[RE] light it up, up.

legends are slippery little things. for the glory that coats them

hides the pain, suffering

The control sizzled in his palms, and for one glorious moment, he recognized the power, the prowess, in his hands, savored, relished the sensations of fire crackling in his dominion, in his supremacy. It would have been triumphant, something to behold, if he wasn’t immediately smothered with lungs in his throat, in his lungs, like toxins, like poison, chest quaking with the effort of expelling it all through his mouth. He rumbled and growled, listened to the way the house seemed to scream, because there were other things here, worse off than the fire.

Monsters? he threaded the notion through the piercing flames, drawing them before him while his attuned connection segmented out to the others. His eyes stung and closed as he backed away, slowly, closing his lids for a moment and just feeling the flames follow him, at his command, at his demands. There were others calling and yelling, Remi’s insinuations of it is only a building; and it might’ve been true, but that didn’t make this any better.

But he could do this. He could help.

Then Amalia was there, screaming his name, and between coughing and rapid blinking, eyes watering with the effort, tugging on his arm, striving to make him leave. Keep the others safe.

What about here – can’t he here, can’t he, can’t he?

He maneuvered an inquiry towards Remi, towards all the others capable of hearing him; he cannot talk, only hack, only wheeze, only breathe in the fumes again and again. Let me know when everyone is out. A pause, a clenching of his jaw. I can bring it all down. The Sword backed into the Shield for a few moments, waiting for the finality, as the inferno continued to heed his requests.

and death that spun them

DEIMOS

Peter

It would take more than claws on him to break his concentration, though the feeling of them is more than a little worrying. But some force trying to stop them must mean they’re doing the right thing. Hopefully. Peter turns, just enough to see Adam, make sure he’s alright, and sees the horn glowing hot. With a thought, he diverts some water over the horn itself, hoping to cool it for his partner, keep it bearable.

Enough to get them back out, at least. This is more than he can handle, and he isn’t willing to get either of them more hurt for some place, though there is some worry for anyone who might be left inside. All he can do is try and keep the flames from consuming the door to outside, and keep their path clear of flames.

---

Peter gives up and goes back outside, but works to keep the exit clear for Deimos and Amalia

I don't wanna live that way
I do not wanna live in pain

Coding base by Sky/Odd!

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels As the horn became hot Adam dropped it and put his fingers in his mouth, whistling for Coffee to come from wherever the dragon was hiding away from the fire and grab it, hoping that his scales and internal flames might make the creature more resistant to the temperature of the horn. Coffee would try to take the horn out to the door and throw it in the snow, hoping to cool it down. With that done, it seemed Pet thankfully realised they weren't doing anything productive here. "Amalia, come on!" He yelled out into the guild then ran with Pet to the door, looking out at the Luxere and people slowly departing. "Wait a sec, please!" Adam shouted out, hoping they would stop long enough them all to catch up. If his horn was cooler, he would bend down to pick it up. -- Adam gets Coffee to take the horn outside to cool down, then goes to the door with Pet and yells for the luxere party to wait for them. He tries to pick up his horn again. But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

black hearts, the wicked never rest. i curse the day i let you in

so tell me dear,

Oh her fractured edges do nothing to Hotaru as the woman gets in Kiada’s face. All she can do is writhe, sneer, try to keep herself out together as much as possible. And she tells her that she won’t lose her, and Kiada can feel the tears rise to the surface again. Then, Hotaru is off of her, hand wrapped around her wrist to pull the Harpy up and with her. But there’s so much happening, and she finds herself stumbling toward the Luxere herd as it disappears from the Guildhall.

“Aunu, go back!” She calls to her companion, the Luxere parting from the rest of the herd to return in case there’s no Luxere left for Deimos, Amalia, Adam, and Peter.

---

Kiada leaves with Hotaru, but sends Auni back to help guide them if they miss the bus!

can your heart still break?

if it's already stopped breathing?

KIADA

RONIN

“To the Temple,” Ronin agreed, having retrieved his daughter from his projection that he might allow it to fade. She whimpered a mixture of fear and shock, her face pressed against his shoulder, and he absently hushed her against the sound of crackling flames and singing voices. They began to move with the herd, and though every fibre of Ronin wanted to stay, to ensure that everyone was alright... he could not and would not risk his daughter.

Heart hammering at being outside - again - on this particular night, Ronin drew a long and shaky breath and committed to his course. In the background, everything he had build since arriving at Caido burned to the ground.

a star in someone else's sky

Coding base by Sky!

MELITA

The world billowed and churned; and the refuge she’d craved, the Monster Hunters she’d joined, pledged, and promised to, seared and smoldered around them. She wanted to take a moment just to glimpse upon it one last time, one last moment, swallowing down the tears, the useless, inept sentiments devouring her whole – she was nothing now, not in the face of the blaze. Instead, the youth could only oblige with the rest of them as the herd began to leave, as she trickled in amongst their glowing glory, as she continued to sing and sing and hum and hum, striving to keep them calm as they began their pilgrimage towards the Temple, towards more safety, more sanctums.

She's so hard to please
But she's a forest fire

Tick tock, goes the clock,
                         as the air it turns to ashes
      Tick tock, goes the clock,
                                no time for second chances

---

Deimos and Amalia wait inside. The luxere herd does not wait.

RaNdOM EVENT

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels OK so they weren't waiting. Adam grasped Pet's wrist, yelled at Coffee to follow, and ran as fast as he could, closing his eyes and trying to send a desperate mental apology to Amalia inside, hoping all he could that she was safe inside. It seemed unlikely, but he couldn't dare to think the other thing. --- Adam grabs Pet's wrist and runs as fast as he can towards the herd. But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

i sailed seas of emotion to wander a forest of scars

i am a dance of light and darkness

She lets her hand wrap into his for only a moment as around them chaos continues to unfold. She has no power here, but he has mastery, and she trusts - must trust - that he will be safe. Remi and Jigano's cries in her mind, the smoke, the sparks, the licking flame- they are all nothing next to her aching heart as she moves to step away from him. I'll get them out. But you have to follow, now.

To Remi, to Jigano, to all who will hear she calls out through the Attuned bond: We'll be okay! Stay with the luxere - keep them all safe! Then she, too, makes her way to the outside of the temple, making sure that no others remain and waiting with Jyoti and her dream fish and her breath held and her heart in her throat for Deimos to escape into the night, as the herd of luxere drifts away.

---

Amalia waits for everyone to be out and leaves with Deimos.

a galaxy of shadows and stars

Amalia

legends are slippery little things. for the glory that coats them

hides the pain, suffering

They’re gone.

They’re safe.

He backed away, away, away, watching the flames follow him, assembled in his mind, in his prestige, in his prowess – breathed again, faintly, through the fumes, and once he was at the door, out into the expanse, in the cool, dark, crisp air, in the brethren of monsters and mayhem, he inhaled.

The fire heaved in his wake, building and building and building until it was a roaring crescendo, an unfurling inferno, bright and brilliant, fervent and disastrous, licking over the wooden granules, the carefully woven tapestries, the beatific rewards for monsters slain, the requests for demons to be taken down. It matters naught, not now, not ever, when everything unraveled and contorted. They rose, higher and higher, from ceiling to floor, and he continued to maneuver along the land behind him, until he was certain, until he was sure, that everything, including the demons, the infidels, the fiends inside, would be utterly contained, swallowed, and devoured in the conflagrations’ wake.

Then he listened for the shudder, for the crackle, for it all to come crashing down, down, down – racing forward, onward, after the herd, after Amalia, after Auni, after Zuriel – escaping, evading, rushing into the night.

--

Deimos has the fire aimed to consume the Monster Hunter's Guild and takes off with everyone.

and death that spun them

DEIMOS

The pyre is bright and large. Whatever mischief the monsters within thought to enact, their plans crumble to cinders just as the monster hunter's guild does. All have made it out alive, though the same cannot be said for the monsters within. Ahh well. So much the worse for them.

---

Congratulations! All have successfully made it out of the MHG (and in record time too, thanks team).

RaNdOM EVENT