[Team 1] Plains of Disease (Aven, Markus & Haraka)

Nessa arrived in Tolgalen in the early hours of the morning, sun still fairly low in the sky. It was cold, the air around her felt ominous, she didn't have a good feeling about this. She had been assigned her team for the investigation; it consisted of two Fairy Tail members she was very familiar with, Aven and Markus. Alongside one member of the West Fiore Trading Company, she had worked with before, Haraka. Their instructions had been to head to Tsak Ordahic, and scout the area for any information that may pertain to the disease. It had been pretty awful to witness, that night at the West Fiore Trading Company's Winter Ball. The deranged fellow who could not make any sense of where he was or who he was. As well as the other, covered in a plague, boils and skin defects. Nessa knew the West Fiore Trading Company wanted to handle this matter as urgently as possible, and had even sort out the help of the team in the alliance, Fairy Tail and Silver Wolf. Both of which had seemed happy to lend a hand on the matter. Of course, they would; this wasn't just some small matter, this is a lethal disease that could spread further if they didn't eliminate the problem now, who knew how many would die. No, if they didn't contain this problem while it only lay in Tolgalen, who knew how far it would go.

She was wearing her usual outfit, the white-on-white ensemble that she found so easy to fight with. A top and skirt, accompanied by plimsols and knee-high socks. Today especially, she even wore white gloves, a precautionary matter considering with the infectious nature of what they may have to deal with. Her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, and satchel at her side. Around her neck, a sparkling blue gemstone, radiating with a slight magical power. Out of habit, she would twiddle with it as she walked along to the meeting point assigned to her team. She hoped this mission would go well, and she still hadn't addressed a certain matter with Aven. It was awkward, plus that incident with his mother hadn't helped. Then there was Markus; she wasn't really sure about the dynamic between the two of them, she was once under the impression that they were friends. But Markus had been gone for so long. She couldn't yet tell how they were going to be around each other, she had been quite distracting in the planning and preparation for this task, that she hadn't really gotten a chance to assess their situation. Plus there was that mission they did together, the one to Bellum which had been certainly eventful, Nessa learned more about Markus than she'd ever expected to be permitted to know. Yet at least now, she understood, she understood so much more than she had before. Nessa saw no issues with Haraka being there, Haraka had done well during their job around the Halloween period, they provided good support and was easy enough to get along with. Nessa was glad to have them on her team.

When she got to the outskirts of Tsak Ordahic, she sent out her guides of light. She would order the little balls of starlight to bring her teammates to her; the little balls would fly off to find them. They had agreed to meet there, but the last thing she wanted was for them to get lost on the way. Most of them were not familiar with this area after all. She waited for their arrival; she couldn't imagine she would have to wait long, they all knew the urgency of the task at hand. She would be standing there alone, no Sebastian or Arielle. She had strictly refused their presence during this mission, it was too dangerous, and she wasn't about to risk them getting hurt today. As much as Sebastian protested, his magic was too limited for even this. Nessa had put her foot down hard this time around, so firmly they eventually stopped arguing with her and realised just how serious she was. She watched as each of them arrived, once there she would speak. "Okay everyone, so as you may recall, a form of plague has invested these lands and manage to infect some of the people of Tolgalen. The disease has seriously disturbing side effects and needs to be contained. Our job is to head out as scouts. We need to gather as much information as possible; I'm talking about the wildlife, the fauna, the terrain, we need to assess the scale of what we're dealing with. Anything you see, note it in your mind so that when we return, we can report it to the other teams.  Gather as much information as you can, but do not wander from the group, I mean it guys. I know you're powerful, and you might think you can handle certain things on your own, but this is not a request, It's an order. Getting separated doesn't just put yourself at risk, but it puts the group at risk too. Let's work together and help each other as best we can okay." She said, looking around sternly. It was a little unfamiliar to her, being so bossy. Particular to Aven and Markus who she knew were highly capable of dealing with danger. Having seen them do it time after time on their missions together, but this wasn't just such a risky situation. If there was even the slight risk of one of them becoming infected, she needed to minimalise it. "Any questions?"


WC: 937

Nessa's violet eyes stared at the plains around her. She took a slow, steady breath; there was an eerieness about the place. Perhaps it was the knowledge that somewhere in these lands, stemmed whatever it was that was causing this vile disease to spread. It was strange, looking over the gloomy swamplands, it was beautifully still at the moment, yet something dark was looming over these lands. Nessa couldn't help the unease she was feeling, whatever it was they were about to deal with. It wasn't going to ease the task ahead; she was glad she hadn't allowed Sebastian and Arielle to come. This was going to be tough, maybe too tough. Arielle couldn't do anything to defend himself against attack and Sebastian couldn't fight in a way that didn't rely on him getting close and personal with his targets. Considering the infectious nature of what they were dealing with, it didn't make sense for him to fight this battle. But as for the other team members, well, at the very least she was glad she wasn't doing this alone. She had Haraka, Aven and Markus; they were good mages, they would be fine. She would be fine. She had to trust in herself, she had come along way since she stepped through the doors to Fairy Tail, she wasn't a weak little girl who could barely expel her Starlight without getting Nauseous. She had fought and fought, and now she was here. Her magic capabilities had reached levels she never imagined; she was a fairly successful Ace for a guild she loved and even a Wizard Saint. Everything she could have possibly hoped to happen had happened.

Yet still, despite all of this, something... was missing. There was still something there, a niggling of a doubt. There was still so much that hadn't been dealt with; there was an unsettling that had been bothering her for a while now. Not just the explained darkness that loomed inside of her and tended to come out whenever she got angry. That was something she also needed to handle; she had hoped that with her growth of power she would get more of a handle on it. Yet, it didn't seem that way, if anything it only made the 'thing', whatever it was, feel more menacing. She couldn't help but feel like whatever it was, only fed on her power, like a bubble inside her.  Filling herself with magic, compiled with all the negativity she ever felt. It was enough to put her on edge, a constant sense of anxiety, that one that that bubble would pop. And whatever came from it, no amount of tranquillity magic or calming would ever put a stop to.

Then there was the other thing, another reason she was on edge. For a while, it had been going on. She had tried to ignore it, to pretend it wasn't happening. But the better her sense got, the more she felt it. Someone was watching her. It had began not long after her Aunt had gone away, busy working on the job that had seemed to be keeping her away for so long. She had tried to track them a few times, yet had never found anything. Not even a scrap of evidence, whoever or whatever it was left no traces. Yet still, she had felt it, she was sure of it. The only doubt she had was that maybe, whatever it was that was inside her was making her feel unnecessarily paranoid. She sensed magic nearby, causing her to push these thoughts to the back of her mind. It felt familiar, she smiled, knowing who it was — looking up, as he approached her. He was wearing what appeared to be in all black gear, assorted with various items that would likely aid his fight. He stepped over; maybe it was the look on her face, perhaps she had been looking uncertain. But he raised his hand to her shoulder and spoke. His words of reassurance making her smile. She nodded, appreciating it. Things had changed between them, four months ago, Nessa had been under the impression that they were close. Yet, that paled in comparison to what she knew now, after what had happened in Bellum. After, she had spoken to Aporia and learned what she did, after she had seen the truth behind Markus. She understood now, four months ago, she hadn't known him at all. She straightening slightly, that was enough of that. It was time to be confident, to do the role she was given. She had to lead this team, and believe in what Markus's words, to trust her instincts. She knew that allowing the self-doubt to sink in now of all times, could only hinder her ability to fight effectively, which was just something else that might put her teammates at risk. This wasn't something she could allow.

Aven's arrival was always welcome, Nessa knew better than anyone his competency as a mage. He was strong, smart, and a brilliant tactician. Not to mention the fact, there wasn't anyone she could trust more to have her back. She knew Aven would cover the team in any way he could. It was just another reason why he was such a great teammate and friend. She was surprised to see him wearing such casual clothes, Aven, who always seemed to be dressed to impress in the finest of suits. Was actually wearing 'jeans', it didn't look bad on him or anything, it was just a strange sight to behold. There was still a slight tweak in her chest, lingering slither of guilt. About what she knew, and what he didn't know she knew; that poem, those words, Aven's secret feelings for her. She wanted to address it, she did. But she wasn't sure what she would say, how she would even begin to handle such a feat. She had done something wrong, she knew it. She should have told him, the moment she knew, and yet she hadn't. She had hesitated. For so many, many reasons, and yet the longer it seemed to drag out. The harder it was for her to deal with it. Eventually, she knew it was going to happen, but Nessa just wasn't ready to face him. To admit she'd been hiding the fact she'd known for so long.

Then there was Haraka, in his male form. Just as she remembered, she smiled warmly. "Good to see you again guys," She said, before getting into her speech. It seemed to go down well enough; no one was annoyed or bothered by her words. Nor did they have any major objections. So that was good. Haraka began by asking a question, Nessa shook her head. "No. Please avoid ingestion anything while your here. The disease whatever it is, we've yet to determine it's level of contagion and how it infected the people in the way that it did. If bacteria can be transmitted by touch, ingesting it could be fatal." She answered, hoping this didn't hinder them in any way. His next question was answered by Aven, who began by introducing himself to Haraka. This was good; she understood that the only person who knew all three of them individually was her. So allowing the team to quickly get to know each other seemed like the best option. He would explain his magically abilities clearly and concisely. In the most Aven-like manner she could image, she smiled warmly. Despite her unease about her secret, she was still glad to see him. She hadn't nearly been around Aven as much as she'd liked. Even if she had intended to avoid him, she didn't need to put any effort it. She was kept so busy these days, she barely had time for her family, let alone him. The only reason she managed to see Arcadia enough was that she like Nessa was an Ace. It seemed with responsibility; free time became an easy sacrifice.

Markus would then take his turn to introduce himself, explaining his skillset, she nodded at his comment. She did know his capabilities; it was a well-formatted team. As the fellow aces, and guild members had put together the teams when Nessa had been presented with her. She had happily accepted it without resistance. She looked at the others, "Okay, well you all know me, but I'll offer my own introduction and magic breakdown anyway. Nessa, Ace of Fairy Tail, my primary magic is the ability to manipulate Starlight; ranges aren't really an issue for me as I'm trained in both close combat and have a few long ranged spells in my bank. My magic is mainly offensive but is also flexible in terms of both defence and healing. I'm also a Valkyrie Summoner, speaking of which." Following this moment, the aura arrive Nessa would shift slightly. She would pool from the magic inside her, the second source, gifted to her by the Valkyries. The violet colours of her irises would change, glowing a pure white. The Norse symbol marked on the back of her neck ould glow also, with bright white light. She would speak, her voice sounding as though multiple women were talking at once. "Tiphanae."


The wind would pick up, billowing around her, after a moment it would pick up in speed. Focusing on a specific spot, circling around until it formed a whirlwind. Growing greater in size until it was a tall as her, distorting the air in that particular spot. Then as quickly as it came, it would begin to settle and as it did, in its place stood a woman. She was undoubtedly beautiful, with delicate young features. Long fair hair that swept past her shoulders. Spread from her back were magnificent large white wings. Her slim figure clad in light armour and a long sword at her hip. Tiphanae, the Wind Valkyrie turned to Nessa, the air settling around her, becoming still once more. She spoke, her voice was soft and sweet. "Nessa Lux, I take it is time." She said, Nessa had already discussed this with the Valkyries, strategised and prepared them for the task at hand. As usual, they were always happy to help. Nessa would nod in response, "Yeah it is," Tiphanae turned to the others and bow in greeting, before straightening up to look at them all. Tiphanae had seen each of them before, at a different point of working with Nessa, Haraka she had met during that incident with the Black Powder that had affected so many. They had fought on the Celestial Sanctum together. Markus, she had met more recently, on multiple occasions. One of which was rather embarrassing for Nessa to recollect. She had never fought alongside Aven, but Nessa had introduced the two a while back. "It is good to be working with you all." She said politely as she glanced from one to the other, as her eyes fell on Aven, she smiled before addressing him, "Aven Alveron, I haven't seen you since you graced our Father's Hall, I hope you and Aviel are well." She said. Nessa remembered that night, that was the night Nessa and Aven had gotten drunken together on Valhallan Rum. Nessa has a vague recollection of what went on that night, flickers of memories. She was sure things had gotten rather heated between the Valkyries and Aviel, as well as Nessa and Aven had talked about some rather personal matters. Nessa would wait for Haraka to offer his own introduction, once they had covered there.

"Any more questions before we get started?" She asked, she wasn't sure if there was much else that needed covering, but she needed to make sure they were all prepared. Soon she would have to lead them into Tsak Ordahic, where who knows what was waiting for them. She just hoped that thing wouldn't get too out of hand, unfortunately, because they were scouting the area. The only information they had, was what the West Fiore Trading Company had been able to give to them about the island of Tolgalen. But even that had its limits. The risks were countless, essentially they were moving into the unknown, but the cause for which they were doing this, was for a good cause. If they contributed to the elimination of this threat, then the lives they would save were worth the risks.


WC: 2069
Nessa's Total: 3006

Tiphanae nodded in response to Aven, Nessa watched the interaction. That certainly had been an interesting trip, but at least they got along. Nessa couldn't help but notice the curious way Aven was dressed. It certainly was different, he was so casual. More casual than she had ever seen him, she was tempted to say something. But she didn't, it was still too awkward, even for playful teasing. There was just so much unsaid, she had given him the necklace handed to her by his mother, and they hadn't spoken since. It had been strange, she wanted to ask, but she couldn't. There was like there was a wall there, created by the secret she was keeping from him. The truth she knew but couldn't bring herself to admit. Tiphanae turned to Markus who created her, "Markus, it is good to see you are fairing well also. I hope you are taking care of yourself." Tiphanae said sincerely, Nessa hadn't gotten the chance to ask Tiphanae on her thoughts as to Markus in general. She knew that Scythen favoured him and that Agatha favoured Aven, although their particular reasons weren't reliable. Tiphanae would be honest with her if she had an issue with their friendship, yet so far, the Valkyrie had said nothing. Then again, Nessa hadn't had the time to ask.

Nessa listened quietly as the group went around going through their magic, Nessa resisted the urge to grimace when Haraka talked about taking out his own heart. She knew full how vastly different magics could be, but she never had in her time as a mage heard of someone using their own organs to transfer magical abilities. She knew full well, if her father heard about this, he was be significantly fascinated. Probably little Haraka with a mountain of questions, and perhaps would even try to convince him to try out some harmless testing. Nessa, on the other hand, was a little uncomfortable with the idea of holding a heart. It just seemed kind of... icky. Nessa hadn't exactly been very good at those Biology classes that involved cutting up dead things and examining frogs insides. She doubted she would fare much better here.

Which is exactly why when Markus flat out went and suggested that, her gaze shot over to him, eyes wide. What the hell Markus! She practically shouted in her head, even though he obviously couldn't hear him. She couldn't believe he would just volunteer her for that; she glanced to Haraka awkward. "Actually, if it's all right with you, I'll um... raincheck on the heart holding. I have a somewhat of a weak constitution." Well, it was true,  despite the fact she had grown a stronger stomach since becoming a mage, but she doubted all her exposure had done enough to prepare for her holding a beat heart. She really didn't want to erupt her breakfast of Haraka's heart; somehow she felt that might have a negative influence on their alliance with the West Fiore Trading company. Tiphanae however shrugged, casually "I would be fine to hold it, it wouldn't be the first time I've held a beating heart. " Nessa's gaze went to the Valkyrie, looking slightly surprised, "Does this surprise you, Nessa Lux? I'm sure all my sisters have torn out a heart with our bare hands at some point before, the trick is -"

"Okay! Moving on." Nessa interrupted quickly, just as Tiphanae had raised her sword and began to gesture carving someone open. Nessa shook her head in disbelief. She really didn't feel like listening to Tiphanae graphic story about bloodshed and massacre wasn't really something they had time for. Nor, did she really wanted to hear it. She knew the valkyries had a long extensive history, involving many war and battles. They had experienced more than Nessa could ever imagine still, there were some things that Nessa would rather remain in the dark about. Cutting someone open and tearing out their insides, was definitely one of those things.

Markus would address the other about the pathogen, Nessa nodded. She would momentarily recall that gruesome scene. It hadn't pleasant to witness. Nessa was surprised it hadn't raised more panic than it did, knowing that out there was some kind of disease that could affect you so vigorously. If it spared your body, it would attack your mind and vice versa. He would then cast a spell over them; darkness would surround him, then shot outwards. The air would crack, and then Nessa felt it fall over her. It was familiar; she had felt this before, at least something akin to it. It reminded her of that place he took her to, his home.

He went on to explain what'd he'd done, Nessa nodded. "Okay, in that case, let's get moving. Markus, you head the front, Aven you flank left, and Haraka you flank right, I'll cover the rear. Remember guys, don't move too far. We need to keep inside each other magical range so we can assist each other if need be. Remember, as soon as you see anything weird, shout to the rest of us, so we're aware." She explained, hoping that this plan was okay with them, she hadn't had much time to strategise. But she knew that both she and Markus had the most magical range, "Tiphanae you fly above us, try to stay centre if can. If we run into trouble, fly down and aid whoever needs it most." She said, Tiphanae nodded, unfolding her great white wings, she kicked off the ground. Soaring into the skies above, she would find her position. Nessa would allow for the others to move ahead, before following behind.

As she walked, her eyes would scan the plains, looking out for any information that she could. It was difficult; the area was somewhat foggy. Mapping a route wouldn't be easy, plus this wasn't exactly her forte. She didn't consider herself the most observant person, she picked up things, but she didn't quite have the eye for details her father did. Fighting was much more her strong point, yet she wanted to lead a group into the fray. To ensure the safety and assistance for the groups that followed. They travelled for a while, Nessa took in the details she could, the air, the smells, the landscape. Anything she could she mentally logged it for reporting back to the other teams. She noticed after a while that everything was quiet, for a long time too, it was almost ...too quiet

"Nessa Lux."

She sensed it the second before Tiphanae called her name "Guys, ready yourselves." She called out, stopping where she was. She looked around, trying to making out what direction the creature... no creatures were coming from. Nessa's eyes widened, just as she realised how many were approaching them. There was an assortment of them, the first things Nessa noticed were three giant crabs were approaching, there were hideous being. Which hard dark shells and menacing glowing red eyes. There was a clinking of armour as several undead knights made their way towards them, only with a horde of giant spiders. Nessa took a steadying breath. Okay, I know they look freaky, but remember you got this. You're a strong mage now, protect your team.

Nessa straightened, holding out her hands, she would summon her orbs, she would blast them at two of the giant Arachnids, decided to get rid of them first. To her surprise, an orb each was enough to disintegrate them completely. Oh... Maybe she was stronger than she realised. Either that or these things were just really weak, still she was sure if she had faced something like this when she first when out into the field, she wouldn't have stood a chance.

She heard a serious of snarls, and turned heading her way were several monstrosities, these armless dinosaur-like beasts that almost appeared to have their flesh stripped away to muscle and were horribly mutated. Nessa shifted her stance quickly, letting out three more blasts, hitting three of the beast in the face. Some of them darted away, making their way towards the others.



WC: 1361
Total: 4367

Monsters Remaining:

Nessa's Stats:

Nessa was relieved that Haraka didn't seem to be offended by her declining of holding his 'second heart', even if it may not resemble a normal heart. The idea to her just seemed a little too out of her comfort zone, she wasn't too bad with blood thanks to her experience learning from his father and his work in the medicinal industry, but still, organs and stuff. No, she wasn't prepared to deal with that. What if she...dropped it? She was known for being excessively clumsy at the worst of times; she just felt so paranoid that she might not be able to focus on fighting if she only got to use one hand as well as had to focus on keeping someone's heart safe. It wasn't ideal with her fighting style or capabilities. On top of which it just seemed like a lot of responsibility to deal with when she had so much to bear in mind, she was, after all, leading this mission and in a way responsible for the entire team and the success of the mission. Perhaps one of the others might benefit from holding the heart.

After Tiphanae's comment, she received a nice compliment from Haraka, followed by Markus's continuation of the matter. Tiphanae listened eagerly, nodding at him, "Oh yes, I do enjoy a nice clean neck break, saying that I've not quite perfected it the way Agatha has, she is especially good at it. Perhaps later we can compare techniques," Nessa let out a rather loud and obvious sigh, these two just couldn't help themselves. It was strange how it didn't bother her as much as it used it, talk like this. She knew about the Valkyries history or at least a fraction; the girls had fought in a millennium's worth of wars. Handling death was second nature to them, and then there was Markus who. Well, Nessa had learned enough about to understand why he was the way he was. She didn't like it, his acceptance of death and killing, but her opinion on the matter wasn't as black and white as it had been. She knew she would never be able to convince Markus that killing was unnecessary, no matter how much she tried, it wouldn't work. He had just experienced too much to have his mind swayed. Plus Nessa had grown to understand, that if she wanted to protect the people, the purify Fiore from evil, some could only be saved that way. At least, that was what she suspected might eventually happen, as a wizard saint, it was her duty to protect the people, and sometimes that resulted in death. Not that she had ever experience handling it herself. She had only ever killed monsters and beasts, although admittedly some of them had looked like people. Demons that bore human form, even knowing they were demons hadn't made it feel any less real. But still, she had to kill them in order to save herself and Rina. It was either end the lives of the demons they had faced or be trapped in that vortex of evil for the rest of their existence. Needless to say, she wasn't the weak little naïve girl that had walked into the doors of Fairy Tail all those months ago. She had grown immensely.

Following her instruction, the group seemed to move into the formation she had suggested. She was pleased to see this at least went down without a hitch. She only hoped that if Aviel was on his way, and that he would return to Aven's side before the fighting kicked off. The last thing she wanted was him to get caught by a group of monsters on the way before he could join the group. Not that he probably couldn't handle himself, but in these unknown lands, there was just no telling what was out there, and how many. It was definitely safer in numbers. For the first part, the group had been able to walk quite a ways, collection information and details to report back to the others. Nessa was pleased; hopefully, some of the information they had gathered would benefit the others. Prepare them for the tasks ahead, such as helping team two know where to head to collect samples and what to look for. Then there was team three, the final group, well they would only benefit if the team ran into any malicious creatures. Which of course, they did. Nessa made sure to remember each of the beasts as they approached.

"Guys, I know we need to kill them, but let's also use this as an opportunity to help out the others. Be sure to remember any weaknesses that we can report this to the other teams for when they head out later. After all, our job is still to gather information, and that includes these monsters." She called out, hoping they could at least hear her in the midst of all of the fighting. Nessa was pleasantly surprised by how well her magic seemed to work against the beasts so far; she knew she had grown in strength. After all, she could summon all of her Valkyries now, even Scythen, which was both exciting and terrifying at the same time, after seeing what Scythen could do in Valhalla. Nessa couldn't help but feel anxious; the Valkyrie could pretty much raise an army of dead souls to do her bidding. A sea of soldiers that could crash down on anyone she willed upon, Nessa was glad to have the Death Valkyrie on her team.

Everyone seemed to be handling the creatures well, and no one seemed to be struggling. Tiphanae soared down from the sky, flying towards one of the giant Arachnids she drove her sword through it's back. The creature reared, releasing a high-pitched screeched as it was taken by surprise. It shook it's body erratically in an attempt to throw her off, Tiphanae positioned her feet on the back of the creature. Carefully avoiding the spikes, she used the hilt of her sword to hold herself steady. Raising her free hand, she turned her palm to face the creature and released a burst of wind magic. The burst of magic blasted through the creature, smashing it into the ground. It crumpled dead, Tiphanae smirked, Nessa glanced over, grinning back. "It seems your magical growth is allowing me to use my full strength," She said to Nessa, Nessa bit her lip, she knew she had gotten stronger. Even she could acknowledge that, but to hear it from Tiphanae made her swell a little. She knew she had been restricting the Wind Valkyries capabilities for a while now. It was exactly to know that she was no longer holding her back. Tiphanae pulled out the sword; the edges were rigged, hissing from the acidic blood of the spider. Tiphanae tutted, "I can't fight with this, Nessa can you summon the Varja," Nessa was momentarily surprised but nodded. The symbol on the back of her neck would glow once more. She opened her palm. In her grasp a golden object would materialize. As usual, the Varja was cool to touch, she gripped the metal bar in the middle, harness its power. It was strange, before the magic she felt from it was so overwhelming, and yet now it felt so ...obedient. Like it would follow her command without hesitation, had she really come this far?

She held it out, focusing on Tiphanae's weapon, the earth would rise up from the soil. The grains of the earth would float up to the sword, reshaping it and hardening it. The molecular structure shifting and reforming, before returning it to the sword's original shape. No evidence of it having ever before melted with acid remaining. Tiphanae gave it a quick swing, "Excellent; I shall be mindful not to use this against those arachnid creatures, thank you, Nessa Lux." Tiphanae bowed her head, before turning away, she called over her shoulder. "I would recommend summoning one of my sisters soon, at present the amount in manageable. But I sense more enemies on incoming; it would be prudent to increase our numbers." Nessa nodded, watching as Tiphanae flew off once more to target the next monster. Who to summon though?She wondered, there were dealing with monsters of a biochemical nature, Lucinda might be a good call, but then if she really wanted to increase the likelihood of their success. It would make sense to summon one of the stronger girls, but then again, just who though? Nessa whole another snarl and spun on her heel. Two raptors were making a beeline for her, snapping their maws angrily, she raised the Varja. Summoning it's magic forth, the earth between them rose up, like a wall it shot upwards to a height of over twenty feet. Towering over the Raptors, it came crashing down on them. Infused with her own magic, they were completely buried under the mass, crushed from the force of the attack.

That was fair close; it was good that she had the Varja with her at the time. She reached around to her belt, next to her satchel, she quickly attached it. She wasn't ready to send it back just yet, she knew with how unpredictable this fight was. She may well need it again. At least by tying it to her hip, she could reach for it whenever she needed a quick burst of magic. It was time to make a decision, who to summon. She sighed; it really did make sense to summon her. Even if she were Nessa's volatile Valkyrie, her eyes would glow, and she would speak, once more sounding as though several women were talking at once. "Agatha..." The moment her name was called, the clouds began to stir above, there was a distance rumbling like the sound of a storm could be heard. There was a sudden crackle of lightning bursting from the sky, followed by the roar of thunder. It struck one of the skeleton knights and appearing there, was Agatha standing on top of the toppled knight, a satisfied look on her face. Agatha was even taller than Tiphanae and built a little studier. She was still quite beautiful, but she didn't carry the delicate elegance that Tiphanae did. But more of an Amazonian woman, but her features were hard; her electric blue eyes were sharp. She had wavy brown hair that billowed behind her as she turned her gaze to take in the situation. She was dressed in a full set of hair, shield in one hand and longsword in the other. "Finally, I was getting bored of waiting." She said as she stepped out of the ashes of the knight who had been obliterated by the lightning bolt. "Just in time too..." She said staring over to her left. Nessa followed her gaze; she was right. More of them were approaching.

Nessa recognised more giant spiders scuttling towards the group. There was also different monsters too. What appeared to be three mutated beasts, Nessa couldn't even affiliate them to an animal. They just looked like beasts, with pale, pinkish skin that was covered in boils. Two legs, and four arms, not to mention their giant maws sporting rows of teeth. There was also what looked like giant trees, except that they had legs and arms, sitting on the back of these tree-like monsters wore a giant boulder on their backs. Nessa checked in on the others to see how they were doing, hopefully, they had noticed this oncoming horde of monsters. It was clear that their battle was far from over, just how man more monsters would they have to face? It was strange to think that such dangerous and volatile creatures existed here. Had they always been here, or where they just biomatter that had been affected by the pathogen to create these terrifying beasts.




WC: 1988
Total: 6355 / 12,500

Monsters Remaining:

Nessa's Stats:

Nessa glanced over as Haraka spoke, her eyes would soften at his words. She understood what he was getting at; it was true that at some points bodies had likely been human. They would have had lives, and families at some point. It was such a grey area for sure. How did one determine the point such creatures were still human? Where did the line of mercy end?  But as she eyed the remains of the zombie-like beast, she sighed, no it really wasn't an option here. Not when lives were at stake, she turned to Haraka with a solemn gaze. "I'm sorry Haraka, but we really don't have any other choice. They aren't living anymore, nor are they human. Any semblance of their humanity has been overridden by this infection. Also, can you imagine what it must be like, to lose your minds and bodies so completely that you know nothing but to eat and kill? Honestly, if it were me, I'd want someone to kill me before I hurt someone." She answered, hoping this might be enough to convince, "Please understand, as mages of the alliance, we are here to protect the people of Tolgalen from the dangers that are manifesting here." There was a time when Nessa might have followed the same train of thought as Haraka did now. She remembered the time she took down all the imps with Sebastian. How bad she had felt after realising the massacre of dead creatures she left in her wake. But, since then she had grown to understand that the world was not so black and white. The lines between decided the fate of a monster were blurred because as humans they needed to do what they could to survive. Additional, she as someone of her status had promised that she would do everything she could to safeguard the people of Earthland from the dangers that threatened them.  

The fight rage on for a bit, eventually resulting in Nessa's summoning of Agatha. When the new horde of creatures had arrived, the group made quick work of them. Haraka taking out quite a few of the creatures, Nessa didn't notice the wings appearing on his back, she just glanced over, and suddenly they were there, as well as a dragon-scaled tail. Markus too had undergone an image change, with his red hair now streaked with black. In a parade of dark orbs formulated from Markus's magic, the remainder of the monsters were destroyed in an instant. Nessa sighed with relief, a moment of reprieve it was. It was really difficult for them to gather information this way, especially when they barely had a chance to move into the area. Tiphanae let out a low whistle, "These humans are impressive,"  She commented. Agatha crossed her arms and huffed.

"Either that or these monsters are just stupendously weak,"  She raised her sword pointing it as Nessa as though she was pointing her finger, "What's the point in summoning me if pretty boy over there is gonna steal all the kills!"  She barked accusingly, Nessa took a breath, before she could reply Tiphanae stepped in. "Ahh, perhaps someone's a little bitter they didn't get to show off for the humans."  Agatha turned her body suddenly, spinning a full three-hundred and sixty degrees, she used the momentum to launch her sword at Tiphanae. Tiphanae laughed delicately, hopping away airily as the sword narrowly missed her heading straight towards Nessa. Whom, while squealing, threw herself back in order to avoid being impaled. The force of her attempt to dodge the attack causing her to fall over. She winced as she landed quite firmly on her rear. Taking a moment to gather herself before looking up at the girls, "Can you two cut it out, we need to focus on the mission!" She snapped irritably, blushing slightly from the embarrassment having fallen over in front of everyone.

She climbed to her feet, brushing herself off, Markus mentioned going to scanned the area, she watched as he lifted up into the sky. He was fortunately still in good range, not enough to worry her in case another attack hit. He returned moments later, giving them a break down of the surrounding area. Nessa listened carefully, thinking it over, she made her decision on where they would move to next.

"Okay is everyo-" She was about to ask if everyone was ready to move forward when suddenly a beam of light burst down from the sky. She covered her eyes stepping back slightly, even for her the light was intense. Then as the light settled around Aven, her eyes widened in panic. Without a second thought, she began to run towards him, "AVEN!"  She shouted, activating the starlight in her feet. She shot forward in an attempt to reach him, but just as she reached the light. He was lifted away, shooting upwards out of sight. She screamed out in frustration, ready to kick off the ground into the air. But then, in the blink of and eye, the light disappeared and Aven along with it. She stared after where he had vanished, "NO!"  She cried, feeling herself hit with emotion as the realisation of what just happened settled in. One of her closest friends had just been...taken. But by what? Someone had just manifested out of nowhere and snatched him out of nowhere. She could feel her mind whirring, what was she supposed to do? She had to go after him, what if whatever had taken him was malicious? She couldn't just leave him. Tiphanae appeared next to her swiftly, landing in front of her she grabbed Nessa's forearms, squeezing them. "Nessa Lux calm down, please it isn't what you think." Nessa's looked at the Wind Valkyrie,  her eyes on the verge of brimming with tears.

"She's right brat, pretty sure that light was friendly. If you ask me, it had an 'Aviel' kinda feel to it,"  Agatha added, before snorting with laughter, "Should have seen your face though, I'm gonna have to treat the seraph to a drink for that one,"  She said as she continued to chuckle. Nessa gulped, calming down slowly, "Aviel?"  She said in a questioning tone. Of course, he wasn't here yet. Aven had said he would be joining them, had something come up, and he'd decided to call Aven away. She sighed,  Tiphanae let go of her arms. "You ok Nessa Lux?"  She asked softly, Nessa gave her a small smile and nodded, wiping her eyes of any tears that threatened to loom. She turned to the others, "Guess Aven had to drop out for some reason, I'll see if I can check in on him later. In the meantime... I suppose we should continue with our mission."  She said, trying to regain some of her professionalism from before. Although it was exactly easy, that whole ordeal had shaken her for a moment. That underlying fear of hers had kicked in, fear of losing someone. The moment he had vanished, it had overwhelmed her, it was fortunate her Valkyries had been there to reassure her even if Agatha had gotten amusement out of her momentary devastation.

"I guess without Aven, we'll have to rethink the formation."  She said, pausing to think, "Markus let's swap. I'll head the front; you cover the rear. Haraka can you stay where you were in the formation, and Agatha, if you take Aven's spot in the formation. Tiphanae you can continue as you were before, flying above the centre of the group. "  She instructed, before making her way to the group. Once everyone was ready, they would head on forward. Nessa would lead the group north-east. She would use her being at the front of the group as a means of distracting herself from what had just happened. The truth was she was still really worried about him, but she had to stay focused for Haraka and Markus. She didn't want to let them down.

As the travelled a little further, Nessa frowned, "Is it just me or... does the air feel a little more...misty?"  She asked the others. She glanced around; it was a little more difficult to see the area surrounding them, as the fog seemed to grow thicker, the further they walked. Nessa heard the splash of water under her footing and stopped, glancing down, A puddle...? She thought, did that mean they were coming close to the river Markus had seen? She continued to walk over, stepping over the puddle. As they moved in, Nessa would walk a little slowly, something instinctive telling her not to rush as she proceeded. In the distance she noticed something out of place, she narrowed her eyes trying to get a better look. "Tiphanae can you move ahead and check that out..."  Tiphanae obediently flew forward through the fog, staying within sight of the group. She would explore the area " There are ruins here, very old... perhaps some old fortress. Nessa Lux... I think the area surrounding is some sort of marshland."  As Nessa continued on, the mist would ease off slightly, revealing the area before them. She could see the broken foundation coming up. It was the remains of a magnificent castle of some sort. "Right, we'll investigate those ruins next, there might be something in there that could be useful."  She instructed to the others, as they continued their careful approach through the swamp.


WC: 1574
Total: 7929 / 12,500

Nessa's Stats:

Nessa was relieved as Haraka came to terms with having to kill the undead monsters. It wasn't a pleasant job, but someone had to do it. Nessa meant every word she had said to them, as much as she didn't want to die. If something like this were to happen to her, causing her to lose her mind so thoroughly that she would aimlessly attack and kill innocent people. Well, her soul would cry out with sadness. Although she was willing to accept a little bit of 'grey' area when it came to taking lives in order to protect the innocent from evil. She answered them with a simple nod, before moving on with the fight at hand.

After the fight had settled and the Valkyries had begun their little too and fro. Markus commented after the Valkyries, Nessa recognised the layering in his voice, it was Aporia talking. She smiled softly, she had come to terms recently with Aporia's existence within Markus. After having travelled to 'that place' with him, she had spoken to her when Markus left the room. Nessa no longer felt the same sense concern to hear the woman's presence. She simply understood, for some reason, Markus and Aporia were linked, and it was not Nessa's place to question that. Agatha shot him a dark look but said nothing, acting as though responding to the human wasn't worth her time. The brown-haired woman made no effort to hide her disdain for humans, she certainly had claimed herself the title of Nessa most 'difficult' Valkyrie to work with. She hadn't even been able to get along with Johann or Arcadia when she met him. In fact, as Nessa recalled Mars had been pretty set on killing the lightning Valkyrie. Although that had more to do with the woman attacking her summoner immediately after being called. Settling the score as she had found herself bested by the young Starlight Maiden not long before.

Following Aven's disappearance, Nessa was slowly managing to compose herself, with the help of her Valkyries. Haraka asked her if she could keep him informed of the result, followed by Markus who wanted to know Aviel's reasoning. "I will let you both know as soon as I manage to get in touch with him." She told them honestly. She really wanted to find out soon. She understood the need for urgency at times, but a little warning would have been nice. It had been quite the stressful ordeal, not exactly the best time either as Markus had stated. Aven was a strong fighter, and Nessa knew the way the monsters were attacking in such masses would have been no trouble for the Circle Mage. So to lose that strength was tough. They would just have to reform their plan and hope for the best. They were still a strong group even so, plus Nessa felt she had plenty left in her magic reserves. Summoning Agatha had been the only one who'd really used a significant amount of power to summon and that was reflective in her ability to fight. As little as the Lightning Valkyrie had done so far, Nessa had no doubt the woman's presence would provide it's uses soon enough.

As the group shifted into place, Markus approached her, commenting quietly about her safety. A black mist lifts his fingers, moving towards Nessa. She felt the magic inside her respond to it, bouncing excitedly from within as it grew stronger. Her violet eyes scanned his face, but his eyes would not meet hers. "Thank you." She commented softly, before turning away. She didn't know why he'd chosen to do it, whether it really was just for the strategic purposes. But she appreciated the help, perhaps if they weren't in such a vague fight she may have refused to the extra power. Wanting to fight on her own strength alone, but this wasn't one of those scenarios were stubbornness was nothing but foolish. There were just too many unpredictable layers to this mission. If she was going to lead them properly, she had to think carefully. Recklessly refusing magic for the sake of pride just wasn't worth putting her teammates in risk. Besides, in a way Markus was putting his faith in her, helping her should she need to protect the group from the front. That was probably the most positive way she could look at it.

After a while of travelling, the group had arrived at the swamp terrain surrounding the fortress ahead. Haraka offered an opinion on what people might have used the castle for. She nodded, "It's very well possible. It could also have potential clues about the pathogen." She added. The group moved towards the swamp, the closer they got to the castle. The harder it became to move through it. The ground's terrain was less hard ground, and more like thick, damp mud. the bottom of her white boots were thickly coated in it. Something that made the girl cringe internally, this was not going to be easy to clean. If less tense circumstances she might have complained aloud. But she didn't want to divert the attention of the others just for the sake of her frustration over her clothes being ruined. Surrounding them there were large pools of water that seem to spread across the land. It wasn't easy, Nessa had a feeling that one step in the wrong place would likely result in one falling into the marsh.

As they closed in on the ruins, Nessa came the realisation that the ruins were larger than she realised. Spreading across quite a large span of the land. The ground seemed to rise up as they got closer to the building itself. When stepping on this raised earth, Nessa noticed it was a little harder than what they had been walking through. Which was a relief, walking through a swamp wasn't exactly the most comfortable experienced. She was sure some of the water hadn't gotten inside her boots somehow, making them less comfortable than they had been. She really couldn't wait to get home and have a nice hot soak in the bath. She kicked off some of the heavy mud that coated her shoes. She did a quick scan of the area, eying the marshes for a moment. She had a strange feeling, perhaps it was a hunch. But something was telling her that this place wasn't safe. Her instinct was warning her to leave immediately, but that could have had something to do with the creepy layout of the land. "Looks like a lot of the walls have crumbled over time, let's see if we can move inside. Be mindful though the structure has probably weakened over time and could come down on you, so try not to lean on anything." It was more of a reminder to herself than anything, because if anyone was like to do something as foolish as that. Well, it was her.

She began to walk around the edge of the building, keeping an eye out for a gap or a doorway they could move through. Finally, she spotted a region of walls that had broken off completely, allowing for entry into the castle. Nessa moved towards it, she peeked inside first checking the inside. The top of the wall came up to the height of her thighs, meaning she needed to lifted herself slightly in order to clamber inside. Scooting legs over, she dropped down on the other side. She looked around, "It's clear." She called to the others, indicating for them to follow her. She began to wander further inside. The was still grass and earth beneath her, suggesting that there had only breached the first wall of the castle. There was probably more building further in. She moved across the land, keeping an eye out. They were more likely to find something useful inside the castle, rather than in the outer walls. But they just needed to find a way in.

"Nessa Lux," Tiphanae's voice drew her attention, Nessa glanced over, to see the Valkyrie pointed to a wall which had in it what looked like an archway. She moved towards it, eying the edge, there was broken wood there. On top of which the edges had little rusted chunks of metal that when looked at closely Nessa assumed might have once been door hinges. This was an entrance at some point, although either the doorway had rotted away or something had ripped it off completely. Nessa summoned a few orbs of light, having them hover around her as she moved into the building. Stepping inside, it was pretty dark in here, save for the light from emanated from the broken regions of wall and Nessa's starlight. Nessa remained quietly, listening carefully. She moved her orbs further in and keeping one near Markus so to light up the area behind him. Just in case.

For a while all that could be heard was the sounds of their own steps, even Tiphanae had landed and was walking behind Nessa. Not wanting to fly in such a restricted space. After a good ten minutes of walking, the group reach the end of the corridor which seem to split into a stairwell. As Nessa looked up, she could see that the stairs leading up had disintegrated entirely. Climbing them would be risky, she glanced down, the stairs seemed to spiral away into darkness. She took a slow breath, she didn't like this one bit. "Guess we're heading down." She muttered, before leading the group down the stairway. This seemed to go on for a little longer, spiralling round and round, further and further down. Nessa could sense the disconnection as she moved further away from the stars, she knew from experience that this meant they had moved quite deep underground.

Finally, after an uncomfortable amount of steps, the stairs came to a stop, leading them to an open room. It was an empty space. The only noticeable thing in it was a large metal doorway on the opposing wall to the stairway. Nessa eyed it for a moment, before turning the handle. She was met with resistance, Locked... She thought. Which of course, only made her want to get in more. She eyed it for a moment, "If you move, I'll kick it down." Agatha said irritably, obviously bored of the slow pace at this point. Nessa shook her head, "The force could bring the ruins crashing down on us." She told her, leaning forward she eyed the door handle, trying to peek through the cap for a moment. "It's okay... I have an idea."  She said softly. She pressed her hands against the door, "Move back a little bit." She instructed the others. Light would flow to her fingers had her orbs appeared around her hands. This wasn't something she'd tried before, but she been told it was possible with her families type of magic. So it was worth a shot. The starlight grew hotter and hotter; the air around Nessa began to ripple from the sudden increase in its heat. She began to sweat; her body was resistance her magic meaning that it wouldn't harm her. But that didn't mean it was any less comfortable to raise its temperature so high. The heat spread through the door, causing the door to almost glow as it began to melt away. Nessa stepped away, watching as the metal dripped away, leaving a person side hole in the doorway. Nessa stood panting for a moment, before addressing the Wind Valkyrie, "Tiphanae, can you use your wind and cool the metal for me? Be careful not to use too much power." Nessa said backing away, the light leaving her hands. Tiphanae stepped forward. She waved her hands over the metal. Releasing a soft, cool wind over it, like Nessa she could drop lower the temperate of her wind. Although it wasn't going to be enough to cool the door down completely, it would at least allow for it to harden slightly. Tiphanae stepped away, nodding at Nessa, who smiled back appreciatively.

"Should be okay to climb through. Careful not to touch the metal guys." Nessa told them, moving forward once more she stepped through the hole. Moving into the room, she recreated the orbs of the light to light up the room. They would spread out, floating around and illuminating the space. It looked like a study, except for the fact it was quite large. Nessa moved further inside to allow the others entry in the room.

"Okay, we should be okay to move around freely and take a look around in here. See if we can find anything useful to take back to the alliance." She said to the others, before moving further in to explore.


WC: 2135
Total: 10,064 / 12,500

Nessa would move further into the room, the Valkyries following swiftly after her. She would move along to the far right side of the room. Her gaze wandering over the walls idly. For such a large space, it's walls were fairly bare. There were no decorative pieces, only shelving for books or pegs for tools that hung from them. Nessa moved along towards a table which seemed to be left in quite a disarray. Despite the room being closed off, whoever had been in here last hadn't sought to tidy up after they left. She wondered if they had left it in a hurry, who knew the memories this room held.

As the Starlight Maiden examined the desk, she would hear Haraka commenting about the records; she glanced over. As she did, she noticed one of the far walls had something...different about it. She moved around the table towards it, stepping in close. Upon closer inspection, she would realise that there was...etchings. Markings, much like runes, engraved into the brickwork, as though carved there. The detail was immense; it spread across the entire wall, like calculations almost. "Tiphanae, do you know this language?" She would ask, the Valykries had been around for as long as the existence of the world. She figured if anyone was likely to know what it meant, it would be them. The Wind Valkyrie turned, approaching her summoner. She examined it, "Yes..." Nessa's eyes would widen, "This is ancient magic, a very old kind of scripture."

"Can you translate it?" She asked Tiphanae cocked her head, eying the words for a moment, contemplating the request. "I can, but the quantity is fairly grande, it would take hours to recite." Nessa heard Haraka explain about his spirits, glancing over at the spirits. She threw the man an understanding smile before returning her gaze to the wall. "I wonder how long it would take to trace this, probably way too long. Unless..." Nessa turned, moving back the table, she began to collect every blank piece of paper she could find. Laying it out on the ground, "Tiph, Agatha, can you give me a hand?" The girls would quickly follow suit, scouring the room for blank paper and making room on the ground to create a space equivalent to the size of the wall. Fortunately, the scale of the floor was greater than the etching, meaning that they were able to gather enough. "Okay, here goes." Nessa stepped around the paper on the floor to the wall covered in markings, taking a breath, she manipulated her magic. Gently allowing it to flow from her fingers. Little trails of starlight would begin to spread from her fingers, moving across the wall and seeping into the dips where the runes had been carved. Spreading outwards until the entire wall was filled with glowing text. Carefully, she would back away, moving across the pages, until she had moved past it. She would manipulate the words, which floated away from the wall, being careful to hold the scripture in its original form. She moved the light towards the pages, lowering it slowly. The heat from the starlight raised ever so slightly, just enough to burn the words onto the pages, but not enough to set it a light. The starlight vanished after a moment, and the pages on the floor were covered in a replica of the walls imprint, it wasn't perfect, but it was close enough. "Yes! We did it!" Nessa said, pumping the air with her fist as she and Tiphanae quickly set about collecting the pages. Before carefully folding them away into her satchel.

"Oi, girl." Agatha mumbled, Nessa glanced other at her, Agatha wasn't looking at her, but at the far wall. "You might wanna take a look at your handiwork." Nessa followed her gaze, only for her violet eyes to widen at the site. The runes were glowing, but with a different light, the glow was bright red, spreading across each etching ominously. "Something tells me, this isn't going to be good." The Lightning Valkyrie commented idly, Nessa took a step back, panic beginning to rise. Panic and frustration, she should have been more cautious, why didn't she anticipate that the runes might react in such a way. She watched with bated breath as the last red line filled it. There was a pause, silence as nothing happened until finally, she heard it.

A roar in the distance.

Followed by a distinct rumble, the ground beneath them began to shake. Books would begin to fall from the shelving, and the ceiling would begin to crumble around them. "RUN." Nessa shouted, turning on her heels, she would move towards the doorway, group in to. She stopped outside of the door to make sure everyone got out of the room, before moving up the stairs as quickly as she could. "Nice going brat, just had to bring this place crumbling down on us, huh."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise it would react like that," Nessa squealed back, resisting the urge to cry at her own stupidity. Moving as fast as they good, Nessa led the group back outside of the building, arriving in the courtyard that had been in before they'd entered the castle. She stopped, taking a moment to catch her breath. "Is everyone out?" She asked, turning to count the heads, sighing in relief. They had managed to get out safely, which was ideal, considering the distance crashing that could be heard as the inside of the building began to collapse. "Good, at least we're safe."

At least that's what she thought until she heard the distinct roar from earlier repeat itself, Only this time, much louder and much closer. In the sky above, soared a white dragon-like creature. Beautiful and sleek as it was, undoubtedly as it soared in a circle above the castle, it was hunting down its prey. "Quick, let's move to the outside of the building, we're trapped in this courtyard, it'll be a disadvantage to fight here." She quickly ran across the courtyard, moving towards the broken wall they had climbed over earlier. As she reached it, she stopped, as she peered out into the swap, another monster broke through the water. Rising up to over two hundred feet in height was a giant snake-like creature. With glowing white eyes, and a jaw filled with deadly looking fangs. The serpent spotted her, hissing aggressively and moving closer to the edge of the castle while keeping its body in the water.

"EYAAAA, NOT THIS WAY, NOT THIS WAY!" She screamed, turning around and running away from the gap as quickly as she could to create distance between them and the second monster. She glanced around; these monsters weren't like the others. They seemed immensely strong from appearance, and to face two of them, meant they would need to split up. Maybe if I get everyone to higher ground we'll have a better shot? She spotted a set of rocks, like a formation that stuck out of the ground, it would be ideal to climb, with the added potential of hiding between the formations if need be. She began to move towards it swiftly. As she did, however, the earth began to rumble once again, causing her to stumble as she ran. She reached the boulder, placing a hand on it to steady herself. She reached up to climb it but noticed the rocks shaking and stopped. As she eyed the rocks, a section of the rocks seemed to split horizontally, moving, either way, to reveal what looked like a giant eyeball. Nessa shrieked, backing away quickly, as the rocks trembled furiously, the earth began to split and rising from the ground was the third beast. Rising up to tower above them, Nessa backed away quickly. Three giant monsters now, she gulped, taking a moment to think. Before deciding, she turned to the others.

"Okay, I don't see any other way, we're going to have to take one each... Markus, can you take that flying white dragon and Haraka, if you got after the Serpent monster in the swamp. I'll take this rock giant thing." She ordered, this seemed to be a reasonable enough request, "And guys... whatever you do... don't die." She told them, before turning back to the beast. She was scared, perhaps even terrified. She'd never faced a monster of this magnitude before; the Valkyrie stepped up alongside her. They, of course, would accompany their summoner.  The beast, who seemed rather disgruntled about being woken from its slumber, looked around angrily searching for the culprit. Nessa flicked her wrist; orbs began to fly around her body, lifting her off the ground. She moved closer to the beast so that it would concentrate on her and only her.

"Agatha." Nessa barked, the Lightning Valkyrie grinned.

"Got it." The Valkyrie soared forward, speedily flying up over the best. She would turn in the air,  unsheathing her sword. She would point to the sky, causing it the rumble slightly. A bolt of the lightning would soar from the sky. Smashing into the back of the neck of the beast. The rock would only crack slight and serve to irritate the creature. It reared up further, opening it's maw wide. It would release a blast of cold air, Nessa and Tiphanae darted away barely managed to escape the blast. Tiphanae spun through the air, moving around the body of the monster as though searching for a weak spot. She soared around its shoulder and moved down its body swiftly, beating her powerful white wings are she soared, she waved her arm, releasing a slash of wind at its underbelly. Although this didn't seem to do much more than Tiphanae's attack. Nessa waved her hand through the air, summoning a set of five orbs, they would soar towards the beast. The beast seemed ready for the attack, roaring once more, it would blow away the orbs, all but one getting through and smashing it in the face. Nessa growled in frustration; she was going to need to use stronger spells to beat this thing.

Nessa held out her palm, Starlight flowing through her body and into her hand as she did so. All the while moving through the air, she would manoeuvre herself so she hovered over the shoulder of the beast. Once her spear finished forming, she would thrust it downwards into the beast's neck between the space in which the jagged rock stuck out, she let out a fierce cry as she exerted as much force as she could trying to break through the monsters hard flesh. It would let out a loud roar, thrashing wildly. Nessa kicked off of the beast, moving into the air above it. She looked around, it seemed that the others were fully engaged in their fight with the other monsters. She would just have to hope they would be alright. The Valkyries would rejoin her in the air.

"He's not taking much damage from our attacks, my sword is practically ineffective against him." Agatha commented, sounding serious for once. Nessa glanced at her, "Still, my spear got through, which means it isn't impervious to magic, we just need to keep at it. Dart around it as much as you can, see if we can confuse it, so my hits are more likely to land." She ordered Tiphanae nodded, but Agatha looked hesitant, as though she didn't like the plan. However, instead of arguing, she sighed, nodding in agreement. The three girls split up, soaring back towards the beast. The two Valkyries manoeuvre around the beast, hacking and slicing away at it as and where they could. As Agatha had stated, their swords were practically useless against the hard rock of the body of the monster. But still, it would keep the monster occupied as Nessa moved behind it. Her hands and feet would glow as she summoned starlight around them, she flew downwards towards the beast in a great burst of speed. She would pull back her fist, swinging it forward to deliver a punch directly into the creature's spine. Then kicking back off the creature, she would glide around it towards it's front as it turned to try and see what attacked it. Using the momentum to deliver a hard kick to its cheek, the starlight smashing into the rock as she did so. This knocked the creature slightly, causing it to stumble to the side. It would tremble in anger, spinning back and roaring, releasing another wave of cold air.

The very moment Tiphanae made the mistake of flying in front of its jaw, the blast of air hit the Wind Valkyrie with full force and sending her flying through the air. Nessa and Agatha would cry out, flying towards Tiphanae. Agatha got their first, catching her sister before she hit the ground. She lowered her down, "Tiphanae, Are you ok?" Agatha cried, actual concern in her voice. Tiphanae would cough, her body slowly being coated in crystals. "I'm fine, just winded, but my body... I can't move." It seemed the crystals hardening all over her were holding her in place; they were continuing to spread, move up her neck and over her face. Nessa eyed her frozen friend, rage welling within her. The anger rising up so quickly, and so ferocious Nessa could barely contain herself.

"Agatha... stay with Tiphanae." The Valkyries looked up at their summoner, shocked by the malevolence in her voice. A dark, demonic energy would begin to surround Nessa, and the grass and fauna around her would begin to wilt and die. "And what will you do?" Agatha asked, her tone uncertain, Tiphanae went to speak, but the crystal had formed over her mouth, preventing her from warning her sister about the state the Starlight Summoner had gone into. Nessa's turned, her violet eyes would turn completely black, and her face would contort into a monstrous rage.


As she spoke, she would not sound like herself, but as though a second, much deeper voice was talking alongside her. She would begin to walk across the plane. The beast would turn it's gaze to her, watching her cautiously as she approached. As she got close, it would open its mouth, ready to release another bout of crystalizing breath in an attempt to kill its attacker. Nessa would hold out her palms outwards, facing them towards the beast, her thumbs crossed over one another. And in her demonic voice, she would utter a single word.


Starlight erupted from her palms, like an explosion it rocketed outwards towards the beast and everything in front of her. It's immense power covering the entire fortress in magical light, burning everything in its path with its destructive heat. The monsters were smothered it in, and within a matter of second, it's body would begin to crumble as the magic broke through its hard shell. The rocks would fall apart, and the beast would be reduced to a pile of scorched rubble. After a moment, the light would fade, the Starlight maiden stood there, looking out over the beasts remains for a moment, before turning towards the other. Her eyes still completely black; she would slowly walk towards the girls.


Agatha stood up, holding out her sword, unsure about the dark energy that was now emanating from Nessa.  Nessa would continue her approach, stopped barely an edge from the tip of the sword. She would eye Agatha with a cold, hateful glare, the corner of her lips lifting into a snarl.


The Starlight Maidens hand would rise slowly, the magic swelling in her palm, as she prepared to release another attack.

"Whatever you do now, girl... just remember, you will have to live with it for the rest of your life." Agatha said solemnly, Nessa's body would freeze, she would begin to tremble. Bringing her hands to the side of her face, her expression becomes pained. She would let out a cry, and the darkest would fade from her eyes, the demonic energy would disappate, and she would return to normal. Panting from the exertion of fighting for control over her own body. Agatha would wait a moment, before lowering her sword. Nessa's eyes grew sad, she moving towards Tiphanae, placing her hands on the Valkyrie, her soft light would glow under her fingers, healing her summon, the crystalized rock would fall away. A single tear falling down the girl's cheek, she turned, from what she could tell, the others had also just about defeated their monsters and were ok. She wiped the tear from her face and will a shaky breath addressed them all.

"That's enough guys... let's go home."

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Nessa's Stats:

Enemies: