[SPECIAL] - Dark Realm - Hastur's Trial

[CrestOfArtorias]

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Post Limit: None - - - - - - Time Limit: Determined by IC events
Maximum time in between posts: 48 hours

GM:
CrestOfArtorias

Introduction:


Hastur felt sick and disoriented, the air was difficult to breathe and tasted dry. His head was pounding and his limbs felt numb. As he opened his eyes he had to check if he actually did, since all he saw above him was blackness. He tried to get up, his body was aching as if he had been nearly dead and his body already went ahead and wanted to go into rigor mortis and was now not entirely willing to accept that he was in fact still alive.

He tried to make sense of the area around him, but failed to do so. Nothing here looked familiar. The ground was ash grey with spots of black that somehow appeared even darker than any black he had ever seen. There were trees, old, dead, sick looking trees perversly twisted in an almost human like fashion, some looked liked claws that were trying to grab him, others looked like people trapped in agony, but everytime he looked close enough the trees turned out to be nothing but trees. There was no sky to speak of, only a vast emptiness that seemed to try to pull Hastur in if he looked long enough into its nothingness.

He saw no sign of life, no animal and there was barely a sound, a somewhat sickly breeze and the creaking of the trees.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur slowly stood, stretching his limbs to try and remove the soreness from them. He was mildly surprised, but not unhappy, to find out he was still alive somehow. Searching around he tried to locate the Aeregos general who had come in with him but could spot no trace. He began to walk aimlessly, avoiding the darker spots on the ground, searching for anything different in the dark world. His chains hung from his hands, the daggers still held within the claws and ready to strike.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hastur began to look around, looking for any sign of life of the aeregosian general. As he passed the trees and grasses he felt like they were reaching out to him, but everytime he turned around they would just sit there silently.
The creaking of the trees was becoming louder as the wind picked up and some of the ashen dust was shifting. Something bleached cought Hastur's eye, it was a few feet away from him, barely a speck that was revealed by the shifting dust. Next to is was sickly looking plant of an unknown origin aswell as one of the dead trees.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur was wary of the odd spot in the world. Shifting away from it, putting a few metres between him and it, he sent a chain out to approach it slowly, using the bottom of the claw to brush away more of the dirt around it. He sent out a second chain to hover above the first, dagger pointed downwards and ready to stab at any sudden movement. As the bleached object was revealed he would use the lower 2 claws to pull it from the earth. As he did this he regularly checked his back for anyone approaching.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The claw successfully brushed the remaining dust away, revealing a object, about the size of a grown-men's arm. Though the distance and its position made it very hard for Hastur to actually identify it in a reliable way. His claws were already in place, grabbing the object and pulling it from the ashen dirt.

Hastur was very cautious and looked around quite often, expecting an ambush any time, but there was none. However he had the feeling that someone, or something was watching him. As the object was brought before him he realized that it was some sort of statuette, though he could not tell of what, or what the material it was made from was. That would require further investigation.

[DoughGuy]

Wrapping one of hi shcians around the object Hastur brought it close to him so he could examine it. While he kept checking his back he tried to ignore the odd feeling, not wanting to be unnerved. He would view the statuette, inspecting he detail and material.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The statuette was of crude craftsmenship, the material was hard to identify though Hastur was sure he had seen it before. It roughly resembled the face of an old men with his eyes closed and a bald head. A strange energy could be felt as it was close to Hastur, though its nature was unclear.

The creaking of the trees seemed to be become stronger, almost sounding like the desperate moaning of thousands of tortured souls. Or maybe it was just in Hastur's head?

[DoughGuy]

Hastur drew the object closer to him, keeping a hovering chain ready to flick the object away if it looked dangerous. As he did this he moved into the biggest opening he could find, trying to put as much distance between himself and the trees as he could. When the object was close enough he would touch it with his hand, trying to determine more.

[CrestOfArtorias]

It proved to be quite hard to find a clearing that was fitting Hastur's expectations, however after some time he was able to find one that was close enough. With enough space between him and the trees he decided to finally take a closer look at the object held by his chains. As he touched the statuette it suddenly began to move, crying out in a wail of agony.

[DoughGuy]

Upon hearing the wail Hastur's hand opened immediately in shock, the statuette again only held up by a chain. Panting slightly Hastur reached out with shaking hands and grasped the it again, this time holding onto it and not letting go.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The statuette moved, opening its eyes. "Oooooh what evil hath befallen thou young one? Hath thou been consumed by he they call the Herald?" Hastur finally recognized the material this crude work of craftsmenship was made from. It was bone, though he did not know if it were human bones or bones of an animal. The empty eyes of this bone statuette seemed very interested in Hastur.

[DoughGuy]

"Uh I guess." Hastur replied, still slightly shocked from the actions before, "He transformed and dragged me into his maw along with another man. We appear to have been separated during the journey to .. here. Who are ... were you?" He was unsurprised to find the object was bone, he had suspected it would be.

[CrestOfArtorias]

"Hmm I guess my name will hold no meaning to you, but a long time ago they called me Baccius. Indeed, then you and your companion will be trapped here forever, such is the fate of those that enter the Herald's maw. Unless... pach nevermind." The statuette seemed to eye Hastur closely as if it was trying to learn more from this new arrival.

[DoughGuy]

"Unless what?" Hastur asked. He looked around at the area he was in, disgust clearly on his face, "I don't plan on being trapped here forever."

[CrestOfArtorias]

Further eyeing the men that was holding it, the statuette replied: "You seem capable enough... maybe you will be able to brave the trials ahead. Very well listen up. This forest represents the victims of the Herald, women, children, men, innocents or the guilty they are all here, trapped forever in the trees, twisted in pain and agony. You must venture forth into the heart of the forest, there you will find one of the sins commited by the men that the Herald once was, before he became the being that he is now. You must confront this sin and defeat its incarnation, this will severly weaken the Herald and maybe you and your friend, if he is still alive can put an end to his existence. But beware, these trees are dangerous and not all of them are innocent children that do not wish to harm you!" The statuette was watching Hastur, very interested in his reaction.

[DoughGuy]

"Which way is the heart of this ... forest?" Hastur asked the statue. Once he received an answer he would walk in that direction. "What if someone was to confront all of his sins one by one? Could he be killed form within?"

[CrestOfArtorias]

"That I can't tell you, I don't know how long I have been here and how much the forest has grown by now. But you should be able to find it, the forest gets thicker the closer you come and I believe that there also was a path leading into the heart." The statuette seemed to think about Hastur's second question. "Yes I believe that it can be done, though you won't be able to destroy him entirely from within, in the end his earthly form hast to be destroyed. But confronting his sind will weaken him considerably." The creaking of the trees once again picked up.

[DoughGuy]

"Guess I better start walking then." Hastur turned away from the clearing he had found, reasoning it was the opposite direction he wanted to be going in, and began walking again. He searched for thicker areas of tree, or the path the statue spoke of. "Is there any other help you can offer? And why are you a statue and not a tree?" he asked as he searched.

[CrestOfArtorias]

"I fear there is nothing else I can do for you... unless you free me from this prison, but sadly that can only be done once the Herald is slain. Ah yes why am I a statue and not a tree, a good question. You see these trees are the victims of the being you call the Herald, I however am not one, not directly anyway. I once was close to the Herald and knew him better than anyone else and he decided to keep me close by." While the statuette was still talking Hastur was able to find a portion of the forest that was thicker than the areas he had seen before.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur headed towards the thicker trees, avoiding their touch where he could. The statue remained wrapped up in one of his chains, held in place by the chain and allowing the claw to be free. "So are you from Disgeran? Or was the Herald from a different land before he fell to the dark?"

[CrestOfArtorias]

The statuette seemed to think about Hastur's words for a short time until it answered. "The Herald was once a noble person, who sought only to serve his people that were driven from their homeland, condemned to abandom everything that once belonged to them. He helped to rebuild his people wherever he could, until the day came where death was about to embrace him. Convinced he had not yet fullfilled his duty to his people, he dedicated his life to understand that dark arts, commiting many unforgivable sins in the process. As the Orbs arrived and the lands became what they are called now, things changed and he became the Herald, abandoning his people in favour of his lord. To answer your question though, no I am not from Disgeran."

Hastur seemed to see faces within the trees bark, but every time he looked close enough to be sure, they seemed to vanish.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur thought on the statue's words as he continued to walk, watching his back and trying to avoid looking for faces in the trees though he couldn't completely. It was an all too typical story, on children of Archeos were told and then taught to fear through. The noble man who was lost to the dark because he thought he could control it. "It is good you aren't Disgeran, it makes this simpler." He pushed further in, hoping to find the heart soon, "Tell me how do I turn into one of these tree? Is it simply when I die?"

[CrestOfArtorias]

Again the statuette seemed to think about his words. "Its a rare case that you aren't one of them already, since all that are consumed by the Herald end up here, creating a monument to his colossal sin. No matter if they were killed, betrayed or just consumed by his evil in another way." Baccius paused for a moment.

"But you seem different, maybe you are in luck and have the power to withstand his evil, maybe you are even blessed by the Meragia." Baccius seemed to want to say more but he was interrupted by a screeching polyphonic voice. Hastur was quick to react so he was able to spot black inky shadows that were moving between the trees and seemingly tried to surround them.

[DoughGuy]

"Looks like they noticed us at last." Hastur hissed. Finding the loop on his belt which he normally hooked the avian's head to and attached Baccius to it. He raised his arms up, chains ready to fire, and advanced deeper into the forest, trying to track the shadowy shapes. If any got within his 10m range he would fire a chain at them. He adjusted his belt slightly so that Baccius was facing his rear, "If you see any coming from behind warn me." he told the statue.

[CrestOfArtorias]

"Watch out boy, these shadows are the tortured souls of those that parished at the hand of the Herald and they are as deadly as they were during their lifes!" As Baccius was attached to Hastur's belt, he dropped his guard for a moment and only thanks to his reflexes was he able to dodge the attack of one of the inky shadows which was wielding an axe.

Two more were charging from the left and Hastur also saw movement to his right.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur's pedaled backwards as he raised his hands to fire. His first chain from his right hand shot forwards at the creature in front of him. If stabbing through its torso wasn't enough to dispatch it he would loop the chain back round, stabbing through the torso again before aiming to collide with the axe's handle, destroying it. His left hand's chains would shoot out towards the shadows on the left, the blades aiming at their legs. His last chain hovered to his right as he glanced that way.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hastur's chain pierced the shadow's chest and it appeared that that was enough to destroy it. In the same time his other chains were released and tried to fell the inky beasts that had gathered to the left and right. But these shadows seemed very nimble and dodged his chains with frightening ease, separating themselves so that tracking both of them would be nigh impossible. The shadow to Hastur's right entered his vision and he recognized the shadow of something big, something really big and it was attempting to smash the Archeosian into the ground.

[DoughGuy]

As the shadow descended upon him Hastur rolled towards the big one, diving to its side and going around it. His body made it through fine but the retreating line of one of his chains was caught and brought his dive to a stop. He landed awkwardly on his left side but raised his right arm and fired both chains into whatever served as legs for the shadow. The claws would grab and crush at any resistance before the chains moved back and stabbed a different part, slowly cutting away at the leg. If the shadow lifted itself off his chains he would immediately withdraw it.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hastur managed to avoid the big shadow's attack, his fall however pressed out the air in his lungs, which forced him to gasp for air. He managed to fire his chains though and did hit whatever served as the beings legs. Like a cloud of smoke whirled up by the wind, the being was snuffed out. This caused his chains to plant themselves deep into one of the trees. A wail of dispear and unbearable pain echoed through the forest and caused Hastur's ears to bleed causimg him to feel disoriented.

[DoughGuy]

His left hand chains rapidly withdrawing he used the hand to push himself up onto the edge of his heel so his body was at a 30 degree angle to the ground. Wobbling slightly he attempted to reel his chains in, however lodged in the tree as they were he was pulled towards them instead. Shifting his weight backwards and letting his left arm relax his body rotated so he was now facing the other way moving towards the tree, heels skipping along the ground. If he could see the other 2 shadows from this position he would then fire at them with his left hand chains.

[CrestOfArtorias]

"Boy behind you!!" Baccius words sounded like they were miles away, or as if Hastur would have been underwater. If he would turn around he would see the two shadows from before going for him at their inhuman speed. Both attacking from different directions, the one on the left was coming from above, now wielding a wicked looking spear, while the other was coming from the right and was almost next to Hastur, wielding a cruved blade of sorts.

[DoughGuy]

Bracing himself Hastur released the daggers of his right hand chain, falling to the ground with an "oomph" and sliding as his means of propulsion was suddenly cut. However before he hit the chains of his left hand leapt out at the shadow on his right. They shot in at 45 degree angles towards the shadow's centre and would be able to chase the shadow if it dodged. In addition, still as he was falling, he swung his ring arm around, the chains following like a whip and aiming straight for the airborne shadow. As they neared the target the claws and part of the chain would spin around creating a shield that would bludgeon anything caught in it.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The shadow to his right suddenly disappeared as if it blinked out of existence, Hastur however was sure his chains did not hit it. As he whirled around to form his shield of chains, the other shadow was hit by one of the chains, which sent him back into the forest, where he recovered quickly and his form morphed into something that looked somewhat similar to an archer, who was preparing to fire an arrow.

Hastur's rotation was stopped violently as he felt a soaring pain running through his back, as if something long and sharp had just pierced his lower back holding him in place. Hastur's momentum did not favor this attack as it drive whatever had hit Hastur deeper into his flesh, causing horrible pain. "Oh no boy he has pierced you with his spear, hurry get away from him!" Baccius words were frantic.

[DoughGuy]

The chains Hastur had sent to his right continued their movement along a straighter path. The pair slammed into a nearby tree near the top of its trunk. With a pull they wrenched Hastur off the ground and off the spear which had stabbed into his back. He was then dragged along the ground until he found his feet and scrambled behind the tree to dodge the arrows. As he did this the spinning chains shield continued to function, placed between himself and the archer in an attempt to stop any arrows.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The arrow sent out by the shadowy archer hit the tree Hastur was taking cover behind. At that moment Hastur saw a motion to his left, a short glimpse of shadow coming towards him. His pain was interfering with his reaction and his life probably would have ended right there, were it not for the help of someone unexpected. The tree itself shielded Hastur against a curved blade, that would have had him decapitated for sure.

[DoughGuy]

The claws in the current tree easily tore out and swing around stabbing at whatever figure was holding the curved sword. The swing shield also swung around to further chase the figure if it dodged. If the sword creature was killed by those attacks he would focus on the archer, hoping between trees with all 4 chains spinning as shields and edging closer. Once within range he would send his chains out from behind a tree to attack it.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hasturs claws ripped through the being without any difficulty, as its blade was still hold by one of the tree's branches. He quickly dodged two incoming arrows and a third one was deflected by his swinging shield, however he was not able to get closer to the shadowy being, as it fired with inhuman speed and only Hastur's cover and shield kept him from being riddled with arrows.

Suddenly the being seemed to levitate as two inky black feathered wings were unfolding around it, which reminded Hastur of beings that he had seen fighting alongside Aeregos. Getting into the air the being kept shooting arrows at him.

[DoughGuy]

Still behind cover Hastur sent 2 of his chains questing out. They located the 2 daggers he had left in the tree and pulled them out while his other 2 continued shielding him. Shooting back to him he placed the daggers into the holes within the claws but didn't secure them. Aiming at the flying figure he launched one of the chains towards it. It was unable to reach the figure on its own, however without being secured the dagger was launched airborne as the chain jerked to a halt, fliying straight for the flying figure. If the first one missed he would fire the second in a similar fashion.

[CrestOfArtorias]

With a few powerful strokes of its wings, the shadow dodged to the side and than took a dive as Hastur's second dagger was released, firing an arrow in the process. This arrow however seemed different, black smoke was following its trail as if the arrow would lose some of its essence. Before Hastur was able to see the arrows original effect it exploded in dozens of arcing pitchblack "lightstreams" that were zeroing in on Hastur, from the sides and the top.

[DoughGuy]

As the arrow exploded Hastur exploded from his cover and began running deeper into the forest. He weaved through the trees using them for cover and his chains were out behind him, spinning as 4 protective shields. "Can't kill something like that." he said to Baccius, "Gonna have to hope we can outrun it."

[CrestOfArtorias]

The volley of inky lightstreams was following Hastur through the woods, avoiding the trees and coming closer way too fast. However before they could reach him they shattered against a wall of stone, that had suddenly erected itself.

"Oi small one, so this is were you went," the man known as Rai-Gonsuro appeared infront of Hastur, jumping from a particulary strong tree, he was going into a fighting stance facing the pursuing shadow.
"Lets teach these twilight, good for nothing fools who they are messin with!" With those words he brought down his foot and the earth around them was shaking.

[DoughGuy]

"I see you've kept yourself healthy General, that's very good." Hastur replied as he stopped running, panting a little and holding a hand against his back wound. He wasn't sure how deep it was but he'd have to keep an eye on it just in case. The advantage of his chains was that he didn't need to point his hands to use them and so he kept one hand putting pressure on the cut while the chains hovered in front of them. As 2 of them spun like shields the other 2 hovered to the sides, waiting to strike.

[CrestOfArtorias]

"Its good to see a familiar face in this dark place, even if it is that of an Archeosian," the giant smiled at Hastur. "Lets bring this nuisance down to us, so we can teach him what happens to cowards, UAAAAARGH!" With this sudden ourbust the earth around Rai-Gonsuro was ripped asunder and with powerful swipes the man known as the Cliffbreaker sent countless rocks flying towards the inky archer, who suddenly had a hard time dodging and had to concentrate completely on defense.

[DoughGuy]

Dropping Aleia's dagger from his claws into their sheaths Hastur's 4 chains shot out and snatched 4 fist sized rocks from the barrage and held onto them. Throwing his arms to either side the chains spread half their length outwards, in one direction each. One went up, one went down, one went left and the final one went right. As the the shadows dodged Rai's barrage Hastur waited for the right moment before unleashing the 4 rocks when the shadow was in a bad spot. Coming in from 4 different direction, including the barrage itself from a 5th direction, it would be very hard to dodge all the attacks.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The shadow dodged but it became appearend that it could not keep up with it any longer. As if Hastur's preparations were the trigger the shadow was hit by one of the rocks hurled at him by Rai-Gonsuro. In that moment Hastur's chains unleashed the rocks on it, quick and precise and knocked it out of the sky, where it turned into a blackish puff of smoke.

Rai-Gonsuro seemed happy, "haha good timing small one, now... where the hell are we?"

[DoughGuy]

"We're in the Herald." Hastur replied as he pulled Baccius from his belt to show Rai, "He can explain." Hastur would let Baccius explain the situation to Rai as he observed their surroundings from his new vantage point. He looked for the area of densest tree that he could see, hoping to find where they needed to go from above. If he did once Baccius had finished speaking he would say, "Can you take us over the trees with your rock? We might be able to avoid further encounters if you can."

[CrestOfArtorias]

The hulking giant looked somewhat confused as Hastur handed him the strange looking statuette. "What is this? Where did you find this? A peddler trying to sell you a magic trinket?", his joking was interrupted by Baccius. "Ah you must be this ones companion he talked about, I am Baccius and I shall explain." His eyes wide open the Cliffbreaker looked at the talking statuette in his hand. "The hell is that, it talks?" Rai-Gonsuro was obviousely suprised as the object he thought a peddlers shenanigan, turned out to be quite useful. Baccius explained the situation to the giant, who was scratching his massive bearded chin. "I see, so thats what happened. Bah, in him or no, I will still tear that sharlatan to bits!" With that being said he hit his knuckles together and the rock he and Hastur were standing on started to move.

However after a short while he looked at Hastur, "Eh which way do we go again?"

[DoughGuy]

From his vantage point Hastur would point towards where the forest got denser, "We head towards the black heart of this place."

[CrestOfArtorias]

Grunting in agreement Rai-Gonsuro commanded the rock to change directions. "You sure about that small one? I mean can we trust that animated piece of bonemeal? What if he is luring us into a trap?" As the heart of the forest was coming closer, the trees became more twisted and disfigured and an almost oozing feel of desperation and unnatural dread could be felt.

[DoughGuy]

"If it's a trap at least we can do something and at least we'll find our enemies. Our only other option is to wander this plane hoping we stumble across something." Hastur replied. He reattached Baccius to his belt as they flew and looked towards the forest's heart. "For now let's just prepare for a fight." he said, his face serious and chains emerging from his palms.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Standing next to him the giant looked down at the much smaller Hastur. "Hmpf I guess you are right small one. Beats wandering aimlessly around for sure." His gace focused on the heart of the forest he continued "I have a bad feeling about this, this whole place is...wrong." The trees became even denser than before, as if they sought to engulf both of them whole.

Then suddenly there were no more trees, the area before them was a barren wasteland of grey ash and rough colorless rocks streaked with blackish vein-like patterns. In the middle of the shattered and defeated land, surrounded by a black lake, rose a dark thicket, in it rested the pale, naked body of a boy, not older than 16 summers, his heart pierced by a dark blade, his blood and tears crusted and old.

[DoughGuy]

"Looks like we're here." Hastur said, "And if my intuition is anything to go by that boy will be the sin we have to fight. Probably his dead innocence or something similar. He made sure Baccius could see the body, "What's it look like to you? The sort of trap he'd pull?" He'd wait for Baccius to answer before continuing.

"Take us in close. Stay on the rock and I'll inspect the body." He kept Baccius on the front of his belt, keeping an eye on the statue and its reactions. Now they were this close he was suspicious of everything. After Rai approached the island he would drop down about 10m from the body and inspect the area in more detail.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Baccius looked at the lifeless body infront of them, his face became sad. "Yes, no mistake this is his first sin that established he bond between him and Xakh’Raah. This is his son, whom he offered as a sacrifice so he could live on."

He paused for a short moment, "this is not a trap, but the sin knows you are here, of that much I am certain."

Rai-Gonsuro looked over to Hastur, "still want to get in close?"

[DoughGuy]

"We've still got to kill it to get out. And I doubt it'll let us leave even if we wanted to. Let's get it over with." He crouched near the edge of the rock waiting for it to be brought it close. "Keep an overwatch but stay with 10 metres of me, that way I can pull myself out if I need to." When it was close he would leap down and slow approach the body. One chain hovered in the air behind him, ready to latch onto Rai's rock and pull him away if it was too dangerous, while the other 3 hovered between him and the body ready to block any attacks. He examined the area as he approached, "So what will this sin be exactly?" he asked Baccius.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hastur approach, carefully, the feeling of dread and desperation changed into a leaden sadness, that weight down on Hastur's bones and his mind. He could have sworn that he asked Baccius something, but he couldn't remember. His eyelids became heavy, he had the unnatural urge to close them, but fought against it out of instinct. As he forced his eyes open, he was no longer in the middle of the cursed forest.

He was standing at a beach, the cold seabreeze was going through his hair. This looked familiar, he knew this beach.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur looked around in confusion wondering what perverse trick this was. It couldn't be Cayanas could it? he thought to himself. He checked his belt to see if Baccius was still with him or if the statue was gone. If the statue was still with him he would ask it, "Any idea what this is?". Still alert for danger his chains hung out. If Baccius was not around he would wait to see what examining his surroundings brought.

[CrestOfArtorias]

He looked for Baccius, but the statuette was nowhere to be found.
Hastur's gaze wandered around in confusion, it couldn't be, but there was no doubt, it was THAT place. He could hear the fisherman talking to his left, where one of the fishing docks was located.

[DoughGuy]

A sense of fear gripped Hastur's heart even as his mind tried to piece together a solution. The loss of a loved one tied to their allegiance? As soon as the though appeared it disappeared as he lost focus. Sadness was overcome by hate and anger as he his mind realised the Herald dared use this against him. The anger helped hold him in check and balance his mind. With heavy footfalls he trudged to his left to find the fisherman he could hear knowing no answers would be found alone.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hastur approached the small dock to his left, everything looked exactly like he remembered it, the people, their voices even the knots on the ropes that hold the boats in place. Then he saw HER, sitting in her boat preparing to set off.

[DoughGuy]

He froze. Completely. It would have been comical if it hadn't been so serious. "Aleia." he breathed, not willing to believe his eyes. He so badly wanted to turn and walk away, walk until he could pretend she had been a trick of the light and he didn't have to make a choice, to believe there had been no choice to begin with. He wanted to be a coward for once and take the easy way out.

His chains returned to his hands and left her daggers in his grip. He squeezed the daggers in his grip and took a step forward. Then another. And another. Slowly crossing the ground towards. His face didn't know how to arrange itself and settled to making him look like he was lost, his eyes fixed on her.

[CrestOfArtorias]

His sudden stop caused one of the fisherman to bump into Hastur, but he apoligized immediately and smiled at him. Hastur knew that man, though his name was escaping him right now. He had more important things to think about anyway. As he stood there lost and somewhat confused, Aleia looked at him, her eyes met his and there was no doubt, she was exactly like he was remembering her.

"Hey silly looks like you fell out of bed early today huh, coming to wish your wife save travels?" Her smile was radiant and honest, a calming warmth that pierced every facet of Hastur's existance. She was obviously waiting for an answer.

[DoughGuy]

He was stuck for words for a few seconds, the sound of her voice bringing back too much emotion. Eventually he forced his mouth to work, "Yeah I uh, it just seems like so long since we spoke." Even as he aid the words he knew how silly they would sound to her but how truthful they were to him. He could feel his spirit rise just at the sight of her, like half of him had been returned. For a brief moment the change her loss had wrought within him disappeared, the ekro a forgotten enemy of no consequence and the army a simple job.

Yet it was this change that dragged him back to his reality. There was no way his anguish was imagined, no way it was not the real way of the world. Whispers of the Herald's world crept into his mind on these dark thoughts, unwanted piggybacks whose intent to harm him only ruined their mission. He embraced her one last time, allowing himself a small reprieve in doing what he had never got the chance to before, "Be safe Aleia. I'll see you when you return love. Goodbye." He released her from his arms to continue her journey.

He couldn't change the past and wouldn't hurt himself further by trying. But if the Herald tried to use Aleia as a weapon against him he would use that to say the farewell he had never had the chance to.

[CrestOfArtorias]

She held his hands as he was trying to get away. Her face was a sad one, a face he never had seen before. It looked regretful and she had tears in her eyes. "There was so much I wanted to say, so many things I wanted to do, now that I stand before you once more, none of them come to mind. All I can say is this; I will always love you." She was still holding his hands, her hands albeit the hands of a fisherman felt soft and warm. "You are a brave man and I have a feeling you have to be brave soon. Do not lose hope my soldier, I am with you... always."

As her final words rang in Hasturs ear the world around him seemed to go up in smoke. He knew this wasn't the place he was supposed to be in and a familiar feeling crept inside Hastur's mind, it was cold and he could feel that he was not alone.

[DoughGuy]

"You will always be in my heart, I love you." he replied. With great regret and fighting back tears he released her hands and walked backwards, watching the world dissolve into a truer form. His chains re-emerged, daggers back in place, as he prepared for what was to come next. He glanced around looking for danger to his sides and behind him as well as his front.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The smoke around Hastur slowly turned into a familiar sight, a fog Hastur hated and dreaded so much at the same time. It seemed to get colder, this cold seemed to slowly crawl into his mind and body, seemingly trying to engulf his very being. Then he saw them, dozens of cold glowing eyes in the fog around him.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur's chains poured from his hands to their full length, ready to strike at the foe that was soon to come. He repeated a prayer to Alu'Teresa under his breath as he held Aleia's image and words in his mind, steeling himself against the cold fog. It would not overcome him. Crouching into a battle stance he awaited their charge.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The enemies around him slowly took form, as Hastur prepared to fight off whatever the Herald would throw at him, the words of his loved one giving him new strenght unknown even to himself. However as the advesaries were starting to form, Hastur would see no servant of Disgeran before him, instead they were the dreaded Mist Warriors. The Ekro were here and with them the endless, cold fog.

[DoughGuy]

"If you wanted to scare Herald you chose the wrong foe." Hastur spat. His anger flared at the sigh of those responsible for Aleia's death. As their bodies began to form he stepped forward and shot his chains into their forms hoping to disrupt their creation. He would continue to fire at and crush their bodies as they formed.

[CrestOfArtorias]

His chains cut through the mist warriors easily, almost too easy. But Hastur had no time to dwell on these thoughts for more and more were created. He did strike down many of them, but for every one he killed three new seemed to emerge. Hastur though fueled by his rage could feel that he wouldn't be able to keep this up for very long, lest he wanted to be drowned by advesaries.

And a creeping suspicion found its way into his mind, "what if this is NOT the Herald's doing?"

[DoughGuy]

Knowing he couldn't keep the battle up forever he listened to his own words he'd said to Rai earlier. No use standing around and hoping the exit found them. Bouncing off his back foot he ran forward, chains leaping out at targets even as he ran. Whoever's fault it is doesn't matter right now, he thought to himself, I need a way out.

[CrestOfArtorias]

More and more of the misty warriors appeared, seemingly drowning him in their numbers. Then suddenly one of his feet was grabbed and he was forced down whatever served as ground in this realm. Many hands and claws reached out for him pressing him down holding him in place, while the unnatural cold was creeping towards him.
Hastur could feel this would be the end and he prepared himself to meet his love very soon.

But suddenly a sharp pain went through him and the warriors around him disappeared, along with this strange realm that seemed to have only existed inside his mind. He found himself sitting on the ground a large wall of stone infront of him and he could hear a voice. It sounded distant and if somebody was trying to scream through endless layers of cloth. Until out of a sudden his hearing became clear once again.

"Small one, get on your feet or that thing is going to rip you to shreds!!" The voice clearly belonged to the Cliffbreaker, he hadn't even finished his sentence as the stone infront of Hastur started to crumble.

[DoughGuy]

Shaking himself free of the illusion Hastur pushed himself to his feet and backed away from the wall as it began to break. He was weary of fragments flying into him when it broke. 3 of his chains hovered before him ready to strike while the fourth, without a dagger, still waited to attach to the rock if he needed to retreat. "Many thanks general." he called back as he waited for his foe to truly reveal itself.

[CrestOfArtorias]

The ground below Hastur moved as it transported him towards Rai-Gonsuro, away from the breaking wall. Just in time for the latter to be cut into pieces. Hastur could make out throny vines, that were moving through the cracks of the rock wall like snakes before it was ripped open. An uncounted number of vines were dancing around the naked body of the boy, also now covered in vines, the thorns piercing the boys flesh, seemingly creating some sort of robe-like attire, while also crowning him with a macabre crown.

Rai-Gonsuro snorted at the sight, "So thats this sin-thing we are looking for? Well it ain't looking that tough, but keep an eye out for them razor sharp vines. I have a feeling that neither stone nor steel can withstand them!"

[DoughGuy]

"Let's see how tough they are." Hastur replied. He launched all 4 chains at high speed straight for the boys chest. Due to their nature they would be safe from damage from the thorns and would hopefully tear through the smaller vines. Their aim was to latch onto the boy and dig in, crushing his form.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hastur's chains rushed towards the dark host of vines that had engulfed the boy's body, but were interrupted by them that, twisting themselves around Hastur's chains. Though Hastur's chains could not be damaged, they certainly could be blocked by the vines without problem, probably due to their magical nature.

"I am gonna lend you a hand small one!!" the booming voice of Rai-Gosnuro was thundering even through the clash of Hastur's chains with the dark vines. Suddenly the air was filled with sharp, knife-like rocks that were racing towards the boy's body. In response to that the boy started to use his vines to defend against the sudden attack of the Cliffbreaker.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur withdrew his chains to prepare for his next attack while Rai's barrage kept the vines busy. He moved himself to be at a different angle to Rai's attack meaning the vines would need to completely split in order to defend against both attacks. He then shot his chains forward. The central chain was without a dagger and was aimed at the boy's chest. It's goal was to grab the blade in the boy's chest and rip it free. The other 3 chains were just around the other one and would defend it, slashing upwards quickly to deflect any vines trying to block the central one.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Hastur's chains were racing towards the boy's body aiming for the dagger that had been planted there by the boy's father. However the lifeless body did not seem to have something similar to a blindspot, in fact his eyes were closed the whole time and so his response came quick and accurate. A torrent of vines closed in on Hastur's chains and it was aiming to entwine his chains, holding them together and in place.

Meanwhile Rai-Gonsuro kept up his attack to keep the beast from focusing on each of them separately.

[DoughGuy]

Seeing his tactic wouldn't work Hastur curved his chains around suddenly, slicing through any nearby vines and bringing them back towards him. However upon reaching him they didn't stop. Instead they curved around his body, wrapping his form up in their forms. "Cover me, I'm going in." he called up to Rai. He then takes off, running straight at the body as fast as he can. The chains would protect him from the vines unless they managed to slip through the gaps in the links. His goal was to get close wherein one of the claws would pop out from the front and try to pull the blade free.

[CrestOfArtorias]

"You got it small one!" The Cliffbreaker's thundering voice answered in agreement as Hastur took off to close the distance betweeen him and the boy's body. In a swift motion the torrent of vines aligned themselves into a wall-like appearance that would without question block Hastur's path, unless he would figure out a way to go past it.

At that moment Rai-Gonsuro brought his feet down with a thunder that shook the earth, ripping apart the ground beneath his feet. As if the very earth was following his movements, large jagged rocks were errupting from the ground and towards the boy's body, causing him to quickly change his position.

[DoughGuy]

"Give me platforms to jump off!" Hastur called out to Rai. As he said this he ran up one of the jagged rocks and jumped into the air. He hoped Rai would see his intention and put a rock under his feet so he could launch off it and jump over the wall of vines barring his path.

[CrestOfArtorias]

Quickly understanding the archeosian's intention Rai shifted some of his stones in Hastur's way, creating a small elevated platform for him to jump over, bypassing the vines. Some of them however already started to return to the host, recreating a thorny armor around the boys body.

Hastur also realized that that some of them tried to surround him in order to catch him in a pincer attack, if he wouldn't act soon, he would have to dodge towards the boy's body and he was sture that was what that thing wanted.

[DoughGuy]

Hastur jumped off the platforms and turned his fall into a roll using his chains to soften the impact. He came out of the roll lunging for the boy and attempting to tackle him. The four claws of his chains emerged from the front of the shield ready to stab into the boy's flesh.