[Christmas Valley Battle Royale] - Roleplaying Thread, December 2014

[Paillan]

((Leila will join LoveLight of course. Dante won't be around for a while, since I have left behind Leila for far to much, this is her time))
___________________________________
Leila & Co ~ Flying house ruin
___________________________________

Leila kept flying in circles around the house from time to time. He bow drawn, the arrow ready to shoot to any treat that would apear. Things where going far good though, as they where flying above a sea of clouds. Leila rested for a while, and put her hand in her belly, which had been growing a lot since that time. She wouldn't be able to hid it much longer...
Leila sighted, and sit back, enjoyed the moment. Them she started to patrol again.

From inside the ruined house, gyro was looking worried towards her
"She has overcomed a lot of worries. Far to much. I am afraid she will break mentally apart if something very bad happens"

"She is strong" Yuno said "Strong as I never believed her to be. Far stronger than when she was human"

"Well, let's hope she can endure it" Dawn says "But why do we have to carry this guy?" He said pointing to Bran

"Thief or worst, he promised to help us. He doesn't have much options either" Gyro replied.
Bran yust looked to the distance.

 

[Amargaard]

.
.

______________________________________________________

Go'an Wise-Horn, the McPatrickus Bros. & Rheiko ~ Getting Started!
______________________________________________________

Rheiko the shapeshifting Christmas Elf arrived in Santania with the two refugees. The McPatrickus brothers were happy to be let into the warmth after the cold journey away from Cartellaña.

Rheiko took the brothers to his leader, the Minitaur Go'an Wise-Horn, and the brothers told all they knew about the maniacs and demons grouping up in Cartellaña, seemingly preparing for a huge war. The Minitaur was surprised by the warning, but was quick to act.

He opened a box and handed guns to the red-bearded twins, then told them to practice. Leprey McPatrickus found it funny to hold a gun for some reason - he wasn't really the warmongering type. Clurey was of course more serious about the situation.
Go'an turned to Rheiko and ordered him to prepare the Christmas Elven army for a mission.

They have to retake their ancient lands, before the enemies arrive at their doorstep, he thought!

Meanwhile, a flying building approached Santania from the distance.

Leprey with his gun

 

[Paillan]

((Ventus is also around in Santania))
.
.

____________________________________________
Ventus ~ Flying house
____________________________________________

Ventus had been training hard since the demon escaped weeks ago. He still was pissed with the reaction of the leaders of the elves, but at least they have proved to him that the idol of Christmas had rised again. But it was different. They would likely get no aid from him, as he was now a subject of fear and distrust for everybody in Santania.
Ventus Lifted his head and sighted. He saw a house in the sky. He put his head down and them realized what he had just seen. He lifted his head again and rubbed his eyes to be sure. The house was flying towards them
"Flying house incoming!" Ventus said

 

[Amargaard]

.
.

__________________________________________________________

The Mad King, Alwin the Fist & Larxe the Sinful One ~ Moving Forward!
__________________________________________________________

"Aaaahhh, the memories..." the Mad King spoke as he looked forward upon the snowy plains of the Christmas Valley, with a voice awkwardly mixed between nostalgy and disgust.

Mania wanted to wait back in Cartellaña until having a perfect strategy against their enemies, but the Mad King could wait no longer. With Alwin and Larxe by his side, and a huge army behind him that was made up of Hell demons and Destruction Revenants, he had already ordered the start of the mission.

"Onwards demons! Kill every last one of them!" he shouted in anger, and continued forward.

The Mad King and his army

 

[Paillan]

.
.

_____________________________________________________________
Leila, Ventus, Go'an wise horn, Dilrin ~ Allies and first line of defense
_______________________________________________________________

The whole army was set in alarm. Archers where ready, mages where ready, spearman where ready. They just awaited the order. Them...
"Drop your weapons" Go'an ordered "I see an angel on the house"
It was true. Sitting in the roof of the house, there was a beautiful female angel. The soldiers did as told. They left a space to let the house land.
"Greetings, Christmas elves" The angel said "Long time no see Go'an!"

"Do I know you?" Go'an said confused

"Maybe. I will explain latter. What is important now is that we came to help. As we where on our way here, we saw the legion take control over the pine forest"

"That means we should move... We built a palissade in the staircase between the lower and upper valley. We should convert it into stone with magic as soon as possible, hopefully to something even bether" Go'an said
"Troops, we are moving out! Dilrin you will stay here with 3 batalions in case anything happens. The rest, move and follow me"

"Yes sir" Dilrin and all the soldiers said and started the march. Leila walked along Go'an, followed closely by Thylleon, Gyro, and a bit behind Bran. Behind him was Juno. Dawn had decided to stay in Santania with her kitties

Go'an looked behind "That's a fair strange fellowship you carry around, angel. Tell me your story while we walk"

Leila started explaining.
After she had finished, they where already there.

Pallisade

 

[Sky Green]

_____________________________________________________________

Bran Saligia, Dawn (mentioned), Gyro ~ Thief no more
_____________________________________________________________

Needless to say, Bran's thoughts took him to a place far away. He had collected 4 personas out of 7. Although he initially brushed off Dawn's rather impolite comment, and was rather fine with Gyro being somewhat accepting, a few moments later something snapped. It was as if some irrational wrath was trying to take over Bran and his body. But that made no sense, or did it? Perhaps by gathering so many personas, he became able sense the rest, which then manifested as the sin they represented. As he walked towards the palisades, the feeling of wrath became stronger. Bran was able to get a hold of himself, but the wrath fueled his latent magical powers and caused him to radiate heat, which was surprisingly useful in this situation. As he melted the snow with every step, he came closer to Gyro.

He then proceeded to whisper in his ear.
"Master Gyro, I humbly request a short talk with you, it is quite urgent."

Gyro was baffled at Bran's sudden... Well compared to his usual personality, he was quite talkative. But he overlooked that, and curiously responded to Bran:
"Yes, Bran? What is it?"
A short response, yet it satisfied Bran. Short and simple, he prefered that in such a situation.

Bran wasn't quite able to express himself in words, atleast not yet while he was 4/7 of a man. But that didn't stop him from trying.
"Well you see, I've been having this issue lately. I'm feeling my wrath persona somewhere near. This odd sense is manifesting itself as an irrational feeling of wrath. I believe Wrath is in our vicinity. Somewhere behind the palisades. I humbly ask you for a favour, as I know I don't deserve it, but is there any way I could get some help in catching Wrath? I promise it'll pay off sooner or later."

Gyro's befuddled look announced his clumsy respone.
"I-I... I uhh... I will see what I can do, Bran."
He then proceeded towards the rest of his company to discuss Bran's rather unusual request.

 

[Paillan]

.
.

_________________________________
Gyro, Leila, Bran ~ Tranquility
_________________________________

Gyro told to Leila and the other what he had heard and been requested of. They looked worried towards Bran, but them Leila said

"That's why his inner energies are in such a turnboil... he got separated from his original sins" Leila said "Well he might become very unstable if he get's closer to wrath" She got closer to bran

"Yes ma'am?" Bran said anxious

"Strech you hand please, I will heal your wounded soul. Don't worry you will still able to catch wrath. But you won't we a worry to us in case you can't hold him well"

"Well... okey" Bran said and streched his hand. Leila put her hands over it and made some magic

 

[Amargaard]

.
.

__________________________________________________________

Lujon the Blue Mage & Misstress Frederica Bernkastel ~ DarkIce!
__________________________________________________________

In the highest tower of Icelis, Lujon walked up to the Christmas Gear. It was levitating in the middle of the room, spinning and glowing. He moved his hand into the magic energy, absorbing it for a while, then looked to the uninvited guest in his tower. Bernkastel had proposed to make an alliance against all of the mortals, and Lujon's foolish brother, Vengeancekael the Storyteller.

”Getting rid of my brother would surely make it easier to carry out my plan of ridding the world of stupid mortals... fine, I accept your proposal, misstress.” he answered with a face with a way too serious expression on his face.

”Excellent” she replied.

”My first move,” Lujon said, and charged the magic of the Christmas Gear, ”will be to call upon a blizzard so powerful that not even my brother's castle can hide from it in the sky...!”

With that said, the weather changed in all of the Christmas Valley!

Lujon and the Christmas Gear

 

[Sky Green]

((Paillan, you didn't really answer Bran's request))

__________________________________

Bran Saligia, Leila ~ Impatience
__________________________________

Bran, although extremely grateful that Leila gave him the strength to resist Wrath's post-absorbtion side-effects, was also a bit irritated. They didn't really answer to his request, so he calmly walked up to Leila, attempting once more to get what he wants.

"Ma'am, you still did not answer my request" He said in a mild manner.

Leila turned around and looked at him saying: "And what was your request, dear? I have a feeling Gyro forgot to mention it."

Disappointment, a feeling he hadn't felt in ages. He expected more from Gyro, but it seems that to him the only important part was to mention that he might be dangerous. But, he had to carry on, they were the only ones he could call up for help.

With a what seemed to be a sincere smile he pleaded once more. "Ma'am Leila, I once more humbly request that you gather a small group of soldiers for me, preferably those with better tracking skills, who would join me on my hopefully short quest. And since you blessed me with the ability to control Wrath, I have a feeling this will go quite well. I hope you approve as this is quite a rare chance that I can find a sin."

Lord Saligia was in a interesting situation now. A man, literally of sin, was depending on an angel to capture more sins. Humorous, to say the least, but the humour should be saved for another occassion. Because now, Bran awaits Leila's response.

 

[kari0003]

"Yes my king. Gladly my king." Furfur said, bowing before the mad king. He was not used to be called to the Mad King's council, and it meant him a great honor to be so.

He was bigger than an average demon, almost as tall as the Mad King. With a goat skull as his helmet with tails of black hair and his muscular bust he looked quite terrifying.

He lead some of the voidwalker minotaurs that came from the destruction realm, but his elite squad was made of demon brutes.

"I will sneak in Santania, and kill Go'an wisehorn on the cost of my own life if I have to." Without his leadership, the elves of Christmas has little chance to win this war.

 

[Paillan]

((To bad for Furfur, we left Santania defended, and Go'an is not there ))
.

_____________________________________________
Leila, Bran ~ Wrath
_____________________________________________

"I am afraid that even if I am an angel, I have no comanding power over the elves. We'll have to do with us" Leila said

"What?" Bran said confused

"I will help you, so this ends quick" Leila exposed. She them lifted Bran, and before he knew what was happening, they where above a tree, watching their surroundings

"He... Hey!" Bran said

Leila ignored him and asked "Can you sense him?"

"I think so..." Bran said and tried to focus "He is... over there" He said pointing towards a big stone.

"Good" Leila said and lifted him again and landed near it.

"HEY!" Bran said again crapling

"Just go get him. We are at war, we don't have the time of such silly acts. The army will get moving again to make another pallisade and more near the only bridge that connects the valley. It's near Shedfort. The ice bridge of the south was already blown up" Leila said and went behind a tree

Blow up fo bridge in point 6

 

[Vinz]

[TD]

Eressor the Venomancer
joins team InsaneFire
---------------------

[td]
The venomous practitioner took his first steps in the world of Kaelicious. His previous attempts to enter have failed;
they were back then when things were sweet. Rather annoyingly sweet. Nonetheless, fueled by his innate hatred for Christmas,
- which he views as a wicked occasion - he joins InsaneFire under the service of the Oktoberfest Idol, Kenny.
...Which makes some weak sense, since Kenny fully disappeared in O(c)ktober, never to be heard of again. Or at least not yet.

Eressor ponders above the Staircase with his Venomdrake, unaware of the nearby Lovelight forces...

Click

[/td]

 

[kari0003]

_________________

Furfur ~ Blizzard
_________________________

Furfur and his brutes were climbing up the icy cliff to the upper plains of the North. They wanted to get to Santania without making an appearance, so they decided not to take the stairs.

They flew halfway up, when a big blizzard approached. It was so massive that their wings couldn't keep up with it, so they flew to the wall of ice, and held onto it.

They were climbing an hour in the storm when they finally got to the top. They searched for a place to rest in the suffocating cold, but the only they could find is the frozen bodies of the elven sentinels. They are not reporting any intruders now, do they.

Two of the demon fighters picked up the dead bodies, they might be good for something later. They continued their way in the dark with fire glowing in their hands.

 

[Paillan]

.
.
____________________________________
A lot of people ~ Ice of Doom
____________________________________

The army had been keeping it's pace even under this unatural strom that was falling in the valley. The mages kept the army warn, and the sorceress kept the trail clean. The priests kept healing anybody who got hurt with this sharp and fast falling ice. The journey was still very slow for Ventus, he was bored. He had seen Bran but hadn't be able to talk to him as he had been taken instantly by this angel woman. Behind him, that elf Thyleon and that greppet where walking to. The greppet semmed the most affected, but he didn't complained. He them remembered the cat that was in his shoulder. Always looking forward, like the climate wasn't affecting it at all.
They took long, but they finally arrived to the half-cut hill.
"STOP!" Go'an ordered and everybody stopped "It's getting darker and darker, and we are all tired. The defenses are already being built so we must not worry much about that. we will camp here for the night" He finished.

storm

 

[Sky Green]

___________________

Bran Saligia ~ Wrath
___________________

Leila dropped Bran off near Wrath who was for some unknown reason merely observing a large stone. He carefully walked up to him, attempting to go unnoticed, but Wrath had already known what was bound to happen.

Wrath turned around quickly and with a smirk he stated: "You don't get it, do you?

Bran, at first surprised that he was noticed, quickly responded "What do you mean by that?"

"Amusing..." said Wrath "But you should understand one thing. I am the manifestation of one of the most powerful sins, but you are not the one who has triggered my wrath. No, it was the Sinful One, since I am, after all, a part of you. I'm going to let you absorb me, because Pride and Envy have always been, still are, and always will be your biggest challenges. And you'll need my powers, especially during this period, as it will be bloody, and pure hell for yo-"

Bran interrupted Wrath by beginning the absorbation "I don't have the time for your silly little speeches"

Wrath only laughed manically and said his final words "You might be absorbing me, but I will be the one consuming you..."

Bran ignored his threats and ventured towards the newly created camp to meet up with Leila and the rest of the company. He was a new man now, and hopefully, Leila's powers will protect him from the side-effects... Because hope is all he has.

 

[kari0003]

___________________

FurFur ~ Santania
___________________________

Furfur and his soldiers were struggling with the storm. He was sure that the storm was caused by the vicious elves, who were not accepting their almost sure defeat. It is clever that they are using cold against demons, but not enough. -He thought.

The storm made the demons slower and blind, but it also made the elves blind. They almost hit their noses into Santania when they arrived. The windows were dark, and the walls were covered with snow and ice from the storm. Furfur started to wonder if anybody was home, but he didn't let his guard down.

They climbed over the walls assassins, straight to the main house -the home of Santa Claus- killing the few guards without a noise. The thirteen demon warriors sneaked up to the house, and surrounded it. Furfur peaked in the window and to his surprise, he saw his old -before corruption- ideal inside; Cupid.

 

[Paillan]

((Somehow I completely forggot about him))
.

________________________________________
Dilrin, Cupid ~ Demons in the door
________________________________________

Cupid looked though the window and lifted an eyebrown

"Demons are here, they probably sneaked. Brave, to come here in the middle of a storm"

Dilrin looked at him and them said "What will we do?"

"I could probably just smash them, I don't see a treat in any of them. But maybe we can convice them..." Cupid said

"You know, the chance of finding a demon like Paillan was are very low" Dilrin said

"Yeah, but we have this" Cupid said, the light rod in his hand "If we hit them with it, there are 2 options. Either they die because the large amount of holy energy or they revert. I had been talking to the god of light all this time but he doesn't care. So we need our own angels"

"Do you have a plan?" Dilrin said

"Yes I do..." Cupid answered. They started planing.

 

[Amargaard]

.
.

__________________________________________________________

The Mad King, Alwin the Fist & Larxe the Sinful One ~ Moving Forward!²
__________________________________________________________

The Mad King stopped up moments before he would have reached the bridge to the snowy plains of the Christmas Valley. He looked at his two servants, Alwin & Larxe, and said:

"You two will stay here in the pine wood. I need loyal eyes and ears that I can trust, near Mania that tricky bitch... Meanwhile, me and the army continue forward and meet with Era-, .. Eorah-, .. Eirarh-, ... -"

"Eressor, sir." Larxe interupted, and added "the Venomancer Scout your son sent to spy on the Christmas Elves."

"Yes, him! He will have the information we need! Onwards, demons of Hell and Revenants of the Destruction Realm! Onwards to victory!" the Mad King shouted, and left with his army...

Awkward silence... the Sinful One and the Fist never really liked each other - the only thing that kept them together were their loyalty to the Mad King. They headed back to Cartellaña, or so they thought... they accidentally ended up in the Shedfort!

"Ew!" exclaimed the Fist, and continued "this place reek of dark magic! Magic that is considered a deadly crime to use in the Fire God's law!"

"You're overreacting, Alwin... the old myths about a rivalry between the Fire God and the Dark God is just that... myths. Darkness is actually not that bad! Anyway, look at that cannon - I'll bet our King would love to having us use it against our enemies." the Sinful One had successfully manipulated his fat engineer colleague.

Soon Alwin was aiming the Shedfort Death Ray at one of the Christmas Elven Encampments in the valley.

The Fist and the Death Ray

 

[Paillan]

((Wow Alwin, you REALLY need to do some sport. BTW there's a huge snow storm, how can he know where we are in such a mess?))
.

______________________________
The army ~ Battle in the bridge
______________________________

"General! General Go'an! General Go'an Wise horn!" And Elven scout running was shouting everywhere. He them bumped with someone, it was the general itself.

"Calm down soldier" Go'an said helping him to lift up "What's wrong?"

"Sir! the Legion is moving towards the bridge! our defenses there need support or else they will be crushed!" The soldier said

"Everybody, move out!" Go'an said "I want a small group to stay here with captain Ventus, the rest of you, follow me!"

Ventus nodded and started selecting his soldiers. If he was going to defend this spot, he would choose the one's he could trust

"General, how much men am I able to choose?" He asked Go'an

"Take 300. I know it's not good enought to defend this place, but in case everything goes wrong, enter the cave and seal yourself. there should be a secret passage to Santania there. Now I need to move out, good luck, Commander Ventus!" Go'an said and left him

Ventus opened his mouth. It had took him months to become captain, and now he had been promoted a lot of ranks in just one second. He didn't gave him to much thoughs, and started selecting his men.

After a while, the army was ready. Ventus had already choosed his 300 soldiers, and the rest had gathered.

"Now my brave soldiers, the enemy is at our door steps! move out!"

The entire army started moving. The bridge wasn't far away from there, but it took them long to reach it due to the storm.

 

[Paillan]

((they can't have reached the staircase, the elven army is in the bridge...))

_______________________________________
The army ~ Doom ahead
_______________________________________

As they reached the bridge, they saw something was wrong. The forces that where supposed to be there wasn't and there was nothing built. At the other side of the bridge, they could see the demon army gathering.

"We only have 3 cannons, general Go'an!" The engineers said "And there are no defenses to protect them!"

"Leila, I need a hand" Go'an said, Liela nodded "24'Th company, split in 3 groups and defend the cannons, you are now officially under Leila's command!"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers said

A think, strange and cold fog was starting to arrange around them.

"Good, this helps" Go'an said "EVERYBODY! HIDE IN THE FOG! WE WILL WAIT FOR THEM!"

The movements where played, and the parts where there. Who would win?

bridge FTW

 

[kari0003]

((Remember, that Cupid is not so powerful since he lost his Idol powers))
______________________________

Furfur and Cupid ~ Hostage situation
______________________________________

Seeing that it's only the former Idol of Love Cupid, a kobold and some christmas elves are in the room, Furfur ordered to brake in. The demons smoked in the windows, covering the area, and disarming the elves. They didn't resist, on cupid's orders.

Furfur went straight for Cupid, and placed his hand on the smiling man's neck. He didn't notice, that when they came in Cupid secretly hid the rod of light under his white robe.

"What do you want here? You are not possessed by insanity, you have no beef with me." Cupid asked kindly.

"Where is Go'an Wisehorn! Tell me his location." Furfur rattled, and hardened his hand to show that he is serious.

"I would Love to tell you, but honestly i dont know." Cupid answered, and smiled. "If you are looking for shelter we can help you, but really this is a place out of the warzone. If you are looking for the battle, the army left days ago." He said, keeping his hands in the air showing no offense.

"You talk too much!" Furfur shouted. "I thought that an Idol like you wouldn't lie in such a pitiful way."

"I'm not happy to hear that." Cupid answered, lowering his voice. "You can take me as a hostage if that makes you feel better, but i cant help you."

"That is exactly what I'm going to do" Furfur answered, and tied Cupid's hands.

 

[Amargaard]

((I am making two posts in one. You should not do that. I am only doing so, because right now the plot is very confusing - to me at least, and this is to reveal where everybody are. First post is placed in location "3" on the Christmas Valley Map. Second post takes place at the bridge between the snowy plains and the pine wood.))

____________________________________________________________

Captain Ventus, Thylleon the Elf, the McPatrickus bros. & Juno the Cat ~ Deja Vu
____________________________________________________________

Captain Ventus was looking at his camp, placed just next to the tallest mountain in the valley. Ventus was only a young man, but he was in charge of all these Christmas Elven soldiers, wow! He loved the feeling of responsibility!

BOOOM!!!

A beam of dark energy hit without warning, destroying half of the camp, and with it half of his troops! Many lives were lost - Thylleon the Elf was one of them. The surviving Christmas Elves ran screaming in different directions! What should he do? He tried keep his head straight, but it was impossible.

Meanwhile Juno the white cat had been feeling a deja vu. Last Christmas, his camp of Christmas supporters, placed on top of a tall mountain, had also been hit by such a devastating beam. Back then, the beam destroyed half of the mountain side, revealing a cave into it.

This time, a lavine had also revealed the side of the nearby tall mountain! Juno gasped - it was the same mountain! And the same cave!

He ran to Captain Ventus, and spoke to the captain with the mechanical speaking device placed around his neck:
"Ventus, quick! Follow me into that cave! Inside of it is the last hope of Christmas! A lake filled with magical Christmas Energy! Come!"

The cat ran off, expecting Ventus to follow. He could not - his duty was with these people - "McPatrickus brothers! Follow the cat! Protect him at all costs!" he ordered to the nearest troops. Leprey and Clurey went off, into the dark cave, chasing Juno.

Niss Captain Ventus and Leprey McPatrickus

_________________________________________________________________________

Go'an, Gyro, Leila, Bran, the Mad King & Eressor ~ Christmas Valley Battle Royale, pt. 1
_________________________________________________________________________

Niss Commander Go'an Wise-Horn tapped on the totem on his back, and thus stopped his fog-magic for a while. It was getting hard to see even for him now.
Bran Saligia stood nearby, and as tension grew, so did the feeling wrath inside of him. Soon he couldn't wait to rip the heads off approaching demon imps!

Behind them, Leila walked from one group of Christmas elven engineers to another. Their three Crystal cannons were set, and would definitely be their best weapon in this war against the demon army.

Gyro walked over to her, "Don't you think you should relax for a while, sweet Leila?" he asked kindly, and added "The.. tiny one needs a mother more than this war needs an angel."

She whispered back, still trying to hide the fact that she was pregnant from anyone but Gyro:
"The child is granted to me by the God of Light. He also wish that I participate in this war. It is our destiny." she replied, trying to sound more harsh than she is. The Grepett looked worried to the woman.

"And that God also led you to marry Am'ar Kardos - what would he think, Leila?" he asked, a bit more accusing in his voice. A single tear fell from her chin.

"I saw him, Gyro... I saw him in the war. He has become a maniac like all the others" she cried. Gyro comforted her the best he could.

That was when one of the cannons was suddenly hit by a green venomous orb of energy from the sky! A venomdrake flew over them before they could react. Leila snapped out of emotions!

"Archers! Get it down!" she yelled.

At the same time, the demons had crossed the bridge and the first creatures of Hell clashed together with Go'an Wise-Horn's Niss troops!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Christmas Valley Battle Royale have begun!

 

[kari0003]

_______________________________

Furfur, Cupid, Gyro ~ Love messenger
_______________________________________

Furfur examined the bow and arrow of Cupid while the other demons were searching the place. Cupid, Dilrin and the elves were sitting cuffed in the middle of the room.

"Everything's empty, he is not here." one of his soldiers whispered, and Furfur nodded.
"He is not here now, but he will be." Furfur smiled, and drew the bow. "You can make people fall in love with this thing right? You can manipulate them."

He placed an arrow with a little heart on the end on the bow. "So if i manipulate Go'an to come back to you, he will not be able to resist." Furfur aimed the magically fueled arrow, and released it.

The arrow flew straight out one window and disappeared in the distance. It will find the leader of the christmas elves, and make him feel homesick for Santania.

It was only a matter of coincidence that instead of Go'an Wisehorn, it hit Gyro the grepett who perhaps had the biggest heart in the Niss.

 

[Bernkastel]

___________________________________________


Bernkastel, Lujon & Alagremm - the Wheel of Fate
___________________________________________________


The blizzard beat Lujon's frozen fortress like a slave driver his bitches.
Emotionlessly, Bernkastel stared at the large window above the entrance, the beautifully decorated window surely was a sight to see.
Gentle footsteps echoed in the halls, as the sound got louder, Bernkastel set her gaze to the ground next to her and soon Lujon's shape entered her sight.

"It's a beautiful window. Isn't it, lady Bernkastel?" Lujon said amused

Bernkastel set her eyes on Lujon for a moment, then back at the window and closing her eyes.
"Yes, it indeed is a fine piece of craftmanship. What is the story it holds?"

The wizard smiled shortly and responded
"This window along with this entire city was crafter by the greatest architects and masons to ever tread this realm.
The window images the one the elves worshipped as a deity, and his heroic deeds of saving them from extinction. The fortress city of Icelis-"

Lujon's bragging was interrupted as the window shattered into millions of pieces as a small object flew through it, crashing into the ground.
It was lying just an inch from the duo.
Bernkastel hadn't moved an inch, she had frozen in place with a surprised look on her face.
Lujon stared the object and then glanced at the trashed window as the blizzard raged through the shattered glass.

"So this is what your appereance causes, devil!" Lujon raged.
"You do not only appear here to humiliate me, but to also destroy my precious home! Just look at the damage!"

After Lujon's words had echoed in the hall for a brief moment, the window began reforming itself and the item started floating.

Bernkastel didn't say a word, she only stared at the window repairing itself, then she glanced at the object.

Then a wide smile filled Lujon's face and he started laughing
"Do you see, lady Bernkastel!? The elves even imbued this place with magic!"

Bernkastel stuttered
"N-no.. That.. T-that is the Cup of Denial..!"

Lujon looked at Bernkastel with an entertained face.
" .. The cup of what? You do realize that whatever you think that this object is, it's definitely not what you're suggesting."

She grunted and shifted towards Lujon.
" This, is the Cup of Denial! The only artifact that has ever been brought from the Gremm!""

The Blue Wizard stared at her disappointed.
" You are not saying that you believe in fairy tales now, are you? "

"You have been living under a rock, Lujon. One who has not witnessed Gremm has an entirely new reality to behold."
She sneered and a pentacle appeared infront of her hand.
It started spinning faster and faster, until it was whirling and looked like a hole in the realm itself.
"Now behold Alagremm - the Prophet!"

As a bright flash of light filled the room, Lujon covered his eyes with his arm and as the light finally was gone, what he saw was unexpected - nothing.

Lujon blew into a ridiculing laughter.
"This is what you are able to do? Flashy shows? I surely do not regret joining up with you, you make an excellent jester!"

Bernkastel stood there, emotionlessly, just staring.

"... Alagremm? Is he...?" She muttered.

She looked around the room, trying to find him, but nothing.
After a short delay a pile of rags fell on the floor.
Bernkastel's eyes widened and she whispered ".. Dead."
Lujon couldn't hold his laughter once again, he could barely breathe as he bawled.
" This is your prophet?! More like your undergarments, princess! Hahahaha! "
Lujon turned and started heading back to his throne room as he chortled.


" I do not tolerate anyone interfering with my plans.. Especially when it comes to an old friend!

Bernkastel stomped the ground and streams of blood formed a new pentacle under what was left of the prophet, she stepped out and reached her hand inside the vicious circle.
The wizard couldn't care for less and continued marching away from his ally.

"Hear me, citizens of Icelis!
You are manifestations of betrayal and vengeance!
Revert what has been done, for the same fate has fallen upon me!
Grant me your souls and you will have yet another chance to punish the living who betrayed you!"

The tower itself started to quake as these words were echoing across the entire city, from the buildings, the walls and the ground, souls rose and twirled around Lujon's home.
The wizard could no longer just ignore and was shocked of what was happening.

"What are you doing!? Is this another one of your schemes!? We had a deal!"
Lujon screamed from a distance.

"And I am not breaking it" Bernkastel said calmly

The door opened with an extreme force, as thousands of souls entered the room and began floating around Bernkastel and soon began flew above the pentacle.

"Join my cause that is righteous! Bring your vengeance and hatred upon this world! And reincarnate the prophet who will lead us all to Paradise!"

The cloak started gaining figure, hands that were clawing the ground appeared, slowly pushing the rest up.
A cloaked humanoid figure stood there, draining more and more souls inside him, strengthening the prophet, soul by soul.
As finally the last soul entered its new host it looked like all the light they created was sucked away in a mere breath.

The main entrance closed in an instant and the room was pitch black.
Only a faint glow remained that was following the rasp heavy breathing.

Bernkastel looked at where she expected his head to be and asked
" ... Alagremm? "

 

[kari0003]

______________________

Furfur, Cupid ~ Light
______________________________

Furfur lowered the bow, but he didn't want to let go. It was his now. He wanted to only touch this bow for long years, and now he could even try it. It was like a dream coming true. Of course demons don't have dreams. He wondered how powerful he will be with this bow. Maybe even become a commander in Mad King's army. Maybe one day he gets a realm to rule over.

Perhaps he made a mistake wondering about all those things, because he didn't notice how Cupid escaped his cuffs and reached under his robe. Interestingly all of the demons found something lovely to look, something that dragged their eyes at at the time Cupid got free.

The only thing they noticed after being charmed is that Cupid leaps forward, and hits Furfur on the head with a glowing light rod. A holy blast shook the ground.

 

[Paillan]

((Fine... Since I couldn't find what I was looking for, at least I will make a post))
.

_______________________________________________________
Leila, Gyro, Go'an, Mad king ~ armies at clash!
_______________________________________________________

As soon as the cannons where attacked by the demon drake knights, a battlecry was heared on the other side of the bridge, and they could hear the Mad king's orders.

"KILL THEM ALL!" he said.

Them they saw the huge amount of demons, revenants and other creatures, start crossing the bridge at a massive speed, strugling to be the first to reach the other side.

"Archers ready! Soldiers, defensive position! Mages, Sorceress, get ready!" Go'an screamed, he them screamed even louder "LEILA! HOW ARE THE CANNONS DOING?!"

"NOT SO GOOD! ONE OF THEM REQUIRES REPAIRS! AND THERE'S MORE DRAKE KNIGHTS HERE!" Leila replied screaming too. She took her bow out and started shooting to the drake's, but it was pointless, she couldn't aim well with this climate. She took away the bow, took out the hammer, and flied after the drake's, smashing one, two, three of them.

Gyro was looking worried to her, but he didn't said anything. The arrow that had hit him before was starting to act, and he was feeling more worried about Santania than the bridge. He decided to return, since he wasn't a warrior. He could only hope that everything would end well.

 

[Vinz]

[TD]

Demons arrive; Eressor dies
---------------------

[td]
The Mad King's forces arrive opposite the LoveLight army position, led by Doom Guards and Hotdogs.

Eressor, trying to see more of the enemy through the fog, accidentally slips down the river, falling to his rocky death.

Click

Click

This does not mean I'm out of the RP. I just killed the character.
[/td]

 

[Wolffman]

Ladies and gents, enter, Wolfgang Pucklebears, a new player in team DarkIce..
This reply is my starting, and it's a bit short, but don't be disappointed by this, I'll be back with more..

_______________________________________________________
Mr. Pucklebears and the Cold
_______________________________________________________

The uproar and war-sounds woke Wolfgang up, he starts glaring madly in the distance at the old workshop of Santa Claus
"Shivering.. Shivering in the shallow wintry winds, Must I get to the land o' Icelis, where is my distant kin."
He walks on from the ruins and slowly notices his body, shifting towards the cold, his skin turning pale, and his once bright, colorful garments turning black and blue in all sides.
"I feel as if I've frozen, to the point o' no return, if I transform, my skin shall ne'er burn"
He spoke, as his eyes turned blue, he smirked, and kept walking, days upon days, as he finally reached a small path which lead into Icelis, he looked up above to notice a frozen fortress, with no signs of life nearby, he crept towards the gates, and knocked on the doors.

 

[kari0003]

__________________________

Furfur ~ Fire & Light & Darkness
__________________________________

Furfur did not feel the hit on the back of his head. He only felt that the whole world changed in an instant. Forces attacking his own definition and conscience rose from everywhere.

He saw his mortal life, a citizen of Cartellana as he rose from the ashes when he birthed down to this world. He lived his life chasing love but he never found it. He died in hatred and emptiness, left cold on a street in his own blood.

Fire took over. It devoured his ghost leaving nothing but hate and rage. A new creature formed. Ages passed until his personality merged into a whole from the fractions there were left. He became a demon hitman with loyalty towards the Idol. And he was good at it. Until that too was perished.

Light filled the empty shell. Renewing everything he was about. His conscience rose to a higher level, and he could feel the powers beyond mortals. The God of Light called him to make him into an angel. But there was something more powerful powerful.

"Join my cause that is righteous! Bring your vengeance and hatred upon this world!" The words permanently clanged from the north. Words of darkness. They shadowed the light, and disconnected him. Leaving nothing behind. He was no human, no demon, no angel anymore.

"Who am I?" He woke up in the snowy plains.

 

[Bernkastel]

___________________________________________

Bernkastel, Lujon, Alagremm & Wolfgang Pucklebears - The Last of Kin
___________________________________________________


Silence filled the air as newly forged figure inspected his surroundings.

Alagremm let out a sneer and blurted "It appears that my absence has ravaged your taste maliciously."
He set his gaze on the cup and after a faint green glow, it rapidly disappeared into the Prophet's sleeve.

"I believe what you wanted to say was-"
As Bernkastel opened her mouth, after a moment Alagremm's finger was already blocking the words from her mouth.

"Oh, but I am SO happy to see you, it's been so long and do you know where they keep the tea around here?"


Bernkastel pushed Alagremm's hand further away from her.
And at this very moment Alagremm began heading to the stairs off to find something to satisfy his thirst.
After taking a few steps, the Wizard was already greeting him.
"Greetings, "Prophet". I am Lujon, the Blue Wizard, the most pow-"

His words were like air to Alagremm as he floated past the man.
Bernkastel's emotionlessly stared at Alagremm's back as he disappeared into the shadows. Lujon as well was observing the situation for a moment, with a slightly irriated look on his face soon he charged after him.
"You will not pillage my home, darkspawn!"


Once again Bernkastel stood alone in the hall. She stared at the floor littered with blood, she stretched to reach the floor and wiped it with her finger.
For a moment she stared at her finger, then closed her eyes and put it inside of her mouth and sucked it clean.

She wrinkled her nose and spat.
"Bitter."

A knocking sound echoed in the halls. Gently, Bernkastel walked to the door and pulled the heavy old door open, letting the ruthless blizzard wipe the floor once more.

Something stood there, something that resembled a christmas elf, but yet was nothing like them.
Its clothes wore the colors of black and dark blue, its skin was pale as snow and an empty blue glow faintly emitted from its eyes.

The creature collapsed on the floor. Panting heavily.

Bernkastel walked over the exhausted elf and pushed the door shut. Once more stomping the body of the creature, she walked towards the stairs to reunite with her allies.
Seeing the lady walk away from him, the creature grasped the air and muttered unrecognizable words.

Bernkastel stopped for a moment and said
"I believe you are here for Lujon, but his concerns are not mine, find him when you consider yourself ready"

Bernkastel's figure slowly faded as the exhausted visitor lost his conciousness.

 

[Paillan]

.
.

______________________________________
Leila & the others ~ Missing on battle
______________________________________

Leila had been smashing drake knights for more time than she could know. The battle had keep on getting worst and worst. But the cannons where able to keep the demons away. Most of the drake knights where dead already, so Leila finally flew down and sat for a second. She felt indeed tired. Maybe she shouldn't have pushed her body so far. But it was already made. She keep defending the cannons from ground. The cannon that was disabled at the start of the battle was already fixed, and Go'an was resisting in the bridge. Them...
Leila saw how a giant laser fell from the distance and landed in the bridge, everything was torn apart. She was pushed back by the shockwave but quickly took out her hammer.

"Status report!" Leila screamed

"We don't know captain!" And engineer standing up near her said "But the cannons weren't hurt by the shockwave"

"That's a good" Leila said "You stay in charge. Everybody who is not carrying a bow or a tools, follow me! We have to check the situation of the main army!"

Leila moved forward towards the whiteness that the blow had created, followed closely by a decent amount of elven swordsmen. She started removing the snow from the air, and the scene she saw was devasting.

The bridge had beed totally destroyed, and what was worse, the whole area where the army used to be was now a hole which reached to the bottom where the river crossed the valley. They had just lost not only most of their army, but also their commander. At the other side of the gap, the mad king's warlocks where already summoning a new bridge.

"Go'an... Gyro... O no..." Leila said putting her hands on her face. A single tear felt, and found it's way towards the river.

 

[Bernkastel]

___________________________________________

Furfur & Stranger - A Helping Hand
___________________________________________________


Furfur was lying in the snow, he was staring into nothingness as the blizzard raged throughout the land.
He saw something approach from a distance, he squint his eyes as he tried to tell what it was.

He swiftly pulled back his head as a knife flew right past his sight. He looked back, but whatever was approaching, had disappeared.

Then something cast a shadow over him, as he turned around, a pair of red eyes, burning of hate stared at him. The cloaked figure which stood infront of him had a dozen knives floating around her.
Furfur could see that the person's face was badly scarred, most likely burnt by something.
Soon enough he started losing conciousness, the figure spat out words, but he could no longer figure out what they were.

Next a hard kick hit his stomach, and threw him further in the ground. Then another one. And another. Over and over again.

After hours, the pain was excruciating, soon everything faded out and he woke up in some sort of a dungeon. Strange, how did he end up here? Who was this stranger?

 

[kari0003]

___________________________________________

Furfur & Stranger - Warm Hospitality
___________________________________________________

Barely anything could be seen in the dark room, which based on the stone walls could be in a cavern. A wast collection of tools and weapons of pain (and pleasure) could be seen on the walls.

Furfur was bleeding from wounds on his chest and stomach. He was freed by his dark lather clothing, and his hands were tied up with rusted chains. He couldn't feel his legs of the cold, but as he looked down he could still notice them - sort of.

Surprisingly he felt good in this situation. Almost relieved. Finally something simple, something stable. With borders and all.
"Who needs Christmas if i can have this!" He growled into the dark, splitting some blood up. He didn't exactly know why these words came on his mouth, but he didn't really care either. These words could be said, and have been said. Keep it simple. He thought.

A grating could be heard as the dungeon's door opened, and artificial light glowed in from the outside. At the doorstep stood the Stranger.

 

[Paillan]

.
.

____________________________________________
Leila, Go'an, rest of army ~ Run to the hills
____________________________________________

Leila was taken away from her sad thoughs when she heard a low voice asking for help.

"Help... me..." She regonized Go'an's voice, and looked everywhere. She saw the minotaurs hand hanging in the cliff, and quickly came to help him climb. His wounds where serious, but with her magic he was soon healed.

"Thank you Leila... what's the status report?" He asked looking worried to the other side of the gap

"We lost half the army in the best case. They are making a magic bridge to cross. They are taking their time though, they seem to like seeing us suffer. After all they could have made a bridge before.

"The mad king is a twisted demon. what ever, we can't keep up. Not if they shoot laser at us, we need to move where they can't aim" Go'an said, them he added "Get the cannons to blow the most they can from the cliff! gather everyone, heal the wounded! when everybody is ready we will return to the hill where Ventus is!"

 

[trolman]

picture

==============Die Elfen==============

Many months have passed since the fall of the last human kingdom. The survivors are forced to labor and live under elven rule. It is a hard living because the greedy wicked elves use every oppertunity to manipulate and profit from the humans - or goyim as all non elves are refered to.

Recenetly things have been getting even worse for the humans because the elves increased the feudal taxes to 80% of all human production, the working hour shifts for humans have been increased from 12 to 14 hours. Little Timmy wont be able to afford to spend christmas with his family because he has to work double shifts in the coal mines, another human child, sacrificed so the elves could squeeze out more production, so they could sell sell sell, make money! There is no other future for him, his school was burned down by the Elven Defence Force (EDF) after "alleged" sightings of demons.

The last draw was when the elven factories began to dump all of their industrial waste, into the valley's source of drinking water. This caused mass protesting everywhere.

"at some random human village where the elves are only 3%, a huge angry mob has guathered, demanding they get access to the water purifiers, machines invented by human engineers but bought out for bronze coins by the elves after the fall of Easterland.

--------------------------------------------------------------

[angry mob wrattle]

William the Wise (guy on horse) :Rabbi Sunstrider, i am here on behalf of all of the villagers, give us access to clear water, over 200 of my people have fallen sick since this started. Many have perished.
Rabbi Sunstrider (elf priest): Oy vey, dont you know that it is written, that sharing water with a goy is like sharing water is like sharing water with the devil. It is against our policies. However, we would gladly sell you some for 100 gold per barrel.
William: A HUNDRED GOLD? I do not even know one fellow human who has that ammount of money! For Goodness's sake its Christmas!
Rabbi Sunstrider: No listen here you stupid goy, this is valley belongs to the elves, you are here to serve US! Its not my problem you cant afford it.
William: I will not stand to watch another child die because of your nonsence, give us the water or else!
Sunstrider: Or you'll what? I could have all your houses be burnt to the ground by the EDF by tommorow noon!
William: You wouldnt dare!
Sunstrider: Would I now? Do not dare opose the chosen ones! You might not know where demons might be ...."sighted", but each location will be bombed by the dragonhawk devision. It might be your house...
William: You monsters...
Sunstrider:No you are the monster, you and your human white race. You must racemix, and accept divercity! Take for example this fine orc, would you not want to have a family with her?
Orc: Zug, zug nigga <3 .
*sunstrider smiled and rubbed his hands*
Sunstrider: And this goes for the rest of you, if you want clear drinking water you must marry to a race other than yours in my Synagoge as a sign of will to cooperate! Those who marry a person of the same gender will get a tax reduction!
[hand rubbing intencifies]

---------------------------------------------------------------

And so begins a the final chapter in the history of mankid, scattered ,defeated and demoralized the humans will wither to war, degeneracy and racemixing.... or perhaps fate has another trick up it's sleeve.

 

[Chen]

This one is unnecessary but I think I want to join Let's see.
Anyways, I need at least 1 to interact with me so I can keep my posting going.
.
________________

Chen - Past is Past
________________

"Rise, Kero'gash!" A mysterious voice yelled. Chen looked down and saw a thousand of pandas bowing before him. He felt the cold air, the winter has come. on the thousands of panda he seen, he seen one. He have seen a very familiar face...a grepett. It's normal but seeing one among thousand pandas was a very terrifying one. Chen is held by hands of a panda, being raised to the air for the others to see him.

"Where am I?" He asked the panda holding him. "Who are you, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?" he added. the people got surprised, seeing a baby panda speaking like a grown man with a human accent.

"My son..." The panda said then suddenly someone shouted: "War has begun! Wake up from your slumber, lazy maniacs!" so he woke up and he rubbed his eyes.

"It's just a vision...not a big deal past is past and no one should pressure me from remembering it." He murmured. He looked outside the hut he is in, and saw he is in Cartellana.

He carried his hammer outside and went out his hut. It's very cold. The winds of winter has come, his slumber is enough, he will fight for this "war". Mania given him freedom, so he thought he should fight for her.

"Problem?" a Maniac captain spoke. Without letting the Panda speak, he said, "Okay, talk to the others and try to go into this war." So he ran to the town's exit and wandered while being blown by the winter's snow...

 

[Engkanto]

i lazily present to you, krampus, the dark fae, a bad elf of santa. SHE will be joining team DarkIce. (or did she really) hopefully i'm not changing much of the plot, i haven't had the time to read everything.

_______________________________________________________
Krampus|| Forgotten; Forsaken
_______________________________________________________

Glacial fractals of intricate patterns fell daintily from the heavens. The penumbra of the night was peculiarly calm though the arctic chill of the midnight could have easily left an unsuspecting body frozen, and dead.

Ruins of happiness lingered all around, what would you have expected from the broken workshop of the late Santa? Would you have expected happiness? Surely not, one who had survived through its ravaging would surely have been traumatized, or would have fallen mad.

One such case is the tale of Krampus. Once a happy she-elf who brought joy to the blessed youth, now lacking in mirth and gratitude. She has been hardened by the chill of the eternal winter, and in her mind etched the destruction of her favored place and the wrath of it's destroyer; Mistress Bernkastel.

Yet as time cascaded, her fear turned to anger until she had realized, that she actually had awed on the powers of the great mistress. Time had let Krampus master the art of frost casting. Now fueled with fear, anger, and awe, she now envelops her victims with a thin covering of ice that slowly seep into the skin freezing the insides. After letting the victim feel her pain, the she-elf would finish the poor soul. She would let all the shards of ice impale her from the inside to the outside. She has practiced for years and is now ready to join The Mistress as she had now aspired to be like her; cold and dark and cruel.

Krampus has decided to begin her journey iof finding the Dark Mistress, and to woo her with frost casting. During the course of her searching, she has found in her path many deaths and much more destruction. All of which, surprisingly, exited her, filling her with a sense of exhilaration.

"It is an aphrodisiac."
The fae told herself as she walked beside the cataclysm.

It was not long till she found her way to Icelis. Crossing the torrent of waves by the waters was not hard with the help of a frost bridge. in the distance, she saw a familiar ghastly figure of malice at the crack of dawn. The figure's very presence made her have flashing images of her fear-filled past. And she told herself,

"It is her."
She said with utmost delight.
"Her malice completes me."

And she walked towards her mistress, like a fly towards fire.

Krampus Gone Mad

(note to self; never use webcams again)

 

[Bernkastel]

___________________________________________

Bernkastel & Krampus - The Beauty of Death
___________________________________________________


Bernkastel sat on the edge of the balcony overseeing the sea.
Rays of the dawning sun rested on her skin, giving a faint smile to her face.

The effect of Lujon's magic had grown weaker around the frozen city, but vice versa it had become even stronger around the rest of the realm.

Bernkastel stared into nothingness until something caught her eye.
It was the moon, barely visible, but it was there.

The red tint of her eyes got stronger as she rested her eyes upon the rock.
She raised her hands around it as if she was holding it up on the sky.

"My beautiful home, my dear people, my beloved emperor..."

She squeezed her hands together as if she was crushing the moon from the sky.

" .. I will kill you ALL!"


She lowered her hands to see that it was still there, she sighed and pressed her hands against the balustrade.
The princess closed her eyes and whispered

"It will come. The day I get my hands around your warm embrace once more."
"I will love you the way I never did before."
"Brother, my emperor, I will caress you cheek with my hand, and watch your head shatter into pieces. and your loved ones, I will have them watch."

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by something approaching from the snowy city.

Krampus saw the silhouette of lady Bernkastel in the light of the sun. In excitement, she hastened her speed to unite with the devil embodiment.
The mistress descended from the balustrade and stared at the she-elf expectingly.

".. Do you as well seek the Blue Wizard - Lujon?"
Bernkastel asked and stared emotionlessly.



((I will probably add another part of the Origin - Furfur in this post unless someone posts something before I get to it. My my, did I say Origin? What a thrill. ))

 

[Paillan]

.
.

___________________________________________________________________
The remaining santania army ~ desesperate times require desesperate actions
___________________________________________________________________

Go'an was shocked when he saw the hill. So where the others. The most of the camp was destroyed, and it looked like the D-ray had also been responsable for that. The entrance to the cave was intact thought, so Go'an and the rest of the army entered it.
After walking a while, they arrived at a great underground cavern, where tents could be seen. Elves where near those tents. Go'an sighted on relief, and got closer to speak with Ventus.
They talked a lot and started to make a plan. From the 300 elves Ventus had choose, only 187 remained, the rest had died from the laser. The main army had it worst though. From almost the 4000 elves that gathered in the bridge, only 2560 where alive. They decided to set camp there and send the info to the second defensive position, at the staircase of the valley. Surely it was far more proctected than when they left it. After the messenger was sent, they sat for a while, still thinking what to do.

"We could use the tunnel system" Leila said "There are hundreds of tunnels here that lead to different parts of the valley, maybe even beyond the valley"

"Most of the exists where sealed by us" Go'an said "But we could use one to go to Santania"

"I am not sure that's a good idea" Ventus said "It's just going back to the same you where making in the bridge, resisting. We need a plan to force them to go back"

"I agree" Leila said "Otherwise this war won't end soon, and we won't win"

"Hm... what do you think is the best?" Go'an said

"Attack Cartellaña" Ventus said

"Get the Christmas gear" Leila said

"Hm... the chance that there's a tunnel to Cartellaña from here is big, but even if we attack it, I don't think the demons would care at all" Go'an said

"If we can get the chalice of oktoberfest, we will get the aid of all Cartellaña's inahibitants, and also we will gain access to the route's to attack the enemies D-ray" Ventus said

"If we get the gear of Christmas, maybe one of us can claim it and become the new idol of Chirstmas... them we will have enought power to push back the demons, and also we will be able to summon angels using the light rod" Leila said

"Both of you have good points... well, them, we will divide. Ventus will go to Cartellaña with a small group, in order to steal the chalice. Leila will go to where ever the gear is, I suppose you know. I will go back to Santania with the most amont of people I can have. your groups should be larger than 20, so you pass unnoticed" Go'an said "We will part ways in 10 hours. Make sure to get as much rest as you can"

 

[kari0003]

_________________________

Vultron & Ventus ~ Trespasser
_________________________________

The Venomdrake flee the battle scene after Eressor, his master died. The demon venomancer he spent years with finally find his peace by stepping on a slippery rock. How funny, Vultron the Venomdrake thought. Mania told him all those years ago that fate will end with his master before his mission ends. Vultron of course didn't believe her, although She was always right so far. So Vultron obeyed.

Just now Vultron was told to return to the Gryphon hill, and stop any intruders to Cartellana. So he flew over the city with the funny chimneys, and descended at Gryphon hill to find a comfortable watch post. He found a place that had view on the whole area towards the city, the only problem was that the cave was too small for a Venomdrake.

Almost like it was fate. He had to transform. He looked over his gorgeous dragon body, and sighed. It was so long ago. He deactivated the talisman, and turned back into human form. A tall bald guy with a dirty dark green coat, and other rugged clothes. He suspiciously hid the talisman in his coat, and walked in the cave.

...

Not a day passed, and a group of soldiers already approached. The elves and their leader was very careful not to be seen, but even in the dark Vultron could see anything from his post. And he looked restlessly.
It wasn't many elves, a group made for ambushing and leaving. Vultron could probably kill them easily in his dragon form.
But where is the fun in that? Vultron approached them from the front alone before they could reach the city. He stopped in front of the leader Ventus, and politely asked:
"WWAARRRRRGAAAAAAHHH!"
Then he continued confused.
"WOOOORGH.. Woorr.. Woords come hargd after such time." He stuttered loudly. "SHHR, State your WAARGH! I mean State your intentions soldier."

The leader started responding but Vultron didn't really care about his worlds. Whatever lie he is talking they cant get into the city. Mania was strict on that. After the young human leader finished his speech, Vultron seemingly started thinking.

"I'am GRRReally sorry to say, but this road is closed. CLOSED. Cant trespass. It's Poissssonouss." He said throwing two venom flasks to the snow, which slowly started spreading on both sides, coloring the snow to green...


________________________________________

Furfur & Stranger ~ The very meaning of life itself
________________________________________

Hit after hit. The interrogation went on for days, but with no success. Furfur's captive kept asking the same question, which Furfur of course didn't have the answer to. The impatience lead extreme measures, but the former demon took even those with a smile on his face.

The losing of a wing was a really interesting experience he thought. And who uses all of his fingers? Nobody. It seemed like though, that he kept some of his demon powers since his wounds healed faster.

After a week the situation became extremely one sided. The happier Furfur got, the angrier his interrogator became.
"Do you want to switch sides?" Furfur asked at one point. "You seem so desperate and angry. If you were the one in chains, I could think of some things to cheer you up!"He told with his best intentions.

 

[Paillan]

.
.

___________________________________________
Leila ~ Lone north
____________________________________________

fter thinking it a lot, Leila had decided to go alone to the north, despite told not to do so by Go'an. She didn't wanted to put any life's in danger. With this though she stopped in the middle of her journey. There was actually another life. The one inside her. She negated with her head for herself and continued walking. Where was there a spot for here anyway? She was only a split being which only true love had been taken away by insanity, and who's other side declared war to. She kept walking.

 

[Amargaard]

Here comes half of the Wall of Text – why only half of it? Well because the whole thing is pretty damn long, and I wanna watch Fast n Furious!
I made sure to include every single character. Even Trolman's. I think I successfully integrated his story into the main story. I named his village Snowstrider Village, and since its location wasn't mentioned earlier, I decided that it should be located near to the staircase
Anyway, this means that if your characters are not featured in this half, then they'll be in the second half. Or maybe even in both.
Anyway, I spent quite some time on this post so I hope those of you who read through the whole thing, will enjoy it

________________________

Preparing the Final Stand
________________________

Niss Commander Go'an Wise-Horn puffed on a pipe – one that he used to smoke in joyful company with his great friend from the South, the legendary orcish warrior, Am'ar Kardos. This time he smoked it alone, and in a sad company instead.
The Christmas Supporters have suffered great damage already; many of the Niss' finest warriors have fallen to the death ray beams and to the Mad King's bloodthirsty legion. The remnants had camped by the foot of a huge mountain in the valley, awaiting the legion's next move.
The commander passed on the pipe to his best Christmas Elven scout, Rheiko the shapeshifter. The thannalis herb mixed with the tobacco in the pipe cleared their minds in these difficult times, although Rheiko obviously was less used to the thick smoke than Go'an.

”They are losing hope, commander. My Christmas Elven brothers and sisters are acting weird” the shapeshifter spoke, and added ”In fact, I've never seen them like this. The joy and life in their eyes seem to be fading. I doubt that the dire war situation is the only reason.”

Commander Wise-Horn got back the pipe, took a single puff, and continued gazing upon the silent army, not removing his sight from it once, while he spoke:
”Indeed, Rheiko.. it's in their blood, they require strong leadership if they are to win this war. They are all hoping for someone to save them, someone like Santa Claus. Sadly I am not an Idol like he was...”

Then he stood up.
”But I am one of the best tacticians an army can ask for, and I know that we have little chance here – Rheiko, we must gather the forces, and return back to Snowstrider Village and the pallisade at the staircase. There, we can hold off the demons for a long time.”

He got the whole army moving, in time before the demons could catch up with them. Once they had gotten to the upper side of the valley, and stationed themselves inside the village, Go'an ordered the Niss mages to turn the pallisade walls into pure crystal, and the engineers to build crystal cannons on its top.

They had tried the exact same tactic against the Mad King two years ago – it could only hold his army away for a little while until the Christmas Elves were eventually outnumbered. Fortunately Kari's LoveSlave collar invention and Am'ar's agility to put it around the Mad King's neck, saved them back then... now they could only hope for a true Christmas miracle instead.
If only Leila could successfully steal the Christmas Gear, the tide would surely turn...
Or even if Ventus would be successful in achieving the Oktoberfest Chalice, so that the people of Cartellaña would fall under the Christmas Supporter's command, their odds would double...!

__________________________

Mission:Oktoberfest Chalice
__________________________

Juno peeked out between the brown rocks on top of Gryphon Rock. The cloudless nightsky was indeed a redeeming sight after days in the underground caverns! He and the McPatrickus brothers had been visiting the sacred underground Christmas cavern, and then secretly been following the trail of Captain Ventus and his twenty Niss soldiers as they journeyed through the underground tunnels, but as the others walked out the main exit in Gryphon Rock, Juno had led the red-bearded brothers to another exit. All without Ventus' knowing.
Afterall, this white cat knew the mountain better than most. Back when he was just another citizen of Cartellaña, Juno worked everyday as tourist guide and guard of this very mountain. Up here, on high terrain, there grew many strange plants. One of them was the popular thannalis herb. He made Clurey grab some buds from one of the bushes, before they went on to look down from the high cliffs.

Captain Ventus and his men had indeed found their way out from a cave below them, but as Juno had feared, they had encountered an enemy on their way. A tall black man in sickening green clothes, who had introduced himself as Vultron, was blocking their path. The man was alone and wielded no weaponry, yet he had managed to take out half of the Niss soldiers with some kind of green magic, seemingly without much difficulty.

One of Ventus' men, Bran Saligia, had been damaged in the foot because of the fight, and had given into his inner wrath because of it – an anger so intense that it made him leap towards Vultron in a surprising frenzy that could keep him busy for enough time for Juno and the others to make up a plan. The McPatrickus brothers attacked Vultron from behind with their crystal guns, while Juno himself leaped onto his head, all the while the remaining Niss soldiers attacked in unison.

Eventually, Vultron would be defeated by this surprise from behind, and the soldiers laid down their weapons as their foe was defenseless. One couldn't stop though... Bran Saligia – he continued stabbing the fallen enemy all over his body with his rusty rapier, then went on to beat Vultron with the hands and finally dragging him over the rocky floor, not stopping, even when at the edge of Gryphon Rock. He lifted up the enemy magician and tossed him off the cliff, watching as the body hit the ocean a mile below them. The others looked frightened at their comrade, fearing if he had become a maniac.

”B-Bran, are you okay?” Ventus asked, and walked cautiously towards the mad soldier, who still had his back turned towards the others, facing the moonlight from the ocean...
He looked back, and realized that he had lost control of his sinful side, despite Leila's blessing. Fortunately, the outburst only lasted shortly. He apologized and told the others of his condition, and they went on with their mission down the stairs to the corrupted city of Cartellaña.

Once again, Juno decided to walk a little behind the others with the McPatrickus brothers, and made sure that Clurey kept the thannalis buds safe... just in case Bran had another outburst.

…

Cartellaña was horribly quiet, way too quiet. Ventus and his group had expected it to be filled with crazened cat-people, Destruction Revenants, demons and of course all of the maniacs. But none were to be seen. That was until a bulky figure showed up behind them.

”Juno, old friend - It's been a while, hasn't it?” Chenralston the Panda spoke with a twisted maniac voice, his hammer resting on his shoulder, and a faint glow coming from the corrupted talisman on his neck.

”Chen! You traitor! How dare you show up after what you've done?” Juno replied hatefully with his mechanical speaking-device. The McPatrickus brothers also recognised the Panda from the Easter Games, and Bran had seen him in his ruined hometown.
Chenralston moved closer, it was hard to see on the shadowy Panda face if it bore a smile or a serious expression.

”All I did was change my faith, and you guys go all crazy on me? You should really just loosen up” he replied coldly, and moved down his hammer from the shoulder. Juno revealed his sharp teeth and claws.

”The lives you took should be avenged!” the cat shouted and leaped towards the maniac panda, who was prepared for the attack, and mauled Juno's body in the air with his mace, sending the cat flying through the air in another direction. That was when the others charged towards the mighty foe, except for the McPatrickus brothers who went to aid the wounded Juno. Meanwhile, Chenralston was channeling the powers of his corrupted Light Talisman, so that he could turn into a dragon.

”Clurey, now!” Juno said faintly, and the grumpy Christmas Elf understood. He turned on the Fan-Hat and flew to the occupied maniac, and stuffed one of the thannalis buds into its mouth before the transformation was fully complete.

Chenralston's coughs could be heard as a strong glow surrounded him, and his body was turning serpentine... but the transformation turned him into a majestic white dragon instead of its insanity-twisted version. Chenralston flew into the air, not far up, but far enough to shield himself from the attacks.

”I-I see clearly now. What have I done??” his deep dragon voice muttered filled with remorse, as he landed next to Juno. By now, everybody had realized his mind was clear from the maniac corruption, and as he turned back to his Panda self, a much kinder face greeted them this time.

Shortly after, he used the powers of the cleansed White Talisman to heal all the damage he had caused to Juno, and the remaining Niss soldiers, and then joined them on their quest to bring down Kenny the Oktoberfest Idol and claim his chalice for the good side.

…

Ventus moved through the silent streets with his group, including Bran, Chen, Juno and the McPatrickus brothers, until they finally arrived at the Town Hall. Clurey used the Fan-Hat to fly to the roof, where he fastened a rope for the others to climb up. Then they entered through a roof window into the dark hall. Oddly enough the Town Hall seemed as dark and empty as the rest of the city, so their troublesome entrance had been in vain.

Or so they thought – suddenly a lot of braziers lit themselves on the walls. A single flame was different from the others, as it was not coming from a brazier, but was attached to the grinning skull of a cloaked figure. Lord Kenny was seated in a throne in the other end of the hall. To his right side lay his infamous skeletal felhound mount, Bisnar. He stood up, and spread out his coated arms politely.

”Welcome everyone, please feel at home!” his twisted voice echoed in the hall of old dark wood. He then stepped down from the throne's platform.
”It seems you've forgotten to close the window up there... so let's warm this place up a bit, shall we?” he said, and laughed maniacally, as he took forward a bladeless shaft from his belt. Soon a spitting tail of flames emerged from the shaft. The Oktoberfest Idol's deadly weapon should not be underestimated – a fiery wisp gifted to him by his father, the Mad King himself.
Ventus wasn't frightened.

”Kenny – hand over the Oktoberfest Chalice, you are outnumbered!” he spoke. Kenny replied with another laugh.

”The Chalice is below the city, along with Cartellaña's entire population. The Goddess is performing a ritual with them, but feel free to take the chalice. I'm not really using it anyway - The door to the underground city tier is right there” Lord Kenny said teasingly and pointed to a door, located just to the right of his throne. After a moment, he added ”Of course that would mean you should get through me first.”

The others charged towards the undead demon, who wasn't in a hurry due to the size of the hall. He hopped galantly onto his mount, and waited while the others approached. When they reached him, Bisnar made an impressive leap, landed horizontally on a wall, and.. clung on to it. The skeletal lord swung his whip, grabbing three unsuspecting Niss soldiers and pulled them upwards – all the while his creature continued forward on the horizontal wall, then to the roof and finally dropped down behind Ventus' group. The three soldiers were not able to get free from the whip's tight grip and burned to their deaths. Ventus tried make up a plan.

”Chen, keep him occupied! Brothers, you shoot him while he is above us – this might be our only chance...” he whispered. They nodded in unison.

Fortunately, Kenny would use the same tactic again. Chen flied to the roof in his dragon form so that the enemy was forced to defend himself against the dragon instead of grabbing more soldiers. The McPatrickus fired their crystal-enhanced weapons and one of them hit perfectly, sending Kenny to the ground without his mount. Juno and the others attacked. Kenny grabbed Juno around the neck with one hand, and whipped a couple more soldiers with the other – however, Ventus quickly placed his sword right through Kenny's neck bone. The Oktoberfest Idol let out a high-pitched scream, before the fire burned completely out in his hollow eyes, and the skull rolled off the body.

Seconds lasted before the rest of the body too let go of the white cat and the whip, and fell lifeless to the floor. Many things happened the following seconds. Bisnar had always served the Kardos family, but with its latest master gone it escaped away into the moonlit night. Bran greedily grabbed the enchanted shaft and stuffed it in his pouch. The McPatrickus brothers were worried for Juno... with good reason.

Chen's attempts to heal him was futile, as its neck had been broken too...
Juno the legendary white cat was forever gone.

…

Ventus' group had gotten small with this loss – their few fights had proven very costly. He still had Bran Saligia, Chenralston and the McPatrickus by his side along with five other brave Christmas Elves, but this group had obviously no chance against the Goddess and the whole army that awaited them below. However, they had no second option. Ventus led the way downstairs...

The underground tier of the city was horrifying. Dark blue walls decorated with all kinds of twisted faces and creatures – obviously Mania's doings. They could soon hear screams of horror from the citizens of Cartellaña – whatever Mania was doing to them, Kenny's mind control was now gone so all of the cat-people could suddenly use all their normal senses and think clear again.

Ventus and co. finally arrived close enough to see what was happening – the Goddess of Insanity turned them into twisted humanoid creatures, forever unrecognizable as the cats they used to be. All of them got new bleak grayish blue skin, and snake-themed upgrades. Some even grew additional limbs. All of them got to look uniquely, and all of them were horrible...

”What's wrong with you suddenly!?” Mania asked angrily after the mind control broke. Those who had not yet been changed screamed in horror, but could do nothing as they were trapped in cages.

”This thing should keep you under the skeleton's control...” she said and grabbed the Oktoberfest Chalice. Then she started smiling...

”Aaaah, I see we're having visitors.” she knew Ventus and the others were spying on her. She slowly turned around to not scare them away at once.

”Actually, thanks for coming – your visit is a perfect occassion for me to test my new super minions!”

They panicked – they had no chance against those.. things!

”Run! Every man for himself!” Ventus yelled, and headed upstairs.

As they were fleeing, Ventus could hear the Goddess' voice echoing through the corridors; ”Ventus - say hi to your father from me! Thank him a lot for all the entertainment he provided me in the South! Ahahahaha”

They didn't notice that Bran Saligia stopped up in the town hall behind them – his foot wound had sprung up, and kept him from running any longer. His rusty rapier and the magical whip were his last hope now...

Christmas' last hope was Leila, who was venturing towards Icelis, alone...

___________________________

What's up with the Dark Icers
___________________________

Lujon's angry voice could be heard in all of the tower from lowest step in the spiral stairs to the circular room with the Christmas Gear, blaming Prophet Alagremm and Mistress Frederica Bernkastel for having made a mess in his precious home. The Prophet ignored him all the way down the stairs, and as he stopped up, he handed over his tea cup to the Blue Mage, signaling for him to hold it while he was opening up the huge wooden door to Lujon's living room.
The Blue Mage of course continued his ranting while holding the tea cup. Alagremm didn't say a thing, until the door was open.

”So this is the guy she meant. What use can we have of him?” Alagremm spoke.

”What guy? Who meant?” Lujon asked confused, and walked a few steps to the side, so he too could see what was on the other side of the door.

”AARGH!?!? YOU TURNED MY LIVING ROOM INTO A TORTURE DUNGEON!?!?! Wh-where is all my beautiful furniture?” Lujon was heartbroken. For the first time, Alagremm seemed to notice his comment.

”Yeah, she has quite her own style. I'm a bit disappointed by her choice of torture machines, but I must admit she've gotten better than when I last met her.” the dark green clad prophet spoke with a calm voice. Lujon had rarely looked so furious.

”Are you kidding me?? The room looks horrible now! And the smell.. take that naked dead man out of here” Lujon said and looked at the bloody and bruised hairy body of an unknown demon creature.

”I'm not dead, sir” Furfur said from the pole that he was tied to.

”Let's do something about that..” Alagremm said with a somber, yet oddly merry voice. While he was testing out different tools of torture, he turned to the Blue Mage.

”That reminds me.. she said that you have guests too - two Christmas Elves or something – they're with her, in the upper room.”

”Christmas Elves? Here? Hrmpf...” he said and grumpily walked all the way up again with fast resolute steps...

The mistress was nowhere to be seen, but two pale-skinned Christmas Elves, with dark eyes and dark blue clothes awaited the Blue Mage. They introduced themselves as Krampus and Wolfgang Pucklebears, and expressed their sudden will to aid him in his struggle to do whatever he wanted to do. Weird.

Lujon of course didn't want any help from any mortal, but these two servants could prove useful. He took a few steps towards the levitating spinning Christmas Gear, and stretched one hand towards it. He clothed his eyes, and felt the magic energies emitting from it. That was when he realized that the entire Christmas Elven race was bound to him, as Idol of Christmas. It would take time for all of them to fall under his command, but they were all slowly adapting his feelings and emotions towards the winter holiday. These two had simply been the first to convert due to their troubled past with Christmas. In time, all the rest would be following him blindly.

He hated the thought – he wanted to exterminate every mortal, and now they were begging to serve him. Pathetic minions – the worst idea the Gods ever had, was to create them...

”Well, actually there is one thing you can do for me. Follow me, please” he said emotionlessly, and his two mind-controlled minions gladly followed him downstairs. They walked past the torturing chamber, where Furfur's screams could be heard. Then out into the ancient, abandonned streets of Icelis.

”I have a ship which is very precious to me – Artictlantis - I hid it long ago so that no one could ever find it – however, a mortal got his hands on it. Find it, you fools, and I shall reward you...” Lujon spoke. Then he created some sort of a flying ice-vessel for the two corrupted elves to use. Little did he know, that in his absence, an angel had entered his tower, but he clearly noticed that his power link to the Christmas Gear was disconnected – and he was furious. Whoever had done this, must pay, so he hurried back to the tower to save his gear...

 

[Amargaard]

Here comes the final part... enjoy!

________________________

The Final Clash
________________________

A relaxing smell of Thannalis smoke surrounded the Niss Commander as he was standing atop of the crystal pallisade, watching the seemingly endless plains of snow in the Valley of Christmas below their final defensive position before Santania. The magical herb in Go'an's pipe helped little on his anxiety. The Mad King's legion could arrive any minute, and the blizzard reduced their sight greatly.

He had prepared this defensive post in any way possible, reinforcing the walls with crystal cannons, equipping the Niss soldiers with the finest weapons available, and empowering the base with all the Christmas magic his mages could provide. There was nothing to do but wait... this was the awful silence before the inevitable storm.

A wolf made it through the narrow path on top of the pallisade, all the way to the silent Minitaur. Then the wolf changed appearance into his familiar Christmas Elven scout, Rheiko. The shapeshifter cleared his throat.

”The mayor of Snowstrider Village wishes to speak with you, commander. Something about the Easterland refugees you've put in his village” said Rheiko, with a nervous look on his face. Go'an replied only with a raised eyebrow at first, and then gazed back at the little village behind their defenses. Go'an sighed.

”Rabbi Snowstrider... doesn't he realize we're at war? His stupidity must wait 'till this battle is over...” Go'an grunted, and returned his attention to the valley before them. Rheiko wasn't too happy about that respond.

”He said that the humans lead the demons to our doorstep, and suggests we throw them out on the other side of the gate. He believes the demons will then leave us in peace...” Rheiko replied. This triggered Go'an Wise-Horn's madness enough for him to follow the shapeshifter down from the pallisade wall, into Snowstrider Village. There, Rabbi was arguing with an old human in chains.

”Stop this madness, Snowstrider! We are not your enemies! The demons are!” William the Wise spoke from a mouth surrounded by long grayish brown beard. Behind him, about a hundred other human refugees from Easterland had been put in chains as well. Rabbi stood atop a speaking platform in the circular townsquare, looking down at the humans.

”You are all spies for the Mad King! You are all demonic servants of the Fire, and insane maniacs under the Goddess' influence! It was foolish of us to ever trust your kin! You unthankful bastards, coming here, stealing our food and water – so that your evil masters can defeat us more easily! We will not fall for your cruel deception any longer, William!” Rabbi Snowstrider shouted angrily. He then raised his mayor staff, issuing a command to the local soldiers loyal to his village.

”Boys, show them them the way down the stairs to the fate they all deserve!” Rabbi spoke, and turned around to see Rheiko and Go'an walk up to his speaking platform. He looked at the wolf first.

”Took you a while..” he sneered and looked at Go'an instead, ”However, there is no reason to worry anymore. I found these outsider criminals, who intend to backstab us all when the demons arrive. I assure you that the problem has been taken care of.”

Go'an noticed the empty look in Rabbi's eyes. He had noticed it appear in several of the Christmas Elves throughout the entire month. He believed it had something to do with their connection to the Idol of Christmas, but he couldn't figure out why some changed personality faster than others.

”Rabbi, I command you to stop this! Now!” Go'an spoke furiously, then paused. This outburst came like a surprise to anyone. Mostly Rabbi Snowstrider himself, who looked to the Minitaur with big confused eyes. Go'an continued:
”Your ability to judge people have been clouded lately... here, taste this pipe – it should help on y-”

”I shall taste none of that foul drug you are using!” Rabbi yelled, and pushed the pipe out of Go'an's hand. The Christmas Elf was furious!
”And you shall command me nothing... barbarian imigrant – my people are not soldiers of the Niss, and thus not under your command... besides, I shall decide myself how I handle the criminals in my town! Get out of my sight Go'an Crack-Horn!”

Rabbi Snowstrider turned back to the soldiers guarding the chained humans.
”Get these traitors out of my town! I shall gladly lead the way myself” he commanded, and walked coldly past Rheiko and Go'an without another word. The mayor was right... Go'an was not in charge of the village, only of Santania's Christmas Elven army – and he could do nothing but watch as the humans were forced towards the gate to the huge staircase.

While Rabbi Snowstrider was ordering the Christmas Elves at the pallisade to open the gate, William the Wise stepped forward, as far as Snowstrider's guards allowed him.

"Rabbi, we came to your land to escape the demons, not to lead them here - release my people, we can help you against the Mad King!" he begged. Rabbi looked back at the old man with irritated, careless eyes. The Christmas Elf first wanted to reply with an insult, but decided to use another approach.

"I shall be the first to appreciate your help, William.. I'm sure you will be able to hear my loud claps from up here, when you defeat the Mad King and his army all alone... Get them out!" Rabbi said, when the door was entirely opened. The guards pushed the human crowd towards the gate...

BOOOM!! A fiery explosion hit the gate!

"They're here! The demon legion is approaching!" a Christmas Elf screamed from atop the pallisade wall. Go'an hurried back to his post, guiding the Niss forces!

"Fire all the Crystal Cannons! Gunners, shoot when they're 20 meters closer!"

At the meantime, the explosion had left the gate unable to close, and Rabbi Snowstrider was deadly wounded. Despite the pain, he managed to rise up from the snow, then looked angrily at William the Wise, and halted towards the chained crowd of humans.

"What a coincidence, huh!?! This only proves that you have secret plans of betraying us all - guards, get them o-" Rabbi was enterrupted as a huge wolf attacked him from the side, devouring his head and upper torso. Rheiko then turned back to his Christmas Elven self and threw up. He looked at the shocked Snowstrider guards who were too slow to act.

"Your mayor is no more - now free those innocent people, and start defending your homeland!" the shapeshifter ordered. They heeded the command, and freed the people without a word. William the Wise thanked his savior, on behalf of his people.

"Crystal Gunners, shoot! Soldiers, prepare your blades!" Go'an's voice could be heard from atop the wall. The demons were now in range for the gunners, but their numbers were terribly large. And soon they were already heading up the stairs.

Suddenly a familiar demon laugh could be heard, echoing throughout the entire battlefield. The Mad King!

"How kind of you to leave the door open for us!" he spoke, his voice striking fear into every Christmas Elf present at the scene. He laughed again, this time his enormous body was visible in the fires from the broken gate! His horned head was hidden by his infamous black helmet, and his teeth were bathed in soaring flames as usual. Demons raced forward from his sides to clash into the Niss foot soldiers. Rheiko and William fought all they could, but eventually they realized they were pushed longer and longer back. The Mad King stood still at the broken gate, while his minions fought the battle for him.

"Where are you hiding, Wise-Horn!?" he asked angrily, and added "I have an old score to settle with you!"

"I am not hiding!" yelled the Minitaur, as he was jumping down from the top of the gate towards the head of the Mad King, striking his axe towards the demon skull, but to no avail, as the black helmet was too thick. The Mad King laughed scornfully, when Go'an landed next to him. A demon tried to attack the Minitaur, but the Mad King blew its head off with a fire spell, then made a wide ring of fire around them. His minions couldn't get through it.

"This is a personal battle!" the demon lord said, and drew his huge two-handed blade, which was engulfed in flames blessed by the Fire God himself. The Niss Commander stepped slowly backwards, and tapped twice on his back-totem, to summon forth the friendly nature spirits stored inside it.

The Mad King aggresively attacked with a vertical strike, which Go'an was only able to avoid by inches. The Mad King continued, this time with a fast horizontal strike. However, the spirits guided Commander Wise-Horn upwards into the air, from where he held forth his battle-axe. An on-going stream of water flowed out of it in a straight line into the Mad King's face. The demon screamed in pain, as the fire in his jaw slowly burned out. Weakened, he dropped his sword, and stepped backwards.

Boom! He had managed to cast another explosive spell – this time, directly at his opponent's body. Go'an fell to the ground, coughing. His whole body marked by the fire.

At the meantime, the Mad King rose up and grabbed his blade from the ground. He walked towards the fatally wounded Minitaur.

”I have waited so long for this!” he said, and dropping his humongous blade right through the Niss Commander's chest, splitting his body in two and killing Go'an Wise-Horn for good! He grabbed the upper part, and held it up to his head...

Then he removed the fiery ring around them, and looked at the battlefield. He realized that the ring had kept the demon army behind him from getting through the gate. Before him, the defenders of Snowstrider Village had killed all the first demons, and was awaiting the next wave. Rheiko and William were shocked by the sight of their dead commander.

”GO'AN WISE-HORN IS DEAD!” the Mad King yelled crowing to the terrified Niss army, holding the fallen Minitaur's half body even higher! The demon army moved forward, but...

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a gigantic beam of darkness reached the gate from behind! Inside it, all the demons, including the Mad King himself, were turned to nothing but ash and dust by the powerful dark magical energies!

When the blast was over, nothing remained. William the Wise spoke.

”Today was not a day of victory, but the threat to Christmas is no more. Let's return to Santania, and mourn the losses...”

He and Rheiko gathered all the people, and ventured to the Christmas capital city together in one huge group.

Behind them a dark figure stepped patiently through the battlefield. Misstress Bernkastel. She walked to the broken gate, where Go'an had faced off against the Mad King, and bent down. From the ashes, she picked up the black helmet of the Mad King, and observed it.

”If I'm not mistaken, this is the artifact which makes one the Idol of Halloween, and King of Hell – that's interesting. We might just be one step closer to release the Dark One from his prison.” she said, and calmly continued the other way, down the stairs, towards the Shedfort.

________________________

Revealing Ones True Colors
________________________

Alwin the Fist creeped across the snowy outdoor floor of the Shedfort. His fat body was sweaty and bloody, and his mind was set on one thing only – survival. That wouldn't be the case, as his rip-case had been split open, and his demon regeneration couldn't possibly deal with such damage.

Behind the wounded demon mechanic stood Larxe the Sinful One, just next to the Death Ray machine. In one of his bloody hands he held a huge black book. One, he had found in the limited library of the Shedfort, and read through while the Fist had been aiding the Halloween Idol in wiping out Niss camps in the Valley. Alwin found a particular part in the book that seemed interesting, so he turned to his dying colleague.

”Listen, Alwin, for you might as well die with some knowledge of the God you serve. It says here, that in ancient times, when the world was still young – long before the mortal creatures were created by the Gods, all the Gods worked together to shape the world! They respected each other's different ideologies, and in unison they crafted what they at first thought to be a perfect world.”

The tall thin demon calmly followed Alwin who was still trying to escape, and continued the story:

”However, at some point, once the Gods had started to create their respective children around the globe - all the Gods turned against the Great Dark One, who had done nothing but contributed to their shared world. They betrayed his trust! They attacked him in his own home... Hell at the world's core! Without mercy, they wiped out all of his children, and banished him from the beautiful dark realm that he himself had created.”

The Sinful One flipped a page, and continued.

”The God of Light, curse his name and all that he have touched, banished himself from ever walking the planet too – in order to create balance between Light and Darkness. A foolish action, for it did nothing but strenghten all of the other Gods, who started fight each other for the world.”

He cleared his throat, and took another few steps towards the dying Alwin. The Fist moved slower and slower, as he had soon realized he couldn't escape his fate. Larxe continued the tale from the dark book.

”The Stupid Gods soon realized that the realm at the center of the planet, the Great Dark One's home, was holding together the whole planet – without a God to control it, the planet would fall apart – none of them wanted it, but the God of Fire finally realized the need for it. He went to the Dark One's home, and cut off his own fist – then placed it in the planet's core, and left the place. The Fire God's fist, which we have all prayed to our entire lives, is what kept the planet intact – and as you know already, the demon race were created from its blood.”

Larxe then bent down, and looked into the eyes of the fat demon.

”But do you know, that the Fire God never returned to Hell after that? Do you know that he hated everything about the place, and that he thinks of us as his bastard children?! No, you don't, you ignorant fool!” Larxe said and rose up.

”Curse the Fire God, and curse all of the other Gods! The Dark God is the only true God – he was treated unfairly, even though he was doing all he could to create the perfect world. I want a world, in his image – so I shall aid in the Dark One's return!”

They heard short steps approaching around the corner, and soon the short feminine figure of Frederica Bernkastel appeared before them, with a dark helmet in her hand. Larxe bowed gently, with all of his tall narrow body.

”Misstress, I am honored by your visit” he spoke with a smile, and then stood up.

”Good to see you finally revealed your true colors after so long, mister Sinful.. Tea?” she asked, and he gladly followed her inside the Shedfort, leaving Alwin to die alone in the cold...

________________________

Christmas Eve
________________________

Rheiko and William the Wise walked in front of the people, in between the two watch towers at the entrance gate of Santania. The Christmas Elves were surprised to see them return. They walked silently through the city until they reached Cupid the God of Love, who was accompanied by his wife, Psyche, and Dilrin the Goblin. Rheiko and William told what had happened in their wars outside of the city, and Cupid told of the demon surprise attack, which they prevented, by using the Rod of Light.

As they were talking, the eldest of Juno's four kittens came forth, followed by Dawn and its three siblings.

”Where's pa?” it asked carefully, ”Is he back yet?”

Rheiko looked down, asuming the kid's father had died. He wasn't wrong in that assumption, but he still managed to look the young kitten in the eyes and say:

”It's hard to say, lad – he is on a very important mission with a group of other heroic soldiers”

”Kewl! Pa's been on tons of those awesome adventures! He says that when I'm old enough I get to join him on one!!” the kitten replied excited. Rheiko looked worried to their mother. Tears fell from her eyes, so she gathered her children and led them away.

Two beer mugs were clashed hardly towards eachother, making a sound everyone in Santania could hear. It was Gyro who stood on roof of his bar – he had clearly spent many days repairing the building.

”Today is Christmas Eve – let's get the best out of it! Let's honor the dead, by having a good holiday, on the day they all died for to protect – I'll hand out free alcohol to anyone, in my bar!” the old Grepett spoke as optimistically as he possibly could on this sorrowful day. It worked – people agreed to his point, and joined him in the bar.

The best of all Christmas Miracles, was that those of the Christmas Elves who had been affected by the new Idol of Christmas, was already returning to their good old selves...

________________________

The End of a Dark Christmas
________________________

Vengeancekael the Storyteller stood alone in the Hall of Destiny, reading in the Book of Destiny, about the terrible events that had shaped themselves this holiday season. The huge majestic room around him had been damaged greatly by the powerful blizzard caused by his brother, Lujon the Blue Mage. So had the rest of his flying castle.

He realized from his reading this entire year, that the Hour of the Dark One was approaching, and enemies of darkness were being weakened for every month. No one would be able to stop Him, once he returned to reclaim the world that he had help create in ancient times...

A noice came from behind him. A broken female creature halted into the room, and collapsed on the floor. He had forseen her coming, due to reading the book. Leila the Guardian Angel, also known as Lizzie Kardos, the wife of Am'ar. Beside her battered body, lied the Christmas Gear. Vengeancekael hurried to the angel, who had impressively managed to steal the gear from his brother and then escape his wrath.

”I'm impressed you are still alive, Leila. Why have you come here?” Vengeancekael asked kindly and stroke her chin. Her breath was troublesome and heavy, but she managed to turn around, and look at the Storyteller, with eyes filled with tears.

”He.. kept me.. alive...” she cried weakly and slowly moved one hand to carefully rub her belly. She opened her mouth to continue, but couldn't speak for many long seconds.

”He.. is coming” she said, and revealed the sweetest of smiles that she could do in this condition. Vengeancekael returned the smile, and helped give birth to the child.

”It's a boy” he said in a mixture of happiness and sadness, but realized that the glow in her halo had vanished. She had died after giving the final push, and lied there, dead in the middle of the Hall of Destiny, with a tired and relieved look in her eyes.

Vengeancekael stood up, holding the baby.

”Your loving parents have both gone down in the history of the world as great heroes of goodness, and are now both legends of the past. You shall be named in honor of them, boy” he said, and blessed the child with his powers.

”Welcome to the world, young Kardos... Welcome, Lemar” the Storyteller spoke, and headed towards the widely opened Book of Destiny.

”You have been born into a dark world, a world where a book such as this will be a weapon of mass destruction in the wrong hands... you are a beacon of light in the future, but I will not let a book tell you that” Vengeancekael said and destroyed the sagas of the last hundreds of centuries.

He had abandanoned his job to keep balance between good and evil in the world – he had picked his side. And for the next many years following this Christmas, he would spend raising the child of Am'ar and Leila...

...

The End