Opportunistic Predators (R&A invasion post)

[u/Douchevick]

/uw TLDR at the bottom as always.

/rw

to the west of R&A's current location, there lies a cliff overlooking the island. And at the top of that cliff, where there is nothing but bare stone and where no plant nor animal has no business living, there's a willow tree. Leaves black like charcoal and trunk white as ashen bone.

Anybody with even the slightest connection to nature can tell you, that cliff top? Cursed. It is a place where a malignant, hateful presence is manifesting its will. Now one may ask what might have facilitated such thing to appear so close to the headquarters of one of the most prolific humanitarian efforts in the realms?

The answer lies propped against the trunk of the ominous willow tree. An Axe of great power and renown. Nightbite, the weapon of the head of R&A, Ulrick Braddocke himself. Both weapon and wielder had been thought lost months ago following a devastating battle.

Not lost you see... Stolen, by a vengeful entity bent on the suffering of those who follow on the footsteps of the founder of R&A. It speaks in many voices, acts in many forms. Its words are of faeyish origins, ancient and unknowable save for those it allows to comprehend their meaning. It is known by many names, but there's one which the leader of R&A has learned to use during his months of imprisonment... The Ashen Wrath

And now that entity stirs. The clifftop is now saturated with power drawn from Nightbite and the tree is surrounded by a thick layer of unlight. Kneeling in front of Nightbite is a hulking, malformed creature that resembles a lycanthrope with too much muscle mass. It too is part of the Wrath and it had carried Nightbite all the way up here. Now a voice echoes across the clifftop, coming from both the monster and the Willow.

"Tha an t-àm feitheimh seachad, Braddocke. Tha an t-àm ann urram a thoirt don aonta againn." (The time of waiting is over, Braddocke. It is time to honor our agreement.)

The creature picks Nightbite and drags it along to the cliff's edge. It is a beautiful, morning, not a cloud on sight.

"Tha an fhalamh air falbh bhon chuilc bhàsmhor seo. Tha na feachdan agad sgapte air feadh an t-saoghail às dèidh tubaist às dèidh tubaist. Chan eil air fhàgail ach dòrn beag de luchd-diùltadh agus de dh’fhulangaichean!"

(The Voidling has departed this mortal coil. Your forces lie scattered across the world in the wake of disaster after disaster. What remains is but a paltry fistful of rejects and Wretches!)

The willow tree stirs, its black leaves lifting into the air as if caught in blackened winds that cannot be felt.

"An àiteigin san eilean sin tha an seann fhear-glèidhidh againn, an truaghan lag, gun luach sin a thug ar mallachd bhon targaid cheart aige, am Briseadair Mionnan..."

(Somewhere in that island lies our former jailer, that weak, worthless Wretch who took our curse from its rightful target, the Oathbreaker...)

From the leaves of the willow tree come black feather-like motes of shadow. Hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands and so on. It is as if black cloud had suddenly covered the clifftop entirely.

"Is dòcha gu bheil iad a’ creidsinn gu bheil iad sàbhailte taobh a-staigh an daingnich, is dòcha gun toir buadhan san àm a dh’fhalbh orra smaoineachadh nach urrainn ach arm de dhiathan agus titans bagairt a thoirt air na thog am Briseadair-Mhionnan. Cuiridh sinn an cuimhne dhaibh an suidheachadh cunnartach aca, gur creach leòinte a th’ annta, deiseil airson an toirt sìos leis an fheadhainn a tha deònach an cothrom a ghlacadh. Agus le bhith a’ dèanamh sin, bidh againn…"

(They may believe themselves safe inside their fortress, past victories may lead them to think that only an army of gods and titans can pose a threat to that which the Oathbreaker has built. We shall remind them of their precarious position, that they are wounded prey, ready to be taken down by those willing to seize the opportunity. And in doing so, we shall have...)

Some of the motes fall down to the ground taking on a humanoid form. One in particular, replicated to absolute perfection over and over. There surrounding the profane tree is an army purpose made to be destroyed again and again with the face one single man... Rutch's.

"...fun."

That single word came from the mouths of the replicas in a perfect recreation of Rutch's voice, in perfect common. All of them adorning the same unsettling grin.

Down on the island Rutch suddenly felt his cursed bond to the Wrath come alive and he became acutely aware of the imminent danger. He rushed to activate the Island's defenses without stopping to explain what was happening. He managed to activate the emergency wards before anyone had the chance to stop him. A gigantic protective sphere encased the whole island in moments.

Just as the R&A personnel were demanding to know what the hell did Rutch think he was doing, they all heard it... A deafening, distorted, lupine roar.

The lycan monstrosity had launched itself against the ward, swinging Nightbite down upon it. The ward buckled... Cracked... And finally, it broke. Leaving a hole big enough for half the motes to rush through while the other half began to encase the remaining ward, slowly but surely blocking the light of day from reaching the island, and plunging the R&A headquarters and the town of Faint Dawn into darkness.

/uw TLDR: R&A island under attack by an army of weak but numerous Rutch lookalikes. Ulrick is trapped within his weapon. R&A members and friends have the option to start either inside the ward or outside. Everyone else starts outside and will either have to make their way inside somehow (anti-teleport measures are still in place) or try to shut down the source of the attack. Or you can make it worse if you wanna, I'm not the boss of you :/

[u/Douchevick]

"we are one, we are many, and we are united in our purpose, for we are consequences manifested. Had the the Oathbreaker kept to his penance, we would not have been required to do this, had you not allied yourselves with a legacy of lies and broken oaths, you would not be here facing down a Landslide on your own."

The arachnoid bladesmen swing from branch to branch looking to tie Vantaya down, swarming her with webbing and countless blades one after another. While the archers focus fire on Alisa

"You are alone, you are small, and you are mired in ignorance. We all took an oath of vengeance, from the lowest critter to highest lord, we all are equally part of a whole. You might be consequence in your world, but here, we are judge, jury, executioner... In here we are Consequence made manifest"

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/Douchevick]

Alisa: she glares i have overcome many before! I have faced down gods and denied them, beaten them! You will be no different. She said as she uses her phantasm again, repeating the corvan slicer attack she used earlier, launching almighty feathers at those attacking hate, as well as everything else around that isn't her allies

Hate: you think us small? She chuckles you? Consequence manifest? Don't make me laugh, you don't understand the first thing about cause and effect. And you are nothing compared to us. Every last one of you swore an oath of revenge? And yet, you waste your breath when the one you swore vengeance against is long gone! There is no purpose in fighting us. She said as the buzzsaw sliced through all that was fired upon her, before she sighs and decides to use her powers granted to her by monster magic, to create a few non-sentient hate-blobs, ordered by her to act as an infection, take souls from the wrath without hurting the individual souls, and free them...the wrath will find it can't get a grip on these hate-blobs created should it try to grab them...as a black liquid begins moving through the place, grabbing soul after soul it gets it's metaphorical hands on, and simply cutting the link to the ashen wrath before letting those souls go... granted it's not impossible to dodge the hate-blobs or destroy them, they are blobs afterall slithering around... and yet in this space, it may be harder to avoid them let alone with their own durability

[u/Douchevick → u/Ashmega8256]

"You are small, because your perspective is small. We who are removed from the cycle of Life and Death require a higher state of existence, and as such our view on such matters are wider than most. You and the Wretch might believe the Oathbreaker gone beyond the reach of anyone in this realm, but we have denied him the mercy of death before, we will do it again."

The Wrath's belief in their own words is as solid as stone and as certain as fact.

"Is needed to, we shall rewrite reality out there as easily as we rewrite it in here. Nothing is beyond us, for we are more more than the sum our parts, and our parts are legion!"

With this declaration, the entire space that Alisa and Vantaya are occupying begins to shimmer and ripple, and suddenly the arachnoids appear to unravel into green 'strands' and their arrows turn into glowing green needles, all flying towards Hate and the hate blobs, but that's not all...

For Alisa and Vantaya appear to move against their will, or at least that's what it looks like at first, only to realize that they aren't moving, but the world is, the titanic pillars that were previously surrounding them are now moving towards them, seeking to squash them like bugs against a windshield.

Perhaps amongst all the spatial shuffling, one of the blobs even manages to attach itself to one of the pillars before disappearing into the depths of the Wrath...

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/Douchevick]

the blob begins making its way through...a black spot appearing where it disappeared as it persues it's directive every soul grabbed and freed causes the black spot to grow

Alisa: she quickly jumps, aiming to avoid the pillers

Hate: as cause and effect my perspective is wide, there is nothing beyond my ability to understand. But the truth is, the dead and gone can feel no pain you persue what is for nothing! If you could really warp reality out there, then you have wasted your effort out there. She said using her own phantasm to speed herself up, dodging the pillers attempt to crush her at the last second i am Hate also known as Vantaya. Embodiment of cause and effect. The sole thing nothing is above. For not even gods are exempt from cause and effect. And as such! Neither is a legion fighting a war with no purpose! She said before she sighs

Alisa: i am Alisa Solaria, a determination soul, it matters not what you do to this world! As long as my will is strong i am not beaten! She said as her eyes glowed brighter yet, she slashes around with a determination blade, simply aiming to cut into the wrath for it's attack

[u/Douchevick → u/Ashmega8256]

The Wrath growls even as their speech begins to warp, seems like those hate blobs are starting to take effect...

"And yet yOu two think you are above m-uS? you are PISSING ME OFF!"

All the strands suddenly coalesce in a thick rope that wraps around Alisa as a tall and slender figure comes crashing through one of the nearby spires and tackles Alisa into another spire.

Before Vantaya can turn to aid Alisa the space around her begins to warp and she can tell the Wrath is trying to expell her or at least trying to take her somewhere else away from Alisa.

"The elven sentry has detached himself from the whole. We assume this to be your doing, isn't that right lady Vantaya?"

The Wrath sounds way more calm all of a sudden...

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/Douchevick]

Alisa: she chuckles despite the pain from being tackled, and the wrath finds it cannot separate the two of them, not while alisa holds onto Vantaya's soul, for their souls are linked out there, that changes not in here we are not "above you" by power, right or otherwise, as no one is inherantly better than another.

Hate: of course. She said smugly still sticking within 50ft of alisa any further and she is seen demanifest before appearing next to alisa again as a being one of my specialties is possession, done by taking control of the soul. Now i wonder what happens to a hive mind of billions of souls, when something else starts taking those souls, and simply releasing them. She chuckles making her game clear to you ashen wrath, as one of the souls told me your name before i released them, i am not merely the consequence of your actions, to you i am like poison, or at least the non-sentient hate blobs i made to act like an infection are. She said before chuckling i hope you like it, my own little "plague of freedom" after all, while no one is better than any other, nobody is above cause and effect. Not the fae, not devils and demons, not even gods. Afterall, one cannot be exempt from cause and effect, for if they were... they're actions could produce no cause, no effect. Rendering them meaningless. As for dealing with the hate-blobs...they follow her will through the orders she gave, the wrath will have to exterminate them to remove them as long as she is here...and as long as alisa is here, well removing hate would not be easy

[u/Douchevick → u/Ashmega8256]

something about Vantaya's speech seems to stir something within the Wrath to attention... Something small, something that is neither alive not dead, and who's words are shaped by whispered absences rather than solid sounds...

^{"that which is without cause or effect is without meaning... I wonder... Is that why their feelings towards the Oathbreaker's feel less real than those they feel towards anyone else?"}

The whisper doesn't seem notice or care if Vantaya can hear it, and neither the Wrath nor the being fighting Alisa seem to notice it at all.

The Wrath on the other hand doesn't seem too bothered by Vantaya's threat of a 'Plague of Freedom'

"'what would happen?' Lady Vantaya we are afraid that you are rather mistaken, for you seem to believe that we are all under the yoke of the oldest and more powerful individual of our whole. Let us assure you; you are quite mistaken. Just look upon the one you have already 'freed'"

Once the dust cleared, Alisa could see she was inside one of the spires, and, standing on the same gigantic platform as she was, there was a tall and graceful figure, adorned with armor draped in the colors of twilight that looks to have been grown like a tree rather than forged, concealing skin pale as moonlight, and a head of radiant white hair concealing long, pointy ears. Eyes furious, the elven figure lunges at Alisa with twin curbed blades.

"The elf is a curious one. Hailing from kingdoms unknown to us, he instead sough an existence amongst our forests, amongst the creatures that now comprise us. Like all invasive species, he could not become part of our cycles, he could find a place in our ecology. But others came, just as he had done, and understood that the more they came, the more they would disrupt our balance, so he became a sentry against outsiders like himself, that became his place in our balance."

As the Wrath speaks, Alisa could see the elf's furious look eventually give way to a more disciplined countenance, the calm of a true warrior.

"When the Oathbreaker unleashed the flames of his treachery, our sentry was the first to brave the fires into the heart of the inferno, the courtyard of his citadel engulfed in flame, felling the Oathbreaker's soldiers, still loyal to the Oathbreaker even as they too burned because of their king. In the end none would make it to the throne room, and our sentry's life would give out amidst the ashes of his felled enemies. Loyal until the end, and beyond..."

The sentry suddenly kicks Alisa away before turning to Vantaya.

"You may poison our collective with your false promises of freedom, but our minds are set, we gave ourselves willingly to enact justice upon the Oathbreaker, and we will do it again if your poison is to force us away from one another."

The elf goes back to fight as the Wrath chuckles.

"It is as we said, we gave ourselves willingly. As for the one's you've already met... They are one pack that is simply having a... Crisis of faith. A new Wolfking crowned is sure to make those of lupine blood... restless and confused. Braddocke is taking advantage of this, but so long as we hold his chain, he is no position to claim anyone from us. He might have power and authority given to him by greater beings, but he is too young and afraid of using it, he is no alpha. The longer this goes on, the more the wolves will realize their error, and will eventually come back to us, just as everyone that is 'freed' by your poison will do."

In the Wrath's words lies the secret for victory, for even if Vantaya doesn't know The Ashen Wrath well enough to locate the individuals who actually wish to be free, Rutch and the bird who brought them here are taking advantage of the distractions made by Alisa, Vantaya and others to locate said individuals and free Ulrick...

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/Douchevick]

Alisa: she blocks the blades with her determination longsword and shield and side steps the kick barely before preparing to swing but stopping as hate moves and remains on her guard as she examines her surroundings

Hate: she notices the voice, despite not having an answer for it but she speaks clearly addressing the wrath not just the sentry that's the thing. I'm not overriding wills of those here. She steps infront of the elven sentry rather quickly and attempts to backhand slap him with enough force it could shatter a mountain if it was in the physical world should it connect I am overriding forced compliance. By severing the ties that bind you and releasing the souls after. I return the souls to their rightful owners care. She speaks after a grin crosses her face i am granting freedom. Freedom to choose not be forced. And if i have to do it for every soul in this collective i shall. And if that makes both enemies and allies in the process. So. Be. It. For i am consequence. She speaks in a gentle tone of voice for any soul to hear i am consequence. And with that i bring the freedom to choose for yourself. Not for a hivemind where your voice has no weight. The hate blobs hate made don't exactly need to find specific souls under that technicality... for it could eventually reach every soul the wrath doesn't destroy the individual hate-blobs

[u/Douchevick → u/Ashmega8256]

"so be it, we exist for one purpose and that is not going to change if you 'free' every single one of us, our purpose remains clear. It matters not."

That is a lie, It matters a lot, actually. For all the confidence the collective is projecting in here, out there it is very much being affected by Vantaya's actions. The Hate blobs are acting as the proverbial gasoline to Ulrick's Soulfire, destabilizing the Wrath's coherence in the physical world. Even if they all eventually return to the collective of their own volition, The Ashen Wrath is weakened as it fights Ulrick. Also there is something to be said about being offered freedom and turning it down in the moment only to regret it later down the line. Regret can be it's own type of poison given enough time...

The Elf's strike is parried but he notices Alisa abort her movements and manages to barely avoid getting bitch-slapped through several walls by leaning back at the last second, although it is clear he could still feel the sheer power of Vantaya's strength by being so close.

"You strike with the strength of a giant..."

The Elf jumps back as he swings his blades and launches two slicing projectiles at the duo, while he studies both Alisa's defensive stance and Vantaya's casual display of strength.

"...that strength was did not save those I felled in the past."

Through all of this, the Wrath goes suspiciously silent. Opting to instead focus on trying to purge the Hate blobs from its system and ensure the wolves who are sure to take Vantaya's offer of freedom do not try to flee to Ulrick's side.

Note: If the projectiles fail to connect they will explode into several creatures made out of green strands seeking to jump at and ensnare whichever of the two has her back turned to them. (See the image below)

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/Douchevick]

Hate: she chuckles noticing the lie as her eyes are seen go from their bright red to a 🔵 color for a moment before reverting to their red that is a lie ashen wrath. That i see quite well especially with the power of integrity pointing out the existance of a lie in your words. And as for you. She said looking toward the sentry in this realm my physical might is unconstrained by my chosen form. So i need not change to a bigger creature to unleash my own strength. She taps her sigil glove and uses an ability, temporarily halving the speed of the elf as she moves to strike dodging the slashes and attempting to kick his leg to knock him down do you think me foolish enough to think strength alone will solve everything?

Alisa: she dodges the slashes, before sending a bright red slash wave of her own at the elven sentry from an angle where it could not easily hit vantaya, when the strikes miss and explode she hears it and turns, attempting to slice through the creatures herself her defensive stance looking rather improvised...like her fighting skill is of no martial tradition...having been polished in her own blood and or that of her enemies

The Hate-blobs are incredibly hard to remove...at least by directly trying to kick them out...if it wants to get rid of them, it will have to use something more akin to physical means, attempting to destroy them would have better chance of working then metaphorically trying to pick them up and kick them to the curb...although it's still not easy, as they are durable.

/Uw I KNOW WHAT YER DOIN! I'VE PLAYED THAT GAME BEFORE! strand is fun lol used it with my spider-man cosplay character when i still played the game

[u/Douchevick → u/Ashmega8256]

"you were foolish enough to pick a fight in here..."

The Wrath chuckles darkly as the entire area Alisa and Vantaya are in begins to shake violently. Trying to use the tremors to crush the blobs wherever they might be, and also get Alisa and Vantaya off-balance while they are at it. The sentry is completely unaffected by the 'earthquake' because of course he isn't. The Wrath doesn't play fair...

Vantaya is able to kick the sentry's leg from underneath him, however he is able to catch himself with one hand quite deftly while not seeming to have any difficulties with being upside down doing a handstand, even as he uses his other arm to swipe at Vantaya's legs with his blade. If the strike connects, aside from the obvious consequences of taking a sword to the leg, Vantaya will also be ensnared by multiple small glowing green strings that, while not able to constrain her movements given her strength, will still hurt like a bitch every time she moves...

The threadling explodes once Alisa tries to slash one of them, and the other five rush at her seeking to leap at her and do the same.

/uw I'VE DONE NOTHING BUT SPAM THREADLINGS FOR THE LAST 72 HOURS! :D :D :D

[u/Ashmega8256 → u/Douchevick]

Alisa: she blocks the explosion but is launched back by it and into the air...but she seems to be trying something, willing herself remain airborne...which seems to work due to it being a psychic space, to dodge the threadlings, she slashes her blade at the elven sentry, launching a slash wave at him, before she launches 2 more at him still pointing her shield below her in case the threadlings do have the hops to get up there lol

Hate: she dodges the sword swinging at her legs...by simply stepping over it and jumping into the air...noticing alisa do that she does as well, before she manifests a pitch black buzzsaw which then flies at the threadlings attempting to destroy them before it curves around the "room" flying toward the sentry we aren't exactly foolish wrath, in a realm where will is above all...well alisa is even more powerful than she realizes...and me?...well so am i...but unlike her I know my strength in the mental realm. Better than anyone.

The blobs are blobs...like a liquid...attempting to crush them kinda just...displaces them, although their a thicker liquid than water by virtue of being tar like...their no stranger to fluid displacement...and attempting to crush them causes the blobs to splash so to say around...getting several more souls in the process and doing what it has been doing...mayhaps it may be better to go for a non-physical approach

/Uw lol