The manner in which things were unfolding; it was ever so reminiscent of that one night six distant years ago. The how and why of the current situation could not have differed any more from the night a lifetime away but their individual circumstances remained almost eerily the same. And so Lynica charged the razatches before her, Gabriel running alongside her, his movements tight and deliberate, Ellen long since having dove into their midst, all while nostalgia tickled the back of her skull.
Their manipulations flared as they dove into the thick of things. They were only four fighting, Camilla and Voscov both not being able to join, but it was enough. The razatches were mindless and stumbling. Unsettlingly so - like they had only been turned recently or had not drained essence since they were scourged. It was alarming in more ways than one, the implications of such a thing manifold, but Lynica let those worries slip over her. It did not matter. Voscov would figure it out while she did what she knew to do best.
Rip and tear.
It was terrifyingly nostalgic. The rise and fall of earth, the way her kicks and punches flowed one into the other, the seemingly overwhelming number of foes, the way they fell at her feet and were crushed beneath her heel, the way her heart beat calmed and ice flowed in her veins as she carved a path forward.
Then men in black cloaks began slipping into the fight from the shadow of buildings and Lynica pulled back from the melee, her every sense on high alert. If she wasn't wrong, these men were here for Ellen. She risked a glance at the princess and found her weaving her way around the razatches, stumbling fools they were, with contemptuous ease. She skirted the edges of their reach, tossing a wind blade when possible to draw bloody lines across ash grey necks. Her eyes darted about rapidly, taking in everything as quickly as she could, and when she spotted the cloaked men slipping in, with three having skirted the fight and headed toward Camilla, her solemn expression melted and she burst into laughter. A light step and a surge of air sent her vaulting over the heads of the very few razatches remaining to land beside Lynica who was the person nearest to her.
"Oi," she hailed. "Take care of Camilla for me, 'kay?"
"What?"
The silver haired girl forwent an answer to instead jump high, her manipulation surging, as she made for one of the low roofs around them. She scrambled atop it and surveyed the area below. Galdis' minions certainly outnumbered them but were perhaps only ten or so in number. That was manageable.
Ellen raised a hand and an air pellet whistled forward toward one of the trio targeting Camilla. The man went down with a pained grunt and Ellen idly wondered how long it took them to decide to go for Camilla in a bid to reach her. As expected Camilla was a fool. Being a close friend of Ellen's was always going to invite such situations.
The other two turned to where the air pellet came from and found Ellen grinning at them, a shine in her eye as though she were having fun.
"Hey, you lot of bastardly yokels!" Ellen called out. "You want me? Ha! Come!"
She glared down at them, her lips parted in a smile and her eyes borderline manic. They didn't answer, too rooted in surprise and caution to do so.
"What?!" She yelled and stomped a foot. "You don't want anything to do with me anymore?! That's really rude!"
She pivoted on a foot and leapt for a roof closer to the wall. There was a very slight delay as the situation sank in before the cloaked men chased after the girl, some going after her over the roofs while the rest chased after her from beneath.
Valerina put down the last razatche and watched as Ellen vaulted onto the wall and ran along its length, her laughter ringing in the wind.
That girl was... something.
"Let's move on," Gabriel called out, flicking the sword he held to get rid of the blood. He hardly spared anyone a glance and began to move forward.
"What? What of Ellen?" Camilla asked, distraught.
"She would be headed to the portal room if I am not wrong," Voscov said as he brushed past her.
Camilla watched them leave, her gaze alternating between their backs and the corner around which Ellen disappeared.
"Let's get going, her highness can take care of herself," Valerina told the girl as she sidled up to her side.
Camilla nodded, still looking disturbed, and followed behind them. Soon all five were sprinting across the expansive manor, Gabriel once more at the lead. With Vit tired, he was unable to lead them with the same efficiency, but while they ran into fights a few times there was nothing strong enough to obstruct their way for long.
Ellen's laughter trailed them from afar. Sometimes they caught sight of her racing across the roofs or slipping in and out of buildings wantonly. They almost never did manage to see her pursuers, though at some point they saw her fight off Galdis atop the wall before diving over it and fleeing deeper into the manor.
They did not pay much attention to her however because as they neared the portal room, they could make out sounds of battle all around them. The crowd outside must be close, Valerina reckoned, but as they burst out of the shadows of the courtyards they screeched to a halt.
"Back!" Gabriel barked as they came face to face with the litany of razatches lounging about the area.
"There's no way back!" Valerina hissed at him, her body tense. "The razatches from beyond the wall are directly behind us."
Gabriel bit his lips as his mind raced, trying to find a way out as the razatches roused themselves. No matter how he looked at things though, there was simply no way out of the situation.
"We head sideways," Voscov uttered, his tone placid as always. "There should be a few people fighting to our sides. We would need them for what may come."
There was an instant consensus regarding his suggestion from everyone present and they charged into the courtyard flanking their right, breaking down the front door and storming through the exit. The razatches around the portal room chased after them, and while their feet blistered and their lungs strained, the snarls and clattering of claws gave them more than enough motivation to keep moving.
They crashed into a fight between a large fellbeast of some sort and a small group of six. Gabriel's sword blurred forward, piercing through its eye. He flicked it upward, and pulled the sword out, and the beast slumped to the ground while they darted past.
"You lot; follow," Valerina demanded of the group as she ran past.
They dithered about in confusion, but when dozens of razatches came swarming from their left, scrambled after Valerina.
In the end they did not have to gather people themselves in order to breach the portal room. To start with, most of the survivors did not split away upon entering the gates and they ran into the main group on another side of the portal room. Said group was already charging the razatches when they arrived, and at Voscov's suggestion they all hung back and watched the fight happen, looking for an opening they could use to make a break for the building itself.
It was a horrible, messy thing that unfolded. The group charged at the razatches blocking the way, manipulations surging and spears thrusting, and for the most part they did quite well. Yes, people were getting injured and quite a few killed - all of them having been tired out at that point - but overall, things were stable and the scourged fell like flies.
Then the razatches that had been after the five rounded the corner. They were immediately smitten by the cloying scent of essence further ahead and Valerina watched as they ran past her and the four with her to collide with the back line of the group. Prince Alver caught sight of them in time, however, and gave a warning shout.
A few turned to deal with the incoming threat but none was faster than the Studorn prince as he charged the incoming group with a ridiculously large, misshapen jousting lance, his manipulation sloshing and pulling, allowing him to wield the absurd weapon with only a smidgen of finesse.
But Alver was not aiming for finesse. The scourged were everywhere and he either clobbered them to death or debilitation. Blood flew, bones crunched, skulls flattened, and Valerina and Camilla especially were grateful they were nowhere near the mess.
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Ellen's voice rang out somewhere to their left, cursing at someone, and Camilla turned sharply. She heard nothing else over the din of battle however and so she reluctantly turned forward, praying that Ellen was alright.
Then from within the portal room came a loud bang and everything around it rattled ominously.
"That does not sound good," Lynica said, her tone anxious.
"The Oldflame is burning away the runes as it is. We should get going," Voscov suggested.
"There's no clear shot," Camilla said worriedly, gazing out at the brutal melee unfolding meters before her. While the razatches had dwindled, it would be a brutal trudge to get to the other side. Even worse, the way in seemed to have been locked.
The portal room rocked once more, its marble walls groaning, and cracks running up its body. Perhaps that was enough to clue Alver in that something was wrong. The prince disengaged from his opponents, calling for someone to take his spot as he sprinted up a pile of discarded carts, dragging the misshapen lance behind him and barely managing to keep it off the ground. He crested the pile in three quick steps and leapt over the heads of everyone present, the weapon swinging forward, poised to throw, as his eyes locked onto the shut doors of the portal room. He crested the apex of his leap and as he began to fall, his arm and manipulation both snapped forward, letting the weapon in his hands fly.
It blurred forward with a keening cry, piercing through two razatches and bringing the door down with a booming crash.
The five watching glanced at each other and saw unbelieving surprise reflected in each other's eyes. Prince Alver certainly was something else.
"We get going?" Valerina asked hesitantly, eyeing the press of bodies trying to squeeze their way into the portal room distastefully. Charging into the fray without any plan did not seem to be a good idea. Yes, she could fight but an all out brawl like that was not her strong point.
"It would be pointless trying to rely on our individual strengths to get to the portal," Voscov stated. "It does not improve our chances to get through unscathed."
"And?" Gabriel prompted, his blue eyes scanning the melee contemplatively.
"I have a plan," Voscov declared tonelessly. "We would largely avoid being mired in the skirmish and instead push a path forward."
That caught the interest of his companions and they prompted him to keep speaking, impatient. He did, and was done under a minute. They all agreed to the plan with but a second's thought and so Voscov, Valerina, and Camilla ducked quickly into a side courtyard, taking a broken door with them to seek out one of the artificial lakes that dotted the compound.
Gabriel and Lynica stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing out at the mess the surroundings had become. More than once they caught the silver flash of Ellen's hair as she meandered her way up and down roofs in her bid to evade capture. It was obvious to any observer that the princess was flagging - and flagging badly. The long gown she'd worn earlier that night was already in tatters past her knees and was covered in splotches of red. She was no longer laughing, her face now set in a mask of grim focus.
Eventually Ellen stopped popping up and the two were left tweedling their thumbs impatiently while waiting for Voscov and the rest.
Half a minute later there was a sudden rush and a churning pillar of water shot into the sky, arcing over the fence of the courtyard and crashing onto the cobblestone outside. It splashed outward in a wave, and standing at the apex of said wave with Voscov and Camilla was Valerina, her manipulation snapping and straining to keep a modicum of control over the large mass of water as they rode the wave on a wooden door.
Gabriel and Lynica darted out from underneath the eaves where they waited, speeding into the mass of combatants before the portal room. The wave of water sped forward behind them, its height reducing as it went along. Lynica lobbed a few disks of stone into the crowd to create some space, then she leapt, boosting both herself and Gabriel upward as the wave overtook them, and they managing to catch the outstretched hands of Voscov and Camilla respectively.
Then just as the wave crashed into the press of bodies, Valerina gestured backward, her manipulation dug into the mass of water behind her like a solid thing, and she drew it forward, her features twisted with effort. She flipped her palms, fingers tensed like claws, and her manipulation dug into the surrounding water like pitons through rock. And she pulled upward, her manipulation surging and threatening to snap.
Water all around her roared, surging beneath her and rising upward as more joined their ranks, lifting the repurposed door upon which she and her companions stood. Fatigue washed over her in waves, but she persevered until they were well and truly heads and shoulders above the masses. Then she loosened her grip, her movements going from commanding to fluid as she worked feverishly to control their forward speed and rate of descent both.
It was horribly taxing, trying to control what was effectively a whole lake of water, but as they rode over the mess that the area had become, the rushing wave crushing bodies and obstacles underfoot as it were, Valerina could agree that it was well worth it. Even if she probably would not be able to manage a safe landing.
They approached the entrance to the portal room rapidly and Lynica tapped Voscov's hand. He released her and she fell like a stone, shattered bones crunching and splitting even more under her feet. She dove to the side to avoid the travelling wave, and set her feet on the ground, leaning forward in a running pose even as a small group of fighters neared from the side.
She took a deep breath and the world seemed to slow. She felt fatigue drag at her limbs, felt the dozen plus muscles aching sorely in protest, felt her lungs burn even as she strained to breathe, felt her manipulation snag weakly on the cobblestones beneath her feet, and she knew that she would be able to hold on for just a little while more. She breathed out.
The ground cracked, dust rose into the air, and Lynica snapped forward, nothing but a blur of motion. In the instant it took her to get her wits about her, she found herself past the wave and dangerously close to the entrance that was choked with dozens of figures trying to get into the structure. Her manipulation surged and her leg reflexively snapped outward in an upward kick. The earth ripped open, spewing loose stone everywhere, and a rough slab of stone just barely large enough to cover the entrance rose to her call, surging forward alongside her manipulation to slam into the group obstructing the way.
Lynica lunged forward, twisting her body to step on the slab of stone, and transferring every iota of her momentum to said stone. She spun in the opposite direction and caught herself almost immediately while the slab of stone sent the rest - razatche and human alike - sprawling into the room beyond.
Lynica dove after them immediately as the wave crashed against the building, sending Valerina, Gabriel, Camilla, and Voscov rolling haphazardly through the entrance. The building groaned, an ominous shudder that ran down to its foundation rocking the structure.
Camilla sputtered and spat, coughing up water from her mouth and nose in bursts while she struggled to keep liquid out of her eyes. The interior of the portal room was dimly lit, a meager amount of moonlight making it through the high set windows, but the portal was in flames. White flames fluttered around the runes without a sound, rising to the ceiling but giving no light. Already a third of the rune circle was charred black but the portal still worked, flashing and sending people away while Camilla watched, still on the delicate balance between barely functioning, and absolutely destroyed.
Camilla cast about her for those she'd come with and found them far behind herself and already getting to their feet. All about her people battled the scourged and each other as they retreated haphazardly toward the portal, jumping through the flames to stand within the portal's sphere of influence. By sheer chance, or perhaps due to the nature of her entry, no one was focused on her and so she pushed herself to her feet and made a dash for the portal too.
She jumped over corpses, kicked away the many limbs in her way, and dashed through pools of blood, her vision fixated on the portal runes which lit up to transport yet another group of people. There was a crack as one of the runes split in twain and Camilla instinctively threw herself to the ground; and not a moment too early as a terrible shockwave swept outward from the portal. The walls bent, a disturbing amount of pillars splintered, the ceiling cracked, and more than a single truss fell from it to shatter upon the ground.
Camilla got to her feet as soon as she was able and scrambled through the flames and into the circle of runes. Then she turned, wide-eyed, to look for her companions - and Ellen. She caught sight of Lynica sprinting forward with Voscov slung over her back but managed to find no one else.
Another rune split, and yet another shockwave rocked the building. A peculiar tinkling sound caught her attention and her eyes snapped up to one of the windows as it splintered into a dozen fragments. Her arms shielding her face, Ellen came crashing through the window, the wind wrapped around her as she dove straight toward the portal. Camilla's heart fluttered in joy up until a shaft of moonlight fell into her eye from above. She glanced upward and watched as the whole ceiling came crashing down.
Ellen would get crushed.
Camilla's manipulation flared in defiant indignation, anger and sheer stubbornness roiling in her gut, looking for something - anything - to latch on to. In less than a second metal sang back to her, and her eyes snapped to find Alver's discarded lance. She could not carry it, could not use it as she desired to - there was simply no way - but she would be damned if she didn't try.
She sang back to the metal, her manipulation digging into it, suffusing it, commanding it. She raised a hand, everything in her straining, and the metal went with it. Blood spurted from her nostrils in thick rivulets, her eyes pounding, her neck straining, as she sent the monstrous lance flying toward Ellen in a bid to push her to the side as the whole structure collapsed around them. A bloody cough forced its way out of her throat, and the metal snapped out of her control mid air. It struck Ellen in the side, and that was all Camilla saw before the descending ceiling obstructed her view and Lynica slammed into her, a strange crystal belt forcing her forward.
The aide screamed as she entered the circle - an agonized, visceral thing - and her manipulation flared, reaching for Voscov who stood underneath the descending ceiling, watching it fall with unnatural calm. Fatigue and nausea hit her, and her manipulation sputtered into naught but flickering embers.
Behind the prince was Valerina, making a wild, mad dash for the portal as someone fed it essence. She was not going to make it.
Then Gabriel lunged forward from somewhere, grabbing her by the collar and dragging her back as a chunk of marble slammed into where she had previously been.
Voscov's gaze lowered to look at Lynica, a green crystalline handle in his hand. He was calm, the contours of his face ever indifferent.
"You fucker!!" Lynica screamed at him in rage. "I'm going to fucking kill-"
Whatever it was she wanted to say was lost as the portal flashed and she was whisked away into the void while the portal room collapsed in its entirety, burying Maesers and commoners both beneath rubble of marble and stone.