2018-01-03: To Hone One's Promise

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===========================<* Kislev-Aveh Front *>============================

The frontlines of the Kislev-Aveh War have shifted many times in the last few hundred years, but they have left their scars on the land. One can, of course, find fighting between their infantry and Gears here. Such places are dangerous, and most Drifters know to steer away from them. However, sometimes there is no choice; even the rail lines thought to be away from the front can get caught unawares by a patrol, and skirmishes have resulted in delays and death for those trying to get to the Badlands.

The areas not currently being fought in are also dangerous. Deserters and monsters alike can wander them, and the dry, dusty land leaves little succor for those in need. To make matters worse, abandoned fortifications and trenches make an excellent hiding place for the bandits seeking to profit here. Drifters are sometimes drawn here, though, to either fight for one side or to excavate abandoned ARMs and Gears left behind in a battle. This sort of salvage work is risky, but the rewards can be great.

DG: A party led by Riesenlied is now entering The Sword-Saint Sanctuary.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ruined Hamlet *>======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Making your way up the mountain pass was already a challenge, and now you     
 find that the place you were going to is just as broken-down and decrepit as  
 the rumors claimed. Locating the entrance to the temple-grotto amidst the     
 broken-down, ramshackle buildings is going to take quite some time...         
 especially since you'll probably need to move some rubble around to find it.  
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied had heard about the split earth upon the cliff... and how a ruin had been discovered within it. High up upon the Mountain Path, that voice calls out to her once more...

        You wish to know how to make a difference? Then show us that you are more than your taint. You have told us what you will do. We have heard many a promise, Demon.

        The voice of that which geassed her to be more than what they perceive to be butchers; murderers.

        A trait your kind shares with humans. Give us more than a promise. Give us action. Create the peace you desire. Build your village. Bring our people together. Show that you will do more than kill us. Be more than what you were created to be.

        The voice still echoes within her mind. A voice that has made clear its purpose and its premise -- and one that has been enforced by the Trial Knight's gazeless judgement, high above her.

        This is the geas that I lay upon you! Bring us more than war -- and we shall see if we have misjudged all of your kind!

        It is one that she has kept, to this date. At great personal risk, at the risk of her village, to invite the ire of her brethren.

        Now, Riesenlied gazes towards the entrance of the temple, her thin sword placed before her as she clasps its wire hilt gently. "Equites... I have come," she quietly murmurs, the emanation of the Dragon's Tear shimmering around her gently.

        Odjn floats beside her, looking a little pensive as she glances to Jacqueline. Their talk was still fresh in her mind. "So this is where that sword guy who ordered you 'round lives, huh...?"

        "... it is a remarkable first step in peace and collaboration, and it is one I wish to honour," Riesenlied's voice is quiet and reverent. She steps closer towards the rubble with a tired little noise--

        --and the little dragon floats beside her to start shoving at the rubble instead. "Just like old times, eh?! Leave the heavy liftin' to me, Riese! You look bushed already!"

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ruined Hamlet.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Kourin's glad to see Riesenlied and Odjn. It's been awhile since they were around, but she remembers liking the pair. Spirit liked them, after all. She's also still back to shy-mode Kourin, though breaking out of that a little bit again over time. "I'm...I'm afraid I am not much good at this particular sort of task," she says, though doesn't hesitate to get in there and get her hands dirty with the heavy lifting. "On the other hand...perhaps it would be best if my particular specialties were not called for today."

DG: Kourin has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ruined Hamlet.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Was Ethius invited to come along, or did he just happen to accompany other people he was familiar with? Once again, he stays at a notable distance from Riesenlied. In her quest to bring everyone closer, from all walks of life... he seems to grow ever more distant. Was he ever close to begin with?
        Word has already traveled quickly about this location. At first, he seems to be of the mind that it would be expedient to just melt some of the rubble away into easier-to-navigate smaller piles.
        He's already got a hand outstretched and everything in the beginning gestures of some heat spells, when he overhears Riesenlied's piety in regards to the Guardian that presides over here. He lowers his hand, and ceases the chants.
        Quietly, he moves towards Kourin's side to help her try and move rock away. Sometimes he strikes at it with precise blows of his quarterstaff to fracture stone into smaller pieces, but otherwise, it's simple lifting and moving.
        Ethius is known to be pragmatic and try to take the simplest, quickest way he can. Today, he seems willing to exercise patience and understanding for what the place means for Riesenlied.
        ...Is that an improvement?

DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Ruined Hamlet.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong has also invited himself along in the hopes of making some money and uh seeing if this temple is as weird as the others. That's important too, right? He isn't too interested in swords but hey if he finds one for Citan maybe he can get a gear upgra--

--oh wait Citan doesn't use those forget that nonsense.

But he also knows that this is important to Riesenlied so he's here helping Odjn move rubble.

"Hey again Odjn," He says, figuring she's the responsible one here. "Did you like your picture?"

DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Ruined Hamlet.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

The Sword Guardian, Equites...

Jacqueline had heard of Riesenlied's meeting. When she was told that Riesenlied intended to go to the sanctuary dedicated to the Sword-Saint, Jacqueline felt it was best to go with her. There was no telling what might happen, and she wanted to see to it that her friend made it out safely...

That was her outward reasoning, at least. Inwardly...

Jacqueline eyes the Dragon's Tear with an uneasy frown, her eyes soon meeting Odjn's. It would seem the talk was fresh to her, as well.

Her expression lightens up a bit as she sends Kourin a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, don't worry. I have just the thing." Jacqueline says, reaching into her bags and drawing out a bright red potion. She hands one out to everyone present, then draws a Crest and gets to moving rubble away.

With magic, because Jacqueline cheats like that. Unlike Ethius, she doesn't have to worry about harming the place with hers.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Brewte Force toward her party's challenge, The Ruined Hamlet.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        For Noeline, word of the Sword Guardian's ruins is something of a bittersweet affair. Like Riesenlied, she won't soon forget the sensation of meeting a Guardian in the flesh. Like Riesenlied, she's keenly aware of just how close they came to having their lives ended, and how close they still are - whether at the hands of the Guardians themselves or at the demand of Siegfried and Mother.

        (Hopefully, it's just those two. She really doesn't want to have her life ended at the hands of Alhazred, because that's liable to take months, maybe even years.)

        At the same time... she looks up at the ruined, decrepit village with something of a deep-set frown. "... for all their power, it really does seem like the world has forgotten about them at times, don't you think?" she muses to the open air as she directs one of her spherical ARMs forward to wedge itself under a fallen beam, engines whining as it slowly lifts and levers the debris upwards. "As our somewhat enforced patrons, I would hope they'd have some better digs than this."

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Trouble toward her party's challenge, The Ruined Hamlet.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ruined Hamlet *>======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Making your way up the mountain pass was already a challenge, and now you     
 find that the place you were going to is just as broken-down and decrepit as  
 the rumors claimed. Locating the entrance to the temple-grotto amidst the     
 broken-down, ramshackle buildings is going to take quite some time...         
 especially since you'll probably need to move some rubble around to find it.  
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
==================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 1 *>===================
=======================< Results - The Ruined Hamlet >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          0 --(5)--> 5                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod                       0 --(5)--> 5                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       0 --(10)--> 10                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             0 --(5)--> 5                   Pass
Trouble                             2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen           
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(10)--> 10                 Fail
Brewte Force                        1   Brute   Effects: Fanfare and Strengthe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kourin                              0 --(10)--> 10                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  0 --(15)--> 15                 Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(2)
Effects: Strengthen(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        It does not take long for the Drifters to clear through the rubble -- Odjn heaves with a surprising strength that is unsurprising to those that know the little dragon, just about hucking one boulder clean aside as she whistles in her working. Ethius' quiet and patience isn't lost on Riesenlied, as she... lowers her head and bows towards the curious man when he chooses to not simply melt the rubble in their path.

        Kourin's comment elicits a smile from Riesenlied, as she nods to say, "Many hands do make light the work. And I am glad to see you again, Miss Kourin."

        And Jacqueline cheats, lifting rubble with her own pillars to essentially reconstruct the earth. It's hard work, but they make steady pace at it.

        Fei is here too, and it's been a while, Riesenlied nodding as Odjn moves by Fei's side. "Gosh, don't I! I still have it hung up on the wall! Y'know I went through fire to save it at Old Petra?" The irony! "I'm gonna get a frame on it!"

        And Riesenlied also turns to hold hand with Noeline gently, whispering, "They suffer in many ways not unlike how our brethren have. I can only hope we can bridge that gap gently..."

        She looks up towards the skies for a moment. "I believe in it wholeheartedly."

DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
============================================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>=============================================
=============================================<* CHALLENGE - Living Armor *>=============================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
 A corridor flanked by suits of armor suddenly comes alive! Each of the        
 armors rise, animated by ghostly flame and wielding ancient weapons. The      
 spirits of these long-dead warriors have returned to protect the secrets of   
 their monastery. Put them to rest before they stick you full of rusty,        
 tetanus-ridden steel.                                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        When they find the way in, to call it a 'way' ahead does not do the corridor they now visit justice. It is long, vast, and solemn. The air is still. Unmoving. To either side of the group that traverses the walls of the sanctuary, they are before an innumerable number of suits of armor - rusted, but intact - standing at attention. To those with a grasp of the location's history, the way they all hold their weapons - not quite uniform - resemble an aggressive stance. The sort one would see of a group of palace guards at the ready. Rallied to action. To war.
        It is not a place to feel at ease, in awe of ancient history. It is a place to feel the pressure and fury of the element of war itself.
        As they all make it about... half-way? Far enough that the way out is lost from where one stands. Far enough that it would be difficult to turn back, the lights come on above each and every armor. A candle light for every armor.
        ...Those aren't candles.
        They start from the front, where Riesenlied stands. They flare up at an increasing tempo the further down they go. The squealing and screeching of rusted metal forcing itself to move is a second cue that no, this is probably not a good thing.
        They raise their weapons. Swords, axes, spears. From where there should be heads, there is a ghostly flame... and just barely the visage of a grimacing warrior can be made out, screams of anger lost in the flickers of flame.
        "We must hurry through." Ethius comments the obvious (again). One satchel is drawn, enchanted through Symbology, and tossed into the ground to provide that heavy smoke cover. "Move."
        Running ahead is one way to do it, but even then, they are ferocious. Relentless. Already dead. They will have to fight through at least several of them to make it to the other side intact.

DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Powder Grenade toward his party's challenge, Living Armor.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei is oblivious to the irony.

"Oh uh, were you there? Sorry." He says. "I mean we attacked it for like, reasons, but I guess it went a little crazy. I'm glad you're okay though."

He draws out his RPS Badge and holds it out in case one of these ghosts is a former RPS champion who needs to have one last game to move on.

And indeed, one gauntleted hand throws out its fist and starts bouncing it.

"I understand," Fei says, closing his eyes and throwing out paper!

The spirit throws rock and with a ghostly howl, the spirit leaves the armor behind!

"Rest well, old champion..." Fei murmurs before hurrying along to catch up with the group

<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Kourin sighs. "I did not intend for my comment to become a prediction," she murmurs, pulling out one of her rimebombs--blue clay spheres infused with her ice magics--and hurling it at the ground before the approaching armors. She draws her sword, and rushes in, matching blade with blade, though not without a little flash of ice magic from time to time as well.

Kourin's not the best cook, and she's not the best at making things. She's pretty okay at training animals...but in combat, she's an artist.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, Living Armor.
DG: Kourin has used her Tool Rimebomb toward her party's challenge, Living Armor.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied steps closer as she gazes towards the very nature of the hall's history; even in the oppressive presence of how those armours hold poise to their swords... she cannot help but be in awe of the Guardian of Swords' palace.

        Perhaps too much. The flare of lights raising from within the metallic armors heralds their movement--

        We must hurry through.

        Riesenlied nods and hurries along, stumbling a little as Odjn exclaims, "Talk about holdin' a grudge! Riese, I got this!"

        Odjn plants herself on the ground, seemingly doing little but-- but--

        --spinning in place extremely fast? Riesenlied's face kind of falls as she asks, "W-what are you--"

        Ping! Ping ping ping ping. The Odjn spindash bounces off the chestplates and axes and spears of the living armours, giving Riesenlied time to flee as Fei plays rock-paper scissors, and Kourin fights blade to blade with them.

        "Just don't overdo it, Odjn--"

        Odjn crashes against a wall nearby, and inexplicably bursts into a sprinkle of golden rings. "Oops, hehe, I guess I took too much treasure..."

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Claw toward her party's challenge, Living Armor.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

It's exhausting. Using magic to rearrange the earth may be easier than lifting it herself, but not by much. Eventually though, they manage to find a way in...but when they do, they find that its defenders, though worn down by time, still defend this place as ardently as they did countless years ago.

...And unfortunately, they seem intent on causing harm.

"Sorry...I know you're just doing your job, but..." Jacqueline fishes a bottle of black liquid from her bags and hurls it into their midst...and with a quick invocation of a Crest, strikes it with lightning and sends flaming liquid all over them, just moments before Kourin's Rimebomb strikes and covers them with ice.

The combination of heating and rapid cooling should hopefully soften their armor up a bit, for that is the rule on Filgaia...

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Reliable Repellant toward her party's challenge, Living Armor.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Noeline has always enjoyed considering herself something of a historian, even if it's a matter of living the past rather than reading about it. As such, she steps lightly through the ruined sanctuary, humming softly to herself as she carefully nudges a piece of armor with her foot and turns it over to look for an insignia other than that of Equites. "This is what I'm talking about, you see. Honestly, to think that at some point the Guardians had actual armed forces in their retainership. It's a long way from the Baskar situation of today."

        She doesn't even seem particularly surprised when the spirits still within them begin to move, only letting out a light snort as she steps forward, one hand held out. Living metal is another thing she knows well, after all, if perhaps not quite in this fashion, and her crimson scythe bleeds out of her arm, melting outwards into a solid shape in her grasp.

        "... rest assured, we do understand," she snorts quietly towards Fei, tilting her head with a faint grin before she steps forward to carve a path through some of the more energetic suits of armor blocking their path. "Things were a little complicated at the time, and that's rather an understatement." She ducks smoothly, letting Odjn fly over her head and pushing herself forward into a darting run that puts her blade in the way of two more.

DG: Noeline has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Living Armor.
============================================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>=============================================
=============================================<* CHALLENGE - Living Armor *>=============================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
 A corridor flanked by suits of armor suddenly comes alive! Each of the        
 armors rise, animated by ghostly flame and wielding ancient weapons. The      
 spirits of these long-dead warriors have returned to protect the secrets of   
 their monastery. Put them to rest before they stick you full of rusty,        
 tetanus-ridden steel.                                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
=======================================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 2 *>========================================
===============================================< Results - Living Armor >===============================================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          5 --(5)--> 10                  Pass
Dragon's Claw                       1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod                       5 --(5)--> 10                  Pass
Powder Grenade                      3   Combat  Effects: Fanfare              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       10 --(5)--> 15                 Pass
RPS Badge                           3   Combat  Effects: Rally                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             5 --(5)--> 10                  Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   10 --(5)--> 15                 Pass
Reliable Repellant                  2   Combat  Effects: Embolden             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kourin                              10 --(5)--> 15                 Pass
Rimebomb                            3   Combat  Effects: Rally                
-------------------------------------------------------< Party >--------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied   
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
[OOC] Ethius Hesiod says, "they didn't stand a chance, haha"
[OOC] Ethius Hesiod typin'.
[OOC] Jacqueline Barber says, "Heheh."
[OOC] Riesenlied says, "very clean!"
[OOC] Fei Fong Wong says, "simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight"
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Beyond death, the warriors here have bound themselves to a service that would extend far beyond their natural lives - and perhaps even far beyond their unnatural ones. They are hampered only by the rust in the bodies they inhabit. Even the finest warriors among them would soon recognize that this is the only thing that gives them a fighting chance at all.
        For Fei, he has it easy because everyone among this unit picks rock. It must be a unit honor thing. He smothers them all under the might of his paper hand sign.
        Kourin has her a few close calls, but her superior swords(wo)manship allows her to capitalize on mistakes she would know would have been a fatal end for her had not there been the matter of rust in the moving armors - that, and the ice that would root many of them in place.
        Odjn's spinning proves excellent in helping deflect oncoming blows, allowing everyone more space to maneuver.
        Jay uses her mastery over chemistry to undo what is left of the armors she encounters, allowing for easier clean-up among those who have to stand and fight.
        Noeline professionally fills in as a scab for the Grim Reaper with her scything. One such flaming soul-headed soldier looks her in the eye - dead in THAT eye, everyone knows the one - and lingers a bit longer than most the others do before they allow themselves released.
        Ethius awaits at the other end, allowing Riesenlied to pass with an unreadable expression as he keeps a quarterstaff pointed. He'll make up the rear of the party as they all come to the other side. It turns out the remainder of the guard is easy enough to outrun, but that they give chase at all may encourage them to have to make the rest of their trip through as expedient as possible.
        After all, a man may die, but their weapons may yet be ready for battle for far, far longer.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
=======================================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 2 *>========================================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Shuriken Special *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 A ghostly throwing star whisks by your ear. It seems as though a pair of      
 ghosts are practicing their throwing techniques here, hurling spectral        
 shuriken and necrotic kunai through the exact same space you need to pass to  
 proceed. Dodge or you may find yourself stuck full of sharp, pointy things!   
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
[OOC] Zed says, "What cards have you seen so farrr"
[OOC] Ethius Hesiod says, "entry brute, hall of ghost armors, now this one."
[OOC] Zed says, "Ghoooost armoooors"
[OOC] White Knight Leo says, "we got ALL THE BRUTE last night"
[OOC] Zed says, "We did"
[OOC] Zed says, "It was hilarious"
[OOC] Riesenlied says, "are you implying noe has a dark flame eye"
[OOC] Riesenlied says, "surely she wouldn't...!"
[OOC] Ethius Hesiod says, "I dunno, maybe the ghost soldier thought it was very pretty"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"This place is...well-defended..." Jacqueline observes, taking a moment to breathe and recenter herself. Once she's good to get moving again she starts walking, carefully eying corridors as they move through them. "Even in death, these spirits seek to protect the Sanctuary. It's sad, but in a way very admir-ah!"

Jacqueline is interrupted as a series of ghostly knives go flowing right in front of her face. Though they appear incorporeal, she can feel them as they fly past her, feeling very real and very deadly...

She backpedals rapidly, and takes a moment to look into the room once more.

Two ghosts reside there, hurling spectral projectiles into targets on opposite of the halls, their trajectorily inconveniently passing right through the only way forward.

The spirits don't notice the party as they approach. It is as if there is nothing left in this world to them but training their throw, and nothing but an order from the one they follow can interrupt their tight, laser focus...

Each thrown projectile lands in the exact center of their target, without fail.

That's the benefit of using ghostly projectiles. They don't get in the way of the rest of your shots.

Still, it poses a challenge...how are they to get across? Jacqueline frowns and attempts to summon an earth pillar...but the projectiles go right through. It seems the only way forward is to...

"Alright, we're going to have to move quickly. Watch the pattern, and when they stop...move!" Jacqueline says...and then puts her plan into action.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Shuriken Special.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Kourin's glad she has her sword out. She's good at dodging, and probably able to get through something like this without trouble for herself and Spirit--but there's more than just her and Spirit here. She also has a neat trick--a magical trick rope. How does that help, you ask? Well, it snakes out and whiplashes at incoming shuriken...and bats them aside. How? It's a magic rope.

DG: Kourin has used her Tool Trick Rope toward her party's challenge, Shuriken Special.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied does turn and look to where Noeline is inspecting the armours with a nod, quietly asking, "I wonder what manner of culture may have dedicated themselves to the Guardian of Swords, myself... I am unaware of any, in my time in Elru."

        She does look similarly fatigued, chancing the moment to regain her breath as she walks with her. "I feel a reverence from them... it--"

        She gasps just a little in turn, and swallows as she draws that thin side-sword of hers. This is a domain of the Guardian of Swords, and it would be amiss for her to not show--

        Step, deflect; in an artful twist, she's arrested a kunai flying her way with the wire quillon of her blade, and turned with the momentrum to lace her thin, rapier-like blade through the hole of one of the shuriken coming her way.

        "... even if I may not have the physique anymore, I won't let my form waver," she expresses.

        She proceeds onward, continuing to deflect ghostly projectiles as needed to protect the group.

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Shuriken Special.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong sees the latest challenge before them but can he manage it? Several letters and symbols appear on the screen as he rapidly tries to hit all of them to avoid getting plinked by shuriken damage. Maybe if he avoids it all he will get a special item. Or save Nanami's life.

In practice this just means him running and jumping really quickly.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Shuriken Special.
[OOC] Fei Fong Wong says, "small pose cuase heaidng home soon"
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Coming up the rear, Ethius proves quiet as Jay takes the point on the next bit.
        He makes use of Jay's pillar to give himself some height as he throws up an arm holding that patchy-lookin' sack. With a timely Symbological cast, he takes a short hop from this elevated position and attempts to drift down the hallway with a makeshift hot air balloon. He lifts his legs up in order to best avoid flying ghostly shuriken... unless they decide to aim a bit higher. That might be an issue, especially because his drifting speed is slow in an aggravating way.
        Go through quick but dangerously, or go through slowly but (maybe) safely.

DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Hot Air Sack toward his party's challenge, Shuriken Special.
[OOC] Ethius Hesiod says, "short one here for lack of much to add."
[OOC] Riesenlied says, "even on a non-yaro alt, ethius is avoiding the dungeon obstacle...!"
[OOC] Ethius Hesiod says, "haha"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        "That is the way of spirits, you know," Noeline huffs towards Jacqueline as she watches the last of the armored figures fall away, only to see more of them up ahead; these are rather more fixated on their ghostly task, forever hurling small weapons down the corridor ahead. "... 'admirable', perhaps, but a little single-minded for my liking."

        The demon pauses for a moment to help support Riesenlied; it's too brief, but it does at least give her a moment to grin in amusement at her partner's comment. "A reverence towards martial forms and weaponry. Somewhat familiar, isn't it?" she hums. "Perhaps it wasn't all that odd for Equites to be the one to greet us, threats aside."

        Just like that, though, Jacqueline calls out their opportunity, and Noeline is suddenly darting forwards at speed, nimbly weaving between projectiles. The fact that some of them barely seem to be there - are that much harder to detect because of it - doesn't seem to matter to her at all, and that might be due to the light corona of Duras Drum's power hovering in the air around her.

        The more corporeal ones simply slam into Strife, deflected off the pod's metallic armor as it runs interference with a mildly put-upon beep.

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Shuriken Special.
=======================================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 2 *>========================================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Shuriken Special *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 A ghostly throwing star whisks by your ear. It seems as though a pair of      
 ghosts are practicing their throwing techniques here, hurling spectral        
 shuriken and necrotic kunai through the exact same space you need to pass to  
 proceed. Dodge or you may find yourself stuck full of sharp, pointy things!   
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
==================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 3 *>===================
=======================================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 2 *>========================================
========================< Results - Shuriken Special >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          10 --(10)--> 20                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod                       10 --(10)--> 20                Fail
Hot Air Sack                        2   Agility Effects: Resilient            
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       15 --(10)--> 25                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             10 --(5)--> 15                 Pass
Strife                              1   Agility Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   15 --(5)--> 20                 Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kourin                              15 --(5)--> 20                 Pass
Trick Rope                          2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  35 --(20)--> 55                Pass
Conditions: Slow(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1)|Resilient(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

The spirits are dedicated, indeed...as the party moves forward, it seems almost as if the ghostly projectiles are drawn to them. Perhaps this is yet another form of training. For Kourin, this trial is nothing. Perhaps she's been through similar things before? The natural agility of Kourin and Spirit is enough, and anything that comes close is knocked away by that Trick Rope of hers.

It's similar for Noeline, who is able to cleanly weave her way through the projectiles. It helps that poor, loyal Strife takes the brunt of the attacks.

Jacqueline...doesn't do quite as well. She has a few narrow misses. And all the while, she eyes the others. ...Perhaps, in a place like this, sorcery wasn't the way to deal with this. Her gaze lowers somewhat.

Ethius and Fei learn a valuable lesson as well - while it can help sometimes, putting oneself into the air...mostly just makes your trajectory predictable. They'll earn a few shurikens for their efforts...but on the bright side, at least none of them put any holes into the Hot Air Sack!

As for Riesenlied...her technique is admirable, and her form doesn't waver. However, quite a few of the projectiles seem to home in on her specifically, and it will be difficult to parry or deflect all of them. Is this another test?

...In the end they all manage to make it through, if necessarily not unscathed. They are not done here, however...further challenges await.

DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Filgaian Ninja Warrior *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 There's no floor, but there is a complicated obstacle course from here to     
 there. Below is a pool of frigid water, waiting for you to slip and fall. It  
 looks like the warriors who lived here really did incorporate training into   
 every aspect of life, including getting to and from rooms in their own        
 temple. Prove your ultimate ninja mettle to get through!                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Bad Luck===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Thankfully, Kourin's trick rope is good for many things, including helping friends get across rooms with no floors. Kourin herself just...takes the obstacle course. This is her in her element. She uses some of her ice magic to freeze the pool below into additional footholds.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        The gauntlet of ranged attacks only proves to be the beginning of the group's troubles as far as speed and agility are concerned; the corridor they're having to weave and bob down suddenly and abruptly opens up into a wider space, and it's only Noeline's instincts - and a bit of help from Strife - that allow her to spring upwards to the first of the obstacles in their path.

        Ahead of them are a series of balconies etched into the wall as if they were outcroppings, with Noeline landing on the first after swinging up from her pod; between them are a series of bridges and swings, see-saws and whirling contraptions. While many of them are rotted away and broken apart, something about the group's presence seems to activate the collection of devices, and with a slow and grinding whirr the room comes to life.

        Noeline, for her part, just looks aghast. "What on-- this is surely hitting a little too close to home to simply be coincidence!" she huffs as she plants her hands on her hips and looks deeply unimpressed at the whole affair, even as she scans for a way upwards and onwards. Eventually, she can tilt her head towards a corridor leading out of the room on the opposite side. While it's a few levels higher, there is at least a way to climb up to it if you're willing to nudge back and forth across the paths laid out.

        Or, if you're willing to cheat, and be a Hyadean. Springing upwards to the next level isn't really a terribly difficult proposition for Noeline, especially when she's willing to lodge her odd shifting scythe into spaces and cracks in the stone wall, using them as leverage to get higher. Behind her, Strife eagerly beeps as it wings back down towards the group, bobbing merrily in place as if to offer a lift forwards.

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Filgaian Ninja Warrior.
DG: Kourin has used her Tool Trick Rope toward her party's challenge, Filgaian Ninja Warrior.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Form is not your issue.

        Riesenlied's eyes widen for a moment as she bristles at the voice calling out to her; she steps towards the nearest projectile to parry it -- and finds herself getting dragged through more than not. Her capability does not match what she can withstand anymore; several of the blades start to cut as she fails to really stymie their momentum.

        "... but it is what I have, and I do not intend to forsake it," she whispers.

        Odjn frowns as she says, "Y'gotta make adjustments, tho..." as she floats beside her companion.

        She steps along with Noeline as she catches her breath again, shaking her head and looking deeper into the ruin. "It is only appropriate, to honour all that I have learnt."

        The Hyadean's look is one of utter surprise as she agrees, "T-this does rather resemble what Zed used to enjoy building..." She puts a hand to her head, perhaps feeling a familiar headache roar into life.

        Odjn has the -exact opposite- response.

        "That looks so comfy... Riese Riese Riese I gotta--"

        "E-eh?!" Riesenlied looks alarmed. But it's too late. Odjn sucks up a breath, rolls herself up into a ball again and exclaims:

        "CANNONBALLLLL!"

        *splooooosh*

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Filgaian Ninja Warrior.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Ethius feels a stabbing sensation in his back, his right hip, and left shoulder. They are entirely well-deserved. He falls to a tumble and crawls low through the rest of the shuriken-filled path en route to the next as Noeline gives commentary about 'too close to home.'
        An obstacle course of some sort... huh, just like back at... huh.
        Ethius appraises the shaggy bag. No holes, no wear, no tear... that's good. He has himself a look through the obstacle course. He considers the possibility that certain traps might trigger if there isn't someone occupying the way in some form, or another.
        "I will elect to go through the intended way." This is only half-true. Ethius totally intends to cheat the horizontal stretches with less-certain footing through another judicious use of heat-based Symbology to portable hot air balloon his way through, but other than that, he approaches the lot of it straightforwardly at a reasonable clip but unremarkable technique.
        And lifting his legs up when Odjn cannonballs, as to not let the water splash him from that far down. He'd like to not get the single remaining powder grenade wet, for obvious reasons.

DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Hot Air Sack toward his party's challenge, Filgaian Ninja Warrior.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"Ah! This is...this might be a little ridiculous..." Jacqueline murmurs with a frown, looking upon the array of challenges waiting for them in the room beyond. It's...honestly a little worryingly familiar to an obstacle they encountered all the way back while going through the ruins of Old Petra...

Jacqueline takes a deep breath, shuts her eyes, and clenches her fists.

"...Alright. I...I'll do this properly. No sorcery. No potions. I can't keep relying on it to solve all my problems..." Jacqueline decides to herself, opening her eyes.

Without sorcery, without alchemy, what was she...?

An answer comes to mind, but she pushes it away. That couldn't remain true forever. She needed to focus not only on improving her talents, but improving herself...

And so she moves forward, with the goal of meeting the challenges the ancients had placed before her head-on. She would never know if she would be capable of facing them if they were in prime condition...but she couldn't be concerned about that.

She might lag behind a bit because of her decision, but she'll do her best.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Filgaian Ninja Warrior.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei is plucking out shuriken from his body as they move into the uh.

...Into the uh.

Huh.

Fei looks down at the water and tries to resist jumping in. He manages, for a little while, before he starts making his way across the latest challenge. At the very least, COULD he cheat? Sure, he could summon Weltall and just knock everything over but he believes firmly that one should not skip challenges that are placed before you unless you're just not feeling it.

And this nonsense? Fei is feeling it.

"Odjn! It's freezing cold water! ... Though maybe you're okay with that?" He's not sure how catdragons handle being wet. The cat part seems to suggest they wouldn't like it though.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Filgaian Ninja Warrior.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Filgaian Ninja Warrior *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 There's no floor, but there is a complicated obstacle course from here to     
 there. Below is a pool of frigid water, waiting for you to slip and fall. It  
 looks like the warriors who lived here really did incorporate training into   
 every aspect of life, including getting to and from rooms in their own        
 temple. Prove your ultimate ninja mettle to get through!                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Bad Luck===========================================
==================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 4 *>===================
=====================< Results - Filgaian Ninja Warrior >=====================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          20 --(5)--> 25                 Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod                       20 --(5)--> 25                 Pass
Hot Air Sack                        2   Agility Effects: Resilient            
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       25 --(5)--> 30                 Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             15 --(5)--> 20                 Pass
Strife                              1   Agility Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   20 --(5)--> 25                 Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kourin                              20 --(5)--> 25                 Pass
Trick Rope                          2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  55 --(20)--> 75                Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Tire(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1)|Resilient(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Fortunately, the obstacle course in their way is - above all else - old. While much of it is rotted, leaving several of the footholds entirely unsafe to stand on, that's made up for by many of the mechanisms simply failing to start in the first place. Even amongst those that do, several move too slowly to be a threat, or else grind to an unsteady halt in place of actively being able to throw someone off.

        Which isn't to say the ascent is free from danger. It's still a series of outcroppings over ice-cold water - but Noeline's ability to act as her own grappling hook allows her to quickly climb towards the exit, shortcutting past much of the obstacle course. Strife is on hand to help Riesenlied upwards as well, offering a lift towards the passageway onwards in place of its usual master.

        The rest of the party take the obstacle course as intended - even if those intentions have been somewhat dulled by age. The biggest danger is a matter of balance, but at least Odjn's happy splashing below seems to indicate that there's nothing lurking down there that might seriously harm them should they happen to fall, and those times when people do slip, some quick action from Kourin's rope or Ethius' odd sack help bridge the gap.

        Finally, they're all at the top - and Noeline leans a little over the edge to huff down at the dragon still swimming around. "... we're done, you realize," she points out with an amused sigh. "Are we just going to leave you there a while, or are you going to come along?"

DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - The Clashing Swords *>=====================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You enter a chamber and find yourselves suddenly plunged into darkness as     
 the doorway seals itself behind you. Only once your eyes have adjusted do     
 you feel it. A rush of cutting force buffets against something vital with     
 the din of metal striking metal. In the space of a breath, it strikes again,  
 then once more. The blade does not draw blood, but it expresses its killing   
 intent quite clearly. The next blow would not be so merciful. In the          
 darkness, you cannot see the strikes coming, but perhaps if you listen to     
 the ringing of the blade, perhaps if you can see the blows in your            
 mind's-eye, you might just be able to deflect them and prove yourself to the  
 spirit of this place.                                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Exhaust==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline nearly doesn't make it across the obstacle course force without falling it. She comes just a small distance short...but manages to grab onto the ledge and, with some effort, haul herself up.

She does feel some amount of triumph, having made it through successfully without relying on sorcery...though she does need to take a moment to catch her breath before continuing onward.

The next chamber doesn't look too much like anything special. After the last one they entered, Jacqueline was a bit hesitant, but this one...it's plain. Empty.

And then, the doorway seal itself, the chamber falls into darkness. With a frown, Jacqueline begins to rummage through her bags for a Crest to light the room back up.

"Hold on, I've got-"

As if drawn by her intent, the blade comes for her first, before she can even react. There is a faint choking sound and the sound of Jacqueline hitting the floor with a thump.

There was no wound...this time. But Jacqueline can tell...this was their only warning. A test, but one that could be dangerous if failed.

"E-everyone! Be careful!" Jacqueline coughs out, hauling herself to her feet. The blade comes again, this time for one of the others. There's no opportunity for Jacqueline to intercept it.

She shuts her eyes tight...and draws from her bags a knife. Was it foolish, to meet a sword with a knife?

Perhaps, but...she didn't want to fail this. She had to prove herself.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Clashing Swords.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        There's a pip of relief and gratitude from Riesenlied as Noeline takes her up, using Strife to prop herself up where she feels her wings failing again. "Thank you, Strife..." The ARM lets out a soft little chirp.

        Odjn cackles as she bobbles out of the pool at Noeline's urging, flopping down onto the floor and shaking herself every which way much like a dog would after they're done being wet! "Whoo! I feel much more refreshed now."

        But soon, they descend into the darkness, where the predatory instinct of the incoming blade is palpable.

        What does a Demon know of peace?

        Riesenlied's breath is clipped short as a sharp cutting force comes close -- and her instinct is to raise her sword and parry it.

        There's a clash and an unpleasant grinding noise-- and a loud and ominous crack as it passes. In mere moments, the Hyadean's sword splits in two with an unsatisfying-sounding squeal.

        Your tears offend me. Filgaia is our sole concern -- and Filgaia is dying.

        Riesenlied closes her eyes, grimly frowning as she concentrates within the Tear. Odjn bristles again, and the Tear's shine starts to overtake the darkness of the room they are in...

        ...and yet it grows further, as she holds her hand aloft -- and the hilt of a luminescent blade emerges from her chest, eliciting a wince from Riesenlied.

        "Riese, why?!" Odjn exclaims.

        "I have long asked for absolution..." Riesenlied murmurs, as the crystalline blade of Laevateinn finishes forming. She raises her hand and clashes against the next strike--

        "I beg for forgiveness where there may be none."

        She steps forward and holds the sword aloft against her back, stemming an off-angle blow aimed towards her flank.

        "But you have bid us to come to be what we hope. And in that measure, in our darkest hour... we stood strong, unbending against the oath we have sworn."

        Laevateinn is brandished again, as she deftly turns the next blade away with a practiced motion.

        In this moment, she bares the sword of her soul against that of the Guardian's own. Her eyes light up as she raises her hand to the air.

        "I -- we -- have come, Equites. We offer you what we have promised to you within the Temple."

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, The Clashing Swords.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Somewhere in that sequence directly after Jay, Ethius finds a cutting sensation that goes from his left wrist up to his throat in one solid stroke. That was his warning that one of his favorite tricks - getting out the Spectral Lens - will not do him any good here in the darkness, here in the domain of the Sword Guardian. To his wisdom, he does not think to try again.
        He hurls his back up against the nearby wall, moving for a corner in which to minimize the angles of attack one can take against him. This is also wise. It will do him no good if he cannot sense the movement of an unseen master of the blade. They could be standing right in front of him, testing his nerves and his reflexes alike. He has nowhere to run.
        Even at this disadvantage, his composure is well-measured. The way he draws his hand-to-hand weapon of choice, a quarterstaff, is with little fault. He is familiar with the style and the weight of the weapon itself. Quarterstaves generally enjoy a significant advantage over swords in terms of their reach... but this is assuming that Ethius and the unseen entity or mechanism could be considered equals.
        If the unseen wielder and its sword are as one, with no margin of difference between them, there is no surpassing them. Ethius is known to be cold, calculating, and wasting very little movement in anything he does... outside of battle.
        Whether by sense, or by some practiced technique - for good or for ill - he swings upwards for the parry of when he believes that blade will be coming at him next, making his call as to which direction he believes the blade will be coming at him from... and then strike back in kind.
        Or maybe accidentally bonk Odjn in the head.

DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Clashing Swords.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong nearly gets a sudden blow to the gut. He frowns, dropping down into a crouch. He can't see in this kind of darkness. There are sword strikes heading towards him, he realizes, and he has to fend them off. Fei Fong Wong straightens after, cricks his neck, and gestures with his palm towards the darkness. This is actually the perfect situation to fight in for him as he doesn't have to worry about hurting anybody. He can just rely on his pure martial arts.

He reaches into his artist's toolkit after weaving away from a few strikes and draws out...

...a pen.

"...This is my challenge to you, Filgaia." Fei murmurs. "Can your sword prove to be mightier?"

He starts weaving rapidly back and forth, the blade constantly just near missing him but near the end of the flurry of blows, Fei brings up his pen, pushing chi through the tool and moves to interpose it between the cutting force and the humble item.

"Filgaia is one world among many." He says.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, The Clashing Swords.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        At some point, perhaps at Odjn's playfulness, the tension seems to have left Noeline's shoulders - indeed, she pokes the little Metal Dragon in the nose with a huff, shortly before helping Riesenlied off of Strife's back. "Yes, yes," she sighs to Odjn. "Really, whatever would we do without you to help pick out the best parts of a dive into the ruins, hm?" But there's something terribly fond in the statement, at least.

        All of that wariness comes right back to her when the room around them plunges into darkness suddenly, however - and before she can even summon her scythe to her hands she makes an audible hiss, the first sensation of the incoming blade sending her skittering backwards several steps on the defence. When the next strike comes, she lifts her blade to meet it, the darkness of the room momentarily lit by a series of shearing sparks flaring from where the two meet.

        In the tiny, dim light, Noeline is obviously grinning, a brief glimpse of her old devil-may-care attitude shining through as she lifts her weapon to try to parry the next. The air around her shimmers as she shows her fangs, eyes glittering. "Have we still not met your requirements? Or is this just another test in an endless string of them?" she wonders aloud in a rather empty taunt, rearing back to launch another 'attack' as her blade meets the Guardian's once more.

        "... we have already renounced our cause. We have already defended your statues, and turned against our kind. I hold one of your Mediums within me, even. At what point, I wonder, will we have done enough?"

DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Clashing Swords.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Kourin is trained in the blade. She focuses, closing her eyes. She doesn't need to see. Parry. Block. Deflect. It is as a dance, a graceful and beautiful sequence of movements with no wasted energy or effort.

DG: Kourin has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Clashing Swords.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - The Clashing Swords *>=====================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You enter a chamber and find yourselves suddenly plunged into darkness as     
 the doorway seals itself behind you. Only once your eyes have adjusted do     
 you feel it. A rush of cutting force buffets against something vital with     
 the din of metal striking metal. In the space of a breath, it strikes again,  
 then once more. The blade does not draw blood, but it expresses its killing   
 intent quite clearly. The next blow would not be so merciful. In the          
 darkness, you cannot see the strikes coming, but perhaps if you listen to     
 the ringing of the blade, perhaps if you can see the blows in your            
 mind's-eye, you might just be able to deflect them and prove yourself to the  
 spirit of this place.                                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Exhaust==========================================
==================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 5 *>===================
======================< Results - The Clashing Swords >=======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          25 --(5)--> 30                 Pass
Dragon's Tear                       1   Wits    Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod                       25 --(5)--> 30                 Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       30 --(5)--> 35                 Pass
Artist's Toolkit                    2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             20 --(12)--> 32                Fail
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   25 --(5)--> 30                 Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kourin                              25 --(5)--> 30                 Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  75 --(0)--> 75                 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Injure(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management
commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline backpedals, her breath heavy and knife clutched tightly in her hand. She can still feel the sting from where the invisible blade struck, like a portent of her fate should she fail to avoid the next swing.

And then, she hears it. A rushing sound as the blade cleaves through the air. She moves to parry with her knife.

There's a clashing of steel. The knife is wrenched from her hands from the force of the blow, sent flying and clattering to the ground...

Jacqueline tenses to avoid the next one...but it doesn't come.

The spirit moves on, testing everyone's talent and mettle in turn. It does not speak, does not react to their proclamations. Its only interest is in testing their skill.

They are tested, or tested again.

Blade clashes with blade, clashes with staff, clashes with pen... Sometimes it finds thin air where it expected to meet flesh. Whatever weapon they choose, one gets the feeling that it is your very soul being tested.

Its aggression intensifies against Noeline and she might find it exhausting to keep up her defence.

In the end, however... None of them are found wanting. There is a grinding of stone as doors on either end of the room open up and light slowly fills the room once more.

Jacqueline quickly moves to retrieve her knife, taking a moment to look toward the others.

"Is everyone alright...?" She asks, a bit shakily.

DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Echoes of the Sword-Saint *>==================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 3          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The darkness clears as ghostly, azure flames ignite all around you. You find  
 yourself standing in a once-glorious training hall, face-to-face with an      
 intimidating spectral figure. The spirit's features are indistinct and        
 blurry. It's impossible to tell their gender, their true size, or anything    
 else - except for the slender, deadly curve of the spectral blade they        
 brandish. That alone is cast into stark, flawless image. It bows to you as    
 your eyes adjust to the light, before dropping into a tranquil, ready         
 stance. It seems that, though the Sword-Saint and their disciples are long    
 gone, this place still holds some recollection of their peerless skill. This  
 will not be an easy fight.                                                    
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Suffer==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        The spirit of the blade carries them forth towards the end of the training hall, majestic even in a faraway time of ruin, long past its prime. It coalesces into a figure that bears no particular characteristic or demographic, save for the curve of the spectral blade that they wield.

        We do not know the minds of creatures such as you.

        Riesenlied still holds Laevateinn aloft before her as she calmly steps towards the centre of the hall, facing the spirit.

        Odjn bobbles behind her where she's rubbing her head, going, "Owww, that rod of yers is thick! My noggin's gonna hurt for ages..."

        Creatures born of a cursed star...

        The spirit wielding the ephemeral blade is ready. It leans into a smooth, ready stance, and Riesenlied draws ready herself.

        "In the months since we have last spoke...
         We have fostered collaboration, cooperation.
         We have nurtured children from the ravages of this dying world.
         We have sown seeds to the loom of this earth and grown new life."

        Her head raises up, the crystal sword ebbing with the verve of her life.

        "I speak often of the purpose of this Rising Sword...
         It is a stand against the winds of hatred.
         A torch in the dark, to hold hope everlasting."

        The spirit's spectral blade and Laevateinn touch, as if to signify the beginning of a duel.

        Odjn can't help but coyly grin as she says, "Gosh, you love your big grandiose speeches so much..." not that she can say anything, because she joins in with Riese:

        "And its name is..."

        There is a clash, and the combat is joined -- and no sooner does the room fill with the gloaming web of slashes and cuts, more retainers and spirits joining the fight in what may feel like sheer, heralding excitement to the art of swordsmanship.

        There is a firm expression on Riese as she and Odjn invoke its true name:

        "Laevateinn!"

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Claw toward her party's challenge, Echoes of the Sword-Saint.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

And now there's spirits. At first, Fei is chill. He is expecting this to be a battle that Riesenlied must face on her own and he doesn't want to stop her from facing what she needs to for the sake of her people and then oh shit oh wait oh shit, everyone's joining in!

Fei holds out his RPS Badge. "I don't suppose you'd prefer to Rock Paper Scissors?"

A sword swipe indicates no, that won't be possible this time. Fei keeps bouncing around, light on his feet, and avoiding the blade when he can. He presses his lips together in a fine line as he weaves around the strikes more than he fights back but periodically he does dive in with a killer kung fu combo.

Yeah, maybe there's a reason Fei tends to give Ramses such a hard time. He isn't a swordsman, but he does seem to innately understand how to avoid sword strikes.

"I always assumed the 'Sword' for this Guardian was more metaphorical." Fei says. "There isn't a Guardian of Guns after all--"

He's asiding this to Odjn for some reason like she would know.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, Echoes of the Sword-Saint.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        Ethius keeps his distance as Riesenlied and Odjn call forth their verbal forward march about the strides she has taken between her people and humanity - his very presence should be a source of doubt and worry, as he rarely lets himself close to Riesenlied since the time in the Library. Could his presence undermine her claims? Does he hate her? Can she claim to have made a successful stand against hatred if one of her party members seems intent to stay a ways away?
        Quarterstaff in both hands, he starts to circle around as he eyes the spirit and their technique. A warrior must be ready for all opponents, and all angles of attack.
        Ethius knows that creating a smoke screen - his favorite opening tactic in a skirmish - is useless. From the demonstration shown in the darkness, the entity would not be deterred by sight. He doubts it has any need to breathe. The smoke bomb is functionally useless for its original intent.
        This doesn't stop him from throwing the second satchel from his belt a ways past the spirit, arcing the throw too low for it to intercept with a low swing while it deals with the initial brunt of the attack from Riesenlied.
        As he doesn't enchant it, it's just a useless pile of sandy dirt that starts to peek and spill out the top as it hits the ground behind the sword spirit with a 'paff' noise. What good is that?
        He instead chooses to attack it from an unconventional angle - a tactic that to be frowned upon by those who seek an honorable, just challenge. He expects the spirit will be tempted to check behind them, unaware of what the item is or what it does, or how much actual (or little) threat it conveys. So long as Ethius introduces that moment of doubt, that flinch of uncertainty about what their opponent is doing, that is the angle he - and he imagines almost anyone else - will take to lunge in and strike with a precise thrust attack, abusing the reach advantage he has over the spirit. He won't be playing 'fair.'
        Whatever's at stake for him seems to be beyond matters of an old culture's warrior code. That's just like him, isn't it? The way he just casually and callously circumvents certain unspoken social rules as is entirely convenient for his aims.
        "Far Point!" He calls the name of the technique. (Which probably defeats the purpose of the fake-out!!)

DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Powder Grenade toward his party's challenge, Echoes of the Sword-Saint.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Kourin has not been able to truly let loose in a long time. This place has been thrilling for her. Those familiar with Kourin, who have seen her in unguarded moments--when she is eating, when she wears her blue dress--have seen the near-ecstatic expression that comes to her face, a rapturous expression of pure joy.

Kourin wears that expression here as she is pushed to the very limits of her skill with the sword.

Earlier, she mixed magic with her swordplay, but even though she still has one rimebomb prepared, here, she is relying purely on her training with the blade.

Anything else would be a desecration, sacrilege against the spirit of this place.

DG: Kourin has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Echoes of the Sword-Saint.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline glances around at the torches that light up all around the room...and then, to the figure that appears before them, indistinct, but...

"...Is that...?" Jacqueline murmurs, slightly awed. She'd read the stories, but to see one... She listens to Riesenlied's speech, and watches as she and the spirit join battle.

Jacqueline let's the two of them fight. Instead, she tightens her grip on her knife. There were more spirits incoming, seeking their own glory in battle. She fishes around in her bag, drawing out a potion and downing it. She couldn't match them in skill or strength...but she could at least try to even things out a bit.

She meets one of them with her knife, though Fei's comment gets her attention as she begins to fight.

"ARMs are often associated with the Hyadean people. For that reason, it makes sense that there isn't a Guardian of Guns..." Jacqueline comments. "Though that doesn't explain why there are no Guardians for other types of weapons. In the end, perhaps it is indeed more metaphorical..."

No, bad Jacqueline. Stop getting distracted. She nearly ends up with a sword in her gut for that one, but she manages to turn it away with her knife at the last second.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Reliable Repellant toward her party's challenge, Echoes of the Sword-Saint.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Noeline does her best to stay unbowed; again and again, her scythe clashes with that of the Guardians (not Guardian) of the shrine, as her own confidence and resolute nature wars against the endless blades sweeping in her direction.

        "Kuh--" she eventually has to give ground, skidding backwards from a particularly harsh strike - but at least that gives her a moment to catch her breath, and watch as their opponents coalesce into view. "... hah. Well. I suppose I'm just as stubborn as they are, some of the time," she wonders aloud with a huffed out laugh of air, rotating her shoulder and carefully hiding the wince it elicits.

        --not that she has much to worry about, she feels. The light of Laevateinn is comforting in its familiarity, very much a symbol of Noeline's own beliefs - regardless of their future as Hyadeans, or their stance in the eyes of the Photosphere, she will at least put her faith in Riesenlied and her desires for the future of the Tainted.

        Summoning her strength, she darts forward on intercept, her scythe flicking up to block an attack meant for Riesenlied; she pushes it back with a noise of effort, following up with a pirouetting slash that seeks to gain more in the way of ground. "So long as I'm here--" she snorts with more of that confidence, blade set in front of her, "I won't let you stop her. Whether you're soldiers of the Guardians, the Photosphere, or anyone else, hm?"

DG: Noeline has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Echoes of the Sword-Saint.
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Echoes of the Sword-Saint *>==================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 3          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The darkness clears as ghostly, azure flames ignite all around you. You find  
 yourself standing in a once-glorious training hall, face-to-face with an      
 intimidating spectral figure. The spirit's features are indistinct and        
 blurry. It's impossible to tell their gender, their true size, or anything    
 else - except for the slender, deadly curve of the spectral blade they        
 brandish. That alone is cast into stark, flawless image. It bows to you as    
 your eyes adjust to the light, before dropping into a tranquil, ready         
 stance. It seems that, though the Sword-Saint and their disciples are long    
 gone, this place still holds some recollection of their peerless skill. This  
 will not be an easy fight.                                                    
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Suffer==========================================
==================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary - Round 6 *>===================
===================< Results - Echoes of the Sword-Saint >====================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          30 --(5)--> 35                 Pass
Dragon's Claw                       1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethius Hesiod                       30 --(5)--> 35                 Pass
Powder Grenade                      3   Combat  Effects: Fanfare              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       35 --(5)--> 40                 Pass
RPS Badge                           3   Combat  Effects: Rally                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             32 --(20)--> 52                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   30 --(5)--> 35                 Pass
Reliable Repellant                  2   Combat  Effects: Embolden             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kourin                              30 --(5)--> 35                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  75 --(35)--> 110               Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Suffer(1)
Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has successfully explored The Sword-Saint Sanctuary!
=======================<* The Sword-Saint Sanctuary *>========================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Scroll of the Comet Blade *>==================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Waiting for you at the end of your quest is a scroll resting before a statue  
 of some fierce warrior-spirit, perhaps the Sword-Saint themselves. It's       
 contained in an unremarkable casing, but examining the manual reveals that    
 it's much more. This is nothing less than a perfect record of one of the      
 Sword-Saint's special techniques: the Comet Blade, which allows a swordsman   
 to launch a fiery crescent from their sword. You might be able to learn a     
 thing or two if you try to follow the lessons contained within!               
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "How do you know there isn't a Guardian of ARMs? I mean, is the list exhaustive?" Odjn finds herself quipping as she ducks and weaves between blows, keeping well out of the span of the battle that's stretched across the training hall. "Mebbe there's a Guardian inside-- aaaaaaall of uuuu~s-- glurk"

        That's Odjn's cue to get out of dodge as she gets nearly swatted by an incoming Ethius' Far Point once more -- much to everyone's surprise, perhaps, the spirit is still guiled by his tactics, struck by the brunt of his quarterstaff as it dissipates into an ethereal cloud.

        The spirit Fei encounters does not appear to be inclined for Rock, Paper, Scissors -- yet there's something about the snip-snippiness of this particular spirit's sword strikes -- the way they intersect in a 'V' shape -- that alerts him to the particular scissorness of the opponent's attack! Truly, it is about reading the mind of the oppponent...

        Jacqueline's spirit clashes with her once more, meeting knife to blade in a manner that it seems satisfied with. Though she does not have proper instructions of swordplay, her time with the knife and the field both allow her to sense how her opponent shall react... and coupled with her own skill in enhancement, allows her to get the upper hand!

        And Kourin does not resort to her rimebomb and magic. She may be what some call a spellsword in some parts of the world, but here, she joins the battle with a raw purity of martial skill that is adjoined with the spirit she battles -- one that proves quite true to her testament of knowledge.

        Noeline is set on the back foot for a moment, but the raw prowess of her blade is not to be underestimated either. It is the blade of one who calls herself Chevalier of the Dragon, a weapon of more than just raw power... it is a weapon of protection, a weapon of devotion. She blasts forth with form and function both, showing the abilities of one who has travelled the world and hold true to her own self.

        Though it may not have been the voice of Equites, the spirits seem satisfied -- and with a final flourish, the battle is won.

        The hall is quiet and pure, with a light shining in from above... and beyond, the group discovers an ancient scroll that sits upon the hands of a warrior-spirit's statue.

        Examining it would reveal the secrets behind an ancient technique of the Sword-Spirit itself... the art of the 'Comet Blade'!

        "..."

        Riesenlied looks up past the statue, however, seemingly distracted by... something. Something beyond the veil of mortal hearing, as she's often accustomed to hearing now... she steps close, and kneels as she holds her hands together, as if in prayer.

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        The battle is won. The Drifters are all found worthy of the teachings of the Sword-Saint. For Riesenlied ahead, it is a time for a moment of solemn prayer at the tail end of a long, ongoing trial for her cause that seems impossible.
        There is a glint of a soft light in the back of the crowd. The only hint of Ethius' movement... for he has parted ways from the rest down a damaged, derelict corner that seems suitable for being forgotten. Some sort of side path best lost to history, before the current spoils of ancient swordsmanship secrets here at the heart of a site most sacred.
        At the other end...
        ...the protected statue of Equites.
        Ethius approaches it at a measured pace, his steps as silent as can be. The humans have no further business with this statue. It has been protected. There are others out there that need their immediate attention.
        Ethius begs to differ, as he brings the Spectral Lens up to his ey--
        He recoils, a hiss escaping between his teeth as he brings a hand over his eye. He remains still for another few passing moments as the Spectral Lens' light fades.
        He casts the incantation for the low-yield electrical spell to bring it up again. He turns his head off to the side as he brings the lens up. From within his poncho, he takes out something else of interest that goes unseen down this dark, forgotten corridor.
        A few more seconds pass, and both items are stashed away as one eye remains closed.
        His business concluded, he retraces his steps with the same care not to make much noise with them in order to rejoin the rest.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline steps away from the spirit she had been facing. She watches them carefully, meeting the indistinct eyes of the spiritual body before her...and then she straightens up and lowers into a bow before them.

"Thank you for this fight. I know I still have much to learn...but thank you for honoring me with it anyway." She replies, returning her knife to its sheath in one of her bags.

Upon returning her bow the spirit dissipates, and the room fills with a soft, pure light.

Jacqueline moves forward, following the others until they come to a statue of a warrior-spirit, with a scroll resting in their hands. She doesn't realize that Ethius is no longer with them, her eyes instead focused on the scroll.

She's curious, of course. Written things all of kinds were always of great interest to her. She starts to extend her hand toward it...but reconsiders, shaking her head and retracting the hand.

"No, I...I don't think I'm worthy of this..." She murmurs to herself, then glances toward Kourin. Her, however...

<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Kourin is standing, breathing deeply, eyes closed after the battle. The rapt expression on her face remains. She has not yet opened her eyes to see what is going on.

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Riesenlied prays. To Zoa Priests and Shamans, the Guardians are a seemingly-constant presence, but to most, only those few occasions they choose to answer, deep in their places of power, serve as proof. This place is consecrated to the Sword Guardian, but normally they only appear within the sanctum sanctorum, the Chock, the Statue Chamber. Here...are prayers anything but air?

A shapre forms in the air; faint, shimmering, nearly more of an outline than a form. But there is no mistaking the presence of the power that sustains the world as it brings what of its power it can to this place.

The Sword Guardian is mammoth thing, a terrifying creature with a mouth ful of needle-like teeth, massive paws that end in dagger-like claws; and a long, undulating tail that extends into a spine that emerges from its front in an entirely unmetaphorical sword nearly the size of the entire rest of the beast.

It stares at Riesenlied and Riesenlied alone, for what definition can be made of its hooded eyes.

Seconds pass.

The voice that finally comes sounds like the faintest whisper of drawing steel.

        "Creature..." ....a step up from Demon, perhaps. "...a blade is not honed by one pass of the stone..."

It flickers; even this much a strain upon the Guardian's might.

        "Again and again....again and...again...though you tire...though you bleed...though you weep...whatever memories may come...whatever you see in its reflection...again and again..."

        "Until the blade of your resolve may sever the tendons of history. Only then..."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei has no need for a sword manual. He can already punch fire too, so there's little to adapt from it. More to the point, Fei defeats his opponent. Through all of this, he comes off as lightly winded and bleeding a bit from the shurikens, but otherwise pretty A-OK.

But he didn't know the Equites statue was sealed. He watches it for a moment, and then he smiles, "Looks like this has already been fixed up." He looks to Ethius, raising an eyebrow at him, but frankly at this point Ethius being normal would be weirder than Ethius being weird.

"Good work everyone." He adds.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Heaving for breath she may not technically need - old habits die hard when you've lived around humans for so long - Noeline watches as the last of the spirits dissipate away with something of a flourish. Somehow, she can't quite accept that they've won, or rather there's something about the test that's somehow unsatisfactory, as if they've gone through enough that 'just some ghosts' could almost be considered a bit of a let down. Her eyes briefly flick towards where Riesenlied is kneeling to pray-- and then up towards the altar, as the faint presence of the Guardian makes itself known.

        She'd be the first to admit that she's not the sort to bow, even in the face of such power; it simply isn't in her nature, not when she could instead meet the future with her back straight and a grin on her face, as if defying the world to try to stymie her beliefs. Still... the two of them have come this far together, and she can at least bow her head in recognition of the Guardian's words, her expression solemn as her hand rests atop Riesenlied's shoulder.

        "... it isn't as if we have much of a choice, at this point," she huffs softly, unable to resist a little comment at least; her gaze strays towards the statue this time, taking in the fact that-- well, the fact that it's still standing, for one thing, and apparently sealed as well. "We have made public our stance. We have made an enemy of our race. ... the only way to go is forwards, at this point." It's as much a reminder to Riese and herself as it is a statement to the Guardian's presence in front of them, but her tone is not harsh.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied does not notice Ethius' approach to the statue and what he does with the Spectral Lens -- her concentration in that prayer is deep, the verve of her faith entrancing her as she prays for her people's future... no, more than that -- for that new world that she continually seeks...

        Creature...

        And at that moment, her very form rattles, as the shape begins to manifest. She has not opened her eyes, but it is the presence of the power that sustains the world that she sees within her mind's eye.

        "... again and again," she speaks in turn. At the end of the Guardian of Swords' speech, she finally rises, her eyes opening very softly.

        "Though my bones may break... though my blood will run clear..."

        She is silent for a moment, reverent in the wake of the Guardian's edict. Laevateinn's last shimmer starts to fade, as her own power reaches its limits. But in the face of the Guardian of Swords, she holds strong so that she can lift its blade up in reverence.

        "This Rising Sword... shall cut through all barriers and open the gates to the new world. A new world where we can all flourish...!"

        It dissipates, into so many photons that wisp through the air. She slumps slowly, clutching at her chest.

        "Y'gotta stop it from cutting yourself open first, you idjit," Odjn grumps with puffy cheeks.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline feels something deep within her. She doesn't understand what it means...until the Guardian appears before them. Faint, and indistinct...it is only a concentrated glance that tells her it is really there. Jacqueline stares upward in awe.

"E-Equites..." She murmurs.

The Guardian's eyes and words are for Riesenlied alone. Jacqueline understands that. She stands quietly and respectfully by, listening to Riesenlied and the Guardian alike, her hands clasped together in front of her.

She doesn't want to speak again just yet, not wanting to interrupt the Guardian's words...

<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.

Kourin is...overwhelmed, once she realizes she's in the presence of a Guardian, a feeling she's felt only once before. She bows her head, then kneels in respect. "I...do not have the words to show proper respect," she murmurs.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei doesn't have a strong reaction to Equites. He does laugh faintly, cynically even, of the idea of severing the tendons of history. He shakes his head quietly.

"If swords could change the path of history..." He murmurs. "Surely, it would have changed by now."

He has... *** ISSUES ***.

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Riesenlied's oath is received silently; only the Guardian's unbroken attention indicates that it has truly listened.

But soon its head turns up; sweeping around as if taking note of others here with eyes difficult to see. Again it speaks; voice fading like the slip of a knife. Perhaps in response to Riesenlied...Perhaps to Fei? But perhaps also to teach them all, in this place dedicated to its teaching.

        "Remember well...children of Filgaia...there is no...Guardian of Wisdom..."

The vision fades rapidly.

        "Only you...may wield....that....blade......"

...silence returns.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        --and Noeline can't help but grin in response, all of her humour suddenly returning to her at the Guardian's words. As Riesenlied begins to slump as if the strings that held her up were cut, she's there to gather the other woman into her arms, and fire a brightly amused glance in the direction of Fei and Odjn. "And if ever more proof were needed that wisdom is the thing most in short supply on Filgaia..."

        She trails off with a happy, carefree shrug. She and Riesenlied aren't ones to talk on that front, after all, especially not with the way the other demon has exerted herself to her limits.

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

        There is the sound of cloth rustling as Ethius is heard picking back up the dropped unactivated powder grenade. Some of its contents are spilled... but should they run into trouble on the way out, hey, that's useful.
        "I believe our business here is concluded." Ethius speaks up, abruptly, at the tail end of the Guardian's dialogue to the faithful and the tag-alongs - very rudely timed!! Did he not notice how they were kneeling piously, or at least having some sort of interfaith dialogue?!
        One of his eyes are closed. Is he winking at someone or something? He turns that side of his head away soon after.
        "Your cooperation is appreciated as always... Mister Fei. Miss Riesenlied. Miss Noeline."
        And so he ruins the moment, abruptly speaking like he just came in through a door and decided what he had to say was more important than what they were doing. Wasn't he here with them, in the company of Equites?!
        (Nope.)

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"Thank you, Equites. I will not forget that." Jacqueline says, bowing her head. She does not know if the Guardian heard her...but that's fine.

Wisdom was something they each had to carry in their own hearts...the Guardians couldn't make their decisions for them, for better or worse.

Once Equites vanishes Jacqueline relaxes, glancing toward Riesenlied.

"Did you find what you came here for?" She asks with a smile.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Now that.

Fei does raise his head at that. He blinks, stunned. He looks back down to the floor.

He's starting to see why the Guardians might be a bit cynical after all. It makes sense to him.

"Yeah." He admits. "...If only there was a manual for it."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied listens, to how Fei speaks of how swords cannot change the course of history... or else they should have, by now. She listens to Noeline's mirth, of how wisdom is in such short supply... and she can't help but find that smile infectious, as she gains one herself. She moves closer to reach for her partner's hand to hold it, in the wake of the Guardian of Swords' last warning.

        "... I shall not forget those words, Guardian of Swords..."

        She bows her head one last time, feeling quite exhausted -- and wounded at that, from her own manifestation. But even as Equites steps out and... seems to have just completely missed the entire conversation, she--

        --can't help but smile back towards Jacqueline and say, "I did find what I sought here... and more. Thank you all... for accompanying, and protecting me on this journey. This... pilgrimage, I suppose you could call it."

        "Just so long as it doesn't kill you in the end," Odjn's not very subtle grump comes in turn.

        Now if only you got to rock some Fayths, Riese. Maybe in Chapter 2...