<span style='color:blue'>Ooc:Baalberith Typical black padded suit, Tanto’s slung horizontally on back and rifle. 14 Tria 81381 </span> Baalberith was sitting on a rock in the centre of the forest brought by a memory. The rock itself bore marks of battle, large slash cutting it from top to bottom with a decaying rope frayed at the ends. Bael had been thinking over what had happened sixteen years ago when he was just twelve. The daemons had attacked the village, all who could bear arms boar them with guns blazing and swords slashing the villager’s lines held but only just many had died in the initial raid. The daemons took half the children including Beal no one could leave the village or the line would fall, so the young ones were left to their fate. The mothers screeching mourning the soon to be deaths of their young. Bael remembered the smell of fear all about him from him also, like a musk it hung in the air. Beal and the others were walked a few miles from the village thier bindings were tied to a great boulder which had a rope looped round it to secure them their was no escape only supper was awaiting them but it wasn't theirs. but as the rabble of fiends were getting ready for supper a quiet swoosh came from where on of the daemons sentries followed by a resounding thud.
<span style='font-family:times'><span style='font-size:10pt;line-height:100%'>Gorrath sat upon a bench in some town somewhere. It wasn't the most lavish of places. But he could feel his hands again. He had let his mind start wandering, and it wandered of it own accord. He could move, but he chose not to. It would feel better now just to remember. He looked back at the boulder again, now thinking about it. He remembered once. He blinked a couple times, then he closed his eyes. His eyes closed and the memory picked up suddenly. with a slash, the daemon was in half. Burning from the blessings on 'Gorrath's' sword. The light shone from where he was stepping. His foot prints burned into the country-side as he walked. Blessing the land with each step, the darkness retreated from even his feet. He looked up, this village.. It was horrid. Not a sight one would ever want to see. Blood of these innocents painted the streets. Minor daemons scurried along, they posed no threat. They were fearful of Gorrath, and most other things. Like cochroaches they hid from Gorrath's light. He was across the line now. Not being from the village, just a visitor, the daemons must not have noticed his crossing onto their territory. Surely they would have moved on the village by now if they had. The mobs of these shadows were getting thicker and thicker, more and more as he approached a great rock out a ways into the forest. He now drew his sword again, hitting these shadows with fists was starting to not be enough. His sword though, cut through them like butter. Each slash letting of an incandescent glow. He cleared a quick circle. He now kneeled to pray. Some daemons fell, just from the words he was speaking. He stood now, not a shadow close to him. The ones that still were dissapated, almost evaporated. Into a mist that blew like dust in the wind. Now as they hit him, tackled him. Each of them were engulfed by the light, and dissapated like the others, or they were damaged greatly. He reached the boulder finally. He saw, children? Tied to this rock. Some bargaining chip... But that's what he was here for. Holy intervention was his task now. That though, encased most of his job. He stood before the children, trying to come off as warm and friendly as he could without saying a word. He looked at each of them, and extended a claw now. To cut this rope.</span></span>
Bael and the others watched this giant figure cut swaths after swaths out of these daemons with beams of light and flashing sword. Everyone was in awe too stunned to understand to even stand for a few. Back a few miles away both villager and daemon stopped their mortal combat to watch the light in the forest and hear the deathly cries of banished daemons. Eventually the blood soaked figure waded his way through the throng of shadows stopping to stare at the captives, a puzzled expression appeared on his face as if they were the least thing he expected before him. After a few split-seconds he started to cut their bindings but as he got closer his sword flared when he looked upon Bael believing that it was due to a few daemons still around he carried on. Once all were free the children bowed to him telling him of the calamity that is destroying their home and that the other clans will not help. For several hours Bael and the others led him to their home but as they drew nearer the sounds of battle were carried on the wind. As the saviour took a quick few minutes to cleanse his blade of filth. Bael told the group to hide somewhere in the tangles of bushes. Though he too was ordered to hide there Bael had no intention of hiding, after all he was a full two years older than them and that made all the difference. So when this fighter of light left to help the villagers so too did Baalberith with a blooded rifle in his hands. The rifle itself was damaged it had a gash from barrel-edge to butte, even the scope was missing, but all that mattered was that it was with enough energy to kill an army.
<span style='font-family:times'><span style='font-size:10pt;line-height:100%'>Gorrath wasn't too worried about the creatures finding the younglings, they didn't seem to use their noses too much. So as long as the little ones were out of sight they were fine. He turned his back to them, and started to look around. Wondering where to take them, then he noticed it... The daemons. They'd stopped attacking. They'd actually pulled back. He walked forth a bit, walking into a clearing... one that hadn't been there a second ago. He looked around, slowly and carefullly. Not even noticing Baal, because he wasn't looking down. A lone shadow, stood at the other side of this clearing. It's eyes glowed red. It looked as if this one though, was a 'dragon. The creature took it's arm over it's head. Looking as if it took a hood down or something. It bent down, instead of a dragon, a wolf. A wolf lunged across this opening in the forest. Before Gorrath could even draw his sword again this wolf was at his throat. Gorrath on his back now, the wolf stood a top him. Instead of being damaged by the blessing on the armor, the armor tarnished, and lost it's shine where the wolf's paws were. Gorrath finally kicked the wolf. It did a kind of back flip through the air. Instead of a wolf landing though, a rapine landed. Gorrath wasn't too suprised now though, he stood drawing his sword now. The rapine growled a bit, it also lunged for Gorrath. He held his sword vertically, and right through the rapine's teeth it's head split into two. As it lay dying though, it melted.. into a puddle. This suprised him. The puddle moved under Gorrath's feet. As it began moving up his legs, he couldn't move. It started speaking. <span style='color:crimson'>"Mys sha auteats yv vyjnt sy caag.. U jugema. Mymashalatt, Ledhsrjemdaj, E kum's las iyo leba." </span> The puddle wrapped around him in an almost symbiotic way. Now at his shoulders, Gorrath began to pray. Not a prayer of desparation, but words that he would like to be his last. For as far as he could see, there wasn't a way out of this. </span></span>
Bael had followed from a distance, he recognised this place the clan elders called it cursed that a powerful foe was always here. The vanishing black clearing as it was called where flowers wilted and trees bent dying. Bael was just about to help when the wolf attacked but was beaten to it when it got kicked off. But as the armoured one was slowly covered by the enemy Bael shivered as memories of the feeling of his life draining he had to do something. Baalberith nearly died the last time he came in stepped into a dark puddle which formed a cage around him slowly draining his energy until someone shot it with an energy beam from a rifle. Bael aimed as best he could changing the setting of the rifle to fire all its power into a single shot, tears streaming down his cheek as he focused with all his heart and being. Without a scope he could only hope he hit the other being. Everything darkened as he fired almost as if time had stopped; he heard the silenced blatt as the beam left the gun hitting the black being. Green energy worked its way over the shapeshifting daemon filling it with energy, the remaining energy quickly separated the molecules in its body virtually de-atomising the rapine. After a minute the shapeshifter was gone nothing but a million atoms floating in the wind, leaving the smoking blackened paladin kneeling on the ground. Baalberith ran to the paladin pulling him up. “Are you all right?” tears still trickling down his face.
<span style='font-family:times'><span style='font-size:10pt;line-height:100%'>Gorrath stood. Brushing off his shoulder. He looked down at the little one, and gave off a smile. <span style='color:white'> "Thank you. I'm fine. You did well" </span> He walked off to grab his sword, looking at where his suit was now tarnished. He rubbed it a little bit, and chose to ignore it for now. Looking back to Bael, he said<span style='color:white'> "Go and get the others. The path so far should be clear. But just in case.." </span> He now took a vial, and handed it to Bael. <span style='color:white'> "If you're in trouble. Throw it at the ground." </span> He said as he walked off to clear the path ahead some more. Gorrath's main goal now was to get the children back to the village as safely as he possibly could. Slashing at the daemons again, through the darkness he made his way. He could see the village now. With a thrust, his sword was through one of the bigger shadow's head. A squirt of blood and Gorrath turned to see how the smaller one was doing. He was hoping that Bael was doing fairly well. Otherwise he'd just have to fly them all. Which would take a lot longer than walking... Time they didn't much have. </span></span>
Bael took the vial tentatively not sure if it would explode in his face then placed it in his pocket. “Okay I will" and thus he turned bounding off to where the others were. Bael still clutched the now useless rifle, and started to order the kids around as quietly as possible. They eventually started to go along the path it was obvious that they would never get lost the path was littered with bodies and slowly mistifying shadows. They saw the paladin in the distance getting covered in blood. The town was at least a mile off but the sounds of battle had stopped, what could have happened. If the defence had failed the daemons' victory cries would have been heard throughout the land. But if the daemons were vanquished then why were the townsfolk not celibrating.
<span style='font-size:10pt;line-height:100%'><span style='font-family:times'>Gorrath stood, sword clutched tightly in hand. Standing in the darkness, he casted not a shadow, but light. It looked as if it was a shadow, only inverted. He'd never quite had a shadow, even in the brightest of lights. But only now he noticed it. Another figure emerged from the shadows. This one looking more like a 'dragon. It was hooded. But it walked straight towards Gorrath. <span style='color:white'> "Vematta.." </span> Gorrath muttered to himself. <span style='color:white'> "I should've known you were the one teaching these shadows to bend themselves." </span> They stood face to face now. <span style='color:crimson'> "Of course. You of all people should know my name. But to have a man of your stature say my name.."</span> He laughed a bit, <span style='color:crimson'> "I.. I'm not worthy."</span> At this he really laughed. With a swift blow, the butt of Gorrath's sword was brung down from his shoulder and onto Vem's head. Vem layed there, his neck looked broken. Any other 'dragon would be assumed for dead. But Vem just got back to his feet. Cracking his neck back into place, he threw his hood on the ground now. He took a stance of sorts, fists balled they started to smoke. Then slowly flames crawled up his arms. Gorrath still stood, his sword back across his shoulders now. Neither of these two really noticed the silence that could make one crazy, after such a battle as this.</span></span>
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'><span style='color:gray'>Ooc: Sorry didn't notice you'd replied</span>.</span> After a fair few minutes of walking Beal and his lttle troupe came upon Gorrath and the stranger mid-way in their stand off. Baalberith knew that him and the others could not help in anyway against this foe, and thus left as fast as possible to the town as he left Beal gave Gorraththe most inspiring look he could. He sent this along with a telepathic message: We'll see each other again 'cus Iwant to hear your stories.
