Sunspire Mountains where to find the missing piece of the puzzle

@Nyra

To his surprise, the Saints had died off rather quickly.  From the beginning, their Grandmaster had introduced them as warriors of strong-willed hearts who stood to face their enemies. But now? Now they had all become the exact opposite.

Many had fled, leaving him to find his own path from the Vale. Ursus was on the prowl and seeking blood, no doubt. Standing alone, this would be no place for him to stay and wait to be devoured by the anger of his new enemies.

Nyra was one of those who fled. Despite his assumptions, he would not dare judge the woman until able to question her intentions.

The Saints had taken him in. They gave him a home and he would not give up so easily. 

First he would find Nyra; then anyone else, if it was even possible.

since this was AW im throwing merrick in, lmk if u would prefer i remove this

the heat of battle died to embers as it became clear that the saints had fled.
merrick hated their cowardice. 
he mourned astara and combed the stone faces, growling wordlessly to @Avicus and @Aventus. they were what remained of his bloodcore.
and when his single eye fell upon this wolf whose scent had been upon the vale, merrick did not waste a moment. his long legs whipped and his teeth ached in the cold air. 
blood for the bear god.

>:3 *maniacal laughing*

 

Nyra had indeed fled, had been wandering the mountains and was keen to head west, try to mesh within a different, new pack if she could.
Catching the scent of Xynos, she at first was more inclined to disappear. But something inside her maddening core murmured to go to him. 

So she did.

Just in time to see Merrick, and perhaps his spawns, coming in for the shadowy man.

Her cowardice dissipated, and Nyra sprinted to meet them head-on, letting out a thundering, ravenous roar as she lunged for Merrick's neck, her goal to rip and rend and tear and KILL. 

Two on three was bad odds, but they were at least manageable. 
She hoped it stayed that way.

There were many scents to flood between the vale and the mountains.

Merrick led his horde of angered souls forward to destroy those who had wronged him. Xynos was unsure of the original call for blood, but there was no question that he had now entered a war he was obligated to play a part. This was for both his sake and those left to call themselves former Saints.

A cry for battle strung through the air. Nyra had appeared from the peaks within which she fled, directly turning to challenge the heart of Ursus. Lust for death was clear through her voice. It stung like a shriek tearing through his eardrums, forcing moments to pass before the encounter registered. 

This was it. 

Turning his heavy body to confront whom would follow Merrick and display their teeth and claws; ready to impale within his shadowed body.

Every muscle tensed, aching in preparation. 

Would it be only the three, or would more come?

merrick had not honed himself for years to be caught so easily;
nyra appeared to fill his vision, her bullish roar reverberating in his ears. he bent himself around the heavy snap of her jaws which plucked several hairs from his neck.
merrick cackled grandly, madly; he whirled to face the cowardly saint once more. a cracking snarl summoned the remainder of ursus: @Ingram II, @Arielle, @Surya, the @Taggerung; he fought for the blood of astara's murderer.
fight for the bear. fight for your queen.
merrick lunged.

At his heel was a bolt of light, a silver shadow and some barbed creature who moved too quickly for Sivugat to see clearly; but he had bolted among the trees when they had come, bludgeoning the path as he made his way, and all but fell from one ledge to another, until he came to rest on a hill of rock and fern.

He was panting hard. Each inhalation brought stabbing pain to his side. There beneath his layered furs sat a tear in the skin, well placed, deep, and seeping blood. The boy struggled to his feet again and tried to move on - knowing he should not stop if he could help it - and as he came around a bend he was abruptly faced with a compliment of wolves.

A shout, a snarl; a giant of white moving sharply towards roaring man, while beyond them both was another shadow. Sivugat's attention shot to the white shape first - he knew them all, but Nyra stood out in the moment. White fur, white teeth, white hot rage, aimed away from him - at a one-eyed man.

Merrick?

She missed, but just barely.
Merrick's mad laughter and brief howl for numbers was met with Nyra lunging for his face. 

The bearking seemed to have the same idea. 
Locked in battle now, Nyra kept her throat protected as best she could. This was after all, as many had been before her - a fight for her life.
The Warmaiden arced her teeth for as much of Merrick as she could possibly get before someone inevitably tried to drag her off of him.

Comprehension was beyond him.

All thoughts should be stowed, leaving only one to show for his cold, expressionless glint.

He would watch as the two bodies collided, every muscle stilled. It was a partial consideration: to leave Nyra to fend for herself and face those she had wronged. Xynos knew that this war had started long before his arrival. Was it worth the doubtless fatality that may meet him? 

Perhaps not, but he would try nonetheless.

A savage growl consumed the power of his vocals. Sturdy limbs unhooked from the locked position they once held, carrying him forward in powerful strides. Until more would meet them, his goal would be to assist his only ally here.

Lunging for the body of Merrick, gaping jowls reached outwards, intent upon grasping any limb they could. 

Triumph had not become what was sought... only survival.

Once upon a time, a fearsome beast seized a shadowy child and slammed him into the ground with enough force to kill a more fragile creature, laying him low for weeks and revealing her own unhinged savagery.

Nyra was no longer a snowy beast, but a hulking coward. And Aventus was no longer a shadowy boy, but a sinewy reaper. He lacked the innate violence of his family but that did not make him weak or hesitant when his sights were set upon an enemy. There was no greater enemy than Nyra, and so the second wolf with her went utterly ignored. If he had time to think, he would wonder why this wolf continued to side with his cowardly companion. Surely he had seen how she fled and left him behind.

Aventus had no time to think. He only had time to swing around the woman, leaving Merrick to her face. His father was a berserker in battle, and Avicus surely close at hand, as well. He joined his family in splitting her attention three ways, did what wolves did best and lunged for her hindquarters, intent on sinking his teeth in as deep as they would go to make her bleed

And bleed

And bleed until her body was an empty husk.

The Taggerung heard the call and he did not hesitate to follow the mad Scourge into the fray. 

Violence existed all around. The bard did not know who all was friend and who was their enemy. The bear king's laugh filled the air, a frightening and wicked sound. 

The Taggerung aimed his fangs for the nearest enemy and lunged. He was not a talented fighter, but his pulse had carried away all sensible thought.

cameo from me! feel free to skip, but please tag if you engage.

There had been talks of war, words of danger. Mom had said so along with the others. In the Vale they would be safe. The Vale would protect them, and Turmeric had believed them. At first, he had believed them. He had believed them.

But Ursus had found them anyways, and they had taken mom and Mulberry and Thyme. Ursus had found them, and streamed like bees around them. Around Nyra, and Xynos, and Saviguk, the only ones who remained. The only ones who would remain.

Coward.

He should have been running towards the battle. Some innate instinct screamed that he must, but fear gripped him. Fear of these feelings he could not name. Something ugly and treacherous, the more and more he pictured the fur, the blood, the disturbed earth where they had dragged everyone away. Surely Ursus had done this. Surely they had done this.

He should have been running towards the battle, but despite every instinct and every smidge of ugly that dug into his skin like a burrowing tick, Turmeric was no warrior. He was no valiant hero, or warlord, or knight. He was a coward. And when the battle came, Turmeric was already running the opposite way.

merrick's summon rises thru the air like the call of a war horn; summoning him and the others to his side.

ingram wastes no time, though he is not the first to arrive. there are clashes of bodies, of teeth and flesh and fur and ingram feels the bloodrush; familiar and aching and horrible — wonderful.

he fights because his soul clamors for it. he charges into the mess, his goal one of the two ( three? ) fighting saints wolves.

he aims for the nearest saints wolf, jaws parted and gaze sparked with a hunger for war.

left this super open in regards to which saints wolf he lunged at. his attack can hit or miss, i'm cool with whatever! <3

She felt like a ghost. Invisible, gone from this world. They had fled gone and never come back. The war was not to come and everything within felt empty. War took long strides among the mountain peeks, her sole lost and emptied after being left behind. There was no one left to pick her up, no one left to hold the turmoil within. She had continuous flashbacks, again and again she relived every bloody moment from her past, every past war was within earshot, she could even hear it now. The grasp for power, the sound of fangs, the roar of... Nyra?

She blinked, stopped. Was that Nyra's battle roar she heard? No she must have gone mad now, she must have misheard. But even so. She ran toward the sound and soon she heard the sound of battle emerging, rising and becoming higher. She began to run faster. Faster. Until she was there. Upon seeing Nyra she stopped dead in her tracks. They were only two of them standing, The black man and Nyra herself. The rest was of a scent she did not know but they were out to get them both. War snarled from deep within and then she entered the battle with full speed.

She lunged and with a wide bite she went for the BETRAYER.

Nyra.

Nyra whom she had trusted, whom she had put her faith into had run off like some coward, sloped away into darkness without a word, without a goodbye. Never had War been so betrayed in her entire life. Never had the large war machine felt anything like this before. Without even knowing it War had loved Nyra beyond the sky and earth. War hadn't experienced love or care before, she couldn't have placed those words upon Nyra even if she wanted to, but love her was what she did. Had. Did..

She aimed her fangs for the white fur who was already in a battle, but War had not come to aid anyone. She had come on her own accord, she had come because the betrayal within was larger than any emotion she had ever felt before. War aimed for Nyra, anything on her, anything that she could grasp on to. At first War had no intention of maiming or really harming her, she just wanted revenge. But once she was there something clicked within.

The war was on.

She would try and shake, maim, scar, KILL.

Did not care it was Nyra, or forgot it was Nyra. War was gone, her eyes didn't see the same Nyra anymore, she just saw white fur on a wolf, someone who had to go down, someone she had to kill. Someone who had betrayed everything they had. There was no love anymore, there was no loyalty left.

Loyalty did not belong in war.

merrick had lost much in his life.
he had built a good deal more.
nyra had robbed him of whatever future might still might have expanded after the blackbird had found healing. the wolves of the saints who could not conquer the raven queen in her life had torn her when she was ill. and yet she had not gone without her own bloodletting; merrick felt tears scour his single eye as he held to nyra and dug his claws into the earth. his cheek ran where she had sliced him, and yet the thudding pain of what would be a new scar only intensified his great and horrendous wrath.
he did not feel the teeth of the other saint, though scarlet ran red along his hipbone. merrick would not be compelled to release his hold unless by some wizardry; he locked the long crush of his jaw tightly, intending to rend flesh down and down and down;
till bone;
till blood filled his mouth and choked him.
his son. his daughter. a blackened shadow. a crimson flash. ursus seeking the flesh long denied; they would have it would have it would have it
there was a ripple of impact as a boulder-stone collided into the polar demon. merrick did not know this wolf and nor did he care. 
nyra, beset on all sides. the might of the bear singed through the darkblood creature;
heartbeat cadenced, merrick tore and ripped with single-minded and skilled intent, focused only upon the taste of nyra's foolhardy life and how she would die a coward's death for her atrocities.
my love, do you see?

I *think* the order is going Merrick>Sivu>Nyra>Aventus>Tagge>Ingram>War>Xynos, at this point?

The force of Ursus, brought together by the call of Merrick, was a stunning thing to behold. The rise of many bodies each brandishing knife-like teeth, seeking only the white beacon of Nyra — it was enough to awe even Sivugat, which rolled swiftly in to fear, as he lost his own nerve and could do nothing but watch.

There was a flash of red from the stone: a giant he did not know well, aiming for the Overlord. Merrick then reaching for her too, grappling, being grappled; blood sprayed and soaked and became the very air, and as Sivugat reeled from the sight of all these gnashing teeth tearing at the broad white that was once the leader of the Saints, the boy knew the truth of himself.

He felt wetness in his loins. The earth became ammonia-rich mud beneath him; but he did not notice the smell of himself as he rose, twisting away from the wolves that came. A gray body drove hard against him and he soundlessly snapped at the air, nearly catching his own tongue; the feeling of his teeth closing like a bear-trap would sting later in the heft of his jaw.

A stranger with a golden face was there, moving just as swiftly on the side of Ursus, seeking the dark shape which held Merrick firmly by the hip; Sivugat was distracted by the pain in his side and the new seething ache of his bruises, as well as the terror brought here by the cultists, and did not attack at all.

Instead, he tried to run.

This was not his fight — he was not of Ursus any longer and he was not a Saint, his loyalties hinged only on his own survival, and the only act that would ensure that, was a childish act of cowardice, of retreat. As hypocritical as it was of Sivugat to loathe Nyra for her own betrayal he now did the same: splitting from the mayhem and driving himself down and away from the vale.

She had already been searching for Nyra and the few who remained with her, so when she heard Merrick's call, she wasted no time altering her direction and sprinting into the fight. 

What she saw first, and what held her focus, was the wolf who attacked the bear king's side as he was locked in battle with Nyra. He had help with the pale woman—Aves was already there, as were some others she didn't know, possibly Avicus too; it was hard to pick anyone out in the mess of teeth, fur, and blood. 

Anger surged in Arielle's heart, and she thrust herself forward, teeth aiming for the throat of the one who made the bear king bleed (Xynos).

This is Nyra and hopefully Xynos' exit! Probably the last from me unless Xynos doesn't escape next post <3

 


Nyra sliced and tore and shredded Merrick where she was able, forcing herself not to turn where Aventus tore at her hocks and others joined in the fray.

Glancing sideways, she caught the sight of War and relief flooded her for all but a moment.
Until the russet woman aimed for HER.

Just at that very moment she swore she felt teeth grip her scruff and yank her forcefully from the pile of teeth, thrusting her away and shouting to run; right before War could collide into her equally massive body.

But nobody was there as she ripped herself from the onslaught of fangs. 

She'd have to compromise then, and quickly, thus she found herself reaching for Xynos' scruff with the intent to pull him alongside her to escape.
"RUN!"
Nyra didn't hesitate once, forcing her battered and bleeding body into a dead-on sprint. 
She hoped Xynos was there to follow.
And run they would. 
Survival was the only thing that mattered now. Not triumph. 
Just living.

Someone had pulled him; tossed him aside as if his input here wasn't required. This act only infuriated him further.

Though ready to dive back into the fray, another took hold of him, preventing him from doing so.

The teeth tore against his throat. Crimson would now stain the dark fur there, though it was hardly visible.

Snarling, the man intentionally fell upon his flank, thrashing a paw outward to land a set of claws somewhere on the woman who had charged for him. He then would rise again and expand his jowls, trying to find a hold of his own to her throat.

Before he could, a white flash passed his visuals. Nyra had pulled at his nape; she had yelled through his ear.

Run!

Boiling fury demanded he continue on, but he knew full well what would become of him if he stayed.

Tearing away from the reach of his opponent, Xynos sprinted after the white woman, not daring to look back and see who was making chase for the retreating pair.

All around him, bodies writhed, blood spilled, and voices cried out in pain and triumph. Aventus could not pick out any wolf from the others in the throng. He didn't realize that one of Nyra's own had turned on her and no longer could even tell his father or sister from the others. His focus narrowed onto Nyra so that all he saw was white fur and blood blooming into it, and felt her death was assured.

When Nyra tore away, Aventus snarled and pursued, hot on her heels with every bound of his wiry young body. Not so fast, his clashing teeth said. He would not let her get away that easily, and would remain on her trail, tearing at her wherever he could, until well after his energy reserves should have run out, fuelled entirely by hate and a burning need for vengeance.

Even then, he would continue to follow from afar and seek her wherever she might run. Nyra did not deserve a clean break from Ursus after what she had done to his beloved mother, and so long as he drew breath, he would not let her have it.

victory taken;
blood unshed.
it was a terrible roar that violently ripped from the bearwolf's throat.
aventus soared past him.
merrick followed. he was not so young but he was not old; he would pursue the trail, falling into the wolf's-trot that devours the miles.
nyra was marked and would be so forever.

it's probably not my turn but i'm just going to post this as ingram's exit so i can count it towards a trade. :-)

mayhem.

chaos.

it lives and breathes in the clashing of wolves; in the staggering force that is ursus as they descend upon nyra and her ilk. they are an overpowering seiðr magic, taking shadows and consuming everything in their path. ingram thrives off of it; answering his bloodlust with blood that lingers upon his tongue: tangy and metallic

whether it comes from a saints wolf of his own he doesn't know. doesn't care.

when the retreat sounds from nyra, he gives chase until the thrum and high of battle wear off and he is left feeling sore and heavy with exhaustion. he does not follow as merrick and aventus and perhaps other pursue farther.

her death is not his to take, not truly his battle. revenge is best left to those who need it the most.

with this, he seeks to rest in akashingo for a while before making his way to ursus' claim.