Maelstrom of Darkness

First post at last!

---

Two years ago, things were simple, clean, predictable, or at least, as predictable as is possible of a world like Felarya.

“Bitch.”

The Eye loses its’ power every night now. Under any other circumstances, Negav would have the entire jungle converging on it to feast like never before.

“Fucking bitch.”

Up and over the wall again. Eight legs to distribute ones’ weight across the ground. The other giant predators just crush everything trying to navigate the streets. Under any other circumstances, the presence of a Giant Dridder in Negav would have raised every alarm in the city. People take notice, but they’re either accustomed to the sight or merely waking up by now, roused by the waning light of the setting sun.

The spider in question tiptoes atop buildings and through the streets, climbing up to Negav’s highest tier, where the Fist and the Magiocrats make their home. The well-dressed, still meticulously-groomed predator considers, as he often does, just quietly grabbing a human or two from an alleyway. It’s not like people are paying him any prolonged attention, but he still stays his hand, continuing ever upwards.

He finally finds himself standing in a familiar courtyard, large enough for the entire police force to muster. It hasn’t been full for a long while: the entire Fist is down to a quarter of its original strength by now, and always dwindling a little more.

As usual, that woman walks out from the headquarters to meet him, armed and armored more out of habit than caution.

“Narcisse.”

“Armelle.”

When first this arrangement started, their exchanges were a fair sight more… lively, but there’s little left to say that hasn’t already been said. Narcisse is almost able to ignore her scuffed, faded armor. Almost. He had offered to make her a robe of identical, if not superior protective properties two years prior, but she had insisted he use his tailoring skills for the common soldiers who needed it more, which would’ve been far too great a strain on his supplies of silk.

“Report?”

The request broke the ever-obsessed-with-beauty Dridder from his reverie. “Ah, yes. I spoke with a Mermaid near the Jewel River a few days ago. She’s seen extra activity from dark creatures near the Crystal Caves.”

“One of our objectives?” She didn’t need to say what she was referring to.

“Not sure. She said she’d check closer when possible. I told her to be careful, and started walking back here.” Relations between species had benefitted from the current situation, at least.

“Very well. Do you think you could help transport some more of the inventor-girl’s shells to the wall-cannons before you leave? We could use the muscle.”

Narcisse gave a groan and a yawn before nodding his head. Doing heavy lifting for the humans seemed to be one of his main tasks to attend in the city these days.

Daylight was fading. Soon, the purple moon would rise and yet another fight for survival would begin. Not so long ago, Negav was the ultimate safe haven of Felarya. With its impenetrable walls and defenses, life could be sustained and nourished, safe from the dangers and predators of this unforgiving world. But all that changed. Now, Negav is just as dangerous as anywhere else during the night. In fact, it was probably more dangerous. Negav was an all you can eat buffet once the sun goes down. Like it was right now...

Mortis lay in a dark and filthy alleyway, covered by a stained and torn blanket. The feeling of thunderous steps caught his attention. He got up and brushed the dirt and grime from his battered leather armor. A gigantic dridder came into view, carrying something. Normally, this would have been a cause for concern, but this dridder was on their side. That didn't mean he trusted him though. Mortis shook more dirt from his lengthy and unkempt hair. His hair color was honey blonde, but a lifetime of poor hygiene and terrible sleeping arrangements had washed away its once shining brightness, and now it was a dull brown.

He checked his sword and tightened the straps of his armor as he left the alley and walked down the street towards the gate. Mortis had a rather odd plan of survival. Odd, but it kept him alive. Every night, he would leave Negav and climb up a huge tree just outside of the city. Predators were so focused on breaching Negav for an all you can eat lunch, Mortis could sit in relative comfort and watch each nightly battle unfold. Some people would call him a coward, but he would disagree. As far as he was concerned, these people could bubble away in the stomach of a predator for all he cared. His own survival was more important to him than sacrificing himself to protect something he did not care for.

But first, Mortis made his way to the last tavern that was still open at this time. He planned to buy a few drinks to calm his nerves so he could relax and watch the city get assaulted yet again.

"Hmm... I don't like where I am..."

A storm sprite said to herself hiding in a bush. She was at the human average height, wearing her same old blue dress. She was looking at Negav from the distance, thinking of entering. She heard about Negav acting strange at night, letting predators break in some how.

"Well... If I want to find out what's going on I need to get in there! Maybe there is something I can do fix things! I don't want to hear about innocent people being hunted in what was supposed to be a safe place." She was still talking to herself, standing up instead of crouching. She scurried over to an entrance to enter the city but she quickly saw that there was still defenses set up. It was getting dark so she could probably get in by now, if lucky being the first "pred" in there. She shrank down as small as she could and like a ninja, she sneaked through them.

"That was easy!" She thought as she continued on flying around, although she was small, she was flying in the open. She had a look around, this was the first time Light had ever ventured in Negav, she was sad at the facts that she couldn't ever stay here and how much it has probably changed due to all the predators destroying the place. She sighed and flew on, thinking about what she should do. She quickly remembered that she was in the open and that people are still around so she traveled through the places that looked kinda shady.

"Okay, time to think what I can do here and how long I should stay. I think in the day the predators are not allowed in no more so I gotta use my time carefully... I gotta make some rules! Number 1) Don't get captured or killed, If I was captured they could wait 'til morning for me to die and that's no good. Number 2) Stay small at all times to avoid detection. Number 3) Only talk to people that I think won't try to hurt me. Number 4) Only fight if trapped... I think if I follow these I'll be fine!" She talked to herself yet again, not realizing she could be caught if someone heard her. She kept flying, thinking she knew how to survive here and also thinking how to fix Negav.

Leila leaned back on the tall tree and waited to watch the purple moon rise, as she always did. It was amazing really, the moon still held a sense of beauty and wonder, but also horror and evil. It had been two years since Demechrelle had woken up, two very long years. At first things didn't seem so bad, then Nina died. Things simply went downhill from there. A few months after nina's death, Valandil had perished while trying to protect her, Nergal, and Sariah. "Nergal..." The fairy's face darkened. The damn insane Human was probably out there somewhere, more then likely loving the chaos and having a jolly good time watching the world fall apart. she was glad that she had left his service.

Sighing again, Leila looked over at Negav. The city was still standing, thanks to the work of it's soldiers and alliances with other predators. a small smile appeared on her lips. Humans, Nekos, Nagas, and Dridders, all working together to survive. She had honestly never thought it would happen. Looking back up at the sky, Leila debated if she should visit her favorite tavern tonight. When the Eye had begun to fail, she had been among the first predators to try and get in. Of course, she wanted in for peaceful reasons, not for an all you can eat buffet. It had taken a long time, but she eventually gained the trust of a few people when she had helpped to stop a trio of nagas from destroying the wall. "What the hell, I may as well. Maybe I can help them out tonight too, if they need it." Standing up with a stretch and a yawn, Leila flew towards the city. To anyone looking at her, it might seem that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, but in reality she was ready to kill anyone and anything that made the mistake of attacking her.

"You! Storm sprite!" a powerful yet womanly voice called out suddenly from near Light. "If you don't have anything better to do, come with me."

Her voice was very commanding - that and the super-serious look on her face should tell Light that she wasn't playing. The neko speaking had messy, mid-length black hair and black fur on her ears and tail. Under a tarnished white lab coat, she wore a black t-shirt which was cut off just under her average-sized chest, showing off a set of quite rugged-looking abdominals, a plaid red-and-green skirt, and a pair of dirty green slacks, topped off with a pair of steel-toed jet-black boots. Without waiting for an answer, she turned away and continued walking. Over her left shoulder she was carrying a box of scrap machine parts, and under her right arm was a set of long, steel pipes.

Light, in shock, darted right into a wall but she never hurt herself. She was about to answer back annoyed until she heard her next sentence, it was scary and it made Light tremble a little so she never said anything. She saw her walk away without saying another word to her and Light, remembering what she said, quickly flew over too her.

"I... Um... Your... Not gonna try to hurt me? I'm just a predator here after all... Well, I'm not, but it's what you all usually call people like me." She said kind of nervous and worrying whether she should of asked her a question or not.

Minare was inside Negav hiding, moving only to get to a better vantage point on the chaos that would ensue. For the past two years she had grown very annoyed. It seemed every teacher she managed to find was shortly killed after. This had caused her to revise her ideas of strength and how to get better.

She climbed up a damaged building and hid within. When she was certain she was alone she began to think of her tribe. How well were they holding up in all this madness? They have always had things harder than most. They would be alright were they Shakala or not, some stupid moon magic crap would not undo them.

Minare stopped day dreaming and looked at the streets below. Her plan was rather simple, but she thought it would be effective. This city was still standing despite thier protection fading, and the large predators moving in to eat them. Ergo there must be some exceptionally powerful warriors still left here. It was a simple matter of not being caught herself, as she appraised the survivors skills. She couldn't help but smile. 'Maybe this city will produce the master I've always wished for.' She thought waiting patiently.

Mortis wandered into the tavern, a seedy place known only as: 'The Blue Pig'. It was crowded with men, women and children alike. Seems like alot of people had the same idea. Get so drunk that you don't even care about being eaten. He pushed through the crowd and found an empty seat at the bar. He called out to the barkeep.

"Hey! Over here! Give me the strongest thing you got."

The barkeep walked over and eyed him warily.

"Hello Mort. I noticed that you were nowhere to be seen yesterday. Just like the night before that, and the night before that. Come to think of it, have you ever even tried to help Negav?"

Mortis sighed and looked away. He was here for a drink, not a lecture.

"What makes you think I'd make a difference? No point risking digestion to protect a lost city. Now shut it and pour me something. I really don't care what, as long as its strong."

The barkeep scowled at him and replied angrily.

"All the strong stuff is gone. We only have watered down alcohol now. Times are hard. Besides, why should I serve you when you don't even lift a finger to help this city! I see your sword there, why not put it to good use?"

Mortis looked him in the eye and scowled back.

"How about I put it to good use by cutting you down huh? How does that sound?"

"Get the hell out of my bar Mort!"

"Fine whatever." Mort got up from his seat and walked towards the door. "No point in killing you. Why deny a predator yet another snack? I hope you and your patrons get preyed upon tonight!"

He pushed open the door and walked out into the street. It was getting really dark now. It wouldn't be long until there was another attack. He leant up against a nearby wall and held his head in his hands. This city was done for, there was no doubt about that. He thought that the eye would have reactivated by now. That the mages would have fixed it or something. But that purple moon. The purple sphere that rose over the horizon, even now. It wasn't natural. Mort grit his teeth and frowned hard. The purple moon had to go. Not because he cared for the lives of innocents, but simply because of principle. He was getting tired of sitting in a tree all night and sleeping in alleyways. The purple moon had to go! Sure, its eerie darkness increased his power, but it really wasn't worth such hassle. Maybe back when he was a psychopathic killing machine, he would have loved something like this to happen. But he no longer cared for needless destruction. He scratched his chin and thought about what he should do.

Persephone had grown up alone, with virtually no friends whatsoever. Her childhood had been violent, and she'd been forced to survive on her own merits from day one. Consequently, as well as her life had been going these last years, and as wealthy as she was currently both in terms of possessions and friendship, she refused to let anything she cared about be taken from her without a fight.
And Felarya? Well, though at first she had wanted nothing but to return home, the time she spent there had caused it to grow on her. She knew better than to go and live there, but like hell was she going to let anything bad happen to it! Accordingly, she had been paying attention to the overall affairs there and paid a few visits over the years. And lately she had caught wind that the darkness elemental Demechrelle had awakened and made a glorious mess of things. So Persephone resolved to go over there and clean it up.
She parked her ship in a low orbit around a mysteriously purple moon that had been the target of Felarya's nighttime sky portals since the event had started. The one she was currently flying was a kilometer-long battleship much too large to land, even if it had any landing gear, but it contained a lightly-armed shuttle in which she could travel to the surface.
What she saw when she descended over Negav was a shocking sight - apparently the Isolon Eye had failed, and predators were freely roaming the city. Most of them were obviously hunting for an easy meal, but some could be seen helping the humans. Not too illogical, she supposed. They may as well team up against an enemy that was an equal threat to both parties. She spied a Dridder helping carry some heavy-looking artillery ammunition toward the city wall and covertly followed it - as it approached its destination, she located a fairly open spot nearby and landed her shuttle.
"Fortifying the defenses?" she guessed, addressing the dridder as she stepped out into the street from the shadow of a building. The dridder could see in the moonlight that she was clad in some intimidating-looking futuristic armor. Though the stranger wouldn't catch it, she hadn't aged much since her first visit to Felarya, but at well over 40 years old she had adopted the cold look of someone who had been through a lot in her life and was ready for anything.

As the walls came into sight, Leila smiled to herself. Even now, with all hell breaking loose, the thought of entering Negav still brought a smile to her face. 'Though I doubt it'll last very long...' She thought to herself. Even now she could see some predators preparing to rush the wall. 'Damn idiots, they think only of their stomachs when they should be thinking about each other and working with the Humans. It's the only way to survive this hell.' She ignored them and continued on to the city walls where the Humans, Nekos, and who knows what else were preparing to defend themselves during the night. "Might as well warn them..." she said to herself as she grew closer to the wall. Spotting a soldier who looked as if he was getting some kind of cannon ready, she called out to him. "Oy, you there, on the cannon, where can I find your commanding officer. I have information for them. Got some useful information for you too if you don't shoot me."

Bale sat in the ruins of what was once a home, taking his scalpel, and running the back of the blade up and down his forearm. His body no longer had the sleek improved look he had once treasured. now it was a patchwork of colors and textures. His ears each had a few nicks and tears, and his fur was only coming in thinly. He even had chitin on one of his forearms, extending forward to cover two of his fingers and thumbs. His mind had degenerated along with his body and the rest of this world, and he had forced himself to adapt, replacing all his sparse hair with dark brown, and black follicles, and frequently rolling on grime to blend in with the shadows. in his mind he had no body, and no scent, barely an existence, and little more than a shadow among shadows. In reality, he was a degrading neko who could just barely be seen in the shadows at night as he collected food and upgrades.

(I want this to be clear: Felarya is still not accessible through space. Param, please revise your post. FYI the night sky in which the dark moon rises is a construct of Demechrelle's power, not an actual place it's stealing the sky from.)

"I call you a person, idiot," the neko answered, her tone signifying irritation and disinterest, but not anger. "Maybe you didn't get the memo but preds and prey kinda' work together to prevent falling to the dark powers of whatever the fuck. Just try to keep up, 'kay?"

The woman continued to walk at a strong pace toward the upper tier, heading toward the damaged building that was the Isolon Fist headquarters. She stopped a few feet from the door and waited for it to be opened for her.

"Uh, O-okay..." Light simply replied. She didn't really know what was going on, all she knew was at night the moon goes a strange colour and weird things happen. But she followed on. She flew close beside her shoulder, wondering what was going to be inside there.
"So, we going in there?" Light curiously asked another question.

Many years ago, before the Isolon Eye even existed, the walls of Negav and the weapons contained within were the city’s only defense against the onslaught. The old klaxons had had to be replaced after hundreds of years of rusting away, but the alarm system was back and functional.

Tonight, just as they had every night for the past two years, the sirens began to whine. They were as much an alarm clock to rouse the few citizens still trying to sleep as a herald of what was about to come.

People had largely grown used to the occasional predator, giant or otherwise, walking the streets at night, so the wail had nothing to do with those who came as the sun set in search of safety.
“Hurry! The guns don’t have much ammo left!” Armelle pointed to one section of the wall, “Get the shells to the cannons now!”

Narcisse didn’t need to be told twice. Negav was a safe haven for him just as much as any human now, and he wasn’t going to give it up. Moving as quickly as he could without accidentally crushing someone, the Dridder sped towards the impromptu ammunition assembly zone.

It had been a long time since the guns of Negav had had to fire any standard explosive round: the standard armament for those massive, predator-destroying cannons these days were a special sort of projectile, meant to burn those beasts who came with the dark every night to ash with a light as strong as any sun. When he at last reached the ground, Narcisse already had a truckload of Sunfire shells waiting for him.

Gingerly picking the precious cargo up, he went where he was told to go, a nearby section of wall that saw a good amount of traffic every night. Once he reached the post atop the wall, it became apparent his resupply had come at just the right time. Out in the distance, there oozed a great, tangible shadow, blocking out the last light of the sun. With a great and unmistakeable ‘THUD’ that could likely be heard for miles around, the cannon built into the wall launched its payload at the approaching beast.

Sunfire projectiles make no sound upon bursting, but they do momentarily create a light almost as great as their namesake, more than enough to vaporize creatures born of Déméchrelle’s darkness, and that is just what happened to the living shadow.

“Still a thing of beauty, that.” One of the engineers maintaining the gun remarked. Narcisse would normally disagree about the beauty of a simple flash of light, but he wasn’t going to bother the people responsible for the city’s main defense against the dark with his thoughts on true beauty.

"Fuck..."

Mortis cursed as he heard the sirens wail, and the thunderous sound of cannon fire. He had lost track of time, and now night has fallen with him still in the city. Although, Mort reckoned that he could just simply walk out of the gate and the predators of darkness would not bother him. Why? Because he had been sat in that tree every night and watched these predatory shadows descend on Negav. And not once did he get attacked, despite being exposed and in a tree. Odd.

He had heard rumors that this hell had been made possible due to the awakening of Demechrelle. He didn't know who Demechrelle was, and he didn't care. All he cared about was that if Demechrelles revival started all this, then her death will restore the world to how it was before. Mort began to walk towards the Isolon Fist headquarters. He scoffed at his thoughts. He was starting to sound like some kind of Hero, wanting to restore the peace and all. He didn't like it. Not one bit. He was no hero. He never was. He wanted to restore stability for his own personal gain. Hell! If he could book a one way ticket out of Felarya, he would! But alas, he was stuck here. And he would be damned if he was going to live his life like this! He supposed he would start by talking to the captain of the guard. Maybe he could get a lead on Demachrelle's location.

Nyaha wrote:

Felarya is still not accessible through space. Param, please revise your post.

Oh crud, srsly? I'll have to rethink pretty much the whole thing then. Might be a while...

Leila flinched as one of the cannon's went off. She quickly flew up into the air to watch the sunfire shells explode into one of the shadow creatures. She couldn't help but let a grim smile onto her face. She also managed to gauge the position of the cannon that fired, and quickly headed in that direction. It didn't take long for her to find a giant Dridder helping to load the cannons and carry the shell. "Hello," she called down to him, "I'm wondering where I could find the person in charge."

"Trying to...." the neko answered Light, her irritation growing and showing in the tone of her voice. She began to tap her foot impatiently, her arms still occupied by the box and the pipes she was carrying.

"I guess the moon disrupts the powers of chivalry, too?" she thought sarcastically.

When the alarm went off Bale stared at his disfigured hands. He sat contemplating the life he had before, and the life he had now. He could barely remember the life from before...only bits and pieces...random scenarios that he wasn't even sure actually transpired...He clenched his fists and took on a look of grim determination, then dashed towards the walls of negav, the closer he got, the more that look was replaced by one of hopelessness, yet he didn't slow in the least.

Minare listened to the alarms and remained where she was for the time being. She wanted to see one of the giant predators get in and start causing chaos so she could see the real warriors in action not people who use artillery. The shakala sighed growing impatient however and if she went to the wall she could catch a predator just entering and see who was the best warrior. That doubt set aside she began to make her way to the wall where the shooting was happening. There was not so much hiding this time in her movements and tended to stay higher up then travel on the streets below.

Mort walked briskly down the street, when a vague figure running across the rooftops. She was heading straight for the wall. Well this person seemed a cut above the rest. In physical ability at least. If he was hoping to take on Demechrelle, he would no doubt need help. He wished he didn't need help, but the harsh truth was that Demechrelle must be extremely powerful to cause this phenomenon.

"Hey!" He called up to the figure. "Get down here! I have a proposal for you. Unless you are more inclined to recklessly charge into danger and be ripped apart, then I suggest you listen to what I have to say."

Minare landed on a building and stopped. 'Someone wants to talk? Hmm.' Normally she wouldn't care what anyone has to say until they have proven they are strong or clever. She felt equipped enough to take care of herself but she might as well asses this person while he seemed to have no violent intent. Jumping to wall she slid down to the street below jumping off the wall and rolling to her feet. Her long white spiky hair was on edge,and on her left hand was a giant scorpion claw that she wore like a gauntlet. In her other hand was paddle like weapon with sharp stones in the side of it. Minare glared with her bright blue eyes. "Speak." is all she uttered sounding more like a challenge.

A woman? Mort scanned her with his eyes. One grey, the other a bright red. She may be a woman, be she was cleary very agile, and she was certainly equipped well enough to handle herself.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mort. You seem to be a cut above the rest of these pathetic citizens of Negav. I have heard that someone named 'Demechrelle' is responsible for the purple moon. So I endeavour to defeat this person. Alas, I fear that I alone may not be able to see this quest through. And the thought of throwing my life away is not very appealing."

Mort's eyes darted all over her body, only occasionally making eye contact.

"My proposal is this: Stay here and die with all the rest of the insignificant and weak minded fools, OR you can assist me in taking down Demechrelle. I don't know much about this 'Demchrelle' but whoever it is must be very powerful. Together, we stand a better chance of ending the reign of the purple moon. Not that I care very much about all the death and destruction and what not. All this unchecked chaos is getting on my nerves is all."

Mort grinned confidently.

"So what'll it be girly?"