[Closed] Player Plot: Desire Demon Possession

[dragoon_pride]

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.

Comments

[dragoon_pride]

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.

[circleprodigy]

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.

[amygdalae]

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.

[justice_is_blond]

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.

[dragoon_pride]

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.

[circleprodigy]

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.