Leyline of the Elven Realm

[Alba Derosso]

A large stone obelisk covered in vegetation sits in plain sight at the center of the dark forest. Despite the ominous feeling of the dark forest, the obelisk hums with a calming aura that provides a feeling of peace. This place is one of power, a forgotten area only a lucky few will ever find.  

[Red Gypsy]

Alba Derosso

Hot Champion_of_justice

The Goddess stood waiting under the shield Rowan had put up over the leyline, adding her own energy to reinforce it. It wasn't much and wouldn't stand up under a direct attack. But it wasn't meant to.

She was also putting out her own call to the obelisk's natural protectors that lived in the forest. The creatures that had been breeding here for generations upon generations, some of them actually created by the energy of the stone. They would remain hidden for now, undetectable as they'd always been. But they would be at the ready for any attack...

Now she simply waited for Rowan to return and join her in the wait for the attack...  

[Hot Champion_of_justice]

Red Gypsy

Alba Derosso

Hot Champion_of_justice

Rowan appeared and he nodded to his sister as he added more of his magic to the barrier along with hers.

The brief time he had with Wren was enough to help him concentrate on the task at hand.  

[Alba Derosso]

The woods around the obelisk were quiet, but noise began to stir. The echoes of cries of pain came from the woods, faint at first and becoming louder with each passing moment. The trees were turning brown at an alarming rate, and leaves were falling from the trees an an eerie fog came out of the woods. Preceeding them was Gado, a smile on his face as he approached the Goddess and Rowan.

"Sorry to keep you two waiting. I suppose you two know why I am here, and I have a deal to offer."

His hands opened up, and two glowing lights formed in them. The lights slowly formed into two small humanoid shapes, vaguely familiar to Rowan. Such familiar eyes and faces, and they opened their mouths to speak. The wind carried their voices to him, faint cries of ' Daddy!' . Gado grinned and looked at Rowan. "A trade. I break the rock, you can have these two souls back. Sound good?"  

[Hot Champion_of_justice]

Alba Derosso

Red Gypsy

Rowan was looking at some ants march by his boot when he felt the flicker of magic nearby, before he heard the echoing cries of pain coming from the nearby trees in the woods.

It was then he noticed how swiftly the trees began to brown as they began to die. Rowan placed his hand on his sword hilt as he saw an unnatural fog come rolling out of the woods.

Then there was Gado, a sinister smile on his face as he approached Rowan and his sister. Rowan wasn't about to let the leech talk but when there suddenly two small balls of light, Rowan faltered and didn't attack.

Instead he gripped his blade tighter and and glared hard at Gado.

"What trickery are you using? Do you think I would be swayed?"

Even though the tiny humanoid shapes looked like what he imagined what his children with Wren would be....this was not them. His and Wren's children were lost to them.

Rowan raised his sword and pointed it at Gado.

"You will find divine punishment for the death of my children and for trying to destroy this stone which is not yours to have. "  

[Red Gypsy]

Alba Derosso

Hot Champion_of_justice

The Goddess knew how Rowan would react, but the tactic by Gado was more than she'd expected for him to use. It was a cruel tactic, but she'd known Rowan would see through it. So when her brother made his stand, she did as well.

She extended a hand towards the obelisk and activated it's natural protectors, the plants and animals of the dark forest who were, by their natures, immune to the harsh cries of Gado's magic.

Then she turned her endless starry gaze to Gado, "You will not have this obelisk. Instead, you will die here. And I will see to it that your soul endures the worst punishments imaginable for the crimes you have committed. You cannot win here. Your master has sent you against foes that cannot fall, sent you to fail and die. You had best prepare for it," she warned him in a cold voice and drew her sword.

That sword hadn't been drawn in countless centuries and actually sang in counter to what he'd called up, driving the harsh cries of his souls back. Her sword had been forged so long ago that even the gods had forgotten how to make another like it. While Gado thought he could harvest souls, the Goddess' sword actually did so. It was also unbreakable and fully able to harvest the souls of other gods. In short, she used a god-killer, a type of sword that could kill any being.

She considered Gado for a moment then looked to her brother, "Would you care to use my sword, brother? Or will your own suffice?" she asked him, her voice calm and simply asking him a rhetorical question for the benefit of the soul reaper...  

[Alba Derosso]

Gado actually began to laugh, shaking his head with earnest glee. " A father who would neglect the opportunity to save his own children from eternal damnation in favor of violent revenge.." He looked up at Rowan with a wicked smile. " You are a man of my own heart. So be it then." He took the souls to his mouth and inhaled, forever destroying them and using their divine essence to empower himself. His unnatural aura began to expand, the ground beneath rotting and growing into a massive circle of corruption. It was even powerful enough to fight the Goddess' s protective circle to a stand still.

"You gods and your arrogance. Immortality doesn't mean you cannot die, and even gods can be killed. Your blade nor your promise of vengeance scare me; only how alike we are frightens me." Gado's hands began to glow as he raised them. "Come join your children in the oblivion. "  

[Hot Champion_of_justice]

Red Gypsy

Alba Derosso

Rowan felt his chest clench in pain as Gado inhaled the two souls and destroyed them. His children.....Wrens children....Rowan was shaking as he stretched an empty hand to his sister.

"Lend me your sword....please."

He held the other sword that Wren had gifted him in his other hand.

When the Goddess placed her sword in his hand, he clenched it tightly as he held both swords at his sides.

He looked up at the growing Gado as the souls had empowered the man.

"No matter what.....protect that stone...."

As Gado raised his hands, Rowan launched himself into an attack. He raised both swords and used Wrens blade to block and his sisters to strike.  

[Red Gypsy]

Hot Champion_of_justice

Alba Derosso

The Goddess gave up her sword to her brother and backed towards the stone then seemed to vanish entirely. Only Rowan would know that she was still there, simply doing as he'd requested of her.

She knew this fight was between the two of them at this point, that Rowan deserved this death for what Gado had taken from him and his elven beloved. She knew, just as he did, that with Gado's death, all of the would he'd captured and consumed would be set free. But only with his death.

So she set herself to protecting the stone in the best and surest way possible, in a manner that not even Gado would think of...  

[Alba Derosso]

Gado slowly knelt to one knee, still all smiles. He was anticipating his own demise, knowing that most souls would be set free. But he was going to ensure that should he die here, Rowan would feel the everlasting torment of turning the demon's deal down. An insurance policy to ensure that Rowan wouldn't interfere when his Master walked the earth. The howling spirits began to coalesce into a solid form, becoming a cruel looking scythe. Facing Rowan, he slowly began to approach as he spun the scythe nonchalantly, as if he didn't care he was going to die or he had something up his sleeve. No matter, Gado was going to make sure that Rowan would never see his children again.  

[Hot Champion_of_justice]

Alba Derosso

Rowan had launched himself into the attack, but Gado simply and playfully conjured up a scythe of souls.

Rowan let out a yell as he finally made contact with Gado. He swung with both arms which held the different swords. He made a horizontal movement trying to cut at the mans middle.


((blergh! sry, its been a long time since I did battle scenes))  

[Alba Derosso]

Red Gypsy

Hot Champion_of_justice

((No worries man. We'll wrap this up quickly so the guild can get back to normal.))

The demon let Rowan close in, and used the shaft part of his scythe to slam into Rowan and push him back just enough for the tips of Rowan's blades to connect with hhis midsection. Gado stumbled back a little, noticing that his flesh was cut clean, and some foul smelling tar-like liquid was seeping from the wound. The sadistic smile never left Gado's face as his fingers traced the cuts and rubbed some of the liquid against his stomach, and brought his finger to his lips to taste the 'blood'.

"I'm very impressed Rowan. Not many weapons can cut me, let alone make me bleed. I see that perhaps I should take this fight more seriously."

The wound at Gado's midsection began to open, causing more foul liquid to fall to the ground. Like acid, it was burning holes through the natural magic the Goddess and Rowan had set up, a testament to the power this Harvester held. His skin was peeling off like poor plaster, and the human-looking frame of Gado melted away into the disgusting tar. The massive pool of corrupting filth bubbled as a massive, grotesque enetity began to coalesce inside it. It towered over Rowan as the tar began to solidify, looking like some twisted fiend out of a madman's nightmare. The beast growled loudly as one swipe of its large hand knocked Rowan back, and the scythe it had dropped grew to accomodate its' size.

"Cast your eyes upon my true self and tremble, puny god. Tonight, I feast upon your soul, and then I will have your wife and your sister for dessert!"  

[Hot Champion_of_justice]

Red Gypsy

Alba Derosso

Rowans attack was blocked as he figured it would be, and as the recoil hit, he felt the slight twinge in the hilts of his swords as the tips had sliced at Gado's mid-section. He was about to slide the blades in the opposite direction, when Gado stumbled back from the attack and seemed surprised Rowan got to cut him.

It was then the stench hit Rowans nose and it had him curling his lip some as, never had he smelled such a putrid stench. Whatever the tar like substance that came out of Gado was, it wasn't 'blood' but something far worse he surmised.

Rowan hopped back as Gado began to litterly melt away, while the liquid began to fall and make holes in their barrier. Rowan kept his eyes on the shuddering tar like monster that was Gado and watched as it grew in size and became a beast not even the nightmare god had probably seen.

Rowan barely blinked before he was flying backwards as the beast had sent him flying with one swipe of his large hands. Rowan picked himself up and his swords and faced down the beast.

It had been so long since Rowan had fought, but the rush of adrenaline made him look forward to this....a smile was on his face as he rushed and launched himself up high in the air, just above the beast. He pushed his magic through both swords so they were engulfed with flames as he raised them up and came flying down right at the beast.

"You'll find that I am not tasty beast!"

The beast opened its mouth and swallowed Rowan whole.

Rowan held his breath as the stink would have gagged him to tears if he breathed. He was in the belly of the beast and began to hack away like mad.

He would destroy the beast from within.  

[Alba Derosso]

Gado let out a gurgled groan as he dropped to one knee, coughing up whatever putrid bile he was composed of. Rowan was making short work of him at this rate, but the demon was not without one last laugh. The power required to sustained this form wasn't going to last, so he chose to let it all go. The tar began to flow back into whatever pile of goo it was, evacuating Rowan to the grass as Gado's human form fell out of the beast. He was cut up badly, bleeding profusely but still smiling.

" You win... god.... this obelisk....stands" He coughed up more bile and fell to his back, staring up at the sky. Funny, for now that the Harvester was dying he could see the world different. This was what it was like to see the world as dying man.

"You may free the souls of my captives..... but... your children die with me." He stated and sighed, still grinning maliciously. His body began to decompose rapidly, falling apart into dust as a rush of souls burst from his corpse. Thousands of souls burst free, but not Rowan's children. They were gone for good.