Snippet #1503470

The halfling looked down upon Kisikoni with a sour expression. Sighing, the pretty young legionnaire slapped a hand to the scorched rune on Kisikoni's chest and whispered a prayer to her patron. Instead of healing the deep human as a normal prayer would however, the golden energy pieced portions of his armor back together. Immediately the live-leather dug needle-thin veins into Kisikoni's pale skin. True to it's name, the ebon casing fused with it's host and began pumping him with a liquid that burned like fire. Within seconds Kisikoni was whole and unblemished once more, his armor's energy depleted. Don't be such a whiney bitch. I'm the one taking all the damage here.

Pel, the one who had healed Coney's armor in the first place, was yanked away by another deep human and whisked off to another part of the battlement. The culprit of the abduction was Beelzes. She jogged up to the younger of the Shanir with her tiny load in tow, and set Pel in front of Faera. "Little Shanir! Be more careful!" was all the deep human said before leaping off of the wall into the interior of the city. Pel sighed and muttered a half-hearted prayer that mended the dark-elf's arm. "It's a temp-fix," she said before turning away, "meet me after the battle for better."

---

Jakanther roared and shuffled backwards as a golem of the Legion bashed at his shoulders. One, and then another joined it in the attack and soon the dragon was on the defensive. Jakanther opened his jaws to roar again and gagged as something smacked against his uvula. His eyes narrowed at the dark elf who had thrown the vial...and widened when the back of his throat began to burn with intense pain. The dragon hissed and thrashed, retching blood and bile onto Talae, whipping around to splash Duran and Sarish, and somehow missing Kisikoni entirely. The poison had run it's course by this time, but Jakanther felt numb, weary and angry. Numb.

The hatchling's eyes popped from his already skeletal head. Jakanther could not feel his legs, or wings! Craning his head back, the dragon witnessed Caine burrying twin weapons into his spine up the the hilts, somehow bypassing his natural armor. No wings, the dragon noted distantly, as only bloody stumps remained where Iriana had sawed them off. Now the lamia was right alongside Caine digging into Jakanther's back. The hatchling slumped, then sagged onto the ground. It was hard to move. Hard to think. It would be nice to sleep for a while...back at the hoard...among gold coins and some emeralds maybe. "Yes...emeralds..." the hissed words were the last Jakanther uttered. He was dead long after the golems were finished hammering his head and the legionnaire's carving his hide.

---

With superior size and speed, Gigundelarex easily outpaced the swarm of golems. Despite the numerous gashes and patches of bloody scales the crazed draconian seemed unconcerned. He was by far the largest of his clutch and easily the strongest, so such mockeries of his race were of no conseq--

"WE. WILL. NOT. SURRENDER!" the great hatchling dove towards the proclimation, the elf's arrow whizzing past his eye and thunking ineffectually into unfeeling scales. Inadvertantly, he also avoided Faera's psychic pulse. Just before he could snap up the tasty little morsel the Liliana MK II ascended, carrying it's passenger to safety. The distraction almost proved his undoing, keen draconian senses the only thing keeping Gigundelarex from joining his kin in the Mother's embrace. With astounding agility for his bulk, the dragon wheeled in midair. Alistair's weapon skidded on black hide hard enough to strike sparks. Gigundelarex bellowed out a laugh and snapped his leathery wings to release another gale, striking the harpy down from the air and forcing Liliana and her golem to withdraw unless they wanted to fall to their deaths.

Gigundelarex twisted and climbed through the air once more to land on the battlements among a knot of Children who had snuck up on the Legion without being noticed. The dragon grinned and raised his wedge-shaped head to the sky, breathing in for a long roar of triumph. The rumbling sound died in his massive throat as a lithe figure slid down it's length with twin hooks trailing a pair of crimson lines behind it. Wrath landed before the dragon lightly, calmly striding past the stunned Children as one of their gods began spewing blood from it's sinuous neck. Wrath was well out of range when the Children began to scatter from under Gigundelarex, who smashed most of the group under his dead weight. The great dragon's skull flopped down next the the general. Wrath sheathed his blades and stood atop the defeated dragon as the first of his true army flew across the wall astride drakes, griffons and giant hawks. The pass was in Legion control in all but name now. In the minutes that followed the city's defenses crumbled and gave way to the tide of Wrath's army.

Nearby, Thanaros panted heavily, leaning against a stone hedge and cradling his head against his polearm. Sid joined the half orc and gently set her wallarmbrust against the wall. A bloody taloned hand slapped against the edge next to the pair, heaving up a gore-strewn body behind it. Beelzes. The warlock had her sunglasses on and sighed as she lay her head against the halfling. With a smile, Beelzes took off the shades and looked towards the sky. "No clouds, no more enemies...looks like it'll be a, gore-ing day. Amirite?"

The others, no including Achiru and a limping Qinn couldn't help but laugh. If not at the joke, at the mere attempt. Members of numerous legions rushed past them on both sides like a tide of steel and darkness. Still... "Yeah, lame as it may be," Gurgen added while supporting his sallow-faced brother and sitting down amongst the Black Guard, "This was a good start." Turha smirked and nodded weakly in response. Pel patted the twin's shoulders as she took her seat. Mikana dragged her huge hammer behind her as only a small elven girl could, eventually dropping it and waving at Caine to come join the group.

Wrath smiled. He had stashed the pendant for the moment and felt more like himself. The general took off his cape and leaned against the dragon corpse. He motioned for Talae and Faera to come over first, then Sarish and Duran. God the druid could be beastly when he wanted to. "Looks like we're one for one now."

---

Neira was underestimating her foe too much. At least, that's how Xeron viewed their little bout. He had her. Within the mindscape, he had the power. Outside of that was a layer of mental mines that would practically liquify the bug's brains should she try to sneak out prematurely, and wrapped around that was yet another mindscape. On the very end of the track was the physical world, where the dark elf had a dagger pressed to the hollow of Neira's throat. Inside the mindscape, Xeron smiled disarmingly.

Lucky girl... the illusory worlds faded back into mere thoughts layer by layer. He allowed the lesser psion to see, to know how completely he had her in his grasp down to the steel pricking against one of the few softer spots on her body. Back to reality in full, the Legion's harpies flew by and arrows rained down on the town's last defenders. Xeron, stitched and silent once more, stepped back and dropped the weapon. Although the expression was beyond him it was clear that the Silenced would be grinning just by the glint in his single open eye. Until we meet again, my sweet. I left you a present in that dank cave you make your the home of your memories.

As the Legion of Ashes claimed it's prize, the last of the Children, the red-cloaked Silenced faded from view.