Dragon Slaying

Military: Battle

The members of the expedition launch a daring ambush on the local diety of the Saltieunni Deviant in order to enact the violent backlash that would occur following it's death.   With Marrok agitating them further by slaying the cells located near to the tower, the remaining allies of the Expedition gather and prepare nearby; in addition to unknown parties also interested in "joining the party."

Gathering across a field of death fog - where the dragon would be forced low and to float on top of it as to flying high above within the Aetherian sea, where skyfisher lines would leave the task to kill it treacherously; the explorers would gather.   Representing the main body of the explorers was Alacard Liegan, Anise Minervudottir, Ferrous Starreader, Gabriel, Marrok Blackcrag, and Pennie Weaver who separated themselves on the floating islands in preparation.   Gathering to their own island, also was Bikk Mik'tenz, The Transmuter Witch Tess, and the vampiress Aressia, and her squads of trained guardsmen who would be providing supporting fire to the exploration members.   Finally, together would the Lady in Black, Death, as well as the Rage in Green, Nadilli stand atop their own island, prepared and combat ready to assault the shadow which quickly approached them.   From tip to tail, the dragon's body was over 300 feet long, a creature who long lost the definition of colossal, it was too large and with its mystical abilities it was able to attack from multiple parts of its body.   In addition to the strikes from its teeth, talons, and tail, it was also capable of three especially powerful attacks. One would be to unleash an elemental blast that would scorch wherever it struck in devastation. Another would be to slam it's physical form across an area, whilst the third was a psionic blast that would crush the mind of its victims and leave them confused and berserked into attacking their allies.   As combat began, numerous Saltieunni emerged and attempted to assault the expedition members, though their number had been previously decreased by Marrok's actions, and those that came bore signs of injury from his assaults. Making them a swift dispatch for the expeditious Gabriel.   Alacard, Anise, and Marrok would have the room to primarily focus their attention on the dragon. Launching ceaseless assaults against its body, whilst Ferrous and Pennie darted across the field in rapid motions, saving their allies from the various attacks performed from the dragon, and sparing them from the ensuing chaos.   This chaotic and noisy assault would draw in the interest of various other parties however - for those that had been watching the strange actions of the expedition, the Rockles nearby would fit themselves into their portable cannons and directly join the fight. With two scions of the race, led by a third one whose body strangely glowed with the power of luck itself launching themselves in order to disrupt one of the dragon's strikes.   Yet, the dragon seemed durable beyond reasonable, his thick scales making a seeming mockery of the damage inflicted. Any part of it's body left alone for too long visibly closing wounds meant that the expedition members were still troubled, as it sought to devour the very islands they stood upon.   Attentive to this behavior, it's mouth was thus one of the things very quickly attacked and addressed, many blows being sought against it as it swept through the isles and tried to bring the enemies low. even unleashing a call for more Saltieunni to join it.   Thus the deviants would come, various guardians, but more dangerously the healers whom would start to reverse the damage done by the expedition members, drawing away Marrok's attention in order to fell some of these problematic foes.   Though the harrying strikes against the dragon would not cease, between Anise and Nadilli, their teleporting strikes ensured that the dragon's body continually was damaged, as they flickered in and out of reality and between the hailstorm of bullets unleashed by Alacard.   With more Saltieunni arriving, there was a sudden clarion call of a loud horn in the distance as a giant golden ram joined the combat, though it's ephemeral form would disperse within the moments of the strike revealing two Eläin who had arrived in order to strike back against the creatures who had sleighted them so long ago.   Though one might remember the ancient disagreements with their race and mankind, what in fact was their target was the massive Dragon and it's companion Saltieunni, as one goat like Eläin gored and threw the smaller creatures off the islands, and the winged woman used both a longspear and her magic gauntlets to throw bursts of energy and strike with terrible force and mesmerizing grace.   It was through this combined method and assault, that the expedition members began to crack and shatter the Creature's scales, wounding each segment of it's body faster than it could remediate the damage, and without it's regeneration to fully sustain it's form, they sought to bring death to the creature.   Yet, how could a god easily die? How could one truly fell the master of one of the veins of the beating heart of the land? It was simply impossible for such a thing to happen. Reality could not allow such a thing to happen. fate could not allow such a thing to happen.   But, true fate had long since severed.   Anise would flicker in and out of reality. In and out of time, as shattered fragments of her selves would land strikes upon the dragon's body, as she opened up the numerous vulnerabilities. Dragging its thread out of the weave itself, and even as the dragon began to surge with the beat of life itself and render it reborn and energized anew, a collective gap was opened.   As Anise's strikes had shattered the scales and rendered them gapped and fragile, the Claws, lance, and spear of Aressia, Ferrous and the Eläin warmaiden charged the creature and struck it. Tearing apart its scales opening a great patch of flesh, whose rapid convulsion revealed one of the dragon's hearts underneath. An opening Exploited by Pennie whose silvery fist struck through the flesh and dove through it in a devouring strike. tearing a great hole into the rejuvenating heart.   But in its transformation, it had more than a single heart, of it's second heart, the battered body was torn into by the blades of Nadilli, Bikk'mikktenz and the fists of the Rockle leader, who directly tore a hole into the flesh. Opening a vulnerability in which the Gorumite Gabriel directly struck his foe. The Vital strike at a vital area rupturing it in a fierce gout of blood.   The third heart possessed by the creature was made vulnerable by the actions of the lady death who weakened the creature's jaws by necrotizing it, the Eläin messenger snapping the jaw open with a bash of his head, and exposing the throat of the creature, who would suffer a lancing case of indigestion as Marrok's arrows shot down the massive tube and pierced the third of the creature's hearts.   This drove the only remaining part of the creature into overdrive - the crystal which bestowed it's true connection to the leyline was buried deeply in the body, and as Anise started to fall into the death fog, she took hold of the hourglass which manifested her god's powers into the world and imbued it with her will, shattering time as she threw herself into one last assault.   Scales were torn away, flesh bruised and crushed, flesh parted as her gauntlets glowed with their magical energy and upon the grievous injury of one of her allies, blew a massive shockwave of flesh away from the dragon, exposing the crystalline core of it's body.   Time, being limited for all, makes a certain ironic sense however, that the one with the least remaining time left saw his opportunity - Alacard's body bubbling and twisting, the smoking tubes from which he fired his bullets glowing at the exterior as he unleashed one final volley, and left the crystal cracked - damaged. Terribly, and grievously broken down. With only one hairline fracture keeping it from total devastation.   Rendering the final blow, Anise's body twisted forward and struck at the heart of the crystal, shattering it with one remaining strike and then resulting in an explosion so fierce it singed the tips of her hair, even as her instantaneous teleportation took her a safe distance way atop one of the nearby islands.   With no hearts, and it's crystal core shattered - the dragon's body seized, the lungs twisting, yet with the terrible damage it had taken, not even a death cry could be unleashed - and it's body would fall silently into the depths of the death fog, where even the sound of it striking the ground below would be silenced.   Uncannily, peace would settle amidst them, at least until the explorers would look to the northern horizon, and see the world become undo - those who could see magic watching the surging tide of magic invert and clash against itself, as wild phenomena manifested in terrible forms, the ground tearing and shredding itself to pieces as it underwent the terrible consequence of it's deity dying. The land itself wounding as great pillars of energy slammed into the sky, igniting it in multi-colored hues brighter than the Sun and moon which both hung overhead.   This was a vengeance, and punishment - and a message. The Saltieunni were under attack, and they now knew it. For all their confidence in the war they had started, they now understood a fear. A cold fear, and recognition of the enemy they had just made.