[Exam - Rayden Traen] A Test of Conviction

In The Blue Pegasus Guild Grounds

If he could say anything about his new home, Rayden could say it was large, unnecessarily so. It felt weird, to think of this place as home. It was a radical shift, to say the least. From the tight, well maintained enclosure he was born in, to the spacious, open guild grounds. He felt so free, almost too much so. With all the options before him, he'd be lying if he didn't feel a little overwhelmed. He never had a strict goal leaving, nothing beyond his ultimate goal. Now just came the first step, and he didn't even know what that was.

Strolling lightly around the grounds, he was also lost. He felt better now, having had the chance to rest and recover since he reached the hall. For the first time in a while, he had a full stomach, a good night's rest, and cleaned clothes. Things that seemed so basic to him before; things he had never even considered going without for a day. Laying against one of the many pillars supporting the stone above him, he scanned the grounds around him. Well maintained garden's people walking amongst and chatting. Again, these were things thought impossible in his previous abode.

Smiling softly, he noticed someone approaching him, rather quickly at that. Their steps were soft, showing a light body weight, and their smell was off, clearly not someone who had been in this area for a while. Turning to face them, they fled from his eye contact, looking towards his shoes instead. They froze before him, trembling slightly as they extended a hand. Long, frail fingers, tightly grasping a ragged note. Their breath was quick and hard. However they had gotten here, it wasn't easy on them. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling something was off about them. Waiting for him to take the note, they said nothing until his fingers reached it. They suddenly released it entirely, Rayden almost dropping it in the process. A small cough followed, then a weak voice, barely above a whisper. "This is for you... I came with the fastest means.. Please, you're our only hope.."

Again, it felt off. The body looked old, greying hair and sagging skin, yet the voice sounded younger, as if spoken by someone no older than him. "Well, what do you mean? How do you even kn-" Before he could finish his response, they were off, hurrying down the hall. Giving chase, he followed them into a doorway at the end of the hall. Turning to follow them, they were no longer in site. He could no longer smell them either. His confusion multiplied. Realizing he had least some hint as to where they came from, he opened the note in his hands, and his eyes went wide.

Outside the Mountain Village

Rayden's steps were quick and determined. Feet digging into the soil, he climbed as fast as he could. Scaling the mountain was difficult, but he had to make progress. A foot slipped, and for a moment he dangled, before recovering and continuing his efforts. He wasn't going to let this be his end. Fell of a mountain trying to help a village wasn't a very good description for his heroic statue. From above, the village could easily be seen, the mountain scaling way above the villages height. Whoever was waiting for him above, Rayden had no clue. All he knew was that they called out to him, and he had no choice but to respond.

[Proof of Exam]

Zack stood silently in the village his eyes closed and his hand outstretched. The mage whose power he had sensed growing upon joining the guild was near. Yes, it was time for this man to take an exam to prove that he was strong enough to take on harder missions with Blue Pegasus. He wouldn't authorise someone unless they proved their strength. Normally, his tests didn't involve him directly. He provided some instructions and put the person on a task to make them grow, but in this case he had done something rather different. He was intervening himself. Why? Because there were few others who could do what he could do and what he could do was essential to helping this mage grow in the right way.

From what Zack had learned of this Rayden through his research the man saw everything in black and white. A man who was rather naive and wanted to see himself as a hero. Yet a hero had to know when to make the hard choices and they couldn't be forced to see the world in black and white. Zack knew this and that was why he was taking this so seriously.

In order to make it a bit more interesting and to show himself as a 'darker entity' he had entered his Eclipse form and would remain in this until the task was done. This reversed his colours so anything black on him was now white and vice versa, this included eyes and hair. He did not carry his trademark zanbato Serpens as that show who he was too much. It was a famous weapon. However, he did still carry Serpens. Just in the form of a spear with the slightly curved blade extending out of a snake's mouth. No taking over today Ophiuchus...we need strong mages...so we can defeat THEM There was no response, but Zack felt a slight relieving of pressure at the back of his mind. He'd have to be careful, but it seemed Ophiuchus agreed.

Just as the man known as Rayden came into view the man known as Zack kicked one of the many hostages nearby to the ground and held the spear pointing to him. He put on an accent, but his voice was also slightly muffled by a mask over his lower face. "Listen here bub. I ain't messing around. I know there's treasure about and we wants it yes....we doooes." he said with a slight hiss in his tone. There appeared to be many men of similar style of clothing and weapon as Zack, but in reality they were all constructs he'd built especially for this. They had lacrima inside to project a realistic human image, but for the most part they were robots. So were all of the villages he was abusing. The real villagers were paid to stay away for today. With a roar of apparent anger he stamped on the head of the downed man crushing it.

"One of ye is gonna tell me where that effing treasure is...or you'll all be joining Squash and we'll tear about this 'ere village to find it." he said and then snapped his fingers. The 'attacker' constructs began to abuse and attack the downed people and some began to tear into buildings. It looked like a full on assault on a heavily populated village to a watcher and Zack looked to be at best an A rank mage. He had a lacrima in place that was activity suppressing his power. Now the question was would the man known as Rayden have the balls to attack and fight so many men and be a true hero. The only way he could win was via killing or heavy damage.

Reaching the pinnacle, Rayden finally managed to see the village. As soon as he could, his ears were assaulted by yelling. His eyes squinted, managing to make out the two different groups; hostages and assailants. Quickening his pace, he couldn't shake the feeling something felt off. He was called out here, to a village he had to connection to, and apparently had made in in perfect time. Still, there was no time to question it. He had to move now. Racing forward, he listened to the man speak of treasure. This was a simple raid? Again, it felt off, but there wasn't time.

Having sped up, he'd closed about half the distance between the pair. Then he crushed a hostages skull. Rayden froze, all momentum ceasing in an instant. He just witnessed a murder. 'He... he killed him. In cold blood. The man hadn't done anything. He wasn't resisting, he wasn't fighting. And he killed him.' His mind couldn't comprehend it. Why? The man had no clear motivation. Rayden's fists clenched, digging into his skin. His breath grew harsh. An anger he didn't even know he had was inside him. Pure rage. He stretched out, his body just begging to attack the man. He was here to save these people, to keep them safe, and yet he had already failed one. Several curses escaped his lips, dissolving into the air under the man's continued yelling.

He staggered, the rage blinding him for a moment. He tried to contain it, to keep himself calm, but it wouldn't listen. He'd never seen this before, never experienced someone losing their life. Truly, he'd never experienced real combat yet, nothing beyond the training he'd received at home. He never thought he'd watch someone die. He was the hero, he was there to save them. Yet, he had already failed. Activating his magic, his body thrusted backwards. Glowing brightly, two large, golden wings extended from his back. Taking to the air, he spiraled towards the town. straight towards Zack.

"You monster!" Extending an arm, Rayden released another spell. From the ground beneath him, three golden chains dug their way out. Moved by an invisible force, they barreled towards Zack. "How could you DO that!?" Aiming near Zack, Rayden knew the man was stronger than him. He could feel the aura. Yet he couldn't think about that now, the villagers mattered more. In a downward dive, he flew at one of the attacker constructs, aiming for a punch straight to it's chest. Now that he was in the town, his senses ranged more. There was definitely something off. The scents around him felt off, but he couldn't place it yet. His mind was too clouded with rage.

Magic Info:

Takeover mage. Interesting. No idea what sort of takeover, but it didn't matter yet. The chains came barrelling towards him at high speed and he smirked and spun his spear around his body using hands, feet and spear to deflect the chains into smashing into the ground. It probably would of been a good attack if it hadn't been for the fact that he had drawn attention to himself and sent the chains out towards Zack in his point of view. "Boy i've heard of idjeets, but you take the cake boy." he said shaking his head as the construct merely aimed its spear straight towards the incoming flying man. If he didn't do something smart he'd be skewered by the momentum of his own attack. "Ya wanna know how I could do that? Man wasn't giving me what I wanted...those who say no to me...get deaded." He snapped his fingers again and as if to demonstrated what he meant several of the constructs stabbed into the hostages. This wasn't to kill straight away. No, they continued to stab and stab and stab till the hostages bodies were riddles with holes. "Fear...gets me what I want boy. Or should I have just said please?" He laughed and then spat on the ground in seeming disgust.

In truth he saw no issue with the man called Rayden berating him for his actions. However, he needed to learn that people weren't always goody two shoes. There was evil in the world. Evil that had to be dealt with. It didn't necessarily have to be killed, but it need to be...reasoned with and not through words. Or at least most of the time not through words. He also needed to learn that direct assaults were not always the best way forward. If he'd perhaps shouted out and then used the chains to strike Zack from behind then that would of been an effective attack. Or at least it would be on most. Distraction and feints might not be very 'heroic' in the classsic sense but they got the job done and saved more people than they hurt. Surely, the purpose of a hero was to save people. Quibbling about the means and method would just cause people to get hurt. Zack knew that.

"You want me to stop then come stop me, but your brain must be scrambled if ya think direct attacks like these will beat me."

Repulsion. In both the mental and physical sense, Rayden was experiencing both. Just being in the presence of these things, what he struggled to call men, struck through to his very core. He was off his game, unable to focus or move properly. Rage clouded his mind and judgement. There was no logic, no reason behind his attacks. Striking the man with chains first, then attacking him, that was how Rayden normally operated. Years of training forgotten in a second. The physical repulsion was due to his response. When the man raised his spear at Rayden, he was forced to change his plans. Spreading his wings to stop the dive, he let loose a powerful flap, forcing his momentum to stop and assaulting the men with strong gusts of wind.

This wasn't without consequence however. The sudden shift in momentum wasn't entirely possible, leaving Rayden struggling to maintain balance. He had to release more power from the beast. Glowing brightly, a long, insect-like tail extended from his back, swinging wildly in the air to help shift his balance. It was sloppy. He floundered in the air like a baby bird, but he kept himself aloft. Thinking on his feet, the tail suddenly struck out, latching onto the man. With an unexpected speed and power, it wrapped itself around him, turning him into an anchor to dispel the rest of his backwards momentum.

Between the massive gusts of air he had caused, as well as making the man take on the rest of his momentum, sent it tumbling to the ground. This gave him a chance to land at least. He spread his wings wide, forcing more wind back and create some space around himself. He needed to calm down, to focus. Right now, this wasn't heroics. This wasn't valor. He was fighting like a drunk. Loud, uncontrolled, and sloppy. His body was shaking, a combination of anger and the pressure from his entrance. "I'm the idiot? At least I can form words." Good, some sass, something to at least prove to himself he wasn't entirely gone. Again, the twinge in his mind that something was wrong. That thing he couldn't place. If he could just figure it out, he could make a plan.

Yet because of his appearance, people were getting hurt. Stabbed, shredded, bodies being torn. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the beast affecting his mind, but he wasn't as upset as before. Maybe it was even shock. His body shook with rage, every part of him wanting to just lash out and stop everything. Unlike before though, he was containing it, barely though. His thoughts were jumbled, a chaotic mess of ideas and analysis. Focus was impossible, the rage was still there. It'd take time to clean it out, assuming he even could. "I am going to stop you.... And I'll make you say please. I guarantee it'll be followed by 'stop.' I wonder if you're brain's able to figure out what that means." There wasn't time to calm down, nor time to plan. He had to act, and work on the go. Wings closed behind his back, tail swinging wildly behind him, he ducked low and charged at Zack. First step was to get himself moving.

Magic Info:

Using part of his takeover he managed to avoid impaling himself. It was a movement thought up on the fly it seemed as it was executed rather poorly, but it did save him from damage. That was some quick thinking and meant he could at least think on his feet. His sass was also quite good. "Ya mocking my accent boy? Cocky lil shit aint'cha?" he said with fake anger and mirth as Rayden charged towards him going for another direct assault. A full on charge. Now that was Zack's style of fighting because he had spells that could turn it round if his opponent did something like the spear counter he had tried against Rayden or many other counters.

This time as he came in close Zack slid round the charge and swung out his leg going for a semi-powerful round house to the head. He didn't use anywhere near his full strength and the fact his target was moving would reduce the power somewhat. "Didn't I tell ya boy? Ya brain must be scrambled if ya thinking such direct attacks gonna hit me."


However, he didn't end there with his taunting and snapped his fingers. "Gather up all the villagers in the center of town. If they ain't gonna give up the goods...well we'll just have us a nice barbecue. Got a hankering for some meat." he said and the constructs began to do just that gathering up the men, women and children and carrying them towards a statue at the centre of the village.

He was giving Rayden a chance. He could keep attacking Zack, the man goading him, and the one in charge of these others or he could try and prevent the bonfire. It was going to be interesting to see what he chose. If he did continue to attack Zack he would need to try something different or he just wouldn't succeed.

He could feel his focus returning. Sense was starting to overcome the anger; the shocking effects of what he saw wearing off. He wasn't happy, nor was he enjoying himself by any means, but he felt like he was Rayden again, or at least enough to function. He wasn't approaching this like himself. Trying to play the hero, rather than play to his strengths. Rather than act like a hero he had to be one. His body was pulsing, energy ready to be released. The man was going for a kick, a basic strike. It made sense. He had little knowledge on Rayden's style or strategy at this point, and it definitely punished Rayden for such a direct approach. It had weaknesses however, and Rayden was going to completely abuse them.

Firstly, if Rayden continued his approach, the man would be off balance, provided the kick didn't connect. Secondly, the foot was a rather open target currently. Currently, his tail was flicking wildly around behind him, seemingly without purpose. It was to build up momentum however, and with a quick snap, the appendage flew forward, beside Rayden's head. He doubted he had the skills to actually hit the foot midair, so he went for the next best alternative. Meeting it's motion forward, he hooked the pincer under his ankle and thrusted upwards, taking Zack's foot with it. "As much as I would prefer the much more intelligent conversation you foot could offer me, I'm afraid I don't have time for it right now. Sorry." His goal wasn't to hurt the man now. Despite every instinct that screamed to send him flying, he had to deal with the assailant quickly. Forcing the foot high, he suddenly expanded his wings, and with a ferocious thrust, shot himself forward.

Combining the momentum he had with the sudden burst from the wind, he blew past the man, hoping to send him off the ground and onto his back with the series of moves. Even if it didn't there was no time to think about it. His every action and thought had to be focused on saving the villagers. There was so many constructs, and his magic wasn't suited for dealing with numbers. It was designed to deal with a single target extraordinarily well. Still, that wasn't enough to make him lose hope. Digging his feet into the ground, he forced himself to stop by the largest group of men he could see. Without missing a bit, he swung his body around. His tail extended, a powerful swipe aimed at the mens legs. He was going to take them down, and make sure that they weren't getting up soon. "I wonder how little brainpower you all must have if he's the leader."

Magic Info:

A much better strategy. Zack was almost tempted to applaud as the tail flicked upwards at high speed and caught his foot before flipping him over. Following that up with a high speed, wing enhanced, dash in order to try and knock him down was a good combination. It got him out the fight for even a few seconds, or it would if he was an ordinary opponent like he was pretending to be. This allowed for him to attack the constructs who were attacking the villagers. With a swipe of his tail he knocked several of them down. Zack smirked slightly as he got up from the floor, pretending to be more injured than he was.

"Well done boy. Direct can work, but only if ya got the speed and the power to pull it off. Feints, distractions, counters. They all tend to work a damn sight better don't ya agree?" he said and then probably much to Rayden's surprise Zack sent off a beam of light from each finger towards the constructs that had been knocked down and immediately their heads exploded. "Worthless weaklings not even able to stand up properly after being knocked down." In truth he'd merely activated the constructs self destruct sequence. The light was merely him bending light to make it look like he'd killed them with lasers. "You've bought the villagers some time boy, but is it long enough for you to stop us?" He walked forward twirling his spear slicing into the ground an evil smile on his face. What would Rayden do next?