Paradigm_Shift
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Time froze.
Tafari was blessed with the spark of divinity. He had only recently ascended, and regardless of his accomplishments up to this point, he was still just a child. His lust for power was, in truth, just as much a subtle hunger of his new form as his natural inclination for it. Tafari may have been a god, but he did not act or think like one. Vast amounts of energy were needed to elevate his mind.
With the final massive burst of energy, Tafari's perception changed. His true form on the Divine plane grew closer, clearer, more familiar. He now had to look down to see his physical form. There was a strange clarity of thought. A sudden acknowledgement of purpose. Attunement.
I am Tafari. I am Awe. The being thought. It serenely viewed the Earth below, and the environs around his physical form.
Quote:"No one threatening she said!" Quote:"I don't know who that was but clearly she was a friend. YOU THINK YOU GOT POWER! You have Nothing!" Irritants. He thought vaguely. I am Awe. I am Terror. I wield Light, Heat and Power. I invoke Entropy and Chaos. I Something caught vaguely within his mind. Wait. I do not Ah. Well. This is new. Rather disconcerting Tafari felt a flash of annoyance as he looked down at his body. And above he could felt a massive weight, some kind of immense pressure bearing down on him As if he were stuck between a rock and hard place. Damn that is annoying. What is that Oh. He looked up insofar as he perceived two different and separate portions of reality simultaneously. Well that is not new. I have always known that was there. Can I still move it around? A mass of power shifted slightly on the Divine plane. Yes I can. Felt a bit easier than normal. Hmmm. Wait a minute. What is it Oh. That I need to Feels like home. I feel powerful Quote:"You *******, ********, ************* *********************!!!"
And like that, Tafaris focus on his physical self snapped as he shifted the entirety of his conscious upwards, to the Divine plane. At least for now. Like a child with a new toy, he would soon remember his old habits and come back down to Earth. But for now, he played
***
Rottens fist impacted. Jade crashed right into Tafari. Both may have been somewhat surprised that he felt more like Jell-O than like flesh And just like that, the mans energy form dissipated. Clothing, metallic skin and tribal markings slowly wore themselves away to reveal a fibrous being of radiant energy that grew fainter and fainter with every moment. As Tafaris body slowly vanished, something very real and still very much there revealed itself. Embedded in the mans chest was a stone figurine of a man on his knees, clawing at the air above and screaming. The eyes and mouth contained gemstones that sparkled like diamonds, and the figures hands were wreathed in pearl. The last remnants of Tafaris form vanished, and the figurine toppled to the ground with a soft thud. -
OOC:
It occurs to me I accidentally left Kyzock and Devious hanging in the dust back there. Posting late/premature response now.
BIC:
Graxitica once again descended into the twisting and endless forest. While he did have a trail of mutated plants to follow now, it was deceiving at best - Space twisted and warped, seeming to stretch the path out infinitely. He was, once again, hopelessly lost unless he could find a way to counter the spatial anomalies present in the elven homeland. The wolves from before had been a blessing in disguise - Being native (mutated or not) to the forest, simply by chasing Graxitica and by being near him, they had 'led' him safely through the anomalies. The forest's innate defense mechanism had not been precise enough to trap him without hindering the wolves. Unfortunately, it didn't look like any more mutated wolf abberations would be forthcoming anytime soon... -
OOC:
I was waiting on you to post, Rotten, but ok...
Also, post with permission from Yydr.
BIC:
Tafari's eyes narrowed as Graxitica escaped into the forest. For just a moment, he had thought he'd seen a glow. He'd thought he'd seen the spark. Was it possible? 'Worth checking out...' He thought, focusing his senses and spreading them out. What he found shocked him.
His concentration never did find or focus on Graxitica. It was too wrapped up in Bisys and Jade. That strange machine thing had remnants of the Malleus-type energies from before. Tafari turned his eyes away from the forest, the world seeming to slow down to a crawl as his vision narrowed. He focused and felt his surroundings. Jade's shielding wings did nothing to obscure Bisys from Tafari's focused perception. A determined examination of Bisys and her energy signature followed.
'Screw the godling. Check that out later.' Tafari thought as a vicious smile once again crossed his face, emphasizing his canines. 'THIS is bigger. Much bigger. Also MINE.'
What happened next happened entirely within the span of half a second. First, a large shockwave of golden light that roared like a lightning clap burst forth from Tafari, stunning anybody close enough and without the proper protection by overwhelming them with a sense of Awe and wonder. While Tafari was still onscured within the expanding burst of light, he conjured a power sink like from before. Only this one was slightly different. Rather than draining energy from the entirety of his surroundings, Tafari focused solely on robbing Bisys of her energy. -
Yes
-
'Not good...' Tafari thought as he witnessed his attack fail to damage the Reaver. 'This thing is using the same shielding technique as myself, only with electricity instead of divinity. Energy attacks are going to be useless against it. What to do. Well, I did just absorb that old man. Mass into energy. I'll just blow this pile of **** to pieces with more energy than it can handle using that...'
And then Tafari noticed his vanishing audience.
'...Feh. No point in flaunting my power if nobody is around to witness it. Let's see where this leads us...' Tafari let the tug pull him away.
***
Elven Forest
"Oh great, it's YOU pissants again!" Tafari snarled, having suddenly popped into being near Bisys. The air darkened and the man began to radiate golden-orange light as his various shields and auras sprang into being. "Screw this ****. You're all worse than ******* Nemesis! Everyth-"
Meanwhile, nearby...
Graxitica's transfer of energy hit perfectly, the wolf being unable to dodge mid-pounce. He hit it right on the snout, as intended, and the wolf was bodily flung against the tree behind it, uprooting it in the process...
Back with everyone else
A nearby tree at the edge of the clearing suddenly seemed to explode, having been uprooted, both it and a giant wolf being bodily tossed right in Cerelassion's direction. Graxitica was graced with a ray of moonlight rather than the pitch black of the endless forest, and he felt...
That was it! The heart-tree was RIGHT THERE in front of him, in the clearing! The source he had been seeking out this entire time. It just happened to be behind Paxtera, Kethara, Aineruda, Akat, Jade, Rotton Luck, Bisys, Tafari and any of the others if they decided to let the teleport bring them along for the ride.
"...Huh." Tafari uttered, seemingly distracted by the sudden occurance as he eyed Graxitica. -
Tafari frowned as the old soldier exploded.
"Ok. Point lance weaponry. Duly noted." He said dryly, raising his hand. The gore and blood that were the remains of the old man were converted into divine energy and absorbed by Tafari. 'He was a sacrifice, after all. Waste not...' He then turned his attention to the Reaver, and a vicious grin returned to his face. 'First thing's first. What kind of defenses does this floating piece of crap have?' Tafari vanished on the spot.
He reappeared right on top of where the Reaver was, his displaced Conduit acting like a lightning rod and pumping divine energy to flood the area, resulting in a massive energy detonation. Tafari aimed to land right on top of the machine and from there, tear the thing apart.
***
The wolves didn't particularly mind the soot in their snouts - They already had much worse than that filling them. The rings of fire, on the other hand, were a bit more worrisome. Their insticts screamed to get away, but there was fire on all sides, and simply jumping over the blaze did not occur to either of them. Trapped as they were, there was only one thing they could do.
They both kept projecting acidic toxin at Graxitica.
The wolf that had previously been behind him was hit by the Psychic assault, but seemed to bear the brunt of the attack admirably, only letting out a sharp yelp as the attack hit home. It quickly recovered and lunged right at Graxitica, unhinging its jaws and revealing a massive, gaping portal of a mouth filled with nothing but razor-sharp teeth and black tar-like acids and poisons. It was looking to engulf Graxitica's head, but chomping down on an arm or other defending limb was fine with the wolf. -
Quote:"A fascinating fantasy, outsider." The tree-thing rumbled. "However, even the fey themselves see no trace nor hint of anything matching your description. And nothing can hide from the fey, as they are the land itself. Unless you have any evidence confirming your tale, we politely ask you to cease spouting falsehoods. There is nothing to gain from deceiving us."
"We take it you see none of this", she commented once she was done, seemingly fully expecting to be accused of making it all up or some such.
***
Graxitica was trying to baffle wolves on their home turf in a neverending forest of spatial anomalies. He would be hard pressed to baffle ANYTHING in these woods under those conditions - Especially since two of the same wolves he had been attempting to baffle had been right in front of him in the first place. They didn't attack, instead keeping up with him while flanking him on both sides, and he could still hear at least one directly behind him.Quote:He kept moving forward, again moving at blinding speeds, leaving the pursuing wolves baffled at his quick departure.
Wolves are apex predators that specialize in running down fleet-footed prey. Rather counter-intuitively, animals that stood their ground had a higher chance of survival when surrounded by a pack. When chasing down prey, packs usually focused on delivering several light wounds that would tire their meal out and wear it down. This was at least something Graxitica would not have to worry about, since his chosen body was naturally armored. Unfortunately for Graxitica, these were not normal wolves. All three of the ones pursuing him started taking pot-shots with more of the acidic toxin. He would notice, should any of the continual attacks hit, that the toxin would slow him down somewhat, making him even more exposed.
***
Tafari eyed the approaching Reaver.Quote:He didn't hesitate to do exactly that, snagging the two Hetrar underneath his arms (in spite of certain protests) and heading fleet of foot back in the direction of the elven forest, yelling to Tafari, Mechano, and Bathory, "Ruuuuuun!"
"Yeah. No." He said disdainfully. "I don't see what's so imposing about this thing. I mean, the Shivan here alone would be able to seriously mess up its day. Hmm. I do suppose a little more info on what we're up against WOULD be nice though." 'That old soldier sacrifice said something about a machine threat before he left. He ought to be able to fill us in.' Tafari snapped his fingers.
The weight Jade was hoisting around underneath one of his arms suddenly vanished. Looking down, he would see the old soldier had turned into some kind of golden-orange energy blob and was heading at insane speeds in Tafari's direction, where it would sudden change without fuss back into the soldier, probably dropping him flat on his back in the process. -
Quote:"...Mutation?" The ancient voice rumbled. The tree seemed to strike an almost thoughtful pose, branches curling and uncurling like some sort of nervous habit. "Hmmm. The forest's heart did adapt its own offspring to mimic the effects of the most curious mineral-armored sky beast, but we were there with you yourself, outsider, when the High Lady of the forest herself aknowledged their benign nature. Beyond the forest's newest children of the skies and stars above, nothing has changed. All is as it was before. The forest is not blind. It would not condone any untoward developments. Indeed, it would willingly tear itself apart to prevent such a thing from happening." It seemed to stomp several of its root legs, small pufts of dirt arising from the impact. It seemed to utter several satisfactory grunting noises.
"We were merely seeking the source of a mutation the local elves seemed to think was malicious. Was it your doing?", she asked calmly.
"We sense there is nothing else amiss. The heart of the forest senses nothing amiss. And just look about - Can your eyes deny the splendor and beauty of this sacred land?"
The corrupted haven had all the splendor and beauty of Crey's Folly. The tar-pond burbled like the kraken groaning, the twisted plantlife oozed as if they were Devouring Earth spores, and the trees were practically undead for their barren yet strong appearance.
"So do tell us, outsider. What is this so-called 'mutation' of yours?" Its voice now rumbled in amusement with the slightest trace of condescension. Apparently not even ancient primordial beings of nature were immune to arrogance.
***
The wolf didn't stand much of a chance. Graxitica had either intentionally or coincidentally targetted a place on its body that had little muscle or protective structures to begin with, which held true even in the wolf's advanced form. Both carotids were severed, the pharynx (or rather the nasopharynx and larynopharynx) was obliterated, cutting off the wolf's connection to the trachea and therefore oxygen. The one thing Graxitica failed to damage was the spine, and the being would note that tearing into it felt like dragging its claws against granite. The wolf died more or less instantly regardless.Quote:'I shall tear that thing's throat out with these bare hands!' the thought resonanted within the thick skull. There would be very little, if any, reaction time for the beast now. Infuriated, it somehow seemed the hulking form of Graxitica actually gained momentum as it barreled towards the wolf...and seemingly at what he would perceive to be the last moment for the creature to do anything to avoid his strike, his right arm thrust forward, the clawed hand wide open and prepared to wrap around the wolf's gray-furred throat.
...And then Graxitica, who had stuck his hand into the wolf's body, began to feel a burning sensation. He noticed the wolf was bleeding black rather than red. His hand was entire coated with the stuff, and it was sizzling - The same acidic toxin the wolf had projectile vomitted at Graxitica was also its blood! He didn't have much time to reflect on this as the dead wolf fell though. He suddenly heard the heavy footfalls of something charging at him from behind, and he saw two more wolves emerge from the forest directly ahead. -
Quote:The blast impacted the tree walls, failing to knock any of them away - They were dug to firmly into the ground. It burned straight through whatever it came into contact with, which resulted in a roughly man-sized gap she could exploit-
"Very well then, if you want to be antisocial that's not my problem." She raised a hand, pointing in roughly the direction of where she'd entered and firing a highly destructive energy blast at the trees to make herself a way out.
Had the gap not suddenly filled itself with thorns and thick twisting vines.
The ground started to rock, and nearby, a branch of wood suddenly popped out of the ground. Followed by several more branches, and then a massive trunk, and finally an entire tree wrenched itself from underground and settled firmly aboveground. Its movement made clear its animated nature, its limbs moving as if they were arms and its roots scuttling about like insect legs.
"Outsider." A craggly, ancient voice addressed her from the aproximate area of the tree as it approached her. "The forest tolerates you. It would tolerate you more if you endeavored to not burn it down with your brilliance."
***
Graxitica was immediately rewarded with the sound of a panicked yelp as the trees collapsed in the distance behind him. He began to hear growling come from various directions, and he could glimpse large animal forms bounding through the forest at super-speeds, keeping pace with him.Quote:Well, he wasn't about to stop to find out. Drawing upon his well of power, he caused an explosion to erupt among the trees in hopes of felling a good pile of them to block his backside. Not one to stand around waiting for the result, he did this while in full stride. Yes it slowed him down for a fraction of a second, but he was moving again at full speed within about a half-second.
Suddenly, directly ahead of him, a massive wolf burst into the open. It was gray-coated, and solid five feet in height from foot to shoulder on all fours, its form bristling with superior musculature. Its teeth looked a rotten black and it was giving Graxitica an odd look...
Which was explained when it projectile vomitted in his direction. A black, sizzling ball of acidic toxins hurtled through the air right at the charging Graxitica. -
The mutated Range Runner, having lost its target, began to ascend. Rising through the air at an absurdly fast speed, within a few scant moments it was resting a lazy ten thousand feet above the forest floor, keeping a lookout for potential "competitors." Beings like Graxitica, or the machines, or anything else it deemed a sufficient threat.
***
Lost Woods
As Graxitica continued on his endless journey, he would, every so often, hear the howling of wolves. And every time, they were closer then they had been previously. By the sounds of the last cry, he had little less than a minute and a half before they found him. Whether they were friend or foe remained to be seen
***
Bisys' Location
As Bisys uttered her proclamation, a gray-coated wolf standing five feet tall from foot to shoulder (walking on all fours, none of that ridiculous warwolf posturing) seemed to almost casually trot out from the forest edge where the trail of corrupted plants led, went past her without sparing a second glance, and vanished into the woods once more. -
Quote:"I guess you could say that." Tafari said coolly to Edward, turning to meet him. "And hey. Nice shot. You're ok in my book." He said this while grinning a rather vicious smile that emphasized his canines. "Ahaha. But if you ever do anything like that again, I'm going to curbstomp you." He didn't seem particularly interested in either the giant spider or the augmented shivan.
"So ladies, gentlemen...I assume the fighting has been settled..."
***
BADGE FOUND!Quote:Not being familiar with any particular anomaly that would permeate throughout this forest, he continued forward, hell-bent on seeking out ANYTHING with the boundaries of these trees...plus, he still had several aces up his sleeves in case anything was foolish enough to attack him.
Exploration
Lost Wanderer
Welcome to the jungle...forest.
Nightfall descended. It was still daytime, but within the confines of the distorted forest space, it may as well have been night. There was no light from above - Branches and foilage completely eliminated any sunlight. Small flashes of light and bioluminescent insects were aplenty though, and provided a warm glow to the otherwise pitch forest. The air seemed murky with forest musk. Small streams of water ebbed and flowed gently between rocks and traced-out pathways of the forest.
Graxitica quickly found himself utterly lost. With no pathway to follow, and without a native resident of the forest to guide him, every direction pursued led to more forest. The gnome from earlier, as well as the elven archers, would be able to alert the rest of the homeland to his presence. And then presumably the war would begin.
In the distance, wolves began to howl.
***
The Corrupted Haven
There was a soft snapping sound and a mutated twig of a treenbranch bounced softly off her head. There was nothing amiss in the tangled mass of branches and foilage above, however.Quote:"So first you don't want us to find this place, and now you don't want us to leave... what's so important here that no one can know? Perhaps you would care to come out and discuss things like a rational person, instead of the cheap scare tactics?" -
Quote:Tafari chuckled at that. "Lady, that's not on today's menu. Either calm the **** down before I just leave and do something more important. Or, y'know, kill you. I could go either way, really."
"Take back your words and I might consider!"
'Yeah right. If this turns into a drawn out battle, I'll have to tap into some of the energy I got from the bones, I'm not back at 100% yet. I'd REALLY rather save that for a situation more dire than this. Damnit lady, back the **** off!' Tafari thought.
Tafari looked at the glowing figure and instantly recognized it as a Shivan, and proceeded to run it through his mental evaluation process.Quote:The Shivan hopped off of the howadah and begun the walks towards Elizabeth and Tafari.
He then turned back to Elizabeth and completely ignored it.
"Yep. With enough energy I could conjure up a cross-dimensional portal, I reckon. My portfolio covers energy manipulation, of which portals are a subset, so with enough energy and a day or so of concentration, it's possible."Quote:"You said you might have a way out of here?"
'Not to mention incredibly fatal to whoever uses it. My portfolio doesn't cover spatial manipulation. Without a stabilizing power, the portal would get you where you want to go, but only after atomizing you.' Tafari thought. 'But let the buyer beware. If this stuck up harpy wants a portal, I'll give her one.'
"So if you're done with the hostile posturing, come down here and we can talk business..."
***
The Elven Forest
Graxitica would encounter zero resistance getting into the forest. Indeed, why would anybody want to stop him? Running into the forest was like a normal, unarmored person running into machinegun fire. Not smart. The "lost woods" anomaly that Paxtera had encountered earlier would snatch him up the instant he cleared the treeline, and he'd be lost forever as an endless horde of defenders swarmed him. And while magic was being used to bend space in the forest, the effects itself were merely physical laws being enacted, making his ability to absorb and redirect magic useless. Unless Graxitica could directly manipulate space like Paxtera did before, then he would be in trouble. Not that getting lost in the woods was the only thing he had to worry about once getting in. -
Tafari panicked. Then he instantly calmed down.
'Don't panic. Don't falter. Think. Even when I get crushed, I gotta keep it cool. Gotta stay smooth, have to make it look like I'm winning even though I've already lost...'
Elizabeth caught a sight of Tafari flashing her a vicious smile and throwing her a wink as he sailed by, her drift just barely causing him to miss. Tafari hit the ground in a graceful pseudo-ninja pose. The fall nearly killed him right there, although this wasn't apparent, since having an energy form meant he didn't need to display his fatigue or exaustion to enemies. An inch from death or at 100%, it didn't matter - He always looked in peak condition. A little feature that had unnerved more than its fair share of opponents. Tafari pulled a massive overflow of energy from his conduit, energizing himself to stabilize his energy form and prevent loss of cohesion. He was only running on a little over half-steam now, but it was better than nothing.
"Looks like your friend decided to give you his fly away free card." Tafari said casually as he got up and dusted himself off, not even sparing Elizabeth a cursorary glance. "How about you settle down? It sounds like we both have something the other wants. And besides..." He finally looked up at Elizabeth, meeting her eyes with a stern glare. "I wouldn't push your luck. You're bound to run out of friends that way."
Inside his head, Tafari was in a state of anxiety once more. His natural talent to be intimidating and cocky in the face of adversity had proven to be as useful as all hell with the Gri'Shil. His position was much too risky for his liking - His plan should have worked, the harpy should have been buried in a crater with energy burns and broken bones, begging for mercy. But there was no reason why, when everything else that day had gone completely wrong, that she would back down.
'No, that would be too EASY, wouldn't it?!? HA!' Tafari thought grimly as he prepped himself for another full-blown fight.
***
The Corrupted Haven
Quote:Paxtera may have at this point noticed with complete disinterest that the gap in the trees she had entered through had vanished. The air above was entirely blocked off by a twisted maze of jagged vines and branches, but that didn't really matter much to her, since her teleportation, phasing and temporal abilities made all attempts to strand her futile. To her, it may as well have been another indication of the malicious nature of the corruption.With nothing else really blatantly obvious to do, she more or less just wandered aimlessly around the grove, occasionally poking something or other to see if it reacted. And if she got no interesting response, the idea of going and requesting assistance from the elves would probably find its way into her mind eventually.
***
The Elven Forest
And then something unexpected happened.Quote:As soon as the trees began reacting to the ever approaching arrival of Graxitica, the incarnate soul of the twin entities began drawing upon a slight strand of the magics, energies and supernatural powers that emanated from the depths of the forest.
Graxitica took note that what he was feeding on also happened to be a tainted source of those very same, once pure energies.
The source Graxitica was feeding on started feeding on him, right back through the connection he had formed. He could clearly sense some form of sentience on the other end of the line, and although it was elusive to the extreme, nothing could hide the hostility it was radiating in his direction. It was a clear warning: Back off.
As if that wasn't enough, there was suddenly a deep rumbling throughout the forest. Birds suddenly took flight in the vicinity of the Heart-Tree, and slowly an organic form rose. The mutated heart-tree Range Runner ship rose from the forest, turned in the direction of the gates, and started to slowly drift in that direction, two bioluminescent structures that mimicked the appearance of eyes glaring directly at the intruding Graxitica. -
Quote:The smug feeling that accompanied Tafari as the air rushed past him was obliterated by the bullet as it pinged into the energy field protecting him, bouncing off with a clear ringing noise that would probably instantly alert Elizabeth to Tafari's presence. Furthermore, since Tafari wasn't grounded and therefore unable to divert all that kinetic energy into earth, he was sent into a flailing, graceless fall.
Seeing the 'hero' disappear he pulled back from the scope for a moment before resighting and readjusting, firing off another shot, the birdie needed his wings clipped, he just hoped that Lizbeth would be keeping it busy if the hero somehow survived.
***
Dr. Mechano's Location
BADGE EARNED!
Wing Clipper
Real Showstopper.
***
Tafari managed to regain some measure of composure before he hit Elizabeth, but there was no way he was going to be able to pull a mass driver on her, and he would be lucky to even collide with her now. His energy shield deflecting the bullet had most likely alerted her, and it would be a simple matter to dodge the now rather enraged self-proclaimed god.
Tafari turned a murderous eyeball to the horizon, and his focused accuracy that also enhanced his perception homed in on Dr. Mechano.
'There are no words for this ********.' Tafari thought, just as he reached the spot where Elizabeth should be. -
Quote:"How adorably ineffectual." Tafari stated dryly as his lightning like field of divine energy sprung into being, instantly obliterating the smaller animated creatures. The newly risen Hetrar were having a little trouble digging themselves out of the ground, but soon they would be able to assail Tafari, and a few tendrils of Divine energy were not going to deter them. The self-proclaimed god began to step forward, but immediately noted that his movements had been marginally slowed. The lightning reflexes his energy form afforded him had largely negected the slowing effects of Elizabeth's attack, but not entirely. The energy from his conduit devoted to repairing his energy form had slowed considerably - Not that he exactly relied on such lack-luster regeneration in the first place. All in all though, the move had not disadvantaged him too much.
With each word the ground started to move a little more... at first it looked like a small earthquake... or worms coming up after a heavy rain. Then the horrible effect became visible as every dead body... every buried Hetrar... every dead animal... every dead insect... rose up from the ground attacking (Howling Twilight).
'Lemme see. Flying. That eliminates a good 90% of all my attack stratagies.' Tafari thought. 'How to lay this ***** low and look suitably awesome while doing it? Direct conduit blast. Too simple, too quick, negates the flare. But that's the only means I have of reaching her...Wait. Aha. Ahahaha. Oh yes.
Tafari vanished. A slow, frame-by-frame replay of the scene would have revealed that he was there one frame and gone the very next one. No rush of air filling a vacuum, no power-pose, no glow. Just gone.
Several hundred feet up, a massive energy detonation erupted from nowhere, Tafari plummeting out from it and straight down, aiming right for Elizabeth. His plan was simple: Move the conduit high enough up so that the wind would steal away the noise of the inevitable detonation. Descend at terminal velocity, and pull a mass driver manuever on the little tramp below. He would zap her with a power sink to drain her dry of power and then introduce her in a rather agonizing fashion to the ground. Tafari angled his body, piercing througnh the air like a bullet, making almost no noise whatsoever in his descent.
'This will be epic. They NEVER look up - Especially the ones who can fly. They're just so used to looking down.' Tafari thought smugly as the gap between him and Elizabeth rapidly shrunk. 'But just in case... Tafari then built up his power, allowing him to more effectively steer himself, as well as impossibly accelerating him beyond terminal velocity, and increasing his reaction time so that he could more effectively grapple Elizabeth once he was in range.
If she didn't see him coming, it would take a borderline miracle to save her.
***
The very instant Mechano pulled the trigger, Tafari vanished. Unlike Elizabeth though, the good Doctor had a perfect view of the sky above her, and could clearly see what Tafari was planning. He had the rifle - If he was quick and good enough of a shot, he could shoot the self-proclaimed god right out of the sky, turning the awe-inspiring curbstomping into a flop of humiliating proportions. However, he had very little time to do so, and any time wasted on distractions - On Jade, for example - would leave Elizabeth to hopefully dodge the attack from above on her own.Quote:He rested the high powered morphing rifle onto a wooden beam of the Howdah, taking into account the sway of movement from Mr Fluffers and slowing down his own breathing until he had a steady shot on Tafari's noggin.
Then he pulled the trigger and the big dog barked once more.
***
The Corrupted Haven
The instant the tip of the staff touched the tar, it seemed to erupt, thick slimy tendrils of the muck rocketing in the direction of the weapon and cork-screwing as they all began to wrap around it in a coordinated action, attempting to rip it right out of Paxtera's hands and yank it into the muck below. If Paxtera released the staff or managed to yank it free, the tendrils would instantly recede into the muck and remain inert.
In other news...
BADGE FOUND!
Maddening Portal
When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you... -
The other Hetrar followed the old soldier away from the scene. The crazy flying lady conjuring dark hazzy fluff, in conjunction with the undead warrior who couldn't die and the self-proclaimed god who had previously slung around energy detonations like they were going out of style, decided that the scene was a bit too hot for him.
Quote:Tafari half-turned towards Elizabeth, not even bothering to look directly at her, only vaguely addressing her."YOU!", She cried out to Tafari... "You are no god to me! Do you have the means to get us back home? Answer me!"
"Lemme see. A: I'm a god, like it or not. Reality does not conform to your opinion. B: Possibly and C: Settle down before I have to put you down, ya little harpy." He grinned a vicious, toothy and smug smile to himself, taking the time to wipe dust off of his arms.
***
The closer Paxtera got to the pool of tar in the center of the grove, the stronger the sensation that she was being watched felt. However, so long as she merely examined and explored the grove...Quote:Immediately, Paxtera was on the alert. Trees simply didn't grow that close to one another, without someone encouraging them to do so. Meaning inside was presumably the source of these mutating plants. She went closer, but stopped at the entrance, coughing as the smell of the place assaulted her. Then a burst of energy and she transformed back into Dwarf form, thanking the powers that be that said form had no sense of smell. Thus freed from having to smell this foul mess, she proceeded in past the wall of trees.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was wondering if the mutation had started at the Heart Tree and spread here, or started here and spread to the Heart Tree. Somehow, the latter seemed more likely to her.
Nothing happened. The plantlife squirmed and the tar oozed. -
Tafari's focused accuracy and perception did in fact enhance his base senses, including hearing. The din from the tesla effect (that stuff is really, really loud) actually garbled his wording sufficiently that Tafari didn't get the whole picture. So he didn't explode in rage.
"...And now it is time to send you to a place of safety. I require nothing of you, save simply for your aknowledgement of my power. Farewell, and don't cause trouble in your new home."
Every individual turned into a golden-orange beam of light, shot into the sky, and then rocketed in the direction of Paragon City. Tafari then walked back over to trio. As he approached, he wound down. His lightning-like field faded, his glowing aura dissapated, and his eyes reverted to normal.
"I am a god." He said simply as he approached. "I don't mind all that much if you don't think much of me and don't worship me. Frankly, I'm too young to have a following yet, so this came as a bit of a surprise. But make no mistake, insect." He glared at the soldier. "You were sacrificed to me. I have complete control over your mass. All I need to do to *prove* I am a god is make your limbs vanish one by one. Unless you want to go down that road, don't you DARE disrespect or deride me."
Quote:Tafari backed up a little and watched the soldier and the other man, as if waiting for an answer to that question."The dead can't die so easily as you can. Now What was this about some Machines those lizards thought were Gods?"
"Honestly, I'd think its rather simple. The machines only like to kill humans. Us." The man who had questioned Rotton said gloomily. He was trying very hard not to look at Tafari. He honestly didn't think the man was a god - He probably had some kind of sufficiently advanced technology on his person somewhere, but he didn't dare voice this opinion. "These lizards are, quite frankly, idiots. To them, a machine like the kind that have been hunting us WOULD seem like gods. If you'd like to know more about the machines themselves, this man here would know more than me." He nodded at the soldier.
***
Elven Forest
Paxtera, thanks to her not inconsiderable skill, was able to untangle the distorted space rather quickly. She felt it immediately begin to distort once she stopped, but that didn't matter. Because she had already reached the source of the mutated plants. The spatial distortion had been the only thing keeping her away.Quote:....was she seriously lost? That wasn't right. Paxtera had been from one end of time to the other, and back again. She didn't get lost. Ever. Yet somehow she now was. Just perfect. Well, two could play at that game. Space and time after all were only different dimensions of the same thing - if you could manipulate one, you could probably manipulate the other. Which sparked another idea in her mind, that of whatever was causing this being caused by the same thing that made the token's thread invisible to her. An intriguing theory but one with no evidence to back it up, so she filed that in the 'to think about later' box and went back to the task at had. Namely, un-scrambling this scrambled space. The air around her seemed to shimmer with a faint golden light as she directed her not inconsiderable power into doing precisely that.
Directly in front of her was a wall of trees, all tightly packed together to form an impenetrable barrier. But lo and behold, right in front of her was an opening in the wall that the trail of mutated plants went through. Beyond there was a grove, likely entirely isolated by the tree-wall, but she couldn't see into it too well. The entire place was filled with green mist, similar to the kind found within the deepest areas of Perez Park. Her sense of smell was immediately blasted once this was revealed - The whole place had the scent of a chemical lab.
Examination of the grove would reveal that EVERYTHING, all the way up to the tree wall, was mutated. Black plants with thorns that seemed to ooze and squirm. Right in the dead center of the grove was a concave basin filled with black...muck. It looked a lot like tar. The feeling that she was being watched was even stronger now. -
Tafari approached Rotten.
"Thanks for the assistance. I need to awe the crowd before sending them on their way, so stick around. Afterwards, I need to thank you properly."
He then turned around and approached the sacrifices, who were surveying him with looks of terror and wonder alike. All except one.
Rotten felt somebody tap him on the shoulder. Behind him, one of the sacrifices he had rescued was standing. He was a scraggly man, wearing simple baggy clothing with a tangled mess of hair, but otherwise clean shaven and looking to be in his early twenties.
"Um. Hey." He said akwardly. "That glowing...guy was really impressive, what with the explosions and light and all of that, but ah. You were pretty amazing too. Are you also a god?"
In the distance, Tafari was shooting off fireworks. An energy field replicating the nature of a tesla coil started producing obnoxiously loud hard rock. Tafari waved a hand over one of the sacrifices and suddenly he had death ray eyes.
***
Elven Forest
A few minutes after following the trail, Paxtera became aware something was seriously wrong. It was like space was being warped and distorted, and the longer she followed the path, the more she got the feeling she was being watched and misled. It was as if there was a "Lost Woods" kind of thing going on - Which was to be expected if something ill-willed had taken control of the innately magical flora. It may have occured to her that a native might have been able to guide her more effectively, but at this point, just about everyone was going to either run away from her or attack her.
Quote:"He's not the only one!" The lead tender hissed. "He's just one of many others! He wouldn't have the resources to pull something like this off by himself. He has allies, and-""Oh c'mon, like you don't already know." he growled at their naivete as he approached the Lady, Duslan still struggling under his arm, "Burlap here's only been threatening her ever since he showed up, and the second she doesn't feel like putting up with his bull anymore, someone mysteriously shoots her? Yeah, that's a Scooby Doo for sure. Honestly."
"Lady Aineruda!" The tender cried. "Wait, stop, don't give her that seda-"Quote:"More... Important then... me" She pointed in the direction of the mutated plants. "...Must... stop..." then she passed out again.
"Too late." One of the administering tenders said sheepishly, holding the now empty wooden holder for the extract he had given Aineruda. The lead tender growled in frustration but then recovered. "She could use the rest anyway..."
None of the tenders seemed to notice what Bisys was doing.
"In any case, we need to get Lady Aineruda somewhere safe. There may be more assassins. We wish you luck, outsiders. You're going to need it. Be strong and stand firm. Once the lady awakens, she should be able to clear this misunderstanding."
The tenders, as a whole, carried Aineruda off into the forest. -
If there was one thing that Tafari's powers were good for, it was crowd control.
"Come on, all of you!" He roared at the Gri'Shil as their claws slid across his energy shielding. "All of you together aren't as awesome as just me!" And though the words may have not made sense to the Gri'Shil, for some unknown reason it infuriated them. Tafari had put divine power into his words in order to taunt them.
Tafari struck the nearest Gri'Shil, jabbing him in the forehead with two fingers. The Gri'Shil's body flailed as it was wracked with a series of continuous energy detonations running throughout it, and then suddenly, a bolt of golden-energy erupted from his flailing form and leapt into the warrior next to him, who started to flail in a similar fashion as detonations started to wrack his body as well. This processes repeated itself as many as six times, the bolt of energy chain inducted to leap between multiple targets.
Tafari wasn't done yet though. Gathering an overcharge of divine energy into both hands, he brought both of them down in a massive haymaker upon one of the Gre'Shil, the impact breaking bones. The gathered energy then dispersed, resulting in a contained explosion of energy that spread out for seven feet, burning any other Gri'Shil caught in the attack and possibly knocking them on their backsides.
***
Elven Forest
The tender tapped Paxtera on the shoulder politely. Behind her were arrayed no less than 15 anxious-looking tenders.
"Thank you for your assistance, but your efforts are needed elsewhere. We shall tend to the Lady Aineruda." The tender said politely. Already, the rest of the tenders were descending upon Aineruda, focusing their magical talents to stop the bloodflow and stabilize her system. One of the tenders aministered a naturally procured extract that acted as a sedative, in order to make Aineruda's body relax and keep her asleep so she wouldn't panic and hurt herself.
"We need to take her to a more specialized healer who can remove the arrow-not-arrow inside her. I apologize, but if you're seen by the Lady's personal guard or any of Durlan's supporters, you may be attacked. We need you to go and find who is truly responsible for this."
Six of the tenders made as if to lift Aineruda off the ground. -
Tafari paused as he considered Rotten's words.
'Little ******* has a point...' He thought. There was one small problem however - The aforementioned humans were SACRIFICES. As in, HIS sacrifices. The Gri-Shil had, essentially, already sacrificed them. Tafari had direct and complete control over their mass, and would normally immediately convert all of it into an equivalent amount of energy. So by saving them, he would effectively be playing with his food. And the thought of being worshipped by them was somewhat wierd.
'Screw it.' Tafari thought. His day had gone downhill ever since the elf guard had fired the flashbang arrows at him. It was like somebody had grabbed the awesome dial and turned down the volume on it. Overall, losing one set of followers and gaining another was a relatively decent cleanup. And if everything went to hell, they were still sacrifices. He could absorb them a any time of his choosing...
'Oh and hey, the bones are still there for the taking. I can super-charge myself on those.'
Tafari raised a fist to the sky, and an orb of golden-orange energy formed. Lightning crackled along it before lashing out and striking the Drokar bones, instantly converting their mass into an equivalent amount of potential energy, which was then converted into Divine energy before being taken in by Tafari's conduit.
'Let's see the bastards withstand this.' Tafari thought smugly as he turned to the Gri'Shil. 'Time to show these ******** just who they've ****** with...'
"I Am Awe, the Roaring Sun." He spoke. He vanished. No rush of air, no pop, no teleport or phase effect. He was just GONE. There was a strange sense of built up power.
"...See how I Shine."
The air around Rotten detonated at Tafari shifted his conduit directly over the zombie-man, Tafari making sure to mentally tag him as an ally. Rotten found himself submerged in what looked like a SEA of golden energy saturating the air around him as he became a proverbial lightning rod For Tafari's power. He himself was entirely unharmed by the blast, the energy flowing around him almost gently.
The Gri'Shil were not so fortunate. The detonation, beyond the calm Rotten-shaped eye of the storm, was like the wrath of a god descending upon the land. The earth was glassed and the air seemed to shatter as all the hostile lizards too slow and without enough defensive ability to get out of range or otherwise evade the attack were assaulted by a massive energy detonation.
The smoke and errant energies cleared from the air, revealing Tafari standing side by side with Rotten. "Come, disbelievers. Allow me to show you just how big of a mistake you have made by defying me." He said, dropping into a combat stance as his lightning-like field of energy began to tear into any remaining Gri-Shil nearby, burning them and draining their energy if they failed to evade its crackling golden-orange tendrils.
***
Elven Forest
"It would be best if you just saw it for yourself." The tender said, gesturing at the Heart-Tree. From behind the massive structure, the alteration was clearly visible: Some kind of black spores were growing on the tree. They looked like black, fleshy sacs that seemed to ooze and squirm. Thorns grew freely on the plantlife surrounding them. Leading away from the Heart-Tree was a pathway of darkening but otherwise thriving plantlife that vanished into the forest.
"Those...THINGS appeared on the tree, and then the plants just started turning black in that one direction. As far as we can tell, the tree doesn't seem to think they are bad. It's like it doesn't notice them." The tender indicated, appearing to not see the assassin. -
Quote:Tafari viewed the oncoming spear with disdain. He had had enough spears jabbed and hurled in his general direction by primitives to last a lifetime from his last trip to Cimerora. While he was there, he had devised a suitably cool way to deal with the attack while also showing off.
Har'thon Hissed and charged at Tafari grabbing a spear and then throwing it at him "YOU NOT GOD! YOU SOFT SKIN!"
The spear hit Tafari straight in the chest, stopping just a bit short as it was halted by the energy field surrounding him. The man grabbed the spear and lifted it above his head. There was a sharp cracking noise, like an old flintlock pistol being fired, and golden-orange energies crackled over the Spear's form. It detonated, splintering into a dozen different pieces which spiraled off and dissolved into ash before hitting the ground. Tafari, though his energy form had taken some damage to its overall coherence, showed no exterior change in appearance.
"You DARE..." Tafari's voice dripped with power and indignant anger. He advanced on Har'thon, a lightning-like field of golden-orange energy materializng about him. The air darkened a bit more and Tafari's formed became even more radiant. "To summon me, offering sacrifice, and have the GALL to defy me?" Tafari stopped just short of Har'thon, the lightning field just licking at the edge of the Gri'Shil's toes. "I am a GOD, you may as well be an INSECT. Provoke me only if you wish to feel my wrath, raw and unfettered."
While Tafari was busy trying to look like a badass on the outside, on the inside there was the very real sense of anxiety. If he wasn't convincing enough, he would lose the lizard things and that would be his definitive proof of godhood down the drain. Sure, the sacrifices would still be his, but if the worshippers believed him to be a false god, the entire argument collapsed on itself. 'Give 'em the ol' razzle dazzle. Keep em stunned and stupified. Roar and shine like the sun...As long as nothing else interferes, I cannot fa-'
Tafari slowly turned his head to view Rotten, his eyes roaring like the sun.Quote:With a deep breath he called out "LET THOSE PEOPLE GO!"
'...Oh, you are a dead man walking you little ********...' He thought, entirely unaware of how ironically correct that was.
***
The Elven Forest
The tender bit her lip. "Ah...I think it would be best if we discussed that privately, my lady, away from, ah...dissenting voices." She gestured in a subtle fashion at Durlan. -
Quote:Unfortunately, the "ritual" as such did not have to be overly complex nor intricate in order to attract attention. More specifically, on a World like Patches, the unlikely coincidence that an actual god of thunder and lightning would show up was much more likely than it had any right to be. All it took was the right intent, the right words, and of course a physical and metaphysical offering. The Gri'Shil were offering the most potent of both: Human sacrifices, the remains of an ancient and powerful being, and raw willpower.
Har'thon Raised a staff "OH GODS OF THUNDER AND LIGHTING! Forgive us a group of younglings trespassed and suffered for it! As they should! But news of their weakness brought whispers! Show us your might!"
A few more Holy Gri'shil placed bones of dragons they found on the ground then moved away. Far away they came to know that anything in range would be destroyed when the Gods came for a sacrifice. A large bonfire was lit and drums beat as the offering ritual began.
In the past, all of this had gone to waste. The machines did not care for such things. They simply sought to eradicate the occasional targets of opprotunity presented to them. For the first time in the history of the Gri'Shil's ritual, the offerings would be accepted in full rather than outright destroyed and ignored.
The sky suddenly darkened. Clouds swirled and formed a massive thunderhead. Lightning crackled and surged throughout the dark form above, and the air seem to seeth with power. The thunderhead began to funnel, and from the roaring eye of wind a bolt of golden orange light burst, descending to impact the site of the sacrifice where it detonated, flooding the area with divine energy. The ground at the impact site was turned to glass, and flickers of energy ran across the ground.
The energy storm and the accumulated smoke faded, revealing the looming form of Tafari.
"Behold." He spoke in a calm voice. He stretched out an arm toward Har'thon. A golden flare of light emitted from him in all directions, much like it had in the clearing earlier: Those without the necessary means of protection would be momentarily stunned by an overwhelming sense of awe. Tafari's eyes were aglow with power, his form crackled with energy and he seemed to be the sole source of light on the now darkened plane. "I am Tafari, god of Awe. You have offered sacrifices to me. What blessing do you seek in return?"
Beneath his calm exterior, he was actually panicking. He had never actually received sacrifices before. He had not been planning on starting a following for at least a couple of decades, and out of the blue, these strange lizard things started worshipping him. It was odd, not to mention suspicious. But on the upside, what they were offering was rather hardcore. Multiple human sacrifices, and the intent...! That would give him a boost of power that would let him bless the Gri'Shil a dozen times over and still have juice left.
'Show no fear...' Tafari thought to himself. 'I am...A god! There is no doubt! This right here settles it! All the naysayers, all the doubters...These people, if they can be called that, arranged a sacrifice for me. It was directed at my portfolio. I sensed the offering, I was instantly able to respond to it, and I feel...I have the power to take this sacrifice and make it mine.
This...is definitive proof. I am not walking away without these sacrifices!'
***
Elven Forest
"Lady Aineruda!" One of the Heart-Tree's tenders suddenly came up to her. "The tree, it is creating abnormal offspring. We cannot sense the changes within the Tree nor its creations."Quote:Perhaps no one noticed or perhaps they did but one of the Tree ships was different. Thorns were growing on it's trunk/body and along the Tentacle like branches the leaves even had a edge of red. -
The arthropod wandered tiredly through the forest, following the direction highlighted by its internal sensor suite. It had been doing so for a while now, and had found out that, no, moving in a straight line was impossible in the magical forest filled with walls of trees that would have put Troy's own to shame.
It paused. Hanging from a nearby tree was a dark, bulbous, skin-like sac that seemed to be bulging softly. It was flat-out ugly, but at least it was something different...
And then, suddenly, there was a sudden gap in the trees and there was a clear path. The arthropod continued its pursuit, slowing gaining on the group. -
'So apparently I am common scum now.' The servitor thought to himself disgustedly as he slipped, hidden, through the night air of Port Oakes.
Originally, he had planned to just steal the Idol from its vault - But it turned out that the place was owned by vampires. Vampires which were encompassed quite neatly by The God's portfolio. Which meant that the servitor was obligated to BARTER with the blood suckers.
'A simple plan.' The servitor thought. 'These bounties they have put up...I will just go after the largest one convenient, and claim the Idol in waiver of the actual reward. Last I checked, I think there was a negotiator for the Hyenas near here. I'll just pop in, extract a few locations and...'
The servitor came across the wreckage of the Wayward Wench.
'...Oh damnit.' A vein throbbed in the servitor's temple. He had just hit a dead end - working as a servitor meant limited contacts, all of whom had been tapped dry already. The servitor did not know enough of the local setting to continue as planned. He slinked back into the night and began to gather what he needed... -
Somewhere around the middle of the gathered hunters, a rather plain-looking fellow stood up. Wearing a simple black cloak and garb, the only thing that indicated he was not just a vagrant was the lithe sword at his side. Officially, as far as anybody in the room knew, he went by the name Mot.
Unfortunately, what he actually was wasn't much better from that of a vagrant. He was an informant. More specifically, he was an informant for most of those who had just been named as bounty. People who would doubtlessly pay well for information that they were now wanted, who was seeking them, and who wanted them dead. They would be able to plan accordingly.
'Vampires. Idiots.' He thought to himself as he strode from the room, heading for the nearest exit. 'Although I must admit, if it were not for that little psychotic manchild, I would have had no idea this gathering would take place.' Which was true. The informant himself had been tipped off to the meeting by yet another person for unknown reasons. 'But regardless, perhaps I should go about getting the blueprints for this place before I leave town. Maybe put them in the right hands for free, earn some brownie points, and put an END to this ridiculous lot...'
The man was two minutes away from the nearest exit and would quickly vanish once he left. If anybody somehow knew of him and his intentions, and wanted to stop him, they had very little time to do so.
***
Dark Astoria
Many of the crypts in Astoria were so ancient, that their interior walls had collapsed only to join up with naturally formed caverns. New crypts were built in and around these caverns, and some crypts were expanded in much the same manner. Deep within one of the deepest of said crypts, a man sat, consulting.
Consulting with the insatiable hunger.
The air itself stank of Death and decay, of rotten matter and gore. Yet at the same time, it was absolutely sterile. Not even bacteria or stray microbes - Anything that could be called living - was present within. Anything that came close was devoured. The very air itself seemed to suck, eerie winds howling as they tore greedily for a meal that was not there. The stone almost seemed to ooze as it shifted, ground and cracked, as it tugged and pulled at anything organic that it could consume.
This was holy ground, in a manner of speaking. And only the servitors of the force within could tread said ground without consequence. One such servitor, as mentioned before, sat there even now, consulting.
'Where is the next one?' The man thought to himself. An inky tendril slithered into his mind, whispering, an endlessly deep voice that seemed to absorb all thought. A hungering voice that had to restrain itself from devouring its servitor.
THERE.
Images flashed through the servitor's mind. A castle. Dark figures who bathed in blood. The imagery rushed through the halls, twisting and turning, until it came to an end and the goal was visible: A small statue of the God. A twisted and vile thing to be sure, but also a thing of immense power.
The servitor opened his eyes. His god did not waste words. He knew where he needed to go, and what he needed to find. Everything else was irrelevant, unless it could further the immediate goal of recovering the idol. The servitor turned and vanished into the tunnels, heading for the surface...