Episode 13: Consumptus A Tenebris

The battle with the void had come to an end however, another trouble began to arise. With Dorion’s return from his investigation; the group learned the identity of the third apocalyptic sister. It seems that Famine has taken over the body of the Warrior of Light, Jayne Luminara. This posed an issue for the Legacy because this was Dorion’s fiance they were talking about. How would he be able to fight against someone who held his heart? The group felt that if they were to move forward they would need to discuss what has transpired.


As the group stands amongst each other Trunks seems to be in deep thought and sits among the purple crystals. Dorion sees that Trunks may be devising a plan so he questions what is on his mind. Trunks begin to explain that he may have a plan to save Luminara. Tuya senses that Trunks has been to bring Jayne ‘back to life however, Tuya recalls hearing spirits or people who were once able to possess a body that was dead. Dorion acknowledges what Tuya knows as Ascians. Ancient texts talked all the time about how they would possess a body that was dead. Tuya further explains that if Jayne did die, it made it easy for Famine to control her body. Trunks further his thought that maybe Jayne did not die and that her body was simply possessed at the time. Tuya asks if Dorion witnessed Jayne’s death and he agrees that he saw it happen. Zakuro takes out her notebook and says that instead of focusing on another confrontation, they should seek knowledge from the Dragon they were looking for. Instead of focusing on the dead, Zakuro felt that they should meet with the dragon that lived in these lands. Shiva backed up Zakuro in agreement, seeing that the Dragon may have more information on the Red Veil and some of the things they were up to. Before setting off Dorion and the others made sure to see if the coast was clear.


As the group traveled up the stream Tuya could feel a sudden chill on her spine and a voice began to speak to her and tell her that she was still here. Startled by such a voice Tuya drew her daggers to see if she needed to fight. This prompted the rest of the group to draw their weapons as well, however, everyone noticed that there was no one in sight. Tuya was confused for the moment but the group decided to move forward to the dragon however due to the voice they kept their alert high. As they reached the top of the hill, the group finally faced facing the large dragon before them. Mesmerized by the beauty of the creature Shiva walked forward to get a better look at the dragon. Tarno followed close behind Shiva and was also in awe of the creature; he had never met something like this before. It was as if the Saint in Shiva came forward and wished to speak to the creature. Shiva asked if she could speak to the creature on behalf of the group. Everyone came to an agreement and let Shiva do what she knew best.


As Shiva touched the ring that held the dragon captive and she could see in her mind many horrid images. Shiva shared that she sensed the dragon’s sorrow and guilt, and how she was unable to forgive herself in creating a primal that helped a previous Calamity. She lives eternally suffering in this cage for the pain she had caused this world. Shiva also explained how she also knew that The Red Veil had been here; however, they were unable to harvest her power. Curious by what Shiva was learning this prompted members of The Legacy to also ask questions. They asked Shiva if she would be able to answer their own concerns and Shiva nodded that she could. Tuya asked her if Dragons and Au Ras were part of the same race. Shiva nodded and explained that she said although there are similarities between the races...she believed Auras and Dragons are two species. She explained that even for her she believed that they may have come from another part of something Hydaelyn created, something demonic or even by another god; however, her knowledge of the past was beginning to fade due to her years of painful memories blocking out what was important. Dorion wanted to know what the Red Veil wanted with her. Shiva explained that they wanted to harness her darkness however, they couldn’t seem to breakthrough. They decided to head back to another area to find magick. It seems that the body who hosts famine...had a spirit inside of her. They were starving the spirit inside that begged for a light and they wanted to kill her with darkness.


Tarno decides to step forward and ask a question of his own. Locking eyes with the Dragon, Tarno then turns to Shiva and asks if she could answer something that remained in his thoughts. After the Red Veil, was there a greater foe that they would have to face in order to restore peace to Hydaelyn? Shiva then explained that as of right now, she saw no greater threat other than our race of their own people repopulating over time. The dragon is unable to see into the future however, she explained how she would not be surprised if years from now another threat came to humanity. As they finished their questions to the dragon the group was unsure of what to do next. Trunks wanted to set the Dragon free however she let Trunks know that she would remain here in eternal punishment and that they would need to focus on the task at hand, to find the Red Veil and Jayne’s body.


Dorion began to show frustration because they didn’t know what they would need to do to move forward from this moment. This was their last trail to The Red Veil and they had no plan in motion. Sensing the frustration in Dorion, Trunks did his best to calm him which only ended up in Dorion kicking up some dirt. Trunks begin to search the rings with Shiva to see if the Red Veil left anything behind so that they could track their whereabouts.


As they searched Tarno began to feel faint as the echo possessed him. He was told that we must leave this place at once and that the Red Veil is no longer in the area and that they had found a power source elsewhere. Their current whereabouts were somewhere near Anyx Time. Tuya jumps in and talks to Tarno and it seems the two of them heard the same female but who was she. As the group tried to discuss from previous echoes they experienced their weapons began to glow. The voice told them that her hold was not strong and they would need to hurry and find her. The voice they were able to hear was that of Jayne Luminara. Shiva turned to see a fire growing in Dorion and that they were about to head off as soon as possible. The voice of his fiance fueled him to find her as soon as possible.


The journey to Anyx Time was a race against the clock. Tuya, Tarno, and Zakuro sat inside Azul's carriage, while Trunks and Shiva drove on Trunks' motorcycle. It seemed that the young woman was growing accustomed to riding on the back of his bike in fact-finding excitement and thrill of the wind in her hair. The happy-go-lucky woman bought a smirk to his face however, her wording still created a chuckle amongst the group. For Dorion, he paid no mind at the time and continued to steer Azul deeper into Anyx. Following the voice, they had heard Dorion could sense an area the Red Veil was and continued to follow what his heart remembered. It seemed that in this focus he could remember places he had scouted years ago and he explained how he felt that this was the direction the Veil was headed. The group finds their way near a cave entrance and decides that this is where they will park and walk from here on out.


Trunks reach into his motorcycle storage case and pull out bags of goods for everyone to recharge on. Trunks packed different sandwiches and bottles of purified water. He suggests that before they move forward that they should rest up and eat something in case this cave went on for miles. Before Trunks could finish his sentence Zakuro dove into the food to eat as she did not wait for permission to eat something good. Tuya also rushed in order to eat and enjoyed the food that was given to her as she thanked Trunks for such goods. As Tarno sits with Trunks and Shiva, Shiva notices that Dorion was perched by the staircase leading into the cave. He seemed to be focused on where the Red Veil had gone and wasn’t joining them to eat. Shiva walked over to Trunks and whispered in his ear to show that Dorion was not with them. This prompted Trunks to shout for Dorion to join them and get his strength up since Zena had told him a while back that Dorion wasn’t taking care of himself well.


Dorion looked up to see that Trunks was calling him over and he sighed knowing he had no choice in the matter. Dorion walked back and took a gentle bite out of the food Trunks had offered him. As he ate his meal he drank from a black flask that he had kept in his pocket, when Shiva asked what it was he ignored her question and listened to Tarno talks about how he enjoyed the food Trunks provided. Even though he was thankful for the meal Tarno had only eaten a little because he never went into battle on a full stomach. As Shiva made small talk with the party, Dorion grew frustrated and got up from where they all sat. He insisted that it was time to go and find Jayne. When Shiva asked why the rush, Trunks, and Tarno explained to her that sometimes love makes you act hasty. In the case of Dorion, Jayne was someone he wanted to grow old with and this is why he was driven to such madness. Even though Shiva was in her 20’s she had never experienced such a love so she listened to their words carefully. She understood that if the day did come that she would have to think reasonably and not just on the fly. Tarno was the first to follow Dorion into the new area and he advised that Dorion slow his role. He understood that love was taking over however they needed to be careful. Dorion nodded and continued to research the area with the group. As they reached the new area they could see that the Red Veil was once there. They came into an area in the cave where they found the bodies of dead cultists. It seems that whatever the Red Veil members were trying to do fought them and killed them on the spot.

The group decided to analyze the area carefully. Trunks found a large number of pages hastily sewn together from the top left corner. As he read through the pages he confirmed a number of things about his theory that concerned him. Tarno looked around at the dead bodies on the floor. He was keener on examining the wounds, to see what or how they were killed. Tuya looked over the bones and began to notice things, she was able to create a powder that she would pour into small tubes. From there she corked the powder and created a fuse. With the bones, she was able to scavenge she was able to create pipe bombs. Zakuro wandered and followed sprites that were within the cave. She knew better than to provoke them.


As the group discussed their finds the room began to grow with sudden heat. As the heat rises in the cave Shiva could sense that there was a large threat coming to them. Dorion began to look over the stone walls to see if anything was there however, an echo vision took over his mind knocking him unconscious. Shiva rushed over to move him somewhere safe and as she moved him out of the way a large roar filled the air. The group looked to the air and a red scaly raging dragon flew towards them. It seems they had disrupted where this dragon rested as the Red Veil did. They knew if they were going to get out of this cave alive they would have to kill it. Shiva called out to the group to ready their weapons so they could get what they needed to save Jayne.


Tarno was the first to rush into battle however, the air from the beast's wing knocked him back for the time being and slashed through his armor quite a bit. Tuya followed into battle next, charged the creature with three hand seals, and sent a wave of ice shuriken at the creature. The dragon seemed to not like Tuya’s attack however took damage from the hit. The Legacy continued to work together to fight in unison and Zakuro rushed into battle next. Zakuro threw the full weight of her shadowy blade into a slash at its right leg. Blood rushed from the dragon as it hit the ground hard. Trunks still trying to hide the notebook tried to take a dive away from the dragon however the dragon followed his movements. The Dragons looked at Trunks next and knocked the notebook out of his reach while also tossing trunks into a pile of rocks. Seeing that the dragon was distracted by Trunks, Shiva grabbed her staff and flew at the dragon, and dove an ice dagger into its wounds that Zakuro caused by assisting her. Tarno furthered that attack by gathering himself, and swiftly slashing the dragon's tail, diverting the attention from the others onto him.


The battle seems to be in the favor of the Legacy which caused excitement among the group. Tuya smiled in the excitement of battle so she wanted to do all she could. She reached into her jacket and pulled a vial out. She quickly lit the fuse and began to wind up as she filled it with her own aether. Once filled to capacity, she threw the pipe bomb right at the dragon. However, Dragon sees the bomb and shot it back at Tuya. Zakuro ducked under the dragon's wing and tried to maim it with an upward swing of her sword, however, the Dragon shifted Zakuro out of the way, being aware of what she was trying to do, and pushed her towards the rest of the party causing Zakuro to use the weight of her weapon to slow herself to a stop. Seeing this all transpire Trunks rose from the rubble to try and sneak an attack of his own. Trunks sprinted forward and jumped off Zakuro’s sword onto one of the dragon's horns and rolled onto its neck. Lifting one of the scales he reached into his bag and shoved a poisonous grenade underneath one of the scales and stomped down on it. This resulted in an explosion catapulting him on top of Tarno. The explosion causes a vessel to burst drawing a decent amount of blood from the creature it roars violently. Shiva watched as everyone moved swiftly into battle, so Shiva decided to try and create a ring of ice to try and hold the injured leg of the dragon down however it saw past her attack and shot her into a pile of bones. Tuya saw Shiva fall which caused her to scream extremity in Xaelic to the dragon as she aimed ice daggers into the throat of the dragon itself. She encased herself in ice and flew into the mouth of the creature as she shot the daggers in. This caused the Dragon to struggle to growl, almost yelping in pain as Tuya was inside it.


As Tuya is inside of the dragon, it seems that the ice is beginning to crack. It seems that the bomb she created was causing acid to rise in the dragon’s stomach! The dragon grew angry with the Legacy and with all of its might it began to attack the group feverishly. The dragon snarls at Zakuro sending another tail whip upon her, also flying to Trunks slashing him in the back to knock him unconscious. Seeing what was done Shiva screams in panic and tries to create a barrier around Trunks so the dragon will not injure him further. Tarno noticed the diversion Shiva made and tried to fight the dragon once more but the dragon saw him coming as well, sending Tarno into a pillar knocking him unconscious. Tuya growls from inside of the creature, feeling her aether surge and her mind goes blank. She feels something ancient, something primal take hold and she knows not to fight it. Tuya unleashes all of her aether from inside and pushed the dragon’s acids away from herself.

The ice encasing her is gone. Somehow Tuya was now covered in flames. Tuya let out a massive roar that could be heard Tuya was no more a Malaguld but, Chaghan...consumed by the Will of Karash. Shiva looked up in shock but decided while the dragon was deafened by Tuya she would create more ice rain that would stab the dragon once again. The dragon took out its anger on Shiva's attack on those nearby. The dragon was injured by so many attacks it began to fail at flying however it kept swinging around dangerously. Shiva tries to fly up again however, the dragon used whatever power it had to shoot a flame from its throat covering Shiva in flames. She screamed in pain and tried to crawl on her hands and knees. She could see that the dragon was ready to shred Tarno, and Trunks apart and with what little strength she had left she tried to create another barrier to protect them. Before falling unconscious, Shiva turned to Zakuro and Tuya and told them to do their best.


Zakuro staggered slightly, by keeping her feet straight as best as she could to keep fighting on behalf of The Legacy. Tuya let out another roar, as she began to slam her fists from inside of the dragon, forming a hole and draining small amounts of the acid to the innards of the creature. Zakuro swung her blade wildly in a cross pattern, over and over and over, sending a black wave of shadow up at the dragon one after another. Zakuro finished her wild assault by bringing the weapon back over her shoulder before unleashing what looked like a slice of the void itself at the dragon, slicing it open from throat to tail. As the dragon split in half Tuya and the dragon’s acids flew everywhere. Tuya groaned as she fell from the innards of the dragon, her clothes mostly dissolved and acid burns covering her body. As she fell into unconsciousness, a smile remained on her face.

A purple mist filled the room causing Dorion to rise and see the aftermath of the battle. Zakuro looks at Dorion proud and he was happy to see she was able to do something that he was unable to do. However, the group was now vulnerable and injured on the ground before him. Dorion cast a series of Ley Lines onto the ground casting another blood spell to heal the party before him. Although the group remained unconscious, they were slowly beginning to heal. Dorion’s magick was not enough and Zakuro barely had anything left in her. Dorion looked to see that Shiva had an open wound on her neck and with her magick and his combined he would be able to harness more strength to heal everyone. With Shiva being in a lethargic state Dorion would have to draw her power out of her in another way. Feeling guilty Dorion apologized before sinking his teeth deep into her neck. Dorion began to drink Shiva’s blood and continued to heal those on the ground. The Ley lines began to glow as if the Ley lines were going to port them to a new location. With the spell Dorion cast; The Legacy was unaware of an awakened danger.