Completed [Aka's Cave] Arcane Shackle (Traverse)

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Aka's Cavern-room, Residential Wing, 2nd of Bell, 90th of Fall 513 A.V

"zzz..." The small Viper in human form was sleeping peacefully in her cavern-room. Wearing her usual black-robe and red sash, also the irremovable collar she found back in the ruined jungle temple wrapping around her neck. She tossed around restlessly as nightmares assaulted her, the scene of hundreds of Myrians boring down upon her as she tried to hold them back from invading Zinrah played in her mind. In her nightmare, the pact between Caiyha and Myri were broken and the Myrians decided it was time to drive the snakes out from their jungle once and for all. "N-no!... no!" Her feet kicked away at the air as her burrows furrowed, cold sweat trickling down her forehead. She could see Mamoru being ripped apart by two Myrian tigers, Senka impaled by numerous spears, Yuki nowhere to be seen, and Evalin... her Nuit slave, being burned alive by the Myrian's torches.

"Aaaaaaah!" She jolted up, her slitted eyes shot open and her heat beating like as fast as a Viper's swift running steps. "Uh... uh..." Aka put her right hand to cover her face as a tear flowed from her right eye, utterly relieved it was just a stupid nightmare. "M-massster..." She tried to call for him, but of course, he wasn't there. The Viper looked to the twin cages inside her room where Yuki and Evalin lived just to check on them. Assuring herself again, Aka curled back up on her bedroll, closing her eyes to go back to sleep, she had some heavy tunnel work in the morning so she needed as much rest she could get. After about ten chimes of tossing and turning, the Viper lay sprawled on her bedroll, her untied black hair and clothes in disarray, snoring lightly.

[Traverse]

Unbeknownst to the Viper in her unconscious state the leather collar, so tightly bound around her neck began to glow, one by one long lost glyphs lighting up like stars. If she had seen them she would know even as a novice glyph maker that they were potent things, a complex trigger that had somehow waited until this moment in a restful state to activate, the symbols were beautifully intricate, but slowly faded back into shadows upon her neck, no one around to observe the potent magical display.

In her mind rang fear and anxiety. There were so many more Myrians than Dhani, how would they ever combat such a potent force? Once Dhani numbers had been greater, but those blasted humans, transformed under the rule of that one powerful woman who had taken her place as a Goddess no less. The first outlying parties had been scoffed at. So what if other races were being extinguished under the fist and hammer that was Myri's rule? Dhani were so much stronger, not to mention smarter, than any barbaric cannibal.

But whispers of their power, news of cities and cultures that had lasted for hundreds of years were simply crushed like blades of grass beneath tromping footsteps. Aka could hear them marching, feel the vibrations of feet upon the ground, hear the crackling fires of their torches and magic as they made ruins of once great cities, letting them return to Caiyha's embrace, who seemed to favor the savage race so well.

Thoughts and memories not her own flashed into the viper's mind. She was still able to discern her own mind from the one she was being pushed into, and it played out almost as if she was in another person's dream, aware of herself, yet playing out events of another being...someone much taller than herself.

They had done horrible things to her brethren, the Myrians had. Once upon a time the Constrictor mage, Lisssandressayl had had three daughters, and four sons, all powerful cunning beings that were the pride of Siku. One son had left Falyndar, but all the rest had stayed, wanting to make their way up the ladder's of the Dhani hierarchy, yet somehow, impossibly, they had all died, one by one, by one. All by Myrian hands. Lisssandra's heart had disappeared one child at a time, and she knew others looked at her differently now, as if she was not whole...which she was not. The pain flickered in Aka's being, then away.

Aka recognized the temple she had been in, but it was...different. Where she had seen a statue that might have been Myri stood a life size replica of Siku in Dhani form. Massive braziers lit whole and beautifully carved hallways all the way down as far as her bright eyes could see. A male constrictor slid up to her hurriedly, his hazel eyes worried and wide, his head bowed so as not to make eye contact with the female.

"Misstresss, they are coming, in great number."

Aka felt her mind shifting, rage filled at the encroaching army. They had eviscerated her children and were slowly pushing her race back into the shadows. It could not stand, it wouldn't. She wouldn't let them.

OOCFeel free to manipulate Lissandra as you want to, I'll be guiding you through the scenario and laying out your resources as the fight commences, for now all you are aware of is that Lissandra is an expert Reimancer.

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Another nightmare assaulted her mind, but this one was far more vivid and 'real' compared to the previous one. The Viper's body went very still as her mind dove deep into another world entirely, it was like her soul was transported to an alternate reality. "U-uh... W-where?" Aka found herself to be in a very dark place, her body floating in the air... without a fabric of cloth on her, her waist-length black hair also swayed slowly as if she was underwater. "N-no!" Was she drowning? The Viper had a unhealthy fear of water and her mind geared into panic, she thrashed around, desperately trying to find the 'surface' in this dark void, but... after ten ticks, she realized she could breath. "E-eh?!" She examined her own form, slightly glowing and floating in mid-air. The Viper caressed her own face, everything was still there. She was fine... except she didn't know where she was and how she got here in the first place.

Suddenly, the hairs behind her beck stood up, she could hear... sounds and voices. "H-hi?!" Her scarlet slits frantically tried to locate the source, but the voices came from all around her, seemingly piercing through the void. "What... isss thisss?" She couldn't believe it, this must be some horrible, horrible, dream. There was no way she could hear numerous sounds akin to a marching army. The Viper closed her ears with both of her hands, but the sounds still poured in. Her eyes opened wide, she had no choice but to continue listening. It was only auditory at first, but after a few chimes, she could feel the vibrations accompanying the marching footsteps. Shouts and warcries... in a guttural language of the Myrians, she was witnessing the assault of those bronze monkeys upon a Dhani nest. "A-aaaaaagh!" She couldn't take it anymore, Aka shook her head violently, but it wouldn't stop, the voices and vibrations tortured her very soul. She was forced to imagine her cousins dying through her ears, while not having the power to defend them.

Then... everything went silent, not a sound nor voice could be heard. "H-huh?" While Aka was relieved, the utter silence wasn't better. She hugged her own chest, curling up into a ball, her eyes widened in fear. "!!?" Her mouth opened wide in a silent scream, a foreign presence forced itself into her mind. Thoughts and memories flashing before her eyes, it was so powerful, her mental resistance immediately collapsed. She let herself be pulled into a strange body.

.........

.....

...

The Viper opened her eyes, finding herself witnessing the memories of another being through its eyes. Through the flashes, she could discern she was seeing the memory of a Constrictor sorceress named 'Lisssandressayl', who had three daughers and four sons, all but one died by the foul hands of Myrians. She watched as Liss moved her body, she was in a temple eerily similar to the one she was lost in... but there was one major difference. The Myrian-like statue was replaced by the stone sculpture of the Serpent Goddess-Queen, Siku, in Dhani form. The temple also didn't look abandoned, braziers lit the decorated carved hallways. Uh... what is this? Aka wanted to speak, to talk to Liss, but it was no use, she couldn't control anything. Again, she was left in a choiceless situation.

A male constrictor in Dhani form slithered to her... no, to Liss, he bowed her head in utmost respect. Liss must be a high-ranking female Dhani or something, maybe a Queen or Consort. Even without Liss' knowledge, Aka could see what the subordinate meant by 'them'. Myrians... Of course it would them, it was always them. She felt her serpentine mouth moved by itself, hissing in snake-tongue. "We will make our ssstand!! Let usss ssshow those insssectsss how it isss to face Sssiku's snakelingsss! Go! Prepare the forcesss, we ssshall send them back to their puny Queen... in piecesss!" Liss commanded the male, he bowed respectfully and slithered away. The Constrictor sorceress then turned around, clasped her hands on her chest as she hissed a prayer to Siku. "Serpent Goddess-Queen, pleassse grant usss your ssstrength and cunning, the bronze insssectsss are upon usss and I hunger for the tassste of their blood! I will devour each and every one of their children as they had ssslaughtered mine..." She clenched her fists and turned around, slithering forward to meet her brethren. Her res ready to be unleashed.

[Traverse]

She knew of the small army she had at her command, nearly the entire population of Zinrah was at her command in the fight against those petulant children called the Myrians. Even as Aka found her body slithering out through the stoned archways, unsure if it was her moving the body or the memory, she saw a collection of soldiers, their heads bowed in respect slither by her. They wore helms and wristlets and breast plates to protect the flesh of their chest and back, even wore collars that helped prevent weaponry from slicing open their neck. As she looked around she spied a line of archers, lighting heavy arrows upon the roof of the temple, the first volley flying through the air and pained screams following.

There was a pause, where utter silence reigned, no creatures remained, no birds in the trees, insects flown away or scared into silence, and it was almost as if there was nothing at all.

Then the first wave of the tanned beasts flew over the hill. Arrows from their own ranks flew over their heads, most of which bounced off of protective gear and landed harmlessly in the ground. A few pained hisses echoed around Lissandra and her disciples, and then the fight began. The sorceress's tail flicked impatiently as the res flowed from her hands, how had these pitiful things come so far?

oocHave fun doing splodey splodeys, also its up to you which three elements she has control over, I didn't have any specific idea of that in mind, as you fight I'll throw some fun stuff at you, and apologies for the delay!

[Soshakuakamamushi]

OOCAlright! I choose Earth, Fire, and Water with Earth being Liss' main element.

Liss' confident slithers traversed through the stoned archways while the Viper could only watch through the priestess' eyes. The Viper watched in anxiety, part of her was brimming with excitement at the prospect of watching her cousins spilled Myrian blood, but she couldn't get the foreboding feeling off her, like she just knew this battle would not end well. She would personally bear witness the stories of how the Myrians slaughtered her kin until what was left of the glorious serpentine race were forced to hole up in some hole named Zinrah, a mockery to their former empire. L-liss... Go, kill them all! All of them! Although unheard, she still encouraged the priestess, even if this was just a horrible nightmare, she would turn it into a dream of triumph.

Whether it was by coincidence or not, Liss seemed to hear Aka's cheer, the priestess slithered confidently through her loyal soldiers, each bowing their head in respect. She wouldn't let her brethren down, she must appear strong in the face of the Dhani's most hated enemy. At her command, the Dhani archers positioned at the temple's top prepared their heavy arrows, pulled with mighty strengths on a whole different level compared to those pathetic monkeys. A few ticks later, heavy arrows loosed from the temple's top, raining down upon the unseen foe, screams of pain confirmed the presence of the enemy. Everything went silent as if the jungle animals themselves knew of the imminent bloodshed. The fragile silence was broken to million pieces as the Myrians poured into the fray like angry tanned hornets out of their nest. "Ssstrike them down!!" Liss commanded, followed by the Dhani warriors charging forward in righteous fury.

"Siku exterminate you!" Under the crossfire of both Dhani and Myrian arrows, Liss' magical prowess manifested itself in the form of her brownish res, pooling at her palms. The priestess then slammed both of her scaled palms to the ground, sending her gaseous res charging under the ground and they pooled under a group of Myrian in a circular shape. With a force of will, the res took dominion over the soil, the dirt trembled and quaked beneath the Myrian's feet, causing them to stagger and knocking down some. "HSSS!!" She wasn't done yet, her palms grabbed a fistful of dirt and she further directed her res to harden the ground. The trembling stopped for a tick... but what came next was much worse. Screams and wails of extreme pain echoed in the battlefield as large spikes of earth angrily jutted out from the ground coated by Liss' res, impaling those unfortunate enough to be standing above it. Blood and flesh flew everywhere as Liss turned a particular area of the battlefield into a land of death. The priestess' slitted eyes narrowed in contempt, it wasn't enough, she wouldn't rest until every single of these pests were exterminated.

Aka watched as the battle raged on, Liss' display of power was impressive, she rivalled or even surpassed her own, as expected of a high-ranking female Dhani. Win this, brothers and sisters! It seemed to be going well, the Dhani managed to hold their ground so far despite outnumbered. Each of these serpentine warriors was worth over twenty Myrians, with a century of maturity period, no other race on the face of Mizahar could match the Dhani. The priestess, driven by experience, kept her calm and spotted a group of Myrian archers raining down arrows upon her warrior.

She hissed and brought her hands upwards, uprooting the res as they coated the spawned earthen spikes. Liss willed her res to transform each of the spikes into pillars of flames, they burned with the anger of a scorned mother, a mother whose children were forcefully taken away. Five pillars all swirled into one big ball of fire, tongues of flame embracing each other into one. "Burn!" She made a pushing motion with her right hand and together with all her anger, sorrow, and hatred, the fiery sphere launched forward, burning all Myrians who dared to stand in its way and in a matter of ticks, reached the poor archers. Surprised looks on their ugly mugs would be the last thing they ever express as Liss willed her fireball to explode, reducing the particular group of archers into burnt pieces of flesh. A small step towards victory, but the battle was far from over, with a hiss, Liss' keen slits began searching for new targets. The ground shall run red with Myrian blood.

[Traverse]

A few hisses of pain were the only signs that the Myrian horde had even touched Liss's soldiers. They were well trained, well disciplined, and having a powerful mage upon their side always bolstered her troops' morale. It was hard for the sorceress to imagine how it had come to this. Slowly they were being driven back across the land, and from this pitiful display she simply couldn't fathom how...

Two volleys of arrows, one from her own archers, and one from the back of the woods flew in two colonies of arching weaponry, and for a moment Syna's light was shadowed from the sheer number of arrows.

That was when the horn blew, somewhere far off, but loud. And barely a tick after the wailing bellow of the noise was silent did they hear a noise fearful enough to send a shiver through even the most brazen and bold Dhani warrior.

The rolling thunder that was a Myrian tiger growl. Two leapt out of the jungles, one fastening directly onto one of the Dhani warriors and ripping away the metal that covered his throat as its rider shoved a spear through the exposed flesh. The other wove its way more cautiously through the small maze of earthen spikes Liss has constructed, its tail flicking promisingly from side to side in eagerness for the hunt.

Behind them came half a dozen warriors upon horseback, the spotted kind that seemed well suited to the jungle. They screamed the guttural language of their people and set into the ranks like so many insects, poking and prodding her soldiers.

Another volley of her own archer's arrows was sent out, cries of pain coming from Myrian ranks. Well at least they were trying to make the battle a bit more challenging...

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Aka could feel her spirit being lifted as she silently watched the raging battle, the Dhani was dominating the flow, each mighty warrior claiming victim after victim from the horde of Bronze Monkeys, the Viper would pump her right fist into the air if she had a body. Liss herself hissed in satisfaction as her eyes watched upon her underling's work, painting the ground red with Myrian blood. A cacophony of sounds as numerous arrows were released from both sides, their numbers so overwhelming that Syna herself was shadowed.

Liss warned her warriors to take cover as she prepared her own res, tugging at her djed to exhume her gaseous res from her back, the Dhani priestess crouched down to make her form as small as possible then willed her res to cover herself like a dome. As the arrows fell to pierce whatever underneath, she willed her res to gather earthen materials around her, creating a dome-shaped rock shelter, protecting her form. The arrows clanked harmlessly as they made contact with the rock. She could hear screams of pain, both from her warriors and the Myrian, the rain of arrows claimed some lives, but they would not falter, the Dhani shall emerge victorious in the name of Siku. Liss emerged from her shelter, the dome fragmented as it gathered into a large boulder floating beside her.

A dreadful horn echoed across the battlefield, signalling the arrival of worthy foes. Dhani warriors hissed in concern as they heard the infamous growl of those vicious Myrian tigers, famed for their ability to take on a Constrictor warrior one-on-one. "Do not fear! We will crusssh their feline skullsss!" Liss rallied her troops, but she couldn't deny the ferocity of Myrian tigers. Two giant cats each rode by a Myrian leapt from the jungle trees, one immediately engaged a Dhani warrior, swiftly defeating him and one traversed through Liss' spike maze with ferocious grace. The priestess clicked her tongue in annoyance, she would show those cats how to properly fear fire.

"Kill that cat, avenge our brother! I'll handle thisss one... With a firm command, she gestured for the most experienced and powerful of her guards to attack a tiger while she kept her unwavering gaze to the other one. Her warriors continued engaging the Myrians, including the new horsebacked ones. With her target sighted, Liss prepared her boulder, the stones heating up as she transformed it into a large fireball. The Constrictor opened her jaw wide then hissed at the tiger and its rider, challenging it.

Whether the tiger regarded her or not, Liss would made a pointing motion with her right index finger. The fireball quaked with her fury, the res-core began pushed outwards, firing a bolt of flames to the tiger. Liss knew Myrian tigers were nimble and fast for their size, she opted for a fast barrage of attacks, hoping to get a shot at its face and rider. The constrictor kept her aim as firebolts jetted out to the tiger, while her body oozed out more res, in liquid form. This res seeped under the ground in a circular shape around herself, preparing for a sudden spring of earthen spikes trap should the tiger dare to pounce at her.

[Traverse]

Dhani warriors swarmed around their fallen comrade adn the tiger that had felled him. Some held spiked clubs, others massive swords. Tails curled aroung the tiger's legs, its rider's wasit, flinging her up into the air and impaling her on an already created earthen spike as the rest of the Dhani stabbed the cat to death. The best way to dispatch the beast was a swiftly as possible and without mercy.

The cat howled in pain, but this sound was cut off when a spear jetted through the back of its neck, severing the spine and instantly killing the beast.

More warriors charged up the hillock, but they were not upon horses. Half of the riding Myrians had already been dismounted or slain, the shrieks of wounded horses filling the air, but they were not drowned out by the furious snarl that came from the remaining tiger when a fire bolt caught it in the eye.

The rider snarled his fury as well, but to the cat's credit it did not hesitate for more than a tick before launching its massive body at Lissandra, paws splayed to dig its hooked claws in her, only to have its charge halted when the earthen spikes of her spear punctured its body in five places.

The rider leapt off the back of his mount before the weight of the dead cat could crush him, rolling to the side and jumping upward with two hand axes in his grip, one shooting towards Lissandra with deadly force towards her stomach.

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Excellent work, truly worthy of praises, her elite warriors managed to triumph over the giant feline and its Myrian rider with coordinated strikes, quickly dispatching both without mercy. They used their massive Constrictor strength and skill to overpower a foe said to be the bane of Dhani, a monster capable of overpowering a Dhani warrior, but it was never written that a battle could only be fought alone. A squad of elite serpentine warriors proved too much for the Myrian tiger. The guards proceeded to continue the battle, assisting the others in facing the endless horde of Myrians.

Unfortunately, Liss couldn't spare a glance at her warriors, but rest assured, she would reward them handsomely after this monkey extermination battle, her little fire trick managed to anger the beast, pushing it to take reckless actions, the beast launched at her, only to be impaled by sharp earthen spears jutting out from the ground. As a reimancer, Lyss' main expertise lay in earth, fire and water were to complement her mighty earthen power. The cat twitched for a few ticks, still defiant to the end, before returning to... whatever god that created this abomination.

Her task was not yet done, the rider survived her assault, leaping off the dead tiger's back, a warrior to the end, the male Myrian wielded twin axes, his face showing no amount of fear, only utter rage for the serpentine monster who dared to slay his comrade. The aforementioned monster hissed at him in return, the rage of a mother who lost her precious children, both of them refused to back down, even a simpleton could see that only one may live. The Myrian threw his axe, using muscles trained for combat since birth, the axe flew at an amazing speed, but Lyss was prepared, the Dhani used her res to manipulate the earthen spikes, releasing it from the cat then quickly shaping it into a wall of stone in which the axe struck instead of her stomach, the weapon was stuck on the wall.

Lyss hissed, warriors loved their weapons so she would return it to him... with interest, manipulating her res, Lyss altered the shape of her stone wall, spikes jutted out from the side facing the Myrian, then with a pushing motion, her res pushed the wall forward, aiming to stab the Myrian. Her foe was a veteran warrior however, he swiftly charged, legs flexing to jump diagonally up as the spiked wall passed under his form, the warrior landed with a quick roll, grasping his remaining handaxe firmly on his right hand.

The Dhani Prietess and Myrian warrior circled each other, slitted eyes facing against coal round eyes, both of them each had justified reasons to hate each other. Lyss would grant this warrior no mercy, no Myrians deserved it. The reimancer in Dhani form hissed as res flowed out from her mouth, quickly blowing out as she ignited them into flames, literally breathing out fire. Her foe anticipated this and dodged to the side, charging closer to the Dhani, Lyss changed her aim and blasted out another wave of fiery breath, but the Myrian kept dodging it with agile movements despite his large build.

Lyss' slits widened when the warrior managed to reach her, how could he run so fast? A mighty swing from his hand-axe sent the Priestess reeling as it struck her right arm, sharp bone cutting through scales, drawing fresh blood. "Ssss!!" She hissed angrily, this particular warrior sullied her body, unacceptable. The Priestess summoned more res from her palms, hissing as the casting euphoria, the gaseous res swirled into two rings, each floating above Lyss. The Priestess then transmuted the middle layer of the rings into thin earth, creating two sharp stone chakrams, then she ignited the outer layer in flames, while keeping the inner one in res form to control them.

The warrior wasn't intimidated by Liss' display of magical power, slash them at the throat and any Dhani would fall lifeless, he prepared another charge, but two flaming chakrams angrily flew at him, striking at him from both sides, he roared in annoyance and tried to dodge, he succeeded... but he didn't expect the chakram to suddenly change their direction, immediately turning back after they missed the initial strike. *SLICE!* a wet sound of flesh being torn, the chakrams struck his neck from left and right, slicing his head clean off his shoulders. His beheaded body fell to the ground.

"Ha... ha..." Lyss was feeling the toll of reimancy, more spells and she would tether close on the edge of overgiving, but she must plow forward, her warriors needed her. With a battle cry, the Priestess' chakrams buzzed angrily as they charged towards the Myrian ranks, cutting all in their path.

[Traverse]

Slowly the field became a mess of crimson and brackish blood, some dropped only in spots, some doused with the lifeblood of Myrian and Dhani alike. Another roar came upon the field, at first just a singular cry promising death and blood where it went, but then it was joined by another...and another, and another. The roars were distant still, but not distant enough.

The sound of tiger reinforcements seemed to bolster the morale of the current Myrians upon the field, despite getting cut down in threes or fours when put up against their Dhani aggressors. A bird call went up and suddenly the warriors seemed to form up. They joined together in packs of at least five, swarming the Dhani. It was not always the most graceful manuevers, leaping upon backs and sticking their weapons wherever there were exposed scales, but one Dhani could only focus on so many Myrians at a time, it was time for the Myrians to truly start taking advantage of their superior numbers.

Liss's chakram's glowing like embers brought to life in a forge fire, sliced through myrian ranks like a blade through butter. A caucophany of pained screams were like music to the priestess's ear holes as limbs were severed, guts spilling out of stomachs.

Several of her guards brought up massive shields as another hail of arrows sailed toward her, and if she were watching...seemed directly pointed toward her...

It was hard to tell which side had advantage over the other as more Myrians crawled over the hill, but a noise behind Liss made her turn, eyes widening as she saw shadows creeping from within her temple. A shrieking battle cry went up from within the hallowed halls and suddenly a flurry of colorfully decorated arrows sailed out from the darkness behind her very own lines.

A particularly zealous male lunged in front of her, portecting his priestesses body with his life for soon his scales were peppered by dozens of arrows, sunk deep into his flesh, and when he pulled one out a chunk of skin came with it...for the arrows were barbed.

Now this presented a problem...