Where Sorrow grows...

[o0CrazyJackal0o]

OOC: Anyone is welcome, as long as you can write over four lines

Nergal stood upon stood upon a small rock situated in the middle of a large wasteland. Bodies littered among the hundreds on the ground, all slowly decaying in the face of time, the last few memories of a long forgotten battle.

The lone hooded and cloaked warrior stared across the wasteland, mist obscuring the view of normal eyes in over ten meters, but luckily for him, his eyes were anything but normal. Deep silver eyes glinted from under the darkness of the hood, narrowed and fierce.

Long has it been since I have walked among my past, my heritage, my creation...quite the place for a duel.

He rose his left hand up slowly and gripped the top of his hood and slowly pulled it back, revealed his young handsome face, alight with deathly pale skin, his hair of the bright sliver, spiked up at 5 inch's long his silver eyes now burning a bright white as they adapted to the light.

He would then emit a high pitched whistle from his mouth with pale lips and a small rustling could be seen in the back of his cloak and suddenly appearing from the under folds of his cloak was a large worm like creature. Its head covered in a darkened steel helmet in the design of a cobra head. The snake drew out it's ten foot long body, measuring at five inch's thick, it's body also encased in the same darkened steel, the snake also revealed that it was attached to the lower back of Nergal for some unknown reason.

He shrugged the staff of faces from his back and unhooked the strap that hung from it and tossed it to one side and he held the staff limply in his left hand and simply watched through the mist as he awaited an opponent brave enough to challenge him. His worm also brought it's head to his level and hissed silently awaiting it's dinner.

[Anomaly]

OOC: Lost Whisper, let me be the first to welcome you to these lands.

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The driving mist sweeps over the bodies of the slain, washing them clean. The gentle spray gives the corpses the luster of life, now denied them. Even now it appears that the dead could rise up, shake the cobwebs from their eyes, and rejoin the battle postponed only by a mutual declaration of rest. But of course this is not the case...the movement among the bodies is just a trick of the swirling mist. Or is it?

A single point of crimson light blossoms before Nergal's eyes. It is not long before a silver hoop spreads around the light, taking on the form of a silver ankh floating in mid air. Slowly, as if willing itself molecule by molecule from the mist, a towering specter appears. The billowing, shapeless entity seems to be composed of shimmering darkness. The clink of chains is barely audible beneath the hush of the swirling mist. The creature does not move...it does not speak. It only stares with its one unblinking eye, scarlet and impassive, analyzing the form of the warrior that stands before it.

A small shudder passes through the wraith's cloak, followed by a sound of hushed whispers. Is this recognition on its part? Is this a greeting or a challenge? It's almost impossible to tell. The mist seems to sizzle and evaporate before it ever touches the spirit. What strange powers could this creature possess? For that matter, what is its purpose for appearing here, in this place and at this time?
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OOC: As to you Ghost, I'll leave it to Lost_Whisper if he wants to have a three way dance or not.

[Ghost]

OOC: If the both of you are interested, I'd love to join the fray as a third party. One of the very first times I ever roleplayed on another forum was done with two other people, and it was a nice and invigorating start to my RPing career. I am confident in Anomaly's abilities, as I am sure he is confident in mine, that this will prove to be an exciting match.
Always just looking to complicate things.
P.S. I will ensure to create something new for the two of you, as I'm sure Anomaly has his hands tied up enough with the Donkere.

*Also, to be (or not to be) edited in*

[o0CrazyJackal0o]

OOC: Greetings Master, may the most deadly win...


Nergal narrowed his eyes in curiousity taking in the peculiar sight that was taking place before him. An ankh appeared in mid air and a strange misted figure appeared from what he guessed to be a portal from another land, this intrigued him greatly as he allowed a small grin to slide across lips.

It has been too long but I must be patient, I have many a lifetime to embrace this moment

Nergal stretched his arms out to his sides and let out a loud rasp, feeling excitement creeping throughout his body. He allowed an insane smile to mar his features his eyes now flashing a blinding white giving him a strange look of happiness.

''Welcome my strange misted friend, I guess that you are here to challenge me to a duel. I am Nergal but until you prove yourself that is all you shall know''.

He allowed his face to sink into a blank look as he then shrugged and rose his staff, the top end suddenly melting and then formed into a large skull with flames burning from the empty eyes sockets. A now faint whisper echoing around Nergal as he smirked and then slowly began to walk towards the new arrival, his eyes narrowed as he awaited a reaction.

[Anomaly]

Nergal's words seem strangely muffled by the mist. Yet even so a strange, halting echo floats over the bodies of the slain.

"Welcome...strange...friend..."

The sound seems to rattle around the specter and back again. It is Nergal's voice, his words, but they carry a strange crackling sound beneath each syllable. As if the words were echoing not from the wraith but from a million miles away. The apparition shivers again, the sound of rattling chains soft as rain beneath the vibrating words.

"Nergal... ... ... prove yourself..."

Clinking, twisting metal tendrils slither from the specters cloak. No, rather the cloak itself seems to unwind at points, writhing into the shape of bladed tentacles. It would seem this entity has indeed come for a fight. The chains surge, slashing through the broken corpses, burrowing deep into the ground. From beneath Nergal's feet, the tendril's erupt in an attempt to bind him.

[o0CrazyJackal0o]

Nergal continued to approach the figure but froze within ten feet of his supposed foe as he sensed a reaction and his eyes darkened as he saw the cloak surrounding the creature now sepperating and forming into bladed tentacles that were now moving towards the ground and had burrowed deep into the earth. Nergal eyes flashed bright once more as his tail shrieked and suddenly more lumps shuddered from under the cloak and four more identical worms snaked out from under the bottom of the cloak, all perfectly identical to the first snake.

Looks like things are going to get serious, this will be the chance to show my new power.

He then looked down at the floor and grinned slightly as he heard a loud rumbling noise, indicating that those tentacles were now making an exit straight at his feet, he simply waited as as the blade rushed out from the ground his four worms rushed to his defense and gathered up the tentacles in their strong steel jaws and held them tight as Nergal smirked at his foe and rose his skull headed staff up and aimed it towards the misted opponent.

The fiery orbs in the eye sockets of the skull began to grow a deep red as the whispering of the skull grew more excited and now the open jaw of the skull began to glow the same deep red and ignited with a blood red flame now building into a large ball of flame. Nergal thrust the skull head forward and the flame was expelled from the jaws and a beam of pure heat erupted towards his opponent, disintigrating the mist in it's way as it moved through the battlefield with deadly speed.

[Anomaly]

Sizzling through the mist the beam of concentrated heat energy impacts with the glowing red eye in the center of the specter. The heat grows, distorting the air, sending waves of heat shimmering from the jeweled eye. The mist begins to melt away in an ever expanding sphere as the heat beam changes shape into a sphere that floats before the eye. This sphere of expanding heat grows even as the beam itself shrinks down to a point no larger than a candle flame that seems to burn with a focused intensity beyond its destructive power that came before. The air around it melts away into super heated plasma, and for a moment it is as if a miniature sun has blossomed on the battlefield.

The tendrils clamped in the snakes mouths writhe and change shape, slithering from their grasp and sliding back into the earth, reforming into the folds of the specters cloak. It moves about, almost curiously, inspecting the point of intense heat from side to side. After a moment it seems to turn its attention back to Nergal.

"Prove yourself that is all you...know...?"

It is the same echo of Nergal's words...yet it carries an unmistakable question. The crackling beneath the echo takes on a more distinctive tone...as if there is another, silent voice just on the edge of hearing. The apparition makes a gesture that could best be described as a nod. In that instant, the point of focused heat hurtles back to its source. Would the staff be able to handle its own powers magnified? Would its master?

[o0CrazyJackal0o]

Nergal looked up with his eyes narrowed, waiting for a reaction as the beam hurtled towards his enemy and grinned hopefully, expecting to see his foe evaporate before his eyes but part of him told him that it was not going to be so easy. He then gasped lightly as he saw his beam freeze and clowly start to concentrate itself into a small sun which was evaporating all of the mist nearby and now he could see much clearer, what had that thing done.

This does not look good, with the power increased like that, stopping it won't be easy.

He raised up his staff and growled as he heard the words of the strange eye and Nergal knew that soon he would have to act. Nergal gritted his teeth as the tiny sun get shot towards and readied himself, the power in that ball still held the essence of the skull's magic so consuming it would be an option, but so much heat at once would be pushing it, but risks were now no longer important as he grabbed the skull and ripped it from the staff.

Do your best Reaper, you still owe me.

He heaved back his right hand which clutched the skull and then threw it forward towards the tiny sun and stared on as the skull halted in the air and stared out towards the heat with it's own glowing deep red eyes. The skull began to glow a deathly red and the and began to disintigrate around it as the ball hurtled ever closer and suddenly was engulfed in the same aura that the skull was encased in, the skull then began to suck the energy back in and cracks begin to appear deep into the skull and once the energy was absorbed the skul crashed to the floor heavily and the glow faded away from it's eyes.

Nergal watched the skull strangely, almost with sadness and then looked once again to the eye, interest flickered through the deep silver eyes as he then spoke.

''Quite impressive oh misted one, but this battle has only just begun, but now may you introduce yourself or are you incapable of speech?''.

He then folded his arms and stared on, now awaiting for this creature to at least introduce itself or make it's attack

[Anomaly]

"Impressive..."

Floating gently towards Nergal, the mist flows back into the circle of diminishing heat, cooling the recumbent corpses. The soft sizzle of mist on baking stones mixes with the hiss of whispers that hovers just on the edge of hearing.

''This battle ... ...just begun..."
"Introduce ... ... ... ... ... ... ...?"
"incapable of speech."
"Incapable of..."
"Incapable...Nergal"
"N.rg.l"
"N..gal"
"N....l"
"NIL."

The voice that breaks through the whispers has a strange reverberation of its own. It's as if the word is only audible as a silence amid the know clamorous hissing that billows from its cloak. The creature, Nil, seems to pause for a moment in its approach. A massive arm suddenly explodes from beneath the robes, stretching over fifteen feet easily. An expanse of rotting flesh, held together by barbed wire and wriggling red worms, the arm bends inwards, and Nil seems to bow forwards. As quickly as the arm appears, it retreats, leaving behind nothing but the faint meaty stench of rotting flesh.

Nil makes no move to attack, but rather continues to regard Nergal with its single unblinking eye. The shape of the silver ankh around the eye becomes fluid, morphs, and twists into the shape of another eye set around the jewel with a tear drop. The tear drop melts into the outer 'eye', which then shifts into the appearance of a mouth lined with silver fangs, before shifting back to the form of an ankh. Then a sudden explosion of gravitational lightening roars from beneath the Holy Shadow cloak. Each bolt stabs into the ground, multiplying the natural gravity in the immediate area by a factor of ten.

"KNEEL."

[o0CrazyJackal0o]

Nergal watched curiously as the misted character now floated towards him, the five worms behind him all snarled with saliva and some other unknown liquid dripping from their teeth, their hunger now obvious as Nergal smacks the middle one on the head and they begin to calm, he would then listen as he heard what sounded like his own voice twisted into echo and seemed to be twisted into sentences to be played back to him.

This is very perculiar, reminds me of the leech I once fought, who would use my own power against me, but this creature seems to only echo my words back to me with it's own version.

He then hears the creature utter 'Nil' which he guesses to be the creatures name, he would then bow his head in understanding and quickly strapped his staff to his back and watched the creature for a reaction. He would not have to wait long as suddenly an arm exploded from the cloak and Nergal narrowed his eyes as he gripped something from under his cloak but stopped as the arm had already retracted. Such an arm meant that this thing was certainly no human.

Nergal would then stare at what he guessed to be the creatures face and blinked as another eye appeared and then melted away, forming into a mouth, this is no creature he has met before. He sensed that it was near and was greatly suprised when the creature seemed to stab into the ground and an invisible voice pushed down on his head and shoulder's as the same voice ordered him to kneel.

''How dare you, I won't ever kneel to the likes of you!''.

He braced his shoulders and stamped his feet hard into the ground, feeling his legs giving way and gritted his teeth in rage, suddenly the pupils of his eyes appeared and a silver aura began to flow around his body, suddenly he relaxed and stood normal once more, his left hand now glowing softly, the veins in the arm glowing a deep blue from under the cloth. Nergal looked at the creature now with a bored expression echoing every line of his aincent face, now looking much younger than before.

''You shall have to try harder than that my silent friend''.

[Anomaly]

Nil tilts, for the lack of a better word, its head to one side when it sees the young warriors reaction. The Eye of Kolobos, set in the middle of the swirling Holy Shadow, glows a deep crimson as it analyzes the composition of this apparently changed entity. The scarlet glow fades, and Nil can almost physically be seen to be nodding to himself. It's almost as if it has just now understood something pivotal, and with that understanding comes quiet resolve. With a sudden shift, the Holy Shadow cloak peels backwards, revealing for the first time during this fight the nothingness beneath.

It's not fair description to say that Nil is a floating hole in reality, however that is the closest most minds can come to perceiving it. Certainly no mortal vision could see further than the space devoid of darkness and light, yet still visible in an eye watering way that have driven some to gouge out their own eyes. From out of the folds of the Holy Shadow, but really from the event horizon that is Nil, a fearsome head erupts. The face is vaguely draconian, but covered in luminescent white fur with the cold eyes of a wolf glowing brightly as they narrow upon Nergals form. The Holy Beast opens its massive maw, and in a single howl expels a pillar of heavenly light directed at the silvery glowing warrior.

At the same time, and almost unseen, a corpse drops from the same point of origin from whence the head appears. The bloodied corpse blends in with those others that already lay in a wide carpet around the single standing stone, but there is something different...sinister about it. Even so...it is only a corpse.

[o0CrazyJackal0o]

Nergal watches with a frown deeply etched into his young face as Nil tilts it's head at him, apparently studying what he had just done but Nergal was not done yet. He reached inside his cloak and drawed out a large handle measuring at one foot long, he quickly raised the hilt in the air and mumbles to himself a grey lighting shimmering next to the handle and suddenly a wide hole opens and he thrusts the handle into the portal and waits several seconds before drawing the handle out again, but now the top of the handle is now attached to a huge six foot long blade at ten inches across. He holds the blade to the side and holds it steady in his right hand as if light as a feather as he raises his left hand in amusement.

He then watches as a head now erupts from the depths of Nil a certainly strange appearance that he had never seen before almost like a wolf but study would wait till later. The creature had now opened it's jaws and seemed to be directing what looked like light magic at him, this was something he never expected...

Nergal closed his eyes and grits his teeth as the veins in his left arms now bulge clearly from the skin, liquid moving through them at an alarming pace as the arm now clearly begins to change shape rapidly, the skin now morphing into a strange crystal like solid with the innards now visible with only veins present with no bones or muscles, just glowing blue veins and a strange aura flowing within. He then open his silver eyes with now faintly blue pupils and grinned lightly before flexing his hand and his fingertips glow ever bright as a blue orb forms within the palm of his hand and suddenly expels a long wave of pure blue energy and rushes to collide with the other light magic.

Nergal simply shrugs and looks towards his worms and nods to them and they nod back as the three middle snakes quickly burrow into the ground behind him and the other two remain to guard their master, the other three rush through the ground, their razor sharp teeth ripping through the earth with ease as they use their enchanted eyes to see through the thin roof to measure their distance. Finally the first one bursts out of the ground underneath Nil and lashes up to snap onto the beings arm while the other two break out of the ground behind Nil and stretch forward with their mouths opening wide, now crazy for the taste of his blood.

[Anomaly]

Nil, having no arms to lash out at in this given time, absorbs the first snakes head into himself, causing the head to cease to exist and the body to fall limp back to the ground. The other two latch their teeth snuggly into the Holy Shadow, only to discover that there is not a drop of lifes blood on which to feast. In moments, a tiny maelstrom of chainlink tendrils, razor sharp, completely mutilate and decapitate the snakes heads before they have a chance to retract their hold. This all happens entirely unconciously, Nil being focused on summoning Frail, the Holy Beast.

Meanwhile, the two energy attacks collide. The light and sound the two forces give of in their glowing embrace are blinding and deafening in turn, but not so blinding that one cannot see that the Holy Beasts pillar of light does not gain the upper hand of the smaller, and less sustained, orb of energy. It will not be long before the orb is overwhelmed, however, this may just buy Nergal enough time to dodge out of the way of the following blast if that were to be his intention.

Already Nil begins to weaken, the cost of summoning such a large fragment of Frail's power a sore tax upon its being. In the fields a corpse twitches. Lifting its head slightly it begins to crawl away in a pecular, slithering gate that seems as erratic as it is disturbing.

[o0CrazyJackal0o]

Nergal watched on curiously as the heads reached for their target but the first seemed to drop from existence and the body exploded in black smoke and Nergal smirked slightly as the other two vanished into the being and were also killed, their bodies also exploded into black smoke and Nergal now focused upon his beam of light as it smashed into the same ray from Nil.

He was surely going to lose this struggle for he had hastily sent the light magic and so it was not as focused as it might have been if he had been given more time to concentrate, but now he was forced to avoid and so he winced as movement on his upper back indicated a transformation as pure grey wings billowed out from the folds of his cloak, stretching out to ten feet in length, both soaked in rich black blood.

Nergal would then release himself from the beam and beat his wings in a forceful motion to the ground and the force sent him soaring high into the sky and he watched as the beam ripped through the ground in where he once stood but he did not stop to watch the aftermath as he quickly directed himself towards Nil and let out an earthly shriek that seemed to halt all sound in the region and then he charged.

The Angel gathered speed as he rushed towards Nil, tossing the blade into his left hand now as the crystalised hand glows a deep blue once again which flows through Aratas, the six foot long blade that he now held firm at his left side as he neared within five feet of his foe and brung his sword to his right hand side and swung the blade in one wide horizontal stroke, aiming to cleave Nil in half.