faderift | [Closed] Player Plot: Desire Demon Possession

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[Closed] Player Plot: Desire Demon Possession

WHO: Kain Highwind, Inessa, Anders, Rydia, Bruce Not-Banner and James Norrington
WHAT: Backstabbing, temptation, demon-slaying and bad endings. Kain has come back to the area and brought a “friend”! OOC information is here
WHEN: Forward-dated to September/Kingsway 8th
WHERE: Mountains outside of Skyhold
NOTES: Contains violence, betrayal, eventual character death. Also, there’s no need to keep a specific tagging order, just keep things moving and jump in whenever! :)

It had been a good month so far. Kain had explored a great deal, seen some incredible lands and creatures, and overall gotten closer to clearing his head. He’d started even somewhat enjoying himself as he camped by night and traveled by day, unburdened by other responsibilities. But, eventually, he had to return. He had sworn his loyalty to the Inquisition, after all. He still had his redemption to work toward. So he’d started heading back in the direction of Skyhold.

Unfortunately, he’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time when a rift erupted. He’d started dealing with it… only to get overpowered by a desire demon. The creature remembered him from his trip to the Fade and was ready with temptations that overwhelmed him. Kain couldn’t stop it, not when the demon reminded him of what he truly wanted, deep down… to be stronger than Cecil, to be better overall, well admired and respected… and to have Rosa, all to himself. It was the Rosa illusion that really broke him. His love for her had been his downfall once before, and now it is again, in the worst possible way.

Claiming Kain was all too easy for the demon after that. All it had to do was dive in and take over the reigns. Kain’s mind was weak from his past experiences, all too open to being controlled by another. From there… the demon started testing out the limits of its new form, forcing Kain to do its will, exploiting his abilities alongside its own.

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"Mind the ground, Norrington and Garahel." He tries to pitch his voice so that the demon doesn't hear him, but the two named do. The rest of their party is distance, but the glyphs Bruce has laid down, combined with the Paralysis ones that Anders is now adding, will make close-combat a little tricky.

Kain may as well be gone. In truth, he is still somewhere in there, a prisoner in his own body. But he’s buried down so deeply that he has no means to communicate or to fight what’s happening. He can only watch… His worst nightmare is happening yet again, as he’s being forced to watch himself act against his will and harm his allies. All allies who he knows and respects, all of whom he would never wish harm upon. This possession is even worse in some ways than the mind control. Under Golbez and Zemus, Kain could exert a small influence despite being overall their puppet. But like this… like this it’s as if he doesn’t exist at all to the outside world.

He can only watch and pray they defeat him. There is literally nothing else he can do.

The hexes hit, though only the second appears to take effect. Likewise, Norrington’s blade and the mabari each inflict a strike, and the demon is sure to let every pained sound come out in Kain’s voice rather than its own. Just a friendly reminder of who's really being harmed here. But it’s stronger than a human alone could ever be, and the pain feels also quite good, in the body of a reaver.

“I promised you freedom, mage,” the demon retorts at Anders, clearly unamused by his commentary in particular. “It’s still not too late to have it. It’s not too late for any of you…” The desire demon glances around pointedly, eyeing them and probing for weaknesses.

“Let’s test some of this body’s capabilities, shall we?” After it speaks, a red light appears and surrounds the area, a Ring of Pain activated. Then, the Kain-demon springs into the air, using Kain’s power to soar high above. The body certainly responds well to its commands, as it uses Kain’s knowledge and skills to its advantage. As he comes down, he’s targeting Norrington first, aiming the lance downward toward him. Templars are such a nuisance, after all, and it wants him out of the way. When it lands, either way that attack goes, it's already preparing to stab at the next person nearest, using Kain's skills and its own additional strength to its advantage. "If all of you simply give up, no one here has to die. Otherwise, this battle will end in death. One of you... or this human I possess. Either way it ends... you will suffer loss today. Can you truly live with that?"

He has yet to trigger the glyphs, but his new position is bringing him steadily closer to where they lie.

Meanwhile, the lesser terror demons move to attack others in the party, while the rage demon shoots fire bursts in their direction.

Hearing the pained noises in Kain's own voice makes Inessa's heart ache even as she knows the demon is doing this on purpose to make them hesitate. She can't let that contribute to their downfall or the continuation of Kain's own personal hell. So, even as the demon focuses on Norrington, Inessa takes action. She'll cast an Affliction Hex, then summon a blizzard into existence. That amount of chill should subdue the rage demon relatively quickly, and slow down the others.

Garahel remains busy, too. As the dragoon lands and lashes out -and misses, thanks to that hex- the mabari snarls and lunges. Those powerful jaws will close on any part of Kain that he can get, either to cripple him or hold him still for the others to do the same.

Norrington let out a curse, as Kain - the demon - rose high in the air. He knew something the others did not know - what precisely Kain could do with the broadsword. He shifted his weight back on one heel, lifting his shield up to block the sword as it came slamming down on him.

Then he shifted backwards again, sword up, his green eyes glowering as the other demons moved towards them. He couldn't risk letting off a Dispel before feeling the magic let go around him. He felt his movements speed up, as he shifted forward again towards the Kain demon, and he shouts out to Gaharel, "Hold him, boy!"

That is when Norrington moves in for a pommel smash, then over to hit him with his shield, hopefully to take Kain down to the ground where Gaharel and him can be pinned.

Seeing all of this was almost like a nightmare come to life. Not for the first time Bruce couldn't help but wonder if this was his own eventual fate. A rage demon was different from a desire demon, and his own issues were different, but all the same...

Stop thinking about it. These thoughts weren't going to help now, and there was Highwind to take care of.

Bruce focuses his attention, flinching when he sees the Rifter lunging down so abruptly at the Templar -- Norrington. That strike had a lot of force in it, and that seemed worrying. Taking a moment to focus his own mana he channels a spell that would hopefully give the Templar something of a boost to better match the now-possessed Highwind.

He glances at Bruce, but it's only a glance. This is what's coming for Bruce too. And this isn't the time to dwell on it, not when there are multiple demons on the field. Norrington, Inessa, and Garahel are focused on Kain. Bruce is helping them. That means it's time to turn his attention to some of the others, like the rage demon whirling around.

The answer to that is ice, and Anders casts, a whirling mess of ice and snow hurled at the range demon (and a terror demon for good measure.)

The chill indeed strikes the rage demon especially hard, and it trembles, backing up. It’s not completely out of it yet though, unleashing another blast of fire as soon as it recovers.

When the mabari attacks, the Kain-demon simply starts to laugh, a grating sound, worse than nails scraping across a chalkboard. Blood flows from the wound that Garahel is giving him, his entire right arm covered in red as those teeth dig in deeply, holding him in place. The Kain-demon cries out loudly and falls over when Norrington lunges with that shield, bashing him with a loud clattering sound. He squirms under the mabari’s hold, and for a moment it looks like they’ve got him pretty well pinned down.

The more ice that hits the rage demon, the weaker it’s getting. It sends a blast of flames toward Anders, but it’s clearly not as strong as earlier. The terror demon he’s hit shrieks and also joins in going after Anders. The other one, over by Bruce, targets him with an attack.

“Ah, but look what else this human can do!” The demon focuses, moving its weapon arm just so, sending a powerful gust of wind roaring toward the entire party. It should be enough to dislodge the mabari, to let Kain get back to his feet. The Cyclone encircles the group with its cutting, heavy winds, stronger than Kain’s normal one could ever be, boosted by the demon’s powers and the Ring of Pain surrounding the field. He steps back, steps carefully… and right into the middle of one of those glyphs Bruce put down earlier.

The explosion blasts Kain and he tumbles backward, the demon flipping and making use of his human’s bodily instincts to land on his feet. Though the blast clearly did some extensive damage… it’s bad enough that as a human alone, he’d definitely be falling over. Not so as a demon. “Don’t forget! The more you harm me, the stronger I become!” To a point. The demon knows there are limits even to its own great strength, but it will push them, plus use this human’s reaver ability for all it’s worth. He takes to the air yet again… this time making Inessa a target. “You could become the greatest mage who ever lived, yet you wish to throw that chance away! It's still not too late!” He will try, make a last effort, because when this body eventually fails he’ll clearly have to go for a new one.

Inessa gasps and falls back into a defensive position as the powerful gust of wind encircles them. She renews the Barrier spell just in case, hoping her Hexes on Kain will hold out for a while longer, as she needs to do more than be in the supporting role if they're to take him down. When the demon dares speak to her, she scowls at the being in Kain's body as Garahel, gets to his feet, prepared to renew his attack.

"Shut. Up." She'd wanted to focus on the Rage demon, easily picking off one more target from the battlefield, but the demon isn't giving her any choice. She casts Stonefist, hoping that the spell slamming into him will be enough to change his trajectory.

Edited 2016-09-08 13:57 (UTC)

This battle was really going to take a toll on him. Bruce grits his teeth as he casts a barrier of his own to protect the worst of the attack comes for him, but its still enough to stagger him backwards. The blast of wind that comes after that doesn't help either. It's strong - unnaturally strong, and he can feel it starting to cut into his skin where it isn't protected by the armor.

No - no, he can't let that happen. It'd make the situation worse. Quickly Bruce heals himself before the cuts can start to bleed, enforcing his own barrier just in case. Its enough to last through those winds and once it dies down Bruce quickly tries to get back on the offensive. He casts another few more glpyhs on the ground, setting more traps for the demon and further limiting his field of movement.

Great. Fire. Just what he always wanted. And a terror demon. One day Anders will learn a way to not make himself a target. ...Until then, he's quickly casting ice all over to put the flames out on him and the rage demon while scampering back from where he thinks the terror demon might pop up. Next is healing, easing the burns just enough that he can keep moving. Later he'll take care of the serious damage. For now, he'll grit his teeth and deal.

"You're not winning this one. You could still retreat." His voice is ice cold, edged with anger and pain. Demons never listen, but he wants it clear that they're not listening either.

James let out a grunt of pain as he flew backwards, hard enough into the ground to hear something crack when he landed. He hissed but pushed himself to his feet, holding his sword up to yell, "For the Maker!"

And as Anders's words finished echoing, James called down a Holy Smite on the demon, slamming his sword back down to the ground.

The Stonefist slams him downward, the demon catching himself just barely, taking advantage of the human’s reflexes to land on its feet, using his body’s natural abilities. He groans, getting back upright to deal with what’s happening on the ground.

“Ha! You know as well as I do that it’s too late to turn back now.” As it is, the demon will surely need a new host with the way this one is getting beaten up. This body can take a lot of pummeling but sooner or later it’ll be too much. “If you won’t take my offer, you’ll die.”

There’s a roar from the rage demon as it shudders under the icy assault, Anders’ attacks finally causing it to tremble and fall, defeated. The terror demon, however, keeps up its assault, and the second joins its fellow.

Unfortunately for the demon, James’ Holy Smite knocks him back for a heavy landing in one of those glyphs. There’s a massive burst of flames as the demon is hit straight on… As it climbs back to its feet, it’s burning with anger. Kain’s body is banged up, but the demon inside is keeping it going, forcing it to move when it rightfully should collapse.

With a growl, the demon lashes with Kain’s weapon at Bruce, payback for the glyph casting. It can sense, of course, one of its fellows within the man… but it’s hardly an issue when it’s not even on the forefront. All the demon cares about at the moment is getting rid of this group. All of them.

The demon unleashes a Scream upon them all, its piercing voice echoing dangerously around the surrounding area.

It keeps swinging Kain’s lance wildly toward the group after that’s cast, making the most of the reaver’s abilities while it still can. Pain is strength. Though any hits that actually strike will still be pretty strong... the body is already faltering, its motions starting to betray just how damaged its host really is.

While the demon's attention is elsewhere, Inessa places an array of ice mines just in front of her. If it attempts to land near her again, it will be engulfed in ice, as will any other which approaches. Then, she turns her attention to the dragoon, steeling herself against feeling pity for the damage done to its body so far. They can't hesitate, not if they want to survive. So, she focuses again on her magic and whenever Kain is on the ground, she'll try to keep him there with a ring of ice, which sprouts up from the ground to encase him.

Crap. Bruce just manages to catch the demon lashing out towards him and he raises the staff in his hands just in time to fend off the strike. A good thing too, since that blade he uses looks incredibly sharp and bleeding was a huge no in any scenario.

Still, this was a chance. With the blade lodged with his staff Bruce uses his free hand and with a burst of mana casts Flashfire at the demon - a bright, searing flash of fire right on it in the hopes of distracting it enough for Bruce to make his retreat and put some much needed distance for it.

The slash of a terror demon is not easily dodged, especially not by him, not when there are two. His arm is cut to the bone and he grunts in pain, nearly dropping his staff before grabbing it again with his other hand.

Anders mind-blasts, trying to send both terror demons back before sprouting ice spikes back at them, also trying to drive them back.

Fire and ice. Both of them are whirling at the demon now.

He clashes with Bruce and attempts to use his strength as a fighter to drive him back, relying on the body’s natural capabilities as a warrior. The blast of fire cuts that attempt short, and the demon forces the human body to flip backward, out of harm’s way. Or… not entirely. There’s terrible fire damage along his chest especially, armor burnt away and blackened in places. The skin under it is in little better shape, of course. The accumulation of injuries is finally working more against it than for it.

The icy blast also strikes him with chilling damage, as Inessa’s power surrounds him. The sharp, painful ice stabs through its human form. It sidesteps to evade one of those mines, only to get confronted by the icy ring she’s casting.

One of the terror demons looks to be on the verge of collapse as the ice stabs it, nearly breaking it half apart. Still, it makes a weakened attempt to counter before it collapses fully. The other one is in… slightly better shape than its fellow after that blast, as it makes a hideous noise and goes after Anders again.

The desire demon snarls in rage and frustration. Every ache and pain is now all too evident in this human form, and it’s clearly on the verge of collapse after being bombarded so many times over. “How weak… how weak all of you are. I could have given you so much… acceptance without judgment…revenge for the fallen… freedom… arcane wisdom… a connection to the power you lost… and you’ve all chosen to throw it away! Fools! Weak and bound by your worthless limitations…” It looks at them each in turn as it lists their desires one by one, Bruce, James, Anders, Inessa, and even Rydia, despite her refusal to fight.

It’s getting desperate now. Very desperate. The human form of Kain shakes, as the demon violently separates out from the human’s body at last. All Kain knows at the moment is excruciating pain, and his mind is a disoriented mess. As he collapses, the demon stands right in the way, blocking anyone from getting close to the fallen dragoon. The desire demon moves in a Cursed Dance, attempting to knock over who it can, before it blasts the whole area with a Cone of Cold.

The Cursed Dance and Cone of Cold succeed in knocking Inessa back and sending her tumbling. She winces and tries to stand before the demon can do more to them, shooing Garahel away. He needs to focus on the demon, not her, so he does, darting forward to leap at the demon and clamp his powerful jaws on some part of it. Sorry, Kain.

Back on her feet, Inessa quickly downs a lyrium potion to restore some of what she's lost already and renews her Barrier before turning her attention back to the demon in Kain's body. Freezing it in place only seems to work for so long, but if she can buy the others some time, she will. Thinking quickly, she casts Winter's Grasp to encase him in ice or at least slow him down. Any other demons still standing nearby will regret it as the chill reaches them too.

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[Closed] Player Plot: Desire Demon Possession

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