Re: Whispers from the Ether [Zedekiah and Milla]

by **Artemis** November 3rd 2013, 10:05 am

Milla realized arguing would be a losing battle, so she just sighed and followed Sean. Besides, she couldn't just stay there. Three corpses and one living woman standing on top of them didn't exactly spell welcome. Sean's friend mentioned saving them some jail time. "No you just possibly made it worse... He could of just said we were curious and we would most likely be on our way." Just as they where leaving Sean's friend mentioned checking in on someone and disappeared.

"Looks like it's just the two of us now..." said Milla her voice trailing off. She wondered where Sean was taking her. Either way he was different then she remembered.

by **Zedekiah** November 4th 2013, 9:52 pm

No matter how many times he traveled into the Void, Zedekiah always ended his trips feeling bone-tired and mentally exhausted, and this trip was no exception. He opened his eyes and sat up, trying to rub the ache from his temples as he did so. The sound of screams and monstrous roars faded from his mind, leaving only the constant drone of whispers to haunt his subconscious. By now he had grown used to the malicious voices in his ears, but they always attacked with newfound vigor after a Voidwalk.

He shook his head, clearing out the last of the fuzziness and finally taking stock of his surroundings. His trips always ended up dropping him off in some random area of high magical resonance, and he had grown quite accustomed to making his way to a hotel or occasionally back-alley to sleep off a Void hangover. Within the past few years he actually found himself in familiar areas more and more often, and as his trips became more frequent it seemed the void was running out of new magical points to show him. It was for this reason that Zedekiah was somewhat surprised to have woken up in a bustling city that he had never seen before.

"And what dark secrets might you hold?" Zedekiah wondered to himself, curious about what magic might have drawn him there. At that moment an impatient motorist drove by the bench Zedekiah was currently sitting in, its blaring horn piercing his ears like an ice-pick. Growling and covering his ears, Zedekiah stood and began to walk, hoping to find somewhere quiet to rest. "Whatever it is," he thought, grumpily, "It can wait until later."

All thoughts of rest were quickly driven from Zedekiah’s mind, however, when he finally picked up an extremely powerful aura of death emanating from somewhere deeper in the city. Something not of this plane had died recently, and it’s body was still there. His pounding, whisper-filled headache was pushed to the background by an insatiable desire find the source, so he set off immediately to find it. On the way, he picked up a coffee from a local coffee shop, hoping it could take the edge off his headache. The shop was also selling newspapers, the headlines of which caught Zedekiah’s eye. They spoke of serial killers and deaths with unexplained wounds, which coupled with the intense magical aura in the city gave Zedekiah the distinct impression that something very big and very supernatural was going on.

Tossing his empty coffee cup and finished newspaper into a garbage can, Zedekiah finally arrived at the source of the aura: A crime scene, bustling with police officers and nosy citizens. With a resigned sigh, he ducked into an alley nearby, refusing to get caught up in the investigation with so many bystanders. The excitement gradually died down until the scene was finally empty, save for the telltale scorch mark on the concrete and the lingering aura of death and ancient power.

Unfortunately, before Zedekiah could approach the scene, a pair of creatures leapt down onto the ground from a nearby rooftop. Although he was initially shocked and annoyed at the intrusion, it didn’t take long for Zedekiah to realize that these people were similarly not of this plane. In fact, their auras seemed very similar to that of the recently deceased. If only he could get in closer, he might be able to discern what they actually were. Instead he elected to hang back and watch as the scene unfolded.

Eventually another investigator arrived, and they seemed to know the two at the scene. "This is becoming quite interesting..." Zedekiah mused, his stoic face not betraying his internal curiosity. "Perhaps it's about time I joined the... fun." As he moved to walk into the open, however, a pair of police officers arrived. It all happened very quickly, but one of the original creatures slayed the officers with its sword, prompting an argument that quickly ended with the 3 of the would-be investigators fleeing the crime. Zedekiah wondered for a moment whether he should follow or stay to investigate the scene himself. Despite his aversion to contact with others, it was obvious that the more fruitful move would be to pursue them. So that’s what he did.

It didn’t take long to catch up with the group, which by then had been reduced to 2. The police officers’ murderer was nowhere to be found. At this distance Zedekiah could finally make out the features of the other investigators. One was a male, extremely young-looking and missing an arm. His aura, however, was unmistakably nether in origin. Zedekiah made a mental note to investigate further and find out what he was. The other person, female, was far from intimidating physically, though a magical aura clung to her as well. Together the pair practically stank of magical energy. The female was saying something to the male, pointing out that they were now missing their teammate, no doubt a gesture to interrupt the silence and perhaps prompt a response from the other. Instead, Zedekiah cut in.

"Ahem," Zedekiah coughed, trying to get their attention. He never was good with others, as speaking to people was remarkably unlike writing a simple research paper. Unfortunately, there was no way he could garner any kind of information without talking it out of them, so he had no choice but to chat. "I suppose I might be... of assistance."

by **Arcana** November 5th 2013, 4:39 pm

Something told him with that little incursion between them, the whole endeavor would be going even worst. If Milla was anything like she used to be, this would have put some distance between her and the young Titan that he was working with at the moment, but then again he seemed to make that a problem; by leaving. Sean let his lips curl into a snarl as the male made what could be the most transparent excuse around to leave them, considering that he took a damn punch to the face for the bastard, but then again he could expect nothing less. Milla was still annoyed by everything, but then again it was expected from someone who was raised by Arianna, and he used to be just like that. However time weathered even the best of people, and something about the Ethereal Ouroboros just changed a person. It was now the two of them, and something told him that it would only be harder from here on.

Well, before he could really give her an answer someone made themselves known to the two, and Sean found himself snapping around and eyes looking upon the person in question. Something about him was strange, a something that Sean could not quite put his finger on but he could tell that this person was dangerous within their own rights. He quickly looked to Mill and then back to the strange in question, feeling that things were just getting interesting. For a few seconds he said nothing, perhaps hoping that Milla would day something but then again that did not happen, and so he would have to say it. ”Be of assistance? What are you hoping to assist us with?” He raised a raven brow as if waiting for what the male was going to say, perhaps partially curious and partially cautious, hoping to get out of the area as soon a spossible.

by **Artemis** November 5th 2013, 11:03 pm

Great, another new guy. Milla looked to Sean half expecting for this newcomer to be a friend of his. But the look on in his made her think otherwise. The mystery man offered some assistance. Milla couldn't see how. "I'm sorry, who are you?" said Milla. She may of sounded a bit rude but you don't survive 6 years of hiding with out being careful of who you trust. She certainly didn't know this guy and it seemed like Sean didn't he did either. She brushed this new guy aside. Her and Sean had to get out of here before more police showed. "Come on Sean, we need to get going."

by **Zedekiah** November 6th 2013, 12:15 am

Zedekiah had hoped that he would be met with at least a little interest. The young man seemed to acknowledge him, though it was with understandable caution. The woman, on the other hand, completely brushed him off. Hardly giving him a second glance before returning her attention to her partner and demanding that they leave. Zedekiah rubbed his temples with his left hand, trying to massage the headache and the annoyance away. "I'll try to keep this brief" he began, speaking more to the man than to his companion, "We're both looking for the killer. You can't handle it alone; it's already proven to be more than enough to slay many of your race, even at full strength." He gestured toward the man's missing arm. "You're down a fighter. It's slot I can fill. I only ask for information."

Hopefully that would be enough to catch their attention, because their current position was too close to the scene of the police murders to be safe. "And you're right," he added, turning to the woman. "We should go. So lets go." He hadn't been with the two of them long enough to know what kind of dynamic they had. Either of the two could be the defacto leader, so he had to make sure he addressed them both. Otherwise he risked pushing the one in charge away, which would make finding out more about this mysterious killer and it's extradimensional victims more difficult.

by **Arcana** November 6th 2013, 6:02 pm

If the male standing before them had any sense, then he could understand Sean’s reluctance to instantly trust someone walking up to him. A person was killing his own people rather systematically and he had to make sure that whoever it was paid the full price. It could be that they would be dealing with a group of people, rather than one and if so, then that meant that he and the necromancer in question would have to be even more prepared. It was made obvious that the guy was looking for the killer just like him, but then again why would he be doing such a thing? While him following the lead was something that made sense, this human doing so was confusing within his own right, unless he was aiming to uncover something about his race.

One thing however, was that he was more than aware that Sean was painfully underpowered, and his lack of his dominant arm made that fact more apparent. This guy was rather observant for a human, and if that meant anything in the long run, then Sean would not mind having another ally within this little quest of his. For a second he considered what to say, weighing over everything heavily before nodding lightly, a light grimace on his face that perhaps showed that mentioning his arm was a rather sore spot for him. ”I may end up regretting this, but you may come along. We are regrettably short of one person, and I’m….not upto my usual standards.” The flat sleeve would twitch lightly, perhaps showing that he was admitting his own weakness for a moment.

”I suppose you would want to get informed on all of what is happening, and I can tell you both later; when we get somewhere safer.” With a roll of his silver eyes, Sean motioned for both of the individuals to follow after him, breathing issuing in the form of a thin black mist that quickly faded into nothingness. Within those instances one could perhaps sense that the nether concentration in the air slightly increased, and anyone not sensitive to the magical energies around them would simply feel chills about them; as if something cold had brushed past them. He felt something, a strange energy or something possessing a strange energy that was following them, something that held malevolent intent, and something else beyond that. This caused Sean to be more on the edge than usual, only remaining arm digging deeply into his left pocket, while the phantom limb would try and do the same.

He lead them through a rather dimply lit alleyway, as the sound of sirens could be heard off in the distance, one that showed that the bodies had indeed been found, but they were far enough now. Regardless of that, none of them really had a weapon that could have caused such injuries, so they were fine even then. That was when he heard it, something growling lowly, a bestial sound that was almost like humming as something leapt from the shadows and nearly raked its claws across Sean’s face had he not moved out of the way. Concrete cracked under the force of the beings attack, as glowing green eyes peered from its skull, slathering maw filled with teeth that could rend flesh from bone. A single tail protruding from its end lashed about, nearly as long as its own body and the flesh seemed coated by what looked like a smooth chitanous exoskeleton. Within a few seconds another seemed to appear from nowhere, closing off any avenue of exit, as they looked upon the trio. Something about them looked familiar, but Sean could not quite place his finger on it.

Grid for the monsters:

by **Artemis** November 7th 2013, 9:25 pm

"This is a horrible idea, we don't even know this guy. He doesn't even know what the hell is going on." Said Milla, burying her head into her hand. However Sean had it in his mind to let him tag along so once that happened she knew that trying to convince him other wise would be a losing battle. She just let out a sigh and followed Sean. However she made sure to keep this new guy in her eyesight at all times. But that didn't stop her from wondering where the hell they where going.

After a few minutes the trio was passing through a dimly lit alley. That was when they were attacked, well more specifically Sean was. However what they were, Milla had no idea. "What the hell are these things?" asked Milla, back up. Her attention turned to the one that blocked the way they came in. "Do you think that these things kill your friends?" asked Milla. She raised her hand and A swarm of locus appeared. "Lets see how though these things are." Milla sent the swarm flying at one of the monsters. They weren't strong but it's a generally good way to scout to see how strong these things were.

Spoiler:

by **Zedekiah** November 9th 2013, 3:06 am

Although he was obviously not quite trusted, Zedekiah was relieved to hear the young man, 'Sean,' agree to form a temporary partnership. Something very big was happening, and it would be far easier to garner information from an investigation with more observers. Despite the fact that this alliance was built on necessity rather that real trust, Zedekiah was confident that it would yield some reliable results. He was going to request that Sean divulge the evidence he had collected at the crime scene, but Sean insisted that the three of them move on before discussing further. Of course Zedekiah was forced to agree, as their current area would soon be crawling with law enforcement. This case was complicated enough without police officers getting in the way of their investigation.

Unfortunately while Sean begrudgingly agreed to accept Zedekiah, though with some distrust, his female friend was outright opposed to the idea. She seemed to find the idea ludicrous, stating with unsympathetic bluntness that Zedekiah couldn't be trusted. She was without a doubt in disagreement with Sean's decision, yet she curiously allowed it despite her concern. She did not object to Zedekiah following along, though she never let him leave her sight. Zedekiah could understand the girl's concern, even agreeing to an extent that his uninvited arrival was both suspicious and possibly dangerous. Nonetheless, this knowledge made the woman's words and actions no less annoying.

The newly formed trio made their way through a series of dim alleys, following the lead of Sean. The more time Zedekiah spent with the young man, the more he realized how little he knew about his species. From what he could tell, the dark being was Nether in origin, even his breaths were clouds of the magical black haze. This particular creature's connection to the Nether seemed to be weakened, however, most likely as a result of his injury. Whatever he was, Zedekiah couldn't reliably place his characteristics with those of any other the creatures he had encountered in his studies.

The female was similarly difficult for Zedekiah to get a read on. She was obviously smart, though the extent of her intellect was difficult to pinpoint with so little interaction. Zedekiah could also tell the woman had a strong grasp of magic, which would no doubt help in the investigation. Once again her skill level couldn't be determined without further research, and she wasn't volunteering any information. Zedekiah's short, tense time with her suggested to the Voidwalker that his new companion was determined and unafraid to speak her mind, shown by her response to Sean's decision and her actions following. Zedekiah would obviously have to study her further.

As the team traveled, the hairs on the back of Zedekiah's neck began to stand on end. He felt like he was being watched, and not just by his female partner. He was on high alert, hand on the hilt of his marble sword, ready for action at a moment's notice. As they moved through a particularly dingy alleyway, Zedekiah heard an inhuman growl emitting from the darkness. The sound was low, almost demonic, and it gave the three just enough notice to avoid taking a heavy loss early on. The beast's first strike was barely dodged by Sean, and the wild attack was powerful enough to damage the concrete ground. Zedekiah had enough experience with similar monstrosities to know that he was completely physically outclassed, but with a combination of knowledge and swordsmanship he was confident in his ability to defeat it.

His sword already out, drawn at the creatures first growl, Zedekiah was preparing to direct Sean towards the other end of the alley, so as to prevent taking damage. Unfortunately this was plan was ruined before it could even be enacted when a second creature appeared, sandwiching the 3 new allies and making any defense more difficult. Moving quickly, Zedekiah's female companion used her magical ability to summon a swarm of necrotic locusts at one enemy. This made Zedekiah's choice far easier, and leaped at the unopposed monster with a quick slash of his blade.

by **Arcana** November 9th 2013, 6:36 pm

Sean took a reflexive step back as the monster standing in front of them snapped lightly, rows of sharp teeth bare from between curling lips. He could tell that there was a certain subdued intelligence within the eyes of these things, and overall they would prove to be a dangerous foe to deal with. Sean was weak, and dealing with random beasts from whatever plane of existence that they crawled from would prove difficult. Milla was not pleased that Sean allowed the male to come along with them, but then again they would need all the help that they could get, especially if the killer were truly capable of killing so many of his kind. His eyes followed the tail that swiveled about in the air, like a snake almost. ”I don’t know what these things are, but I doubt they could have killed all of them.” Sean’s eyes narrowed, silver irises beginning to glow slightly.

Milla would be the first one to really initiate an attack, summoning stranger insects that all fell upon only one of the monsters, but would leave them wide open from the back. They were going to have to do this strategically, considering that Sean could not power through this like he usually did, things were going to get only more difficult from here on out. While Milla would unleashed her unholy swarm upon the one ahead of them, this newcomer would choose to attack the one that stood at their back, jaws slathering as intelligent eyes would follow him and perhaps consider a possible means of retaliation. With barely time to react now, it would leap to the side as the blade itself would bite deeply into the concrete, demonstrating what seemed to be the strength of the blade. Sean found himself standing there, not really reacting as the small battle broke out.

In that small moment that the male was to be open midswing, the thing attacked, aiming to rip his throat out with a swift chomp, while the other found its task to be less daunting. With a few swift movement it would aim to rip apart the locust that were set upon it, claws flashing and teeth ready to tear through flesh. What didn’t get hit by the prior would find itself swatted down by the powerful tail that loomed behind it, striking with a superhuman kind of strength. With the possibility of the annoying insects being destroyed, it would set its sights upon Sean and Milla, emerald eyes glowing a luminescent green, though what it found was a bolt of Nether to its face. It let out a low howl of pain, backpedaling as a small amount of radioactive green blood pour from a small wound on its face.

by **Artemis** November 12th 2013, 10:04 pm

Her swarm had approached the creature and was quickly defeated with a swipe of the beast tail. Milla let out a sigh, she honestly didn't know why she kept the swarm around. They where pretty much useless since they were a smart as well, bugs. They stuck together mostly and usually they could be taken out like how they just were if attacked before they separated. Then she remembered they where the first things she ever summoned.

"Stupid sentimental value..." Milla muttered to herself. She scanned the dark alley. Milla picked up a discarded pipe and weight the metal tube in her hand. I seemed pretty sturdy. Milla focused her magic into it, enchanting the pipe. It glowed a dim green color and Milla past it to Sean. "Here you go stumpy, maybe now you can be of some use." teased Milla.

Spoiler:

by **Zedekiah** November 12th 2013, 10:56 pm

Zedekiah's first attack was easily avoided by the creature, it merely had to move back. The dodged sword found itself embedded in the concrete floor as a result of Zedekiah's swing, giving the monster enough time to respond with a strike of it's own. Time seemed to slow down as the monstrosity lunged, baring its teeth and apparently aiming to tear Zedekiah's throat out. It was the act of a hunter, one Zedekiah was quite familiar with. It wasn't the first time he had been hunted by an unnatural creature that was physically stronger than he, and Zedekiah was going to make sure it wasn't the last. With an almost inaudible whisper spoken in the tongue of the ancients, he activated the dormant powers lying within his voidsteel armor. The attacking creature's deadly teeth, just a seconds ago prepared to taste mortal flesh, instead met enchanted metal with a satisfying clang. The steel dented slightly, but not enough to harm Zedekiah.

As this was happening, the other two combatants were busying themselves with the second monster. The woman's bug creatures did little to harm their target, the monster simply whipping them into nonexistence with it's powerful tail. The swarm did, however, allow the witch enough time to set the 3 temporary allies up for success by enchanting an abandoned pipe. Zedekiah knew enough about magic to recognize the aura now pouring from the previously uninteresting pipe. It was now a deadly magical weapon, capable of harming even these monstrous beings. She tossed the pipe to Sean, commenting that with it he might prove himself useful. The jibe may have been quite comedic if Zedekiah didn't have monster stuck to his throat. It seems they can handle themselves for now... he thought to himself. With that he refocused on the task at hand.

The creature seemed temporarily confused that it wasn't now feasting on human blood. Perhaps it underestimated Zedekiah's strength, understandable considering his armor was not so powerful mere moments ago. Wanting to act before the monster had a chance to recover, Zedekiah pulled his sword from the ground. The marble blade slid from it's gouge in the concrete with an oddly ceramic sound, and Zedekiah continued with the motion of the blade, turning it to aim at the creature's body. He meant to stab the creature before it pulled away.

by **Arcana** November 18th 2013, 2:02 pm

Powerful fangs met durable steel, and within that moment it realized that it could not harm the male this way, not with that armor protecting the soft flesh beneath. It was slightly confused, but not enough to allow it prey a moment to kill it, no, not a human like this. With as much speed as possible it would removed its fangs from the armor and try to jump back, as something slashed across its torso, bright green liquid splashing out from the wound across the ground as it let out a pained roar. The blade that the male wielded was no ordinary blade, and it was one that it would not underestimate. It backed up a good foot, eyes narrowing into slits as the being considered its foe for a moment, looking for any way that it could attack him now.

While its partner was dealing with the damage caused by the blade, this one was barely swayed by the attack that hit it. It was a strange energy and one that irritated it more than anything, yet it knew that the masters order was absolute, even if that meant having to deal with more of that energy being hurled at it. It lowered its head, preparing to lunge at the first real chance that it would have. Sean however was dealing with something else, which was that his energy was not enough to kill the things, nor was it enough to harm them effectively. That was when Milla took it into her hands to help him out, but that managed only to annoy Sean even more. He did not like his stump being brought into light, and being called stumpy was only adding salt to the wound.

While he could have chosen to reduce her head into a pile of red mush, Sean decided that would not help their situation and took the enchanted pipe, mumbling annoyed to himself. He would have to teach the Hale manners, but right now was not the time to worry about stupid things like that. Fingers gripped around the metal of the pipe, and looked upon his slightly bleeding foe, who was ready to attack and so was Sean. It lunged once again with that amazing speed, but this time Sean was ready as he whipped to the side and brought down the pipe with all of his strength. It collided with a dull thud and the thing groaned as it was sent rolling, trying to gain its bearing, nails biting into the ground before lunging against, and catching the pipe under its jaw.

Blood spurted from its mouth as its eyes began to roll within its head. ”Damn you.” It growled in a barely human voice standing off against the Titan and sorceress.

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