[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]

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.