(Ch. 1) Fleeting Webs of Wires

"Fuck you"

--Is what Flynn wanted to respond with. The chance to spit and spite back at Sumaru had been a growing temptation ever since they had left Coeura. He found the man insufferable, but.. he wasn't really all that bad. Just..

Different.

"I can walk through the gates, Sumaru. Goldwyn can too if he wants. I'm gonna go in and look around-- see if I can find anybody we can talk to about what's going on."

Flynn's sword clinked as he shuffled, the familiarity of it imbuing him with a sense of confidence. Its weight was comfortable. Still, he felt uneasy in the caravan. The clown boy-- Luteccio, was strange. Sometimes he stayed so silent, Flynn earnestly forgot his presence. Other times.. he wish he could forget Luteccio's presence. His words were the same language, but it really felt like he was speaking Caelic or something.

On the other hand, that colossus in the bright armor felt like he might snap at any moment. He kept Flynn on edge more than Sumaru's edge.

"You want to go, Goldwyn? Thanks to my movements, I can do this myself but another hand never hurts. But if you have another idea, we can split, maybe?"

Big broodings all around! It seems their new partners had not yet earned our heroes' trust... But it is fine! Because they're now under the same compulsory conscription by the fiercest syllabes utterable by sun-scorched bonemen, they are now allies! Hermanos in arms! Heroes for hire! Vagabonds in vain!

Yet... The situation looks too physical for our main spokesman! Looks like some action for the Bafflegabinet's Executive Power is in order, prontíssimo!

--------

Well, well, bong the knell sideways! You heard the Heartless, bambini! Time for some big ragazzo action! "Cacklin' Cracker" ain't a showstopper of a street name for nothing! See, the mere utterance brings attentive flies in preemption to gnash at my enemies' skinny flesh, è vero! Nature is the biggest motherf-


Nay, Erede. Take the reins here.

A soft voice broke the silence of our yet-unsung hero, but not for naught.

This is not a battle for you to fight. You're expected back home.

Soft steps could be heard against the resin-cased wood of the caravan floor. And as a bare foot peeked off its side...

A soil-crackling clang.
One more.

Aye, we could say I'm... Expected elsewhere. Papa must be anxious.

The knight in shining ultra-violet armor, now off the caravan, peeked inside for a momentaneous farewell.

I'm certain you know what's going on here, sire - a minefield to you, but a stepping stone for me.

He caught up with the party of wandermen, ready to surrender his will in fameless conflict.

Comrades! You may not yet trust us, but do be sure - we own no ground to bury your bones shall we fail. The goal is not to win, but to live - so we may win the morrow yonder. Now-

The caravan ran the way it came, carrying the young Erede and his treasures inside.

Hopefully a bard will bust a vocal chord to this.

Karma was a part of the initial battle with the invading army. The Sanc army had not been able to fight off the invaders and had chosen to surrender on peaceful terms. Karma had not been able to accept surrendering and would not allow himself to become imprisoned. He needed to escape Arvergne and find away to contact Zechs. He had wanted to free the General if he could but decided that there was no way he could safely do that without compromising himself and the General. Karma was able to escape being captured due to his one of the abilities of his Rebellious Keys weapons. This ability allowed himself to bend the light around him allowing him to remove himself from the visible light spectrum. However this ability could only be active for a limited time so Karma still had to remain out of view from any potential enemies.

It was going to be difficult to escape this place whether he could be seen or not. Karma was sure that there would be those capable of detecting the usage of magick around the exits of Sanc so he dared not try to leave just yet. Instead he would sneak around in the shadows looking for any weak points in the defenses of the enemy army station around the main exit. Still shrouded from the visible light spectrum he would enter an alley way shrouded in darkness noticing a woman hiding out of the view from enemies. Karma had felt as if he had seen her before, but he couldn’t remember. The risen antithei had figured the women was on their side otherwise she wouldn’t need to hide. But how should he approach her? Deciding not to dwell on it further he would move within a range his voice could be heard by only her but he of course still not be seen while invisible.

“Ma’am I think you’re a resident of Sanc… Don’t freak out I am invisible due to an ability of mine but my name is Karma. You may or may not have hear d of me, but I am a follower of Lord Zechs.” This was all Karma thought he needed to say now. He wasn’t still completely sure if the women was an ally or not so he needed not give away important information.  His voice would bounce around the walls of the alleyway so he was sure that the woman would have a hard time finding out exactly where he was positioned but he still had not chosen to reveal himself until he knew the identity of the women and if she could be trusted.

Worming through the hidden network of tunnels, a cold breeze carried echoes of a steeled whisper, near-silent reverberations dancing along the walls as the sound crawled through the passage. There was no form, no discernable presence beyond the spiraling flow of wind, yet still, the rush of air was unmistakably singing an iron song, whistling its quiet authority beneath the earth.

Cold as the surface of a bloodied sword, the wind brushed over unseen flesh. A sentient breeze visualized the obstruction, privy to every minute change in the flow of air within the underground, mapping out every distinct contour of the humanoid form. Then, two pale fingers formed, suspended in the air as they pressed against transparent skin.

"An interesting party trick..."

The whispers became words. A serpentine appraisal, spoken by the nothing at all directly in front of the rogue mercenary. That same nothingness twisted into material shape, as gusts of air congealed behind the hidden soldier. The initial form was nothing more than a translucent silhouette in the outline of a human body. Then, as if painted over by the correctional impulses of the world, colors and features spread from the silver phantom's chest.

"Still, even a blind man could tell where you stood."

Seanna spoke through a wry grin as human expressions were finally drawn onto her face. A silver wolf with bladed hair, dressed in harsh monochrome, her slender fingers held against an invisible neck. Gentle currents of air flowed beside her wrist.

"You're a soldier of Sanc? Don't think I've ever heard of you." she spoke dismissively, her tone casual and song-like, until her sharpened gaze fell on the woman in front of her. "As for you..."

Venom now lashed out from her tongue, her grin widening to reveal the shape knives. "So, you've finally decided to approach me, Uriah? Instead of running away, you've come back to Sanc...?"

Any seasoned warrior could feel the challenge dripping from her words.

Whipping winds thrummed through her ears in alignment to the temper of her heartbeat. A preeminence of the soul-born kinship, gathering itself into a tempest of crystal tears presented only before her snowy, sneering countenance. Veviant drew in a thin breathe, her eyes glimmering with residue sweat. A cry she heard, a craving she teased; Vevi gripped the feathers of her closest companion, whispering a prayer and a question to his permanence and acceptance. To tread upon its soils once more.. Ae'Ire, the world, once demanded this woman's spirit to a heavy, chained discordance. Every second she spent away from her captor, love was born out of dripping, malicious spite.

In short, Vevi desperately longed to jump thirty-five thousand feet to the surface of the planet for fun.

However, she climbed higher into the stars. She wanted it to want her, the regulator of the coming ages. It teased her, seduced her back, but the Chaser could not halt. Vevi slipped through the splicing ribbons of wind in a motion similar to the flight of Angels and Seraphs, yet faster still in her mind. She was upon the back of Tiyn, his thirty foot wing span cutting across the sky mass like a Sicarian's blade through the steel of men. Hands of gravity now threatened to rip her apart at this height, but the pilot kept her heart light.

-

Mistrumr had finished placing the glyphs around Arvergne, the semblances of power humming dutifully in their selective corners. Now, she could eradicate the entire city in a titanic inferno should she so desire. Or, she could protect the people inside from an overdue military response. Still, she needed to clean up a bit before giving the signal to the other scouting parties, just to ensure safety. Some of the people here were impressively in their own rights..

Others could stay, others needed to go. Too many level threes could stand up to a level ten, given the time and luck. As delectable as that was, Luck was not a factor she could amuse right now. The voraciousness of her ideals kept the devil woman keenly intent. With a smirk now burnt into her expression, it was decided. There was no longer the luxury of choice.

"Tiyn" she whispered, and he jerked to the side in tandem, back now facing the ocean. The movement threw her off of him and she began to tunnel downwards from the sky. Above the clouds, above the sky itself, Vevi Admrak raced to the ground. A river of caramel and snow whipped behind her as her plait lost its links to the force of the fall, and her hair split into a flare of silk.

A little lifetime of falling, then Vevi was greeted by a bundle of mid to low level Echos. Ganged up in a corner.. Two women and a man. Only ten thousand feet up, she thrust herself further and further until her speed began to blur her sight.

From ten thousand to ten, the Cae greeted her home soil. A thump of pressure as she landed onto stone, between them all, sending an eruption of wind and dust throughout the alley. Vevi absorbed the force of the fall, lacing it through her figure as she stood. Its presence became hers; its strength belonged to her.

Vevi Admrak lifted her frame up to full height, her teeth gnarled out in an intentional, nocuous smirk. "Baby girl, you have no right to have that ego. I know chirplings who can make scarier threats."

The dust settled, and she stood before them. A woman at above average height, slender and built, yet gangly. She was shaped like an hourglass yet chiseled like a stone warrior. The shimmering paleness of her gaze was highlighted by the stark contrast of her mocha skin, giving Vevi an exotic visage in her totality.

"Hey, bud, take off that stupid sheet. You look like you're asking for candy in the wrong neighborhood, and sweetheart, if you're going to leave, just do it. I'll boot you out myself if you sit there drooling over yourself any longer. All of you, actually. My foot will leave a nice mark on your asses in case you're curious."

She adjusted her poncho, the decorated piece held silver buttons that swam navy and white. It hugged her comfortably, hiding the chain leather plate underneath. A monotonous charcoal defined her dressings underneath, baggy and tethered by wires. In fact, it was extremely similar to the rogue's grays worn by an old rogue himself..

She was a beauty, yet her mocking aura stole from her any allure that might be born from her tender lips, now smeared in an icy simper; her gem-like eyes, sharpened into daggers, her curved figure, taught into a stance readied by a lifetime of dominant aggression and violence. What she lost from her own humanity, Vevi looked to steal from fragility of any kind. Weakness, like that of those around her, fed the vileness within.


-

This will require responses from Karma, Uriah, and Seanna.

The comet pierced through her boundary of awareness, shattering the gentle flow of air with its violent entry and blinding her second sight entirely. A half-instant later, Seanna saw the enemy crash in front of her, heart frozen in place as dust erupted from within the alley. The force of her descent blew past the Vaium's sides, holding her in place like a thousand hands telling her to stand down. It was instant, blinding and deafening, and the small, compact world around them seemed to dislocate in response to her fall.

Her mind quickly corrected a vagrant desire to dance with this death in front of her.

The veil of dust settled, and from the fading plume emerged a woman. Slowly, the torn winds resumed their former rhythm, shifting around her dangerous figure. Seanna's gaze now surrounded her, but it didn't make a difference. There was nothing she could see that would give her the edge; monsters hid beneath human flesh, always.

What she could see was the pleading look of an acquaintance from behind the hostile, asking for some solution. Internally, she scowled. Was she asking her to think of a way to beat this person? To save Sanc? To escape? Frustration boiled her blood. Beneath her crimson lust was a logical understanding that she was outmatched, one way or another - even if this woman fell, an invading army awaited them, and she knew that the commanders here had already surrendered to them. Seanna was, by comparison, an attack dog trying to crush mountains with her jaws.

Even if she wished for this death, the Vaium of gales couldn't allow herself to let Zechs' dream fall this easily. So, loathing aside, she had to think quickly.

Her fingers eased against the skin of an invisible neck. A touch lighter than she usually cared for, indicating that, whoever this soldier was, they were on the same side for now. It told him not to fight.

"Chirplings?" she tossed back, slinging her words with an arrogance that came naturally, even when faked. "That sounds about right. Yes... you certainly strike me as the type to dance around with chirplings."

The silver-clad woman let her arm fall to her side, no longer holding onto the invisible soldier, while the other found its way to her hip. She rinsed the battle-readiness from her figure, and made herself look at ease. "Yet, unfortunately for you, this isn't your back garden. This is a city within the kingdom of Sanc. So, I'd suggest you state your business here. And by that, I mean the business of whoever is pulling your leash."

So long as she knew nothing, she could do nothing. Right now, Seanna needed information. If she could dissect this thing, she could strike at its heart. She had to let her words be her scalpel. That aside, this enemy had chosen to talk rather than fight. She'd thrown away the element of surprise. Maybe it was confidence, or maybe-

"I'd at least like to know what you were trying to accomplish before you got skewered."