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Post by KD on Sept 6, 2013 0:54:02 GMT -5
"Keep helping those poor souls, Yiska!" Klai called in encouragement. She swung her staff upward, the jewel at the top gleaming, and pointed it at the thing, sending lances of lightning at it. Sapphira stepped up and started attacking it physically from beneath, her morningstar crashing into both the chains holding it and its body.
Frustrated at being unable to get at their minds, the creature focused on the squaking that was blocking it, on the little creature that was making the squaking sounds. Sinjun felt the thing claw directly at her mind and squeezed her eyes shut tightly, singing louder in defiance.
There was a cracking sound and the screech of metal as Titus broke through and shoved a massive hand inside, pounding at any metal it found. Some of the cogs and whirling parts of the machine faltered as they were knocked off kilter.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 6, 2013 1:05:18 GMT -5
A smile lit on Yiska’s face as Klai shouted encouragement, and it made his heart swell with great pride to have Sinjun and her kin as allies. He was not alone, they were not alone. They had each other, and they were all the stronger for it. How could evil stand up to a force of good? He raised his hands as his voice rang out clear. Where the light touched, tendrils of spirit magic began to awaken, and bit by bit, consumed spirits began to pull themselves out of the hulking beast. They would join the circling light, giving their magic to the spell, calling their own to join the waking world once again.
One of the spirits coursed down and swirled itself around Sinjun, curling itself to help steady her as it responded to the wishes Yiska’s heart cried. The touch would be warm and encouraging, and the claws’ hold on her mind would be forced loose bit by bit, as if the spirit was using its own hand to pull them out.
Now with crumbling stone, pieces of metal fell to the ground, but some force was protecting them all, and those shards that may have hurt them were deflected.
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Post by KD on Sept 6, 2013 1:19:05 GMT -5
Sapphira broke through the thing's thick skin, ripping open metal and flesh both. Thick ichor pattered down from the wound, some of it landing on her armor. She hissed as it started to eat through, using her cloak to swipe it off.
Titus hit some vital piece of machinery and half of the machine went dead. The thing's screams of rage were pounding at their skulls and despite the spirit's help, Sinjun's song dissolved into a cry of pain, blood seeping out of her nose and ears.
Klai, distracted by the off hand attack on both her niece and her sister, was distracted enough she reacted with alarm too late when things suddenly went quiet. The creature stopped trying to pull the spirits back, its voice quieted in their heads and for a long moment there was only the squeaking and rumbling of the remains of the machine.
Klai felt an odd charge in the air and realized too late the creature wasn't fading away or dying off. It was drawing in its remaining strength for one final attack. She cried out a warning and did her best to throw a shield around them all. Sapphira layered another one and Titus, struggling to get to Klai, ripped a big enough hole in the wall to wedge through an attempt to offer some sort of physical shield as that sick energy buzzed all around them and the creature sent all its power and life force into the machine around them, blowing itself and the room apart completely.
The force of it sent pieces of the machine flying around with deadly force and smashed through the cave beyond it. A rumble shook the ground radiating out from the center of the temple, sending waves of sand exploding outward and shaking the ground as far as the Yitoki's canyon.
Sinjun barely had enough time to stumble to her feet and reach for Yiska as everything in her sight exploded into sparks, flashes of red lightning, billowing dust and flying rock and metal.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 6, 2013 1:34:17 GMT -5
In the lull, the remaining spirits burst out of the beast in a cloud of light, purging themselves from the evil taint. Yiska whispered for the spirits to flee, and thus they did, rocketing out of the hole that Titus had made and speeding for the exit, shooting out of the entrance to rejoin the world of light.
Yiska stopped his chant with a feeling of unease. Though the beast was still and quiet, something did not feel right to him. There was a faint pulsing of darkness, like a muted heartbeat. He frowned deeply, peering at the disabled abomination. It was drawing energy from around it, as if taking one last deep breath.
Two shields went up, and Yiska threw up a hand, throwing up a spell of warding with the last of his strength. He turned his head to Sinjun and reached out with his free hand. As their fingers touched everything exploded.
Back in the canyon, the shaman rose to his feet as the ground shuddered. He looked towards the source, the very same direction Yiska had traveled. He said a prayer for him, hoping that he lived, and if he had perished that his spirit would be guided back home.
There was a ringing in Yiska’s ears as he opened his eyes blearily. He was sprawled on his side, dazed and covered in rubble. He groaned as he moved to a seated position, pressing a hand against a wound below his ear where a shard of stone or metal had hit his head in the blast. He had scrapes and scratches all over his body, thin wells of blood stuck in tufts of dusty fur.
Sinjun… Yiska’s eyes widened and he looked for her. The last he remembered, their hands touched, before everything turned black. How long had he been out?
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Post by KD on Sept 6, 2013 1:44:34 GMT -5
Rubble stirred and Klai groaned from somewhere nearby. She frowned, seeing her metal false legs bent and twisted beneath a piece of rock. Growling in annoyance, she unstrapped them from the stumps of her legs and climbed nimbly over the rock, peering around. Titus had kept the room from collapsing on them completely, half in and half out of the room, his torso shielding them. Klai breathed a sigh of relief when she caught sight of Yiska. She crawled over the rocks and rubble, shooting a wary glance upward where the room rumbled unsteadily against Titus' hold. They'd best be moving soon, as soon as she found her niece and sister. Sapphira was half buried under a pile of loose rocks and Klai worked on shaking her awake.
Sinjun came too slowly, blinking rapidly to get dust out of her eyes. She thought she heard voices and stirred, whimpering softly as pain shot through her. Her whole body ached like it had been pummeled, her head was on fire, and the wound on her side from the dragon was burning. Even as the pain hit her, panic hit even more as she struggled to sit up, pushing at rocks and chunks of metal to get it off her, calling hoarsely for her aunts and Yiska. Especially Yiska.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 6, 2013 1:57:14 GMT -5
Yiska nodded to Klai when their eyes met, giving her a small smile. He noted that she had lost her false legs, and he would not lie that the sight made him uneasy. He shook it off, telling himself that legs or not, she was the same. Klai had found Sapphira and Yiska got to his feet rather unsteadily to search for Sinjun.
His ears picked up movement and the slight shifting of rock and metal as Sinjun struggled to unbury her body. Yiska let out a yelp and ran to her, ignoring the stinging and aching sensations in his body and immediately shifted the heavy rubble off her body. “Hold on Sinjun, almost done.” He had to put his weight against a larger boulder that trapped her leg, and he grunted as he pushed. It rolled aside and came to rest just as quickly.
He then wrapped his arms around Sinjun to help her be seated, scooting on the ground so that he could hold her better. He then pulled her in for a hug, trying not to squeeze to tightly. Yiska breathed in and out a sigh. “Thank the gods you made it through.” He raised a thumb to try to clean some of the blood on her face.
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Post by KD on Sept 6, 2013 2:02:31 GMT -5
Sinjun looked very dazed, though her eyes cleared when she saw everyone was okay...well, not dead, at least...
The blood was dried on her upper lip and the sides of her head where the bleeding had come from but was almost obscured by the thick layer of grime and dust that had built up on her face. She curled into Yiska's hold, sighing his name happily, pushing back only so she could get a good look at him and make sure he wasn't injured.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 6, 2013 2:10:27 GMT -5
“I am well enough,” Yiska smiled at her, and chuckled despite the serious situation. He pushed her hair back from her face. “You’re quite a sight.” Then his brow furrowed. “Are you hurting very badly?”
The sound of padded feet began to echo down the passageway, and Hoti emerged followed by a few others. He groaned aloud as he saw the state that his friends were in, and pointed to his fellow Yitoki to give water to Klai and Sapphira and to begin administering aid where they could while he and two others walked to Yiska and Sinjun. He first offered Sinjun some cool water, then to Yiska, who took the waterskin, doused a clean cloth with water, and began to gently wipe the blood and grime off Sinjun’s face with a tender touch.
Yiska shifted Sinjun gently as Hoti squatted to tend to Sinjun’s more grievous wounds in order to clean them and dress them. Yiska swatted away assistance, telling the Yitoki that Sinjun, Sapphira and Klai should be helped first.
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Post by KD on Sept 6, 2013 13:21:16 GMT -5
"Yiska." Sinjun gave him a stern look that didn't hide the worry in her eyes. Klai came over to get a look at them, besides scrapes and bruises and the burn on Sapphira's arm, the two sisters were largely unharmed. Klai motioned she was fine and nodded toward Yiska's wound on his head. He needed it tended to and once tended to, Sinjun would relax a great deal more.
Sapphira nodded her thanks and glanced up as Titus made a rumbling sound. She shook her head. "We cannot linger for much longer."
"Titus is the only thing really holding this place aloft at the moment," Klai agreed, patting her faithful, long suffering golem on the foot. Magnus, Janus, and the remaining golems were outside the room. They'd moved forward to clear a path for Hoti and the other yitoki.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 6, 2013 18:18:43 GMT -5
Yiska smiled at Sinjun in apology when she gave him that stern look. He couldn’t help himself, he had been worried about her for days. He was grateful that she made it through alive, though her wound must hurt a great deal. There was a throbbing pain in his head where he had been struck, and submitted at last to treatment for Sinjun’s sake.
The Yitoki warriors were efficient, sure to tend to stop the flow of blood from wounds and bandage up the worst of them. Yiska and Sinjun were helped to their feet, and Yiska was rather unsteady. Hoti said it was likely he had a concussion and gave Yiska an arm to steady him. Another helped Sinjun and they made all haste before the ceiling fell upon them.
As soon as they were clear and well up the tunnel, slow moving as they may be, Titus allowed the ceiling to crumble above and around them, not phased by the stone, practically indestructible as he was. The caves shuddered by the force, bits of debris and dust falling upon them, and they were as dirty and dusty as before.
After exiting the ruins, they were allowed to rest and the sunlight allowed for a better viewing of wounds. Yiska allowed himself to be rechecked, smiling as he watched Sinjun. Undoubtedly, he would be sure not to lose sight of her, and would likely be attached to the hip as they so commonly were.
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Post by KD on Sept 7, 2013 0:28:35 GMT -5
Not that Sinjun was making any effort to leave his sight. Far from it. She hadn't moved more than five feet away from Yiska since he'd first shown up and didn't seem inclined to change that.
There was rumbling beneath their feet, likely several other areas of the temple were unstable although the main one still stood tall and ruined in the daylight. Sinjun squinted up at it, wondering how many others like it were in the desert. None of them would hold the horrors that this one did, however. The beast was gone, at least as much as such a being could be. The oppressive feel was gone from the ruins and the sense of it trying to drag the spirits away was as well.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 7, 2013 2:30:38 GMT -5
Yiska wanted to get as far from the ruins, and as soon as possible. He was not inclined to linger in any of the ruins scattered about the desert. Where he wanted to be was home, and with Sinjun in his care. In all respects they had triumphed. The evil that had occupied the ruin had been extinguished and the spirits had rejoined the waking world. Undoubtedly the shaman would find peace in this, and Yiska was willing to join in his happiness. When they were bid to return, Yiska took Sinjun’s hand and was slow to let go of her hand and would not allow the others to take her far, wishing nothing less than to keep his eye on her.
They crossed the desert in due time, and Yiska breathed a sigh of relief when the Yitoki village was in sight. The travelers were given welcome, and Moraji was there, an anxious look on his face. When he spotted Yiska he heaved a great sigh and went to his son. He placed a hand on Yiska’s shoulder and smiled at him. Congratulations were in order.
The shaman was not far away and pride shone in his eyes.
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Post by KD on Sept 7, 2013 19:40:03 GMT -5
Sinjun didn't stray away. Her aunts were quite certain that they could clean up the mess and go through the rest of the ruins. Sapphira also wanted to go to other human outposts and make sure people knew what happened. Every single one of Matthias' followers was dead and so were the raiders that came with them. Sapphira didn't say it out loud but the main reason she wanted to make sure to get a jump on it was she didn't want any blame to be placed on the Yitoki.
Sinjun wasn't worried about her aunts. She did, however, keep looking over the desert, her brow furrowed. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination but where there had only been smooth sand before, she was certain she saw towers and remains of towers jutting up out of the sand. Had raising the temple brought more of the ruins to the surface? The creature was dead but so many ruins coming to light all at once was sure to attract more fools like Matthias. She would send a message to Aunt Klai as soon as possible. She felt better at the idea her aunts would have the jump on these ruins and maybe be able to control people wanting to come to them.
She pushed such thoughts from her head as they came upon the village, smiling happily when she saw Moraji and the shaman. It was good to be home.
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Post by Jenny on Sept 7, 2013 23:57:27 GMT -5
Yiska’s mother was not far, and it was all she could do to restrain herself from gathering Yiska and Sinjun up in her arms as if they were children. She did her best to hold back her tears, but her lower lip did tremble and she let out a whimper every once in a while. She would coddle them to her hearts content when they were gathered in Moraji’s tent. She wrung her dress in her hands in the meantime. Moraji looked at her and chuckled then looked back to Yiska, who was always in arm length of Sinjun.
In some eyes Sinjun and Yiska were a pair, those that may think beyond tradition. The others kept their thoughts to themselves for it would be disrespectful to chide him, for no longer was he a child, and he had become of high rank. Besides, if there was discipline to be done ultimately it was Moraji’s right.
When Moraji had allowed Yiska to go he had come to terms that Yiska and Sinjun would always be together. His son loved her more than anyone else in the world, though in title they may never be married. He would refuse any suggestion of an arranged marriage between Yiska and any female of the tribe, and Fahla knew that to insist otherwise was no longer an option, much to her vexation.
The old shaman, having seated himself because his bones ached and creaked more and more, beckoned for Yiska to come to him. Yiska obediently complied but not before he gave Sinjun’s hand a squeeze. He took a seat next to the shaman and put his hands on his knees, his ears perked in anticipation of a serious conversation.
“Yiska, my boy.” The shaman beamed a smile at him. “You have made this old man proud. There is little more I have to teach you, and to be truthful my old age has crept up on me. My teeth are gone, my eyesight poor, and my thoughts have increasingly been muddled. You must go on practicing our art, for your skills will soon match my own.” He raised his brow, changing his tone to something more serious. “Try and avoid too many distractions,” he nodded towards Sinjun. “I know you love the human girl, but try to maintain some discipline.
“The spirits have returned to us. They will help you if you should put faith in them. Do not stay away from the canyon, for their voice is the strongest there. If you should need guidance in a time of great need, that is the place to go. I will not be around forever,” the shaman gave him a sad smile.
Yiska blinked a bit. Frankly he thought the old man would live forever, sly and sharp as he was. A shaman’s life span was longer than any other tribesman, I was a blessing that came with communion with the spirit gods. “I… don’t want you to leave me.” Yiska furrowed his brow. “I don’t know if I can do this on my own.”
“You will do fine, young shaman. You did me proud, accomplishing so much more than anyone could have thought. You held your own amongst your allies. I could feel your spirit shine across the desert. You will do great things.”
Yiska bowed his head. “You honor me with your compliments, shaman. But I am also afraid. You were with us when I was born, and I couldn’t help but think you’d still be there when I grow old…”
The shaman chuckled. “Our bodies do not last forever, but I will always be beside you in spirit.”
“Yes, but…” Yiska heaved a heavy sigh.
“Don’t think any more upon it, Yiska. You should be joyous today.” The shaman raised his brow. “Keep your spirits up for Sinjun’s sake. You are two of the same heart. You affect one another even when you are not aware of it.”
Yiska nodded a little and allowed himself to smile.
“There we are. Now, return to her. She watches you.” The shaman shoed Yiska away.
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Post by KD on Sept 8, 2013 7:39:34 GMT -5
To her credit, Sinjun was trying not to be so obvious about watching. Only doing it out of the corner of her eye. Really. She was just worried Yiska was getting a scolding, picking up on some of the unhappiness directed his way. Probably because he had come to her. A glance over assured her it didn't look like a scolding and Yiska wasn't upset, so she settled a bit.
But the children had no such concerns. While Yiska and the shaman spoke, Sinjun was kneeling near Tahki while the two cubs that had first spotted the golems, along with a couple others, danced around in front of her, unable to keep still as they pelted her with questions. The wound in her side ached, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it had been, she kept assuring Tahki.
"I should have gone with Yiska!" the boy cub said excitedly.
"Me too!" the little girl broke in, swishing her tail.
"We would have beaten that thing up!" There was a chorus of agreement from some of the other cubs. Remembering the beast's mind clawing at hers and how eager it would have been to have the pure, inquisitive minds of these children under its sway, she had to suppress a shudder.
"What was it, Sinjun?" The boy cub's mother, looking none to pleased with the idea of him being near that thing either, knelt near him, looking at Sinjun with a sober expression. "I....and some of us...could...feel it." She shivered a bit and Sinjun reached out and laid a hand over her paw comfortingly. "It's gone. It's power is completely broken and it's buried deep."
"But what was it?"
Sinjun thought of several explanations and finally said the truth, as much as she knew it: "A god long fallen and forgotten."
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