The crackling power surrounding Jasmine seemed to make the world echo with power. As she stepped forward, the seven strands from the heavens, each in a unique colour, grew taught, trying to force Esselaia to ascend with even more force than before.
The seven dragons turned their attention towards Jasmine. Celeste wished she could protect the chosen, but she was out of Energy.
Jasmine struck at Esselaia, but instead of hitting her directly, The Scribe hit the red veil that bound the elf. The veil strengthened, and Jasmine's shabby outfit went from a dusty, off-colour white to proud red. A note also seemed to ring from the veil, and Celeste couldn't help but think of it as a string on an instrument, with the heavens on one side and Esselaia on the other.
One of the dragons, its scales like mithril, tried to move to interfere with Jasmine. However, The Scribe quickly threw out a hand and the red veil sprang forth, tying itself around the offending dragon, connecting the virtuous beast to the goddess and the celestial realm. The veil resonated once more, this time much louder like the world itself had become an amplifier for an instrument beyond this very plane.
All the dragons, except the bound mithril dragon, seemed to move simultaneously. Breath weapons pouring from them, targeting the interloper.
Instead of throwing up a barrier, Jasmine plucked the green veil, and as it tightened and resonated, the breath weapons died mid-air. As the power dispersed, another note rang out, this one with a slightly higher pitch than the first.
The green veil was tied to the Adamantine drake that the goblins had been crawling on, locking it in place. Seeing how their special weapons had been disrupted, the other dragons moved in for close combat. However, abandoning their posts meant they could no longer help Esselaia contain the Energy, and slowly the veils started to pull her into the sky.
Jasmine's outfit had shifted to a red and green mix, the colours seemingly dancing across her clothes.
The Scribe was focused on strengthening the veils. She couldn't put up a fight against five unbound dragons. However, she managed to dodge one attack from a dragon in a coppery colour, which was followed up by a bite from a bronze dragon that Jasmine barely managed to move underneath.
One of the dragons seemed to hold back, slowly strafing around The Scribe before it pounced. The scales were red, while still metallic, and Jasmine didn't have time to react. She had been blocked in, and the beast was faster than anything Celeste had ever seen.
The dragon hit Jasmine, tearing off her arm and making the woman with bright, burning hair scream in pain. It would have been a lethal hit had it not been for Jasmine's ability to dodge and defend herself.
It was clear that Jasmine would lose if Celeste didn't help. But the goddess couldn't. She hadn't picked abilities that lend themselves well to combat, and she was out of Energy. She could try and throw herself at the dragons. However, would mortal weapons even work against dragons? More importantly, why were the dragons trying to contain Esselaia on this plane?
Celeste didn't get her answer before another dragon, this one bright silver, that seemed almost polished to a mirror shine, got close to Jasmine, ready to end everything. The Scribe couldn't dodge five elder dragons at once. And in that moment, The Scribe saw her own demise as the Silver dragon's claw threatened to slice her to pieces.
The massive claw was stopped mid-strike by a heavy hammer that thrummed with power and pushed back by the axe that quickly followed.
"The Scribe is protected by all!" Ülwrick's voice was strained as he struggled against the attack from the dragon, though he was gaining ground.
His weapons and armour seemed to glow, but to a skilled crafter like Celeste, she could see the thousands of tiny runes all carved on the dwarf's equipment, infusing the wielder with untold power.
With a monumental groan of effort, Ülwrick pushed back the silver dragon and started to battle it in a one-on-one duel. The dragon was fast, but it might as well have tried to outmanoeuvre a rock since no matter where it tried to hit, the dwarf was armoured and ready for the attack.
Ülwrick had given Jasmine space to breathe. She was clearly losing a lot of blood from her wound, but a golden dragon quickly followed up before she could address it. Its body was lithe and small compared to its fellows, and Celeste could swear she had seen it before.
It was still going towards the bleeding Jasmine, trying to stop her from sealing away Esselaia.
"Guards! Seize that dragon!" The voice was commanding, and Celeste could feel divine power in the words as the purple Ilsher invoked his Domain.
As the goddess of travel and journeys, Celeste felt the teleportation magic, as figures appeared all around the trees. In a blink, an army of drows seemed to slip from the forest around them. They weren't quick enough, and the golden dragon quickly wrapped itself around Jasmine. Sharp fangs were poised to strike and end the forced accession.
"ME GOT HIM!" The scream could be heard over the sound of battle as one of the goblins jumped from one of the branches on the Tree of Life.
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Spif had clearly been sneaking up on the battle for quite some time, and if Spif was here, Spaf wasn't far behind. Just as expected, the other goblin jumped from the tree's roots, grabbing hold of the gold dragon's tail. Spif clung to the dragon's face, hammering against it with tiny green fists, while Spaf tried to unwrap the tail.
The dragon flicked its head, sending the little green bugger flying into the air. The goblin did a couple of cartwheels mid-air before falling downward to the golden dragon's open and waiting maw. Spaf screamed, but there was nothing they could do. The dragon's jaws closed, slamming around Spif's head.
As the bite came down, the world froze. Not in the 'What is going on'-kind of freeze, and even Celeste was powerless to move. She recognized the feeling. It was just like when Jasper opened the Magic Domain for the first time. Something had happened to the AI, some kind of bug that it had to resolve.
Then, as soon as it had happened, the world continued. Neither Spif nor Spaf seemed hurt as the tiny goblin wriggled itself from the golden dragon's mouth. The golden dragon looked just as confused as Celeste felt, but Spaf had pulled on the virtuous beast's tail enough that Jasmine could slip free.
The Scribe used her one arm to pluck the violet veil, which called out a note and wrapped itself around the golden dragon. Jasmine's outfit changing to include the new colour, as she moved much slower. Blood streaming down her side, mixing with the red of her outfit.
Celeste realized that she was being an idiot. She literally had the power to heal, and she hadn't moved to help Jasmine. Even without any divine Energy, Celeste still had her power Flesh Made True.
Flesh made true [https://i.postimg.cc/xC6SYQ3L/Flesh-Made-True.png]
Text from Image:
Flesh Made True
Type: Activated Ability
Energy usage: N/A
Full effect: You are able to cure a target's maimings, blindings, poisons, mutilations, and birth defects by simply looking at them. This does not restore any HP.
Jasmine's arm instantly regenerated. Appearing from her stump as it grew rapidly, leaving no scar or marks from the lethal wound. The power didn't heal, but the ease on Jasmine's face was obvious, even as she was still exhausted from the massive amount of blood she had lost.
The drows soon swarmed in, starting to hold the dragons off, and with a yell, the sound of Selma's army could be heard. The Mayor wearing the crown with pride as she charged in with her people, all trying to hold back the dragons.
Marcel called out orders, directing the battle. Despite none of the mortals being able to harm the elder dragons, the dragons were driven back, thanks to the ferocity of Ülwrick, the charisma of Selma Kingborn, and the strategic prowess of Marcel the Purple Ilsher.
Marcel's words woke something in the people he was directing, and even Selma's fighters followed the drow's orders. They stood a bit taller and fought a little harder when they did.
Jasmine's dodging and weaving had turned into stumbling as she went from dragon to dragon, barely able to walk. The humans and drows functionally pinned the dragons before The Scribe could bind them with a veil. She was exhausted and had lost a lot of blood, but Celeste wasn't worried for her.
The Architect of Reality was the commander of the Death Domain, and her power, Withholding the Mercy, ensured that nobody could die unless she said so. Even so, if Jasmine fell, nobody could end this fight, meaning that Celeste would be forced to retreat or perish.
Withholding the Mercy [https://i.postimg.cc/tRVV90CG/Withholding-the-Mercy.png]
Text from Image:
Withholding the Mercy
Type: Constant
Energy usage: N/A
Full effect: Those reduced to zero hit dice or hit points within 200 meters of you automatically stabilize or die as you wish. If you desire it, willing living creatures at zero HD or hit points around you may continue to act for as many rounds as you have Ranks before they unavoidably fall dead.
It was, without a doubt, a powerful ability, but it couldn't have saved the day on its own.
Another note rang out, and Jasmine's outfit got a blue colour mixed in with all its other colours.
Celeste couldn't help but wonder why the veils rang like that. It sounded like they were part of some musical scale. But that was usually an octave, wasn't it? An octave had to mean eight, and there were only seven veils. Something must be... Celeste felt like an idiot. She didn't play an instrument, but she had attended a couple of music theory lessons while attending her normal college. She remembered that an octave was bookended by the same note, essentially making it seven unique notes in total.
Another dragon was bound, and Celeste had to dodge a wild-breathe weapon that threatened to crisp her. Jasmine didn't have the stamina to call upon the defensive powers of the veils any more, but almost every one of the dragons had been restrained at this point. It wasn't long before the last one was tied up, leaving them struggling against the supernatural bonds.
As the last dragon was tied up, Esselaia was finally forced to ascend. A pulse of divine Energy poured from her body, splintering the roots of the Tree of Life, and she was flung to a new plane that was created to her liking. Celeste hoped that the elf would be a kind god. She wouldn't want to have another enemy.
A new symbol formed around Jasmine's hip. It looked like a snake eating its own tail, and in the middle of it was a representation of the four elements. It didn't take a genius to guess that Esselaia was connected to dragons and the elements.
A lot of mortals had been knocked out and down. However, thanks to Celeste's power, none of them were killed. Even so, when they were in dire need of healing, something that Celeste couldn't give them. However, if they were brought back to town, the Impact she had dedicated would be able to restore them.
However, getting them back to town would have them tracking outside of Celeste's range. The obvious choice was to follow them back, but the goddess couldn't leave the dragons behind. Doing so would mean she wouldn't hear why they had attacked the world. With a sigh, she patched up as many mortals as she could. However, it was without using any magic, simply bandaging and treating them.
Once she was done, she sighed again and sent them off. Selma, Ülwrick, and Marcel did not say anything. Instead, they just followed the armies back to Marcusburg. There would be losses, but not as great as they should have been.
With that out the way, Celeste turned her attention to the dragons.