Aia Heijra
Dedicated
Valkyrie of Isra
Roleplay posts: 109 
Age: 26
Physical Description: A tall and athletically built woman, although she appears quite slim. She has long, curly white hair, bright blue eyes, pretty face, and clear complexion.
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Clothes and Equipment: Aia's Ki'gar hangs around her neck like a cape, though only reaches down to her mid-back. It is a darker shade of orange, with black trimming, a black boar's head, and the name 'Heijra' underneath. The Heijra clan is known as the Black Boar clan.
Aia likes to wear fur around her shoulders, which is customary in her homeland. When in battle she prefers to wear little to no armor, and when does it is generally light.
Aia wields an ancestral blade from Asgeir, passed down in the Heijra Clan for many generations. The runic inscriptions allow her to create, control, and use fire magic, drawing upon a source the Varan call "the power of the Old Gods".
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Registered: Aug 15, 2015 5:18:42 GMT -8
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Post by Aia Heijra on Mar 29, 2018 13:51:00 GMT -8
The Southern Plains presented one of the frontier borders of the Isran Empire, lying to the east-southeast fringes of its collected territories. It was one of many locations the Land Tillers plied their native trade. But perhaps its most notable element was the Acacian Clan.
Renowned for archery and mounted combat, the Acacians patrolled the Southern Plains. Their skill and knowledge of the terrain assured that this corner of the Empire was secure. Nevertheless, Empress Naoki had contemplated the possible construction of walls in the area, perhaps a fort of some kind, if only to assist the already-capable Acacians.
Aia Heijra had been chosen to survey the Southern Plains. She had brought the Varan Cohorts with her. The Isro-Varan had been settled in the Free City for quite some time, developing a unique culture and an unyielding loyalty to Naoki.
Aia soared through the skies upon a winged mare, currently alone. Her ancestral blade, teeming with power, rested in her right palm. Runic inscriptions upon its surface glowed a fiery red, ready to spit flames at her behest. This was, as the Varan called, the power of the Old Gods. Once before, many warrior clans which had roamed Asgeir wielded this incredible power - but that art had been lost in time. It was only until recently that Aia and her shield-sisters in Isra had unlocked the talent once again.
After taming a herd of pegasi from the Norkari Mountains, Aia and her band had called themselves Valkyries, styling themselves after those mythic heroines of ages past. They had even outfitted themselves with wings crested on their armor.
Aia scanned the valleys and forests below which ran along the length of the Southern Plains, looking for potential dangers as well as suitable locations for fortifications.
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Andraste Ruana
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 244
Age: 25
Physical Description: =====================================
Although she is quite young, Andraste's very being resonates with magical power. She has long, dark red hair that falls down around her face, framing her soft, kindly features nicely. She has soft, unnaturally coloured orange eyes, striking against her pale skin. Andraste's hands speak to a lowborn life of peasant work, rough and callused. However, her skin is fair and her figure elegant, her musculature long and lean, lending itself to swiftness rather than powerful. Heat emanates from her body, able to be felt from almost a foot away.
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Clothes and Equipment: Since her adoption into a magic collegium, Andraste has taken to wearing ornate crimson great robes, flowing about her figure, complete with gold filigree and a roomy hood that shadows her face when worn, although she tends to keep it down outside of whatever court she happens to be serving. Her only offensive equipment is a dirk imbued with a haste enchantment, allowing for almost unnaturally quick strikes. However, she tends to favour her magic-imbued twisted oak staff which enhances her casting ability, the large black onyx stone at the tip of the staff holding a particular affinity to her favoured school of magic: Pyromancy. She also holds a book of various incantations in her other hand when in battle, reading them off with extreme speed and accuracy. She possesses a natural resistance to heat, but is much less resistant to cold.
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Registered: May 31, 2015 20:33:14 GMT -8
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Post by Andraste Ruana on Mar 29, 2018 16:30:37 GMT -8
The forest today looks...darker than usual. An ominous stillness hangs over the canopy, and the sky above begins to darken with stormclouds. The birds stop their song, and a pack of timberwolves can be seen sprinting along the forest paths, fleeing something. However, even from Aia's vantage point, whatever threat exists is completely concealed within the forest. As she flies past, something whips up from the canopy as if materialising from thin air to grasp and grope at her pegasus' hooves. If she doesn't veer out of the way fast enough she'll be roped in by a set of black thorned vines, tugging her pegasus inexorably toward the forest.
Even if she escapes, she'll be unable to see what lies below. Some foul magic is at play here, certainly, but it appears its source isn't quite ready to show...unless, perhaps, she were to swoop down for a closer look.
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Aia Heijra
Dedicated
Valkyrie of Isra
Roleplay posts: 109
Age: 26
Physical Description: A tall and athletically built woman, although she appears quite slim. She has long, curly white hair, bright blue eyes, pretty face, and clear complexion.
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Clothes and Equipment: Aia's Ki'gar hangs around her neck like a cape, though only reaches down to her mid-back. It is a darker shade of orange, with black trimming, a black boar's head, and the name 'Heijra' underneath. The Heijra clan is known as the Black Boar clan.
Aia likes to wear fur around her shoulders, which is customary in her homeland. When in battle she prefers to wear little to no armor, and when does it is generally light.
Aia wields an ancestral blade from Asgeir, passed down in the Heijra Clan for many generations. The runic inscriptions allow her to create, control, and use fire magic, drawing upon a source the Varan call "the power of the Old Gods".
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Registered: Aug 15, 2015 5:18:42 GMT -8
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Post by Aia Heijra on Mar 29, 2018 16:52:04 GMT -8
Aia and her mare may have very well been pulled down by the strange tendrils, but they narrowly escaped. The natural instincts of the pegasus, named Embra, initiated the evasive maneuver, but it was Aia’s hawk-like eyes and supernatural reflexes that proved its success.
“By the Gods,” she cursed herself. Her heart began pounding as she calmly rescanned the forests below. She cursed once more when she found nothing. Whatever was down there, it was belligerent, and certainly not natural. It was suicidal to descend further and investigate.
Aia summoned the fiery powers that inhabited her ancestral blade, channeling the power of the Old Gods within it. In four fell swipes single she cast wide arcs of blistering flames that descended around a moderate perimeter of where the tendrils had originated. This would ignite the timber of the forest and certainly spread into a wildfire.
Whoever - or whatever launched the tendrils - would soon be faced by four walls of fire burning inward towards their position.
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Andraste Ruana
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 244
Age: 25
Physical Description: =====================================
Although she is quite young, Andraste's very being resonates with magical power. She has long, dark red hair that falls down around her face, framing her soft, kindly features nicely. She has soft, unnaturally coloured orange eyes, striking against her pale skin. Andraste's hands speak to a lowborn life of peasant work, rough and callused. However, her skin is fair and her figure elegant, her musculature long and lean, lending itself to swiftness rather than powerful. Heat emanates from her body, able to be felt from almost a foot away.
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Clothes and Equipment: Since her adoption into a magic collegium, Andraste has taken to wearing ornate crimson great robes, flowing about her figure, complete with gold filigree and a roomy hood that shadows her face when worn, although she tends to keep it down outside of whatever court she happens to be serving. Her only offensive equipment is a dirk imbued with a haste enchantment, allowing for almost unnaturally quick strikes. However, she tends to favour her magic-imbued twisted oak staff which enhances her casting ability, the large black onyx stone at the tip of the staff holding a particular affinity to her favoured school of magic: Pyromancy. She also holds a book of various incantations in her other hand when in battle, reading them off with extreme speed and accuracy. She possesses a natural resistance to heat, but is much less resistant to cold.
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Registered: May 31, 2015 20:33:14 GMT -8
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Post by Andraste Ruana on Mar 30, 2018 16:03:55 GMT -8
Although the tree itself is incinerated quickly, the fire is unallowed to spread much further as a writhing mass of vines suddenly spills from the undergrowth and wraps about the burning flora, smothering the flame with their sheer mass. An inhuman cry echoes from the undergrowth, a feral scream echoed by a thousand voices, sending birds scattering and filling the air with a terrible cacophony of angry voices. As Aia scans the canopy, a humanoid figure garbed in crimson explodes from the overgrowth, bearing upon its back a pair of wings appearing to be composed entirely of a thick black smog, a fluctuating violet light shining through breaks in the smoke. She speeds toward the pegasus, her hands wreathed in hot blue flames, ready to strike the woman down from the skies for interrupting her march. Two massive crow-like beasts follow in her wake, cloaked in the same writhing black smog, glimpses of a bare skull and beak showing through, their eyes replaced by balls of glowing violet flame. Their terrible wings flap powerfully as they let out terrifying screams, the sound of which resembling something between the cawing of a crow and the scraping of metal upon metal. Their lower bodies are formless, terminating in a trail of that same black smog that encompasses the rest of their bodies, ever in flux. As Aia flies over a clearing, she is finally treated to a glimpse of what is to come. There, below, stand an army of men, their bodies jerking about as if strung along by an unseen force. They are pale and sickly, though they don't appear to be rotting, trapped in a state somewhere between life and death. Thorny black vines encircle each one, wrapping about every limb, crawling out of every wound, apparently as much a part of each one as their own skin. Some sort of black fungi grows on each unit as well, a fuzzy sable moss that dots their flesh. Their eyes, filled with a mystical violet glow, gaze up at the passing scout, tracking her every movement. A smattering of the parasitized men raise crossbows and take aim.  |
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Aia Heijra
Dedicated
Valkyrie of Isra
Roleplay posts: 109
Age: 26
Physical Description: A tall and athletically built woman, although she appears quite slim. She has long, curly white hair, bright blue eyes, pretty face, and clear complexion.
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Clothes and Equipment: Aia's Ki'gar hangs around her neck like a cape, though only reaches down to her mid-back. It is a darker shade of orange, with black trimming, a black boar's head, and the name 'Heijra' underneath. The Heijra clan is known as the Black Boar clan.
Aia likes to wear fur around her shoulders, which is customary in her homeland. When in battle she prefers to wear little to no armor, and when does it is generally light.
Aia wields an ancestral blade from Asgeir, passed down in the Heijra Clan for many generations. The runic inscriptions allow her to create, control, and use fire magic, drawing upon a source the Varan call "the power of the Old Gods".
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Registered: Aug 15, 2015 5:18:42 GMT -8
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Post by Aia Heijra on Mar 30, 2018 16:22:50 GMT -8
There was the source of the magic: a crimson-robed woman, soaring into the skies with an impressive set of supernatural wings. Two allies accompany here, obviously formed of the same magic. Aia wastes no time in investigating further, instead she rears her winged mare around and proceeds at a quick pace back the way she came. She is outnumbered and refuses to fight an unknown opponent. Due to this, she is unable to see the army of unnatural beings below, and her altitude is so high that the crossbows do not catch her attention.
Pegasi were quick, and Aia trusted the swiftness of Embra. Nevertheless, she did not know who she was up against; there capability was an unknown. She began to cast powerful flames from her sword, leaving an inferno of magical, blistering fire to delay and disrupt Andraste and her allies.
With her free hand she reached for a war horn, bringing it to her lips. With an exhale she released a deep yet far-traveled noise. She hoped that the other Valkyries nearby would heed her call and come to assist.
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Andraste Ruana
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 244
Age: 25
Physical Description: =====================================
Although she is quite young, Andraste's very being resonates with magical power. She has long, dark red hair that falls down around her face, framing her soft, kindly features nicely. She has soft, unnaturally coloured orange eyes, striking against her pale skin. Andraste's hands speak to a lowborn life of peasant work, rough and callused. However, her skin is fair and her figure elegant, her musculature long and lean, lending itself to swiftness rather than powerful. Heat emanates from her body, able to be felt from almost a foot away.
====================================
Clothes and Equipment: Since her adoption into a magic collegium, Andraste has taken to wearing ornate crimson great robes, flowing about her figure, complete with gold filigree and a roomy hood that shadows her face when worn, although she tends to keep it down outside of whatever court she happens to be serving. Her only offensive equipment is a dirk imbued with a haste enchantment, allowing for almost unnaturally quick strikes. However, she tends to favour her magic-imbued twisted oak staff which enhances her casting ability, the large black onyx stone at the tip of the staff holding a particular affinity to her favoured school of magic: Pyromancy. She also holds a book of various incantations in her other hand when in battle, reading them off with extreme speed and accuracy. She possesses a natural resistance to heat, but is much less resistant to cold.
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Registered: May 31, 2015 20:33:14 GMT -8
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Post by Andraste Ruana on Apr 1, 2018 16:46:18 GMT -8
Andraste and company easily weave out of the way of the flaming bolts. However, her wings are not made to carry her at extraordinary speed, and she is unwilling to risk two of her Greater Banes to pursue. She stops in the air and begins to float downward, gesturing for the beasts to follow. Soon, they disappear below the forest canopy and touch upon the ground, in the midst of the massive, ever growing horde of parasitised men and beasts. The pack of timberwolves has returned along with an unfortunate hunter taken by surprise, completely overtaken by the vines that creep through the forest. Ten more added to her fold, and her power grows. She gives a deadly smile.
"Let her leave," she reassures herself, speaking as much to herself as the entity that inhabits her mind, "for even with advanced warning no town, no village, no city, no nation can stand against us."
With that, she and her retinue continue, black thorned vines creeping throughout the forest, wrapping about tree and shrub and beast alike. The air about the forest grows heavy, and the sky becomes eternally turbulent with stormclouds, an ill omen. The Wyld has taken root here, and it will take much to remove it. She and her army slowly leave the area toward the surrounding farmland, a creeping blight, taking farmer and livestock alike. The Southern Plains will be completely overtaken in short measure if no one intervenes.
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Aia Heijra
Dedicated
Valkyrie of Isra
Roleplay posts: 109
Age: 26
Physical Description: A tall and athletically built woman, although she appears quite slim. She has long, curly white hair, bright blue eyes, pretty face, and clear complexion.
==========
Clothes and Equipment: Aia's Ki'gar hangs around her neck like a cape, though only reaches down to her mid-back. It is a darker shade of orange, with black trimming, a black boar's head, and the name 'Heijra' underneath. The Heijra clan is known as the Black Boar clan.
Aia likes to wear fur around her shoulders, which is customary in her homeland. When in battle she prefers to wear little to no armor, and when does it is generally light.
Aia wields an ancestral blade from Asgeir, passed down in the Heijra Clan for many generations. The runic inscriptions allow her to create, control, and use fire magic, drawing upon a source the Varan call "the power of the Old Gods".
==========
Registered: Aug 15, 2015 5:18:42 GMT -8
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Post by Aia Heijra on Apr 2, 2018 12:23:00 GMT -8
It is to Aia’s great pleasure that Andraste and her Greater Banes retreated back into the canopy below. The Varan had no idea who or what she was facing, and had no way of knowing if a larger following was moving through the forest below.
To remain here was suicidal. Aia could not stop this threat, not alone. Engaging Andraste and whatever minions she had would only end in defeat, that was certain - so Aia deemed a battle here was not tactically logical.
The best course of action was to quickly warn the villages in this part of the Land Tiller’s Expanse, and return back to Isra and inform Empress Naoki of the current events. Then the forces of the Isran Empire could surely crush Andraste and whatever she could throw at them.
<exit>
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Post by Land Tillers' State on Apr 3, 2018 12:14:17 GMT -8
Minutes after the initial encounter between Andraste and Aia, the sky above the great anomaly shivers. The sound of a great crack, like the breaking of a heavenly pillar, rolls through the fields. A defiant arc of shimmering light appears just beneath the clouds.
The guardians of the Land Tiller Tribe, safely machinating in the three great citadels of the Expanse, are watching. And they are greatly displeased.
The arc coalesced into three starlights, which line up like the belt of Orion. Three stars, three great guardians, three spells.
The first star shatters, and a great shimmering serpent of pure water, a living ocean, writhes forth. The second star doesn't shatter, but increases in luminosity, bathing the dragon in a golden light which gives it the luster of a crystal statue in front of an afternoon sun. The third light stands above the others, turning an arcane violet as the Black Tower sustains the link between the other guardians and their spells.
The great serpent then rushes down to the earth and swims through the air in a great arc. It circles the abomination, its light attempting to oppress the darkness with a painful heat. Its waters would douse the surrounding vegetation with purifying dew, attempting to safeguard the natural word from further harm.
On the other end of the plains, dozens of groups of mounted archers are gathering, wearing thick skins, pelts, and silk for armor. Some of then are armed with enchanted bows and arrows, a rare few have equipped their steeds (most of which are of a unique type of wildebeest-like creature) with light metal cataphract armor, courtesy of their Isran allies. Their leaders are in heated discussion, attempted to discern an optimal attack pattern for striking at the blight.
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Andraste Ruana
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 244
Age: 25
Physical Description: =====================================
Although she is quite young, Andraste's very being resonates with magical power. She has long, dark red hair that falls down around her face, framing her soft, kindly features nicely. She has soft, unnaturally coloured orange eyes, striking against her pale skin. Andraste's hands speak to a lowborn life of peasant work, rough and callused. However, her skin is fair and her figure elegant, her musculature long and lean, lending itself to swiftness rather than powerful. Heat emanates from her body, able to be felt from almost a foot away.
====================================
Clothes and Equipment: Since her adoption into a magic collegium, Andraste has taken to wearing ornate crimson great robes, flowing about her figure, complete with gold filigree and a roomy hood that shadows her face when worn, although she tends to keep it down outside of whatever court she happens to be serving. Her only offensive equipment is a dirk imbued with a haste enchantment, allowing for almost unnaturally quick strikes. However, she tends to favour her magic-imbued twisted oak staff which enhances her casting ability, the large black onyx stone at the tip of the staff holding a particular affinity to her favoured school of magic: Pyromancy. She also holds a book of various incantations in her other hand when in battle, reading them off with extreme speed and accuracy. She possesses a natural resistance to heat, but is much less resistant to cold.
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Registered: May 31, 2015 20:33:14 GMT -8
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Post by Andraste Ruana on Apr 4, 2018 19:17:11 GMT -8
As the serpent begins to circle about the forest, the creeping blight seems to slow, the black vines seared by the light magic. For a moment, it almost seems like the defence will work, and contain the Wyld...at least for now. However, as soon as the construct begins to rain sustaining water down upon the area, the corruption surges back again, bolstered by the rejuvenating rains as much as any other plants. Natures sanctity, it would seem, does not simply extend to the greenery that calls itself home here. A hint, perhaps, to any astute enough to recognize the implications; this spirit, or god...this thing that crawls over the land is not unnatural.
Even with the great and powerful defence of the Tillers' guardians, it seems the blight continues unabated. Those nearby farms and towns that have been evacuated are razed in a matter of minutes. Those that are not so lucky as to get out in time become one with the Wyld, turning their scythes upon their neighbors and kin, their minds twisted and parasitised by the creeping doom. In the centre of it all stands the conduit within which this Wyld rests, the crimson-clad destroyer who examines the work of her minions with an air of satisfaction. She turns her eye up to the coalesced cloud cover and laughs in a voice not entirely her own, mimicked as it is by a second, hissing tone, defying the guardians to try again.
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Post by Land Tillers' State on Apr 6, 2018 16:17:56 GMT -8
The arcane eyes of the guardians were quick to discern that their tactic was faltering. However, this wasn't the last the wyld had heard of them. The great serpent of water rose up into the sky and flew off, where it would deposit its essence into the nearby Mau River.
The sky tore itself apart once again with a hateful roar. While the arcane and holy beacons in the sky remained unchanged, the elemental beacon began letting loose bolts of lightning around the land outside the perimeter of the wild, with special emphasis on the northern forested half. These bolts were infused with the power of light, and would deal reduced damaged to innocent creatures while searing malevolence with increased fervor. Their true goal was to cause as much heat and ignite as many fires as possible. They were soon accompanied by fiery boulders which rocketted towards the ground, their impacts echoing for miles like rolling thunder. Off in the distance, the guardian tower's alarms were ringing, and anyone who could so much as raise a wand was being called upon to aid in the defense of the Expanse. The defense network was relaying the spells of even children, causing a great diversity in the size and magnitude of every strike.
On the southern end the impetus was on the archers and farmers, who were desperately mutilating their own farms to create a grassless barrier, at the behest of the local militia. The archers had formed a long defensive line in case those possessed by the wyld got too close.
When they ran out of time, the fire arrows began to descend onto the fields...
In just a few minutes, great storms of fire would begin to erupt on both sides. If the Land-Tillers couldn't suppress the wyld, they would sacrifice their own land to slow it down.
As one final coup de grace, the holy beacon in the sky would begin infusing the flames with benevolent energy. Every stray ember would drift towards the wyld instead of away from it. The holy flames would also allow stray snakes and mice caught in the inferno to crawl out with only first degree burns.
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Andraste Ruana
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 244
Age: 25
Physical Description: =====================================
Although she is quite young, Andraste's very being resonates with magical power. She has long, dark red hair that falls down around her face, framing her soft, kindly features nicely. She has soft, unnaturally coloured orange eyes, striking against her pale skin. Andraste's hands speak to a lowborn life of peasant work, rough and callused. However, her skin is fair and her figure elegant, her musculature long and lean, lending itself to swiftness rather than powerful. Heat emanates from her body, able to be felt from almost a foot away.
====================================
Clothes and Equipment: Since her adoption into a magic collegium, Andraste has taken to wearing ornate crimson great robes, flowing about her figure, complete with gold filigree and a roomy hood that shadows her face when worn, although she tends to keep it down outside of whatever court she happens to be serving. Her only offensive equipment is a dirk imbued with a haste enchantment, allowing for almost unnaturally quick strikes. However, she tends to favour her magic-imbued twisted oak staff which enhances her casting ability, the large black onyx stone at the tip of the staff holding a particular affinity to her favoured school of magic: Pyromancy. She also holds a book of various incantations in her other hand when in battle, reading them off with extreme speed and accuracy. She possesses a natural resistance to heat, but is much less resistant to cold.
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Registered: May 31, 2015 20:33:14 GMT -8
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Post by Andraste Ruana on Apr 8, 2018 14:36:42 GMT -8
This new tactic is much more efficient at delaying the creeping Wyld, causing the writhing black vines to reel back at the flames, as if afraid. However, within the hour the Wyld's tactics begin to shift as well. Instead of attempting to avoid the flames, seething masses of the thorned vines begin to throw themselves onto the flames all at once, the mere weight and volume of the plant matter snuffing the fire before it can burn through, the water coursing through the plants' xylem spilling out onto the flames if it gets too hot, sacrificing that vine in the process. This tactic repeats itself for any new fire created by the archers or the searing lightning. In addition, as the boulders tear toward the Wyld, great thick trunks like gigantic trees made of seething black plantlife spring from the mass to grasp at the soaring rocks before swinging about using their own momentum and tossing them back the way they came.
Meanwhile, on the rear-facing side of the forest, the Wyld begins pulling trees down and Andraste torches the land upon which they once lie, creating a long strip of torched land that the flames cannot spread over. Before long, the Wyld's advance resumes, the forward-facing flames having been snuffed out and those at its rear burning through all their fuel one by one, eliminating the threat as the greedy wildfire sucks up its available resources. The forest has been impacted to a major degree, and the Wyld's strength has waned some as a significant fraction of its forces have been immolated, but the tactic is ultimately ineffective, despite the delay. With that, the hordes of parasitised humans surges forward, trampling over the burned land and charging at the archers, displaying little regard for their own lives. In addition, they appear much harder to strike down than the average human, each one having to be made into a pincushion by the arrows before it finally falls. Tearing out in front of the hordes is a massive pack of timberwolves, as well, dashing with all the speed and ferocity it would possess on a regular hunt, although this time their prey is a different sort -- man. Specifically those archers that harass the horde, the wolves much faster than your average footman, even without armour.
A trio of the massive crow-like spectres rise out of the horde as well, their smoking ethereal bodies and glowing violet eyes striking fear into the hearts of mortal men as they dive down toward the Land Tiller's battalions. Each strike of their razor sharp beaks, or sweep of their smoky wings, leeches the life force of any that are to come in contact, making melee combat extremely risky at best. The sky begins to fill with a huge murder of crows as well, swirling over the mass of The Wyld Hordes, a terrifying cacophony of caws and screeches filling the air, although they don't seem to serve any combat purpose. In truth, these crows are the Wyld's eyes and ears, scouting out the battle field with keen eyesight.
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Post by Land Tillers' State on Apr 15, 2018 19:36:09 GMT -8
If it had been any other enemy, the war drums would have begun playing a determined, orderly rhythm. The mounted lancers of the Order of the Harvest would have started charging forth with steel weapons and cataphract-bearing steeds, bolstered by fiery and holy auras. But that order never arrived.
Instead came a staccato of various panicked commands, the sum of which amounted to a general impression of what the order of the day was now: survive.
As the Wyld advanced, the flames intensified. Was it a futile gesture? Perhaps. But that didn't stop the now thousands of men, women, and children pouring into the Guardian Tower in the distance and lobbing their spells and their power through the TERRA system. By now even the mana of toddlers who were only following their parents' leads was intermingled into the torrent of flaming rocks, arcane bolts, and holy crescents raining down all around the Wyld.
All around the Southern Plains, any farmers who hadn't evacuated turned their attention towards stalling for time. They lit more grass on fire. They lit their homes on fire. One man even lit himself on fire just before a hoard of possessed kin took him down. There were very few cowards left in the plains as everyone else was either taken or evacuated.
The majority of the mounted archers were being led by a woman named Ying-Na of the Celadine and the Acacia. Under her guidance the remaining Land-Tiller forces were riding around the Wyld in an ever expanding series of concentric rings, designed to keep the forces of the wyld in a perpetual flank while pelting them with flaming arrows. Whatever mages were among them of course attempted to focus down the dark crows with spectres of holy light, though this would split their concentration as they tried to keep the archers' arrows enchanted.
The Order of thr Harvest understood that a suicidal charge on their part would only serve to increase the Wyld's numbers. So they tasked themselves with the unusual endeavor of evacuating the animals, herding away cows, sheep, young steeds, chickens, any other creatures they could find which would yield to the stomping of their horseshoes.
While all this was happening, more arrows were coming in from the North, from groups of mysterious elves skilled at guerilla warfare, who used secret methods to move from place to place among the trees. They would deal little damage, but would serve as a nuisance as the Wyld ventured further up into the Mau Forests.
It was all the Land-Tillers could do to keep slowing the Wyld down until more help arrived.
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Ittan-Momen
Established
Roleplay posts: 30 
Physical Description: A roll of cotton
Clothes and Equipment: Cotton
Registered: Jan 22, 2018 21:21:40 GMT -8
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Post by Ittan-Momen on Apr 16, 2018 10:24:38 GMT -8
A cotton roll lazily floats along, looking down upon the plains. If it had a face, or any distinct facial features, it might’ve frowned or otherwise shown its displeasure at the very scary and very hot fire. Instead it internalizes its feelings, and flies safely above the plains to see what is happening.
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Daedalus
Committed
Roleplay posts: 86
Age: Unknown - Appears to be in his 20's
Physical Description: The golden haired man is tall, standing at about 6 feet 2 inches. He appears to be built quite normally for a healthy and active adult human male. The only thing off about the man is his eyes, which are golden in color and glow faintly.
Clothes and Equipment: He wears clothes, usually. He doesn't really carry anything interesting with him, though.
Player's online availability : Fairly often
Registered: Oct 25, 2016 16:35:39 GMT -8
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Post by Daedalus on Apr 17, 2018 9:45:51 GMT -8
Daedalus would arrive upon the scene in a flash of blue light as he teleported directly from Isra, cloak flapping in the wind. He was accompanied by his most powerful magi from the Enclave, one hundred of them in total who would also teleport in. Jun of the Celadine also accompanied him here. He had coordinated previously with the locals prior to arrival and knew what the situation entailed. Surveying the chaos, he sent his mages to the guardian towers to help contain the Wyld. They were all extremely capable mages and would strengthen the TERRA network considerably not only with their ability but with several powerful fonts of magical energy stored within crystals they had brought. Meanwhile, Daedalus thought out loud, "We need to figure out how this thing grows and spreads. I've heard it is plant-like in appearance and that water bolsters its growth... But there has to be a magical component to this threat as well that lets it grow so quickly. We need to find out what sustains it and cut off the supply or slow it down." |
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Jun of the Celadine
Widely Known
Roleplay posts: 1,410
Age: 28
Physical Description: Jun is a human adult, standing 5’4”. She is wiry and fit at approximately 120 lbs. She has olive skin, dark brown hair ending just above her shoulders, and slight epicanthic folds over her dark almond eyes. Her face is squarish with a small chin. Her skin is dotted with battle scars, and her left arm is heavily bandaged due to an unknown affliction.
Clothes and Equipment: Jun possesses a vast collection of seeds, herbs, insects, and scrolls hidden in various pouches in her armor. These serve as reagents for her multitude of spells. Her armor consists of a customized, long-coat style gambeson that is stuffed with a matrix of seeds and plant fibers. Fitted on top is a set of brass-like, enchanted half armor (chest piece, pauldrons, and tassets) which gives off a warm aura. She has an open-faced, burgonet style helmet and coif of the same materials.
Her most notable "weapons" are Blackbean and Resonance. Blackbean is an elephant-sized demon crow which has served with Jun for many years as a mount and as a bodyguard. A minor enchantment allows him to disguise himself as a regular crow. Resonance is an azure blue longsword with a mind of his own. He can intercept minor attacks and can teleport to his owner. He can also use a personal reserve of magic to aid in the casting of a single spell.
Allegiances: Isra
Player's online availability : Frequently
Registered: Mar 27, 2015 22:57:52 GMT -8
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Apr 17, 2018 11:10:09 GMT -8
Jun appeared along with Daedalus in a flash of lightning, fists balled with hatred as she surveyed the destruction caused by the Wyld. In the distance she spotted the ring of mounted archers fighting around the ring. She suggested to Daedalus that some of his mages task themselves with casting a holy aura that empowered any people fighting against the wyld, and gift their their arrows with fire. She wondered which of the riding figures was her mother...
She nodded to Daedalus. "I agree. I've been thinking about it. The Expanse was blessed by the Earthwarden thousands of years ago. There is a lot of life and nature energy here. So maybe it spawned here so it could appropriate that energy for itself."
She started rummaging through a pouch she brought. What she pulled out were some seeds. "So maybe we can draw the remaining nature energy away from it into ourselves and use it to fight back. Vanei taught me to commune with nature while I was gone for a year. Maybe you can do something similar with these. They eat magical energy and draw it into you. It's my version of antimagic. But as life forms they are malleable and can adapt to your will. We'll gather the energy around the Wyld and keep it away from it while using it for ourselves."
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Vaelar Black
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 114
Age: 35
Physical Description: Vaelar is a massively tall man, standing at a height of six and a quarter feet and possessing a powerful build. He has flowing, well-kept hair of snow white, reaching down past his shoulders, and eyes of a deep violet. He has a youthful face and a strong, well-cut jawline, usually covered with a dusting of stubble. Overall, his appearance is much more youthful than his actual age, and his energy and charisma has not dissipated over the years of his being a sellsword.
Clothes and Equipment: ===================================================
Outside of battle, Vaelar wears simple and comfortable, yet elegant clothing. His indigo tunic is made of cave spider silk, breathable and flowing, and purposefully baggy so as to show off a hint of his muscular build. He usually wears a set of dark brown leather trousers to go along with it, completing the ensemble with a pair of well-built leather boots.
In battle he wears a set of heavy full plate, the metal of which has been stained black with red trim, an imposing depiction of a red dragon painted across the chest. Normally he wears no helmet, preferring as wide a range of view as possible. As for weaponry, he normally wields a well-made bastard sword handed down his bloodline named "Nightrend", paired with a steel kite shield, although the shield can be abandoned and the bastard sword wielded with two hands. On his belt he generally carries a complement of several different throwable substances, from gaseous potions to napatha to a vial of an unknown, viscous substance which traps his enemy in a thick, sticky black slime, simultaneously slowing their actions and compromising armour strength with its acidity.
Registered: Sept 13, 2015 7:53:53 GMT -8
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Post by Vaelar Black on Apr 17, 2018 20:18:08 GMT -8
From the east a large shadow begins to glide over the ground. High above the plains soars a large beast that appears to be a large, red-furred lion, though it also possesses the tail of a scorpion, and large, leathery bat-like wings. It circles the battle field a few times, though its intent is not yet clear. However, that changes quickly, as it abruptly falls from the sky into a deep nosedive, furling its wings to become a living arrow. A loud, powerful roar echoes throughout the fields as it finds its mark, slamming down upon a large parasitised wolf, its tail curling about and impaling the creature through the head, and then the chest, and then the abdomen, tearing it apart.
From this distance, any gazing upon the beast might tell that it's huge. Much larger than a lion rightly should be. Indeed, for it's larger than a destrier warhorse. In fact, upon closer inspection, it appears to be mounted! A human man with long blond hair grasps the fur of its mane and sits between its shoulder blades, a bastard sword grasped in his other and a kite shield strapped upon his back. He's not close enough to make out any features, but the signature stained black red-trimmed armour with the crimson dragon emblazoned upon its chest plate can be discerned from Jun's vantage point with ease. No doubt she knows this particular combatant well, for it is her lost lover, stolen by a great dark dragon five years ago.
The manticore, with Vaelar upon its back, soars back up into the air again only to crash down into a crowd of the blighted, tail swinging and claws swiping with deadly effect. Even a beast so large and powerful as it, however, cannot hold out for long, constantly rising back up into the air just before being overwhelmed and crashing down upon a different spot. Vaelar, to his credit, does what he can to keep the blighted men at bay, long bastard sword deftly batting back the vine-laden creatures that dare get too close. While the mercenary knight's involvement does not swing the tide in the Land Tiller's State's favour by any means, it certainly helps disrupt the writhing mass of man and beast that is the Wyld Horde, allowing fires to break out and burn more of the creatures into the ground before being stifled by the pure mass of bodies and vines.
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Andraste Ruana
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 244
Age: 25
Physical Description: =====================================
Although she is quite young, Andraste's very being resonates with magical power. She has long, dark red hair that falls down around her face, framing her soft, kindly features nicely. She has soft, unnaturally coloured orange eyes, striking against her pale skin. Andraste's hands speak to a lowborn life of peasant work, rough and callused. However, her skin is fair and her figure elegant, her musculature long and lean, lending itself to swiftness rather than powerful. Heat emanates from her body, able to be felt from almost a foot away.
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Clothes and Equipment: Since her adoption into a magic collegium, Andraste has taken to wearing ornate crimson great robes, flowing about her figure, complete with gold filigree and a roomy hood that shadows her face when worn, although she tends to keep it down outside of whatever court she happens to be serving. Her only offensive equipment is a dirk imbued with a haste enchantment, allowing for almost unnaturally quick strikes. However, she tends to favour her magic-imbued twisted oak staff which enhances her casting ability, the large black onyx stone at the tip of the staff holding a particular affinity to her favoured school of magic: Pyromancy. She also holds a book of various incantations in her other hand when in battle, reading them off with extreme speed and accuracy. She possesses a natural resistance to heat, but is much less resistant to cold.
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Registered: May 31, 2015 20:33:14 GMT -8
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Post by Andraste Ruana on Apr 17, 2018 20:31:48 GMT -8
The Wyld is certainly travelling much slower than it would be were it not being bombarded by the spells of the Tiller's magi, but every fire that rises up within the ranks is quickly stifled by the Wyld's bursting and writhing vines. The archers are pursued and heckled at every turn by the timberwolves and wargs that attempt to run down their mounts and disrupt their firing rings, hunting them just as they would a stag or a moose in the wild with a measure of coordination nigh-impossible without the guiding hand of the being that inhabits each beast's mind. They're deft bastards, too, twisting out of the way of arrows and hoof kicks. As a result, the archers' effect on them is not as potent as it would be normally.
As the Wyld moves up into the Mau woods, it begins to wrap its creeping vines about trees and shrubs and any other living thing unlucky enough to be in its path. The elves' harassing tactics don't have a considerable effect against the crawling undergrowth of the Wyld, though their piercing shots do immobilise a not insignificant number of the thick vines. Anything it touches is immediately tasked with sustaining its strength, the very life of the forest itself turning to the Wyld's path. The trees become shriveled and gnarled things, while the Wyld simply grows visibly stronger, though its buildup is considerably weakened by the strength it must devote to fighting against the brunt of the Land Tiller's assault. It barely registers Vaelar as a threat, though with his every landing he's harassed by a mass of flesh and flora, whipping and tearing at the manticore before it flies off for another run.
The burning of the land does little to abate the Wyld's crawl, for even the charred grounds that remain of the farmers' fields hold within them kernels of natural power and energy that sustains the Wyld. With every inch gained it grows another tendril, another powerful vine springing from the ground below, tearing at any nearby, parasitising any being it comes into contact with, large or small.
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Post by Land Tillers' State on Apr 20, 2018 6:49:17 GMT -8
While the Wyld may be a deft bastard in general, the Land-Tillers are still tenacious. The timberwolves and wargs prove troublesome to the mounted archers, until their commander is able to get a bead on them from behind. Ying-Na is capable of shooting multiple arrows consecutively even while mounted at decent accuracy. After felling an entire group of timberwolves single-handedly, she makes sure to give the Wyld the finger before signalling their circle to expand outwards. While the wolves disrupt their circle, the enchanted fire arrows (now boosted even further by Daedalus' magi) deal even greater damage than before, and a stronger holy aura makes it more difficult for the wolves and vines to get a good bite.
The Knights of the Harvest, lead by Rohak of the Dittany, feel the further empowerment of Daedalus' magi. With their lances and cataphract armor glistening with holy energy, they decide to joing Ying-Na's circle and provide melee support. They ride along and serve as decoys to the wolves so that the archers can focus on the Wyld. Some of them have the presence of mind to retreat and come back later with additional quivers full of fresh arrows to resupply the archers!
Further off in the distance north, the shadows of a row of large things can be seen approaching. It isn't quite clear what they are yet. But they are dark, bulbous figures and they are moving slowly.
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Daedalus
Committed
Roleplay posts: 86
Age: Unknown - Appears to be in his 20's
Physical Description: The golden haired man is tall, standing at about 6 feet 2 inches. He appears to be built quite normally for a healthy and active adult human male. The only thing off about the man is his eyes, which are golden in color and glow faintly.
Clothes and Equipment: He wears clothes, usually. He doesn't really carry anything interesting with him, though.
Player's online availability : Fairly often
Registered: Oct 25, 2016 16:35:39 GMT -8
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Post by Daedalus on Apr 22, 2018 18:38:52 GMT -8
Daedalus surveys the fighting calmly, they weren't directly in harm's way at the moment as him and Jun both were quite a distance away, but they could see the ring of horse archers in the distance fighting. He takes the seeds and looks at them carefully.
"Funny thing, really," he begins, turning over the seed in his hand, "Druids aren't known for recording their works or techniques in books, many of them preferred teaching and handing down their talents to students directly. This means there are few academic texts on the use of nature magic, at least from what I've been able to access. There were a few that I did study however. One in particular was the Essentia Rerum Natura, naturally the author was anonymous but was said to be a very powerful druid in his day... Anyhow, enough rambling. The point is, I know how to use nature magic but lacked the part where I could actually utilize it by communing with nature, never had enough time with that, so these seeds should help like so..."
Daedalus then pops them into his mouth and swallows them, before beginning to channel magic. His normally blue mana appears at first but it slowly turns a shade of light green as its glow brightens. He gasps as he feels the power of nature around him that he is drawing from, the feeling of drawing upon this energy quite different and intriguing.
"This is good," Daedalus says, mostly to himself before moments later a bright aura of green nature energy erupts from him, his channeling increasing tenfold as he begins drawing large amounts of natural energy. In fact, he is drawing so much energy that plants around him begin to wither.
"I will contain the far side of the Wyld's growth, you focus on this side."
In a brilliant flash of light Daedalus teleported to the other side of the Wyld, facing wall of vines that encroached across the fields. Daedalus had gathered a massive amount of power by now and would begin bringing it to bear against the Wyld. All around him in the field any plants that were still alive began to wither and die. As it turned out, the particular brand of nature magic he studied in particular had to do with disease and death, and he began concocting a nasty pestilence that would begin to spread through the field and towards the Wyld that would kill any plants it touched. It's progress could be noted as a wave of plants decaying and crumbling in seconds. Daedalus' green magical channeling took on a more sinister purple hue as he cast his spell.
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Jun of the Celadine
Widely Known
Roleplay posts: 1,410
Age: 28
Physical Description: Jun is a human adult, standing 5’4”. She is wiry and fit at approximately 120 lbs. She has olive skin, dark brown hair ending just above her shoulders, and slight epicanthic folds over her dark almond eyes. Her face is squarish with a small chin. Her skin is dotted with battle scars, and her left arm is heavily bandaged due to an unknown affliction.
Clothes and Equipment: Jun possesses a vast collection of seeds, herbs, insects, and scrolls hidden in various pouches in her armor. These serve as reagents for her multitude of spells. Her armor consists of a customized, long-coat style gambeson that is stuffed with a matrix of seeds and plant fibers. Fitted on top is a set of brass-like, enchanted half armor (chest piece, pauldrons, and tassets) which gives off a warm aura. She has an open-faced, burgonet style helmet and coif of the same materials.
Her most notable "weapons" are Blackbean and Resonance. Blackbean is an elephant-sized demon crow which has served with Jun for many years as a mount and as a bodyguard. A minor enchantment allows him to disguise himself as a regular crow. Resonance is an azure blue longsword with a mind of his own. He can intercept minor attacks and can teleport to his owner. He can also use a personal reserve of magic to aid in the casting of a single spell.
Allegiances: Isra
Player's online availability : Frequently
Registered: Mar 27, 2015 22:57:52 GMT -8
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Apr 22, 2018 22:26:22 GMT -8
"Wow... What a nerd."
Jun smirked as Daedalus left for the other side. It was comforting having such a talented mage helping the Expanse. It was strange. She actually planned on writing a complicated glyph and having him tap into the seeds' power as they emerged into nature energy vines. But then he went ahead and just ate them. And most bizarely of all, that worked perfectly.
What a guy.
"I still have a lot to learn..."
As she watched the Wyld and Land-Tillers do battle across the field, she started breathing deeply. Her strategy was going to be a little bit different from his.
She planted her feet together and folded her hands together. What was to follow would be in some ways her ultimate ability, something she had spent a year mastering deep within Va'nei's domain. In some ways it was a spell, but in a more profound way it was a rather simple skill. All she was going to do was ask for help.
As her heart reached out to the world around her, something in the air changed. It was a faint aura, an unimposing one, like a light, wispy crystal. It had no color, and wouldn't even register on the senses of most sapient beings. It was an aura of softness and humility, of a being that understood that it was, ultimately, just a single spark in a great cosmic fire.
Humility, kindness, and diligence were the keys.
The first respondent was a single sparrow that landed on her shoulders. Then a moth fluttered up and sat in her hair. The creatures stared out at the encroaching Wyld which, at the moment, seemed convinced that it owned the planet and knew what was best for it.
Jun didn't move. She continued to chant softly in supplication even as a curious centipede crawled up her leg. Several grasshoppers leaped up to her mage's hood and, using it as footing, crawled up to her shoulders to observe the petulant demigod. What an odd thing.
As the seconds went by, flies and gnats started to form little swarms around her. A curious lizard leaped up her front and crawled onto her wrist. It too watched the Wyld. What was the Wyld? Did it think it knew what was best for these creatures?
About a minute went by, and progressively larger and larger animals began to appear, curious about the still, supplicant human. Several rats, then a deer, and eventually a pride of lions. Soon the ground around Jun was covered in orbiting shadows as vultures, song birds, and hawks circled above her.
There was more to it than animals. While Daedalus' power blackened the earth from one side, the earth around Jun became increasingly verdant. Grass turned greener, trees became taller, vines and roots grew with such fervor that they trembled the earth around her.
Closer to the Wyld, the grass and trees would begin to wither and dry in a manner similar to when Daedalus had discovered druidic energy. But for every blade of grass that shriveled, a new one formed closer to Jun. From the sky it would look like nature itself was retreating from the Wyld before it could control it.
And this was Jun's intention, to deprive the Wyld of natural energy, of things for it to slave to its will, to turn the very thing the Wyld was attempting to absorb against it in a pocket of resistance.
The end result of Jun's distress signal would be a field of natural energy where the plants and animals were greatly empowered. The wolves, wildebeests, snakes, and all manner of creeping things would begin exhibiting faint auras of fire and flame. They stood in front of the field as a phalanx. Many of these creatures were the very same that the Knights of the Harvest and the high priestess in charge of the TERRA's network had thoughtfully assured the safety of. The grass and trees twisted into the earth like clenched fists ready for battle. The creatures of the air too would start to swirl in various formations, alight with a new and untold power, waiting for the right time to be unleashed.
There was one last side effect of the concentration of natural energy. With all the life force concentrating around Jun and away from the Wyld, the whithered and dry grass would allow the ever expanding circle of mounted archers to ride quickly and trample through more terrain without slowing down. It would also greatly magnify the speed with which the TERRA's holy flames could spread to counter the Wyld.
Of course if the Wyld didn't want to have to deal with any of this, it was free to focus on the northern side of the Expanse, which was becoming increasingly infected with disease and death, things which the Wyld probably hated as much as any other organisms.
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