that was never good. That meant something bad was going on.

Rushing to his feet he quickly assembled his armor, got dressed and mounted Njama, snapping the riegns.

"Ohunkohun tä anou syeha'si tare!{Go to the noise now!}"

with that command the beast took off heading towards it.

The sound came from the northeastern corner of the city, and Cervantez began to pour over the possible situations that could have happened. Maybe it was an invasion from the Eternal Empire, or maybe a battle between mages got out of control. As his mind raced on the prospects he could see the cloud in the distance.

Whatever happened was of great magnitude as that cloud of dust was large and moving rapidly into the city. Cervantez was not the only one concerned, as many other yaris were making their way to the scene as well. The massibex hound slowed its pace as it got within a visible field of the dust cloud, Njama becoming agitated and growling at it.

That was odd, and he knew Njama only growled like that when it thought something dangerous was near. then he heard it, among all the clamoring spectators, and the growls of intimidation from his pet. There really was no mistaking that sound for anything else. A necromancer knew the wailing moans of undead when he heard them, and whatever was in the moving dustcloud, was making those noises.

Wasting no time, he dismounted the massive hound and was now able to get a better picture of what was going on. The wall had collapsed somehow, which was not a good thing. The city relied on the wall and its protection, and now there was a sizable hole in it. This meant now that they were vulnerable, and he didnt like that. For now though, he'd handle a much more pressing matter, whatever was in that damn dust cloud.

Placing his hand on the ground, he sent his ether forth, the essense taking the form of black and green misty tendrils. They latched on to the first corpse they came in contact with, filling it with life. Shambling to its feet it was well within the cloud and Cerv Linked his vision to it. Seeing his master go into this state, Njama stood in front of Cervantez, ready to demolish any who got to close for its liking.

Cervantez, through the husk, looked around to see what was making those noises, trying to get a grasps on what he was dealing with. ☠

"Speech"

[Mastemyr]

Zi'da 10 718

Hunkered over a waste basket, he dug the claw of his thumb into the underside of the potasquito’s abdomen, peeling back the exoskeleton to reveal grey meat.Once exposed, he reached over and dropped the mass into a nearby bucket of cold water, watching for a moment as it clouded, attention catching as he idly pushed aside the blood sack. Ripples within the water intensified, and then he looked up, the minimal decorations on the wall shaking as well. He rose quickly to his feet, hands covered in carmine. The yowling of desperate cats came in a wave and he tensed, jerking to his feet. They clawed at his door. More poured through the window, Yardrae cats shadow stepping to the safety of his bed. He could feel their distress, their panic. One leapt into his arms, and he held it close, his attention darting around. There had been a great rumble, a collapse, a desperation. Something terrible had come to Yaralon. And yet it called to him.

A domino effect, the Twilight Nook shook, a great cataclysm sounded followed by screams of agony. Pupils dilating, he pressed against the wall.

What of everyone else in the burho?

He could feel it. Smell it.

The crisis.

Pushing the creatures away from him, his ears strained past the commotion and he yanked his front door open. More felines forced their way inside, an unstoppable wave of hissing and pleading that nearly took him off his feet. And then he saw the cloud, thick and choking; it was a fog, blocking any decent view. It was coming this way, to his home.

His territory.

Growling, he spun around and saw the shield looming above his head.The lion’s face protruding from the metal was snarling, mouth ready to consume its enemies. Without thought, he tore it from the wall, hearing the shouts of two others outside his home.

“Invaders. Bad tings. Run, Run.”

Another voice sounded closeby, telling them to forget the cats. Mastemyr pushed out his front door, gold eyes landing on the tiny Tunawa so desperately worried for his kin; they had met once before. The Mortalborn shot out and gripped the smaller being by the shoulder, cat eyes glowing in the growing smog, “My turn,” Fist clenching, he inhaled the sweet toxicity of fear and pulled it to him; all the worry, all the panic, all the pain. Every delicious feeling of crisis lingering in the burho, he feasted on and while the world around him crumbled, Mastemyr grew in ability. An eerie peace rested within him and when he looked back up, his eyes were wild. A sharp grin spread across his face and the first of monsters arrived. He recognized it first by ball of red light, pulsated within its chest, the other’s a mass of much larger heat.

Well, except for the Tunawa, Mastemyr could see.

Releasing the long eared guest, he saw the woman and her swords as the smog expanded and blocked their path. Her red frame lingered, and his words rumbled from his chest, “We protect sanctuary. We protect Yaralon.” This was his burho; where he had laid root for over three hundred arcs.

The time had come. Mastemyr launched himself forward into the obscurity, growling at the undead monstrosity and swinging his arm so that his heater slammed into its skull of the invader. It fell to his feet and he saw in detail its horror. What trouble had the city gotten into now? The mortal born dug its grotesque face beneath the heel of his boot.

Another came shambling from his rear and he spun, crouched, and rammed his weight behind the shield and into the thing’s cold chest cavity. The smell was a sour decay, forcing him to breathe from his mouth as he brought the metal down across its skull over and over. When the light died, he rolled forward, breath heavy as he scanned the battlefield. The heat signatures of cats darted here and there, the fighting of full grown Yari swinging their hidden weapons at the hardly red bodies. More of the cold invaders rose and poured forward, their numbers growing.

What had once been the safest burho in the city was now a nightmare.

A red figure fought valiantly, fighting off three beings. She pushed them backwards, and a new signature pulled away from hers. Barely the height of her hip, it stumbled backward. A child. Probably one of the few that had remained after the hauntings. Mastemyr ran through the fog, slamming into monsters as he went, tearing through overgrown grass.

Save the child, help the rest.

Save the child, help the rest.

Save the child…

[Woe]

The wolf spider familiar had been absent from the marking on Woe's back for a dozen trials. Where it had gotten to, he had no idea. He had hints of visions, but one place in Yaralon looked much as any other. One mud-hut supported by wooden beams and frames could only stand out from all the others so well. At times he tried to peice together clues on where exactly it might be. Looking for any landmark, a temple, a section of the wall, anything. But for the longest time, his luck was as bad as he'd come to expect.

So, while he was resting well into the noontime during the tenth of Zi'da, it appeared to him as a waking dream. He heard the crumbling of the wall from afar, and yet at the same time appearing to sound up close. He saw in his mind's eye the stirring of dust and debris, obscuring the approach of a host of the dead. His search for the familiar had yeilded a conclusion. It was in the recently dubbed Ghost Burho.

For certain, his familiar at least knew how to get Woe into trouble. So the former slave rose from his pallet, and donned his clothes and leather armor. The tower shield resting against the far wall he took up, strapped across his back. He shoved the iron scourge into his belt, as well as the flail. Although understanding that the dead were not vulnerable to pain, he still couldn't shake the habit of taking his scourge along for battle. The flail would probably avail him better results in a fight against those dead.

Appearing for all the world like he was ready for a funeral, dressed all in his black leathers and dark brown leather armor, he approached the counter where hisi nasal helm rested. This he placed on his brow, followed by the wide brimmed hat. Then he was off to the Ghost Burho, to find his errant familiar.

It took quite some time, but eventually he did arrive at the section of wall where the stirrings were occurring. He commanded... no requested that his familiar climb the rooftops, to try and grant him a better vantage point of the situation as it unfolded.

Meanwhile, he unslung his tower shield and flail, showing his willingness to do battle with whatever found its way through the breach.

Before he could make it to the breach itself, he saw a dust cloud moving down the streets, as if with a purpose of its own. He peeled off from his intended destination of the breach, instead following a good distance behind the dust cloud. All the while, he tried to communicate to his wolf spider familiar to get over there to see what it could see within that cloud.

[Nox Cross]

Silver mark, after all the man-eating plants, mutated fish kind of monsters, and who knows whatever that name of beasts that lurks the swamp, oh and also, being raided by a band of not so friendly warriors and all you receive is this some kind of silver mark?

But, it was a new experience, never has he saw creatures as twisted and cunning as those in the swamps. This new city is a gem in the oasis, and the silver mark was your key to the city, as they told him. The walled city feels kind of like home. Great wall surrounding the city, a population of warriors, it lacks the petty aesthetics of those other more civilized cities.

The merchant convoy from Nashaki that they journeyed with are still resting in the makeshifts tent just outside the northern gate. They have taken a long route through the swamp with minimal casualties. Nox have sent someone to go with the merchants to look for lodging within the city. As he was about to enter a tent, he witnesses it. The tower came crumbling down into the deep pit that formed. The tied mounts grew restless as if frightened by the sound or by something else. People in the north gate moved toward the area of the crash.

It will be hard to reach the area if he will go from inside the city, people will run back and forth the area. Nox went to the tower from the outside of the city. He rallied the Aukari, borrowed mounts and made their way to the outer perimeter of the collapsed tower. The mercenaries manning the wall seemed confused, the cloud of dust is hindering their view from above. The aukari also could not see through the cloud of dust even though they are at eye level. As they approached it, they could hear growling from within the smoke. It grew louder and louder. There is something inside the cloud. Nox ordered the aukari to fall back and form a half-circle formation around the collapsed tower with crossbows at the ready and pointed toward the area. The aukari crossbowmen held their position. Nox aim his crossbow and wait.

[Silv]

"One page after another . . ."

Curiosity had killed many a scholar over the arcs. Not that a high mortality rate would ever keep them away from their chosen pursuits, of course. The chance at sating that thirst for knowledge and understanding of the unknown was worth at least one life. Their own. Recklessness was not a widespread trait, though some did leave caution to the wind, but most were willing to step outside their comfort zone in the pursuit of the unknown. The most hesitant, at the very least, came armed with more than a pen whenever they went out in search of hidden truths.

Silv's hand instinctively went to her longsword's hilt when the tower began to crash ahead of her. It hadn't been far from it prior to this, poised ready to defend from threats seen and unseen, the former being much easier, of course, than the latter. The Eidisi had ventured into the burho in search of ghost stories, which her sword probably would not have much effect on, but it did act as a proper deterrent from the more tangible phantoms haunting the darkened windows and alleyways. She had been prepared for frantic footsteps coming up from behind, braced for it. Those never came. The tower, on the other hand, was a shocking surprise.

As for the growling, which she could hear from several streets away, were all the more unnerving.

There was no doubt casualties in the vicinity surrounding the collapse site, which pulled at Silv's heartstrings. In the cycle since the Shadow Beasts attack, the Eidisi had found herself drawn to the wounded in this city. She had found herself offering what little aid she could to those she came across who were suffering. The Yari could be a hard people, but there was those who were still deserving of sympathy and help. Silv knew there were men and women out there who had just been doing their jobs before this tragic accident; they didn't deserve to die in the dirt protecting her life, not when she could go and try to offer a little bit of services. Plus, despite her fear, Silv wished to see the cause of the collapse, as well as the source of the growls. From a distance, if she could manage.

Steeling herself, then, Silv drew her sword and moved in the direction of the growing dust cloud.

[Praetorum]

10th of Zi'da, Arc 718

Praetorum had been speaking to a number of mercenary company recruiters when there was the very distinctive noise of masonry crumbling. Shoulder's tense, he whirled around, just in time to see one of the towers that dotted the walls go down.

Siege was his first thought. The Empire was coming for him.

It was a ludicrous thought, and after the first moment of panic, reason reasserted itself. He was one common deserter, no one important, and there would be no way to hide siege weaponry in the grasslands. If there was an invasion, the city would have spotted it long before now.

If it wasn't siege weapons, then what? What could cause an entire tower to come crashing down? Praetorum didn't know, and it didn't matter. Every mercenary, every citizen around him was unsheathing arms, and beginning to run towards the commotion. Rolling his shoulders, Praetorum did the same, charging forwards, shield and scythe in hand.

As he drew closer and closer to the cloud, his heart started to pound, his blood already beginning to sing in anticipation of battle. Ahead of him, Yari were beginning to engage with opponents he couldn't quite see in the dust, and Praetorum quickened his pace, eager to get into the thick of it.

A flash of color caught his eye, and he slowed, eyes dropping down to what looked like a child. Or... possibly a rabbit? Praetorum wasn't really sure. What mattered was that this rabbit-child seemed to be defenseless, far too close to the dust cloud. His blood still cried out for battle, but he shook it off, changing course to run to the rabbit-child's side.

"Are you alright?" He called out once he was close enough. Stepping up, he took up position between the rabbit and the dust cloud, shield raised, scythe at the ready. "Unless you have a weapon I can't see, stay behind me."

[Aegis]

Date

There was a very particular reason why everyone arrived to Yaralon through the gates proper. The walls were the ultimate protection for Yaralon, and while much of that was due to their sheer size, as well as the many protectors that stood upon them, the true protection came from one unspoken but diligently followed rule. Kill anything that attempts to breach the walls. It was why those who knew Yaralon and could fly did not do so as entry to the city. It was why no bandits or robbers or tax evaders tried to scale the walls in stealth. For many had tried to do so in the past, and all were met with the same end.

And so, as the caravan members rallied by Nox made their formation around the corner of the wall, the wall guards did what wall guards have always done for hundreds of arcs. They attacked. In unison, dozens of twangs from bow and crossbows rang out over the area. Two louder sounds were heard as one trebuchet and one catapult fired as well. The arrows and bolts rained down on the perceived attackers. The majority of the caravan fell in the first volley. Then the siege shells landed. These were not stone, for stone is far too valuable to waste as ammo. Rather, these were massive chunks of local clay that had been fired. While these wouldn't be especially useful against walls and castles, they were great against people. The clay shots landed in the area and shattered, sending shrapnel and razor shards flying in all directions. One particularly large shard flew toward Nox, piercing through his unarmed trousers and embedding deep in his left buttocks. While incredibly painful, Nox would find that he could still move. The fog was ten feet out in front of him. And the wall guards were about to loose another volley of death.



Meanwhile, Silv would find herself swallowed up by the fog, for she was moving toward it, and it was expanding outward in all directions. Her field of vision was limited to two feet in front of her, but the sounds of combat near to her were obvious. There was the crunching of metal on bone nearby, and soon, Silv would find herself next to Mastemyr, while the child Mastemyr had spotted in the fog was running. Running deeper into the fog, away from Mastemyr and Silv. And with Mastemyr's aided vision, he'd be the first to notice a particularly bright red figure leap seemingly out of the ground, arcing high over the fog. It landed between the pair and the child, snarling loudly.

It then lunged forward toward Mastemyr, its large claws extended. It swung one arm high, the other from Mastemyr's left, and was attempting to hook its powerful claws around the back of the shield, to rip it away. Cervantez's husk didn't have an improved field of vision compared to the mage, but it did have a different vantage point. It found itself looking at the back of the large creature. He could see the heavy musculature on it, finding it roughly the size of a large human, powerful and twisted. However, it looked both undead and alive at the same time, animalistic and humanoid.

Meanwhile, the child's heat source dropped low, disappearing underground.



The majority of the cats disappeared into Mastemyr's home once the door had been opened. After all, the sanctuary of the Mortalborn of cats could be felt by all of them. They did not run further, all huddling up together inside, shaking. And soon, the dust fog closed in and swarmed over Rabu, Aetu, and Praetorum, washing over Mastemyr's house. And with it came high pitched screeches, echoing out over the house, coming from the air above it.

The first of them swooped down, attempting to grab at Rabu with their small claws. It was roughly the same size as an average dog, on wings that could support its weight and certainly the wait of a smaller being like Aetu or Rabu. And after the first one had dove for the Tunawa mortalborn, soon, more swooped toward Aetu as well, three of them in total. They did seem to be avoiding Praetorum at the very least, for he was larger than them.

Two of the creatures also flew into Mastemyr's open door and soon, a cacophony of feline yowls of pain and fear echoed outward.