Whole Soul: Blackskull and Secrets (Closed to Morire, Raiku and Victoria)

"There is nothing more dangerous, than a man with nothing to lose..."

   Matthew sat patiently, arms folded over his chest as he waited for the remainder to arrive. So far there were nothing more than a few freelancer's who wanted to seek their fortune. A bunch of nobody's thus far. Matthew was okay with this, he just knew that he had more people to watch over now...and he needed more actual hands. He was glad that his imperceptible nature allowed him the means to easily slip in a rumor and then slip out unremembered, leaving the rumor to spread. This particular rumor was one sent throughout the magical community. The rumor consisted of a secret organization with mounds of money and power objects of a mystical nature, and knowing how secretive the magical community was, Matthew was counting on only the most exclusive and non-mundane people. He had no use for a human crew, especially not with an operation like this. Yes, this was an operation, an attempt to put to rest a controversial group...one that slipped up... a mistake they would never make again.

     Mathew had recently sensed the presence of an anomaly, a strange magical essence... one that he would never had felt if he had not been so closely linked to the ancient artifact. Pandora's Jar, the shard radiated form inside him, singing out as he felt the calling of this magical artifact. The kicker was that when he sensed it, it was fleeting, and come to realize that the next morning a very old priceless artifact from the local museum in LA. Looking up the history of the missing artifact, Matthew easily placed it of magical origin, it was clear in the Norse-looking runic markings. The ring was known as Draupnir. Many whom were in his employ did not know the meaning of the name...but then again, he didn't exactly tell them that this ring was part of his little Mission. If they knew that Draupnir were involved then their human greed would get the better of them. Matthew himself took no interest in the wealth, though he desperately desired the chance to inspect the enchantment upon it, he couldn't care less about the wealth it granted. But that would wait... For now all that the people he enlisted were "volunteers" of sorts. All of them were members of the Magical families, big and small, all of them wanting nothing more than the return of their stolen artifacts, and it was payment enough, and many of them thanked Matthew for offering up his ship as a means of travel, since they could not teleport to a place they did not know.

      Using the information he received form the magic families (none of which could remember him) he began hoarding the information, and with a little deductive thinking he managed to narrow it down and pin-point the next magical artifact of interest...an item HE was in possession of. This item was The Cintamani Stone. The powerful stone of mythology said to grant wishes and bestow wondrous power. Matthew knew they wanted it...and so he charged it with extra energy, and sent it's energies off like a beacon. If they wanted it, they could come and get it. They tried, and subsequently Matthew left them take the item, knowing full well that the energy he charged it with was enough to discern a location. His plan worked, and now he remains here...waiting for more powerful and useful men and women to arrive.

    He knew only this much. He was expecting a man to be sent from the woman of Nether. Whom she was beyond that was not important, because frankly even in her futile attempts to impress him with her knowledge she would ultimately would forget about him entirely, not even knowing that there was now a human who knew about her existence and all of her "glorious" power over Death. The sheer narcissism of it all was enough to repulse Matthew.

   "Hey Kid. Not that we don't appreciate you gathering us all here to get these guys, but where the hell is the boat?" The one man asked. Matthew sighed and took the box on the bench next to him and tossed it out on the ground. He instructed everyone to place two strips of a glowing blue tape on the bottom of their shoes.

   "I'm waiting for anyone else who's coming. Place the tape on your shoe and desist the pestering, I'll take you to the ship soon. Unless you think it's a good idea to summon magical ships in the middle of the street at night." He quickly snapped at the man. The man wasn't thinking at all, and to an extent Matthew could understand, but stupidity was stupidity, and above that he hated being pestered about trivialities such as what the man brought before him. If he didn't have a ship why the Hell else would he call them out here in the dead of night? He was expecting one man, and he was silently praying to God that others arrived soon to assist him because with a crew currently like this...his probability of success.... Zero.

Arriving amongst a large group of others, he didn't exactly possess the most amount of arcane knowledge. He could almost be considered an adept. He didn't belong to any family of mages, or represent a household. He entered among them a treasure seeker, but knew something he hoped none of the others did. An adventurer went out to sea that never returned. One that was listed in one of his scrolls as possessing a key item he needed to pursue Arcadia. An item that appeared to have value, but meant nothing in the hands of one who didn't know what to do with it. This crew was going in that direction, seeking these types of archaic valuables.

Taking the wait and see approach, he slipped in among them. He appeared human, despite his bloodlines. It wasn't long before he felt out of place, however. He felt eyes watching him, and began to feel the uncomfortable weight of glaring eyes. A man spoke up asking about the boat, but they weren't even at a dock. Surely enough, someone appeared to take the lead among the restless gathering, scolding him lightly. A box was placed on the ground, in which he instructed them to place some strips of tape on their shoes. Raiku waited to watch a few other spectators place the tape on their shoes before cautiously placing it on his own. It seemed like this was their ticket for the journey. He had yet to distinguish himself from the others except that he appeared different. His attire suggested he was more of a fighter than someone interested in such things. But for now decided to keep it that way. His draconic blood was sought out by many who used it for concoctions or rituals.

Doctor Jedidaih Mor strides in late, he has used his alchemical and occult prowess to make himself appear fat, wearing a huge heavy camel-hair overcoat, with blue jeans and cowboy boots, with a ten gallon hat and a pair of sunglasses. Every step he takes makes a boisterously loud click, as if he is deliberately making as much noise as possible

Walking up to Matthew, he speaks with a thick southern accent, "Well there sonny, I think that I was hired by one o' your acquaintance, lady named Hel. I'm supposed to be yer doc, boyo, where'd ya need me?" every word he says makes his overly white teeth flash brightly.

Mor rubs his scruffy beard casually, as he awaits the response, gazing around the crowd and judging all of the ruffians and scraps of society that his employer has managed to gather for the job.

. ."Well there sonny, I think that I was hired by one o' your acquaintance, lady named Hel. I'm supposed to be yer doc, boyo, where'd ya need me?" A voice asked. The thick Southern accent was enough to drive Matthew near insane. His eyes bore into the man's before he sighed. He knew it very well may have come to this, but in truth it wasn't surprising in the least to find himself irritated by the accent. Matthew's jaw clenched and then he simply let it go. This was for the pursuit of knowledge, whomever chose to assist him would assist him. They were only tools, means to an end. He rubbed his temples and he pointed to the box. It was more or less a silent command to do as the rest had done, and place some of the enchanted glowing blue tape on the bottoms of his shoes. Matthew was soon calmed and realized that he felt a rather tingling at his chest cavity. He looked down into The Dragon Amulet that had belonged once to the Primordial God of Chaos...the God of the Oceans. Yam, the Dragon King. The amulet seemed to him, and the dragon blood in Matthews veins made him look out and around. Granted the amulet may simply have been calling out to him...but it seemed....unlikely. He dismissed it for the moment, knowing the amulet would do no more than tickled or irritate the skin upon his chest.

"Alright. It seems as though this is what we've got to work with. I'm not going to lie when I tell you that there is a chance of Death if we are not cautious. Proceed with the utmost caution and have half a brain and you'll live. Glad we can agree on this...now follow me if you'd please." Matthew said as he took them and walked them through the area, only to bring them out of the particular street through an alleyway and then to the beach. Matthew took quick steps, the tape on his shoes glowing as it allowed him to walk on water. He turned and looked to the others whom remained on the sands of shore. "I cannot bring my ship HERE specifically. It is far too close to the eyes of the humans. As fellow magister I'm sure you understand my discretion. Please follow me out slightly. The tape I have provided you has been enchanted to allow water walking for a time, but we must move. Step lively please." Matthew said as he continued on, many of them following in his wake.

Victoria was a bit late. She had taken most of the journey on foot, as there are simply some places that you can't discreetly park a private jet. The length of the walk was no matter of course, Victoria didn't have to worry about things like stamina, but it did take longer than expected.  Victoria raised an eyebrow as she arrived at the meeting place, where most of what she assumed to be the crew were walking out onto the ocean like so many awkward messiahs. She approached a straggler that still remained on land, somewhat uneasy with the idea of trusting his safety to strips of colored tape. Seeing his comrades make it safely had given him the final push he needed and he was about to affix the tape to his feet, something Victoria noticed.  The man paused when her heard Victoria's heeled boots approach and stop just behind them.  "So, I'm guessing those lovely strips are what's keeping your comrades from sinking?" The man answered only with a confused mumble, to which Victoria replied by holding a white handkerchief over his mouth and nose, the man quickly passing out. Victoria momentarily considered cutting the strips so that she could affix a piece to her heels, but concern that it might destroy the item's effectiveness stopped her.  She quickly affixed the tape to her boots and made her way out onto the water, to meet her "captain."

The breeze blew her shoulder length blonde hair across her smooth face, deep blue eyes looking out between the golden strands. Her shorter stature and petite feminine frame made her seem somewhat out of place amidst the burly seamen and adventurers, but then most people looked out of place when walking across the ocean. She leaned forward on heeled boots that disappeared into her large white and teal trenchcoat.  A white and pink dress showed from underneath when the sea breeze blew the aforementioned coat back. The right arm of her jacket was pinned neatly to her side, the arm that could make use of it missing. The hand she did have was covered by a black leather glove that matched her boots. The center of the coat, where it was fastened with over-sized buttons, had a teal stripe that reached up to her collar where it ended in a blue ribbon tied into a bow. A brown leather belt with a large buckle sat around her true waist, dotted with small pouches and compartments.

She hastened her pace and approached the man in the lead. He was the reason she had come out here. In fact it was through keeping tabs on him that Victoria began to gain leads on an organization dealing in information. She had been largely unaware of them until know, which made her dangerous. Victoria was only here to silence them, as well as take advantage of any information they might have that she lacked. She had no taste for the magic artifacts and trinkets the others sought, Victoria didn't care much for magic. She did not fully understand it's mechanics, and she disliked anything she couldn't control. She caught up to the man, approaching him from the left with her missing arm facing him. "Interesting knick-knack." She began in a pleasant British accent without bothering to introduce herself. I'm guessing that it works by repelling water with enough force to lift a human body? I hope you have something sturdier than this though, it was my understanding you possessed a boat."

A doctor had made himself known among the group, which Raiku supposed that would be good to have. The job they were all looking to accomplish appeared dangerous, especially with what Matthew was going to say next. His voice inflection did make him seem slightly incompetent. But something is better than nothing, isn't it? Raiku's eyes caught a glance at something he recognized, or at least thought he did. The necklace had a similarity to one he had seen in one of his ancient manuscripts he had discovered, where a similar piece was drawn in a diagram. Though he only caught it for a brief second, his interest was immediately piqued when he saw it glow. Anything of draconic lore did that with him, due to his history.

He moved through the crowd of people closer to Matthew, while he listened to him talk about the strips allowing them to walk on water. A feasible accomplishment, in the world of metahumans. The supernatural aspect of the world they lived in didn't make him doubt that it would work. He followed Matthew on the water as he increased his movement to move his way up to Matthew.

"I hate to impose, but I can't help but notice that necklace. I had seen something similar before in an illustration. Is that the Pendant of Shilana?" Of course, it wasn't the same one. Though he was sure it had similar qualities. Having studied the pendant, he knew it would have an affinity to someone of draconic blood. It would mean Matthew and Raiku were more similar than they knew.

Mor puts the tape on the bottom of each of his boots, walking with the group, the tape only slightly muffling the click of each step as he walks to the water. His huge camel hair jacket whipping backwards in the wind, beard plastered to his face and holding his hat down. The doctor makes it to the ship, water flows off of the jacket like duck feathers, but his boots and pants are soaked as he climbs the rope ladder up to meet the captain.

.     It wasn't long before a woman had managed to catch up with him. Not hard to do, considering he didn't exactly make the utmost haste to break away as an escape. He cleared his throat as she made note that this was an interesting "knick-knack". That wasn't even the kicker, She then proceeded to try and rationalize the effects received from the enchantment. She just asked him how it worked when he JUST SAID it was an enchantment. Normally even the most studious of magi or magical creature would accept that as the response. Why? Because the Magi generally just generally lived under the maxim "It's Magic, I ain't gotta explain shit!" and they were happy enough with it. Granted, Matthew and select others did not feel this way...but this woman specifically bothered him. Perhaps his piercing glare wouldn't even be noticed, but he was watching her. One-armed people don't just sign up for missions like this, not without something to gain...or if they weren't prepared.

     While Matthew would love to feed his paranoia and go on about how she was probably a spy, he found himself more fixated on her next comment, about having something sturdier. He wanted to snap, but he didn't. Self-control was still something Matthew worked hard at. It wasn't as if she knew anything about him anyway. What he was doing, perhaps...but his Imperceptibiliy made following him specifically near impossible, unless you had been given something physically belonging to him that you keep on you to remember him. Otherwise...no technology, no means of magical scrying. Realistically he could vanish right here and now and these people would completely forget Matthew in an instant, all left to wonder who it was who claimed to have a boat...and there was nothing really they could do about it. It may very well be apparent that someone were meddeling, and with this "rumor" of him assembling this crew it would not be hard to draw the conclusion that he was somehow linked to it...but after this venture it wouldn't matter at all. He was VERY specific to not be the one to actually GIVE the tape to anyone...he allowed them to take it. The inability to remember Matthew as he truly was was the curse of Sin....but this curse he would mold into a blessing. The downside however, was the enemy they were about to face.

   While it was true, Matthew did not give anyone the tape... he DID give up something to someone. The Cintimani Stone. When he "set up" the conditions for it to be stolen, he willingly gave it up to the thieves through his intentions, and therefore he was very much perceptible to the enemies they were about to encounter. Matthew smirked. Being an avid Dr.Who fan he recalled his condition similar to that of "The Silence"... just with an interesting loop-hole. He suddenly was shaken form his thoughts by a strange voice. "I hate to impose, but I can't help but notice that necklace. I had seen something similar before in an illustration. Is that the Pendant of Shilana?" His mouth curled up with a smile and he let out a little chuckle, eyes narrowing with interest as he scanned over the voice. With a deep breath in his developed mind and sesory caught the smell of the sea-salt water. This other woman needed to be watched, but this man was a little more interesting, to be throwing that question around. While it was not impossible for Matthew to possess such an item it was sadly not the case.

   "No...not it's not, but The Pendant of Shilana was actually based off of this style of Amulet. It was mine... long before you were born." Matthew said, seeming almost nostalgic as he suddenly slipped into his Pamnesia, recalling his Psychometric vision through touching the woman known as Artemis. The amulet was on that "version" of him as well... it was then he decided to do some research, and it was then he realized something very...interesting. Though for now he'd put that thought to the back of his head... it was time to call upon his trusted servant... "Arise...Ellida." This servant was a fiercely loyal one...one that was well known by the rest of her kind. She was beautiful, truly. The beautiful greying and black sclaes, crimson colored eyes that flashed and turned a glowing bright red. To the Dragons, the realm of Seppam was full of dieties...Primordial Dragon Gods whom governed them...and at their throne was Yam, the Benevolent Dragon God of the Oceans...the one whom was decieved and felled by his trusted advisors...and his truest friend. To them, Ellida was but a myth...said to be the Dragon Long boat given to Vikings by Freya. The untold story, was that Ellida was also the name of the Draconian Maiden whom attempted to warn Yam of the betrayal of his friends. She was struck down in her prime... and now... using her soul and infusing it with the Longboat of the same name...she was resurrected....to serve once more.

   The water bubbled, and a gyser shot up as she roared a loud and defening bellow. She then lowered her head. Suddenly her scale s on her back moved down, her back exposing to be a lollow ship-like structure, and a grand one at that. Matt smiled as he looked to the Dragon which purred as it's ship-like "interior" was revealed and her wings folded back. "Yam..." She said, a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "You're dead..." She said, almsot as if she didn't believe her eyes. He dismissed this and looked over his shoulder.

    "Oh am I? Hadn't noticed." He remarked with a snicker as he looked over his shoulder. "Hop on... We're leaving." He commanded, the Dragon let down her wing and allowed them to step up upon her. With themselves on the Dragon"ship" Ellida they would embark for Blackskull Cairn. Matthew stood at the helm, where he pinned a map to a board by a dagger. His eyes scanned over it...It wouldn't be long before they reached their new "enemies" and their territory.  The issue then would be the enemy ships... but for now.... they had other company to deal with. There was a chilled air about the place, and there was a loud whaling beneath them. Apparently summoning Ellida was just enough to warrent attention of anothe rmagical creature... but the question is.... what?

A strange noise can be heard and strange large masses and be seen arching through the water at a distance.

Eyes intently fixed on Matthew, he listened carefully. This man knew a lot of information about the amulet. And furthermore, though he talked as if he were there when it was first created. Raiku's eyes were illuminated with several questions as he spoke, but the conversation was broken by Matthew's summoning. Their transportation had arrived with the simple call of her name. Ellida.

As water shot up from the water they stood on like a geyser, Raiku's head naturally recoiled back and raised his forearm to shield his face. The sheer power of the summon was enough to stand his hair on edge, as he gazed upon the strange creature. A dragon? One that was in the shape of a transport ship at that. He had never even heard of such a thing before, it was all so strange to him. This man. Matthew. Might know more about Arcadia, the mythical village of Dragons that lived inbetween the Human and Dragon realms. He was even more perplexed at the communication he held with the boat. If Matthew was on the same search as him, he was far more advanced in his progress than Raiku.

It somewhat made him beat himself up inside. The other half pushed him forward, coaxing him to follow this man. It was all he could do now. He was in search of a journal, and now he had a different goal. He would have to learn more of this 'Matthew'. His connection with the dragons, and any knowledge he had of Arcadia. He could not mess this up now. Climbing aboard the boat, he ran his fingers along the scales of the one called Ellida. She was beautiful, but still it puzzled him. How was she formed this way? Is this a transformation ability the dragons possess, or is this some perverted disfiguration of her true form? Now aboard, he knew his path could not change from this point forward. This was destiny.

The wailing grows louder and the water begins to churn and heave, as if the boat was but a toy in a child's tub... a thick tendril surfaces briefly, and then resubmerges once more... the tiny scales that cover the creature are deep grey and black in color...

Slowly the water stills, becoming glass-like.

"Oh... Well whadda ya'll think that thing is?" the disguised man comments...

several long moments pass, the crew holding their breath with anticipation... Six of the tendrils explode from the unsettlingly still water, moving to entrap the boat within its coils of the gargantuan creature.

Victoria got little more than a glare in response, though she was not surprised. It was a common trait among practitioners of magic, a trait she despised, to create a false distinction between science and magic. Having been forced do dabble a bit in the magical "arts" herself in order to resurrect her sister, Victoria knew otherwise.  It adhered to laws she did not understand, but it was merely science that was not yet understood. Victoria had known a magician would probably find her attitude abrasive, perhaps she merely had a bit of human pettiness in her. The other members of this expedition, they were nothing to her. This man however, was an enigma. He left an information trail the same as anyone, but none of it led back to him.  Victoria didn't really have any idea who this man was despite his abilities, and that was no easy task. No, to be that invisible you have to work at it.  Victoria planned on using this opportunity to find out exactly who this man was, and she had to assume he had a similar mindset about her.  Even so, it was these very things that ensured they would be allies. People like Victoria, they didn't let a good resource go to waste because of personal differences. And few things are as valuable as a man who keeps his mouth shut and disappears when the job is done.  They might just be the two least trust-worthy people currently walking out onto the ocean, but they could trust each other to put self-preservation first.  In a world filled with super-humans, true professionals were few and far between.

The magician summoned his draconic servant, the beast spraying saltwater as she breached the still water. men around Victoria turned their heads and shielded there eyes, but with no nerve endings Victoria had no reason to do the same. She stood stall and looked forward as the salt water whipped against her, not even bothering to blink as droplets landed on her eyes. "This...is not quite what I expected when I said sturdy." she commented to no one in particular as the crew began to board the living sea vessel. One of the crewmen offered her assistance as she climbed the literal dragonboat with her one arm, but she refused. "I do not need your assistance." she said, pulling herself up and over into the curious vehicle. Her attitude won her no more love from the crew than it did from the captain, but it hardly mattered to her.

She couldn't help but think the transportation was fitting, the name given to her by humans being a valkyrie, but she had long since discarded such a name. They had barely got adjusted to their bizarre method of transportation when strange noises began to rise up from the depths. She peered off the edge next to a man that nervously did the same. "What in the hell is that?" he posed the question to her. She turned to him and forced a smirk. "Perhaps if I throw you overboard it will busy itself devouring you and we won't have to find out." The man's only response was quickly backing away and removing himself from Victoria's presence. "No one ever laughs at my jokes." She remarked in a monotone as the waters stilled like the calm before a storm and giant tentacles crashed upon the ship. Victoria took several quick backsteps to separate herself from the edge of the ship. "Get away from the sides!" She barked out in an authoritative voice like a general as a mighty appendage crashed upon the deck, knocking a nearby crew member to his stomach.

Victoria placed a hand inside her large coat as she rushed to the man, flinging an armed grenade out at the thickest part of the tentacle in hopes to persuade it to retreat back into the depths. As the small explosion sent smoke through the air. She grabbed the man's collar with her arm and dragged him away from the edge of the ship. "I didn't sign up for this..." He said with a blank stare as she did so. Victoria shot him a harsh glare. "You most certainly did, and if you don't get on your feet I'll throw you overboard. With only one arm carrying you this far has already meant 4.6 seconds I'm unable to shoot, and this conversation has already taken longer than that. So it's time to convince me I wasn't wasting my time. I'm certain the captain can use you, so go find something useful to do." She said harshly, though the sailor was able to see the kindness in her words and nodded quickly before running off. Victoria drew a three-barrelled revolver with what seemed like an excessively large chamber and looked around, hoping to see the captain herself. She could keep control of the situation as far as the crew went, but she wasn't actually sure what resources a living boat had to offer, nor was she sure how possible it was to "repair" such a vessel.

"Oh... Well whadda ya'll think that thing is?" Matthew heard form the crowd. It was that Doctor that was sent to aid him. Matthew noted the six tentacles, as did his precious Dragon-Ship. It let out a little growl and began watching them closely for a move. Matthew's eyes narrowed as he muffled a scoff, obviously unimpressed by the tendrils, or highly annoyed by the inconvenience it posed. Ellida's nostrils puffed smoke as she let out a little warning screech to the beast. Matthew walked to the forefront of the helm, hands on the banister like railings as he looked upon the new-found "friends".

Matthew had very little interest in the tentacles, but the beast in which they were attached to was of interest. Perhaps it's simply because Matthew was the inquisitive type, or perhaps because he was more interested to study the magi whom functioned as his crew. He immediately noticed that with a tentacle crashing down on Ellida she was put on the offensive. Matthew clutched his hand into a fist and slammed it on the railing. The second he did this large cannons with draconian runes glowing brightly, radiating with the power of the Dragonblood emerged surrounding the hull. The cannons all fired out with fierce power, enough to sink a normal vessel instantly. One of the tentacles was hit, blood being drawn as a small chunk was ripped from it, a loud raptor sounding screech could be heard as the tentacle was tanked from Ellida and retracted. He took great note of the one-armed woman who seemed to be having a rather..."friendly" talk with a crew member. She was very accurate with her numbers... and she seemed to have a

Well DAMN Girl...that gun is excessively large... He thought to himself as he watched her pull out a tri-barreled gun. "What is this the Dirge of Cerberus or somethin'?" He asked himself, quiet enough to avoid anyone who was listening in...though he wasn't exactly sure who was listening in on him when there was a panic such as this running amok. This woman...the one armed one was certainly the most impressive thus far, she was more than capable of running things at the moment. The cannons would recharge soon and fire off yet another bout of shots at the tendrils as they could. Ellida's neck fired out as she bit onto a tendril and began to wrestle with it. A large black Throne like chair appeared from the wood of the creature, Ellida and Matt simply sat upon it and watched.

"Captain, where do you want me?" The man Victoria had sent would ask him. Matthew rolled his eyes and sighed before pointing at the starboard side.

"I'd prefer you overboard if you really need to ask. Fortify defenses and await for Ellida to draw out whatever it is we are to face." He snipped as he seemed to look around. While few of them saw his sitting there as a total act of laziness or overconfidence, there were a few akin enough to magic to realize what was happening. From this Throne he was channeling his own energies, and the damaged areas around the ship began to instantly repair themselves. "By my blood..No Dragon must die..." He said as his eyes began an aqua blue and the ship, Ellida radiated with healing energies. (Matt's level 10 Regen has been projected onto Ellida)

Ellida:

The tendrils are undeterred by the blasts of cannonballs, the tendrils only have minimal nerves, and will regrow soon...

A visceral crunching noise comes from beneath as the beast drives a parrotlike beak into the hull of the boat, a thick dark fluid sprays into the boat, hissing and bubbling away at the wood.

Three of the massively strong tendrils beat at the the rails of the ship, trying to snap the ships weakened form into pieces. The person that was holding the womans singular arm is suddenly yanked away, smashing the unfortunate mans form against the railing as he is yanked away. His shattered form disappears into the water, with hardly a scream.

One of the tendrils sweeps toward back of the ship with disastrous speed... slowed only by slamming into the mast and swinging around and straight toward the throne. The remaining tenticle slams down at a thick group of people.

Doctor Mor sends a bolt of poisonous bacteria at one of the cannon impact sites, and it splashes into the wound, no visible effects take place immediately afterward.

when a tedril comes close, he brings up a shield of dark energy, taking a chunk of flesh out of the mass of meat, driving the doctor back a few steps and knocking him down

Xia cruised the waters of the South China Sea, wandering with little purpose, her transformation having spent her mind and body. Her life on land was filled with nothing but misery, with pain- her presence seemed to have brought harm to her loved ones, starting with her own mother, then Ellie, her classmates, and her team. There were always enemies and predators who wanted to take her away. Xia ran away from all of it, and retreated to the vastness of the sea... because, for all her troubles, the sea was more vast than her woes. Xia sought out that serenity, that peace of mind afforded only by the greater surface of the earth.

There was always a simpler life beneath the waves, to explore, to hunt and to rest. For a time Xia contemplated becoming one with the creatures of the sea. It was always like this in times of troubles. But, even now things were different- Xia could now feel the vast amount of life in even the smallest part of the sea, and she was drawn to these.

Xia sensed the presence of a rare creature, large and terrible attacking a boat filled with people... At once her instinct to help compelled her to go, but her heart was discouraged. Would helping really do good? No matter what she did, there would always be misery... she closed her eyes and sighed, reminding herself that helping always was important regardless, and to be indifferent was to be an animal.

Xia swam towards the creature attacking the boat, accelerating towards it like a mighty torpedo, until she was in range and went for its eyes. She would impact the creature at high speed, and, in her typical, brutal fashion, she went all out, ripping and tearing with fang and claw until the thing would stop moving or go away.

Whatever just caused Ellida to shake as she did was obviously a powerful swimmer. Matthew could sense the presence of another being, though he knew nothing of whom or what it was. With narrowing eyes and a sigh he would simply wait out the assault the Kraken-like tentacles were making upon the Dragon. Ellida let out a loud booming Roar that send vibrations through the water. Arching her majestic dark head she looked down into the creature and opened her mouth. A cannon fired out and crushed the creature's one appendage, though who knew hoe many it truly had. Matthew found himself rather intrigued however by the sudden "salvation" which had befallen them. Granted, Ellida was able to take some damage...however it was not without toil, and tremendous effort on his part.

"What have we here?" Matt would ask himself. Ellida roared again and fire out another shot, attempting to help the creature that assailed their under-water threat. Ellida began to lift herself in speed, and shot out, allowing the fastened tendrils to pull upon her. Having been blessed with her mater's regenerative prowess, Ellida had no fear of Death, and she would not allow the creature to cause them delay. Hoping the powerful "ally" was enough to force the creature away, Ellieda swam in the opposite direction, pulling at the tendrils as Xia pushed the creature the other way. Tendrils would break, or they would be forced back by the force of Xia's might. All one could do now, was hope for the best.