Retrieving Their Own

Retrieving Their Own
Date of Scene:	25 March 2013
Location:	The Crossroads
Synopsis:	Sanel was just enjoying his wandering, but the Church of Glabados had plans for the boy. It was an unlikely savior that came to the boy's aid.
Cast of Characters:	Angantyr Vespar, Sanel, Ophelia

---

Sanel has posed:
It is a simple crossroad amidst the golden hills. There are a couple of paths that lead to different forms of a trek. One leads to a dark, long, and horrid road that offers nothing but nightmares. Another is a path of total darkness, waiting to bring those that succumb into itsm might. And then, the path is lead to the eastward, a more visible and known track.

One that is of interest is a large castle that stands admist the crossroad. A young, blue haired boy is standing in the middle of this crossroad, looking ahead to see the large castle ahead. His visible eye gazes ahead with curiosity, wondering what lies beyond what he sees. He turns to the west and then he north, both equally unattractive to him.

However, what is regarded with more familiarity is the east.

Yet the north attracts him the furthest.

While the boy had been observing the surroundings, the shadows behind the veil lead a certain hunter to encounter the lost boy. Nothing more was explain. Then again, did it really need to be explained?

Ophelia has posed:
The lone figure at the center of the bisecting dusty roads stands out rather vividly against the empty expanse of grassy plains that stretch on for miles in all directions without defining feature or landmark to set them apart. While others have certainly passed this way over the endless stretch of time that its smooth roads have existed, offering choices to would-be heroes and villains alike, this place is about the most secluded one could hope to find outside of dank buried dungeons or massive castle walls.

Though he may not be aware of it yet, the young boy is being tracked. It is not the footprints he leaves in the dirt or the bent blades in the grass that mark his passing, nor the subtle scent of his sweat or the faint aroma of the processed fabric adoring his body that this hunter uses to follow her quarry; though her enhanced senses and years of wilderness survival training make her privy to all of these things and more.

Ophelia closes her eyes as her steed carries her swiftly across the open fields, allowing her supernatural senses expand into the distance. Like the web of a spider, each 'thread' that she projects acts as a tuning fork, sending gentle echoes and vibrations that she can feel out when they encounter things of an unnatural nature. Her prey today has already been caught in her web, he just doesn't know it yet.

Several mounted Templar, each decked in their full battle regalia, converge on the location indicated by the young Inquisitor. Lances and swords shine in the gently fading light as the sun begins to dip towards the horizon and the holy warriors make no attempts to mask their approach. The Lord is with them, after all, they have no reasons to hide.

Sanel has posed:
It is always said that 'Ignorance is bliss...', but Sanel's unawareness to the approaching templars would only spell bad things for him. But then again, they weren't really the primary source of his attention. His eyes had been fixated on that castle for so long that his sight nearly become a tunnel vision to his usually short attention-span.

---And then a squirrel passes by.

"Squirrel!" Pause. That is when Sanel sees all of the templars all around him. They all remain mounted, decked in their full battle regalia as they converge on his location. The young boy tilts his head over at the group of men, squinting for a moment.

Blink. Blink.

Sanel just walks over towards the knights, a bit uncertain as to why they are around.

So instead....

Sanel lifts up a hand to offer out a large lollipop.

"Candy? Sanel got lots from a town." Then, he narrows his eyes, "Armored Men not getting Sanel's pixie sticks."

Ophelia has posed:
The expressions of the knights are dour and serious, their countenances providing no hints of amusement or levity beneath the scowls and hard stares. Sanel's approach is met with stoic silence as more and more of the templar filter into the small clearing from various directions, apparently having split up to encircle their quarry should he attempt to flee. They all arrive at relatively the same time and in a matter of moments the young boy finds himself at the center of a loose ring of chocobos and lowered lances.

Ophelia draws up at the rear of the crowd, her own mount being led in a lazy circle around the back of the perimeter as she takes in her first sight of the terrible mistake she has been sent to correct. The strange Inquisitor that had brought the matter to her attention had warned her about his little experiment gone wrong but failed to provide much in the way of details. Not that she particularly cared about the specifics. This was a good old fashioned hunt the likes of which she hasn't been able to enjoy in nearly a decade thanks to her organization's rather successful campaign to weed out the worst of the monsters in her homeland.

This wasn't Ordallia, however; there were monsters and demons aplenty in this new world and her lust for bloodshed was practically throbbing in her ears like a ferocious heartbeat. If what she suspected about this young man was true, that itch woudl be scratched very soon.

Ophelia licks her lips gently in anticipation as if tasting the tension in the air. A devilish smirk twists the corner of her lips and she holds a hand up, fingers splayed apart as the order is given. "Take him."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"You know, I thought the Chuch that the RAT was so enthralled with was above picking on children." Angantyr says, speaking from a nearby hill.

Angantyr hates authority, he hates authority even more when it is used to hurt the innocent. Angantyr's fairly renouned, a dark knight of unknown orgins, but a powerful one. He is wanted by the Arcadian Empire, but the Arcadian's are only a drop in the bucket in the world, many more people use his services.

A certain desert city, for example.

The dark night, clad in chain, and starting to radiate darkness starts approaching. Those who can sense it, can feel it not taken from the world around them, but exhuded by the Dark Knight...which...shouldn't happen. "If it is a fight you want, peons, then how about you take it with me, and not helpless children?"

Sanel has posed:
The boy has a bad feeling about the atmosphere. It is something that starts the bother him as the men show no signs of amusement. Their stoic gaze and their hardened postures to his offer of the candy has the boy standing there for several moments. And then, Sanel is shaking in fear. He is looking up towards the various men as they are all starting to surround him.

There is something, deep inside of him, that cannot help but shake. That friendly demeanor that the boy once had starts to become more of a terrible fright as the boy starts to turn around and leave.

..Only for the next group to flank in front of him.

As the boy looks from left to right, Sanel's eyes become tearful as he starts clutching onto himself. "...Bad men come for Sanel..?" If there was a blanket or some stuffed animal, he would be holding onto that by now. There is nothing good about the presence of these knights coming in.

It is then that the knights receive an order to take the boy. The visible eye widens and he releases a loud wail. The lips quiver, already holding both of his hands in front of him. He wants to cover...

For a brief moment, within the far off corner within the crossroad, a shadow blinked into view, but was quickly snuffed away when another radiation of darkness exhuded itself.

That is when a savior shows up. The boy slowly turns his head towards Angantyr, a man who is coming to his add. "...G--g-good, man...?" The boy tears up, elated to see someone. Someone that isn't scary.

Ophelia has posed:
At the command the Templar all begin to approach Sanel, their weapons lowered. The ring tightens around him until there is only a few feet between the boy and the sharp points of a dozen lances. A few balk for a moment at his strange behavior but a quick nod passes between them and they close the gaps.

One of the knights dismounts and draws a sword, her lance left couched in the armored barding of her mount. The insignia on her tabard marks her for a captain and the confident way she strides forward easily marks her as the one in charge of these men. Her mailed fist reaches out, seeking to grab Sanel by the scruff of the neck but inches before the cold metal fingers touch his skin the unexpected voice of the interloper draws her up short.

Every head snaps sideways to regard the dark knight at once. Several show signs of recognition and a few mutters escape their lips before the captain gives them a harsh glare that restores the short breach of discipline. "This is a matter of the Church of Glabados, stranger. By order of the Inquisition this boy is to be brought in for questioning regarding crimes committed against the good people under the protection of our Lord. I advise you to be about your own business. This is no concern of yours."

Even for the Templar, who lack Ophelia's special senses, the darkness rolling off the man that approaches them is obvious. Their mounts fidget and stamp in the presence of the darkness and a few of the less experienced riders have to work to keep them steady.

The young Inquisitor says nothing during all of this, merely watching with an amused expression from the side. This might end up being more fun than she expected.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"I don't think you understand..." Angantyr says, the mace released from it's holsterinto his hand in a single motion. The end of it smashes into the ground in a swift motion. The ground shatters, and he instantly picks it up in one hand. The weapon, easily a two handed weapon, moves comfortably in that hand. He moves, moving viciously forward, aiming to swing the mace ONCE...

Aiming to bat asside the first on his way to the child. The force behind the blows is not restrained, if not for the armor, they might have died...they still might, the power flowing through him is powerful. "I don't give a <GOOSEHONK> who you were sent by, who you think you are. You're not in lands controled by the church, I don't know how they do things where you are from, but the only law here, is the law of power."

The mace comes back up, ready to swing again, "And that, sirs, is in my hand. So you have to ask yourself. Is a small child the suffering I am going to put you through? Please say yes."

Sanel has posed:
And that is when the knight draws her sword and strides forward. When the mailed fit reaches out to grab him by the scruff of his neck, the boy's eyes widen. He turns his head and brings both hands right in front of him. As those hands close together, he begins panicing.

And then the unknown intercepter intervenes in the painful manner towards the knight. Sanel, slowly calming, now glares at the captain of the knights. He quivers and he just starts to glare at the woman teary, "Sanel offered the knights candy!!!" As he starts shivering, that fear is slowly forming into indignant anger.

However, he quickly runs over to join with the dark knight, hopefully behind him if he can manage it.

At the same time...

The atmosphere is starting to become a little chillier. It's not a subtle one, but an abrupt drop of the temperature.

Ophelia has posed:
The massive mace crashes into the flank of the mounted knight at the edge of the circle closest to Angantyr. Metal and flesh crunch underneath the impact of the terrible weapon and the chocobo lets out a pitiful shriek as its ribs cave into the organs beneath. The knight's cries mix with the death wail of his mount, his leg shattering between the hammer and anvil of the weapon and the armored plating.

This blatant show of aggression stuns the other Templar into incredulous silence for a few moments. Even in their own war-torn country the various nations vying for supremacy always showed courtesy for the dealings of the Church. To so openly assault a holy knight was unheard of.

The moment passes, however, and the remaining Templar fly into action. Sanel manages to slip past the captain in the distraction and she bites back a foul curse, rushing back to her own mount as the others launch their counter-attack on Angantyr. Cries of 'heretic!' and other less pleasant names accompany their charge.

The tips of deadly lances menace the dark warrior from all sides as he finds himself significantly outnumbered and no longer holding the initiative. Veterans of several campaigns and rigourous training, the knights are organized and skilled, their attacks coordinated to strike from multiple angles at the same time while using their reach to stay clear of the heavy mace. A few of them begin to chant magic spells and another draws a bow from his back, preparing to add the threat of deadly missiles to the impromptu melee.

Ophelia's eyes shine in the faint sunlight with glee as she watches the first man go down, enjoying the utter ruin that the large weapon leaves the poor mount in. She doubts that he will be able to overcome the entire squad escorting her on his own but if he should somehow manage he might provide a worthy challenge for herself.

"Captain," Ophelia says casually from her spot on the sidelines. "This man is hereby deemed a heretic and enemy of the Church. See to it that his blasphemous existance is naught but bones and a shallow grave by the day's end."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Oh! We want to get, SERIOUS?!" Angantyr says, with sudden glee.

Sanel moves behind him, and this causes him to need a singular point...instead of pushing through the Knights, instead of staying on the move...despite the lances, he is forced to defend a singular point. The temperature dropping causes him little bother. Instead, he fights forward. The mace SWINGS as lances come down, fighting steel with steel. His mace not just aiming to smash through the knights, but strike at their mounts. He figures, the mounts will get skittish...even hardened mounts will become skittish...especially with the darkness starting to expand. Right now, it is almost light a heat haze.

That is not to say the trained soldiers do not strike at the man. Blades strike at his armor, some even pierce through drawing blood. However, every inch he is given...every land he blows drains the vitality of his victim, drinking their blood and restoring Angantyr's body with the sympathetic Magic.

Spells slung are no more effective than the steel swung at him. Infact, at one point he swings his fist at a spell, the darkness around him corrupting the effect, and sending the ball of flame right back to it's source. He grins, the darkness continues to flow...tendrils of darkness start floating now off of him.

"A Heretic? Well, I declare you all dead men. Make peace with your god."

Sanel has posed:
As the captain exclaims her cry of Heretic, she will receive a snowball straight into her mouth for her trouble. It's almost comically down that the snowball will insert itself like an apple. That snowball is coming from no one other than the little boy, who is glaring at the templars as the temperature continues to drop.

Now, the crossroad has reached the point of being below zero. That temperature affords Sanel more opportunities than the original temperature.

Sanel is angry.

His cheeks are puffing considerably, his hands now glowing with a blue aura. It's a bright blue-white color that resonates in his hand. The boy glares right at the captain. It is a tearful glare and the boy gives his cry of defiance.

"Sanel does not like Armored Meanies. Armored Meanies get time out!"

That is when that blue-white energy forms into a giant ball of energy. The cold magic sprays everywhere, twirling and spiraling around. As they shoot all over the place, they bounce around to strike at each and every single templar that has not bee touched by the darkness engulfed knight.

Mostly the Captain. Sanel does not like her.

Ophelia has posed:
The fight swiftly devolves into chaos as the Templar shuffle back and forth in visceral dance. Clawed talons toss dirt and grass into the air as they manuever at the deft touch of their handlers, some even kicking out directly at the armored body of the dark knight with incredible beastial strength.

Lances shatter and ground is given as Angantyr's bold swings drive them back, their faith in their god and their skills being put to the test against the waves of darkness wafting off him. Blades are drawn when polearms fail but their shorter reach forces the holy warriors into a much more advantageous position for the grounded warrior.

Another man goes down as the heavy weapon sweeps the feet of his mount out from under him, sending him spilling to the ground in a heap where he is easy prey for a follow-up strike that crushes his head into a fine red mist. The corrupted magic finds purchase in the chest of its original caster and a horrific cry of pain fills the battlefield as she is engulfed in dark fire.

The captain does her best to counter the incredible resilience of their foe with swift commands, guiding her men to strike at the opportune moments. But their blows seem to have no lasting effect and she quickly begins to grow desperate. Opening her mouth wide to bark out another command, she instead is beset by a sudden shock of pain. Cold radiates through her jaw along with a flush of warmth and the coppery taste of her own blood.

The woman chokes and spits out the snow, staining the ground with a streak of red and bits of her teeth. Her eyes search for the source of this cowardly strike and swiftly alight on the young boy they had come to apprehend. His power is impossible to miss as is the change in temperature. "You," she says, her breath turning to white mist before her eyes.

Before she can deliver a warning the frozen magical orbs fly into their ranks with ferocious power. The templar are caught mostly unawares and several are dismounted by the hammer blows of the magical assault. The captain in particular catches the worst of it and she goes down in the dirt. Angantyr finds what resistance he faced practically obliterated in instants, leaving only the lone figure of the Inquisitor astride her black chocobo.

Ophelia begins to clap as the last of the Templar fall, dying or unconscious. Soon after the woman's haughty laughter joins in. "Well done! /Well/ done," she says after her mirth has faded to shallow giggles that mingle with her words. "Truly, I could never have guessed that this day would bring me such entertainment."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr, while bleeding, is finding that his wounds are healing thanks to the dark magics he weilds. However, the brutal strikes, and Sannel's well timed ice strikes cause the battle to turn in Angantyr's favor. Whatever resistance was given turns into a route as Angantyr moves forward viciously, aiming to strike down the last of the remaining men. The mace, hits the ground, as he takes a long breath, "Well, it looks like there is just one left." Angantyr says, turning his gaze towards the haughty woman.

"Like my master taught me, never leave wounded deer." he says, pointedly.

Then, without warning, darkness channels through the dark knight again. The darkness wraps around his figure, warping the armor into...solid plate. The darkness consumes him completely, turning from whispy darkness, into solid plate like armor. A cloak flutters behind him, but not made of actual physical material, litterally a ghost like darkness, instead of cloth.

"There."

Sanel has posed:
While Angantyr's tactics may had been rather deadly and full of ferociousness, Sanel's tactics, usually playful, only sought to render them unconscious. And remind them as to why they were not to mess with him. For the captain of the ranks, Sanel points them down at the woman until they all form into snow. Likely in the woman's place is a shape of a snowman.

Sanel walks over towards the snowman, then he reaches into his pocket to procure a carrot and some buttons. After a little decoration, Sanel makes a frowny face of a snowman.

Chinrub.

Quick adjustment.

It's now smiling.

Sanel's attention turns away from the snowman, now focusing on none other than the Inquisitor, Ophelia. The young boy frowns at the woman when she laughs, "Sanel does not know what is funny."

Blink. He cannot help but turn towards Angantyr regarding the teachings of his master. "...Ah?" And then, the boy faces Ophelia, frowning at her. "Armored Meanies are mean. Mean Lady is mean. Leave."

Ophelia has posed:
"Oh... but I cannot leave /now/!" Ophelia's voice practically crackles with excitement as she leans forward in her saddle, giving the young boy a frightfully intense grin. Her hand sweeps out to indicate the ruined mess of bodies and chocobos in a dramatic fashion until it comes to settle on Angantyr as his magic cloaks him in dark armor. "Can you not see? The fun is just getting started!"

Gracefully, the Inquisitor turns sideways and slide down to the ground. She whispers something into the ear of her mount and with a great 'wark' it turns and tears off into the distance at blinding speed. Those who allow their gaze to follow the bird's retreat will notice the final remnants of the sun's golden disc dip below the edges of the grassy meadows. Only a faint orange stain at the edge of the horizon and it too begins to swiftly fade away.

Ophelia's grin only widens as the land is wrapped in the embrace of the night. Her soldiers spent their lives buying the only thing she required - time. As the last vestiges of light evaporate from her pretty face they are replaced by the subtle glow of her eyes. Unnatural crimson light shines forth like twin rubies sparkling but they cast no illumination over her features.

Reaching down to her side, the woman grasps the hilt of her curved oriental blade. There is a soft hiss, the whisper of metal on metal, as she draws it forth in a slow deliberate motion. Almost immediately dark fire the color of arterial blood erupts to life about the blade. Ophelia opens her mouth, allowing her unnatural long tongue to flick out over the surface of the steel in a creepy display. This also reveals the twin enlongated fangs where her canines should be, almost deliberately showing them off as she gives an almost psychotic smile at the dark knight and the boy.

"When two tigers fight, one is certain to be maimed... and one is certain to die." She giggles again. "Which one shall you be?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Oh goody. A vampire." Angantyr says. "Kid. I would start running, I can handle things from here." he says, to Sanel, and turns to look closer towards Ophelia. "This explains your motives. I wonder how many of these men would have fought to the death for you, knowing your true nature?" he says, the voice...slightly distorted. The darkness burns off of him like a heat haze. "But you assume I am afraid of you. Or maybe you don't care."

Angantyr then steps forward, "I am just looking to blow some STEAM off, <GOOSEHONK>." Angantyr grins. And then he dives forward, his right hand aiming to smash brutally against her face, aiming to catch her body on the dark fire that doesn't quite burn. Until it goes out, it will flare up when his attacks strike. However, he swings the weapon towards the legs of the vampire, before he swings his right fist down into the face of the woman again. this time aiming to try and bounce her off the ground.

Sanel has posed:
Whimper.

Sanel's frown is leveled at Ophelia as the huntress is rather giddy over the predictament. Amusement failing to register, the boy is instead filled with annoyance. When the Inquisitor slides onto the ground and sends the creature off...

The sun is slowly starting to fade away.

After the sun fades into the night, Sanel's eyes turn to regard the woman before an unnatura glow shines from her eyes. Sanel's visible eye widens before he takes a couple of steps back. His body tenses as those eyes light up.

"...San--Sanel does not like glowy eyed woman..." The boy's eye remains wide as the blade slowly draws from herside. When she reveals her long fangs, Sanel is squinting.

A red glow radiates beyond the spot hidden by his blue hair.

There is something that is keeping Sanel here. Sanel wants to listen to Angantyr, "...Run--away.. from lady..." However....

"Sanel won't leave new friend alone! Bad lady will be spanked! Sanel help new friend!" He gives a glare towards the woman, then the boy presses his foot forward. After that foot is pressed out--- Sanel charges straight towards the woman in a sprint.

He begins skating across the ground, especially considering that it has slicked along his feet. Sanel is actually going to use the trajectory that Angantyr is striking the vampire as a set-up for his next maneuver.

...Sanel is riiight behind her.

Should she fly to Sanel, the boy is going to give her a squeezing hug.

Before his body flexes back to brain her straight into the ground with a suplex.

Ophelia has posed:
Ophelia smirks and lowers her blade, resting her free hand on her hip. "Everyone has fears, mortal. You may think yourself above it but your delusions will break eventually. I have faced men such as you in the past. Full of piss and fire and bravado." She waves a hand dismissively at him. "Come then, let us see if you measure up any better."

The attack that comes is fast but the woman is faster, almost as if she can see his attacks coming before they even happen. The fist finds purchase in her shoulder instead of her face, just barely missing the curved spike of her pauldron. The dark flames lick against the polished surface of her armor but fail to gain a hold, guttering out uselessly after a few moments.

Her blade lashes out but the awkward angle makes it difficult to position properly and a trio of blows ring off his armored mail without much impact. The follow up swing takes her legs out handily and Angantyr's fist drives her downwards into the waiting embrace of the strange boy. Sanel's unnatural strength easily flips the slender woman up and over and she hits the ground with a sickening crunch.

However, she does not allow them the advantage for long. Squirming about in the boy's arms, Ophelia sinks her fangs into his neck for a brief moment and she feels the warm rush of blood on her tongue. She does not linger to feed with the threat of the dark knight still looming overhead but the tantalizing taste of his altered vitae sends a rush of pleasure through her body.

Kicking to her feet, Ophelia snaps her blade out as she rises, carving a vertical gash into the empty air before the two assailants. Blood erupts from the tip of her blade, a lingering line of angry red that hovers in the air as she adds a second horizontal slash. The bloody cross explodes forward upon completion, rending and tearing with unnatural predatory fury and leaving terrible wounds that refuse to clot upon impact.

"Hmmhmmhmm... you'll have to do better than that, little boy," she says, licking a spot of red from her lips. The vampire rushes forward and takes the fight directly back to them, feinting with her blade and then reaching out to snatch Angantyr about the neck. Despite her size, she is insanely strong and easily lifts him into the air should she get a firm grip. His life begins to drain away at her touch, power flowing from him into her body in waves and augmenting her power even as it restores her vital energy.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr isn't a slow brute, he is increadibly fast when he needs to be, his hand moves up, aiming to block her grip...but soon he finds out that the attack itself was the grip. Her hand grabs his blocking wrist, draining away his energy into her body, causing a brief look of discomfort from Angantyr. He struggles for a moment, before litterally breaking the grasp, and once more aiming to try and deck her. His eyes flare, swinging to try and give him some room from the Vampire.

"I am not like most 'mortals' you have faced, Vampire." he says, stepping back...and launching at her again, this time, he swings the fist for her, aiming to once more catch her across the face with the black fire, but he follows through with suddenly raising the Mace in BOTH hands...and aiming to swing it down with terrible power, darkness breaking out from the weapon, aiming to aid in the power of the blow by litterally trying to take a BITE out of the vampire.

Worse, the darkness seeps, aiming to attack her very soul.

Sanel has posed:
It was a tight, unpleasant hug. Granted, Sanel was not aiming to really hug her, but to make sure that he got a very tight grip enough to just squeeze the life out of her enough to heft her over his body and then plant her head into the surface of the earth. Sadly, it was not enough to brain her. She managed to quickly recover, squirming in the boy's arms before turning to sink her fangs into his neck. His eyes become widen and he starts to shriek, "Ahhhhhhh!!!" That feeling of the fangs piercing his neck was sharp and sudden. He wants to cry, but he is too angry, even if the waterworks form.

When she manages to escape the boy's grasp, he turns his body around to face her and then he looks up at her when she forms a bloody cross in mid-air. It explodes forward, engulfing the boy. "Ahhhhh!" Sanel holds his hands over his face, trying his hardest not to give up. Yet, it rends him and sends him stumbling back.

He grits his teeth, glaring up at the woman.

Skip, skip. Sanel is skipping along until he is a ways behind her once more.

"Sanel do not like Biting Girl!"

His fists slam into the ground a couple of times. Then, he keeps punching the ground until he makes indentions enough to rip a piece of the earth apart in a makeshift baseball bat.

"Sanel saw this at Manhattan..."

He winds back for the swing, and then he releases with all of the strength that he can muster in this attack.

Ophelia has posed:
Ophelia squeezes firmly as her hand clenches around the intervening arm, relishing even the brief moment of pain that her powerful grip draws out of the man. His vitality flows into her in a wave of red energy that lights up her slender form like an aura before seeping into the woman's body.

The punch dislodges the Inquisitor before she can establish a more deadly grip or lash out with her blade but again her precognition turns it from a painful blow across the face into a muffled thud against her armor. Whipping sideways with the force of the strike, Ophelia draws her cursed katana across the dark knight's torso and the hungry souls draw a tiny mote of his essence out in that short moment of contact.

The second swing catches her more squarely against the side and this time the dark manages to catch on her unarmored flank, mixing and struggling against the bloody light for dominance. Angantyr's overhead swing is ferocious but not swift enough to land solidly, instead grazing the agile vampire. The gaping maw of darkness, however, clamps down solidly against her shoulder but the layered pauldrons manage to keep its wicked teeth from drawing her precious blood.

Ophelia hops away from the dark knight and turns to deal with her other opponent as his inhuman strength causes the earth to tremor. She grins at him again, making a 'come hither' motion as the makeshift bat is brought up Major League style and swings --- only to thud dully in her open hand. The effort of stopping the titanic blow obviously strains the woman but she swiftly shifts the momentum, using the chunk of earth as leverage to draw the boy closer and wrap a hand around his neck, siphoning life from him just as she did Angantyr.

"How would you know what manner of warrior I have faced afore this night? Tis the folly of man to be so arrogant. You believe yourself undefeatable because you wield great power? There is always someone greater than you!"

Ophelia whips around and hurls the ice-wielding experiment at Angantyr. Her blade flares and flickers with excitement as if anticipating her moves and she holds it up high over her head. A red orb of ethereal light erupts into existence around the blade and motes of dancing fire flutter forth from its center, flitting about them like ghostly butterflies.

"I summon all the ghosts of my sword! Feed, Oboro-muramasa!"

The wisps of energy begin to swirl in a mad frenzy and swiftly dive into the ground. With an ear piercing wail, dozens of spectres rise from the grassy fields, their forms a transparent angry red. The glares and scream at the two men, diving amongst them to feast upon their life like pirhanna unleashed upon goldfish. The assault is brutal and swift and within a few moments the spirits return to the blade, carrying with them the stolen life which flows down into her body.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The spectres feed on Angantyr, he grits his teeth, forcing the pain down, trying to use it to fuel his attacks. They steal his vitality, they drink from his body, thy slash his body, but he endures. His eyes glowing as the power shakes the ground around him as he focuses forward, right on his enemy. Blood runs down his arms, and dripping into the ground below him, slowly pooling, but he stands, refusing to be taken so low by the hungry ghosts.

And he steps forward, His right hand, the one holding the mace...TWISTS into something dark.

And then he dives in, he roars in pain and angony, he roars in rage and anger...the darkness weilded is a pain of misery and torment...and he uses his own to fuel what he does next. He swings the mace once, aiming to smash not ony the woman, but try and bring her low. Before he repeatedly swings the mace, quickly and brutally towards the Vampire. Each strike spilling more of his blood on the ground, before his left arm...

Twists into a beast like talon, aiming to try and grab the Vampire by the throat. Pure darkness trails all along his body, chaos mixed in with the flickering of darkness as he grins a disturbing smile. "I have met the man better than me, he is my master, and has taught me to be as strong as I am. You, however, are not my better...nor my equal." and then the blood from before spikes up, becoming crimson claws that repeatedly tear at her flesh, trying to rend the vampire assunder.

Sanel has posed:
"BAD TOUCH! BAD TOUCH! SANEL NEEDS AN ADU--" Through all of the shrieking and flailing around, Sanel is brought back closer to the vampiress before she starts siphoning his life once more. The agonizing pain in the dominanting aura draws tears from the boy as hefeels a squeezing, uncomfortable feeling overtake him.

"--an adult.."

And then...

Sanel is chucked straight towards Angantyr. In a way, the boy finds himself flickering between the paths of consciousness and unconsciousness. He can feel everything slipping away from him. In fact, Sanel is feeling a tad dizzy, to be honest. He is not certain that he is able to continue the fight.

However, there is the urge to make the woman pay for all of the bad things that she has done. So, there the boy is, shutting his eyes as he is flying straight towards the path of the dark knight who saved his life.

Sanel is so happy that he could cry.

However, the boy can already feel himself blacking out. However, his friend is hurt.

Sanel has to continue the fight.

That is where the boy twists himself to land on the ground, which soon becomes as slick as ice. Sanel sucks in a breath, already knowing that it is about time to deal with this threat.

---But then Angantyr's hand twists into something dark and the man charges towards the vampire. Sanel is clutching ont his head, trying to regain his senses. He can feel the tickings of his heart pump once.

There is something digging in his mind, but he is pushing it away.

Ophelia has posed:
The mace crashes into Ophelia with the full force of the dark knight's unleashed fury. She doesn't even bother trying to dodge or block, knowing full well that her defenses are inadequate for such a powerful strike. The sight of her own blood flying into the air, mixing with his, sends her into a frenzy and she loses herself for a moment in the equisite agony that embraces her body.

She grits her teeth as the massive weapon slams into her over and over, cutting down angry wounds into her flesh and deforming the precious decorations of her elaborate armor. Each blow dims the bright aura about her body a little more and she is caught unable to respond to the furious whirlwind.

When the claws reach out for her, however, she snaps back to life in a frenzy of motion. His deformed claws close on empty air as she rolls to the side and her katana carves another bloody cross into his exposed flank even as she gains freedom from the vortex of darkness. Ophelia laughs again, once more climbing to her feet with casual grace. Her blade is lifted up and she flicks it to the side, sending a fern-frond pattern of blood spattering across the ground before she slides it neatly back into its lacquered scabbard.

"Ah. Well, that was quite exciting, wasn't it? Have you run out of 'steam' yet?" Her hand goes down to touch one of the open wounds, cupping the blood into her palm before she smears it over the surface of her armor in an almost ritualistic fashion. The same is done for her exposed skin and even a few dabs beneath her eyes give the samurai a tribal appearance. However, as the blood dries it begins to harden, forming a carapace like shell that augments her crimson armor even further.

Ophelia licks the rest from her hand, taking her time as if savoring a sweet delicacy. The glow in her eyes intensifies again and she offers a wry smirk to the dark knight. "I'm not quite satisfied yet. Surely you're not the sort of man who leaves a woman... wanting?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr grins as he brings the mace back.

"Oh really? You're taunting. You're barely clinging to life, right now, and you're TAUNTING." he laughs. "OH that's Good." Angantyr continues to advance. The injuries from before are already healing, the blood mixing into his own, healing the wounds he suffered through darkness and the blood sympathy. Angatyr is looking a lot better than he did a few moments ago, but he doesn't stop.

The mace swings once more, aiming to once more strike at her armor and aim to even rend bits of her flesh away as he tries to open her up...

His right arm comes next, no longer deformed and normal, but darkness trails as he aims to try and SMASH it into her...not looking for a particular place, just aiming to try and bring it into her...and then shatter the magical effects laid upon her body. The darkness corrupting the effect of the spell, aiming to shatter it.

"KID! IF YOU GOT SOMETHING, I'D DO IT NOW!"

Sanel has posed:
Sanel's body and heart ticks.

Sanel is regaining his senses, trying to make heads and tails of where he is at and who his attacker is. His eyes shift towards the woman who has been hunting him down. The visible eye glares at the woman while the heart continues beating. He keeps his mind focused on his target. With the rescuer in his bloodlust for pain, Sanel is trying to figure out how to best disable the woman.

...He'll use her desire for fighting the other man against her.

In fact, Sanel is just glaring at her. He is completely angry and hurt by her efforts. So, he decides to repay her back the only that he knows how. Once she moves to actually behind her once more.

However, she likely expects that...

So, when Angantyr seeks to smash against her form, Sanel will leap frog over her to grab her arm...

Should it be successful, Ophelia is likely going to find out how strong Sanel is.

How? Well, she is going to be slammed around like a rag doll a lot of times.

"BAD!" SLAM! "FANG!" SLAM! "MEANIE!" SLAM! "BAD!" SLAM! "FANG!" SLAM! "MEANIE!"

Ophelia has posed:
"You like it? It's almost as amusing as a blow-hard knight who thinks he's indestructible or that his power grants him free reign to do as he pleases." The mace is easily deflected despite the wounds Ophelia has suffered though she is obviously not putting much effort into defending herself as the re-directed blow still glances off her shoulder and the subsequent punches land solidly without much of a struggle.

However, at the last moment the vampire lurches forward in a burst of motion. Her body blurs into a crimson streak as she flies past Angantyr, ducking underneath his final strike. A sweep of flashing steel bisects his body and Ophelia skids to a halt several feet behind the dark knight. Her hand rests on the hilt of her sword, which is now sitting loosely in the sheath, about an inch or two of its cold metal blade exposed. With soft click the blade is returned fully into its case and an explosion of blood erupts from the wound carved in his side in that single moment.

Ophelia's flare for the dramatic costs her, however, as Sanel rushes back into the fray in his unorthodox manner. The boy's powerful hand easily latches onto her wrist even as she turns, snapping the sword out at him once again. The hungry blade draws a line of red across his cheek but the moment after sees her lifted and slammed about like some doll in the hands of a child throwing a temper tantrum.

The ground proves to be a powerful weapon, refusing to yield to her supple flesh and bones. Before she can be utterly battered to bits, Ophelia lashes out with her foot, planting it solidly on the boy's chest which she uses for leverage to kick free.

The sheer amount of blood that has been spilled begins to overwhelm the powerful curse slumbering within her body and she sheathes her blade upon striking the ground, lunging for Sanel with beastial fury. Her fingers press together, turning her hands into knife-like shapes and she jams them into his body with incredible force, ripping and tearing and biting in an unholy frenzy.

Sanel is not the only one to suffer this assault and once she has wailed upon the boy for a few moments she shifts focus, rushing over to claw at Angantyr with the same ferocious tenacity. "It is not over yet!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr's got a new wound. The blood spray doing little to deter him, besides a wince as he pulls the mace back.

Instead of aggressing, he blocks the swinging claws, his mace meeting the claws as she tries to dig them into something soft. But he doesn't stop. He doesn't let her down...and desert her.

Instead, he moves to try and grab her by the front of her armor, aiming to try and turn and smash her into the ground, trying to break her rage...

And then once more, swings the mace down in both hands the darkness that fuels his body coursing through the weapon, aiming to try and slam it RIGHT Into her...

And then try and burn her from the inside out, with the devouring black.

"What can I say I'm arrogant." Angantyr grins.

Sanel has posed:
Sanel is trained in the art of disciplining his pets. In fact, the boy had sought to deal with the painful woman by introducing her into the path of pain. It has not been the best for her, and he is making sure that she would remember this day. Due to the fury that the boy has, his rage is more or less seeking to have her imprinted into the earth.

However, that blade slices acoss the cheek, tearing more of the blood out of him. And then, she manages to plant her foot to his chest to pull herself free of the grip. Once she is allowed that distance, she exposes that opportunity by lunging at Sanel. The boy is shrieking as she tears and rends against his form.

However, Sanel isn't letting go. Just as she tries to keep rending him..

Sanel leans forward to open up his face and bite her on the nose.
r And then...

Sanel seeks to suplex her right on her head into the earth!

Ophelia has posed:
Ophelia draws strength from the blood that she spills, her bare hands rending flesh and darkness alike with fingers like steel claws. It gushes out freely, as if eager to coat her arms in its sticky warmth, to sate the hunger that calls to it from within the undead creature that she has become. She almost loses herself in the red haze, opening her mouth wide in preparation to sink her deadly fangs into Angantyr's neck.

But the swift reaction of the knight catches her at the last moment, her dripping teeth inches away from the joint between shoulder and head. She hits the ground hard and the jolt snaps her back to normal. Blinking away the blurriness of her vision, Ophelia grunts as she realizes what happened. Alexander would not be pleased and he always seemed to know when these slips happened. Probably an aspect of the pact between them. Whatever the case, she has more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.

Angantyr's heavy weapon rises into the air and she moves with the preternatural swiftness granted by her dark powers. Her blade lashes out, once, twice, and then a third time, carving deep gouges into the unprotected breastplate of the dark knight so fast that they all seem to come at once in a bloody claw-shaped strike.

The mace crashes down in the dirt but Ophelia is already moving. Her sword finds its way back to the sheath at her side and she reaches over her shoulder to draw another of the half dozen blades arrayed around her back. Holding it up in the air, she calls on the spirit forged into the blade by ancient techniques from the eastern lands. Fire erupts about the blade but before she can properly summon the deadly magic, Sanel latches onto her instead, biting her square on the nose with enough force to draw blood.

Ophelia staggers and then finds herself upside down once again. This time the manuever has the intended effect and she crumples with sickening crack upon meeting the ground. It takes several moments for her to recover but the inquisitor manages to stagger to her feet, giving both of them a rather less pleasant grin than her playful mood earlier implied.

"Urgh... enjoy your victory here... fool. Soon, you will be hunted... wherever you go... hahaha..." She grunts and hunches her shoulders, muscles tensing with pained effort. The skin on her back bulges out hideously for a few moments and then gives way to shower of blood as massive bat-like wings erupt into the air. Her laughter is the last thing they hear from the vampire as she takes to the air, zipping away into the darkness of the night sky to disappear amongst the clouds.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr slowly brings himself to his feet, blood coursing through the mace, and releasing the energy from it back into his body. He grabs a potion from his pack, and cruses it over his painful wounds, grunting at the sting.

"Yeah. Hunted. She still needs to realize the Church isn't the whole world, nor is it even that big in reality." he grunts, and looks towards Sanel. "You okay kid? You should go find your village and get some medical attention."

Sanel has posed:
Sanel gave the vampire a present for her exit: A glare. There was a bit of a satisfaction of biting the vampire on the nose, all considering the fact that she bit him many times. Sanel felt that the woman should undergo the painstaking feeling of what he went through.

A taste of her own medicine.

The tension continues to rise as she starts to depart. Sanel looks up towards Angantyr with a tilt of his head. There is atired smile, "...Sanel does not have a village." Then, the feeling of the bloodloss is starting to take over. "...Sanel is alone. Few friends... but far away."

That visible eye looks darkened. Unfortunately, the boy himself is not durable to the events that has transpired. As such, the boy becomes limp before collapsing on the ground.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"...Hell." Angantyr says, looking half dead himself.

He looks around for a moment... "Double hell." which is like REGULAR HELL, but Garland is there.

He sighs, moves to grab Sanel, and throw him over one shoulder and creates a cooridor...next stop, Flurogis.