Warring Eras of Eartha: Ironhearts

The four of us stood there, staring at a headless body, which was once someone dear to us. I stared at the three others, their faces a mask of sorrow, rage, or something in between. Above their heads are the diamond-shaped objects called 'Indicators', named such because they indicate one's current allegiance to me, either as allies, enemies, neutral, or, as I stare back at the corpse, dead. "W-Who would do this?" Asked a boy fixing his glasses after disturbing its position in an effort to be rid of the tears flowing down his cheeks, then he proceeds to make a mess of his charcoal hear seeming as if he's attempting to pull it out of its roots. "Who would even manage to do this to her?" Asks another one who also wearing glass, this time rounded ones as opposed to the previous one which is rectangular, she is also a girl with a long hair reaching her lower back coloured the same as with glasses boy. Her face is much more unpredictable, she wears an expression which makes it hard to discern her immediate emotion with eyes alone. Though knowing the look in those jet black eyes of her, rage and sorrow are currently in a tugging match within her. "Someone with a death wish, that's for sure." Growls a boy clad in black armour, the exquisite helmet with the appearance of an ant, metal and all, that he's holding is about to be turned into a worthless crumple of metal. He notices it before that could actually occur, and he let out a loud sigh as he loosens his hold, probably having a hard time doing so given the way his hands are shaking. The sound of a door opening is hard to miss with the silence that followed, and knowing that someone was just murdered in the very same room means that there's no way one can avoid being tense. The black-clad boy was the first to react, wearing his helmet and falling into a stance with his curved nodachi sword, making it appear as if he now has a long tail of dark steel at a glance. Stark white light spills out of the gaps in his armour, especially in the opening of his helmet, which made his visage an intimidating one. The glasses duo were next to brandish their arsenal, unlike the steel of the previous combatant, their's is not something that can be made by the hands of men, their weapons are part of the forces of nature, namely fire and air. Glasses boy has fire snaking around his arm where he pulled up his sleeves in order to avoid giving the greedy flame any unwanted ideas. Glasses girl has a barely visible ball of air on her hand which, moments after the thought, became much more grey in colour as tendrils of air gather around it in a circular dance. As for me, I point my spear towards the door, prepared to lunge when the situation requires to as well as when the opportunity presents itself. We all took position around the perimeter of the door, making sure to have optimal distance between the four of us without cutting us off from each other. "Edanna!? Kids!? Is anybody here!?" Yells a man with a gruff voice which has the immediate effect of relaxing our combat posture. "Lord Damocleus!" We all said in unison, the relief in our tone quite obvious. An imposing man wearing a golden muscle cuirass enters the room, sheathing his sword with a relieved expression. His red cloak lies in tatters, much like the state of his armour. "Oh, thank goodness you're all alive! Where's Eden-" Sunlight shines through the gaping hole on the ceiling, illuminating the scene of blood and gore behind us. His eyes instantly welled up when he saw it. "No!" He screams as his knees gave up, his shoulder lost their strength and slumped, a torrent of tears accompanied his wails as he weakly made his way towards his wife's headless corpse. "I-I'm sorry, Lord Dreymor, had I investigated the noise much earlier, I would've been able to do something." Says the black-clad kid, a remorseful look is directed at the ground. "There was no way anyone would've known, Kiritso." I stated as my spear disappears in a blink of sapphire blue light, "Besides, I fail to see losing two heads as a better alternative." The remorse behind his golden eyes was replaced with that of anger as he glares at me, I met his piercing gaze with my own blood-red eyes the same colour as my hair which I'm currently scratching lazily. "How are you doing this?" The shaky voice came from glasses boy, a bastardized look of anger, sadness, and bewilderment on his face. "What do you mean, Kenneth?" I inquired with a raised brow as I turn my attention to him. "Does Lady Edenna mean nothing to you?" "Boys, is this really the time to be bickering? Who knows if that monster is still around here? And besides, don't you have any respect for Lady Edenna, fighting near her like this?" Glasses girl butts in, looking like she's the other person besides me that is not overcome by emotion. "Thanks, Arika." I said jokingly, and sure enough despite appearing to be the only one besides me that is not being overcome by emotion, her glare tells me otherwise. The pounding of metal boots announced another visitor. "Lord Damocleus! Mistics are congregating in front of the corridor, any minute now and our troops will be stuck in melee!" Enters the man wearing maille decorated with rings which signify his rank. No response came from lord Damocleus, who apparently stopped sobbing some moment ago while we were talking amongst ourselves. "Lord Damocleus? Are you..." Whatever he was meaning to say was drowned out by his lunch rushing out of his mouth at seeing the mess that is Lady Edenna's body. "You are centurio Viteus, correct?" Lord Damocleus asked as he stood up, his eyes still bloodshot from crying, "Well, it matters not. As the last surviving legatus and your superior, I hereby declare the safe escape of these children your duty, a duty beyond your life, emperor, or even your family. Am I understood?" He said with the authoritative voice befitting a landed Lord of the realm. "Yes, legatus!" But his answer was not awaited, his superior already left even before he can press the hilt of his blade on his chest in salutation. There was a momentary silence as lord Damocleusleft the room, everybody knows where he is heading for after that order, no one had the bravery nor the foolishness to stop a mourning widow seeking blood. "Say, wasn't ceturio Viteus that guy who died just a day ago?" I inquired, hearing the silence that is about to dominate the room. The other children looked at me as if I'm an alien. "You really are insensitive, are you?" A rhetorical question coming from glasses girl. "Children," centurio Viteus' doppelganger face is filled determination, "I, centurio Vedericus Equitus, swear upon my honour as an officer in the deceased emperor Ramonus' legios and my late father Vedericus Flaveus Galliceaus name and the pride of third legio Gallicaeis, that I shall see you safely even if it means my death and the end of my-" Now I would have continued to listen to him ar to the very name of the first man to have been part of his family if not for the more interesting sound I am hearing. It sounds like someone, or something, almost succeeded in sneaking. Judging from the soft footsteps, I concur that there is no indication of any sort of footwear, but I have heard people try to stalk barefoot and this one does not sound like that. Which could possibly mean that this is not a being considered to be a human. Without further evidence, I guess there is only one way to find out. Waiting... Waiting... Just a little bit... ... "Ash! Behind you!" I know Kiritso, and besides, with this warning sign that appeared in front of my vision every time someone or something tries to attack me I did not need you to ruin my eardrums at all. Everything suddenly has a tinge of blue as the veins in my arm begin to flare up a sapphire colour. In a wink of blue light now possess a shield which could cover the entirety of my body, while my protection is guaranteed from the front it also obstructs my vision, but the weight of my aggressor against the other side of the shield is all I need to know what to do. With wits and brawn, I use the momentum of its own attack against it, lowering my centre of gravity and then proceeding to flip it up and over me. Sailing the air was a creature that is shaped like a humanoid the size of an adult's torso with long hands with claws for fingers, besides that there is no more detail, I'd say it's dark, but it's more like light itself goes out of its way to avoid touching it. Not even the golden light that Kiritso is currently emitting right now wants to have anything to do with the mistic. Speaking of the kid, the gaps in his armour is spitting out a much brighter gold light, some electric spark even appears here and there. A clear indication that he is about to lash out, not that his stance is telling me otherwise. Knowing his tendencies I immediately brought my shield to bear, and sure enough after three heavy steps forward that left craters on the tiles he launches into an attack, penetrating the sound barrier and in the blink of an eye the mistic. Sparks fly as I feel something almost akin to pain typical when an external force deforms enough anything I have made. Breaking through the sound barrier in only three steps is an exceptional feat, he sure is fast, but ironically not fast enough to slow down. He tried though, evident with the destroyed tile where he must've tried to anchor into, but the new gaping hole in the wall is a testament to his failure. "Oh no, is he alright!?" Centurio Vedericus panics. "Not surprising you're not concerned with this mistic that has penetrated your defences, it is a mere Clawed Stalker after all." I commented, inspecting the mistic corpse which was separated in two. If one has no knowledge such a creature exists, they would think that a hole on the ground shaped like a torso and legs that leads into an endless dark abyss is all that this is. Shrugging I moved on from that and focused my attention on the actual hole that Kiritso has created. "Guess that's the exit. Let's obey the legatus' mandate and flee from this place." "Wait! We're gonna leave Lord Dreymor behind!? Are you nuts!?" Kenneth shouted angrily. "No, I'm a kid." I answered the rhetorical question with a smirk. He suddenly runs towards me and pins me to the wall which is only a step to the right near the hole, "How can you still joke around when everywhere there is death!?" "What should I do when there's death around then? Cry? Mourn? Curl up in a corner and wait to die? Is there anything negative in cracking a joke that I haven't heard of?" I say without a readable expression, staring back at his uncertain gaze which was filled with rage just a moment ago, "Is there anything I could do that will make them less dead?" "Even still-!" "The living comes first and the dead comes second in this situation." "How does that justify your jests?" Asked Arika this time with an expecting look. "Well, you all seem to be a bit too gloomy, not really a bad thing to mourn, but none of you heard an enemy about to slay one of your friends, I would've been dead if I were being as sloppy as you all. " I answered. There was a momentary silence as Kenneth looks agitated and Arika unimpressed. "You're not our friend." Kenneth snarled. "Not in the literal sense, I used the word in it's loosest form." "Children, please don't fight now. It was my fault for not noticing the mistic even when it was within my line of sight!" Centurio Vedericus says in an attempt to quell the tension. "Hey! I require assistance here!" Echoes Kiritso's voice from below. "I suppose you at least consider that other kid your friend?" I quipped at the still frowning four eyes after he lets me go, "Well, ain't it a tragedy? To be invincible to the damage yet not to the pain?" I thought while checking out the distance of the ground from up here. As long as I have Altur and enough of it, I can create anything that I can comprehend. Altur is the bright blue liquid that can shift its shape, it is a material that does not behave like any other physical objects, namely not staying in the air without any reason to beside me willing it, but after it assumed the form of another physical object it becomes subject to whatever laws the gods imposed upon this world. But perhaps 'create' isn't the right term here, as that would imply that there exist no other limitations beside material abundance, but in reality, anything that can possess even a minuscule of life cannot be replicated by any ability that I know of. "So what will you be bringing to existence, oh greatest mecka?" Glasses girl asks sarcastically, which sounds like she doesn't expect to be impressed by any answer I will come up with. "I will 'Forge' something that will help me reach the ground without losing the ability to use my knees." I answered, using the much more appropriate jargon for the ability that is a staple for every mecka on Eartha, "How about you two? Oh greatest twin arckhanas? How will you be meeting with the pavements below?" I created a long chain with one end tied on a beam and curled in a pile which I proceeded to kick off the edge of this building. It was common knowledge after that to use it to get down to the ground level safely, but I decided to get a bit creative and kick off the wall when I was one floor off the ground. I have performed reconnaissance from up high before descending, and I counted ten more of those Clawed Stalkers that are surrounding Kiritso who is prepared to kill the first mistic to try their nonexistent luck at taking him down. Typical for them to be this hesitant, they prefer to have their victims unaware of their impending doom after all, not as ready as this to defend themselves. Funny that they are the one oblivious to their upcoming end. They only noticed my presence when the light from my weapon being Forged after my chains de-materialized alerted them, but it was already too late for one of them as my axe splits it in two, then quickly my weapon was Reforged into longsword which decapitated the nearest two with one swing. That was the only thing I was able to do before they decided to tuck tail and run in all directions. Since they're inconsequential to our survival now I did not give chase. But the two arckhanas does not feel as lazy as I am, and with fire and air, the Clawed Stalkers were no more. "Doing well, Kiritso?" I inquired. He didn't even humour me with a reaction and instead finished off one of the creatures that was both flattened by Arika's air and burned by Kenneth's flames, sometimes these creatures' resilience surprises me. The two arckhanas and the centurio dropped next to us riding a mini twister. With no more threat and seeing the street pretty much empty besides us, I let my weapon reassume its original form. "Children, we must get out of here before the main mistic horde joins the fight." Says centurio Vedericus. "How long does this guy will be addressing us as kids?" Arika whispers, sounding amused more than anything. We just shrugged while the officer doesn't seem to have noticed Arika's remark. The disturbing sound of something unwanted caught my ears, and when I looked towards its direction I immediately decided that whatever brief moment of safety we once had has passed. "Well, I'm not fond of crowded places for one, so I think I'll be leaving." I say when everyone followed my gaze. "Oh my..." Clawed Stalkers are frightful creatures, the only reason they are here now is because the tide of other much more powerful mistics took them here as they ran away from it in fear of being trampled. Now it seems that a tidal wave of them is about to wash away whatever is standing on the very street we are on, being chased by whatever it is behind them. They only do that when they are collectively afraid of something, and that something is almost exclusively a powerful mistic... Whatever is chasing them is wreaking havoc on the rear of their group, not curious enough to meet what it is nor thinking that getting trampled upon is worth it to satisfy my curiosity, we ran into a narrow alley and left the stampede behind us. "Wonder what it is that's scaring this big crowd." I muttered to myself. There's a saying about curiosity killing a cat, I always counter that with the fact that we are not by any means a feline. So when I lagged behind and waited for the stampede to pass to get a glimpse of my 'curiosity', I wasn't expecting to be killed, nor was I expecting a certain warning followed by something smashing into my shield either, my head would've been turned into many bloody shards and matter had I not made my target shield in such a swift manner. I can almost imagine the shock in my companions' faces as I fly over them with my shield pressed into my face. My shield enlightened and its form broke down, but it did not disappear and instead took a different form, two leaf-shaped short swords with double-edges, a weapon meant to bury itself into guts, but it can do the same to even the finest cobblestone walls. Using it I stabbed into the corners, or was planning to so I can stop before I hit the wall behind me, but my left arm failed to heed me, so I crashed through the wall anyway. Blackness crawls at the edges of my vision and a high-pitched ringing muted all other sounds of the world as info tabs appear with details on structural damages appearing, nothing fatal I suppose, just a popped shoulder thanks to that monstrous hit, my back and ribs are okay surprisingly with some bruising that looks painful, the wall must've been substandard or was feeling the wrath of the mistic incursion, if it was anything but that I might be immobilized if not dead. "Ash! Are you alive in there!?" I heard centurio Vedericus' voice almost muffled by the ringing in my ears. "I'm alive! Lucky me this type of shoulder dislocation isn't fatal!" I shouted and sit up from the wooden floor I was laying on. I could hear the fighting that just commenced outside, not wanting to be called out later for not lending a hand I began to stand up. But then I was warned about an attack that would be coming from above, there was a flash of blue before I felt something dropping on me, probably from the ceiling. The floor below me gave away as the penetration of metal through flesh was eclipsed by the groan of the wooden ground. Together with my try-hard assassin, we plunged into the darkness below as I heard someone's voice shouting out my name... And strangely I felt my body shaking violently. What on Eartha's- Wakey, wakey, little bugger!