Battle Hymn of the Republic

"Dear." The blank visage of the Occultus mask turned towards Miyuki. The movement was casual, unhurried, despite the clear displays of threat running through each and every movement Miyuki was making. "I can assure you I am very capable of understanding when a cub I helped raise is the wolf she's ...

There are places and times when pain becomes a final - only - reason to continue. Miyuki's healing spell cut through Riley like a blade through her spine. Her mind blanked. There was nothing. Without the pain not a single of their senses made sense.

Muscles unable to support her she was on her ...

As the majority of Vrey's friends slipped from, or never made it to, their resting places the bald girl carefully folded the borrowed quilt away from her body and got to her feed. Remarque sleepily looked up from where he was curled atop and aguard Kat's gift to them. Vrey tapped two gauntleted ...

"I like this one." Vrey sighed and relaxed. Her body going lax and falling from her crouch to sprawled on her back. She could see both the sky and Doktor Sumedha above her now. "You asking me about them. Me their protector."

The teen's gaze dropped down towards her arms where they rest against her ...

Lyra let go of what had been a knife as the body of the dead mageslayer disintegrated in front of her. There were no licking flames or roar of an inferno in her silent world. Everything in perception had been reduced to an undulating, undifferentiated mass of destruction with as close as she had ...

The elementalist's mass of earth ripped through the head of the dragon; the white flesh of the great wyrm offering no resistance against the projectile and clinging to it as it passed through as if it had only been so much mist. Falling out from the rapidly dwindling body, Riley hit the ground on ...

Lyra barely moved her blade across her body in time. Once for her ribs she blocked. Once for her thigh her blade and the mageslayer's slid off each other their flats passing like silk on silk. The third strike - her enemy moving faster than he could alone from the aid of the wraiths - went for her ...

The gentle touch, the exacting application of the minimum amount of mana, the utter lack of emotion to the binding of a soul-- Riley could feel all these traits in the actions of the enemy necromancer scratching against their skin, buzzing beneath their tongue, bitter between their ears. The ...

"Hey." Riley leaned over so her shoulder was pressing into Eryl's where the two were crouching next to each other. "Hey, Eryl, you don't have to lie to me or hide things to feel like you get to have my help." The stage magician smiled and bumped the other woman again. "You could be going after ...

Riley laughed. It wasn't a malicious sound and the stage magician did her best to try and cut herself off but the laughter still rolled out. "Hey-no- I'm sorry- it-" The woman held up a hand for a moment and gathered herself. "I'm not laughing at you." Riley shook her head. "It is good to see you ...