Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 10:44 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Isaac looked at Sir Hiro as he flew up out of the cavern. "That lad has a bright and prosperous future ahead of him."

"And a nice pair of buns behind him."

Sir Isaac looked at his left shoulder, where Lilith was sitting. Completely unashamed of her nudity and licking her lips hungrily as she looks at the young knight fly away, she seems to disregard Sir Isaac as anything but a recipient of her words. "I wouldn't have minded nibbling on those, because I've been starving for ages."

"Have some shame, wench." Sir Isaac said, his good mood immediately ruined. "And didn't I lock you up?"

"You did put me in a jar, yes. You know that a simple knock spell can open those, right? What pitiful creature can't cast something like that?" She says with a devious smile, only for her expression to turn positively sour when she looks at Sir Isaac. "Not unlike this thing. Why did it have to be you out of all people to open the link?"

Lilith jingles the ethereal chains, calling attention to her still having the collar around her neck. The chains got larger and larger the further away they got from her, but Sir Isaac could tell that they were slowly shrinking. "Yeah, that's the thing about angels. They are really thorough when they do something. If there's only one way to release me, then they make sure that there really is but one way. Neither death nor righteous power will suffice as an alternative. That kid's father was wise enough to see through it. Wise enough not to open the chains and place the curse upon himself. Funny that, angels. Devious creatures, who've fooled you lot into believing that they are the utmost good of the universe. Yet, here I've been, trapped in a cave knee-deep in my own waste and victims. Some ultimate good. Hiro's father was wise enough to see through that too, and this whole angels and demons schtick. Seems like he taught his son the right thing too, only for you to corrupt his mind with angel propaganda."

The ethereal chains suddenly animate and the end flies into Sir Isaac's glove, seemingly incorporeal to the leather. Sir Isaac feels a sharp sensation around his finger, which dulls as the chains grow smaller and eventually become thin from end to end. As he takes off his glove he sees a strangely shimmering ring around his finger, which seems to tighten around his hand so fast that it cannot be removed.

"Shame that it wasn't Hiro who got the curse of lugging me around, I wouldn't have minded that. Unlike present company."

"If it is my duty to carry this burden of great evil and prevent it from doing any foul deeds, fiend, then I shall take it upon myself willingly. This only ensures that you won't elude me and escape. I thank the heavens for that."

"Thank the heavens? Didn't you hear me just now? They're not the good guys you think they are."

"I heard you. But I know that all your words are lies, wench."

"Pfft! Seriously, from all the people. Like, I'd literally prefer to be carried around by anyone else from this tomb over you. Even that guy over there, who was just the biggest creep. Or that guy, who was cursed with the muskiest body odor I've ever smelled. Hell, even that guy there, and he just wouldn't shut up. At all. But I'd prefer even him over the likes of you."

"Now that I believe."

"That said, I especially would've liked Hiro to have taken me. If you know what I mean. Yes, that way and the literal way. I bet he would've figured out how to release me from this curse, eventually. And he was weak enough to be enthralled, unlike his father. I would've had a lot of fun with him while rampaging through these lands. Burning some villages, which would've been child's play to him. Maybe have my little pawn become the new god of fire? He certainly has the lineage for it. Oh, I would've made him burn the holy mountain and melted down the golden gates for me, and he would've dragged that whore who locked me in these chains through the streets by her hair! See how she likes indefinite imprisonment!"

"Alright, that's enough out of you."

Sir Isaac grabs Lilith's legs and twirls the ethereal chains around them, wrapping the loudly protesting succubus into a package and tying a knot at the end to keep her chained up. As she's cursing him with a language so foul that many a curse words weren't even known to humanity, he grabs an empty coin pouch and puts her in it. She struggles as he squeezes her all the way in there and then ties the pouch to close as tightly as he can.

"You son of a whore! You know I'll get out of here eventually!"

"I know. But not any time soon. Hopefully I'll be able to find a fairy by then, so that I may buy you some proper clothes." Sir Isaac says, walking back to the rope. He was already feeling tired just thinking of having to haul himself and his heavy armour up. Having some wings himself certainly would've been a blessing right now.

Sir Isaac looks at his hand and the ring that now adorned it. There was a small heart-shaped ruby where the chains linked to it, a ruby that seemed to pulse with a dim glow. As he gazes into that red heartbeat, Sir Isaac remembered Sir Hiro's words. "The power of love and divine magic, huh? I have neither to spare for this creature, but I know someone that does. At least, if she wasn't lying about why she was locked up in here. Seems like as good a quest as any to begin my carreer as paladin with."

Sir Isaac looks at the pouch that was now dangling from his wrist from an invisible chain, and the little succubus inside it. "Because even if she doesn't deserve redemption, it's my duty to grant it to her if it can be done. If not for her, for the angel who still loves her."

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:05 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Isaac's words were comforting, and helped him with coping with what he did.  It wasn't his fault.  The demon dominated him with her magic, unless he had a way to defend himself from it, or resist it, it was out of his control.  He didn't know if that demon really was a lonely person, or just a crazy, evil nutjob.  Maybe she was both, but he pushed it out of his head.

"I try to look for the good in people, whether it's a demon or a normal person, like an elf or human.  Maybe that's what got me.  My father taught me that.  It's something he believed in.  Good could be found anywhere, and there are more good people than bad."  He shrugged it off, he just had to get stronger and learn to resist mental domination is all.

His words seemed to strike a cord within Sir Isaac.  He went silent as he thought about it.  Hiro really thought Sir Isaac had the makings of a paladin, he had the righteous attitude, the holy magic, the mental fortitude, the charisma.  He just had to figure out what he was missing.  Whether he needed like a cross, or the faith of a specific deity or something.  He was praying to all the Gods when he was summoning power to his sword.

"Maybe I'm just a bit observant about people and magic in general," Hiro shrugged.  "But I think you've got it in you to be an incredible Paladin.  You were able to resist that Demon's charm, when I didn't even notice it'd happened to me."

Hiro was now flying about the room, feeling the power this winged armor had given him.  One couldn't blame him for acting so happy.  Flight like a bird was something men had dreamed about since the dawn of time.  It was the power of freedom.  The power to take to the sky.  He had now acquired that power.  He was overjoyed.

He landed back on the ground onto his feet.  Sir Isaac suggested it was time to leave and go their own separate ways.  He accepted the loot that Sir Isaac generously split with him.

"I suppose it does, mean that.  Seems we've looted this place thoroughly, got what we came here for.  Of course I'll be careful, and not sever your way out of here."  Hiro laughed.  "How did my Father purify my mother's soul?  Well, in the world we came from my Father was known as the Avatar of Fire.  He was the Fire deity for the time.  He would always say it was the power of love that allowed him to do it.  It was his love for her, and the divine magic he possessed that did it," Hiro gave a warm smile.  "Thank you, thank you for your help.  I'm sure we'll meet again.  If you need any assistance in the future, be sure to contact me, or we'll run into each other somehow."

Hiro bowed, spread his wings, and took flight, flying through the hole they entered through.  Soon, Hiro was flying through the night sky, feeling the wind against his face.  It was liberating.  He could be seen flying away with a fiery glow across the sky.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 7:16 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Hiro looked at him with clearer eyes, and spoke words that were once again filled with sense.

"Ah, don't beat yourself up over it. Demons are known for beguiling you with their words, it's not as if they are only somewhat talented in that regard. They are the masters in it, the ones who invented the whole concept of deceit probably. Greater men than you have fallen to their words for less noble reasons, Sir Hiro." Sir Isaac says, and then chuckles. "Yes, it was kind of silly that she would try to both convince you of blood ties AND seduce you, but that's demons for you. They're so deprived that they cannot even recognise common decency any more, let alone act accordingly."

The next thing he said though silenced Sir Isaac. A paladin?

Sir Isaac looks down, lost in thought and thoughtfully twisting his moustache. It was true that all of his light magic was the kind of magic that clerics and paladins could cast, and that he couldn't even read arcana. Or comprehend the basics of simple magical cantrips. Or had some kind of connection to a powerful patron to draw power from. And he wasn't affected by the demon's domination, it was like she never even bothered. Sir Isaac had heard of paladins being mentally indominable (Read: really stubborn), perhaps that was a literal power of them?

Could he really be a paladin without knowing it? But paladins were soldiers of the gods, men that vanquished evil for the pantheon. People with unyielding morality that strived to improve the world and protect the innocent. He did have the makings of one, but did he really already have the power despite not knowing it? If it was like that, the answer to obtaining more power was childishly simple: He needed a holy symbol. Not some ancient treasure or powerful magical relic, but a simple trice-consecrated slab of metal in the right shape. Without a symbol to conduct one's power through, a paladin was nothing but a shiny fighter.

"I see. I had never even considered it, Sir Hiro. I guess that you are wiser than me in that regard, to have noticed it so quickly." Sir Isaac says.

After he bound the pocket succubus in the mighty jar while Sir Hiro climbed the platform, Sir Isaac looks around. The bikini armour, loot? Sir Isaac sneers, the thing was oozing with both an evil infernal miasma and a much more ordinary stench. This chained demon living in a pile of bones clearly hadn't heard of doing laundry before. No, Sir Isaac had no interest in that thing, regardless of how sturdy the strange bones might be. The next tomb raiders could have it, if there would ever be any. Her tail might've made good weapon material, if it hadn't turned to ash upon her 'death'. Sir Isaac pokes through the pile of ashes with his sword, but doesn't find anything else of interest either.

The cave suddenly lights up brightly as Sir Hiro grabs the gem. Combining with and attuning to Sir Hiro's power, it merged into his armour somehow and gave him burning wings. Sir Isaac smiles at the sight of the young lad flying around with his newfound wings, behaving ten years younger than he really was. Sir Isaac nods approvingly, knowing that this was no bad development. Wings were good, as all moustache-shaped items were.

Confident that Sir Hiro would be okay, Sir Isaac returns his attention to the chains. He follows them back to where they were ankered into the floor, and studies the big slab of metal. It was very sturdy and reinforced, to ensure that the demon couldn't have pulled herself loose with any amount of force. But there was a simple release handle to the side, which any good person could've used to couple the chains loose with. Sir Isaac uncouples it and begins to roll the chain up.

Widening the search to the entire hall, Sir Isaac begins the long and tedious task of sifting through everything. There was some simple stuff stewn across the room, some possessions of the many skeletons that hadn't deteriorated yet littered the place. Silver coins and ingots, leather strips, silk, ectoplasm, some dryad bark, a small pouch of emeralds, a studded armour that was beyond repair but with salvageable thin slabs of lacriamium in it, a few good dragons scales from a molded sheet that was once an impressive dragon leather jacket and a wyvern heart. [The possible materials to find in the Anscense ruins.] Sir Isaac collected them and shared the loot evenly with Sir Hiro.

"Well, I suppose that concludes our business here?" Sir Isaac says to Sir Hiro. "You can fly out of here, I suppose, but please don't burn the rope on your way back up. I kind of need that to get out of this gloomy place."

"Oh, and one more question, completely unrelated to anything that happened here. How DID your father purify the soul of your mother? Of a demon?"

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 1:41 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Thankfully, Hiro's splitting headache and the sore face was the result of being mentally dominated, and smacked by the flat side of a holy sword.  Even if he hadn't been knocked unconscious, it was likely the holy energy of the sword that impacted him dispelled the domination/charm the demon had placed on the Phoenix Knight.  He listened to what Sir Isaac said to him, that his father wouldn't want him to release a dangerous demon like that into the world.

"You're right, I'm sorry I tried to attack you, I was being controlled, I wasn't strong enough to resist her power.  She preyed on my weakness, my thoughts of losing my parents.  I'll try to be more careful next time."  Hiro sighed, then an amusing thought came to his mind.  He laughed a bit.  "At least I didn't try to lay with her.  That . . . would've been even worse than what just happened.  Was bad enough to think she was my Aunt, but even worse to be seduced.  Bloody demons.  I have to get stronger to resist mental charms.  Are you sure you're not a Paladin?  You called yourself a knight, but you've got the honor, the holy powers that Paladins are known for.  They can resist powerful charms, illusions, and evil magic, especially the stronger they get.  Instead of a spellsword, maybe that is your true calling?"

Hiro took a few moments to compose himself, unaware of Sir Isaac finding the demon, and placing her in a jar.  He was focused on the shining phoenix feather contained in a jewel.  He did hear the chains rattling that had once bound the demon Lilith.  "If there's any other treasure, like the angelic chains, or maybe that bikini armor she left behind, take it and do what you will with it.  Any other loot you find, keep it, sell it, benefit from it.  As my thanks for helping me so much, and being a good friend."  Hiro smiled, and moved toward the podium, hesitating a bit, before reaching out towards the gem.  The gem seemed to react to his hand approaching it, glowing more intensely and brightly the closer his hand moved to it.

"I don't know if it's actually spellsword relic, it's a gem with a phoenix feather in it.  I sense fire . . . and wind, maybe a bit of holy energy in it too.  It's not made of metal.  I don't think this'll be good to integrate into my planned weapon, but it's something else that's very powerful.  It's just radiating strong magical energy."  Hiro finally laid a hand on the gem.  A blinding pure light radiated from the relic, along with pure magical flames.  Hiro recoiled his eyes until the light died down a bit, the gem having turned into a fiery orb of energy that started surrounding the young Phoenix Knight.  His armor started to glow as it was surrounded by powerful flames.  Another flash of blinding flames came from Hiro himself.

When the light died down, Hiro stared at himself.  Something felt different about the armor he was wearing.  He felt a bit of a weight on his back.  His armor seemed renewed in appearance, shiny and glowing, Crimson and Gold.  A pair of similarly colored feathery wings could be seen from his armor's back.

"Oh my, oh my . . . GOODNESS.  Are these Phoenix Wings?!  Is this what my father wanted me to have?  I remember he once had a set of armor that had wings like this . . . it all makes sense now.  Like, really making sense.  When I was ready, he had to have wanted me to have a set of armor like this.  Father, I'll do you proud," Hiro wiped a couple tears from his eye, and focused magic into the armor's wings, allowing them to stretch and flex.  He found himself hovering in the air, propelled by the magic power of the phoenix winged armor he now donned.  "By Angela's Grace, I'm flying!  I can fly!  Gonna take some getting used to and practice!  But this is AMAZING!"  He was elated as he kinda slowly fluttered about the room, practicing getting used to flying with this magic pair of wings.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sun Sep 9, 2018 2:53 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"She has to be telling the truth, it makes sense! She's my aunt! My family! The only . . . family I have left . . . I lost my mother, my father, my grandparents, I have no one left. But here's Auntie Lilith! Don't try to kill her! She hasn't hurt anyone!" 

Auntie Lilith? Sir Isaac almost took his eyes off the demon to look at Sir Hiro when the lad said this, using such a pet name for someone that he had known for barely five minutes was strange even for a deceived or possibly even dominated mind. But he kept his eyes on the demon, knowing that her tail could lash out and kill him with a single strike if he'd be caught unaware. "She hasn't hurt anyone? You're dilusional! Wake up boy, you're literally standing ankle-deep in the skeletons of her victims!"

Sir Isaac charges at the foul demon, who's using her last few moments before combat to weave her web of deceptions tighter around Sir Hiro. But it would be too late. There was no way that even someone like Sir Hiro could stop Sir Isaac from att-

With a puff of smoke, Sir Hiro was suddenly in front of him. He didn't draw his sword, which meant that he hadn't been enthralled to such a degree that he was now the demon's puppet, but he was still a liability at this point. Sir Hiro's arms rise, trying to grab Sir Isaac's arms and probably wrestle him to the ground. This was bad, the demon could probably strike and kill them both with her spear tail if Sir Hiro would create such an easy to exploit opening.

"Damn it, boy! For such a formidable knight, you sure are mentally vulnerable! I apologise for the headache, but I have to do this." Sir Isaac says. Or rather, it was probably an incoherent blur of half-spoken words, considering what little time there was between Sir Hiro's appearance and Sir Isaac's strike.

Sir Isaac places his thumb on the guard of his blade and turned it ninety degrees, changing a lethal strike into a blunt attack mid-swing. It was quite a useful trick to have if you had to determine whether to slay your foe or spare them in a matter of seconds, and one that Sir Isaac had used once or twice before. It prevented him from having to stop his swing awkwardly and regaining his footing and stance, and thus preventing the opponent from throwing in a free attack before facing off in a straightforward duel.

Unfortunately, the destiny of his swing wasn't as easily changed as the lethality of it. The sword strike aimed for the demon's neck struck Sir Hiro flat in the side of his face, easily knocking out the powerful phoenix knight. It sure was a good thing that that attack hadn't struck him with the sharp side of the sword, it might've sliced off his forehead whole.

Sir Hiro falls to the side like a sack of potatoes and Sir Isaac once again faces the hellspawn. She seems shocked that her enthralled minion didn't last that long, but then bares her fangs and prepares her claws and tail.

"You're about to see why bikini armour is completely worthless in true battle, wench!" Sir Isaac says. "Your shameless femininity won't make my sword stray!"

"You're still going on about that? Just let it go, already!"

Sir Isaac screams and charges forwards while the demon prepares her claws for a defensive counter-strike. Just before Sir Isaac is about to attack, he strafes to the side and runs past Lilith. Her tail pierces through the air pointlessly, and she has to quickly block a weak and glancing but present sword strike to the side with her claws. She sneers when the sword slides over her talons and carves a bit into the flesh of her fingers, little more than a scratch but still a nuisance.

Sir Isaac quickly turns around to face the demon again, who also turns to him with a wry smile. She licks the blood from her fingers, and then prepares her claws for another attack again.

"Haha! You fool, you're in my domain now! If you would've stayed where Hiro is and abused the length of the chains, you might've actually stood a chance against me!"

Sir Isaac doesn't respond, instead he weighs his options. She was still going on about the chains, even advertising the advantage that they would've given him. It only convinced Sir Isaac further that they were but mere illusions, a deception to give any opponent a false sense of security. One that could be janked away at any moment, and specifically at the moment that they'd rely on the advantage the most. No, he was probably a lot safer here, where the whole layer of deception that she was putting on was no longer in play.

She seemed to be rather straightforward, fortunately. She had her claws and tail as her main weapons, perhaps also some magic, and her teeth and feet as secondary weapons. Her first attack was rather predictable, pulling a feint with her claws and then attacking with her barbed tail. It was obvious that she'd do that the moment that she prepared her claws. Her tail had a greater reach and more piercing power, so it was a more effective weapon for someone chained (or pretending to be chained) when attacking someone just beyond their reach.

He couldn't be sure that her next attack would be as predictable. Perhaps she had already figured out his tactical insight and would now be acting upon it, or perhaps she was none the wiser. And of course, every degree of savviness in between.

If he would have to guess, she would charge and use her tail to force him to block it with his sword. If he wouldn't or couldn't, the barb would pierce through his shoulder or chest and greatly disable his fighting abilities. It would be all but a decided battle from that point on, one she'd win by means of atrophy even if she wouldn't win quickly. But if he would block her tail, the rest of his body would be wide open to her claws. The disadvantage of someone with one weapon fighting against a being utilising three simultaneously.

But, that's why humans had trickery.

Lilith charges forwards, and Sir Isaac prepares his sword.

MOUSTACHE FLASH!!!

The entire cave lights up as Sir Isaac's moustache turns into a solar flare. Lilith screams and quickly covers her eyes. Her tail strike goes wild and her claw charge is broken off. She quickly defends for an attack, but Sir Isaac wasn't foolish enough to use such a straightforward attack. He was just as blinded by the flash as her, despite closing his eyes in time, and his sword couldn't strike with great accuracy in these conditions. Rather, he would have to use his knowledge of where she was in a different manner.

As the world turns a blinding white, Sir Isaac quickly rushes past Lilith's right flank. Being armoured, no cunning foe would expect him to utilise mobility over defensibility. And being right-handed, Lilith would reflexibly use that hand to shield her eyes from the light first and foremost. Now being behind her, Sir Isaac grabs the chain and twirls it.

Lilith screams and tries to turn around in time when she feels what Sir Isaac is trying to do, but it's in vain. The chain is already wrapped around her tail when she realises what he's trying to do, and with one armoured boot firmly planting itself on the chain and the ground, the tail was bound. With the barbed end flapping around helplessly, it was no longer a threat. With his left hand, Sir Isaac grabs the chain near the collar and thus forcibly keeps Lilith in place and preventing her from turning around.

Whether the chain was an illusion or not, this wouldn't be.

With a single thrust, Sir Isaac pierces his shining holy sword through the demon's back. Her skin turns black around the consecrated metal, burning and melting. The sword sticks out of her chest at the front, piercing through her kidney and lung. Then, Sir Isaac twists the blade and turns the strike into an inevitably lethal wound. With her tail bound, there was nothing she could do to counter-attack him in her final moments.

"And that's why you should wear armour that properly covers all of your vitals, demonspawn!"

Lilith falls to the ground, coughing up blood. Nearby, Sir Hiro stirs awake. He had only been out for a couple of seconds, but it had fortunately been enough to end this. Who knows what else the demon could've tried doing with his vulnerable mind, had she been given the chance?

With her last breath, she apologises to Sir Hiro. Sir Isaac immediately starts studying their surroundings, wary that her death might be a deception or ruse of some sort. Perhaps she wasn't alone, or not dying at all. But he saw no other hellspawn in the cave. Which didn't mean that this wasn't some kind of ruse, of course. She then turned to ashes, which Sir Isaac also found very suspicious. Teleportation, perhaps? She left her bikini armour, so she'd probably return even more indecent next time she's appear. Which was to say, naked.

Jup, she was naked. But she was also a demon, so Sir Isaac couldn't be chivalrous or decent with her. Especially considering that Sir Hiro was about to regain full awareness and thus sight. Sir Isaac quickly takes care of the issue and binds her by means of superheated sand and an ingenious material-to-metal contraption that allowed for water-tight sealing. Holding the bound succubus behind his back to hide her from Sir Hiro's view, he then listens to the lad.

"Uuugh, my face. My . . . heart. I just really wanted . . . my family back. Sir Isaac, ever had something you wanted, something you truly desired deep in your heart, and to have that piece of happiness torn away from you violently, to never be regained again?"

Sir Isaac felt sorry for the young lad, but knew that he had done the right thing. "I know what it's like to want something. To feel like you've lost something that you shouldn't have lost, or too soon? But to get it back by unnatural means, by making deals with demons to retrieve it, that is not the way. You would only get a shadow of what you desired, twisted and corrupted. And in the end, you'd wish you never would've gotten anything to begin with. As is the way with any demon's gift."

"Ask yourself, Sir Hiro. Would your father really have wanted you to release a demon upon this world and risk the lives and happiness of so many others, just so that you could have family again? Do you really want to hear of your mother as she was before her purification, to taint your memories of her with the dark period before she met your father?"

"That there is your father's legacy, Sir Hiro." Sir Isaac says, nodding at the gemstone on the pedestral nearby. "That there is the path he wishes you to take, the memory of him that he wishes you to have."

Pretty sure that there was nothing else in the cave but them, Sir Isaac leaves the podium to Sir Hiro and instead turns his attention to the chains that once bound the demon. Seems like they weren't illusions after all. Not that it changed anything, the demon that they bound was pure evil and her imprisonment was nothing but a good thing. But the fact that he could hold on to these ethereal bindings did support the fact that they were truly divine. They seemed to only be physical to the touch of those holy like him, and untouchable to anyone else. And thus unbreakable. An efficient way to bind a demon, certainly.

A lot more efficient than a jar. But those were worries for later. Sir Isaac quickly pokes a few holes in the lid and puts the pocket succubus in a jar into his backpack before Sir Hiro would catch a glimpse of her. Small or not, it wouldn't be healthy for the young lad's mental health if he'd have her around.

"Not a word out of you, wench, or I'll find some wasps to keep you company in there." Sir Isaac whispers at the mini Lilith. "And I'll find a fairy nest to purchase some clothes for you later. Just, try to be less nude for now."

Pretending to be doing something useful, he looks back at the chains. Sir Isaac rubs his finger over the carving of the heart, and then over the chains themselves. The heart was carved by someone else, someone human, but the chains were made by an angel. Her essence was still on them. They'd be useful, and a fair treasure for his efforts in this adventure. Once he found a way to dislodge them from their ankering, of course. Not as pretty as the gemstone, but that price was for Sir Hiro to claim.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sat Sep 8, 2018 5:23 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

HIro felt dazed, confused, uncertain what to do.  This woman could be his aunt.  She was a demon, but his mother was once a demon.  Hiro thought he had no family left, could this demon be his sole remaining family tie?  Could some of her blood be in his veins?  However, it seemed Sir Isaac wasn't having any of it.  He spoke with conviction, with absolute certainty that Hiro was being tricked by this demon.  He would've know if he was being tricked, right?

"She has to be telling the truth, it makes sense!  She's my aunt!  My family!  The only . . . family I have left . . . I lost my mother, my father, my grandparents, I have no one left.  But here's Auntie Lilith!"  Hiro looked at Sir Isaac pleadingly.  "Don't try to kill her!  She hasn't hurt anyone!"  But Isaac, he was determined to put an end to it.  He charged at Lilith, who turned to see her attacker preparing an attack.

"Help me, Nephew, he's going to kill me.  The bonds, the chains are preventing me from moving about, help me Hiro!" she pleaded with him to help her, tears staining her eyes.  She was helpless.  Hiro had to do something.  He found himself in front of Lilith in a flash, a quick teleport with a puff of smoke, Hiro moved to intercept the sword that Sir Isaac had drawn on his aunt.  In a flash, Isaac swung.  HIro wasn't sure what happened, he couldn't bring himself to draw his own blade, but he moved to grab Isaac's sword arm, and he felt a warm, hard, searing pain against his face.  It was almost if, by purpose or by accident, the flat of a holy sword struck him across the face, knocking him to the side.  The world went blurry, Hiro hit the ground, dazed and confused, blood leaking down his nose across his face.  He couldn't really see through the tears blurring his vision.  There was a feminine scream and it was over.

The demon, Lilith was laying on the ground, mortally wounded.  The power that was affecting Hiro's mind started to dissipate,  His father wouldn't have left this demon chained up, if he was visiting her.  It didn't make sense.  If she was friendly, his father would've freed her through magic or brute strength.  But this WAS a demon, demons could love, but they were manipulative.  His mother was a reformed demon though, who was purified into a fire elemental.  Seraphia had to have a mother somewhere, but he knew nothing about her family.

"I-I'm sorry.  I used you.  I-I manipulated you, Hiro, I read your mind, and tried to give you what you wanted.  But I can't be your aunt.  This man saw through my tricks.  I . . . really was trapped down here, by an angel who punished me to not leave this hole.  For an eternity . . . I was hoping . . . someone would . . . free me.  At least now . . . I'm . . . free . . ." Lilith coughed up blood, her demonic aura was gone, whatever charm magic she used on Hiro was dispelled.  She burned up into naught but ash.

"Uuugh, my face.  My . . . heart.  I just really wanted . . . my family back," Hiro tried to wipe away some of the tears and blood that was on his face.  There was a mixture of physical and emotional pain flowing through his body.  "Sir Isaac, ever had something you wanted, something you truly desired deep in your heart, and to have that piece of happiness torn away from you violently, to never be regained again?"

A podium stood beyond where Lilith was located, protected by a sacred circle made of salt and magic runes on the ground.  Laying on top of the podium was the Relic from DaeLuin.  The Relic his father guided young Hiro to.  It was an crimson, amber-like gemstone with a colorful feather contained inside of it.  One would recognize the feather to be from a a legendary Phoenix.  It was sitting there, on top of the podium, for anyone who could get past all those traps, and monsters to take, provided they weren't devoured or killed by the demon that lived down here; the now dead demon.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Mon Sep 3, 2018 11:18 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"You're not in Hell right now, tramp." Sir Isaac hisses at the demon as she complains about his comment regarding her dress code. "You're in Revaliir, where the people have at least a modicum of decency. So it matters not that you are all alone down here and usually covered in darkness that no regular light can pierce, you are dressed inappropriately. Shame on you."

"And if you were to dress up like a nun, at least you'd be properly covered, woman!" Sir Isaac says with hateful eyes completely devoid of any leeway. He looks at her exposed ankles and sneers in disgust. "So don't talk to me about the awful conditions of the infernal furnace that your blasphemous kind has to do penance in, you're neither there right now nor deserving any sympathy about the punishments that you called upon yourself."

"And for that matter, you are-" Sir Isaac's moustache furls angrily when he notices that Sir Hiro and the demon aren't listening any more. She had instead began ignoring him, expositing about some stuff regarding Sir Hiro's past. Talking about insects and family ties, it was as if Sir Isaac wasn't even there.

Well, at least it seemed like Sir Hiro wasn't buying into her lies and accepting her offer to commit incest. Which, if a demon offered it, was probably a grave sin. She then moves forward, suddenly revealing the chain that was holding her in place. She tells some story about how she had been chained and bound here. Conjuring up some sob story, she spoke of her centuries of imprisonment and about how Sir Hiro's father had been keeping her company for years. How she had fallen in love with him, how she was saddened by his sudden disappearance. How she was experiencing unknown feelings of loss and grief right now.

Sir Hiro looks doubtful and on the verge of helping the demon. He looks over at Sir Isaac, his words asking about the heart. His eyes asking what he should do.

"Fear not, Sir Isaac. I know exactly what we have to do." Sir Isaac says, smiling while he places his hand on Sir Hiro's shoulder. "You may have gained much power in your few years on this earth, and you have no doubt experienced many adventures. But you clearly lack the theological knowledge that I have."

"Every word that a demon says is lies." Sir Isaac says with a dark expression, staring down Lilith and drawing his sword. "Every fact and rumour that a demon speaks is deceit. Every act that they entice you to commit is a sin upon your eternal soul. There is only one answer when it comes to these foul fiends. It's to grant them death, because they are beyond redemption. Beyond salvation. Beyond even the basic right to live."

Sir Isaac's sword begins to glow with a divine light. "Do not think she is your family. Demons can know things that make their lies sound true. Do not think that she truly feels sadness or grief. A demon has no emotions beyond anger and fear. Do not think that she is truly so silly and unknowing, for there are no demon children. Don't even think that she is truly bound, for that too can be a lie to deceive you. To lure you into a false sense of security and power."

"If you truly listened to her words, you'd know they were all lies. Why would a demon tell you all these personal things about her, all these weaknesses to be exploited? They deceive and abuse one another so often, none would ever behave this vulnerable. Why would she be chained, when a circle of salt is the way that most demons are trapped indefinately? Why would your father care for this woman without converting her, if he truly had some way to purify her into a non-infernal?"

"I'll tell you why, even though there is no need to listen to the words of a demon and argue against them to begin with." Sir Isaac says, the dark gaze in his eyes going full fanatic zealot. "She told you all these personal things about herself, to make you believe that she's a person. She made you believe that she's chained, so that you won't look to the ground and carelessly walk through the circle of salt. Thus releasing her, if she is really bound to begin with. And she told you that she knows your father, that he has some purpose for you, because she knows that those words can move you to do whatever she says."

Sir Isaac walks closer and closer to Lilith, wary of an attack and making sure he wasn't stepping on any line of salt either. "Oh, and I'm pretty sure that demons don't have tear ducts. So there's that, too. Illusions and lies, as all demons are masters of. But her deception won't prevent me from striking her down where she stands."

Sir Isaac stares down Lilith, ready to strike. She prepares her claws and tail, but looks over to Sir Hiro with a pleading look. Sir Isaac knew that it was deception, but also knew that this meant that Sir Hiro was still vulnerable to her words. "She's evil. You best realise this too, Sir Hiro, and not falter to strike down this purest of evil. Don't betray your father's legacy by giving in to evil that speaks his name. At most, you can rip out her heart once she lies dead and try to purify her soul like your father allegedly once did to your mother. Even if the chains and the hint on them are real, that would be the only viable way to redeem a hellspawn."

With that, Sir Isaac screams and charges forward to slay the demon.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sun Sep 2, 2018 6:43 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

He heard the voice of SIr Isaac saying what sounded to be a prayer, when Hiro called out that he was fine.  He did hope this Knight did not totally write him off and leave him here to rot.  That would have irked him a bit, if his newest comrade had just abandoned him like that.  Soon, Isaac joined Hiro down in the pit, unceremoniously falling the last few feet onto a pile of bones.  Upon reaching his feet, Sir Isaac went to Hiro's side, and seemed to be disturbed by the Demon's feminine appearance, and revealing garments.

"A Trial setup by my father?  He wouldn't associate himself with evil, but . . . as my father, Sabishii, got older, he saw tried to see the good in many things.  The good in people, in beings whether they were human or otherwise.  If a living being can think, if it can reason, if it wasn't a wild beast, if it could have a heart and a rational brain, it could make a choice between good and evil," Hiro said, thinking back to his memories of his father.  "Mother was a fire elemental, but originally she was a . . ."

"A fire demon.  She was originally a fire demon.  She was purified by your father, and reformed into a fire elemental.  Yes, Seraphia, Seraphia," Lilith placed her hand on her chin as if in thought.  "She was such a beautiful demon, I can see why a mortal person would be entranced by someone with her beauty, but more surprising she was entranced by a man such as that Sabishii.  He was a God or some such at some point, but she stuck with him when he fell, and ended up 'marrying' the man.  We're supposed to seduce the humans, not the other way around!" She said with a huff.   "You know what demons and angels both have in common?  They both come from the sky.  The first demons came from heaven, they were fallen angels, or so they say.  And you, SIR KNIGHT, about my clothing, you know, I come from Hell!  It's hot down there, why would I feel the need to dress up in heavy armor that makes it hard to move around, and cover up my beautiful skin?  Most cloth would burn up in the Inferno, so I have to wear hellbeast leather, bone, and some infernal metal and scales.  We also seduce mortal men, and sometimes women, whatever we feel like at the moment, dressing up like a nun would make that job a lot harder, though I suppose some of my sisters would enjoy the challenge of seducing a man while posing as a nun, to give them a chance to corrupt the 'incorruptable' innocence of such a young lady.  Anyway, my skin is my armor, these garments are here because I like to look pretty too!  I may be a demon, but I like to look good too, as a woman!  I have a sense of fashion, and this is fashionable in Hell, by the way!"  The Inferno Demon said, somewhat irked by what Sir Isaac said about her being dressed inappropriately.  She wasn't acting like the Inferno Demon she claimed she was, sounding more like a young woman.  "At least it WAS the last time I was there, it's been a while since I went back home."  Hiro glanced at Sir Isaac, then looked back at Lilith.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait.  Wait a second here.  You knew my mother?  You knew my FATHER?!  By Angela's crimson locks, what is going on here?  How do you know my father?  He came from DaeLuin, and so did my mother!"  Hiro was thoroughly confused.  One moment it looked like this demon was going to kill them, next she's holding a pleasant conversation with them.  Lilith cocked her head to the side as if puzzled by some of Hiro's words.

"Yeah?  You're Hiro Kouen, no?  You look like him, and like her too.  You've got black hair with red, you have his hairstyle, but some of both of their hair colors.  You've got her eyes, but his face.  You're quite the handsome lad too, I would love to eat you up!  Your father, I met him down here too.  He looked a bit younger than he actually was.  Hmm, maybe I should start from the beginning.  Okay, I'm related to your mother, you could say half-sister.  She might've been from DaeLuin, but she was born in Hell, no?  Hell is Hell, no matter whether you're from DaeLuin or Revaliir, or some other world.  It's the same Hell.  Seraphia and I were born from the same mother, different father.  So yeah, half-sister.  If I'm your mother's sister, I think you mortals would call that make me your Ant?"  Lilith explained to the young lad, winking when she mentioned eating him up..

"You mean aunt.  Aunt.  An ant is a tiny insect that lives underground with about a million of its fellow insects.  They come out of ant hills, and they have colonies of them.  Wait, you're my AUNT?  My Aunt is a Demon?  If I'm your nephew, why did you just . . . hit on me?  We're related?"

"And you're a hot young stud, that pushes all the right buttons in what I'm looking for physically in a man, I don't like older men, and I don't like facial hair.  You've got a handsome, young, smooth face.  Also I'm a demon, I don't care about so called 'mortal sins,' not like I'm trying to go to ick, heaven, and if I can drag a few people to Hell for sins, why the Hell not?  It's nice and warm down there, without those stuffy, uptight angel hard asses.  Though they DO have sexy hard asses, if you catch my drift" she laughed, and seemed to drift off, as if fantasizing something, she licked her lips in a seductive manner.  Hiro rolled his eyes.  If he rolled his eyes any harder, they'd have fallen out of his head.

"You . . . like to talk a lot.  It reminds me of father, disturbingly.  I'm surprised you're not trying to rip me to shreds with those claws.  You looked like you were gonna tear us apart the moment we got here."  Hiro seemed to be less afraid of this, but more confused and weirded out by this situation, by this demon woman who claimed to be his aunt.  But how did she know his mother's name if it were a lie?  How did she know his father's name too?  Maybe what she was saying was the truth.  "And sorry, I don't date or flirt with . . . so called family, or people I know will probably drag me to Hell."  He shook his head, looking down, kinda blushing a bit.

"Aww, such a cutie, that's too bad, I'd rock your world, hon!" Lilith winked playfully.  She took a few sultry steps closer to Hiro and Sir Isaac before something stopped her in her tracks, a collar with an ethereal chain on it could be seen attached to her neck.  "Gods dammit!  Every time!  I keep forgetting I'm chained and stuck here!  You know how heaven has rules and Hell has sinners?  Well, you hit on an angel, a beautiful angelic woman, with the nicest butt you'd ever seen, she kinda resisted the temptation of being with me, but she really WANTED it you know?  We roll in the hay a bit, but then when she was about to be found out, she locked me down here with an ethereal chain and collar, so I wouldn't squeal about what we did.  What a bitch, you know?  She didn't want to be banished from Heaven, so she basically banished me from Hell.  I've been stuck here for eons!  I think my so called friends in Hell forgot I was out and about, or assumed I died or something.

"No one with the knowledge to free me from these chains has come here to let me out!  That's when I met your father.  Some time ago, he came down here with some . . . relic of some kind, apparently it came from his home world.  I didn't know who he was at first, but when I tried to have some 'fun' with him, he smacked me on the head, and it was then I got a whiff of something infernal from him.  I smelled my sister's scent on him.  He kept me company.  We didn't get to do anything, but he was the first living thing not to scream and shriek in terror when I approached them, he was the first to actually burn to death when he touched my hand or whopped me on the head.  He didn't swing his sword at me.  It moved something in my chest, though I know not what it was.  He told me my sister had died, and he wanted to leave something with me so to give to his son, when he came down here.  He said to give you the relic, and exchange, you would set me free.  He promised me!  He promised me, someone would be down here, and let me free, so I can go home!  He didn't free me, because he needed someone who give this to his son, but he visited me down here and talked to me.  He kept me company, and told me about you, and Seraphia.  He gave me a gift too, besides the relic, some red feather, and a few pieces of human jewelry, some human food.  He stopped showing up one day, and it made me feel strange in my chest again.  What happened to Sir Sabishii?  Why did he stop visiting me?"

Hiro wasn't sure what was going on this this Lilith demon, but the look she gave him was one of sadness.  If there was anything he could tell by the look she gave, and the way she spoke, Sabishii kept her company, and she cared about him in some way.  She was sad because she was alone in this dark necropolis.  She talked a lot because she was lonely and didn't get to talk to anyone down here, besides his father.

"I'm sorry to tell you, I don't know how else to tell you, but he died a couple years ago.  He died in battle.  That's why he stopped visiting you."

She looked at him with what could only be described as sadness.  What could be described as tears could be seen trickling down her cheeks.

"Oh, oh, what is this?  It hurts in my chest.  And my eyes are leaking, what is going on?" She took a finger to her face and got a sample of the tears running down her face and tasted it with her tongue. "It's salt water . . .  why am I leaking salt water?  Your father, Sabishii, he never slept with me, but he kept me company and talked to me like no one else had ever before.  I don't know what's going on!"  She placed her hands over her chest, and dropped to her knees.  Hiro noticed there were indeed some pieces of jewelry on her, she wore a gold necklace that he remembered his mother used to wear, she had earrings that looked familiar,  Hiro looked to Sir Isaac, and wasn't sure what to do.  This experience was completely alien to him.

"Uh, I'm not sure what to do now . . ."  Hiro seemed to want to comfort her somehow, but he wasn't sure what to do.

"He said . . . he said, you would know how to set me free!  He looked at my shackle and said something like, you would know how to set me free, he wrote something on it, some weird symbol on it.  That when the time came, you would be able to free me, so I can go home.  Please, help me!"  She pointed to her neck, the collar the chain was coming out of had a a scribble on it, the symbol of a heart.

"A heart?  Why would he put a heart on there?" He looked at Sir Isaac again, as if looking for guidance.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sun Sep 2, 2018 2:38 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Isaac cleared his throat nervously as the tunnel was getting steeper. No one had told him that there were going to be mild slopes. He didn't particularly like those, as his armour didn't really lend itself well for balance and the redistributing thereof. And metal boots didn't give much friction to prevent him from sliding. Sir Isaac reaches for the side of the tunnel for some grip as he slowly continued to follow Sir Hiro.

"Starting not to like the looks of this, is this what you were talking about earlier? About flames not lighting the way in here?" Sir Hiro asks up ahead. Sir Isaac quickly steels his nerves and lets go of the wall for a moment to walk a bit faster. He didn't want the young knight to know how much distance there already was between them. Sir Isaac slides a good three or four meters before he finds grip on the wall and stops. Somewhat panicked from sliding down complete darkness without control, Sir Isaac tries to regain his confident tone before answering.

"Y-Yes, it is. Though your fire is clearly magical, so it should work around here. It's only non-magical fire that finds itself completely blocked out in this darkness. Though perhaps magical fire finds itself burdened and extinguised more quickly too? I'm not an expert of these ruins, I'm afraid." Sir Isaac says. "Careful, the ground seems to be real slippery. With a steep tunnel like this, we might find ourselves sliding helplessly down a trap if we're not careful."

Sir Isaac is interrupted by Sir Hiro's scream as he suddenly falls down. A heavy thump signifies the young knight's fall onto the ground a few moments later, accompanied by the sound of breaking bones and snapping limbs. Alas, such was the fate of any heavily armoured adventurer if they were to fall from any height higher than a horse. The weight would see to their death, relentlessly.

"Oh, Sir Hiro. You were too young to die, too young to be taken from this world. You still had so much to do, so much to accomplish. But alas, bad luck may one day claim us all. I shall retreat to the living world for your sake and erect a tombstone with your name, so that people won't forget about the mighty phoenix knight. And it shall say: 'Here lies Sir Hiro, bravest kn-"

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" Sir Hiro shouts from down below. Sir Isaac quickly stops giving his prayer and pretends that he hadn't forgotten about Sir Hiro's superpowers. Right, right. This kind of common death wouldn't claim the likes of him, how silly of Sir Isaac.

Whatever the case, Sir Isaac didn't have such abilities. What he did have, is rope. He quickly takes out the grappling hook and feels around the wall for a good gap to hook it into. After tugging it a few times and being confident that the hook was well-secured to the gap, he ties the rope to it and a weight to the other end of the rope. He places the weight on the ground and kicks it softly. It tumbles down and eventually falls down the hole. Sir Isaac holds the rope while this happens, and feels that the weight eventually finds itself short on rope before reaching the bottom. It would get him close enough though, or so Sir Isaac hoped.

Slowly and carefully, Sir Isaac begins to climb down. The grappling hook would better hold, even once he was no longer holding on to it. For all he knew, there would be only one way out of this gap, and he had no way of getting back up by any means other than this rope. But, he was certain that- was that a female voice?

Sir Isaac continues to climb down, slow and carefully. Trying to do it with his heavy steel plate mail on made him feel sorry for the fat kid in class, the one that everyone had made fun of during the rope-climbing exersizes. He didn't want to think of how much worse this would be on the way back up.

As Sir Isaac climbs into the chamber below however, his hairs stand up and he immediately forgets about any distractions regarding his youth. The smell of death was incredibly overwhelming here, caused by all the skeletons in the room. And that smell wasn't the only vile aroma. The miasma of pure infernal evil was strong here, eminating from the inappropriately dressed woman illuminated by Sir Hiro's flame.

Sir Isaac jumps down as the demon lady introduces herself, falling the last three feet. It seemed like he could just reach up to grab the rope, which was dangling at chest-height. Convenient. The demon-lady on the other hand…

"Hm, something tells me that this isn't another trial prepared for you by your father." Sir Isaac says. "At least, I sincerely hope so. If not and he commanded demons like these, you might've painted a misleading picture of the man. I'm not judging or anything, but… Actually I am. This woman is clearly evil, and so would anyone who'd summon her be. And in Naota's name, put on some clothes, woman! Have some decency!"

Sir Isaac draws his blade while sincerely hoping that she'll dress a bit more appropriately and/or transform into something else, but knowing that he has to slay this monstrocity regardless. Or well, back up Sir Hiro while he does it.

No, he shouldn't think like that. He knew how to use divine light, and this was a demon. He might even be more useful than Sir Hiro here, depending on how fire-resistant this demon was. Yes, perhaps this was Sir Isaac's moment to shine. Pun intended. Sir Isaac smiles to himself, ever amazed by how witty he could be. Good one, me.

That said, it was smiting time. Sir Isaac's sword begins to glow with a holy light as he whispers prayers to summon up protection and offensive spells. This was going to be a tough fight.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sat Sep 1, 2018 6:07 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"The key word there is 'stories.'  They are anything but.  Even my father had to rely on others in his adventures.  He met a diverse array of fellow warriors, enough to fill epic tomes of stories.  Each of those people had met many others, and so on."  It seemed to come around to SIr Isaac that he couldn't do everything himself, just like Hiro couldn't rely on only himself.  They would both have to find friends and allies to fight alongside to accomplish their goals and become legendary heroes.

Hiro looked around, seeing the fire that Isaac had built, and the pile of enemy corpses that had been collecting as Hiro rested.  There were skeletons and zombies in there, more than a couple.  Hiro gave a smirk, this man had been busy, and he wasn't too shabby himself.

"Yeah, let's get going.  You did good, Sir Isaac.  You have my humble thanks."  Hiro felt the warmth of the spell that was cast on him by the knight, a simple healing spell to dispel the remains of the poisons that had seeped into his body earlier.  He felt stronger already, and it seemed his companion had recovered from his funk, and returned to his normal upbeat, confident self.  Hiro traveled alongside Sir Isaac into the darkness of the chambers of the ruins.  He reached his hand outward and summoned a ball of ethereal flame that started to hover around Hiro, shedding light upon the normally dark chambers, as if they had traveled much further without a source of illumination, they'd be stumbling in the pitch darkness.  As they traveled further through the passage, it started to tilt downwards.  They were traveling deeper into the earth.  The angle that they traveled down started to get steeper and steeper.

"Starting not to like the look of this," Hiro said quietly, with caution in his voice.  He started to move forward more slowly.  The light of his flames had began to illuminate the darkness less and less, even though their intensity never withered.  It was as if something was impairing their light.  "Is this what you were talking about earlier, about flames not lighting the way in here?"  Hiro placed his hand on the nearest wall so he could feel the way better.  One step after another and . . .

Hiro let out a cry as he found himself tumbling into a dark pit.  It was as if the ground in front of them was completely gone.  He didn't know if Sir Isaac had fell too or not, but it seemed there was a sheer drop off that Hiro managed to wander into.  He tumbled for a good few moments helplessly, before he started channeling strengthening magic into his body, he hit the ground protecting himself by powering his limbs to protect himself from breaking any limbs, breaking his fall.  He felt a loud crunch as if he landed on something dry and brittle.  Illuminating another ball of flame in his hand, he looked about, seeing he'd fallen into a large pit filled with bones.  Humanoid bones.  There were human skulls and skeletons, as if this were a death trap designed to trap people down here.  People fell in here unprepared, either dying from the fall, or maybe never find their way out in the darkness.

"I'm okay!  I'm okay!  But whoever came before us was not so lucky.  Where are you, Sir Isaac?  Are you okay?  If you're still up there, do you have a rope, or maybe some spell to lower yourself down with?  Maybe I can catch you if you do not?"  Hiro looked about to see if there were any objects down there in the dark that would aid him, but it seemed the pit filled with human remains spanned on for some distance in all directions.  As if this place was maybe a burial ground, or a dumping ground for many, many people.  It was beginning to look less like an ancient ruin, and more like a necropolis, a city of the dead.  Hiro began to wonder if he was alone down here.  He began to feel some formidable evil energy surging from deep within the darkness of this pit.  From what, he was not sure.  "I do not think it is safe down here, but there was no other place to go, and I'm not alone down here!  There's something else here, somewhere, I can feel it!  Something evil and powerful!"

He could fell a powerful pressure bearing down on him.  The sound of crackling of bones approached him slowly.

"You're not wrong, boy.  You're not alone at all.  You have me to keep you company," said an unknown, feminine voice, laughter echoed around him.  A pair of crimson eyes could be seen in the darkness, a fair bit taller than Hiro himself.

"Hello?  Who's there?  Show yourself!  Friend or foe?"  Hiro looked about, seeing dark crimson flames illuminating the darkness just enough to give form of the feminine being that was approaching him.

She had a curvy, voluptuous figure, wearing pieces of twisted metal and unidentifiable bone to keep herself decent in the form of makeshift bikini armor.   She had dark, fiery wings sprouting from her back.  She had claws coming out of her hands, razor sharp, as well as talons coming out of her feet.  Her eyes, crimson red, burning with power.  She had a pair of horns sticking out from her head, along with long, long gray hair, and purplish skin.  A long tail with a sharp barb on the end went whipper-snap, smashing a a human skull into pieces.  She wore a sinister grin on her otherwise beautiful face.  Her teeth were long and sharp.

"They call me, Lilith, Demon of the Inferno.  Welcome to the Gates of Hell!  I do hope you two have come here to keep me company!  It has been far too long since I had playthings to occupy my time," she said with a laugh.  She burned with infernal power across her body.  She was strong, very strong.

"Shit.  Sir Isaac, I do hope you're here, I might need your help shortly!"  Hiro brought his hand to the hilt of his sword, the Blade of Wildfire, ready to draw it at any moment.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:11 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Isaac looks down at the small fire that he made, just in case Sir Hiro's slumber would last into the night. As much as it wouldn't keep the monsters that roamed the dark around here at bay, it was something at least. Something to do. And it hadn't been easy to find the right kind of lumber and leaves around here, the kind that didn't create a smoke column that would give their location away to everything in a ten mile radius.

As he stares into the fire, Sir Isaac contemplates the things that Sir Hiro said. It was true, no one kind of fighting style or technique was perfect, that's why there were so many diverse ways of combat. The only real all-round solution for more power was more numbers, as Sir Hiro had said. And perhaps this idea of a party that could cover each other's weaknesses with their strengths was the optimal way to use numbers. Sir Isaac had been adventuring alone for a long time, trying to figure out how to do it all by his lonesome. Trying to be the one and only hero.

"But it's always a lone knight who slays the mighty dragon in the stories." He says sullenly, almost like a pouting toddler.

No, it was true. Those stories were grand, but they weren't realistic. Just one knight wouldn't be able to defeat a great dragon, not even when they were noble like a prince. Fairy tales were just make believe. A dragon was really defeated by the ranger's arrows and mage's magic, while the lone knight focussed on blocking the fire with his shield.

One of the bones inside the campfire pops as the air trapped in the marrow expands violently enough to burst out. The fire flares up for a moment, only to then pretend like it never happened. Sir Isaac takes a severed arm from the pile and throws it onto the fire.

"Oh, and by the way, we probably shouldn't stay here for too long. It's been just a couple of zombies and skeletons thus far, and ghouls attracted to all this rotting meat." Sir Isaac says, nodding at the stack of corpses that had been piling up while Sir Hiro slept. "But there's no telling when something bigger and more troublesome is going to show. Or, you know, just a lot of these weak guys. The undead tend to do that. I fortunately didn't have to face more than four at a time, nothing I couldn't handle."

"Not that I'm trying to brag, these guys are far from a worthy foe for me, let alone you." Sir Isaac says, taking a burning stick from the campfire and placing it on the corpse pile. The flames slowly spread over all the dry flesh and torn clothes, soon to be consuming the whole chest-high pile.

"Anyhow, I believe we have a cave to spelunk." Sir Isaac says, turning on his moustache light. "You need not worry about light, I shall take care of that part. You conserve your energy for something that needs smiting. Oh, and before I forget."

Sir Isaac twirls his moustache and a dim green light appears from it, sticking to his fingers as he lets go. As he touches Sir Hiro with his glowing fingers, a sensation of life and health flows through the phoenix knight that takes away the remnants of the poison's damage. [heal] "There we go. Wouldn't want you to be anything short of feeling at the top of the world, now would we?"

Sir Isaac smiles, the solemn and depressed mood completely gone from his very demeanour and once again replaced with his former chivalrous cheer. With confident strides, he walks into the pitch black darkness of the Anscence tunnels.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 2:28 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Hiro felt the cold sweat on his skin, there was some kind of toxic substance or power in that elemental he inhaled.  He got rid of the worst of it out by puking it out, but he still felt sick and horrible, weakened.  Luckily, Sir Isaac was there with antidote and water.  Hiro took the antidote, and drank it down as soon as he felt that he wasn't going to just puke it up.  The antidote was truly nasty tasting, but most potions usually weren't.  He waited some more, and started to feel better to his stomach, he then started to drink the water.

"Thank you, Sir Isaac, I'm in your debt, for this," Hiro said through a raspy voice.  "Yes, I'll be just a short time . . . I won't– I won't take long."  He laid down, and closed his eyes to rest.  Thankfuly, Sir Isaac stood guard for him as he rested to regain his strength.

He awoke to Isaac's voice, he was talking to himself, voicing his doubts about himself and his abilities, and how useful he would be, considering he couldn't use elemental magic.

"I don't know you have the potential to use the elements or not, but you can use holy magic.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses.  My strength is fire, and I'm working on the other three elements.  My weakness, I tend to go it alone too much, or take too many risks.  I came here alone, with the intention of taking the burden of finding this relic by myself.  I was lucky to find you, and to convince you to help me.  I probably would've died if it weren't for you.  You supported me, you warned me that we were about to be attacked, and you had that antidote that I didn't have.  You were here to help guard me while I rested.  If something else came while I was weakened, I wouldn't have had the strength to defend myself, had I even survived that encounter.  I took a terrible risk doing what I did, but it was the only thing I could think of, it was a test of my abilities, a trial by fire, as it were."  Hiro was grateful for the Moustache Knight being there to help him.

"If you have a party of adventurers, say a knight, a rogue, a wizard, and a cleric.  The knight acts as the bastion, he can fight off enemies like orcs or whatever, he's the vanguard.  The rogue can disarm the traps, attack enemies from behind while the knight holds them off.  The wizard can destroy enemies, but he does not lament is inability to fight with a sword.  He uses his magic to attack enemies while the rogue and the knight hold them off.  The cleric, he may lack many powerful abilities, but when everyone gets hurt, he can heal them, and buff the rest of his allies.  Everyone has a role to play.  I may have the ability to use elemental magic, I can use my sword, but I don't get healing magic, and I'm only one man.  Two can do what one may not.  You watch my back, and I'll watch yours.  It's teamwork.  It makes the dream work," he laughed at his last words.  "As corny as that sounds."  Hiro started to get up, it was getting dark, and it wouldn't safe to stay much longer, at least not without building a camp.  They barely even scratched the entrance of the place, and that had such difficulties with the first challenge.  "I'm feeling better, thank you, Sir Isaac, for guarding me, and aiding me."

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 2:32 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

As Sir Hiro sheathes his blade, Sir Isaac keeps his ready and tries to focus on the light to do something. Perhaps he could make it shine brighter, shine as far as this gaseous elemental was big? If the holy light could hurt it, such an extending of his power might fend it off. It was a long shot, but it-

An armoured glove suddenly shoves him, an assault so shift and unexpected that Sir Isaac couldn't counter-attack. Which was probably for the best, because the one who shoved him was Sir Hiro. Pushing Sir Isaac out of the clouds in a manner similar to how Sir Isaac would've kept a commoner out of harm's way, Sir Hiro sacrificed some of his precious time and energy to save him.

As he falls out of the clouds and onto the ground, Sir Isaac feels the strength drain from him. Was he truly that much weaker than Sir Hiro? Was the difference between them so great that he was a liability? Yes, Sir Isaac probably would have lost against the elemental's first form, and he knew not if he could actually do anything with the relic that they were trying to retrieve. But to think that he could be that outclassed by someone so much younger than him, that there were people so much stronger than him. It made the realisation that he'd never attain such heights all too true. 

Sir Isaac scrambles to get back up, so he could at least see what was going on and prevent being in the way again. As he did, he saw how Sir Hiro somehow sucked the elemental in and circumvented the problem of fighting an incorporeal fire-proof being. Such acts, such solutions, this was the second time that Sir Hiro had used eccentric ingenuity and raw, seemingly unfeasable power to solve a problem. There truly was a difference of sheer power and capability between them, one that Sir Isaac could never hope to bridge. No, he was just a knight who swung around a sword and considered himself a hero for smiting some humans and other simple beings. Just a commoner, when compared to a legend.

With the strength and enthusiasm drained from him, Sir Isaac gets back on his feet. He notices that he feels hot, remnants of the elemental's heat. Sir Isaac instinctively twirls his moustache, feeling that it was still unblemished. He then pats the cinders from his hair until it no longer burns and smolders, and pats the ash from his armour. What did it matter, though? An armour could shine like a second sun, but it wouldn't make up for the buffoon inside.

Downthrodden, Sir Isaac slumps to the keeled over Sir Hiro. The hero puked to expel the ash-like remnants of the elemental, and clearly struggled to resist the remnants of the poison and sickness that it left. Not surprising, he had to defeat this thing almost singlehandedly. Sir Isaac had helped maybe by preventing the elemental's surprise attack, but that had been little more than a reflex combined with sheer luck.

Sir Isaac takes a vial of green viscous liquid from his backpack and hands it to Sir Hiro, not yet handing the waterskin that he was holding in his other hand. "Drink this first. It's a basic antidote, meant to help against basic poisoning effects. Basically just some cleansing herbs and charcoal in water, but it should help a bit. Diluting the stuff left in your system with water and allowing it to be rinsed from your throat into your stomach might only make things worse."

After giving Sir Hiro the antidote and the waterskin, Sir Isaac takes a different vial and pours it over the puke stain. He didn't know if holy water would do much here, or if the creature needed any more dealing with to begin with, but he might as well try. There was no need to be an incompetent bystander. The water caused a small bit of white smoke to well up, probably burning the remnant bits of necromancy that this elemental had been tainted with. But this was clearly not necromancy that they had faced, but elemental fury.

"You seem like you could use a rest after having to face all this. Have your body get that filth out of your lungs and restore its balance. I'll stand guard. Don't worry, even I can keep my eyes open for enemies that can only come from one side, and wake you up once something approaches." Sir Isaac says, sitting down on a weathered rock that was once part of a grand building. He stares at the gaping maul of the Ancense tunnels, appearing almost as worn out as Sir Hiro for completely different reasons.

…

"Earth and ice. Fire and air. A creature that could adapt to the element you wield, and which is completely immune to physical attacks." Sir Isaac says to himself, not sure whether Sir Hiro was awake to hear him nor really having a care for it. "A creature that would've been unbeatable to a knight who only wields one of the elements, for it could transform to become immune to all their tricks. They would need to master at least two elements before they could face it, perhaps even all of them. Face it, Isaac, that speaks volumes of how far out of your comfort zone you are. You don't belong here yet, not when you're only scratching at the basics of magic. Not when you can barely even use one element."

Sir Isaac looks at Sir Hiro, who had faced and bested the elemental immune to his fire by using air and water magic. This had been a worthy and developing experience for him, a test to take him out of his comfort zone and see if he could truly wield more than just one element. This was a challenge meant for a legend like him. This was a challenge for a full-fledged magical knight. And Sir Isaac had been there too, to hand the legend a waterskin after everything was said and done.

Sir Isaac sighs. He would help Sir Hiro by watching over him as he rested, but he would only be a liability further in. This elemental probably reacted to the key approaching, and there was no telling how many more tests like that there were. Other threats where his presence would just inconvenience Sir Hiro. It was in everyone's interest if he would learn his place and just leave this legacy of DaeLuin to its chosen one.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 12:28 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

{Slight R rating warning here for grossness here}

The Corrupted Elemental was struck by the sacred light bathed sword, shrieked, and collapsed into pieces.  Was that thing truly defeated?  Sir Isaac did have a point, there was no  source of ice here, yet this thing was composed of frozen water and earth.  "You're right, there was no ice here, but that thing existed.  It seems we're not out of this mess yet.  It could have other elements at its control."

The Moustache Knight struck with his sword, carving through the air, though hitting nothing.  However, there was a shriek so it did have an effect on . . . something.  That something was the Corrupted Elemental, which was not dead yet.  The air started to get denser, and much hotter, as it started to gain power through the flames that Hiro had created.  A cloud of ash and heat formed, quickly engulfing the two heroes in blinding darkness.  The heat did not affect Hiro as much as it would affect Sir Isaac, but it was getting hard to breathe for the two of them.  Hiro started coughing and hacking.

"It's . . . some poison gas and flame!  It's going to . . . try and . . . suffocate us and burn us!"  Hiro looked around, they were still out in the open, but the cloud was still fixated around them.  Sheathing his blade, it would be no use to swing it at this Corrupted Elemental, it was some kind of Guardian for this treasure, Hiro was beginning to believe.  He quickly pushed Sir Isaac out of the way with some force, he needed to get him to safety.  He'd began to learn how to control other elements, but he couldn't freeze this Elemental made of flame and air, but it gave Hiro a dangerous idea.  It was quite a risk, but it might work.

Hiro started to take a deep breath, breathing in the flame, breathing in the toxins in the air.  His mouth felt hot and dry, it burned his lungs, and made his eyes water.  He felt sick to his stomach, and if he didn't use his focus, he could pass out or worse.  Hiro's chest ballooned out as he held everything inside of him.  Then he worked his magic.

There was heat inside the air, there was ash, solid bits of particles in the air as well.  He had just inhaled all of it.  If he could compress the ash, drain the heat from it into his Elemental body, then release it, mixing it with water from his body . . .

Hiro held up his index finger on one hand toward Isaac, as if to say: "One moment."  Hiro's body started to glow with a fiery heat, he was racked with pain, but stuck with it.  He dropped to his knees and kept his focus.  He wretched over, releasing a dark gray murky mud-like substance from his mouth.  It had the ashen substance within it that he had inhaled before.  He gasped and panted as soon as he had finished, wiped his mouth on his armored sleeve, and dropped down onto his side, gasping for breath.  He was clearly in pain, and his lips were dry and chapped.

"W-water," Hiro mouthed, unable to bring the words to leave his lips.  He could probably pass out here if it weren't unsafe to do so.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:52 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Isaac regains awareness after using his magic to bless his sword, and sees Sir Hiro draw the skeleton out. A dashing success from his young colleague, who easily taunted the skeleton to charge at him wildly. Though that exposed some new problems for Sir Isaac to be wary of. It seemed like he had to be extra careful, considering the uncanny intelligence that the skeleton showed. Any normal undead creature wouldn't block attacks, nor show any sign of rage. They would've just walked through the blasts while attacking their prey right back. It showed what a skilled and cunning warrior Sir Hiro was, for he only took advantage out of what would usually add to the already great challenge. They would have to be careful though, because they didn't know just how smart and cunning the elemental skeleton was. It might just as well turn the tides, or lull them into a false sense of security.

Sir Hiro lured the undead being into a column and sent it tumbling down, crushing the creature underneath. With an amazing display of power, Sir Hiro turned the column and the skeleton into an inferno. Sir Isaac almost stopped running towards them, both taken aback at the amazing destruction and with the thought that such raw power would've already destroyed their foe entirely. He only slows down a bit though, before regaining his charge. Whether they had already won or not, he'd be there just in case he was needed.

His thoughts weren't wrong, for Sir Hiro's expression made it clear that the monster had yet to be felled. Bits and pieces of the skeleton were reforming, the base form still intact and trying to get up. It didn't look like much in this state, barely as powerful and scary as a regular skeleton, but they both knew that it wouldn't remain as such for long. Sir Isaac quickly strikes the pitiful form, slashing through the ice and bone with ease. The skeleton shrieks and falls apart.

The skull falls to the ground and shatters into a few pieces, with a few fingerbones rolling and tumbling down the small hills while causing some rattling. Quickly, Sir Isaac turns around. He looks in every direction, trying to find whatever kind of enemy he was looking for here. But he saw nothing. But he felt it. He was certain of it. Trying to remain aware of his surroundings, he quickly glances at the ground and steps on a shard of the skeleton's bone. Just as he thought, for he knew how bone felt when slicing through it with his sword. And this was not bone, but clay.

The skeleton was a fake, a clever way to create a weak spot that wasn't actually a weak spot. Something that would've definately gotten Sir Isaac killed, had he come here all alone. He would've focussed on getting to the skeleton somehow, bashing away at the hull until he could reach it. Even if he would've found a way to do that, which he probably wouldn't have, it would've taken so much of his stamina that he would've been done for by the time the truth would've been revealed.

"Sir Hiro, don't you find it strange that an undead elemental would have a skeleton? A corrupted elemental spirit would need no such mortal remains. Or any remains for that matter, as it is an incorporeal being. One that could reform itself from any earthen object around us." Sir Isaac glances around nervously, expecting every rock or house to suddenly turn into their enemy. "Or a being of ice, though I see no source for that around here. Though it is strange that it could form from both, no elemental should be capable of such a trick. For all we know, it might be capable of amassing as a third element altogether, like-"

Sir Isaac swirls around and strikes, alerted only by the sudden flickering of the fires around them. If it weren't for the difference in air pressure and oxygen that the creature's charge caused, it might've killed them both before they even knew what attacked them. Sir Isaac's glowing sword carves through the darkness without any effect, until it hits something thicker by complete chance. An unearthly scream reacts to the attack, quickly retreating back to where it was hiding just moments ago.

Sir Isaac looks at the ash cloud that had been hanging over them, completely inconspicious despite seeming a bit unnatural upon closer look. This time it didn't pretend, instead the clouds got denser and the smoke columns from the various fires that Sir Hiro caused were all being pulled in and absorbed by the dark cloud. Two red eyes peer at them, and the cloud seems to brim with elemental fire. Elemental fire, and a lethal air of carbon monoxide poisoning.

"I hope you know some other tricks than pyromancy, Sir Hiro, because I think it just made itself immune to fire." Sir Isaac says as he prepares to fight their opponent in its new and even more dangerous form.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:30 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Hiro listened to SIr Isaac's plan.  Lure the undead elemental out into the opening, then focus on breaking the enemy's ice and earthen shell, so that Sir Isaac's light magic would have a chance of destroying the abomination.  The plan was solid, it would work, at least in Hiro's mind.  Hiro looked around the ruins, and spotted a large stone pillar, maybe 8 feet tall.  It was once part of a larger building of some sort far in the past.  This would do nicely.

"All right, sounds like a plan.  Just get your spell ready while I'm wearing him down, so we can defeat this bastard."  Hiro was confident they could defeat this monster.  He'd fought tougher monsters than this thing, and emerged victorious, this Corrupted Elemental would crumble like the rest of the enemies he'd faced.  Hiro focused on the plan, pointing the palm of his left hand at the enemy and letting the flames erupt, sending several searing fireballs flying at the Corrupted Elemental's face.  The flames exploded against it, sending melting shards of water-ice and rock flying.  "Come get me, ya overgrown dirty Popsicle!"  The Elemental let loose a furious shriek, waves of coldness reverberating through the air through the mere act of screaming.  Hiro braced himself and continued to pellet the monster with fire, It wasn't getting a chance to launch any large ice or rock attacks at him, as it was forced to shield itself from Hiro's attacks.  It charged at the Phoenix Knight moving into the open, out from the confines of the ruins it emerged from.  Hiro continued to pester it with fireballs launched from his hand.  The Corrupted Elemental shielded itself with its frozen, rocky arm, sending bits of debris flying as they exploded against it, it continued to charge at Hiro, picking up speed.  It was going to slam right through Hiro, if it kept up this pace.

"Toro!  Toro!"  Hiro waved his crimson cloak, further taunting and retreating from the Corrupted Elemental.  He was leading it toward a large crumbling pillar that stood tall against the rest of the ruins.  The Elemental charged straight toward the Phoenix Knight as if it were a bull, angered by his constant pestering fireballs.  Hiro stood still at last, in front of the pillar as the Elemental approached him at a full tilt charge.  "Olé!"  Hiro flung his cloak as his whole body suddenly erupted into flame, setting the cloak on fire.  The Elemental charged straight through the flames and slammed into the pillar sending the pillar crumbling and toppling over on top of the undead fiend, sending stone, rock, and ice flying everywhere..  Did Hiro just sacrifice himself into a blast of flame?

The burning cloak fluttered toward the ground, it appeared to be composed of a red cloth with fiery phoenix feathers that absorbed all the heat that Hiro was emitting.  Flames erupted from the cloak, and Hiro's body took form from those flames, grabbing the cloak from the air, placing the cloak back on his shoulders in a sweeping gesture, then drawing his blade. the fiery Phoenix Blade of Wildfire, in a flash of intense conflagration.  His flames cut through the air and the unnatural cold that the Elemental radiated.

"Meteor Strike!"  A huge ball of flame erupted from Hiro's blade, incredible, blinding flames surged forth, sending a fiery wave of intense destruction toward the fallen Corrupted Elemental, which was struggling to get up.  The Meteor Strike exploded against the rock and ice covering its body, sending debris, smoke, and moisture everywhere.  Steam filled the air.  Hiro breathed heavily, from the sudden exertion of his power.  He could sense the Undead Corrupted Elemental was still "living" (or unliving, given it wasn't really alive to begin with).  It started to emerge from the rubble, all that was left was a shattered, cracking skeleton, but it was trying to reform its body.  Moisture was trying to attach to the skeleton's body, and to freeze onto it once more, though it struggled with the amount of fire and heat in the air.

"Now!"  This was the time to hit the monster with Sir Isaac's light.  This would finish him off.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sun Aug 5, 2018 1:34 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"I sense the stench of undeath indeed. But it seems there's something more to it than just undead. I sense . . . a myriad of elemental energies in this area too. Has the corruption of undeath reached the elements? The relic must be here, and it must be strong, to rouse such energies I sense in the area." Sir Hiro said. Sir Isaac didn't like the sound of that, undead combined with the elements. He remembered one particular undead like that real well, a zombie covered with ice crystals. When Sir Isaac struck it down, it blew up in his face. And unfortunately, Sir Isaac could feel a chill of cold coming from the darkness that didn't feel natural.

"Well, no need to worry. As long as we're still in the light, the monsters shouldn't bother us yet." Sir Isaac says, looking at the sky. There was still some daylight left, though the sun itself was blocked out completely by the mountain. But the sky was still light enough that they should be…

Sir Isaac's thought process was frozen in place just as quickly as the ground around them as a gust carrying snowflakes comes out of the tunnels. The condensation on the walls froze and turned more light blue in a quick wave, almost as if some unseen entity encroached upon them. But it wasn't. No, their welcoming committee was certainly not hard to notice. Its sheer size and abominable appearance made sure of that. The very ground shook as it approached them, and the air around them grew only more frigid. The monster was great, lumbering over them and displaying a lot of power. Shielded by frost and stone, wielding talons of nightmares and controlling great vile magic, this creature was certainly not the kind of undead that Sir Isaac had faced before.

"Oh my, that thing is certainly not your average skeleton."

"An Earthen Ice Bone . . . Golem Skeleton . . . thing. Yeah, I don't know what the hell this thing is. But it's controlling ice . . . and earth." Sir Hiro said. Sir Isaac looks agast at the magical destruction that it hurled their way, and then in awe at the magical fire that Sir Hiro retaliated with after dodging. Was this the magical swordfighting he had heard about? It was even more impressive than he imagined. 

"He canceled out my flames! We're probably going to need your holy light to work together with my flames to stop this thing." Sir Hiro said, looking over at Sir Isaac.

"Yes, quite right. We should try to lure it out of the tunnels first, get it into the open. With such a size and disproportionate body, we no doubt have the advantage of maneuverability and agility over it. And we'll be able to attack it from the side. Right now it can defend itself from the both of us at once, an easy feat in such a confined area when it has these area of effect attacks." Sir Isaac says, backing away from the tunnel entrance. He quickly turns his moustache light back on and flashes it at the undead monstrosity, who seems perturbed by the light but not particularly bothered or blinded.

"Alright then, we have to take this thing down. If you can melt or crumble his inorganic shell and expose the blighted remains, I can strike it down. The skull would be best, but my holy magic should be able to destroy it by striking any part of its original body."

Sir Isaac looks at his sword and holds it horizontally with one hand, placing two fingers of his other on the hilt and slowly moving them towards the tip while mumbling something. His eyes widen and his body grows distant, as if his mind was no longer on the mountain slope. "With the wisdom of the keeper and the absence of the Nightfall king, may I succeed. Lokir, grant me strength. Naota, guide me through the darkness. Shiloh, favour me over my enemies. Zanar, let me be the hunter and not the hunted. Dalanesca, let me return to you a lost one of your flock. Lady Rose, aid me against this atrocity against life. Gods, guide me and bless me in my hour of need."

Sir Isaac's prayer reaches its end when his fingers reach the very tip of his blade, which now glows with a warm yellow light. [consecrate weapon] Shaking off the strange sensation of dreaming while awake and acting without being aware of his own actions, Sir Isaac returns to his senses and sees that he succeeded to summon forth his magic. With a big smile he quickly takes his stance, readying the glowing blade to be used upon the vile monster.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sat Aug 4, 2018 4:26 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"He was a great man," Hiro said, reflecting upon all his memories of his father.  "Selfless, a true hero.  He put himself at risk to save lives, he wasn't perfect, but no one was.  He did the best he could to save as many people as he could, to protect the realm."  Hiro hoped his father was watching him now, from whatever afterlife there was, that he surely made it to.  He would make him proud.  The Moustache Knight?  Hiro's eyes widened and he was silent for a good few moments, trying to think of a way to react to that.  This man was a kind gentleman, though eccentric in his behavior.  Maybe that was part of his plans in general?  A hero must be one who brings a strong presence, and make the people feel that "everything is going to be okay, there is nothing to fear now."  This man had a strong presence, though he wasn't sure if most people would take him seriously.  But you wouldn't mistake him for a villain, so he had that in his favor.  "Heh, that's a very unique title, I've never heard of such a Knight, but I'm sure the bards will sing of us some day.  I don't doubt that."  Hiro said with a laugh and a smile on his face.

Hiro took note of the Moustache Knight's fighting stance, he exposed himself too much with his flashy swordplay, but he did have impressive control over his swings, with equally impressive force behind the swings.  He went on about defeating many opponents honorably, seeing he talked even more than his father did (Sabishii was notorious for rambling).  However, the discussion was tabled when he could feel a cold breeze coming out of the tunnel they were about to enter.

"I sense the stench of undeath indeed.  But it seems there's something more to it than just undead.  I sense . . . a myriad of elemental energies in this area too.  Has the corruption of undeath reached the elements?  The relic must be here, and it must be strong, to rouse such energies I sense in the area."  A blast of cold, chilly energy erupted from the darkness of the tunnel ahead of them.  Hiro muttered a curse as snow and ice came flying from the darkness, starting to freeze the ground beneath them.  Shielding his face from the cold with one arm, Hiro reached to his blade on his side.  Heavy stomping could be heard, and felt, shaking the earth and stone beneath them.

It was huge.  It had the appearance of frozen earth and ice amalgamated together, covering bits of bone and sinew.  It towered above the two heroes, perhaps 8 or 9 feet tall.  Bones shaped like claws were sticking out of its feet and hands.  Its face was a nightmarish skeleton's face, radiating cold flames of undeath and darkness.

"An Earthen Ice Bone . . . Golem Skeleton . . . thing.  Yeah, I don't know what the hell this thing is.  But it's controlling ice . . . and earth," Hiro seemed at a loss of how to completely describe this abomination that they were facing.  It stomped the earth with an enormous leg, sending rocks and ice flying up from the ground in a wave of destruction.  Hiro leaped to the side dodging the shower of ice and rock, and drew his blade.  It was the Phoenix Blade of Wildfire.  A flash of flame erupted from the sheath, as he drew a blade made with blackish metal and incredible heat and fire.  He swung his blade downward, unleashing a wave of flames in the direction of the Ice-earth Abomination.  The Abomination swung one of his claws, unleashing a torrent of muddy earth and ice colliding with the flames, erupting an explosion of rock and steam, blanketing the area in debris.

"He canceled out my flames!  We're probably going to need your holy light to work together with my flames to stop this thing," Hiro said, turning to the Moustache Knight.  Hopefully they'll be able to work together to defeat this monstrosity.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Thu Aug 2, 2018 3:13 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Isaac ponders on the information that Sir Hiro gave him. It was something he already knew, yet it taught him much. It confirmed much. Sir Isaac had already assumed that his strong and unyielding sense of pride and honour was the source of his powers. And it was true that his magic seemed to flare up and grow stronger when he fought particularly malvolent foes or protected the innocent. With this knowledge, perhaps he could harness his emotions and righteousness to a greater degree.

"I see, thank you for this piece of information, Sir Hiro. I will certainly put it to good use. And my condolences, your father sounded like a fine man." Sir Isaac says.

Taking the conversation away from that gloomy subject he just brought up, Sir Isaac quickly shows off his mage light trick. Sir Hiro looked much impressed, both in vocal response and expression. Sir Isaac smiles proudly, holding his head high. "No, I cannot do this with any hair on my body. My magic seems to be solely limited to my glorious moustache, with the exception of a few tricks that I can do with my sword. And honestly, I don't mind the limitation. They don't call me the Moustache Knight for nothing, after all."

Sir Isaac proudly curls the end of his moustache around his finger, knowing that his title would be sure to impress. It always did, there was always a reaction from the people when they heard it. Laughter, widened eyes and uncontrolable smiling, surprise. All kinds of happy feelings were stirred within the people when they heard his glorious title, for it brought hope to otherwise dark times.

"Yes, that's right. You're talking to the one and only Moustache Knight." Sir Isaac says. "And you are no unknown entity yourself, I assume. I bet that years from now, bards will still sing the songs of the time that the Moustache Knight and the Phoenix Knight joined forces. Glorious, it shall be! Glorious!"

With his head still held up high and his thoughts in the clouds, Sir Isaac keeps walking. The topic shifted to their non-magical swordfighting. Sir Isaac proudly expositions his own skill, which was quite similar to Sir Hiro's. He too knew how to wield his longsword both with one and both hands, and he could use the shield if the foe and their arms warranted its use. Showing off a few practice swings with his sword, Sir Isaac proudly displays his style. It was quite flamboyant, for a lack of a better word, with more grandeur and swing than necessary. Any adept swordfighter could tell that Sir Isaac placed too much swing in his weapon and left himself open too much while attacking, though Sir Isaac himself explained it as a show of skill. What neither Sir Isaac nor his enemies knew, was that his fighting style was not at all as amateuristic as it appeared at first. After years of training, his control of the sword and its swing was so practiced that his blade carved through the air much faster than it seemed, and he could redirect it mid-swing. The very show of amateurism was what gave Sir Isaac an advantage against any adept swordfighter who thought they could easily spot and take advantage of his weaknesses. His sloppy fighting style had somehow perfected itself into an unique method of combat that made him quite skilled against any of his fellow fighters.

But, again, Sir Isaac was not at all aware of this deceit and skill of his. He merely spoke merrily over how he fights honourably and often bested his fellow swordfighters in a test of speed and control. And boy did he speak. Sir Isaac was like a fountain of words once he began to talk about his endeavours, filling plenty of their traveling time without noticing. He only stopped talking when he suddenly noticed the cold draft of the Ancense tunnels before them, the dark abyss staring at him as much as he stared into it.

"Ah, it appears we have arrived." Sir Isaac says, nervously peering into the endless darkness. "And undead, you say? Well, I can handle those. Assuming it's the regular kind, or something I can cut into pieces with my sword at least."

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Thu Aug 2, 2018 11:54 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

HIro smiled at the Knight, who agreed to accompany him on his adventure.  He shook the man's hand firmly.  "Thank you, welcome aboard, Sir Isaac!  Holy magic, you say, my father was able to do holy magic, and many elemental magic feats, alas, he fell in battle some time ago.  Anyway, he would tell me that emotion was key to his magic.  He could associate emotions and thoughts into his magic to aid him in casting different types of spells.  He told me Light was 'Righteous Indignation,'  that his enemy was doing wrong, which brought about anger from the injustice, and he could focus that thought and emotion into holy light that could punish his enemies with.  Not sure if that helps you or not."

SIr Isaac said that he could summon a source of illumination, and demonstrated it by summoning a source of light into the world through a brilliant mustache.  This produced a gasp from the young Phoenix Knight, who was simply shocked shocked by such a feat.  "Oh!  Oh wow.  I, uh . . . that's unique."  It was ridiculous, and he stifled a laugh.  "Uh, can you do that to any hair on your body?  Like the hair on your head?  Do you choose your mustache?  Or can you just summon the light from only your mustache?"  Hiro thought about it, it's not like summoning light from one's hand, but it would make a handy hands-free source of light, it would illuminate the path in front of him, near his eyes, it would definitely keep his hands free to hold a weapon, but it was just . . . so silly!

Composing himself, Hiro agreed.  "Yes!  We can help each other.  I'm good with swordplay, though I'm sure you know things I may not, and my magic is something you could use help with.  I usually use a single sword, but I've trained in dual wielding, sword and shield, and dabbled in other weapons, like polearms, but swords are my favorite in terms of combat weapons." Hiro and Sir Isaac started walking deeper in the ruins. "Hmm, the notes mention that the door the key opens is quite deep into the ruins, in an underground tomb of some sort, I imagine there will be undead there because of that." Hiro said, reading from his notes.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Wed Aug 1, 2018 12:11 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"Thank you, Sir Isaac. You are truly a gentleman and a knight . . ." Sir Hiro said, and Sir Isaac couldn't help but smile. Sometimes being righteous was its own reward, but acknowledgement was certainly a nice bonus every now and again.

Sir Hiro doesn't turn away to go search the relic however, instead sizing up Sir Isaac and continuing the conversation. Asking whether Sir Isaac would like to join him, and giving some good arguments for joining him. Treasure, cooperation, and then there was that sweet sweet word 'glory'. Sir Hiro summons a ball of fire in his hand, showing his skill in casting magic and a viable source of light in the Ancense ruins. Apparently fire was his major, which made sense for someone of a house whose emblem was a phoenix.

"I see. That's a mighty compelling offer, Sir Hiro. I agree, any outing into the tunnels of this mountain will make a fine tale to go with a couple of ales, assuming one makes it out there alive. And your fire does seem to be quite expertly handled. I don't know how you manage to snap your armoured fingers, I can't even manage that with just leather." Sir Isaac tries to snap his fingers to make a point, with no sound coming from the leather rubbing together and the leeway that the fabric has preventing a snap. "Perhaps a skill that requires years of training, for it completely eludes me. Anyhow, your magic is quite impressive. I appear to be talented in holy magic myself, though I have yet to learn how to unlock its full potential."

"Very well, Sir Hiro of house Kouen, I shall accompany you on your adventure." Sir Isaac says, accepting Hiro's hand and shaking it. "At the very least because those tunnels are too dangerous for any one man, especially if you'll need one hand free for that fireball, but also for glory of my own."

"Not to brag, but I have a little magical source of light myself, to illuminate the way with." Sir Isaac pulls his moustache and with a click it lights up. [OOC: Imagine the sound and click of one of those beaded strings that the lights from less-used rooms can have.] A warm and slightly blue glow like a mage light is radiated from his moustache, with a slightly stronger glare forward casting the light like a flashlight. Sir Isaac smiles proudly, not at all aware of how rediculous it looks. "And that's not the only magical power I managed to unravel. The ones I know are unfortunately still quite weak, I have no spells yet that are truly of an adept level of spellcasting."

"So right now, my swordmastery is still my greatest feat in combat. But, fire is always useful in combat. Perhaps we can exchange some tricks, no?" Sir Isaac says as he turns to the Ancense ruins and begins walking towards their adventure.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 3:16 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Hiro looked surprised for a moment as he caught the box the older gentleman tossed to him.  His faith in the goodness of mankind was rewarded.  He was a step closer to achieving his goal!  But something didn't feel right, he felt not fully accomplished, or something was missing in this situation, or maybe it was just disappointment or an emotion similar to that.  The other knight, Sir Isaac, he was seeking to learn magic himself, to become a mage knight, someone who could cast arcane magic while hindered by armor, unlike a traditional mage.  This man was trying to better himself, and he seemed like a trustworthy fellow.

"Thank you, Sir Isaac.  You are truly a gentleman and a knight . . ."  Hiro thought about it some more.  He didn't know this man, but from what he saw, he liked the cut of his jib, as it were.  "Hey, Sir Isaac, before you leave, want to come aid me in my journey?  I am an accomplished adventurer, but you look older than me, you must have seen countless battles too, possibly more than I've seen.  I could use another adventurer to join me in my quest, I know not lies in the chamber other than the relic, maybe there's other treasure to be found?  If anything, I can promise glory and good company for this quest.  We can watch each other's backs.  Besides, maybe we could be comrades?  You wish to be able to cast magic, you say fire can't pierce the darkness in the deeper parts of the ruins, but . . ."  Hiro snapped his armored fingers, and a bright flame came to life from his fingertips, turning into a floating ball of fiery light.  ".  . . I can do this.  One of my goals is to learn elements other than fire.  But I'm pretty good at fire as it is now, since I've trained in it since I was a wee lad.  And you look pretty handy with a sword.  Together, we can bust some monster heads and have a couple tales to tell at the tavern.  What do you say?"  Hiro extinguished the fire with a thought and reached out his hand toward Sir Isaac, hoping he'd agree to go along with him, and have a grand ol' adventure.  It would be fun!  Hiro grinned toward the man, a friendly smile on his face.  This man seemed trustworthy, they might make a good team.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 2:25 AM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Sir Isaac was about to walk away when the young man introduced himself, expositing his family name and his father's legacy in a manner that befitted a noble knight. And what he said was unfortunately too detailed and with too many key elements of knowledge to be deception. Sir Isaac stops walking, turns back to the young knight and contemplates the situation.

Someone could’ve spotted Sir Isaac and followed him to this place, waiting for him to unearth whatever treasure he was looking for. Then they could’ve approached him, trying to con the item out of his possession. But this lad, he said all kinds of things that prevented both deception and quick wit. Name dropping DaeLuin (which Sir Isaac had apparently been mispronouncing the whole time), speaking of magical knights, knowing what item was inside the box. He said too many things that only someone involved in the matter could know about.

Sir Isaac gives the knight another look-over. The weathered wax seal on the box, it was too outdated to be recognisable but it did look like a bird of sorts. It could’ve been the crest on the man’s chest. Sir Isaac grabs the small box and opens it again, taking out the journal. He had only gotten a single shadowed glance of it before, obscured by the key on top. This time he took out the journal and held it in the light. There was a gold-leaf painted image of a phoenix on the cover, the same crest that was proudly showcased on the lad’s chest.

There was no such detail on the key. The handle was one of the crests or symbols that showed up around the Ancense ruins more often, probably a magical key to a since looted treasure trove repurposed for this DaeLuin relic. Which made sense, for there was no reason for this forgotten civilisation and the ancient tunnels to be tied to someone young enough to be this lad’s father.

Sir Isaac sighs, puts the journal back into the box and throws the box at the red-clad knight. “Very well, Sir Hiro of house Kouen. Lest you are a deceiver of legendary proportions, this is indeed your property to claim.”

“While I wish I would’ve been able to use this opportunity to learn the ways of the spellsword myself, it is not my place to deny someone else’s legacy for my own sake.” Sir Isaac says, playing with his moustache. “As much as I would’ve liked to harness my own magical prowess in battle, I suppose that I will have to find other means to that end.”

“I can however not aid you any further with your questions, Sir Hiro. Have faith that I am no deceiver in any manner of the word, I would never stoop that low for anything but to protect the innocent or to avoid bloodshed. So take my word for it that I do not know where the lock to this key is. I may presume that the journal will reveal the answer to that mystery.”

“I wish you good luck on your quest to reforge this legendary divine sword you speak of. But beware, for the Ancense ruins are no ordinary dungeon. It is a place of utmost darkness where fire won’t burn bright and sunlight won’t shine. Lest you have some source of magical light that can pierce through any corrupted darkness, I pray that your other senses are sharp enough to compete with the blind beings that lurk within.”

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 6:20 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Hiro thought back to the journal and hints he had found.  "Under the table under the floorboards, fourth house of the street you're in."  There was more, but the notes were incomplete, but this had to be that place.  It mentions a key to a lock, for a certain door deeper in the ruins.  This man, who introduced himself so readily, was at this house by no mistake.  Something an acquaintance had left for him many years ago.  Sir Knight Isaac Bartholomew Casnothal II was his name, and he seemed in a rush to get out of there, not only that, but overly eager to not arouse suspicion about whatever object he found.  He seemed to be carrying an object of some magical import.  Hiro could sense a faint magical power from the box he was trying to hide.  If this man was truly a knight, it was time to play by the rules of chivalry that his father played by.

"My name is Sir Hiro Kouen, Phoenix Knight, this is the crest on my chest, is the crest of the Phoenix Knight, the crest of my father, Sir Sabishii Kouen of the realm of DaeLuin.  He was a man of utmost fame and power in the world we came from.  He had crossed into the realm of Deities in his time.  He taught me many things, for he was a true Knight, a chivalrous man, a true Paragon.  I hope to be even a fraction of the man he was.  My father, before he died in battle, he left behind a collection of belongings, including a journal, and a number of blueprints for magical artifacts.  He wished me to reforge the remains of the Divine Sword he left behind for me, and that requires the acquisition of a certain relic.  The notes I had pointed to a key somewhere in these ruins.  A key I believe is in your position.  Do you know where the lock that the key opens is, good SIr Knight?"  Hiro spoke honestly, hoping this man, this knight, would be swayed by his words, if he was truly a knight of good standing.

"So, Sir Isaac, please don't lie to me about this.  No deception.  My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps.  He wanted me to create a new sword using the magic of a certain relic relating to my old world.  A sword that a magical knight could make use of.  And you're possibly holding the only key to that treasure I wish to obtain."  Hiro stood there as the man was trying to rush away, not attempting to chase after him yet.  But if the man wished to run away, well, he had certain ways of closing the gap between them.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:53 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"Under the table and under the floorboards, fourth house of the street you’re in." Sir Isaac mutters, following the last clue of the ledger regarding the hidden stash. It wasn’t easy, both for Sir Isaac and the one who once wrote the clues. They had to find landmarks that would stand out amongst poor houses, and slums had few such landmarks. Even fewer of those landmarks wouldn’t be pulled apart for parts or wither with time. As a result, the first landmark was half a district away.

It had taken him nigh an hour to trace the following clues to this point, not at all helped by the descriptions being vague at times. Despite that, he eventually prevailed. Finding the fourth house of the street, the building since half collapsed and the living room exposed to the world, Sir Isaac stepped over what remained of the wall. The table was half-collapsed as well, two of its feet broken off. The weathered and fungi-ridden slab of wood was worthless, save being a minimal shield against the elements for the floorboards underneath.

Pushing the table aside, Sir Isaac studies the floor. If there was a hidden compartment here once, the mechanism and seams had since rotten away. Sir Isaac kicks the floor with his armoured boot, the soft mouldy wood giving away easily. Pulling away pieces of green-freckled wood with the same ease as one would pull off a piece of cheese, Sir Isaac widens the hole to expose the alleged stash.

Lo and behold, his efforts were not in vain. Sir Isaac takes out a small wooden box, clearly a lot younger than the buildings around and waxed to withstand the touch of time better. It was sealed with wax, though the red seal had since crumbled and weathered. It no longer held the box shut, nor was the emblem recognisable anymore. It only served its last purpose, showing that no one had opened this box prior. And now, even that task came to an end.

Sir Isaac takes the lid off, the wax seal falling off in big crumbs and the smell of old but well-preserved paper briefly filling the air. Inside, there was…

Suddenly, someone clears their throat behind him. Sir Isaac startles, the box fumbling in his hands and almost falling to the ground. Sir Isaac turns around, quickly tucking the box in his belt and placing his hand on his sword. Smiling friendly and holding his other hand out invitingly, Sir Isaac looks at the sudden newcomer.

“Good morrow, good sir, what brings you here in these ancient ruins?” The young man clad in gold-trimmed crimson asks. He wore a crest on his chest, one of a house that Sir Isaac didn’t recognise immediately. From a very distant land, perhaps, or a non-existent house. Or perhaps not even a family crest at all. The armour looked very well made and impressive, in the hands of such a youngster it could easily be found in a dungeon and taken as treasure. Worn without this adventurer knowing or caring for the history behind the crest. Or perhaps he would know, or it could be his family crest after all.

“Are you a treasure hunter?” The young man asks. “I don’t think there’s much treasure left in this area. It looks picked clean.” He crossed his arms, showing no intent of pulling his sword out at the moment. Yet, he seemed to warn, perhaps even challenge, anyone who might attack him.

Sir Isaac takes his hand off his sword hilt, instead letting it hang to the side. The lad had made his presence known and didn’t seem intend on picking a fight, so it wouldn’t be honourable for Sir Isaac to treat him with more hostility. Flashy and young as the boy might be, he didn’t have the aura of a villain over him. Not even an inkling of it. Just a bit of harmless edge, in the form of his highlights. Those silly adventurers of today with their silly apparel choices. Not at all like the classic and serious appearance of his generation, Sir Isaac thought as he twirled his moustache around his finger.

Not to mention, he hadn’t tried to sneak up on Sir Isaac. It wasn’t likely that he could’ve, given his heavy armour and bright colours, but still. Any thief would opt for that option first when presented with a foe whose back was turned to them.

“Greetings, good sir! The name is Sir Knight Isaac Bartholomew Casnothal the Second.” Sir Isaac introduces himself while making a curt bow with one hand to his heart and the other on his back. “And no, I’m no mere treasure hunter or scavenger of any sort. No offense to those of the profession, but looting is not a destiny nor career that I aspire to.”

“I’m merely here to pick something up that an acquaintance of mine left here, many years ago.” Sir Isaac says. He was a honourable man, he wouldn’t lower himself to lying and deceiving people. But, telling the absolute truth phrased in a way that wouldn’t put ownership of the box in question, that was fine. Worst case scenario, it saves this strapping young lad from having his plated arse kicked by Sir Isaac’s more mundane but seasoned fighting skills, would the young man get any ideas of fighting Sir Isaac over the loot. It didn’t seem that way, but haunted abandoned cities and treasure could push men to do things they would otherwise never consider.

“Nothing valuable for you to concern yourself with, certainly not something as awe-inspiring as the relics and artefacts stored deep within the tunnels of these ruins.” Sir Isaac says, nodding to the mountain that overshadowed them. “I reckon that’s why you’re here? Your outfit certainly suggests you to be an accomplished adventurer, young as you may be. The tunnel entrances are further into the city, closer to the mountain heart.”

“I cannot show them to you nor guide you there I’m afraid, as I myself haven’t visited the place to see what kind of monsters lurk there. Not my area of expertise, you see. I’m more the sort of hero who hunts active monsters, the kind that terrorises villages and considers man to be its prey. While treasure troves and ancient dungeons may certainly have their flair, monsters such as the ones within the Ancense don’t trouble the people. No need to strike them down mercilessly, lest we become the monsters.” Sir Isaac says, only to then realise how one could take that as an insult. “Not that I’m criticizing your approach. Today’s lurking monster may be tomorrow’s beast of terror.”

“Well, it was quite nice to make your acquaintance, but I fear I must depart now. Fare thee well, and I shall wish for your fortitude and survival in your challenges to come.” Sir Isaac says, turning away.

Sir Isaac pats the box tuckered into his belt, contemplating the contents that he saw for only a brief glimpse before this man approached him. He hadn’t known what to expect, but this was certainly not it. Sir Isaac had no idea what the journal would say, nor what lock the key would open. And the key, that strangely shimmering silver key that the box contained, apparently it was but the next step to a journey. A search for power that would take longer than Sir Isaac anticipated.

Author: Hiro Kouen, Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:28 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

Hiro Kouen.  His father, Sabishii Kouen, was a famous warrior, a former God in the world of DaeLuin.  He wanted to take after his father's reputation, to become a great warrior like him, so he trained with him, and learned how to channel flames like he did, and became a Phoenix Knight like him.  However, he could only channel fire, and not the other elements.  His father's sword, Temenos, could be used like a spellblade's weapon, it could absorb and channel elemental magics and use them.  If he used the blade to channel fire, the sword would become a fire sword, or if he used ice, it'd become a freezing sword, and so on.  Hiro had the hilt of his father's sword, but he was told there were artifacts that were made out of a special metal that could be used to repair, or rather recreate the sword, or even improve on it.  The relic was called the "Elemental Heart of DaeLuin."  It was supposed to be used by elemental swordsmiths to forge swords of unparalleled quality and special properties.

Hiro found out through his father's journal that there could possibly be one of these said artifacts of power in the Ancense Ruins.  It would be very well hidden.  His father did research, but hadn't been able to go on the adventure to repair his sword.  He died to Reaper of Souls, Dalanesca first.  Hiro read there could be other copies of the information that his father had obtained.  There were ledgers, rumors, and so forth.  Other people could be after the relic.  As Hiro wandered through the ruins of this city, picked clean long ago by treasure hunters, he heard movement, rummaging around.  Hiro moved slowly, coming closer to the source of the sound.

It was a man with his back turned, rummaging around one of the buildings, looking for something.

Hiro stepped out into the open and cleared his throat.  The man appeared to be older than Hiro, a gentleman with a mustache.

"Good morrow, good sir, what brings you here in these ancient ruins?"  Hiro asked the man.  Hiro was a tall, muscular young man, appearing around 18 years old.  He wore a long crimson cloak over red and gold ornate armor, with a crest of a phoenix over the chest plate.  He had a long blade sheathed to his side, it appeared to be long enough to be held in two hands or one.  He had a kind face and spoke with both confidence and politeness.  He had deep blue eyes, and spiky black hair with red highlights.  "Are you a treasure hunter?  I don't think there's much treasure left in this area.  It looks picked clean," he probed with his questions, trying to gauge what this man's intents and purposes were.  Hiro had his arms crossed, but his sword was visible, to show he could fight if the man picked a fight with him.

Author: Sir Isaac, Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:50 PM, Post Subject: Relic of Daeluin

"This must be the place. Or at least, I can feel I'm getting closer." Sir Isaac says, investigating the area around him. The place was run down, torn apart, run down again and then sold for parts. And that was before the decades of neglect. Despite that, the new didn't stand out amongst the old. Whomever hid the relic around here, knew what they were doing.

Sir Isaac sits down, taking a rest from the walking and climbing he braved to get here. The Ancense ruins weren't exactly easy to reach, even the more accessible parts of it. It was not much of a problem for someone like him, and in this case for anyone really. Blessed with good luck, he hadn't run into any trouble thus far. Not even a single stray skeleton.

To understand this tale, Sir Isaac has to take you back to a few days prior. Wandering about and looking for wrongdoers and monsters to strike down, Sir Isaac had come to a realisation. He needed something more. Certainly, he was already a renowned swordsmaster and a fabled knight, a hero whose name had spread throughout the lands. The people stared at him in wonder, knowing who he was and what he did. Sure, they might play their amazement off by pretending they weren't star-struck and by not buying him any rounds at the bar, but he knew they idolised him. He was a great and accomplished hero, after all.

But he realised that he was stagnating. A hero, but never a legend. A saga, never an epic. His family sword was mastercrafted, but it was no magical artefact. His armour was of the finest steel, but it was no dragon bone. He was a great knight, but he was no white knight of great power and awe.

No, to transcend to the next level, he needed something more. Something better. Something…

Magical.

Fortunately, he already had something like that. Sir Isaac smiles as he twirls his finger around his moustache, feeling the smooth hairs curl up and reform into their impeccable model once released. His moustache was not just magnificent, it was magical. Some moments when he was in dire straights or when some magic would really dazzle up his heroic acts, his moustache would call upon magic to aid him. Simple spells, apparently. The mages matched his description of his moustache powers to sunburst and consecrate weapon, neither of which was too amazing. But his moustache could cast them, HE could cast them.

The rest was simple. If he could use magic without his swordsmanship being harmed by it, a common problem for most mages and fighters, he could become a legend. Where others either needed to cast magic with their off-hand or had to limit themselves to a few simple spells that didn't need somatic and verbal components, not to mention material ingredients, Sir Isaac could use his special inherent power to use magic without limiting his swordfighting.

Apparently, he wouldn't be the first one. There were others like him, so-called magical knights, spellswords, mana knight, or whatever. There were a bunch of names for them, apparently. People who had managed to focus on their martial art so much, they could cast their spells through their weapons and fight properly without losing focus on their concentration spells. But they were a rare few, and the knowledge was hard to find. Literature on the matter was scarce, even in the places where all knowledge of magic was supposed to be stored.

So difficult, Sir Isaac had to put the idea on the back burner and continue his regular knight hero routine for a few years. He waited patiently, looking for clues and waiting for a lead to come his way. He definately didn't forget about the whole ordeal, he was merely biding his time. And pretending he wasn't actively looking for knowledge on the matter to prevent foul evildoers to take advantage of his search. Yes, he was definately still searching actively for information on spellswords when a lead happened to throw itself in his lap and remind him of hi- I mean, finally give him something to go on after years of searching.

A ledger. A vile smuggler cell's ledger on the rare magical items they stashed away, which Sir Isaac found in the secret compartment of the locked drawer of the leader's desk. After turning the leader and his fellow criminals in to the law, Sir Isaac read the list and found the clue. An item labelled "Some thing, says spellsword or whatever? Weird, considering it's not a sword and there's no spell on it." Sir Isaac had smiled at that, being so much smarter than them and knowing that a spellsword was no sword with spell. It was a man who could spell with sword.

In the next few lines there was a description of where the item was stashed, many years ago. In the Ancense ruins, somewhere in one of the outer districts. Not in the mountain, or even near the cursed tunnels of this lost city. No, it was hidden somewhere in these picked clean houses.

Sir Isaac looks at the mountain, it's shadow looming over him like a malvolent titan. In the bowels of the stone beast were tunnels and large hallways, carved out by this city's former inhabitants and filled with treasure and magical items. It attracted many adventurers to enter in search for glory and loot, first consuming them in an impenetrable darkness that extinguished torches and sunlight alike, before consuming them in the literal sense. Few knew the horrors that lurked within that mountain.

But that was not where he was headed, thankfully. His destination was up here, on the well-lit surface of the ruined city. The surface was long since searched from top to bottom, no magical artefacts left to scavenge for centuries and even the somewhat valuable items such as copper had since been stripped from the place. One could call this place the city without doorknobs, because they had since been looted from every door. With the light, there was much less danger up here. A lot more feasable scavenging for non-heroic people. This was still no place to live in, for the monsters came out at night, but the surface was pretty stable.

The closer to the city centre, the more loot there was still left. The further out, the less danger and the less change of being trapped in the cursed city when night falls. The fewer monsters would assault you if you were to remain here. And the city block that Sir Isaac was in now, it lied on the very outreaches of the city. Cheap houses, built in a district whose walls weren't even finished yet when he city fell. 

This place was picked clean more than any other. This was the place that looters would come through first, and plenty were eager to get to scavenging once they saw buildings. And they took everything. If it was nailed down or too heavy to be carried, in this block it would still be gone already. Every inch was searched, every nook and cranny emptied for whatever valuable item or worthless junk it may hide. This neighbourhood was completely without valuables.

And that was why this place made the perfect hiding spot. Probably. No one searched this place any more, so a well-hidden stash would remain safe and unfound for decades. Hide something around here, and you can come pick it up again once you need it. The region and its landmarks weren't changing like nature did, nor were there people wandering about to find the stash like in the city. It was only because Sir Isaac knew that there was something here, and had a general idea based on the notes where to look, that he stood a chance of uncovering it himself.

Sir Isaac gets up again and starts searching the premise for the landmarks that would lead him to the spellsword item. This 'Daeluin *illegible*' that the ledger called it.