[PQ+] Lost shadows left behind

The battle swirled in chaotic close combat, shadow-cloaked equine bodies and those of the humans fighting them mixing together in grand melee. With the Herd Leader dead the remaining unicorns had gone from furious to enraged - a fine distinction that likely mattered little to the hunters except that the Void-tainted beasts fought without rhyme and reason and were even more difficult to anticipate.

At least they were for all but Vesper. The demigod correctly guessed that his own personal thorn - the Corrupted Colt - would turn its anger and its horn on Alys for her interference. Her magic flowed into Vesper, Healing him even as his own resilience shook off the worst of the last hit so that he was almost unharmed once more. Upon seeing this, the smallest unicorn screeched shrilly, a metal rasp across the bones of their inner ears, and slashed at the Fateweaver with the jagged spiral of bone that grew like an eruption from its forehead, only for its tainted horn to be deflected by shadows that were both darker and cleaner than its own. Mad violet eyes swiveled to pin Vesper once more as it followed the source of those shielding shadows, the pupils contracted to pinpricks as it bared its teeth in challenge of the demigod.

Hadama, true to his word, turned his full attention to the Stallion as it wheeled and set itself for a fresh charge. As it launched itself at him he reached out to grasp the moon's power once more, feeling the stretch of distance in the daylight but pulling the gravity to him nonetheless and gathering it above the black unicorn. With his jaw grimly set he brought the force down upon the horse as it leaped at him. Like its herd leader, it was smashed to the ground, broken at his feet, but he had to sidestep the slide of its corpse across the slick grass--

And stepped straight into the charge of the second mare, who scored a line of black fire along his ribs before he could twist away.

Astaroth had his own problems as the mare he was attacking changed direction abruptly at the falling whimper of the Stallion. His fireball went wide as she swerved and dashed with flickering speed towards the one who had slain her kin. The last mare picked up where her sister had left off, taking a swipe at the Ancient but slipping on the blood-soaked grass and missing by a hair's-width.

---

Vesper defends Alys
Hadama hits the Stallion with Gravity Spikes
Astaroth misses mare 2 with fire
Alys heals Vesper!

The Stallion is dead
Mare 3 attacks Asta and misses
the Colt attacks Alys and hits (Vesper's shield)
Mare 2 attacks Hadama and hits

Hadama: 1073
Astaroth: 153
Vesper: 148
Alys: 130

Corrupted Herd Leader: 0
Corrupted Stallion: 0
Corrupted Mare 1: 0
Corrupted Mare 2: 58
Corrupted Mare 3: 83
Corrupted Colt: 53

// i've got a lot to show for the time you're gonna lose //

Chaos erupts around them with the stallion falling to its demise, though the butcher isn’t unprepared. If anything, he thrives in the chaos as one of Dygra’s own. And while his fireball doesn’t land with the abrupt shift in attention for the mare, the butcher’s not left completely unprepared. He steps aside when the next mare comes careening his way with a shark toothed grin that appears more like baring his teeth, before he turns on his heel and lifts the bladed cane once more.

Focusing on mare 3 who had recently just barreled past him, the butcher slices next to the previous slash in his arm, gritting his sharp teeth against the spark of pain as he sends that very same sensation over to Mare 3.

---

Astaroth uses bloodbane against Mare 3!

Bloodbane (Ancient): Can injure themselves for mastered damage to weaken others at a 1.5x their mastered level with a range of 30ft.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered

The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)

Regional Score bonus: +5 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +5 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Astaroth

// by the time i go, i'll tear you up in two //

and everybody's gotta breathe somehow

The battle raged on, but Alys couldn't move - not until Vesper was healed. As the corrupted colt lunged for her, she braced herself for impact - only to feel nothing hit. Glancing down, she realized that Vesper had cloaked her in shadows that had deflected the colt's attack. Shooting the demigod a grateful look, she released him, turning her attention to the colt that seemed to have set its sights on Vesper once more.

With the colt so close, and the remaining mares on the attack, Alys's options were limited. "I'm going to try to confuse them!" she shouted. Then, summoning her illusion magic, she tried to create duplicates of the human fighters, which would stay near their real counterparts and mimic their motions accordingly. If it worked, Hadama, Astaroth, and Vesper would find themselves with a very real illusion fighting alongside them, and while the illusions couldn't hit anything, they could certainly serve as targets.

---

Alys uses her illusion magic to try and create duplicates of the group to serve as distractions!

Illusion (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create 100% compelling and complex illusions within a 30ft radius.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered

Type: Grey | Style: Other | Level: Basic
Quicksilver Ring | A ring that when worn grants +3 LUCK. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted.

Regional Score bonus: +1 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +1 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

ALYS

I don't know what I'm looking for

The shield of shadows dissolves like mist retreating to his skin, their frayed edges pulling tight around his ribs as Alys releases him. Vesper straightens slowly, pulse thrumming in his throat and jaw clenched tight, though the pain is already nothing but a memory. He meets her glance with something quieter than a thank you, something steady, reverent, almost offended by how close she came to being skewered.

His eyes flick to the colt a breath before it turns toward him, already tracking the twitch of fury in its shoulders, the way it screams like glass against wet slate. "Yeah, come on then," he mutters, the words almost tender with anticipation. His own pulse has steadied, but the shadows crawling up his arms suggest something less peaceful beneath the surface. When he's within reach, Vesper flings his shadows outward toward the Colt, aiming to mangle its legs badly enough to have it fall so it can't attack.

---

Vesper shadow-attacks the Colt!

Magic: Shadow Touch | Can create and manipulate tendrils of shadow. 30ft radius. Shadows share his STR stat.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded

Regional Score bonus: +15 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +15 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

but I swear to God I'll find it

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

The herd was being winnowed down, but it wasn't done yet. Some creatures of the Void knew when to run away, but others knew only rage and destruction, and these corrupted unicorns were of the latter kind. Astaroth turned his blood magic upon the mare that had attacked him, his wound bleeding freely onto the grass and making it slick beneath his feet but the unicorn facing him shuddered beneath the weight of the great rents that opened along her ribs and flanks. Heedless now of the rest of her herd she charged towards him, seeing only the Butcher in her fury. She stumbled beneath the onslaught, her life weeping out in violet-tinged crimson, but rallied as she lowered her horn and thrust with deadly accuracy directly into the center of the Ancient's chest.

And out the back of the illusion that Alys had cast to protect them. Without that, her strike would have landed true upon Astaroth, wounding the man grievously on top of his already self-inflicted injuries. Her doubles bloomed around the battlefield, echoing the movements of each of the hunters so that the crazed unicorns could no longer tell which of their targets was real and fouling their aim.

Unfortunately, the remaining unicorns were not without their own wily maneuvers. The Colt had seen Vesper's shadows once before when the demigod had attacked a mare, and he was wise to the trick now. As the shadows rose beneath him he gathered himself and leapt over their bladed edges, passing unharmed over their grasp. Thrown off his line of attack by the need to dodge, he landed clumsily and twisted to slash at the young man with horn and hooves, missing with both as Vesper's illusory double distracted the beast and confusing its aim.

Hadama was not without problems of his own, but neither did he lack solutions. The Tidebreaker pressed a hand to the blood leaking from his scored ribs and spun to face the second mare with the other outstretched. It was not, perhaps, a necessary gesture, but the results were undeniable. As he focused on the damage that his Gravity Spikes could cause they rained down upon the unicorn, reducing the mare to little more than paste upon the meadow before he turned to survey the remaining enemies. "Bring them both down," he called grimly. "Do not leave survivors." Not, he suspected, that his allies would be inclined to do so after the wounds inflicted on them from various members of the Herd so far.

---

Astaroth hits mare 3 with Bloodbane
Alys confuses the unicorns with illusions!
Vesper misses the Colt with Shadow Touch
Hadama hits Mare 2 with Gravity Spikes

Mare 3 attacks Asta and misses thanks to Alys's illusions
The Colt attacks Vesper and misses

Hadama: 1073
Astaroth: 106
Vesper: 148
Alys: 130

Corrupted Herd Leader: 0
Corrupted Stallion: 0
Corrupted Mare 1: 0
Corrupted Mare 2: 0
Corrupted Mare 3: 12.5
Corrupted Colt: 53

// i've got a lot to show for the time you're gonna lose //

The blade slices and more blood bubbles to the surface as Astaroth takes his aim. The bloodbane lashes out against the mare that is currently focusing on a version of himself that’s very much not him, thankfully, because he really doesn’t want to have to explain that to Danta when he gets back home.

For now, though, he watches as the mare sails past, slipping against the blood and the blow that had been dealt. “Noted.” The butcher hums to Hadama, not that he was intending on it after they’d gotten this far. Instead, he grits his teeth and raises his blood soaked hand to wreath it in flame again, sending another blast of fire at mare 3.

---

Asta uses scorch against mare 3!

Scorch (Ancient): Can generate and manipulate flames within a 30ft radius, pulling heat from the environment or their own body.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered

The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)

Regional Score bonus: +5 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +5 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Astaroth

// by the time i go, i'll tear you up in two //

and everybody's gotta breathe somehow

Alys breathed a sigh of relief as her illusions popped into place just in time to distract the remaining herd members. Astaroth, in particular, seems to have benefited from her magic; one of the unicorns speared through the center of her illusion rather than the Ancient. Still, of the four of them, he seemed to be the one in the most need of healing. But with only two unicorns remaining - and with Asta being further away from Alys at present - it seemed like a poor idea to drop her illusions in order to provide healing that she could - hopefully - provide in a moment, once the unicorns were no more.

So instead she focused on her magic, allowing the existing illusions to flicker before calling up new ones, hoping to confuse the remaining herd members by casting a new illusory net. With any luck, it would prove successful enough that her fellow hunters would be able to decimate the mare and colt.

---

Alys recasts her illusions, hoping to further confuse the herd!

Illusion (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create 100% compelling and complex illusions within a 30ft radius.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered

Type: Grey | Style: Other | Level: Basic
Quicksilver Ring | A ring that when worn grants +3 LUCK. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted.

Regional Score bonus: +1 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +1 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

ALYS

I don't know what I'm looking for

The colt lands badly, hooves skidding through torn earth and damp grass, fury clouding its focus and rendering its charge wild. Vesper pivots with it, weight balanced and movements clean, letting the illusion that Alys cast flicker a heartbeat longer to throw the creature’s sense of aim off its axis.

A flicker of satisfaction curls through his chest as he watches it lash out and find only air. "Quick little bastard," he murmurs under his breath, eyes narrowing.

The shadows at his feet stir again, writhing like snakes in tall grass, waiting for the moment he opens the gate wide. He’s already adjusting. The colt had seen his last move—fine. Let it leap again. This time, he’ll tear it down mid-air. Drawing a breath as cool and measured as the bite of steel, Vesper lifts one hand. The darkness answers—not in a single sweep, but in a jagged snarl of spears and grasping tendrils, climbing not just from below but from either side like a trap closing in. His aim isn’t just to wound now. He wants it grounded, maimed, finished.

---

Vesp uses his shadows against the Colt again!

Magic: Shadow Touch | Can create and manipulate tendrils of shadow. 30ft radius. Shadows share his STR stat.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded

Regional Score bonus: +15 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +15 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

but I swear to God I'll find it

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

The once-fearsome herd of Corrupted Unicorns was no longer the threat it had once been. Reduced to two, wiser creatures might have retreated - or at least, attempted to. Maddened by the loss of their family and their own wounds, however, the survivors only redoubled their efforts to get at the hunters they had thought were prey. Astaroth would find himself once again the target of the badly-wounded Mare 3. Though she staggered as she ran she kept one furious violet eye pinned to the Ancient as she stretched her bleeding legs and turned to lunge back towards him. His fire, though swift, was no match for her speed as she leapt to the side to avoid it--

And directly into the Gravity Spikes that Hadama sent calmly crashing down from above, ensuring that if she would not die by fire she would die from the weight of the unseen moon. The Tidebreaker timed his attack to slam down to the side of Asta's fireball, focusing on the pinpoint aim of his power to either herd her back into the flames or to succumb to bludgeoning power that he brought to bear. Oblivious to the Tidebreaker with all of her rage dialed in on the Ancient, she didn't realize that the attack had been launched until it was too late. Driven into the ground, she dropped with a hiss of shock as the breath was forced from her body and then did not move again.

Alys once again proved the strength and power of her own magic as the reflections of her illusions scintillated through the light, creating two targets for every one that had begun the fight. It remained a useful trick against the Void-touched unicorns even as Vesper sent his shadows to rake and pierce the Colt. Swift as water it jumped again, long legs sending it bounding high. But it wasn't high enough this time: the jaws of the trap closed around it, dragging it down, and the half-grown beast screamed like a woman with a lungful of angry hornets. It hit the grass hard but remained on its feet, ripping itself away from the demigod's shadows. Blood ran freely down its flanks as it staggered but shook itself, and its mad eyes landed on the pair of Alyses nearby. With a wild snort it tossed its head and then lunged for the Fateweaver, but slashed only at the arm of her doppleganger, leaving the real woman unharmed.

"Finish it." Hadama's rumble was implacable as he turned away from the remains of the Mare to see a single beast remaining. Young, yes, but no less devoted to destruction and spreading the corruption of the Void than its fallen family had been.

---

Astaroth misses mare 3 with Scorch
Alys confuses the unicorns with illusions!
Vesper hits the Colt with Shadow Touch
Hadama hits Mare 3 with Gravity Spikes

Mare 3 dies
The Colt attacks Alys and misses

Hadama: 1073
Astaroth: 106
Vesper: 148
Alys: 130

Corrupted Herd Leader: 0
Corrupted Stallion: 0
Corrupted Mare 1: 0
Corrupted Mare 2: 0
Corrupted Mare 3: 0
Corrupted Colt: 21

I don't know what I'm looking for

The scream the Colt makes is sharp enough to cut straight through bone. Vesper flinches at the pitch, less from pain than from instinct, his eyes narrowing as blood smears the grass like spilled ink. The shadows hiss around his ankles, restless and eager to finish what they started—but the damn thing’s still standing. And then it lunges again.

Another swipe, another miss, and he watches it stagger through Alys’s illusion, the real her untouched. He exhales through his teeth, slow and pointed, before tipping his chin toward Hadama.

"Tell me somethin’, Tidebreaker," he calls, voice carrying clearly over the field now that only one void unicorn remains. "Any reason you aint' done your heal/harm thing to finish this off?" It’s not curiosity. It’s not even irritation. It’s accusatory, plain and sharp, like salt on a wound that should’ve been closed already. "Alys is runnin’ her magic thin. Asta’s leakin’ like a kicked wineskin. And I’m doin’ all this dodgin’ with a hole in my side."

---

Vesper says no u to Hadama.

but I swear to God I'll find it

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

and everybody's gotta breathe somehow

Alys’s illusions worked again, confusing the few remaining members of the herd until it was down to just the angry colt. Was it worth using illusions any longer, when it was now four against one? Perhaps she should just use her air magic, spear a wedge towards the colt in an attempt to finish it, just as Hadama had instructed -

But then Vesper was sending some accusatory words towards the Tidebreaker, and Alys sent the younger demigod a reproachful glance. It wasn’t like Hadama had been hanging back, watching the fight from afar; he’d been in it with them, had even sustained his own injuries. But this was not an argument that she wanted any part in, so instead, she shook her head and focused on her illusions, strengthening them and beginning to make them move around, in an effort to disorient the colt.

—-

Alys makes her illusion-people start to move around, in an effort to confuse the colt!

Illusion (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create 100% compelling and complex illusions within a 30ft radius.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered

Type: Grey | Style: Other | Level: Basic
Quicksilver Ring | A ring that when worn grants +3 LUCK. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted.

Regional Score bonus: +1 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +1 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

ALYS

// i've got a lot to show for the time you're gonna lose //

Quietly grateful once more that the void mare doesn’t strike through him - he watches as it evades the blast of flame headed her way with a hiss and clench of his sharp teeth. She’s charging toward him, though, however minimally as the gravity spikes come down onto it and Asta steps back with an exhale of breath, feeling the warm stickiness of the blood that clings to his skin from the rivers its pulled down his arm.

All things that he doesn’t pay much attention to — given he’s very much used to it at this point.

He takes the second to rebalance himself, to hear Hadama’s demand with another grit of his teeth, only to hear Vesper’s response shortly after. Where Alys sends a reproachful glance, Astaroth snorts instead, looking back over toward the colt and sparking hands with more fire, his tail flicks at his heels in a rapid sharp motion like a pissed off feline as he sends a blast of fire over at the colt with as much nonchalance as possible, holding the arm he’d used for his bloodbane up above his heart, more than ready to just go home and be done with it.

---

Asta sends a fireball again but this time at the colt

Scorch (Ancient): Can generate and manipulate flames within a 30ft radius, pulling heat from the environment or their own body.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered

The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)

Regional Score bonus: +5 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +5 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Astaroth

// by the time i go, i'll tear you up in two //

His gaze remained locked on the remaining combatant and did not flicker at the casual drawl of the young demigod nearby when Vesper left the fight unfinished. Hadama gave no thought to him as he kept his attention on the creature that was still alive and seeking their deaths. He steadied his aim as Alys's illusions flickered and shifted around them once more, and the Colt shook its head savagely at the double-vision before it. With another mind-wracking scream it charged blindly, heading straight for Astaroth.

And into the fireball that bloomed from the Ancient's casual hand. Its final shriek lingered in the air before it was cut off abruptly, the smoking remains of the Corrupted Unicorn charring beneath Astaroth's onslaught.

Only then did the Tidebreaker reel his power back in, seeing in unneeded, and cautiously relax. He looked around to make sure all of their other opponents were dead, examining each corpse and noting their locations for cleaning up once the others had left. Satisfied that they were, indeed, finished with the task they had come for he finally glanced over at Vesper with a slight tilt to his head as he parsed the young man's casual words. "My healharm...? Mmh." He gave a slight shake of his head. "That is Noah's gift, not mine." A gift from Vi to his Sentinel. Most of the Tidebreaker's non-gravity abilities were ones that he was certain that Vesper had not seen before, given that this was their first time fighting side by side. "But I can heal, yes. And thank you all for your help." He held a hand to his own wounded side and offered them a deep nod of gratitude as the mist rose around them, soothing hurts and sealing cuts as it burned the Void from their blood with silver light until they all stood whole and unharmed once more.

"If I can offer you a quicker return to your homes, I will do so."

---

Last round! Wrap it up and head out. Dama will teleport-taxi folks to their preferred destinations if they want a faster lift!

Magic: Turn the Tide | Can cause a moonlit mist to rise in a 30 ft radius that heals allies while causing enemies to roll with disadvantage for one round. Has a 2 post cool-down between uses.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered

and everybody's gotta breathe somehow

Alys watched the colt as it charged - straight into a fireball, and straight to its demise. Still, it took a moment for her to let her illusions fall, just in case it wasn't over: in case another enemy appeared from thin air, or one of the unicorns rose from the grave. Stranger things had happened, after all.

With the battle over, though, it seemed that it was time to disperse. Hadama did something that turned the battlefield misty and damp; any lingering hurts seemed to fade away, and Alys glanced at Astaroth, who seemed to have the most remaining injuries. If he needed any further healing, she would be happy to provide. In the meantime, though, she looked around at the group. "Thank you all for coming," she said. "King's End will be safer because of our efforts today." And as its Seer, she felt that she could offer thanks on the regions behalf. "My home isn't far, if any of you would like to rest before returning home."

---

Alys offers her home for anyone to recuperate in!

ALYS