( closd ) | what's shimada with them

[eruit]

WHO: Hanzo, Kostos, Benedict, Helena
WHAT: Assassination attempt!
WHEN: Early Firstfall
WHERE: Outside Kirkwall
NOTES: Hanzo's Tragic Life.

It was supposed to be a very simple scouting mission - to go out and make sure that all defences were secured, that there was nothing wrong, that there was nothing that seemed out of place or suspicious. When the world knows that the Inquisition holds itself in Kirkwall and in the Marches then there is always a risk of subterfuge and sabotage; Hanzo is well versed in that. He had lived it for the first thirty years of his life, after all.

Slipping through the outskirts is easy enough for their group. They're not trying to be particularly stealthy, considering it's scouting, but it probably doesn't hurt to be prepared. Hanzo keeps his fingers on his bow, keeps his eyes ready, staring forward with the gentle buzz of spirits under his skin.

(Helena probably recognises it, knows the feeling of being touched by the spirits, but the others -

best not to think about that.)

It's when they march over the edge of a slight hill, stepping as a group, that the pair across from them. They stand out in their robes, clearly Venatori, but it's not that which has Hanzo pausing. It's the band that's wrapped around their arm, fabric declaring their house even if they might be far from Tevinter now.

It's a pair of dragons, shaded with golds and blues.

Hanzo wastes no time, hissing to the others - "Get down!"

Comments

HI SORRY

[altusimperius]

Cutting his eyes to Hanzo when he's advised to be cautious, Benedict gives a small nod, flexing his fingers in anticipation of casting soon.
And then, all at once, it's time. Helena goes for it, and Benedict rises to get a sightline, laying a Hex of Torment over her victims. They'll feel each hit with magnified pain, and the mental effects won't be so hot either.

[eruit]

The two Venatori do not seem to notice Helena as she approaches, their focus entirely forward on the arch of the hill, a frown on their faces. Staff in hands and dragons on their arms, they have no shame - it is the nature of anyone with a drop of Shimada blood to have a touch too much pride, not even pretending to be anything other than they are. They're whispering quietly to each other, walking forward and readying themselves, too close to Kirkwall now, when Helena leaps.

The reaction is immediate.

Sparks light up the hands of the one that she has attacked and he twists, trying to get at her. The other draws his staff with a shout, lifting his own magic to summon something to deal with this monster that has appeared in front of them - at least until Benedict's spell hits him. His cry of agony is obvious and he slips, ankle twisting a little as he reaches to grab at his head.

That's when Hanzo moves.

He lifts himself and lunges, an unnatural movement with a slight glow to it - more than enough to betray the echo his spirits have on his power. Bow in hand, he lifts it high and tilts his head, focussing before he lets the first loose, the sharp edge of the arrow striking the shoulder of the Venatori attempting to throw Helena off through his pain. It's only then that his arm seems to glow blue, one dragon swirling around his forearm: three arrows are shot far faster than the average human might manage, hitting shoulder, arm and leg of the Venatori attempting to protect his fellow.

They need to keep one alive. He hasn't decided which one yet.

cw eye trauma pls forgive me barging in again

[strangel]

Helena's legs are locked, vicelike, around the man's torso, and arm hook around his neck as her other hand pulls away the helm protecting his skull, his face, aided when Hanzo's arrow lands. Her mouth tugs into a vicious grin and it's all a violent, writhing wrestle. One of his hands finds her arm, and a shock of electricity makes her body go rigid, tighten, but she doesn't let go.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

She is the angel, and Hanzo is the great dragon.

"You will not find him," she hisses into the mage's ear, one arm still locked to throttle him, her other hand splayed like a claw as she drives her thumb and fingers into the Venatori's eyes.

[eruit]

"It - does not have to be us," the man chokes it out through his pain, twisting again as he tries to grip at her wrist, to send bolts down her bones, to her heart. He wants to punish her for daring to take him down, to stand against the Venatori, and his agony does not stop him. He is lithe for a mage, dangerously so, the sharp pain of fingers doesn't quite deter him as much as it ought.

Hanzo breathes out as he watches, the dragons curling around him. It's grabbing the attention of the two men who shout, calling for him, but his eyes are struck on Helena, on the defence of him that is so clear. He has not had someone fight for him since... Longer than he can remember. Not of respect, but of affection.

Something tightens in his throat and he turns to look at the others.

"Hers can die! The other shall be ours." Save her name, protect her title from the ranks of those that follow Corypheus. Give the Shimada no more ammunition to use against him.

[exequy]

In the absence of any instruction that he should be careful, Kostos isn't. The three wisps linger with Benedict and Hanzo, and two more are already with him when he slides up and crests the hill, then another two while he approaches at a steady walk, fearless because one is having his eyes poked out and the other is sporting three arrows and Kostos is a quick draw with a barrier besides.

The wisps are less pretty than dragons, but they listen well—to him, anyway—and stream away on command to fan out behind the two Venatori, harassing them from the back with bursts of ice or fire. They aren't very hardy or very powerful, but they are very good at being obnoxious.

As an afterthought, he reaches out and pulls mana from the one Helena has latched onto. Not all of it, but enough that he might run out sooner than he'd like.