The Hearts of Men (1x1 with Eternal Chronicler)

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


Jack's throat near closed at the sight of Neszarine and he rolled his left shoulder back, striding in front of Tessa and trying to level his near fearful gaze. He managed to create a somewhat less pitiful gaze as he stared at the woman. "Stay away from her." He attempted to warn the woman, a weak rasp taking away his usual tone.

Adeska and Miguel closed in on each other and held each other as the girl struggled to sort out her emotion.

"This is Neszarine Ma'Harael." Jack murmured to Kimberly.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Neszarine Ma'Harael

Eternally unfounded, forever in chaos.
I am its incarnation; the Truth of Chaos.
An endless void, an eternal black abyss.

Neszarine lifted a hand in indication to where Tessa would have been, had she been included in the group opposing her. "She is not here, Jack Cortez. Of all of you, with the exception of Tessa I decided it would only be... fair... to exclude her at your expense, that I can deal with her when all of you are disposed of. Until then..." She raised her other hand, and a massive blade wrapped in white flames appeared in her grip, held with apparent ease in only one hand as she shifted her stance back slightly.
The hum of Illumine's blade and the metamorphic tearing of Kimberly's belt, as well as Ilyia's own blade being drawn followed soon after. "It is high time you paid for your lies."

If all things come to an end,
if all life ceases to be,
only then will I halt my course.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


"My lies should mean nothing to a creature such as you!" Jack snarled, eyes narrowing in anger. He turned to Miguel who had already drawn his cutlass, knowing it would be fruitless to try and dissuade Adeska who held a crystal bow and arrow set, a staff-like spear strapped to her back.

"Miguel..." Jack murmured slipping into the informal. Miguel's calm gaze met his.

"Captain, if I am to die here, it would not be for fruitless cause. I would not want to live a moment more if I knew my duties to you and the Duchess were unfulfilled." He said. Jack nodded grimly and turned his attention back to Neszarine a glare twisting his features into a harsh mask. The pommel of his dagger was heavy in his hand, still concealed by the coat, but his other hand circled his cutlass around his wrist twice.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Neszarine Ma'Harael

Eternally unfounded, forever in chaos.
I am its incarnation; the Truth of Chaos.
An endless void, an eternal black abyss.

Neszarine chuckled and brandished her blade in front of her, the white flames flaring stronger for a brief moment before swinging far short and wide. A tidal wave of chaotic flames flared into life among the others, and the space about them distorted slightly as each was met.
Kimberly shot straight into the air and held there, her momentum perfectly halted in a supreme height as she took a brief moment to figure out how best to handle the coming situation. Ilyia merely looked to Illumine for a brief moment, and with a nod from both sides rushed through the coming flames in a phased body. Through the flames, a flash of silver broke out among the prismatic spray.
Illumine wasn't long after the Creation, massive pillars of gold springing up about the Incarnation in an effort to keep her restrained or - far more ideally - harm her. For several moments Neszarine could not be seen.

If all things come to an end,
if all life ceases to be,
only then will I halt my course.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


While Jack was thinking of what to do, Adeska rapidly blew from her hands a crystilline ice barrier that melted away with the last of the flames. Jack nodded his thanks to her before she and him outstretched a hand, spikes of ice jarring up from the ground into the mass of silver and gold light.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Neszarine Ma'Harael

Eternally unfounded, forever in chaos.
I am its incarnation; the Truth of Chaos.
An endless void, an eternal black abyss.

The offensives cleared, and Neszarine stood unmarred as the ice reverted and deflected away from the space around her. Her eyes settled on Illumine. "Before I kill you, Illumine. What possessed you to come to their defense?"
"I'll tell you once I'm dead then, won't I? I'm not in the mood to bandy words with you." She replied simply, before rushing in with her blade arcing down in front of her but to no real surprise it was parried.
Ilyia on the other hand, swept her blade across and allowed a streak of silver to flash in front of her through the Incarnation, but to her dismay it appeared as if to strike at both herself and her adversary, and a trail of sparks shot about her. She bit her lip and looked up to Kimberly for a moment of confusion.

If all things come to an end,
if all life ceases to be,
only then will I halt my course.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


Adeska drew her bow back and let loose an arrow at the same time that Jack flicked his wrist, a gust of frosty air thick with sharp shards flying at his opponent. Notching another arrow, Adeska took a step forwards and aimed at Naszarine's thigh rather than her chest, which she had done for the one previous. Miguel watched, passing behind Jack to stand on his left. Jack looked up to Kimberly with a raised eyebrow, wondering whether or not she would even bother to come down at all.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Neszarine Ma'Harael

Eternally unfounded, forever in chaos.
I am its incarnation; the Truth of Chaos.
An endless void, an eternal black abyss.

"Oh, that's what it is..." Kimberly realized out loud as she descended behind the others and landed in a deft crouch, cyan and crimson melding into an aura nearing the chaos of Neszarine's own, and a ripple of power flew out from her as her eyes blanked into sheer black and white bulbs. "So, Neszarine... what do you really draw your power on?" she asked, her voice substantially darker than the night before. "You draw it from the souls of those around you, don't you...? How very pathetic."
Illumine took a step back and looked from Kimberly to Neszarine with a quick shudder. She stepped away, as did Ilyia, clearing a path between them.
Neszarine narrowed her eyes threateningly at Kimberly. "You pretend to declare the souls wandering Veiden as my only source of power? Foolish, girl. Would you like to try and prove that by cutting me off from the departed, you sever my strength?"
Kimberly halted in her already-slow advance, her eyes narrowing in focus. "I doubt I could pull that off, but what I can do..." The field immediately surrounding Neszarine fizzled and faded out. "Is neutralize a bit. Jack, do what you have to. I can hold up fine..."

If all things come to an end,
if all life ceases to be,
only then will I halt my course.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Adeska shot another arrow and Jack closed his eyes in concentration as he round house kicked a shockwave of ice towards Neszarine before following through with an upwards arc of his cutlass, held with his dominant hand, a glare capturing his face.

Adeska gave a brief, fleeting look to Miguel before she came in despite his yelled protest. The bow and arrow set seemed to dissolve in her hand before her staff was out, coming downwards from a diagonal sweep at Naszarine's neck.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Neszarine Ma'Harael

Eternally unfounded, forever in chaos.
I am its incarnation; the Truth of Chaos.
An endless void, an eternal black abyss.

Neszarine glared on at Kimberly with a quick step to the side of Adeska's distant offensive, but having herself faced with four melee combatants granted her a sudden edge. A white spark ignited beneath the Incarnation just before a massive burst of prismatic chaos exploded about her, hurling all those around her save Ilyia from its destructive force. Ilyia remained resolute however, a double-layered barrier shattering about her frame as she continued with her advance. A low swipe of Neszarine's blade was all the Creation needed, and with a leap struck straight for her throat.

She was too late, however; Neszarine caught Ilyia by the throat and held her for several seconds in a hateful glare between them. "Enough, just die..." she muttered, as her blade struck right at her helpless frame. Illumine however moved to deflect the strike with another golden pillar arcing both to intercept and parry the strike itself, as well as blast Neszarine in the face enough such that even she stumbled back and dropped Ilyia to the ground.

If all things come to an end,
if all life ceases to be,
only then will I halt my course.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Jack hissed as he hit the ground, his spine cracking, a burn scorching his shoulder. He sprung up and with the addition of ice coating his right shoulder and threw the knife he had been holding in his left, poisoned silver blade hissing through the air as it flew with deadly accuracy towards Neszarine's shoulder. Adeska was kneeling in agony, attempting to fight off Miguel who was insistent on helping her. She kissed his cheek but slipped from his grasp and sprinted towards Neszarine, swinging her staff above her head before cutting it downwards, a gale blown from a hurricane exploding from the action, directed at Neszarine.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Neszarine Ma'Harael

Eternally unfounded, forever in chaos.
I am its incarnation; the Truth of Chaos.
An endless void, an eternal black abyss.

Neszarine smirked at Jack's oncoming knife, as a dimensional rift spliced open to redirect it immediately to Ilyia, and her resulting cry of pain indicated as well as her complete fall to the ground that she was all but gone from the pain. Adeska's rush came met with a flowing chaos about the Incarnation's blade, and the field of distortion about her began to reform. Kimberly shuddered visibly, unable to maintain what she had prior to the reformation of the distortion field. The aura about her figure magnified briefly before it died down to almost nothing, and she fell to her knees, gasping in pain.
Illumine looked to Jack for a brief moment, the hum of her blade increasing steadily. "I hope someday you might forgive me Jack. Even for a goddess, it's been an honor fighting beside a former adversary."
With that she looked back to Neszarine and rushed forward, blades meeting only for so long to slice cleanly through the Incarnation's and finish with a stab straight through the other's would-be heart, the field making it such that Illumine pierced through herself as well, her blade literally spiking out of her own back.
Neszarine stumbled back, her blade dropped from her hand. No blood, no real sign of injury save a single black space flitting from her chest. "So, this is what you get for meddling in the affairs of the gods..." She breathed, "I find it ironic. Begone, Illumine."
Illumine's eyes widened as she hopped back, but before she even landed both she and Neszarine were gone, erupted into a chaotic prism of mist.

If all things come to an end,
if all life ceases to be,
only then will I halt my course.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Adeska hurried to Kimberly while Jack moved towards Ilyia and dropped next to her, removing his knife and casting it aside. He reached into memory of what his mother had done before and murmured a few words, elemental energy flowing into the Creation, attempting to restore her own life-flow as well as wiping away any of the poison that may have entered her.

"Kimberly?" Adeska asked, touching the shoulder of the dhamphyr and kneeling down next to her.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

Kimberly lay face-down in the crimson ripple as the environment faded away into the ship's deck, her aura appearing to shift from crimson to cyan only long enough to grant some hope of its recovery before fading back again, constantly going back and forth between them in her weakness. "S-stay... away..." she gasped, "I don't want to hurt you."

After several moments of silence on her part a shudder coursed through her as the angelic half of her aura appeared to lose strength. Ilyia stood up after a moment with a grateful nod to Jack, but in seeing Kim's condition knew immediately what was wrong. Without a word she rushed to the Dhampyr's side and wove a small web of silver light into the aura conflicting with itself about the girl, but it was easy enough to notice it was at Ilyia's own expense, as bolts began to stream about her as she did. However, the recovery swelled immensely and after nearly a minute Kimberly's aura stabilized into its angelic half. Ilyia gained her footing again and stumbled over to the base of the crow's nest, leaning against it with a look down to her arm.

Kimberly stirred again, a groan escaping her as she grasped her surroundings again and got up to all fours. "Chaos..." she said with a faint breath after, "Definitely not what I'd expected it to be. Certainly something I don't plan on doing again to boot. Is everyone alright?"

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Jack felt his coat, and shoulder, gingerly, and returned his dagger to his sleeve. "Well enough I suppose." He answered, a web of ice recovering his shoulder despite his shiver. Adeska straightened and nodded, soon enfolded in Miguel's arms, the man's worry evident on his face as he murmured something in her ear.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]