Sacred Army: Part I

I can't keep up with this. I love the plot and I love my character, but you guys are just too fast. My character is getting overwhelmed. Already, it's like he doesn't even exist. It is with greatest regrets that I must drop out. If you really want to keep me in, maybe slow down a bit, and we can talk things over. Once again, I'm sorry.

OOC: @Garuru @Tye Taylors

Maybe Tye can ret-con you into Team 2? We're moving along at a much more relaxed pace, and two members of our group have slipped into inactivity so we could use another character. Plus, Seraeus already talked about facing off with the vampires earlier (albeit via confusion), so it wouldn't be all that odd an adjustment.

(OOC: Sorry I haven't been active, guys. School has raped my time into an infinitesimal portion of it prior. Someone VM me a synopsis?)

OOC: @Yun

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Originally Posted by Yun

Sorry I haven't been active, guys. School has raped my time into an infinitesimal portion of it prior. Someone VM me a synopsis?

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The Sacred Army has broken up into two teams:

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

"So first thing is first" Tye looked around to everybody. "I'm splitting all of you into two fire-teams, these teams have been completely randomized and will be switched every mission" He smiled. "Team 1: Vincent, Tad, Ame, Destiny, and Seraeus. Team 2: Ahmal, Nero, Sid, Lillith, and Myself."

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Our team (Team 2) was dispatched to a remote location in Iraq to hunt down a clan of dangerous vampires:

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

"Sounds like we'll be getting to know each other quite well," Lilith said, looking at Ahmal.

"Forgive me," she continued, turning back to Tye, "but you haven't yet divulged where you're sending us."

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

"I was getting to that" Tye laughed. "Team 2 You will be headed to a system of desert mountains in northern Iraq, weird place to hunt Vampires...but apparently they have some concerns about this specific cult. Team 1: You will all be to some ruins in the jungle of Brazil, unexplored by anyone before, they think it may be home to some sort of artifact?" Tye looked to the group. "Any questions?"

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

"A strange place to hunt vampires indeed..." Lilith mused quietly. Vampires in her homeland? The world was certainly becoming a stranger place by the minute.

"By 'vampire,' what do you mean?" she asked, vampire legends were many and diverse, what precisely might they be facing?

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

Tye looked at Lillith, "Not quite sure, command has said that they are very civilized...but monsters none the less, preying on the weak, the innocent" He sighed.

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Originally Posted by Garuru

"Oh! Vampires! I've never seen them, but I've heard so much about them. Yeah, I'd like to know what type of vampires these are. Are they immortal? Do they turn into bats? Do they get burned by daylight? I mean, I guess it's kind of important for me to know, as I'll be eating them. I mean, uh, not like that! I'll just take a bite out of one, that's already dead. Unless you need me to eat them, I mean? That just sounds weird though."

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

Lilith shot a disturbed look at Seraeus, "Remind me again why you would eat a vampire?" She looked sufficiently unsettled.

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Originally Posted by Garuru

"Um. So I can gain its power, or turn into one. I mean, it's how I get stronger, pretty much. Like, if vampires have infinite blood like I hear they do sometimes, well, that'd be a cool thing to have yourself, right? but if they burn in daylight, that'd suck. Well I guess I'll just have to find out when we get there."

He then kept quiet, embarrassed over his social faux pas.

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

"Vampires," Ahmal said, sipping his tea. He had never drunk tea before but it was quite nice. Maybe the indidels did have some good ideas. "At least the scenery will be good. I'm more Saudi, but I spent a few years in Iraq back in my days with the Jihadists. What next?"

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Team 2 is now on location in Iraq, and has been assailed by two vampires

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

Tye now found himself in the rocky terrain of Northern Iraq, he stood on top of a large rock. Surveying the area, he relayed the groups position down to them at the base of the rock. "Guys, it looks like are best bet is a big crag in the wall about a half-mile hike up the mountain. Tye said as he slid down the side of the rock, back into the group. "Ready to get going? We just have a little more to walk" He said as he began to walk up the narrow mountain trail.

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

Ahmal fitted a silver arrow into his bow. He didn't know whether the Vampires would feel it any differently, but he felt more comfortable with the arrow knocked.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to throw a bomb in and let the cave collapse?" he asked Tye in front of him. So far the American had shown himself to be an efficient leader. He loved to feel the heat on his back again, the whole place reminded him of home.

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

"We can't be sure that way" Tye commented, looking over his shoulder to Ahmal. "If the Master Vampire survives, he could start a whole new brood of vampires"

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

"OK, then, if you insist. Do you want me to lead the way? I'm probably lighter than all of you and I can test the ground to see how strong it is," Ahmal replied.

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

Tye turned to Ahmal "Sounds like a good idea" The group had gotten to a gorge, the path had towering walls on both sides.

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

Ahmal slung his bow over his arm, and started climbing the gorge, water trickled underneath him and he saw a waterfall in the distance. He saw a bat flying out of the waterfall and ducked underneath it. The creature was gone before he could shoot it.

"Strange behaviour for a bat..." he said to Tye and the others.

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

"We're not climbing the gorge!" Tye called after Ahmal as he continued walking with the group down the trail.

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

"Shame, because I just saw a bat flying out from a waterfall in broad daylight. I'd say that climbing this is a good idea," he yelled down to Tye.

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

"Our info says that it is closer to the top" Tye yelled up. "Ahmal, down now please" He called.

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

Ahmal jumped down from the gorge onto the path.

"If you insist. Let's go," he said before stalking up the mountain.

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

Lilith squinted painfully in the bright middle-eastern sun, straining to look up the cliffside for Ahmal's bat. It was evident she had spent too long away from the desert, she was beginning to sunburn.

"We are sure that's not the spot?" she inquired of Tye, "I should hope you have trustworthy sources."

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

As the group walked through the gorge, two shadowy figures watched them, both hooded. "I hate this sun...but the queen is right...not many would look for vampires out here" You could only see the lower half of his face, which revealed a smirk. The other spoke up, "And the ones that do come through make great meals" He slowly ran his tongue over his fangs.

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

As they progressed through the gorge, Lilith tensed suddenly - not altering her pace, she murmured quietly (her accent only thickened by her nerves), "We are being watched."

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

The two vampires dropped down from the gorge, one behind the group and one in front. "Hello travelers, what are you doing out here alone?" The pair said in perfect unison. They were beneath hoods, you couldn't see the pale skin or their faces. As long as they didn't open their mouth and bare their fangs, you would have thought they were human if you'd never seen a vampire before.
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Tye was obviously unnerved, he could tell there was something...off about these two. "That is none of your concern" he stated plainly, standing his ground from the front vampire.

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

Lilith instinctively drew her scimitar as she heard the rustling of robes, two hooded men dropping down on either side of them. Turning her back against Tye's, she pointed her sword at the throat of the assailant who had appeared behind them, while Tye conversed with the one in front.

"Five is hardly 'alone,'" she replied tersely, "In fact, our numbers are greaters than yours." She now slowly crept toward the hooded figure, keeping her sword positioned between them, "You greet us as if we were anticipated guests..." She now circled the hooded figure, as a lioness circles stronger prey, looking for an opening... "Show yourself!" She lunged forward, flicking her wrist as her scimitar's edge slipped across the seam of the man's hood.

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

Ahmal loosed an arrow at one of the etheral figures before drawing his own scimitar. He gave a battle cry before charging into the fray.

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

The vampires were extremely fast, the first one ducked under Lillith's sword and it grabbed hold of her, trying to use it's super strength to throw her into the gorge wall, he easily dodged the arrow. The second, took Tye by surprise, he jumped on top of him and began to beat his chest with it's claws.
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Normally a leather jacket would rip and Tye would be impaled right now, however his enchanted jacket worked like steel armor. "Damn Vampires" He remarked before kicking the beast off of him. Drawing his M1911s, he unleashed a silver bullets into the target, the silver burnt the vampires flesh, dropping him to one knee.

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

A look of unrivaled rage crossed Lilith's countenance as the vampire ducked under her blade and attempted to hurl her into the cliff-face. As she connected with the rock wall she kicked off, flipping swiftly over the vampire's head and landing behind him, slashing at the back of his neck before swiftly, almost instantly, leg-sweeping under him and rolling around in front, stabbing straight at his heart.

He was fast, no doubt, but faster than her? She would put him through his paces and find out.

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

The vampire was fast enough to dodge the first attack from Lillith, the second though got him right in the chest. He howled in pain as he fell to his knee, the sword in his chest. He looked up almost instantly, into the woman's face. "You missed" The vampire gasped, pulling out a capsule he quickly swallowed it. He pulled off the blade and regenerated the gash in his chest. The vampire darted back, "Blood capsules...for quick healing"

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

"Impossible," Lilith spat, examining the unbloodied blade of her scimitar. Had she really missed his heart? The vampire appeared to be on the retreat now, and she would have none of it. Backflipping off the wall, she kicked a cloud of dust and sand into the air before emerging alarmingly quickly behind her foe, stabbing once again at his heart - though this time from behind and veering off point slightly at the last second anticipating an attempted dodge.

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

The Vampire got stabbed through the heart, he collapsed to the ground as she retracted her blade. He burst into dust as he hit the ground. The other vampire took the bullets, as he sat on one knee, in sheer pain.
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Tye walked up and swung down his silver sword, the blade cleaved off the head of the vampire as it collapsed and burst into dust. "Well looks like we are getting close" he laughed uneasily. "So if you couldn't tell...that whole sunlight on vampires thing...not true, as long as they've fed within 24 hours they can walk during the day. You kinda know these things, being a paladin" Tye laughed in a more regular tone.

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

"Fascinating," Lilith mused, sifting through the vampire-dust with her scimitar for a moment before sheathing it. "When they first confronted us, they spoke with one voice. Do vampire clans operate through a form of hive-mind? At any rate, I think it's safe to say they know we're coming now, if they didn't already."

"Lead on," she said, turning to Tye, "We've little time to waste."

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Originally Posted by BlazeMaster

Ahmal looked at the other members of their team. They had fought well and done the work of Allah. One thought troubled him, though. If they had struggled against two vampires, how would they fight against a clan?

"They also said that they outnumbered us, and that can only be possible if they were talking about the clan. If they have a hive mind then we're in trouble, because the vampires know about it and we've lost our element of surprise. Let's hurry before they counterattack,"

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Originally Posted by Tye Taylors

"Yeah guys, let's go" Tye took off in a jog, so that the rest of the team could all keep pace.

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Originally Posted by Master Mew

Lilith followed close behind the group, keeping an eye on the cliff-face above as she scanned the region. Where was this cave?

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...And now... we're all caught up! :-)

Sorry for all the quotes, guys.

Ame pierced the Cerberus's heart, it collapsed to the ground, spilling all the "riders" out onto the ground. The beast died quickly, he simply began to dissolve, such as the behemoth did earlier.
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Morgan fell off the Cerberus, smashing into the ground. Bruised and battered, The Black Knight ran over to her aid. She got up and the two were now back to back.
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Destiny did not hit the ground, instead she performed a series of acrobatic flips in which she took out all her momentum. Finally she rolled to the ground, putting her on her feet as she stood there after her display. Destiny hurried to help surround the pair.
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Tye and the group reached the mouth of a giant cave, it's opening was wide and it was dark inside. "And here we are...ready to go in?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

See, I missed the entire Cerberus fight. This would have been a great place for Seraeus to understand himself better, as he fights a futile fight against the Cerberus. He grows into the Behemoth, and ravages the Cerberus, but at great loss of strength. Then the Cerberus recovers, and he is taken down little by little, in an epic fight. But oh well. Guess I'm reduced to being a lame ancillary character who does nothing. Still, I'm willing to give this another go, as just giving up would make it harder on you all.

Seraeus was petrified the whole fight. He felt insignificant in comparison to this giant thing. Even the Behemoth wasn't enough to beat this. He wanted to run. He wanted everybody to run away. But nobody ran. Bravely, everybody else charged into battle. They quickly took this giant thing down. He felt pathetic and useless. He would have to try harder next time, that's for sure.

Sighing, he ran over to the dead Cerberus and took a bite, right before the body disappeared. It wasn't enough. Digestion would take days.

"I- I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. I just wasn't powerful enough."

"Seraeus, help me beat this guy up!" Vincent said. He jumped in the air and launched a swing at the back of the knight's head with his bat.

"Uh. Okay, I guess I'll give it a go."

He channelled his dark energies towards his arm, which suddenly grew as huge as the Behemoth's.

"Whoa! Didn't know I could do that."

He then drew back and threw an immense punch at the Black Knight.

Ame landed gracefully, used to falling from great heights. "One down, two to go." She said as she moved in to support Seraeus and Vincent.

OOC: Hell No :P

"OK, then let's go," Ahmal said before going into the cave.

"Goodbye" Morgan said as the pair vanished, just as the attacks would have made contact.
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Destiny sighed with relief. "Finally...that's over" She smiled and looked over to Vincent. "Hey, let me see that ring...I thought I saw something on it" Destiny walked over to him.

Drawing her scimitar once more, Lilith pressed into the cave behind Ahmal, breathing in the still, stale air as she was swallowed up by the darkness. It was dry, unlike Western caves, with no distant echoes of drips or subterranean rivers, though she thought she heard the occasional whistling of wind further in - likely from other cracks and openings to the surface.

Ame finally allowed herself to relax. "Great...."She groaned.

"Aw, damn."

Seraeus landed on nothing, and promptly tripped due to the weight of his new arm. He collapsed in a pile. The arm shimmered and went back to normal, as did the rest of his body.

"Uh. Well. That was weird. We better be careful from now on, we don't want anyone to know that we're carrying a powerful magical artifact."

"Here." Vincent said, handing her the ring. "What's it look like?"