faderift | Let No Soul Hunger For Justice: And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going

Nathaniel cannot outmaneuver Vengeance's fireball while he is carrying Anders, but he turns his back to the demon, shielding Anders from the fire with his own body. The spell is mostly blocked by his armor, but a patch of his hair catches fire.

Fine. Vengeance can have his attention, his guilt, his anger. But he's never getting Anders again.

Anders is out of the way now, so Nathaniel gently sets him down on the ground before patting the fire out of his hair. Well. It needed to be cut anyway. He straightens and takes bow in hand, nocking another arrow and sending it toward Vengeance's throat. Maybe he can get it to shut up for the first time in eleven years.

Ice stands out from her left arm, skewering the muscle of her forearm. She flexes her hand, tries to ball it into a fist, but it feels weak - too weak to hold a bow steady. Leliana approaches, then, beating one of the demons in the face - or whatever it has that passes for a face - with her bow, once and twice before her knife is in hand.

Few know how Justinia cared for the plight of mages. Few would care to know. Leliana could have done more, but she works though the knot in her stomach as she reaches for her blade, stabbing the demon so she can try to continue her procession towards Vengeance.

The barriers are weak and need to be redoubled, reinforced- Anders is down and injured, fire everywhere, a general casting of restoration would shore them up for the next wave of demons. Adelaide's mind runs through what she must do, power flares in her hand as she settles, reaches-

As ice she'd crafted so carefully, that she'd used with all due precision grows further still than she expected. As it cuts through more than demons- but her allies as well.

As she does harm.

Beyond the veil there's a quiver of dismay, a cry- Compassion flees and Adelaide staggers under the loss, light sputtering to nothing in her palm as she's left cold. For a few precious moments she is vulnerable, staring at the ice that has pierced Bethany and Leliana both, a gutted horror plain in the widening of her eyes and slackness of mouth half open, struck dumb mid incantation by her error.

Then the rifts, then the rage and it is so much easier and productive to be angry, to pull on her own mana and spend the extra few moments to carefully craft the next needle sharp spear of ice in the singular to hurl at the nearest of the rage demons. One target, one spell, no chance of catching anyone else in the cross fire. Not again.

Justice -- Vengeance -- sounds too familiar, too much like the Nightmare in the way he speaks now. He's beyond hope... and yet Cole will not be the one to strike at him now. Not yet, not when there are two more rifts opening above their heads, more demons pouring through to halt their advance.

He sees the rage demon targeted by Adelaide's ice and moves in, aiming to shatter its frozen form with his blades.

Roots shoot up from the earth, attacking all the lesser creatures in the area, Velanna the obvious point of origin. It's deliberate and careful and takes a great deal of her concentration to attack several targets at once, but she's done it a hundred times before.

Usually with darkspawn, but the results are the same.

The ice spike plunged upwards into Bethany's torso, catching her right where she had just begun healing again, through the shoulder and out the other side. She gasped, one hand going to her chest once more, as blood came spurting out her back, and she knew the moment she pulled the spike out that the blood would be so much worse.

So while the others ran around, she fell to one knee and slammed her hand into her own chest, sending a fireball through to cauterize the wound, and then a swift and battlefield Heal spell to take care of most of the damage.

It was the only way she was going to survive this, even though she knew she was leaving herself open for more attacks.

Oh, for goodness' sake.

With Velanna's roots joining her own, Merrill feels far more confident about abandoning her position. Stone's Throw lets her move through the earth to Bethany's side, one arm wrapping around her friend to help her up. The other still holds her staff, and while Merrill isn't really sure if any of the other mages know any Entropy magic, none currently seem willing to use it -- so she will. Another round of Sleep for the new demons, her staff ready to physically beat back any who try to come for herself and Bethany.

"These other demons can be summoned all day -- we have to deal with the source!"

This clearing has definitely seen better days. Two small cyclones spring forth from Kain, ripping loose leaves from trees, pebbles from the ground, and slamming into a lesser shade each, knocking the things back and staggering them. One of the staggered shades stumbles back to Leliana, promptly takes two punches to the face, and as the knife stabs in it disintegrates.

Not too far from her are Cole and Adelaide, taking on one of the rage demons as it crackles and swings. It manages to fling a minor burst of flames at Cole before it's frozen by Adelaide's ice spear in mid-reach for the mage. The flash of Cole's blades hit it just right, shattering it into pieces. A wraith takes its chance as they're distracted by the shattering Rage demon, firing a moderate drain life spell at Adelaide.

Vines sprout up, directed from Velanna, striking all five wraiths and a lesser shade. The Shade retaliates with a moderately strong Horror spell, hoping to give itself enough time to break free. Merrill casts sleep near Velanna, knocking out ten of the demons - all five wraiths, all five lesser shades - and safely reaches Bethany's side.

Vengeance watches her go and shakes its head. The source. She would know about sources. Nathaniel's arrow strikes the side of his throat, mostly glancing off, and the demon looks between the archer and the blood mage before striding forward, into the heart of the fray, and raising another barrier around itself.

"For once you call it true. Demons, and not spirits." For years she'd attempted to provoke him, apparently pretending ignorance. Her whole survival technique was pretending ignorance. "Most of you could go now. You could leave, and Vengeance will only have what is due. Three, out of all of you."

Vengeance raises a hand and sends a severe blast of fire in Merrill's direction. "Surely they are not worth all of you dying. Anders, Merrill, and Nathaniel. Let me have them, and the rest of you may go." As if to emphasize its point, Vengeance sends a minor burst of force magic at the ground Kain's standing on.

Edited (I can words gud) 2016-06-22 00:36 (UTC)

It aches, the wash of that spell. Invisible fingers reaching in deep and yanking on her very bones, dragging breath and blood and again staggering Adelaide for the moment it takes her to find the right Wraith, find the right path and incantation, jaw grit tight against the sudden wave of exhaustion. Compassion still gone, flitting about on the other side of the Veil but this much she might manage on her own. Spite and will twist together as Adelaide snaps out a quick dispelling, pointed and concentrated on the Wraith that's bound to her by wisps of green power and her own energy.

Whether it hits and succeeds or sputters out does not matter. Vengeance speaks. Vengeance demands they flee. Adelaide has had, quite frankly, more than enough of putting up with what this entity wants.

"Vengeance has had more than its due- or were you so wronged by every innocent life lost in Kirkwall? When will they have their revenge for what you did?" Anger coils sharp and cold, cutting through the pain, frost coiling along her skin, fogging her breath. Ice crackles and spins between her hand and the head of her staff, condensing like winter's fog. "I am not abandoning them- least of all now that they are finally free of you!"

Adelaide snaps out her staff, sending the glittering shards of her concentrated blizzard directly at Vengeance. Merrill is right- if this is to end? They must kill him first.

"You broke your agreement." Nathaniel speaks at last, standing over Anders, nocking another arrow. "You took instead of giving. You forgot life and love, and accomplishing things together. He became the body you used. Worse than Kristoff because at least you respected Kristoff. You respected a corpse more than Anders. You abused him. And since you wouldn't go willingly, we gave you as much choice as you gave him in the end. There is your vengeance."

Up comes the arrow, ninety-five pounds of draw weight sending it flying to Vengeance's eye again, though speaking would have alerted him. It doesn't matter. Nathaniel will be a distraction, if he must. If Vengeance wants him and the man he guards, he ought to be a very good one.

"How thoughtful of you to let us go." His voice is dripping sarcasm. Imagine that, Vengeance is giving some of them the easy way out. More like the coward's way. Kain narrows his eyes, loathing how insulting that is. There's no chance he'll abandon anyone, ever. The force magic hits him then, and it feels like a crushing weight bearing down on him. He doubles over for a moment, the pain overwhelming until the worst of the spell passes. But he's a Reaver... so he'll do all he can to find strength in that pain now.

"But I refuse to leave!" He shouts furiously as he straightens once more, readying himself for another jump-move. He leaps into the air, and descends on Vengeance in his Crashing Dive, with his lance in a slashing motion at him.

Cole attempts to dodge the flames, arms up to protect his face, and almost manages to evade them. The heat singes the exposed skin of his fingers and wrists, little red spots that will turn shiny and raw later on. For now, it barely hurts. He keeps moving. The daggers know where they need to be.

Vengeance's words are given no heed, but Merrill's are. Cole has hesitated to attack the demon directly, reluctant to turn the blades toward one he had been so recently trying to save... but she's right. The sooner Vengeance is sent back to the Fade, the sooner he can start to find a way to become something other than this. At this point, it is the only kind thing to do.

A small puff of smoke, like a cloud of dust, and Cole has vanished from all but the keenest sight, now running in an arc to attack Vengeance from behind. As Kain is descending from above, Cole strikes: twin daggers biting at the demon's back.

"You won't take them!" Not as long as he can still fight.

She has always known that this spirit in particular likes to twist things. It wouldn't surprise her to know that Justice had felt she was mocking him, baiting him. Justice could only think in black and white, and she had always been too many different shades of grey -- different than what he was used to, than what Anders was used to, it was likely too much.

Maybe she would pity him, if not for the fact that he'd made so much of her life miserable.

An Elemental Wall springs up as Merrill twists, trying to protect Bethany from the fire that's been shot at her with her body and the magic. Her teeth grit and she releases her friend to move again, calling up a chunk of stone to throw directly at Vengeance's big ugly face.

"You've become everything you ever claimed to hate! You're no better than any of the Templars you've ever fought against!"

The words have Vengeance narrowing its eyes with fury. They know nothing. They are fools that do not understand how years of half-measures have made everything fall down and decay and lead to this. What it has become is needed. A slumbering Wraith off to the side is hit by Adelaide's dispel and crumbles, and Vengeance does not care. They are fodder the way mages have been for so long, the way any pawns ever have been.

"You speak of things you were not present for." There's anger in its voice as it focuses on Adelaide. She has worked hard for mages... but she has also worked hard for this. The combination had not made sense to Vengeance until this moment - she is here for revenge for Kirkwall. She will not have it. Kirkwall was needed. Justice shakes off the wave of ice that hits him, steps back as the arrow pierces the same spot, and glares at Nathaniel.

"I did not abuse. I helped. I stood when no one would. Fewer died in Kirkwall that night than would have otherwise. Hundreds of mages, versus a few dozen people? Templars and those who would close their eyes to injustices, far from innocent."

They're coming at it from all sides, now, and while the barrier completely absorbs Kain's blow, the twin daggers strike and send him stumbling forward. Vengeance's barrier holds, but it's taking a beating. And even the little blood mage clearly wants in on this, hurling a stone that glances off the barrier while protecting Bethany with a fairly impressive wall.

A rage demon joins the fray, enlarging itself so it can take a swing at Kain. Without a barrier, there's nothing blocking the hard blow. Vengeance has no lack of targets. The most immediately aggravating ones happen to be mages, though. It teleports forward, grabbing hold of Adelaide, squeezing her leg, and flinging her in the direction of Nathaniel and Anders in hopes of stalling the archer. Merrill is next - another powerful slam is thrown her way.

"I am better. I can do what everyone has failed to do! I can bring justice to this world, vengeance to those that cry for it, and force eyes open! Do you truly think this world saved? Fixed? I am the answer for that."

Everything has been pain for what feels like hours, but finally he's starting to hear things through it. Combat and arguing. Voices he knows and one he doesn't, and Anders manages to get his eyes open to see sky. Peaceful, open, sky, which he knows is deceptive. Especially as Adelaide yells about Kirkwall. He closes his eyes again to feel guilt and hear... nothing. No commentary. Nothing on how it was justified and right and needed, no accompaniment of righteous fury. Anders' eyes snap back open and he manages to roll on his side despite the pain thundering through his head. Nate's in front of him, but past Nate... Past Nate is such a familiar voice and unfamiliar form, yelling about what it's done. Justice. But twisted. Twisted, and throwing Adelaide, and being attacked, and Anders can't even get up to a sitting position yet.

This can't be happening. This can't be going so wrong. Bethany's on the ground, there are demons, and this can only end one way.

"No." The quiet word is as close to a prayer as he's ever managed. What else he can manage is small, a thin bolt of lightning zipping past Nate to strike one of the shades - the one furthest from any allies. Double-vision makes this a little risky, but he needs time, anything. There still has to be a way to salvage this. Somehow. To save all of his friends.

While the others speak and fight and distract, Leliana has tried to move closer. Her arm aches and it bleeds, but the fight is not near done. After the horror of seeing Adelaide thrown and Nathaniel and Merrill - all of them - attacked she grits her teeth and lunges forward, striking at Vengeance's back with a dagger, sharp and vicious. She tries to move, to dart around and strike again, because Merrill was right. Though killing the others might clear a path, this was the one that needed their attention, their focus, and each moment it carried on was a moment when they were all in danger.

The thing that was Justice has lost its mind. It's mad now, where before it seemed to be testing them. But Anders is alive, and the others need to be helped, and she can do that. He comes for her now, fast -- too fast for everyone to avoid, too fast to be struck by conventional weapons -- and Merrill has options. She could flee, she could try to make the blow softer... or she can help finish this.

Paralyzing Prison is cast to keep Vengeance in place, to wear him down -- and her ground is kept until the fists slam into her.

So now Kain's getting to see what these spirits are really about. He's always loathed the whole concept, but what Vengeance stands for is abominable. He's tired of listening to him drone on.

He's gathering himself to go all out into a major attack, when the rage demon gets in the way. Its blow strikes him hard, its fiery fists pummeling him terribly, slamming into his chest, knocking him straight back to the ground. He's definitely gotten some burns in addition to the physical damage. This pain is good, it'll make me stronger... channel it, damn it... Never before has his Blood Frenzy come so strongly into play, but he's about to see just how well it'll work. The weaker he is, the stronger his attacks should be. Now he's getting a real taste for what it means to be a Reaver.

He gets up, using Dragon's Fang to stab the lance repeatedly, straight out at the rage demon. He's got to at least weaken it so he can get away and try again on Vengeance.

The shade's Horror spell was enough to knock Velanna off her game for a few moments, the visit to the Nightmare's domain still fresh enough that the wounds are raw and easily exploited by such spells. Once she shakes it off she turns her attention to Vengeance, knowing she can't keep ignoring the real threat, even if he'd been something close to a friend, once.

"You're no longer fit to hold judgement over anything," she adds her voice to the others, casting rock armor on herself before shifting her stance, sending a fireball towards him after Merrill cast her prison. "There's nothing left here of the Justice we knew!"

Time - time was all that Bethany had needed and Merrill had bought her that time. She now was burnt, but she was no longer bleeding, and at some point she was going to be fairly embarrassed for burning off the front part of her robes.

Right now though, all she was feeling was grief, and anger, and a lot of other damned things that made her lift her staff to the sky as she twisted around to find Vengeance's back to her, and Merrill just stumbling after a blow. Adelaide was moving across the room and it was all moving fast - too fast.

The spell she was going to try to slow Adelaide's descent was thrown off by the flames being shot by the rage demon, and she turns to face Vengeance once more, gritting her teeth together.

"There's nothing left to you - but impotent rage and delusion." She stated, her voice icy cold as she shifted her staff back towards him, hopefully giving Nathaniel and Adelaide enough time to at least get down, get out of the way.

Then she lifted her hand, bringing about a master over Winter's Blast, looking to turn Vengeance into a brittle statue for them to chip away at. Piece by piece.

Fade step, she thinks, quietly, desperately attempting to scramble away from Vengeance as he lunges, attempting a mind blast, a barrier, a protective wall of frost and managing none of it. Compassion still far and her own focus scattered by the loss there is nothing she can do to defend herself from the Demon's cruel hand.

He strikes.

She screams, bone in her leg cracking under that gripping force, she can feel flesh yielding, tearing under the weight of it even as she scrabbles for the dagger at her belt to cut, to do some damage while she is this close when the leg is taken out from under her- yanking her harshly from her feet. For a moment there is force and pain as the world spins, his hand an agonizing brand around her leg, disoriented and dazed she looses grip of the dagger as she is suddenly made weightless by the toss-

and slams into Nathaniel with a cut off cry when her leg is jarred. Bent, now, between hip and knee in a way a leg ought not to bend it radiates a constant clawing fire that leaves her bruised and stunned, struggling to breathe past it.

The screams are... satisfying in a way that would have been disturbing only hours before. Vengeance does not dwell on that. It is too late to dwell. There is only moving forward and dealing with what is now. Even Velanna has turned.

Vengeance turns its attention to her and narrows its eyes. "You above all should understand. How long did you give in to the need for justice and vengeance? They had destroyed your--" Leliana's dagger goes in and Vengeance jerks back, freeing itself and feeling a little concern for the first time. Yes, the sleeping demons were stirring, but they weren't doing enough to protect it. Vengeance prepares to teleport and is stopped from that as well by the blood mage, and struck slightly just after that by a fireball from Velanna.

Angry at the distractions, Vengeance flings a fireball in Merrill's direction... and misses, striking and obliterating a wraith behind her. Fine, then. Let chaos reign. Vengeance sends a Slam in Velanna's direction, hoping to disrupt her rock armor enough to make her remember when she'd been vulnerable and full of judgement before.

Bethany's Winter blast turns out to be little more than a light dusting of ice and Vengeance laughs despite how things are not exactly going as planned. They are not going perfectly for the people before him, either, especially now that sleep has worn off. Kain seriously injures one rage demon... and obliterates another entirely, ending the laugh. Meanwhile Anders and a lesser shade trade attacks - Anders' lightning is somehow a little stronger than it looks, but that's less than useful when the shade uses drain life and starts to heal itself while hurting him.

Seeing as he's fighting back, a wraith targets Kain with a weak projectile. A Rage demon decides to get further into the fray and catches sight of a very Vegeance-fixated Leliana, sending a powerful fire bolt her way.

The impact with Adelaide sends Nathaniel to the ground with her. He can feel the cartilage around his sternum popping, and his head bounces off the ground before he lies still, staring at the sky with the wind knocked out of him. Seconds pass with no air. No breath. Until he finally takes a tearing gasp, heart pounding, and he can finally sit up. His bow was knocked a good twenty feet away, his arrows have spilled from their quiver, but he first grasps Adelaide and looks her over quickly. It's a bad break. And nobody can help her until Vengeance is dead.

He is going to have such bruises tomorrow, if he lives.

He lays Adelaide down with an apologetic glance, then stands, drawing his dagger and moving into a fighting stance. He has two people to shield now.

The others are getting badly hurt, but as long as Vengeance is focused on them, Cole can follow at his heels, daggers biting into demon flesh at every opportunity. Even once the lesser demons wake, Cole remains focused on the larger threat. Until he is attacked again, he will not give up the chase.

As that projectile soars toward Kain, he does very little to stop it. It strikes his right shoulder and he grunts with more pain. It also hurts to breathe, he’s worried that the earlier attack cracked some ribs. It’s a fine line he’s got to walk now, and he knows it. Too much and he’ll be done for. But just enough damage ought to make his next attack stronger. He remembers and clings to that strong feeling he’d first had after drinking the dragon’s blood.

Adelaide’s scream in particular was sickening. They have to end this soon, or they’ll all go down.

With a much clearer path now, Kain can take to the air again and aim for Vengeance. He grimaces when he leaps, definitely feeling the aches from the hits he’s taken. Ugh, he’s not looking forward to the landing. This time, he holds nothing back as he launches into Dragoon’s Pride. It’s swifter than a normal jump, and far flashier… it takes more out of him too, so it’s not something he can pull out often. If he hits his target there will be a bright explosion of energy in addition to the stab from his lance.

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