Re: The Battle Majestic (Round 2 - Firestar)
07-11-2010, 01:12 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.
Stupid stairs with this stupid climbing and oh shit was that a scream? I thought the screams were over... Well, whatever. I guess the tree-thing stopped killing everyone. Stupid hot forest. At least it's cooler in here. But it's so dark, too. At least there's the glow from this guy's sword. Why does his sword glow, anyway? Must be magic or something. "Hey, what's that noise? It's kinda creepy. Like someone's chanting off in the- oh. Or it could be your watch. There's that too." Well, at least it's just dark now. Was it creepier before he turned off the noise? I think so.
Ugh, this is stupid! Why am I going into a volcano? I mean sure it's a bit cooler in this tunnel than out there, but it's also really dry and stuffy and it's going to get really hot when we get to the lava. Or is it magma? Whatever. How's this guy gonna lug lava around, anyway? Tree-thingy's probably gonna wander off and then this guy's gonna hafta chase it around carrying lava. Has he thought this through? Probably not. My leg's starting to hurt. When're these stupid stairs going to- Oh hey, it's getting lighter! But also hotter. Great.
The pair emerged in a skewed cylindrical chamber reminiscent of a lobby. A large, rectangular stone bench sat in the middle of the chamber, preceded by a small pedestal topped with a shallow depression containing a few ashes. The walls were smooth and blackened, flecked here and there with shards of ebon crystal, and engraved with various scenes of women, occasionally men, and a few recurring non-human entities of a presumably deific nature. Prominently featured over the opposite archway in an especially large and detailed etch was a tall, lithe, well-endowed feminine figure sporting unkempt shoulder-length hair and either a feathered shawl or a pair of wings running along her arms.
Though the chamber did pierce the surface of the volcano, what paltry sunlight filtered in was neither sufficient nor orange enough to illuminate the chamber as it was. Only after one realized that the floor was composed entirely of translucent quartz did one realize that yes, that was the glow of molten rock somewhere under your feet. Though the technology required to manage this was most certainly beyond the capacity of the island's tribal residents, Jacob had stopped questioning such things around the time he'd learned to kill people by making their heads too heavy for their spines to support.
"Ugh, finally! Thought those stupid stairs would never end. I'mma rest here for a bit."
The cryomancer seated himself atop the bench, feet dangling slightly off the ground. Jacob huffed, not particularly tired so much as once again finding the inside of a volcano just a tad too toasty for his liking. Despite the fact that there was quite clearly molten rock beneath their feet, he was both hesitant to accidentally misgauge the shaft's depth and flood the chamber with magma, and honestly more than a little curious as to where the second path from the chamber led. "Yeah, you stay here. I'm gonna... I'm gonna look around." The knight adjusted his collar as he made his way around the room. "And don't touch anything."
Waving aside some muttered dismissal of his instructions, Jacob proceeded into the larger tunnel. The path was somewhat more poorly lit as the floor had returned to stone, but the images lining the walls were easy enough to discern. The winged woman's already evident importance was hammered into his skull by her persistent intricacy of design and increasingly frequent appearance. The path grew increasingly larger as he progressed, the ambient orange light and accompanying heat growing stronger with each step.
Abruptly, the tunnel came to an end, and Jacob found himself on what could not possibly be a naturally occurring precipice overlooking the caldera.
The jutting cliff was just the right shape from which one might precariously dangle lion cubs, and most certainly would have been blown out with the rest of the detritus during any previous eruption. It was far too smooth as well; the inner volcano walls were scarred and cracked from the must-be-triple-digit heat wafting up from the center of the planet as well as from slowly collapsing under their own multiple-ton weights. The material, as well, was the same crystal as composed the floor of the preceding lobby. Near enough the edge of the protrusion to cause one to wonder why it hadn't fallen into the magma yet was a magnificent statue of the harpy-esque woman. Standing at about eight feet tall, her body was crafted from pure obsidian, prismatic feathers gleaming in the molten glow, arms reaching up majestically towards the sky. She nearly looked as though she might take flight any moment.
Despite a mild academic interest, Jacob managed to not actually care all that much. He was instead trying to determine just how much lava it would take to kill a large velociraptor made of trees and science.
Gravitational manipulation, while not one of his favored skills, was invaluable for fanciful acrobatics, disorienting enemies, arresting and reversing falls, and propelling shrapnel through vital organs at high velocities. While versatile, Jacob found Gravity lacking a certain... finesse that came with the other violations of physics. Less impressive to forcibly shove someone out a window as to watch them crash through it themselves under their own stupidly-high inertia. Still, it was one of the easier powers to learn, and inexpensive enough that even an unpracticed chronomancer such as himself could help four other men and their dog run down the side of a skyscraper in about twelve minutes.
A globule of red-orange liquid death floated lazily upwards, buoyed by the very forces that normally kept it earthbound. The melon-sized sphere detoured in a lazy spiral before coming to rest around eye-level. With a thought, Jacob shifted it to the left, then the right, before manipulating reality to make the ball follow him at a distance.
Satisfied, he turned around and came face-to-face with a strikingly familiar lady who appeared to be made of fire.
You do not belong here.
Spoiler
Ugh, this is stupid! Why am I going into a volcano? I mean sure it's a bit cooler in this tunnel than out there, but it's also really dry and stuffy and it's going to get really hot when we get to the lava. Or is it magma? Whatever. How's this guy gonna lug lava around, anyway? Tree-thingy's probably gonna wander off and then this guy's gonna hafta chase it around carrying lava. Has he thought this through? Probably not. My leg's starting to hurt. When're these stupid stairs going to- Oh hey, it's getting lighter! But also hotter. Great.
The pair emerged in a skewed cylindrical chamber reminiscent of a lobby. A large, rectangular stone bench sat in the middle of the chamber, preceded by a small pedestal topped with a shallow depression containing a few ashes. The walls were smooth and blackened, flecked here and there with shards of ebon crystal, and engraved with various scenes of women, occasionally men, and a few recurring non-human entities of a presumably deific nature. Prominently featured over the opposite archway in an especially large and detailed etch was a tall, lithe, well-endowed feminine figure sporting unkempt shoulder-length hair and either a feathered shawl or a pair of wings running along her arms.
Though the chamber did pierce the surface of the volcano, what paltry sunlight filtered in was neither sufficient nor orange enough to illuminate the chamber as it was. Only after one realized that the floor was composed entirely of translucent quartz did one realize that yes, that was the glow of molten rock somewhere under your feet. Though the technology required to manage this was most certainly beyond the capacity of the island's tribal residents, Jacob had stopped questioning such things around the time he'd learned to kill people by making their heads too heavy for their spines to support.
"Ugh, finally! Thought those stupid stairs would never end. I'mma rest here for a bit."
The cryomancer seated himself atop the bench, feet dangling slightly off the ground. Jacob huffed, not particularly tired so much as once again finding the inside of a volcano just a tad too toasty for his liking. Despite the fact that there was quite clearly molten rock beneath their feet, he was both hesitant to accidentally misgauge the shaft's depth and flood the chamber with magma, and honestly more than a little curious as to where the second path from the chamber led. "Yeah, you stay here. I'm gonna... I'm gonna look around." The knight adjusted his collar as he made his way around the room. "And don't touch anything."
Waving aside some muttered dismissal of his instructions, Jacob proceeded into the larger tunnel. The path was somewhat more poorly lit as the floor had returned to stone, but the images lining the walls were easy enough to discern. The winged woman's already evident importance was hammered into his skull by her persistent intricacy of design and increasingly frequent appearance. The path grew increasingly larger as he progressed, the ambient orange light and accompanying heat growing stronger with each step.
Abruptly, the tunnel came to an end, and Jacob found himself on what could not possibly be a naturally occurring precipice overlooking the caldera.
The jutting cliff was just the right shape from which one might precariously dangle lion cubs, and most certainly would have been blown out with the rest of the detritus during any previous eruption. It was far too smooth as well; the inner volcano walls were scarred and cracked from the must-be-triple-digit heat wafting up from the center of the planet as well as from slowly collapsing under their own multiple-ton weights. The material, as well, was the same crystal as composed the floor of the preceding lobby. Near enough the edge of the protrusion to cause one to wonder why it hadn't fallen into the magma yet was a magnificent statue of the harpy-esque woman. Standing at about eight feet tall, her body was crafted from pure obsidian, prismatic feathers gleaming in the molten glow, arms reaching up majestically towards the sky. She nearly looked as though she might take flight any moment.
Despite a mild academic interest, Jacob managed to not actually care all that much. He was instead trying to determine just how much lava it would take to kill a large velociraptor made of trees and science.
Gravitational manipulation, while not one of his favored skills, was invaluable for fanciful acrobatics, disorienting enemies, arresting and reversing falls, and propelling shrapnel through vital organs at high velocities. While versatile, Jacob found Gravity lacking a certain... finesse that came with the other violations of physics. Less impressive to forcibly shove someone out a window as to watch them crash through it themselves under their own stupidly-high inertia. Still, it was one of the easier powers to learn, and inexpensive enough that even an unpracticed chronomancer such as himself could help four other men and their dog run down the side of a skyscraper in about twelve minutes.
A globule of red-orange liquid death floated lazily upwards, buoyed by the very forces that normally kept it earthbound. The melon-sized sphere detoured in a lazy spiral before coming to rest around eye-level. With a thought, Jacob shifted it to the left, then the right, before manipulating reality to make the ball follow him at a distance.
Satisfied, he turned around and came face-to-face with a strikingly familiar lady who appeared to be made of fire.
You do not belong here.