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July MCCC-The Price Of War

Kamiroo Wolf·7/1/2015, 8:44:51 AM·6 votes·5,551 views
The Great War

(THE IMAGE ABOVE IS NOT MINE AND BELONGS TO NINJATIC ON DEVIANTART! THANKS NINJATIC!)

Hello everyone to the July Monthly Champion Creation Competition for 2015! I am your host, of course, Kamiroo Wolf! As always this will be a four week competition where you create a champion(based off of this specific MCCC) to see who can create the best champion concept within(in this competition's case) very few guidelines. For this MCCC, both Keagn and myself will be hosting and we will be allowing any previously made champion concepts to join in on the fighting. After some debating, we have decided to allow new concepts to be made for this competition(thank Keagn ;3). Stay tuned because this is surely to be the most interesting MCCC of the series yet ^_^

** Schedule)** July 1st-10th=Accepting Entrants! Must have name and basic lore/abilith descriptions to be considered a legitimate entry. July 11th-20th=Time to work on entries July 21st-31st=Judging!

For those of you who are new to the story line here is a little filler in as to what's going on:

Back in 2014, The December MCCC known as The End Of An Age was an MCCC focused around the dismal and empty feeling around Runeterra as another year closes to an end. As it turns out, the forlorn feeling was actually caused by a “disturbance in the force" type of tip in the balance. We each made champions for the MCCC who each had their own experience as to what they witnessed to the end of the age they were in. For me, my champion was Vishas, The Omniscient Shaman. A simple swamp shaman who was confronted by the wisp spirit known as Vaiya, an omniscient goddess who reveals rather frightening images of an impending Armageddon approaching Runeterra. Vishas agrees to aid Vaiya in her quest to save Runeterra from Armageddon itself and plans to do so by utilizing a wide variety of totems and raising an army against the approaching doom, Ahimoth.

Fast forward a couple months later! Not to where Vishas gets into a bar fight with Detective Charlotte La Chéri, but to where Ahimoth DESTROYS THE INSTITUTE OF WAR(So don't use it in your lore regarding this contest), causing Vishas to establish The Order.

The Order is a rag tag group of people who just want to see the world saved wish to defend it with their lives against Ahimoth, the rival god of Vaiya who wishes to enslave the world and bring everyone who dares oppose him to their knees. During the Rise Of An Order(May MCCC) storyline, we follow the tale of Vishas and his recruits as they prepare themselves to stand toe to toe with Ahimoth's army of followers. During this time we are introduced to characters such as Vishas' lieutenants: Eos, Sol, and Kaizer. Eos being a master swordsman with nobody to match his strength in battle other than the Legendary Jax. Sol being a top-notch marksman with aim compared to none other. And finally we have Kaizer, a top of the line medic with decent aim in regards to the side pistol he carries for self defense. The boy's true value lies within the tactical brain he possesses which, as many will confirm, rivals the tactician of Noxus, Swain himself. We also meet a few of Vishas' recruits such as No Name and Leopold, two aspiring defenders of the world with their own purposes for joining The Order. As more and more recruits join, they are tasked with missions to help The Order potentially get over on Ahimoth's forces.

Fast Forward to this last previous month, where the Ahimoth can be seen drawing in the most vile of creatures from all over Runeterra to aid him in his conquest. Dubbed “The Dark Legion", a band of Mercenaries, thugs, and low-lifes. Promising them power and wealth in his new world, they follow Armaggedon and his loyal assistant, The Shade, in a campaign to gain advantages against Vishas' cause. The Shade does pretty much all of the work in gathering Ahimoth's forces and asks that all new recruits potentially show their worth by either assassinating important figures who could prove worrisome for Ahimoth's army in the future, recovering artifacts and in some cases even allies, or seizing points of interest for The Dark Legion's cause. It is during this time that Bandle City, Bilgewater, the Freljord, and even a good portion of Demacia fall.

The following currently existing champions have died in the currently ongoing crossfire between the two sides if the war: Garen, Lux, Sejuani, Olaf, Miss Fortune, Gangplank, Azir, Tristana, Teemo, Azir, Ryze, and Lucian.

Corki, Gnar, and Rumble(residents of Bandle City) escaped Bandle City before it happened to...y'know...go cablooie.

Now both sides prepare themselves for the most influential battle in the history of all Runeterra. Where do your loyalties lie? It's time to pick a side.

Vishas pieces together the remnants of his masterpiece diligently as his lieutenants knock on his door as if the slightest sound would ruin their commander's concentration. Sounds like the shaman is needed on the training grounds for his final speech before the big bonanza. Hard to think it has been a mere eight months since rumor of Ahimoth first surfaced in Runeterra, with Vishas himself being the very tailor of such foreshadowing.

“I do believe it is time we rally our forces, Vaiya. Shall we?" Vishas relaxes his tensed muscles and places a sheet over his creation before stopping to examine the many blueprints for tide turning totem modifications. Various trap, combat stimulation, and medical prototypes rest beneath each blueprint, and Vishas takes his time feeling each of his creations before stepping away and heading for the door of his dimly lit quarters. The lack of light helped him to think.

On the other side of the door he is my by his three lieutenants, Kaizer, Sol, and Eos. Eos pulls the script for a speech out of her gargantuan cleavage, but Vishas turns the document away.

“Everything they hear must come from the heart. It is a NECESSITY before the most influential war in Valoran's history transpires." Vaiya's own voice finds itself mixed into Vishas' words. The mystic auras emanating from the corner of his eye sockets take shelter from the upcoming battle in the air as Vishas and his lieutenants walk down the hall. The few rookies still preparing salute the commander-in-chief as he makes his way to the debriefing, and a few ask him of his confidence.

“I know many things about what will happen during the war...one thing I cannot fathom, however, is the outcome." He calls back to one of the rookies where sits along the marble wall sharpening his runic Dao blade.

“Sir, you still have yet to reveal to us where the majority of the fighting will be taking place. Noxus, Piltover, the remains of Bandle City?" Kaizer walks on the right hand of Vishas, checking a booklet and going over their list of recruits. Always looking for an advantage, that one. The four leaders of The Order finally reach the end of the grand temple's hall and step out into the fair summer morning air. The sky is blue and clear with the mercy of the sun blanketing the warm day. Vishas looks over the massive courtyard and makes his way towards the training grounds not too far away. Once there, he can see most of his allies sparring with one another before the final showdown. Melog faces off against their newest member, Winston Sylace, Korxan Nexol and Freyja are taking a few shots at eachother for the 5th time this week, while Ushio and Jigsaw take turns dropping automatons provided by Kamiroo Wolf, host of the A Fool's Errand competition three months past. Everyone is preparing...Everyone is improving. Vishas looks over his men and is easily aware of who will fall in this fight, and who will survive. He will not allow such a fate to befall those in danger.

“ATTENTION EVERYONE," Vishas roars out into the beautiful morning. His recruits stop what it is they're doing and gather around the shaman for his final words of wisdom before the war. “Let me start by saying that this war WILL BE the most influential in Runeterra's history. Many more will die than will survive. I want to ask anyone who thinks they are not capable to stand up and walk from this place now."

Nobody falters. Everyone around Valoran in support of Vishas' cause gathers around the nearest radio to tune into his speech.

“You have all seen the visions, yes? You all know what is at stake here. We cannot simply stand idle as our world is reduced to cinders. Those of you hear who have been uprooted from your frigid homes in the Freljord due to the Blackfrost?! Those of you who survived the Bandle City Armageddon?! Bildgewater?! This destruction will only continue if we allow it. As much as it pains me, many of you will be going into this fight unprepared, but we shall persevere regardless! The devastation they have wrought can be corrected, but it will only be reinstated if we do not cut off the source of the apocalypse." Vishas calls out into the crowd. As he does, New recruits(even now) emerge on at the top of the steps into the temple. They gather with the crowd and among them, a few iconic faces are visible. The Sinister Blade, Karma, Rumble, Vi, Udyr, and even Bard himself can be seen among the crowd. Vishas meet's eyes with the formerly Mechanized Menace and gives him a nod of sympathy. Rumble's expression is emotionless and void, but the Yordle finds it in himself to seek out and give Winston Sylace the darkest of scowls.

“One thing we cannot afford within our ranks is distrust between allies. You must work as one on the battlefield and run as if a well-oiled machine. We are more than just a mere motley crew of rebels. We are, at the very least, a family. That being said, I am no good with speeches, so the last thing I will say to you all is as follows: You protect your family with your lives! If someone picks a fight with one of us, they pick a fight with all of us! We defend our homes, our ways of life, and we defend who we are! Now go forth and prepare yourselves! This is sure to be a bloody battle. Don't let our blood be what fertilizes the soil at the end of all this." Vishas steps away from the crowd of individuals and a good amount clap for him as walks away. Kaizer and the other lieutenants stay behind to go over a few of tactics and what the army should expect on the battlefield.

“Expect no mercy from these people. We have a multitude of strategic advantages but they have power that, in all honesty, outweighs what we have just a bit. The fighting will be taking place all over Runeterra, in just about every nook and cranny. In the past week, Vishas has taken it upon himself to scatter totems all throughout the land. Hidden under rocks, buried in the dirt, and some even airborne, they will be your greatest allies when it comes to staying alive. Be sure to thank him the next time your wounds are being healed by a magic rock. This is for the good of everyone, y'all. Let's get out there and kick some ass!" Eos, Sol, and Kaizer each give their own section of the speech and are each met with separate cheers. The members of The Order disperse and go back to training while the recruits who have just arrived seek to find a place in the conflict. Sol gives it to them, explaining to each and every recruit just how they can aid the cause. Eos gives last minute aiming tutorials for her marksmen. Kaizer teaches first aid and issues backup weapons to the supports.

Meanwhile, back at the door of his quarters, Vishas speaks to Winston and Katarina. Vishas informs Katarina that her beloved can restored, and The Sinister Blade walks off content with his answer to her problems. The shaman turns to the Arcanium Core Collector and holds out his hand.

“The seal provided to you by Shade, if you will? I understand it serves as a transportation device of sorts. Should prove invaluable to some of our troops." Winston hands over the medallion and Vishas looks it over carefully before placing it back in Winston's hands.

“I am entrusting it to you. You'll be playing a rather important role in all of this, after all." Vishas waves away a rather confused Slyace but the Arcanium Collector just shrugs off the shaman's words. Vishas turns and heads back into his quarters whilst Winston retires to his own for a good nap...or at least, an attempt at one.

Within his dimly lit territory, Vishas unveils his latest masterpiece and looks over it. The compact and concentrated Arcanium should possess enough artificial lifeforce for the totem to serve it's purpose, but Vishas can not help but feel something is missing. The Omniscient Shaman paces back and forth within his limited space, calculating, thinking, and analyzing everything presented to him thus far. The names of Ahimoth's forces, their abilities, their personalities, the capabilities of his newest creation, the odds of success...everything. After about an hour passes, the shaman finds himself seated on his bed running his fingers through the dreadlocks on his head. He is just about ready to go and search for The Remains himself when a rather irritated knock stirs him from his train of thought. The shaman rises to his feet and veils his creation before opening up the door to a rather exasperated young woman. Pé, they call her. She takes it upon herself to push her way into the shaman's room before promptly taking a seat on his bed and letting out an exaggerated sigh. Vishas offers her some of the water he had been drinking but she simply looks at him once before turning it down.

“I ask you how I can help the cause and you send me running all around the damn world looking for dead bodies!? Please tell me how that's fair when everyone else gets to fight and practice and spar?" The 15 year old breathes as if she is on her lungs' last reserves and the shaman just rolls his eyes before unveiling his creation once more.

“I trust your presence means that you have collected all of the bodies?" He asks as he delicately removes the totem from the table. Pé rises to her feet and gives the shaman a thumbs up before heading towards his doorway. She ruffles her own frizzy black hair and wipes the dirt off her cheeks before asking officially completing her task.

“I got your dead bodies, now where's the warm bath and food you promised me for when I finished the mission? I swear to the gods if it was a lie-" Vishas silences the young, light dark-skinned girl by placing the totem over her mouth.

“Watch your tongue when addressing gods, firstly," Vaiya's own tone of annoyance finds itself mixed in with Vishas'.“And second, the bath is being run as you speak. As for your food, how does smoked salmon and plant bulbs sound?" Vishas removes the totem from her lips and places it gently in the basket bound to his back.

“Sheesh, it's like you think I'm a real bear or something. Do I really HAVE to eat all of the plant bulbs?" She whines and gives the shaman puppy eyes as the two exit his room. Vishas shuts and locks his door before turning to the young prodigy.

“You do. You came to me demanding I give you information on how to improve your connection to the Ursine within, this is how I do it. If you REALLY want to improve your connection to your Ursine half then you could go bathe in the Placidium's rivers and receive fish from there?" The shaman jokes and ruffles the hair of Pé, who backs up from the shaman with a smile.

“As much as I would love to get naked and splash around in a public river, I'm going to have to pass. The bodies are just outside the cellar behind the temple! You can't miss em!" Pé calls back to Vishas as she takes off on four legs down the hallway towards her bath. The shaman cracks a smile before turning and heading down the opposite end of the hall.

No Name and Leopold stand by the bodies with fingers pinched tightly on their noses, and are trying their hardest to keep themselves from gagging when Vishas arrives. He orders the two to line up the bodies in a line and the shaman proceeds the help them. The smell of death has no effect on Vishas...perhaps because the shaman knows all too well how it works. Once lined up, the shaman goes over each body to make sure all of the deceased are accounted for. Garen, Lux, Sejuani, Olaf, Miss Fortune, Gangplank, Azir, Tristana, Teemo, Azir, Ryze, and Lucian. All champions who must be preserved if things are to ever return to normal at the end of all this. Vishas removes his latest creation, the Retribution Totem, from the basket behind him and places it firmly into the ground surrounding the bodies. In just mere hours they will be returned to life via artificial lifeforce, and Vishas will be one step closer to assured victory.

_“Almost there, Vaiya...might I ask you what is to become of us after this all ends?" _

The people of Valoran take shelter wherever they can as the stage is set for war. Many sympathize with Vishas in the hopes that the shaman can salvage what is left of their world, while the rest see Lord Ahimoth as the next step necessary for Runeterra's history. Either that or they have been promised power beyond imagination. The Order did not aid Demacia in the siege against it, instead they sat back and stayed up to date on the events. This has turned quite a few against The Order, but even more oppose Ahimoth's legion. Each side gathers its forces before the bloody battle takes place all across the soil of Valoran.

Ahimoth scoffs and spits on the disemboweled body of his once loyal ally as he wipes their blood from the monstrosity that is his right arm. He swings away the remainder of the crimson substance threatening to stain the spines of his sword-arm before ordering back to work those who witnessed him dispatch their comrade.

“There will be no mutiny. No insurrection. No rebellion. All who boast defiance shall suffer the same fate as our dear friend, Terris." The Omnipotent Leader barks to his troops as they prepare themselves for war. All who pass by him refuse to meet his gaze and are wise for it. At a time such as this, it would be best not to anger the man who can expel your life force with so much as a tap to your heart.

In light of the Shade's absence, Ahimoth is forced to take it upon himself to get the maggots under his leadership prepared for the final battle. The Omnipotent makes a mental note to punish the Shade whenever he returns. Each and every sack of blood Ahimoth pushes his way through, highly expendable. No better than mercenaries or thugs for hire. Ahimoth scribes another mental note reminding himself to cut down each and every one of the peasants surrounding him after he wins the war.

“Of course these people DO possess physical value for labour and such...perhaps I will only expunge the weak."

An hour passes and the leader of The Dark Legion is standing at the edge of the Bandle City- or, at least, what remains of the devastated city state. One of Ahimoth's more valuable soldiers, Winston Sylace, receives the credit for bringing Armageddon upon the city from within. According to the Shade, much to Ahimoth's chagrin, Winston has defected to the side of Vaiya, and the order. The Legion now utilizes the ruins as a recently fortified base of operations for the first phase of their attack on The Order.

“We stand on the very cusp of dominion, my lord. Is it true all of this world will be ours to claim once Vaiya is removed from the picture?" The man behind the monstrosity known as Ahimoth questions. The spirit within him speaks in tone to the rhythm of his heart with a wistful and yet nostalgic tone.

“The people of this world will yield to no other force than power...All of this world will be mine once Vaiya has been stripped of the husk she controls." The wisp within Ahimoth doesn't answer the man directly, shying away from the desired answer. The spirit has been mumbling all day, perhaps lost in the trance of the upcoming climax to the story they had all been so eagerly awaiting.

The Omnipotent Armageddon looks just below the fortified wall he stands on and observes his most valuable force preparing themselves at the base of the headquarter's most reliable defense. The only ones that are not yet present among them are “Envoy" and Marilda, who has other business to attend to in Bilgewater regarding the Greenskin Occupation. Ahimoth takes a moment to go over a calculation or two in his head regarding the strength of his champions, and how they match up to what he assumes Vaiya may be packing.

(Story below by: Keagn)

"I'm afraid you waste your time, my Lord."

Ahimoth recognized the Shade's voice, and turned prepared to punish the Lieutenant for his absence, but was surprised at what he saw. The Shade looked ragged, his faded red cloak had been weathered and torn, and his body was bandaged almost entirely in runic scrolls. What skin did show was a sickly grey-white that had a faint glow to it. The Shade supported himself upon his ancient blade, his true name engraved upon it in the language of the Old Kingdom. This caused the Lord to hesitate, for although the Shade appeared as if he would succumb to death at any moment, the power he radiated was far stronger than who Ahimoth recalled.

"What has delayed you, Shade?" Ahimoth questioned. The Shade limped over to his Lord's side, waiting a moment before revealing a grim black spear that was cold to the touch. There was no doubt in Ahimoth's mind that this blade belonged to the Spirit of Vengeance, but how the Shade acquired it (and why for that matter) escaped his perception. After a moment's delay, the Shade replied with, "Tying loose ends."

Before the Shade stood what remained of the Dark Legion, with only the forces occupying Bilgewater being an exception. He may have been able to hold them here, but he was not so fortunate at keeping on the battlefield. If the so called legion could not handle the taste of battle in the siege of Demacia, they surely would not be able to handle the battles to come, and this was something the Shade had to...correct. With Ryze's scroll, Ezreal's amulet, and Kalista's black spear, the Shade would have access to a force far stronger than any that has walked across Runeterra in quite some time...

"Legionnaires, it has been some time since you last stood before me," the Shade began to say, his words seemingly echoing throughout the surrounding area, originating from everywhere and no where at the same time, "I confess myself...disappointed."

Ethereal chains entangled each legionnaire, causing panic to arise within their ranks. Once restrained, the Shade could enact his plan. Uncoiling the scroll, he began to recite the incantation while holding the black spear over the runic glyphs, and drawing power from the amulet in his other hand. The magical bonds which held the mass began to burn into their flesh, soon causing each being to burst into black flames. They would experience a great deal of pain before the ritual was complete, but when it was, the Dark Legion would be born anew, without weakness, and without fear.

This display was more of a test than anything. The Shade had to know that the ritual would work before he tried it on targets of importance. Death would be cheated in this act, but if Lord Ahimoth should claim dominion of Runeterra, it will be of no consequence. But if any chance of victory was to be crafted, there would be a great deal of trials to come....

Both sides buckle down and prepare themselves for the most influential war in Runeterra's history. Bildgewater has fallen to goblins, Bandle City has been blown to bits by none other than Winston Sylace, The Arcanium Core Collector, The Freljord has been overtaken by a corrupting Blackfrost which threatens the natural lives of all its inhabitants, and finally Demacia's walls have been decimated rendering the city vulnerable to attack at any given moment!

Lore Challenges:

This is it. The final battle. Both sides prepare themselves before the continental war takes place. There is sure to be blood. For now, there is to be no activity but waiting for the fighting to begin. Sure to be one of the most riveting competitions yet, please stay tuned and stay updated! Create a story that reflects your champion's thoughts and how they feel about the impending conflict. Be sure to include what they are fighting for as well as which side they are going to be fighting against.

FOR THIS MCCC, WE ARE ALLOWING ANY CHAMPIONS THAT BELONG TO YOU TO JOIN IN ON THE FIGHT.

Lore and Kit Challenges:

As mentioned time and time again, we are allowing any previously made champion concepts to participate in the competition and excluding any new ones. It is a bit too late for new recruits, but you may still enter with one, regardless of your champion's origin, you must choose one of the following based on your entry:

If your champion is on Ahimoth's Side:

Explain somewhere in your lore why it is they are joining Ahimoth and The Legion as well as what they hope to bring to the army. Be sure to include how THEY are preparing for war.

If your champion is on Vishas' Side:

Explain somewhere in your lore why it is they are Joining Vishas and The Order as well as what the vision was that inspired them to do so. Be sure to include how THEY are preparing for war.

If your champion was originally on one side in previous competitions, but has switched over to the other:

Be sure to include somewhere in your lore why it is that they have defected over the the opposite side, how they are doing amongst their new comrades, and how THEY are preparing for war.

If your champion is new to either side: Have them prove their worth by creating a section in your lore that has them demonstrating all of their abilities while fighting against 5 powerful automatons. The automatons they will be fighting against posses shadow abilities that allow them to strike from all corners of the darkness. The catch is that your champion cannot be hit once. Good luck!

Rubric

Lore Rubric: Does your lore accurately display the functions of your champion, does it hit home and stir emotion, and how well is it written(or typed, I guess)? Since this is my only third MCCC, The rubric may be similar to my last. However, with this MCCC, The kit, ability synergy, and lore will critically affect your score just as much as balance/stats. Anyway, back on topic, here's some of the criteria regarding your entrant's lore:

Clarity-syntax does your lore have proper spelling and grammar?

Fluidity-does your lore flow well in story going from point to point and makes sense? Does your lore follow the current story line we have weaved throughout the past few months? If you have questions regarding the dos and donts of the Vishas Vs. Ahimoth story then please don't hesitate to ask.

Theme- does your lore have a strong thematic approach?

Motivation- does your lore explain how they got their powers and why they joined this particular competition? Why does your champion exist?

Tone and mood- how does it read and does it inspire emotional or positive response? Does the reader like reading it?

Originality- is your lore original or unique? Does it keep the reader interested?

Lore is scored x/20 points.

Theme) Do the abilities and lore fit the overall theme?

Theme is scored x/15.

Lore Ability Synergy) Do your abilities reflect your character?

LAS is scored x/15.

Abilities/kit(and balance...don't forget balance)

Is your champion balanced? Are they fun to play with, against, or as? Is your champion's kit unique, or different from existing champions'? How are the character's mechanics? Are they clunky or confusing? Does the enemy have a way to fight back against your character? If not, then your entrant may need a mass rework.

Abilities/Kit are scored x/20.

Creativity) Is the champion creative and original, or is it at least an interesting take on something that has already been done/existed?

Creativity is scored x/15.

Kit Cohesion Synergy) Does everything in your abilities section work well together?

Cohesion Synergy is scored x/10.

[Note: The secret lore challenge will be worth x/5 points]

((Rubric look familiar? I sure hope it does!))

Entrants(Vishas' The Order):

Vex, The Vanarus' Fury by Tamur

Pico, The Gemini Blade by The Red Goat

Goram, Wrath Of Nature by Blackbird123

Entrants(Ahimoth's The Dark Legion):

Corrin, The Corporate Swordman by TerkMC

Pereku, Predator of the Frail by Showcase 25

Messala, Shadow Of The Emperor by utDOOM

Lance, Research and Development by The Core Augur

Be sure to pick a side(post who you support here!) and stick around! As always ask any questions you have regarding the story line or the competition below and I will try my hardest to answer as many as I can ;3

May the odds be ever in your favor during these times of strife.

171 Comments

Pollyanna Wright7/1/2015, 10:43:01 PM2 votes

This is fucking stupid. This isn't even a contest anymore, its roleplaying.

Kamiroo Wolf7/27/2015, 1:21:08 AM2 votes

I'm going to start judging today or tomorrow, but for those of you who haven't finished the Secret Lore Challenge: The points will be added to your score if/when you finish. The results for each fight will be up after judging is complete.

RocketRelm7/2/2015, 12:21:38 AM2 votes

Every MCCC has had some kind of story behind it. I don't think the mccc is worse for the story to be progressive between multiple mcccs. The champion is still judged primarily on lore, although admittedly I would like there to be 'champion creation limitations' like there were in the past. Making a clean champion within the confines of the limitations was a lot of the fun.

(Also, are you saying that 'any' previous character submitted to a previous mccc is allowable? Not just previous mcccs of this set?)

Bigg Fuddgee7/1/2015, 7:45:38 PM2 votes

Is MCCC still a thing….

Keagn7/24/2015, 6:09:52 PM1 votes

"Well well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" Lance asked. His clapping had slowed down quite a bit at this point, and his eyes (now unobstructed by his glasses) starred directly at the two Marai. "I certainly landed quite a catch, didn't I?"

Ushio raised his rifle to fire, but Nami held out her arm in front of him. Let me handle this, she seemed to say.

"Surrender!" Nami shouted, "Your troops are gone, and you're outnumbered. You don't stand a chance."

"Fair enough observation," Lance replied, "but as you can see, they're not. Take a look."

Ushio and Nami turned to see the corpses rise as blood returned to their vessels, and wounds closed in flashes of black flames. One by one, the newly risen marauders began to swarm Ushio and Nami, forming a ring around the two. Lance shoved his way through the mass, and stood triumphantly with his newly found advantage. In response, Ushio reached to his scabbard to draw forth the pearl blade, but looked to see it beneath Lance's foot. The Sharpshooter gritted his teeth, and readied Uzu's Pike to fire at a moments notice. Nami raised her staff, with wisps of water surrounding it. Ushio turned slightly towards Nami to give her a look, almost as if saying, "just like old times, eh?"

Nami rolled her eyes, and shot him a look, telling him to be serious. Ushio shrugged his shoulders. He knew this wasn't the time for jokes, but he felt the need to raise the mood a bit. He gave one last assuring nod before taking an egg shaped object strapped to his chest, throwing it into the air, and firing a beam of sea green light into it.

#BOOM

"FIND THEM!" Lance shouted. The marauders spread themselves out, searching tirelessly for the two Marai. How a trick like that worked was beyond his guess, but in their escape, the Sharpshooter and Tidecaller had ruined everything. Lance desperately wanted the two for conducting experiments, or even just to have samples of their blood, but whatever he had acquired from Ushio was washed away by Nami's wave. Lance did well to keep a level head though. He figured it was just a matter of time before they were found. He could have his way with them then. Bait or no bait, he knew the Sharpshooter would come back. After all, there was a score to settle...

Half a dozen or so legionnaires surround an egg-shaped lure that was glowing a brilliant gold-white, like that of the morning sun caught by clouds. Ushio watched them, with a pair of tinted goggles to shield his eyes from the lure, with a smirk formed across his face. A few moments later, the lure ruptured, engulfing its victims in a violent burst of white light, reducing those who once stood around it to ash. The ashes of the marauders were mixed around in the river, floating downstream.

Well, we know that kills them, Ushio thought to himself.

Ushio ran as best he could into the jungle, passing an inactive Sentinel on his way to the Magelord fortress. There, Nami was at work trying to get the defenses active, but in all honesty the Tidecaller had no idea what she was doing. She poked at carvings and crystals alike, but nothing seemed to work. By the time Ushio arrived, the base was just as inactive as when he left.

"It seems you didn't have much luck." Ushio sighed as he walked over to her side. He starred at the faint red crystal for a few moments before developing an arguably ridiculous idea within his head. Ushio walked over to a small craft - an airship - and scavenged a blade from the wares. It was of Doran's forge; a simple, yet reliable sword. He then walked over to the fountain statue, who's raw-cut crystal laid dead upon the platform. Without hesitation, Ushio cut open his palm, and stroked his hand across the crystal. The blood sank into the crystal's core, igniting into a brilliant arcane light as the crystal rose from the platform up to the fountain statue's chest. Soon, the other crystals across the Magelord defenses surged to life, with turrets obliterating several unlucky legionnaires in the process. The true battle, was about to begin.

Soon, minions draped in scarlet cloth began marching forward into battle. Melees, Casters, Siege, and even Super minions all charged forward to attack the Dark Legion. Without the Protectorate Inhibitors active, there was nothing to stop the Marai's newly found forces. The only thing left to do was for them to join the battle themselves.

Ushio and Nami pushed forward through the middle lane with their wave of minions, figuring that it would be the best place to start looking for Lance. There, massive amounts of blood was spilled, but all was self inflicted. For Lance, blood was a weapon, and one he had immense skill at wielding. He tore his way through minions as if they were little more than scraps of cloth. When all was said and done, what was left of the minions that attacked him laid in waste around his feet, and Lance stood victorious...

...for the moment.

"Well, I am certainly glad you decided to come back to help me with my research!" Lance greeted. "I must say, your blood will be a truly invaluable resource. I'll do my best to waste as little as possible when I...acquire it."

Ushio wasted no time. He quickly drew Uzu's pike and fired a burst of sea green light through Lance's knee, causing the crippled researcher to kneel. Ready to finish this, Ushio adjusted his aim and lined Lance's head down Uzu's cross-hairs, and was about to fire the final shot when Lance spoke:

"Well aren't you rude..."

A flash of sea green light bolted for Lance's head, but instead met a sanguine barrier that blocked its path. When the barrier dissipated, Ushio and Nami were greeted not by Lance, but by some sort of blood-borne monstrosity.

The creature charged for Ushio, only to be overwhelmed by a spherical prison of water, and raised into the air. Ushio then proceeded to fire a continuous beam of light at the aberration, destroying it almost entirely.

Nothing stood between Lance and the Marai now. It would be another moment or so by the time the next wave of minions arrived, and by then, this fight would be over. Lance charged forward, only to be hit with wisps of water and bolts of light. Despite the damage he took, he charged on so that he could get close enough. Finally in range, Lance released a scarlet cloud of blood upon the Marai, who found themselves unable to control their limbs. Ushio and Nami's muscles tightened, and Lance advanced towards them with his scalpel in hand, and a wicked grin on his face.

"I think I shall start with you, Tidecaller," Lance said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I always wanted a sample of your blood, but was never able to procure one. Of course, that's not the case now..."

Lance drew forth a vial from his lab coat, and prepared to make an incision along Nami's jugular, where the blood would run best. Before his scalpel could reach her neck, however, Ushio sprung forth and smashed Uzu's Pike across Lance's face.

Lance was knocked onto the ground, his nose broken and dripping blood. He looked up at Ushio with a look resembling disgust upon his face. Ushio aimed his pronged barrel directly at Lance's face.

"It's over," Ushio declared, "you have lost."

Lance chucked a bit, "Lost? No, you're wrong I'm afraid." Lance rose a half-filled vial of blood - Nami's Blood - and raised it to his lips.

"Hmm, fishy." He said with a satisfied look on his face as the scarlet liquid trailed down his throat. Ushio was about to fire until he found himself trapped in a sphere of water, suspended in the air.

"Well I'll be damned," Lance said, "I should have done this sooner."

The water prison destabilized as Lance collapsed to the ground, coughing uncontrollably. His body wasn't taking to well to Nami's vitae, and he had to act quickly to stabilize himself. With some unseen force, Lance drew forth additional blood from both Ushio and Nami, and allowed the ichor to enter his body. With the new strength, Lance managed to stand, and even held a confident demeanor. With a raise of his hand, Lance manipulated the water within Ushio's body, forcing him to rise into the air. It was evident the fool was mad with power, power that he could master, and utilize for whatever he felt the need for. Nothing stood in his way...

"River, spill forth!"

Lance and Ushio became caught in the Serpentine River's fury, washed away by a mighty wave, and carried up river. When the water stopped thrashing about, they found themselves within a pit of sorts, where the ground had splintered open and revealed harsh purple light. Ushio knelt by the entrance, while Lance found himself at the wall's edge. The trigger of water caused gills to spring forth from his neck, an adaptation which allowed him to breathe the water. The look on his face was smug, as if there was no possible way he could lose, despite being tossed down river like a rag doll. Ushio glanced to his left to see Uzu's Pike about twelve yards up river, too far away to be able to reach. His hand came to the straps along his chest, but he had no more lures to use either. He thought about his options, but there was no way Ushio could kill him or get away before Lance made his move.

Lance burst into maddened laughter, so focused on his apparent "victory" that he didn't notice the large slithering creature maneuvering its way through pit walls. Ushio, however, caught a glance of the monstrosity, and began moving back accordingly.

"What's the matter, Marai?" Lance sneered. "Am I too much for you?"

At this point, the trailing behemoth sunk into the ground, and Ushio had a good idea where it was going to pop up. Not a moment later, a rumble shook the ground beneath Lance, and an expression of surprise (possibly fear) formed on his face as a great Wyrm burst from the ground, with its many heads grabbing his limbs before the final head emerged and swallowed his body whole, and let out a screech that could instill terror into the hearts of even the bravest soul.

Ushio ran off, in fear of being noticed by the Wyrm, retrieving Uzu's Pike before he returned to Nami.

They had won.

The Core Augur7/25/2015, 4:07:26 AM1 votes

:3

I love the following:

Even without prompting, you got Lance's complete and utter disregard for his allies and their lives perfectly. He really doesn't care - especially not now. He's not even in his own timeline; he could give zero figs about screwing with people, or time itself!

Lance will arguably survive getting eaten. But he is effectively taken out of the fight. Baron is probably too tough a customer for him to carve his way out of.

The thing about Lance is he's functionally invulnerable to physical damage, excluding the direct destruction of his brain. Anything that causes cell death? Fire, acid, freezing? He has an incredibly difficult time recouping from that. He's kind of like a troll from D&D, in that he's hyper-regenerative, but anything magical screws him over.

But unfortunately I had a playdate with six people and we played Multiplayer Magic: The Gathering today! And tomorrow I have to go to a relative for a graduation party til Sunday. So I should be able to write it Sunday night, promise!

Buuuut, if you'd like, I can post what I wrote before I got to the actual combat:

“Research log twenty two, 09M 22D 3245AD, thirty days in service to Ahimoth. He strings me along with samples of his blood, but it is not enough. I will need much more of his life’s essence before his Vitae is fully within my grasp. Too much more. Every sip of his blood is laced with poison – he thinks he’s clever, but he also thinks I’m stupid. He is not, and I am not. I have incorporated this poison into my being – merely another tool for me to use.

I may require more desperate measures – I’ve no concern with what happens to this timeline, merely what happens to the beast’s body. Either I shall kill him, or I shall engineer his downfall. Either way, I’ve found something remarkable during a simple chronomantic transversal. Potential. The potential for immortality. More’s the pity I don’t have access to my resources on the Maw.

Ahimoth has granted me a laboratory to use during my stay here, and all the better. I can’t stand these people who’ve rallied to his cause. They’re all nihilists, seeking the end of the world. Fools. Don’t they have any vision? Regardless, I avoid them and sequester myself in my work.

I am confident in my ability to speak freely into my communicator. Ahimoth is too dim to grasp its functionality, and I have convinced him that it is a necessary tool for me to do my work.

My work, by the by? I have requested rights to dissect a Marai, and Ahimoth’s people have directed me to a location between a place called the Bubbling Bog, and the Serpentine River. Supposedly, a Marai has been spotted here. I’ll be the judge of that.

Worst part is, it’s a fish. It’ll be hell extricating it from its water. End log.”

Standing on the banks of the river Serpentine, I can’t help but consider this a fool’s errand. Fish’ll never come up. I’ll have to go down.

I bring my communicator to my lips and speak into it, “TACCOM, do you copy?”

“Research Head! We thought you dead! It’s been thirty days since you dropped communications. Give us a status report.”

“No. I’m fine. You can have my research logs to go over at your leisure when I return. Compliments on not enacting the evacuation protocols hastily – I need to stay in this timeline for another month. I may have found what I’ve needed. Over.”

“What did you find, Research Head?”

“Potential, TACCOM. But, again, I’ll tell you later. I understand individual transversals are remarkably expensive, but I will absorb the costs here. I need you to send me an underwater ROV with sonar capabilities – can you do that? It is imperative.”

“Ah, sure. It may take several minutes, however, to traverse the timeways. I need you to set your communicator on the ground – we’ll lock on to its position and transverse it to you. It may take several more minutes for it to sync fully to your current timeline – don’t touch it while it flickers in and out of phase.”

“Copy that. Over.”

I pull my communicator off and set it gently on the ground, before sitting and watching the water. It’s such a big river – I’ll never find this fish in anything resembling a little time. Pity.

My communicator flickers and shifts as my colleagues at Tactical Communications lock on to its coordinates, and then I begin to recognize slivers of black, glossy plastic as the remotely operated vehicle comes into phase. A control module here, a propeller there, and finally, after what seems like ten minutes, the device sits there, flickering and blurry.

Waiting for the object to phase in, I find, is the most tedious. It takes a whole twenty minutes for the device to fully exist in a coterminous state. Grunting, I pick up and put the communicator on, barking into it, “TACCOM, I was told it would take a few minutes, not half an hour.”

“Causality is tricky, and sending objects, intact, across time, is a sensitive thing. We got it there as fast as we could. For further reference, we will note that transversal time for objects of that size are nearly six times greater than estimated.”

“Affirmative. Keep a tab on my vital signs, and always be ready with evacuation protocols. Radio silence commencing. Incommunicado.”

I look at the ROV and familiarize myself with it. Twenty inches long, a propeller on the back and a series of tubes on the front. A small receptor, which receives direction from the control module. The module itself is a oblong black box with a screen and some joysticks. Simple enough.

I power the ROV on with a flick of a switch, and gently place it in the water. For the next twenty minutes I merely become accustomed to the controls – the throttle, the steering, and the sonar images. A catfish helps me to understand the device – a simple blip on my sonar, racing away from me at every possible moment. It is a learning experience to hunt it.

I believe the being I seek will be easier to distinguish than a middling catfish.

The Core Augur7/27/2015, 3:11:04 AM1 votes

Keagn, full disclosure. I am soooo tired. I know I promised today, but tomorrow I'll have it!

The Core Augur7/28/2015, 2:51:12 AM1 votes

So I rewrote my lore and took it in a horrible direction. Poor Nami.

The Core Augur7/28/2015, 5:13:19 AM1 votes

LORE:

“Research log twenty two, 09M 22D 3245AD. We’re going live this time.”

My communicator is strung to a tree, bathing me and my tableau in oscillating teal light. Crowding the recording, I hide what is going on behind me by holding my billowing lab coat out.

“I have a real treat for you, vaunted members of the scientific community. However, viewer discretion is advised!” A waggle of my index finger, and a stern voice accompany this warning before I chuckle, “Kiddies, avert your eyes unless you’re going into the field of xenobiology, in which case, stick around. You might even learn a thing or two. Geez, you know what I’m about to show you is more pertinent to your developing young minds than a rerun of Scrappy Dee and the Enigmatic Contraption.”

The corner of my lip tugs up into a sneer as I continue, “Now, you’ll ask, ‘Lance, should you be doing a dissection on a living subject in an unsanitary place such as a field?’ To which I say, yes! A resounding, emphatic yes. You see, viewers,” another waggle of my index finger, “if my subject is unconscious or expired, my findings may be skewed. Never before have we had the chance to dissect what I’m about to show you here today – and if we were to mess it up? Well, that’d be unconscionable.”

“What you’re about to see is graphic and not for the faint of heart.” A half step back before I titter nervously. It’s hard for me to contain myself, or my flair for the dramatic, “But first, let me introduce my wonderful assistant who has so graciously stepped up to provide me with his services. Communicator, switch to camera two.”

With a very brief flicker, the communicator focused through a different lens. “This is Trias Brisby, my research assistant upon the Maw of Malmortius. I had him brought in special for this task. The cost of the transversal was incredible, but it’s so hard to find good help.”

Trias raised a hand to the camera and smiled. Of middling height, the youth was a spry twenty three, and dressed in a manner very similar to his teacher. His head completely shaven, and a thick series of scars running over(and through) his left eye completed the look. He’s a hardass, and I have to admit I am overly fond of him. He’s like a son to me. In fact, he’s one of the few researchers on the Maw I allow free reign.

“Trias here will be silent while I dissect our specimen, and will only assist me with the procurement of my tools. Switch to camera three.”

On a tree trunk I had placed my kit. Rolled out in a black silk carrier, my polished silver surgical tools glistened in the light – a scalpel, forceps, tongs, even a bonesaw. They were a point of pride for me, but I did not linger overlong on them. “Switch to camera one.”

Upon my operating table, a simple affair made of a rock and a pristine surgical sheet, lay my erstwhile captive.

Nami, the Tidecaller.

“In my timeline, the Marai died out long, long ago. So imagine my surprise when I find them fighting the good fight here in CT-Past. It was merely a matter of time before I got my hands on one – and guess who! The truly adorable champion, Nami! Can we have a round of applause?”

Trias clapped earnestly.

“Now, dissection is referred to as the study of clinical anatomy, but I find that to be a misnomer. By definition, it is the study of anatomy as applied to healthcare. In contrast, some of my colleagues on the Maw of Malmortius and myself believe that clinical anatomy covers all disciplines of anatomy, from cell biology to gross morphology, and some would include experimental research.

I am nervous about this procedure, as I do not want to lose a specimen as valuable as the Tidecaller. Thusly, I will strive to ensure that she does not perish on the operating table. After the operation, I will send her and Trias to my own timeline through Transversal, where Nami will be kept in stasis until a time I return to the Maw. An extinct species! Ah, the possibilities.

But I digress. This dissection will have four goals.

Firstly, it will allow me to understand the Marai body in all three dimensions. Dissection is a complex procedure to learn the body’s morphology, and it requires all senses. Secondly, the discussion of variations and anomalies found during dissections frequently leads to an interpretation of comparative and developmental anatomy, and also to the explanation of problems encountered during surgery.

Thirdly, the examination of the effects of aging, as seen commonly in our laboratories, and the manifestations of chronic diseases are important to the students’ understanding of anatomy. For instance, in severe cirrhosis of the liver, one can explain the distribution pattern and function of the portal circulation. Fourthly, for later, the exploration of bodies that have had previous surgery can promote the development of clinical thinking and understanding if the instructor encourages careful dissection of the surgical site and obtains pertinent clinical information.

Now, to begin, we will awaken the specimen. She has been bound for her own safety – it would be remiss of me to allow her to squirm with the scalpel inside of her. It might sever an artery.

Now, the patient is under a steady propofol drip. She has been for about thirty minutes, so I could properly sedate her and bind her – she was a wriggler. Ten minutes ago, I turned off the propofol infusion and we should start to see her awaken in, oh, a few minutes. Trias, bring the camera to the patient and let’s get a close up of her face. We want her calm and relaxed when she wakes up.”

Hovering over her features, I rue that I do not have machines to keep track of her vitals. I have been watching her like a hawk, however, careful to ensure her respiration does not dip down to unsatisfactory levels. But that’s to be expected under general sedation.

Her eyes flutter.

“W-where am I?”

She does not remember. That is to be expected. A lot is to be expected, in fact.

“Hello, Nami, do you know who I am?”

She shakes her head. Her eyes do not show fright, but confusion. This is textbook.

“Shh, shh. Don’t move too much. You don’t want to overdo it. My name is Lance,” I smile, “and I’m about to perform a procedure on you. Do you understand?”

“What? N-no…”

“Good. Trias, we will start with a relatively simple procedure. This will serve as a start to our understanding of Marai anatomy. Enucleating her eye and performing a dissection of that will let us know how different they are to our own eyes, and whether or not they are similar to that of a common salmon – which I have fished up and dissected an hour previous to give myself something to go on. The other eye we can use to determine the strength of her vision. Nami, I need you to remain calm. Please don’t struggle. You’re still coming out of sedation. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re fully awake and cognizant before I proceed, more so, I will see to it that your eye is replaced by a porous polyethylene orbital implant. I care.

Until then, Trias, can you please bring me surgical tape? The patient is closing her eyes.”

It takes but a second to pry and tape her eyes open, allowing them to dart about in panic. Her hands seize and grip and her body bucks against the constraints.

“Nami, Nami, stop,” I urge her, putting one hand against her chest and giving it a reassuring pat, “Oh, Trias, let us be sure we perform a mastectomy. I would like to know why a fish has breasts at all, and whether they are biologically required for the transmission of milk to Marai young, or are just there for… aesthetic purposes. Trias, forceps, please.”

I gently ease the forceps under her left eye’s lid, and press up just enough to get some room to operate. The tears flow, but I ignore them. They’re expected. “We must first sever the extraocular muscles behind the eye. Trias, scalpel. Good, thank you. I need you to hold the forceps. Right there, yes.”

“Initial view of the eye is remarkably similar to a human’s. Pupil, iris, sclera. Irritation is becoming apparent where the forceps contact the surface of the eye. It does not help that she is still moving her eye around – rubbing up against the forceps is sure to cause some discomfort. I am moving to sever the eye from its moorings.”

I pause, nearly strumming the taut muscles beneath the eye with the flat of the scalpel. I see her eye twitch and her muscles spasm at the sensation, but that is not why I pause. In the distance, I hear splashing. I hear a yell.

“Nami! Get away from her!” I strum the muscles again, before removing my scalpel and gently easing the forceps clear. Nami heaves a sigh of relief as I turn to the interruption.

“Do you mind!? I am about to perform… a… very… oh. Oh!”

Can it be? Across the way, a Marai storms across the field towards me, leaving a whirlpool of fluid in his wake.

“Log, continuance. Male Marai spotted. This presents a unique opportunity. Perhaps I can acquire a mating pair off Marai to further the species on my own timeline and prevent extinction. This will also allow for further dissections of newborn Marai. Nami, I must thank you again for your contributions to science.”

The sprinting male, held aloft upon a roiling tumult of water, levels a sharp looking weapon at me. From the looks of it, it’s spear-like in nature. However, an aperture at the front suggests a projectile nature. I brace myself, simultaneously curious as to the composition of the rifle, and wary of its capabilities.

With a roar, the rifle launches a stream of high-pressure water. My brain works quickly, judging where it will impact and the rough damage it will do at that distance. Two ribs, shattered, lung crushed. Damage, minimal. Repair will be easy. I already send my blood coursing to the areas where the rifle will effect me.

But I am caught off guard. The high-pressure stream is stronger than I had accounted for, and perhaps the water is augmented somehow by the rifle. It would have to be – the stream of water pierces through my chest. It nicks the fat artery of my heart and tears it apart. Three ribs suffer shattering damage, and my lung is gone.

-- CONTINUED

The Core Augur7/28/2015, 5:27:05 AM1 votes

Damage is severe. Not impossible to repair, but impressive nonetheless. Urging my blood to the areas of damage, I clog wounds with congealing blood and create superstructures similar to what I lost by hardening my blood in the requisite shapes. The lungs are the trickiest to recreate, with their many bronchi. These are temporary fixes; mere plugs in a broken dam. It will take time to properly heal my wounds. But for now, I function.

“Trias, front and center. I need to recuperate. I have sustained damage to my heart, and am vulnerable.”

Trias opens his mouth in a wordless reply. His tongue has long since been severed – the better to keep him safe. He may say something I don’t take kindly to, so I’ve cut that off at the pass.

My apprentice steps forward while I urge a portion of my life’s fluid from my gaping chest wound, putting up a thorny barrier between me and the gun-toting Marai. Another hit like that may do more to me than I care to deal with. For now, I merely eyeball Nami, thoughtfully repairing my damaged heart.

Trias has been through everything I have, in much less time. Since he was sixteen, I have shaped him. I have taught him to control his blood, and his vitals. He’s worse at it than I am, but in a pinch he’s damn near invincible.

His methodology is fascinating, though. Unlike myself, where I cut my wrists to free my weaponry, he merely superheats his blood and expels it from his pores. A dangerous method, but a cleaner one. Startlingly efficient, too. He narrows his remaining eye and squares off against the Marai, his blood forming a cloud of shifting vapor around him, his skin red hot and sweating crimson bullets.

“Nami!” the Marai cries again, “It’s Ushio!” But Nami cannot reply – I have clamped a hand over her mouth as I peer through the barbs of my bloody wall. It is between Trias and this Ushio now.

I have faith in Trias, but I have hope that the male Marai is strong. Trias could bear to lose an arm, along with his eye and tongue. Develop some character.

The vaporous blood coalesces into a gelid red spear, which my apprentice clutches in one hand and brings to bear against Ushio, but the whirlpool-carried warrior merely screams, visible waves of distortion pounding into my apprentice’s ears and rupturing his ear drums. Trias stumbles, and that’s all the opportunity the fish needs to drive the spear-like rifle through his chest, firing off a stream of violent green water through his flesh. In a moment, the fish whirls away from the falling Trias and surges forward, towards me.

I take Trias’s death in stride. It was only a matter of time, really. If not now, later. At home. At war. He was bound to die, eventually. But… I can hear it. His pulse is still strong. His heartbeat is solid, even with a hole blown through his chest. He is alive. But I need him now, not on the ground. So… I wrench my hand downwards.

And rip every drop of blood from his being.

He won’t need it. I will.

His suddenly ghostly-pale body spasms and seizes and goes still in moments.

I force the blood to move, seething across the terrain. It gains distance upon the Marai, and overtakes him. Before him, I congeal it into a towering being of thick blood. It is humanoid in form only – there is no head. There are no fingers or toes. It has arms, and legs, and a torso, and that is where the resemblance ends. The appearance catches him off guard, leaves him open.

It swings one massive limb like a club, and drives it hard into Ushio’s chest. The slam was powerful, and drives the wind from his sails. He is knocked back by the force of the blow, and I see the whirlpool dissipate as he tumbles upon the grass. Trias’s blood is very volatile. And, most importantly, he’s the same blood type as myself.

I break down the aberration and send it spiraling back towards me, through the thorny briar and into my wounds. In moments, I have recuperated all I have lost. I have reformed my lung, and even my heart beats healthily behind whole and hearty ribs.

Sighing, I let a smile creep across my features. The barrier collapses and reinforces me, filling me with vigor.

“Hail, Marai!” he looks up to me, crumpled on the ground, his tail replaced by a pair of weak looking legs. Approaching him, I can begin to see the extent of his wounds. His chest is flush with bruising, and I can tell by the way he favors his side that a rib or two is broken. But he lives, which is very important.

“Tell me, what brings you here? Is it her?” Nami flops against her binds as I gesture to her, “Or is it something else? Is it because I serve his Lord and Highness Ahimoth?” My words drip sarcasm, “Or is it both?”

I get closer, kneeling down several feet from him, cocking my head to the side.

“You don’t know who I am, yet you try to kill me without a shred of mercy? I can relate. I can get behind that. Mercy’s a silly thing. There’s no real reason to be merciful, you kn—oh, what have you there?”

The Marai palms a small glowing orb, which I merely observe. “Stress ball? Toy? Ooh, grenade? Surprise me.” He curls a lip in disgust, revealing sharp incisors. Interesting – Marai are carnivorous predators? “You talk too much,” is all he says. Rude.

With a grunt, Ushio chucks the sphere in my direction. I take no pains to dodge it, and… oddly, I don’t think I’d want to. It’s glowing rather enticingly as it strikes my head and sticks there. The entire thing is covered in spines like a sea urchin, and it’s stuck itself square against my forehe—boom.

I scream, flailing backwards as my scalp is ripped away and the flesh of my face disintegrates. My mouth works feverishly as I yell and curse, blinded. I can feel the breeze on my skull, and my nerve ends burn with pain. Pain – such an exquisite brew. I try to cut it off, but there’s too much.

If I focus, I can hear his heartbeat through the pain. I can hear his muscles stretching as he staggers upright. Backpedaling away, I work to allay the damage. First, I must reconstitute my eyes. Second, I must reconstitute my face and find my scalp. Never imagined I’d be thinking that.

“Y-yoooou, Marai… you… you’re goooood.” I moan out, what’s left of the muscles of my cheeks stretching in a skeletal rictus. “B-but yoooou loooost.” My words are stretched thin and my breathing quickens. I’m feeling faint, but I know the damage is survivable.

“Trias… my man… I seeded his blood with a heavy sedative, and gently, over, heh, heh,” I chuckle, pain shooting across my features, “over the past five years, immunized him to it. Heh. B-but… you’re not so lucky. You ran right throooough his aerosolized blood.” I cough, my lungs burning. Or maybe that’s my nose – what’s left of it.

I continue staggering back, chuckling as I hear him grunt in consternation.

“It’s merely a matter of time, now, until yooooou collapse in a heap. Yoooooour lungs struggling to draw breath.” I laugh, a cackling sound without much mirth. “And I will take you hoooome with me,” I wheeze, “to the Maw. And I will shooooow yooooou such exquisite pain.”

I hear him groan as he collapses, and I fall on my ass on the ground and laugh. It will take an hour or two to undo what the fool’s grenade did to me, but it will have been worth it if I can get a breeding pair of Marai safely to my timeline.

Nami’s dissection will have to wait.

“TACCOM,” I yell, towards my communicator, “I need yoooou to transverse a transfusion of B- blood to me, stat!”

DONE.

The Core Augur7/28/2015, 4:35:02 PM1 votes

Why, forever, hopefully! On Lance's timeline, Ushio and Nami's species have long since perished. Lance's goal right now, aside from immortality, is returning them to his timeline where he can force them to breed a new lineage of Marai.

Arguably, a fate worse than death!

Keagn7/28/2015, 9:44:00 PM1 votes

Man, and I thought I brought the big guns. This is getting intense!!!

Kamiroo Wolf7/30/2015, 10:09:58 PM1 votes

All contestants under the name of Vishas have been judged!

Kamiroo Wolf7/30/2015, 11:03:55 PM1 votes

All contestants have been judged!

First place belongs to Lance, Research and Development

Second place has been claimed by Corrin, The Corporate Swordsman

Third place is currently held by Pereku, The Ravenger, but Showcase can rise above Terk if he manages to finish the Lore Challenge before the 31st.

The Core Augur7/31/2015, 1:00:39 AM1 votes

:3

So, what was your decision on the lore? Will the story continue?

Keagn7/31/2015, 3:45:12 AM1 votes

I've never been more proud of my evil children TuT

The Core Augur7/31/2015, 12:19:42 PM1 votes

Well, if you want to write about Lance and the end of the thing, remember that Lance is after Ahimoth's vitae, and will do damn near anything to get it. If Ahimoth just gives it to him - a large enough sample of his blood - Lance will leave peaceably, satisfied that he's got the building blocks of his own immortality and a breeding pair of Marai.

But we'll see if everything goes his way, won't we? :3

The Core Augur7/31/2015, 3:44:45 PM1 votes

"TACCOM, it's funny," I mutter, leaning against the tree, having dragged Trias and Ushio's still forms under the shade, "isn't it?"

"What's that, Research Head?"

Teeth bared, I rip the plastic from the IV drip bag full of blood and down the contents in three greedy gulps. I sigh, feeling full. Feeling renewed. A swirling clot of blood fills my eye sockets, congealing and forming new neural pathways. In moments, I have a temporary set of eyes. My vision is polluted with red, and it is not perfect, but forming proper ocular receptors is damn hard on the fly.

My face is, strictly speaking, unnecessary. I've cut the pain off, but I'd enjoy not looking frightful. Blushing red flesh creeps into existence across torn muscles and scorched bone, and in moments my face returns, with a suspicious crimson tint, as though sunburned.

I continue, "I came here on a lark, you know. And in this timeline I've found so much of interest."

RocketRelm8/4/2015, 7:22:20 AM1 votes

So is there an August MCCC anywhere, hosted by anyone? If there is I haven't found it.

Keagn8/4/2015, 9:58:22 PM1 votes

Would, but I gotta step out of the spotlight, get back to the core values of champion concepts. That being said, the closest I'll get to an MCCC for awhile is as an entry, if anything.

Keagn7/14/2015, 6:08:52 PM1 votes

Man, I'm a little disappointed on how little entries there are. You'd think busting it wide open would inspire more people to join in the fun T^T

The Core Augur7/21/2015, 6:06:14 PM1 votes

Jesus. Writing up a fair combat is hard when your opponent is a fish. I can't just be like, "And they were both on land because weeee!"

I need to find a way to get him out of the water...

The Core Augur7/24/2015, 4:25:50 AM1 votes

Marry me.

I'll have my entry up by tomorrow.