A Walk in the Dark (open)

[Taoofbalance]

The place was known for unspeakable evil, acts of cruelty and creatures of darkness; it was the kind of place that everyone knew about yet no one spoke of, even if you whispered its name there was a fear that something would slither out from the shadows or come from under your bed to get you.

Only the truly dark survived in those lands, though many would-be-heroes have attempted to make their name there. The land was reserved for the wicked now, for those souls that either had no chance at redemption or didn’t care enough to try. It was not safe to walk around alone and only a fool traveled the main roads, especially at night, when those creatures scorned by the sun came out to feed.

Yet, that was exactly the time and place an individual person crossed over into the dark places borders. His large form was shrouded by a thick, heavy and black cloak where the only distinguishing feature was a large sword strapped over his back with its obsidian hilt protruding out over his left shoulder.

His steps were solid, each landing with a resounding thud before the next foot rose. Each step left a large booted print that sank into the ground and cracked hard ground. The sound of metal scraping on metal echoed as he moved, obviously the man was heavily armored under that large cloak. In that armor he stood over six and a half feet tall and weighed at least three hundred pounds, yet his pace did not slow in the slightest as he delved deeper into the forsaken lands.

The cloaked individual stayed to the center of the road, preferring to appear oblivious to the creatures that followed on the outskirts of his vision to the far sides of the road. In truth the man knew that he was being watched and followed, yet, he knew the things would not attack. He had a palpable aura that extended nearly thirty feet from him in all directions that reeked of death, hatred, blood, inspired fear and dominance. It worked well to keep those with a weaker will-power away, while it seemed to only attract the truly powerful.

[Callie]

A strong gust of wind seemed to blast down the road that the man was on. But the odd tghing about  this wind is it began to circle and stir up some dust some what far away from this odd man who was cladded in armor under a large cloak. Piercing blue eyes looked out at the man from the dust cloud as it began to drop to the ground. There she stood. The one who all believed belonged to this dark realm. Callie Rose Allivitiar, Banished sister to the grand Zanryu Allivitiar and Damned queen to the hell hole named Zoir.

Callie's long white hair was pulled back into pig-tails with a rose band around each one which matched the same band around her neck. In her hand she held a long stem rose that she had held up to her nose to smell the sweet scent that this fully blossomed rose was creating.

Callie had such a youthful, sweet, and innocent look but that was far from what she was. Callie was a prime example of not judging a book by its cover. She was way worse then her cover. She peered right at the man with her eyes as if she were peering into his soul.
 
A soft chuckle came from Callie's throat as she let her hand fall.

" Young boy do you have any idea where you are?"

Callie's voice even sounded innocent. She loved her look and she had the powers and fighting skills to back it up. But Callie was and evil soceress, hand to hand combat was not her thing.

[Dyew]

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke

It was chance he was there.  He was traveling alone as he sometimes does, returning to Guild Keep in the Ruined Nation.  It had been long since he had set foot in the tavern he called home. 

That stranger never altered his path to avoid dangerous areas.  He was beyond the fear of death and some thought even beyond its reach.  So it was that he crossed paths with something he would not hesitate to cut down if only to save the innocent from its foul touch.  He stood in the center of the road blocking the direction the foul thing had been moving in.

Like it, he was cloaked and hooded completely in black but unlike it no aura extended beyond the confines of his clothing.  Besides masterwork leather boots that held the glint of silver and the tip of a well groomed beard nothing was discernable except that the stranger was in fact alive.  He stood away from them at a distance of no more or less than thirty feet and waited.

[Taoofbalance]

To the onlooker Nex would certainly be a frightening individual, his large size and presence alone were to persuade many would be heroes. However, there was always the exception. He lumbered on, lost in his thought trying to pull memories of his past, before his current state of being. He could only remember glimpses and strong emotions came to him in glimpses. It was frustrating for Nex and for a man run gambit by his emotions frustration quickly turned into anger.

Nex almost didn’t notice the creature that came from the dust cloud, he was lost in his own thought. But when he did finally register what was going on he felt an unquenchable thirst for destruction one that he fought valiantly to hold in check. Black eyes, darker then shadow of his cloak stared at the deceptively small and petite female that spoke to him. He debated answering.

To him her voice was thick with confidence as well as arrogance, she came to him unannounced and seemingly to pick a fight. The urge to slaughter her was rising from within. She called him young… so be it he thought, he wouldn’t bother to correct a trivial detail.

“Yes.” Was all he responded with in his deep and gravelly sounding voice.

The other man he could feel before he could see but it did not take long for Nex to see him standing off in the distance. Another with a desire to fight Nex told himself and he forced himself to take a step back and focus his mind trying to push out the thoughts that swirled within.

[Callie]

Callie's eyes quickly glanced at Dyew as a soft giggle came form her throat. She looked back towards this man cladded in armor and smiled. It was true that Callie's body was small and petite for it was still the body of a young teen. Callie's vampire blood held her outer youth but her mind and soul was older then many whom she had approached. Callie began to walk toward this man with a small smile on her face. She lifted her hand and placed it upon his stomach.

               " I'm not here to harm you. Simply to make friends........It has been centuries since I've seen a man of your height and weight...... I was married to him.......Then I betraied his family and took over the throne of Zoir!! But you have me stumped. I wish to understand you...."

Callie's hand lifted off his stomach. She stepped back from him and giggled.

              "My name is Callie Rose Allivitiar.... Queen of the damned land named Zoir, Last of the Allivitiar family, and an elder vampire Sorceress."

[Dyew]

Callie lifted her hand and placed it upon Nex’s stomach.  There was a rush of movement and a quick tred forward was followed by many more as Dyew advanced.  

"I'm not here to harm you, simply to make friends.  It has been centuries..."

The distance was split in half within the course of five seconds.  The warden's right hand coiled forward and across his body to his left hip.  Jagged white lightning lit his advance and ran up and down a blue tinged plate paldren, bracer, and gauntlet that was clearly visible upon his right arm.  The eyes under that dark hood came to brilliant light in the form of mithril fire.

"...since I've seen a man of your height and weight.  I was married to him."  

Ten feet now and closing fast.  Dyew's body twisted.  Muscle sinew, and bone straining under his armor.  

"Then I betrayed his family and took over the throne of Zoir! But you have me stumped. I wish to understand you..."  

Dyew was now in range to strike and if he had any care for Callie be that for ill or for good it was not shown.

-- The Warden's Cloak is active, providing existential, dimensional, and planar anchoring.  He can not be unnaturally pulled, pushed, or shifted by his will or against it through or beyond the planes, dimensions, or existence as a whole.  He can not be erased or removed from existence without causing irreparable damage to existence.
Health Level: Healthy - Dazed - Injured - Wounded - Incapacitated - Near Death
Weariness Level: Hale - Winded - Tired - Weary - Spent - Exhausted
Ond Level: Minor - Lesser - Common - Greater - Superior
-- Dyew’s next attack with his right arm will travel half the speed of light.  Pushing a material object to such speeds causes other effects.
-- Interrupts result in a changing of every players’ action.  This is a combat situation and Callie’s player over extended.  It is within Taoofbalance’s right to have his character react to each action as it takes place.  If uninterrupted Dyew will perform his next action and resolve it directly after Nex’s first action and the resolution of that action.

[Taoofbalance]

Obsidian eyes watched Dyew as the vampires spoke to him, the man was peculiar. Yet, he seemed familiar to Nex; an image, thoughts, and emotions danced at the edge of Nex’s memory, taunting him. A feral snarl betrayed his frustration as his fading memories continued to evade him.

He had heard Callie but hadn’t registered what she said until her hand was upon the armor covering his stomach. Betray? Nex eyed her for a moment, though she would see utter darkness, black orbs with no other color studying her.

“Play your games elsewhere, vampire.” He looked up to see Dyew approach and with one swift motion brought the large claymore from its resting place across his back. He held the weapon easily in one hand, a near impossible task for most men.

The human seemed intent on closing the distance, regardless of Nex’s reach advantage. The Risen Ones blade, in his left hand, arched back and as Dyew closed within it’s range he brought the mighty weapon across in a horizontal slash that could cleave a bull in two if it struck, and if it struck Dyew it would likely cleave in half at the wasit.

[Callie]

Callie laughed as she felt the presence of Dyew closing in on her.  She held up her hand once more, her eyes flashed, as her body disappeared. A small giggle would be heard among the wind as she reappeared behind Dyew.

                         " You've witnessed me for many years, even were and ally of mine and yet you still believe you can sneak up behind me, Dyew."

Callie's eyes looked foward over Dyew's shoulder to Nex.


                          " You talk to me as if I am a rodent, but this rodent could be your greatest ally sometime!"


Callie stood there waiting a reply.
                 

[Dyew]

Homo sapiens or humans, are bipedal primates in the family Hominidae but despite Dyew’s likeness to that species, he was not a human.  What happened next would likely be a very sever punishment for Nex’s ignorance.

More talking followed even as Dyew halved the distance.  As the gap was closed Nex drew his weapon.  The movement that followed would not register on human eyes.  Nex's claymore hit something hard with considerable weight to it and Dyew was pushed to his right, Nex's left yet managed to keep his feet.  There were sparks and a surreal ring as Godr was drawn completely out of it's sheath.  Dyew had blocked Nex’s strike on the draw but such an audacious act cost him great pain.

Hand moved over hand and the right foot moved forward.  That simple motion was followed by the release of tremendous force as sword and lightning were joined.  Godr moved at half the speed of comprehension and sheered a path that could cut through the mind and soul just as easily as naked flesh.  Behind the blade trailed its wake; a super heated wave of air traveling many times faster than the crack that would follow as lightning discharged off the blade.

If the weapon struck Nex he would not bleed.  The blade would cauterize any wound it caused but heat can not cauterize the soul and this is the deadliest property of the blade the warden wielded.  Dyew was now positioned with his right side to Callie.  Callie was at Nex’s left side.  This meant that Dyew never tried to sneak up on Callie but if Callie did not move she would certainly be hit with the discharge of electrical energy and the blade’s wake of super heated plasma.

-- The Warden's Cloak is active, providing existential, dimensional, and planar anchoring.  He can not be unnaturally pulled, pushed, or shifted by his will or against it through or beyond the planes, dimensions, or existence as a whole.  He can not be erased or removed from existence without causing irreparable damage to existence.
Health Level: Healthy - Dazed - Injured - Wounded - Incapacitated - Near Death
Weariness Level: Hale - Winded - Tired - Weary - Spent - Exhausted
Ond Level: Minor - Lesser - Common - Greater - Superior
-- Dyew’s next attack with his right arm will travel half the speed of light.  Pushing a material object to such speeds causes other effects.