Master of the Forge [Zorlo]

[insaney]

“This place…is amazing...” Raisha chuckled, “Maybe one day, when I get a boyfriend, I’ll bring him here.”

Rain laughed, making his sister laugh more.

While the reaper spoke, her fingers were busy; she had acquired a strong piece of string, and, using it to tie around the triangular piece of metal from her old dagger, she turned it into a makeshift necklace. It wasn’t very amazing; the most spectacular thing was the triangular piece of blue, starry metal.

“It looks good.” Rain smiled sincerely.

The reaper only nodded in response.

“Try,” Rain looked at her, moving the black-streaked gold hair from her cheeks, “try not to think about what happened in Chinatown. We’ll find away to prevent it from happening again.”

She chuckled, “You mean me going ‘psycho’ and ‘heartless’? Yeah…I think we both will…”

Raisha leaned on her brother’s shoulder and closed her eyes while Rain put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

“We’ve both come a long way.”

Rain nodded, “Mmhm. Hey…let’s go meet Zorlo so we could meet his blacksmith.”

The reaper opened her eyes and nodded, smiling.

What an odd pair; one being a Grim Angel and the other being a reaper of souls. One was supposed to be evil--one was evil once--and the other was supposed to be good--which he is. They were supposed to be fighting each other to the death, even though they are brother and sister. By just standing there, being the way they were, they were defying the laws of the realms…but laws are usually words, meaning nothing to some people and even less to others.

Rain held out his hand to her, and made Night appear, sheathed. He took her hand and placed it on the handle, “This is yours for the time being, I know you’ll be able to handle it well.”

“But…”

“Not buts!” he smiled again, “You don’t have Celestia anymore, so Night should serve you well.”

She took the sword and sheath in both hands and held it close as Rain knocked on the door before him.

No one came.

I wonder if he can hear that knock in that football field of a room.

Rain shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked the door a few times with the tip of his boot.

After a few seconds, the green haired man opened the door wide.

“All ready to go?” he grinned, while various types of birds flew through the door. A white monkey also sped out between his legs. Raisha was in awe, while Rain responded to the fencer’s question with a nod.

[Zorolo]

Zorlo calmly smiled and laughed at the two. Rain had been in the fencer's room, once, and it seemed Raisha had never seen anything like it. The Aura Master watched calmly as Armond sped off, going about his own business. After all, the albino monkey had his own stuff to do, aside from delivering the fencer's messages. "Oh, just so you know, this can get a bit tricky, with how we're going to get there," the fencer noted with a smile as he moved from the door frame of his room and beckoned the two in.

The two entered nearly silently, and the reaper looked around in more awe then before, it seemed. Rain laughed slightly at his sister's amazement, and the fencer felt the need to ask a question. "So, Rain, your teacher is Cadenza of Rubato, if I'm not mistaken, aye?" the green haired man asked as he rested his right hand on the handle of his sword. The green haired man used his sword hand to brush a strand of his hair to the side as it shifted into his face slightly.

"Yeah, she's an interesting person. What do you know about her, Zorlo?" the Grim Angel asked as he looked at the green haired man, who continued to walk.

The Aura Master laughed as the three continued to walk. "Cadenza. What I do know about her is that she's very, very strong. Stronger then even my greatest known level, anyway. That's something you haven't seen yet Rain. Rai, you caught a glimpse of my second tier of strength, but only briefly. Anyway, Cadenza likes to keep to herself, and seems a bit secluded, but I think she's, all in all, a good person."

Raisha looked at Zorlo oddly for a minute, but elected to ask. "You mean that thing where you gained those golden angel wings before that massive blast?"

The Aura Master laughed again as he recalled the brief moments of that strength. "Yes. That is the power of my Ancient Aura. I was getting a bit rusty with it anyway. It is rare I have a time when I need it, but I think that if I ever had an all out fight with either of you now, I'd need to use that same power," Zorlo admitted as the three continued to walk.

"So, Z, where are we going?" Rain asked as he continued to follow the fencer.

Zorlo stopped short, and the siblings stopped a few inches behind him. "Oh yes, I do believe it is about time I show. What would you say if I told you that the person we're going to see is not simply a blacksmith, but also a god?" the fencer asked, turning towards the two with a smile. As soon as he knew what they felt, he'd show them where they were going. After all, Kurenkento had already agreed to transport the fencer and anyone he needed with a mere asking.

"Trust me, you won't regret allowing me to help you. The man... er... god we're going to see forged Apollo for me," the fencer said as he drew his golden blade, "and I'm sure he'll make something equally awesome for you, Raisha. This is the most I can do, since it is my fault your dagger broke. I still hope you can forgive me," the fencer said as he lowered his head, still feeling bad about what had transpired in Chinatown.

[insaney]

A…god…?

Raisha was speechless for a while, her brother only scratched his head in response to what the fencer had just said. Zorlo was obviously still blaming himself for shattering the dagger, but the reaper would have none of that.

“Zorlo!” she said, “It’s not your fault. Please…you don’t have to…”

The fencer only responded with his prized smile. Raisha smiled back half-heartedly, thinking that the fencer shouldn’t have to go to any lengths to help her regain her weapon, but her thinking was in vain. Rain and her sister both knew that once Zorlo set his mind on something, no force on Heaven or Earth could stop him.

“Okay,” Rain cut in, smiling, “let’s go meet this blacksmith of yours.”

For a second, Raisha faltered. She looked at her brother, who was looking back at her, the smile on his face replaced with a serious expression. Yes, the voice that the reaper had just heard, Rain had heard it too. There was no one else in the room beside the three, and Zorlo hadn’t heard it.

“Thank you…” was all the voice said when it spoke at the end of Rain’s sentence.

The reaper took the shard that was hanging from her neck in her fingers, while her brother watched as it glittered brightly for a second.

“Let’s go, Ai.” Rain gave her his hand.

His sister took it, whispering, “Yes, let’s.”

Zorlo looked at the two and clapped his hands together. “Alright!” the fencer said excitedly, “time to head out!”

[Zorolo]

Master... Master, can you hear me? It's Zorlo. I'm coming to visit Reorx, so do you think you can send us there? the fencer asked, smiling like normal, although closing his eyes. He had to contact the new God of the Ethereal Forest in order to get anywhere. Master, I know you can hear me, so don't play dumb, the fencer thought to his Master in a joking tone. A deep laugh echoed within the fencer's mind and he laughed a little, opening his eyes.

Aye, I hear ya, I hear ya! Actually, we're at Reorx's right now. We're busy talking, so I can bring ya right here, the Neko God said with a smile upon his face that the Aura Master could see vividly through even the difference of dimensions.

"Okay, you two. We're gonna get going soon. Be read-" the fencer started talking, but quickly a massive, bright blue light swallowed the three up in a cylinder of power. When the cylinder passed, the three appeared, standing in the cave built into the mountain where the God of the Ethereal Forge made his stay. It was there the fencer noticed three gods he knew all discussing something. Kurenkento, Elune and Reorx all stopped their discussion and looked at the Aura Master and his associates.

Reorx, a roughly six foot dwarf with a long, red beard that went down to his abdomen and fiery red hair atop his head smiled at them. "Ah, Zorlo, me lad, has been quite a while!" the God of the Forge said as he smiled. His smile soon dissolved as he looked at the fencer's jacket and he slammed his hammer against his hand, causing the mountain to shake. "Lad, what happened this time? Every time ye come back, yer armor be in worse shape then when ye left!" Reorx noted as he looked at the fencer.

"The normal," the Aura Master replied as he took off his jacket, removing his gauntlets and the pieces of Raisha's former dagger from it as the dwarf took it and placed the jacket on the hanger her had built specifically for Zorlo's jacket. "Anyway, I haven't come here to ask you to repair that, though. I have another reason," the green haired man said.

"I'm well aware, Aura Master Zorlo," Elune spoke. Elune is a woman of small stature with power greater then the two people that stood next to her. A woman only about five feet tall with purple colored skin, with dark purple eyes and very light purple hair that sweeps against her shoulders. Elune's bow, standing roughly five and a half feet tall, rested upon her shoulder as a smile crossed her lips. The woman's long, purple robes made her look extremely royal. "We all felt your battle, and we felt you break your second seal. Since you're here, it is obvious that you didn't break it in a bad way that would cause you to cease to exist. You are fully an Aura Master, and still the only," the Goddess of the Moon stated with smile on her face.

"I had no doubt in my mind," the Neko god stated as he twitched his long, white ears that added roughly four inches to his height. Kurenkento wore dark green armor that covered his whole body and pulsed with the great power of Ethereal Nature energy. The rapier at Kurenkento's side rested in a light green sheath with a white handle and a thick, thorny bramble handle. The Master of the Ethereal Forest laughed as he adjusted his triangular, white hat so his eyes, both half red and half gold, split in the center of the iris. "Now you have almost full access to your powers. How do you feel?"

"I feel pretty good, actually. However, I'm not really here to stand and talk, sorry. I'm here to help my friend, since it was my power that broke her weapon. That's why I'm here, Reorx," Zorlo told the Forge Master. The fencer handed the shards of the weapon to the dwarf, who smiled, and looked at the woman.

"What do ye want, missy. I've seen many a weapon, but if ye don't tell me what ye want, then how can I know what ye want?" the dwarf asked her as the Aura Master stepped back. Reorx beckoned Raisha closer, sensing she might actually have something challenging for him to make.

[insaney]

“What do ye want, missy. I've seen many a weapon, but if ye don't tell me what ye want, then how can I know what ye want?”

Zorlo stepped back as Raisha stepped forward. She looked Reorx in the eyes and opened her lips to speak, but was interrupted by the dwarf himself.

“Ahh…” he spoke, looking directly back into the Reaper’s gold eyes, “ye eyes are sharp n’ focused; always glaring into the distance at the never-there. Such eyes demand a weapon that can reach as far as they could see, yet able to be useful up close, don’t ye agree, laddie?”

Reorx squeezed the shards in his hands as he turned to the Reaper’s brother, who stood just left of the fencer, partly obscured by shadows.

“His eyes are the same as the girl’s,” the woman in soft purple made her way over to him, moving gracefully, as if she were gliding over the floor, “sharp, glaring eyes, filled with the wisdom and experience of numerous lifetimes.”

Rain smiled at Elune, answering Reorx at the same time, “I do not know. Raisha should answer, as it’s her preference. I may not be able to say what she wants.”

Raisha smiled at the dwarf as he turned back towards her, “I usually work with either a blade or a gun…but I’m not sure if the shards you have in your hands are enough…”

“Aye...” Reorx looked down at the silvery-blue pieces in his hands and then raised his head, narrowing his eyes at the shard that the reaper kept around her neck.

“Something stirs.” Elune glided over to the master of the forge and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Aye…” the dwarf responded, looking at the Goddess of the Moon, “these pieces are very special--powerful, even, ‘cause of what they hold, but the pieces alone won’t be enough.”

The Reaper bowed her head.

Reorx turned away and moved further into the cave, sifting through various pieces of paper and cloth--obviously searching for something.

Raisha looked up at him and sighed softly, not sure if anything would work out.

“Do not despair.” Kurenkento, the Neko god, slowly walked over to her and pointed a finger at the dwarf, who stood up and smiled, holding a large roll of paper in his hand, “Look.”

“Come!” Roerx beckoned them over to his position while clearing a nearby table of its contents and spreading the large piece of paper on it, weighting it down with small rocks.

“Aye, come n’ have a look at this. Quickly, now!”

On the paper were three drawings--diagrams of a peculiar contraption, with a myriad of lines and incomprehensible writing pointing out different aspects of it. Off to the side of each drawing were what seemed to be complex Mathematical equations written in the same words as the other writing, but using similar symbols as in Earth’s subject.

“This is something that I’ve been trying to figure out how to create for a long while. It’s close enough to a gunblade, ‘though I’m not sure what to call it quite yet.”

Rain bent over the table and looked closely at the drawings while running his fingers over the equations.

“Wait,” he said suddenly, “you said that you were trying to figure it out. What’s the problem?”

“Look ‘ere,” the dwarf pointed out a section on one of the lower diagrams on the paper, “I’ve been trying teh make it sleek n’ streamlined, but if it has teh be like that, there’d be only a few bullets that’d fit in. If I switched it around…”

Reorx pulled up a quill out of nowhere and began writing on a clear space on the paper.

“If there were none of these endless-ink quills around, I’d go insane, I tell ye.” He chuckled before continuing on his previous subject, “see, if I switched it around to take a wider range of bullet sizes, the blade will have trouble folding in, according to this equation I just wrote up ‘ere.”

I see, Raisha looked down at the diagrams, her interest was thoroughly grabbed, these equations help in pinpointing ‘what piece goes where’.

“But ye see,” Reorx looked at the siblings with a wide grin on his face as he placed the shards at the center of the paper, “there’d be no problem now! Isis shall act as the source of yer gunblade’s power!”

“Isis…?” Raisha blinked at him.

“Aye! Did ye not know?! There be a powerful soul trapped inside these gems! That’s where the metal gets the power and colour from! I sensed it and I sure Elune sensed it too!”

The Goddess of the Moon nodded as the siblings looked at each other; neither of them had known. Raisha was especially flustered; she had held Hellfire and then Celestia for all these years, but she had no idea…

“There be only one problem,” Reorx continued, suddenly serious, “I need some special materials for this, and I feel that I should put ye three to some testing tasks before ye receive yer new weapon.”

Rain and Raisha turned to him.

“Aye! Hahaha,” the dwarf laughed while writing something on a smaller piece of paper, “you two won’t disappoint at all! I can tell by the looks in yer eyes.”

Reorx handed the paper to the fencer who had begun to read. As he did so, his smile turned into a wider grin.

“Those are the materials I want ye to go out collect for me. It should be a challenge for ye all, since me lad’s smilin’ like that. Ye should start at the town north of here--there be some wild horses on the nearby plains--taming and seizing them should be yer first test as I’m sure ye three are not goin’ te walk all the ways ye have to go. Ye’ll get to the rest as ye go on, but I’m still sure that ye three won’t disappoint us at all!”

The siblings looked at Zorlo, who had safely tucked away the paper.

“Ready Rai? Rain?” he asked.

The Grim Angel nodded as Elune glided gracefully over to Raisha’s side.

“The Moon and Forest shall be guides to you. You need not fear,” she smiled.


OoC: I’m not sure what materials are on that list, or what ‘tests’ lie in the distance @_@; I also didn’t have them leave yet, because I wasn’t sure if Elune, Reorx or Kurenkento had anything to discuss with Zorlo or vice versa. I'm also not sure if I did Elune and Reorx right >.>;

[Zorolo]

OoC: ALl were good. ^_^ Now then, for what's next. ^_^

BiC: Zorlo stared at what was written on the paper. All three things were legendary materials. "One of the things is a piece of wood that's very rare. It exists in the deepest part of the old forest. However, it is vastly dangerous there, full of ancient and proud beasts that walk about. Ents, commonly known as tree people, exist there. The protect this wood, and refuse to give it to anyone that they don't trust. Odds are, we'll wind up having to fight them."

The Aura Master ran his finger idly over his chin as he thought again. "The second is something called Cloud Mithiril. It's mined in the deepest caves of this land by a race of Mithiril Golems and their creators, the Golden Automatons. This will be tricky since we're dealing with a kind of mechanical beings. They're not so easy to speak to as the Ents, so we'll probably wind up having to steal some of this metal."

The fencer shifted himself slightly and smiled at the two as he spoke of the third thing. "The third thing we're going to get his called Adamantine. It exists in the shell of a legendary beast that's sought in these lands. They exist in the farthest shores of this land. They're formidable, but can be slain. One should give us more then enough, but finding them with the hunters abound will be tough, so we might have to fight some hunters for it. We'll see."

Zorlo smiled as he stepped forwards. "Now that we know what we need, the time has come to decide if we go as a group to get everything we need, since our foes are strong, or if we can all handle fighting these foes one against many. I'll leave that decision to you two, but know I'll be helping."

"Z, calm down. We've got something we need to tell you anyway," Kurenkento yelled out, and the fencer turned, looking at his Master with a bit of confusion. "That guy, Monroe. He's carrying the incarnation of Chaos, Set, within himself. He's the vessel. of Chaos."

"Queer," the Aura Master stated as he looked at his Master. "How could such a thing happen."

"We know not," Elune replied as she smiled at Zorlo. "His past is clouded in shadows and darkness. I'm sure he feels the presence of the chaotic one inside of himself, so I think we need not fear of his ignorance. The question is what will he do?"

"Of that, I have little knowledge. It depends on what happens to him," came the fencer's response as he looked at them. "Anyway, Monroe can handle himself. We should leave him be. If he so chooses, we'll see what he does. Anyway, Reorx, how comes my order?"

"WEll. It is nigh finished. I'll have it t' ye before it comes."

"All right. Thank you all for your aid. Now then," Zorlo said as he looked at his friends. "Are you two ready to get going?"

OoC: I completely BSed the stuff, so sorry that isn't very well defined. Anyway, you were right, there was stuff to be discussed. Hope you liked this post. ^_^

[insaney]

The place they stood in now was like an ocean of grass. Green grass everywhere, every direction, as far as the eye could see--and the eye could have seen far. The horses that Reorx had told them about were nowhere to be seen. Not even on the horizon.

It felt like if they were on a raft, drifting to nowhere in the middle of the ocean. The wind picked up, the grass rustled. Raisha moved her hair out of her face, “Where are we? We’ve been walking for a while, now.”

“Sacae.” Zorlo responded with that familiar grin on his face, “These are the Sacae plains.”

Rain stretched, glaring directly at the horizon. “Reorx told us that there’d be horses here. This place looks like it goes on for miles.”

Raisha nodded in agreement as the three began to walk forward, continuing on their way.

“So,” the fencer spoke again, “have you decided who will go for what?”

The Grim Angel smiled as Raisha spoke out pointing in an easterly direction, “I’ll be heading for the Ents’ Forest.”

Rain pointed directly north, “I’m going for the Cloud Mithril in the northern mountains. I’m really interested in these Mithril Golems and Gold Automaton people.”

“And I,” Zorlo continued after the two, “shall be heading south for the Adamantine beast!”

“I’m not sure, though,” Rain looked up at the sky in thought as he was walking along, “there’ll be trouble with the hunters and all.”

The Reaper looked at her brother and nodded, “Yes…maybe we should all go there first?” She turned to face Zorlo after asking the question, who responded with his usual grin. “It’ll be more fun than going alone,” he said.

As soon as he spoke, a figure appeared on the horizon, seemingly heading towards them at an alarming speed. The ground beneath the three shook, the strength gradually increasing from a minor tremor to a massive earthquake as the figure grew in size as it got closer.

They were magnificent beasts. Horses almost twice as large as normal ones, but they seemed a great deal stronger. As if they would hold two--no, three fully armoured Zorlos. They were swift as well, figures of grand beauty, some had reins on them, some were plain but they were all…

“They’re heading this way!” Rain shouted over the sound of thundering hooves.

“Yes and they’re all heading south!” the fencer grinned, holding his ground.

Raisha put her right foot forward, setting herself. “Look for the ones with the reins flying! Grab them and pull yourself up!”

The horses divided themselves, attempting to move around the three obstacles in their paths. Raisha was the first to grab a loose rein. She lightened herself and flew up into the air over the horse, while both Rain and Zorlo pulled themselves up on separate horses, climbing mountains of muscle. The horses beneath them neighed and snorted, but continued with their stampede. For the Adamantine beast, the three were heading straight south.

[Zorolo]

As Zorlo kicked the sides of the massive horse, causing it to buck slightly as the fencer smiled as he held on for dear life. "This is the most interesting thing I've ever ridden," the fencer noted as he looked at his friends, both of them looking at him slightly oddly. "What, this is the first time I've ever ridden one of these horses. They're most interesting beasts. As for those hunters, I'm sure I can handle the beast on my own, even with them standing in opposition," the fencer duly noted.

"Whatever you say, Z. But still, we want to help you with this," Rain noted.

"Don't think you're leaving me to deal with Master and the others when this is done. I won't do that. Let's just do all three things together." The fencer smiled again as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Anyway, it's safer that way. None of the things we're going to visit is overly kind towards outsiders, I'm sure. That okay with you two?" the fencer asked with his casual smile.

The three road forwards into the yonder. Slowly, the green grass changed into sand and palm trees. Before long, the group of three was at a beach, where the horses refused to go further. Even they seemed to be scared. The fencer hopped down and looked into the near distance. Several men seemed to be engaged in a battle with what looked to be a giant turtle at that moment. Massive chains held the beast, but still it fought back, stomping its feet and releasing massive amounts of dust in waves that crushed the hunters.

The large feet of the turtle kicked and stomped and did what they could until no more of the hunters remained. "Lucky, we get an abnormally large and violent one," Zorlo stated with a smile as he stood up and leapt forwards.

"You're one weird guy, Z. That's probably why I like ya," Rain said with a smile as he followed behind the green haired man, trailed not to far behind by Raisha.

The Aura Master leapt into the air and swung his blade down, striking the monster's shell. THe blade rattled and caused the fencers arm to to shake as he recovered and rolled backwards. "That's one hard shell, be careful," the fencer told them as his natural aura began to flare up. Fight time!

[insaney]

The siblings watched as the beast brutally disposed of the hunters that were after its precious shell. It was fast, for a large turtle. It writhed and struggled as the hunters’ ropes tried to hold it in place.

“Flip it over!” one of them screamed.

“No!” another cried out, “we can’t! We don’t have enough manpower!”

The lot of them screamed as the beast turned its whole body, pulling the men along with it. When a few of them were under it, it would pull in all for legs at once, crushing them. Its neck was also extremely long, able to circle around its shell once, like that of a snake. Its teeth seemed to made of the same material as the shell--it snapped one man in two by just picking him up. When it flung the body away, one half went one way, the next half went the other way.

When most of the men had been killed and the rest began to flee, Zorlo put his own sword forward, striking the beast hard in the shell. His sword vibrated, sending an irritating tune through the air. The fencer rolled backwards, holding his sword arm in the process.

"That's one hard shell, be careful!"

Rain and Rai looked at each other.

“Switch?” She asked, holding out Rain’s katana.

Rain grinned and handed her his kodachi. “Yep,” he responded.

The Grim Angel set himself, putting one leg stretched out forward, and the other leg slightly bent. The fencer looked over at him as he flared his aura--that stance, the Gatotsu, was familiar to him; Rain had used it once in the battle against the fencer himself.

“There is nothing,” the angel, pushed forward, raising a line of dust behind him, “that this Gatotsu cannot pierce!”

A loud CRACK! echoed throughout the area as the sound barrier shattered. That sound was followed by a mind bending vibrating noise as the tip of the blade went straight through the side of the shell.

A trickle of blood ran down out of the crack as Rain pulled the sword out.

This won’t do.

The beast howled, stretching out his neck and swiveling it around searching out its attacker. The head howled once more, and darted towards the one who had just hurt it.

Rain grinned swinging the sword to the side as it came.

There was a flash from above; Raisha came down upon the neck, using the same attack that she had used against Roery in Chinatown. There was a large explosion of sand as she connected. When she came into view again, she was standing outside the crater, watching in amazement as the beast raised its head once more--the attack had no effect.

“It looks like his neck is coated with the metal, too.” the reaper said, as the beast looked at the three. It was mostly interested in Zorlo, who seemed prepared to deliver another blow.

[Zorolo]

Zorlo smiled as the monster turned to face him, power surging from the green haired man's body as he pointed his sword which, much like his body, was covered in emerald flames. The aura poured from deep within his soul and materialized before this foe in order to pass prove if the three were truly worthy of the great beast's hide. The fencer felt the blade of his sword growing sharper and sharper as he held it tightly, the aura making the blade much razor-sharp.

The Aura Master placed his feet firmly against the ground, the sand being pushed away around him and creating a crater in the ground around the green haired man. The sand rocketed into the air as fencer erupted forwards, sand circling around him as he moved forwards ever faster. A sudden clang, followed by a massive blade of green energy cutting into the air cracked the turtle's shell slightly to the right of the head, sliding the monster back a few feet. "Aura Getsuga!" Zorlo stated as he rested his sword upon his shoulder.

Blood dripped from the crack onto the ground and the fencer looked a bit bothered by the fact the beast hadn't taken more damage. "Well, that didn't go as well as I planned." The Aura Master clenched his fist and thought for a second. Blades against that hard metal shell aren't going to work. It's clear we can cut and pierce through the shell, but not enough to cause any real damage. Maybe...

Zorlo continued to think as Raisha grabbed him and moved him out of the path of the turtles feet. "That was close," she stated as Rain appeared next to the two.

"Z, I think we need a new strategy," Rain stated as he lowered himself slightly.

"I've been thinking about that," the Aura Master noted as he looked at Apollo's blade. "I have been..." The fencer trained off again as he thought, trying to come up with the best solution to this battle. The turtle began to move again, but the fencer didn't. The fencer actually sheathed his sword and reached his hands into his jacket pockets. The Aura Master removed his gauntlets and leapt into the air, tightening the metal hand guards as he did so.

The gauntlet glowed a powerful green flame as the fencer brought his fist down like a comet upon the shell of the turtle.

Snap!

THe massive shell cracked in four places from the attack, and the fencer leapt backwards, landing in the sand and smiling his normal smile. "If we can't cut or pierce it, why not break it open with blunt force. It doesn't seem to like that," The fencer stated. He'd proven that just a few moments before.

[insaney]

A loud SNAP! echoed throughout the area as Zorlo’s blow sent cracks running all over the shell. The fencer leapt backwards, landing gracefully on the sands of the shore beside the siblings.

"If we can't cut or pierce it, why not break it open with blunt force. It doesn't seem to like that." he smiled, tightening his fist to prepare another blunt force, aura powered-pound to the shell. The green aura flared all around his hand, moving like flames to his upper arm.

Zorlo was right; the Adamantine beast did not like the treatment it was receiving from the three. It was thrashing about, waving its head in all directions, snorting and screeching at the top of its lungs. The beast had obviously lost its temper and, like a spoilt child, was having a fit of rage.

“Hey Z,” Rain interrupted the fencer before he had a chance to try again, “I have another idea.”

“Oh?” he responded, most eager to hear his partner’s plan, “Very well, Rain, I’m listening.”

The Grim Angel smiled. “Follow my lead.” was all he said.

With that, he exchanged weapons with his sister once more, taking the short sword and handing her the long sword.

“Ready when you are,” she said.

“Alright, let’s go, Ai.”

Rain leaped up high into the air, bearing his sword similarly to how he did before, entering the stance of the dangerous thrusting attack. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sister blur passed him, surpassing his leap height. As the angel started to descend, he let out a loud war cry before pushing the blade downward into the creature’s shell--or, more precisely, into a crack that was on the shell. The blade stuck fast, but Rain didn’t attempt to pull it out. Instead, he leaped backward and stood beside the fencer once more, who was stroking his chin in thought.

“Ah,” he said, “I think I see what you’re doing. Good plan!”

“Then you’ll need a boost.”

“That’s right, my friend!”

Rain set himself, bending over slightly and placing his hands together, making a ‘step’ for the fencer. Zorlo ran up to him and planted his foot swiftly, but firmly unto the makeshift step. As soon as he did that, Rain heaved him upward, using most of his arm and back strength.

There was another flash from the sky as the reaper came downwards at full speed, barely catching a glimpse of the fencer as she blurred passed him. She came down upon the stuck sword, slamming it even further in with her devastating version of the Dragon’s Hammer. The sheer force of the blow forced large pieces of the shell to fall apart, revealing the soft flesh underneath.

The fencer came down next. With his arm flaring and pulsing of green aura, and slammed his fist into the remainder of the creature’s shell, causing most of it to pop off as the beast squirmed. As the fencer leapt away, pulling out Rain’s sword in the process, the beast gave one final roar before it rested its head on the ground.

It was quiet, now. A flock of seagulls flew overhead, surveying the area. The waves crashed on the shore, reaching out to the still beast. Rain began dragging a large piece of the bloodied Adamantium shell along with several of the ropes that the hunters had…left behind.

“We should leave the rest of the metal and meat for the hunters hiding over there,” Aisha grinned, pointing to a set of bushes that rustled as soon as she lifted her finger.

“Right,” her brother agreed, throwing some ropes at her and the fencer, “I think this large piece should be more than enough.”

It was indeed large; the three could have comfortably laid down on it and it would still have room to spare.

“We can’t lift this thing while carrying it back to Reorx’s cave,” Rain continued, motioning toward the horses that were grazing a little way off in the distance, “we’ll have to drag it back.”

[Zorolo]

It took a while to do, but the three managed to get the massive piece of the shell roped up and attached to three massive horses. It took a bit to get the horses to move, but when they were finally rustled into position and attached to the shell, they began to move, albeit slowly, towards the Forge God's workshop. Despite how long it would take to get the massive shell to the mountain workshop, it was clear that, in fact, the three were one step closer to being finished.

As the horses galloped on, the fencer and the siblings all seemed to be pondering something, probably something different each. For the green haired man, it wasn't how amazing that battle had just been, despite how much the Aura Master had enjoyed fighting that creature, but something different. The green haired man found himself caught up in other thoughts of things that were happening. After all, not too long ago, Johnny had died, Zachary had finished his training and was free now, and the fencer knew that interesting things were going to come of what had transpired already.

It's interesting all the things that have happened thus far. Death, suffering, and rebirth. The nature of the heroic legend. They say those who die will live on in our hearts, but there are those who seek such a mythic status. Mayhap I'll take that place one day, but who knows. Well, one never knows these things until the day of death comes.

The Aura Master laid himself back a little bit and looked up into the sky, thinking a little bit more. It felt good to have time to think, mostly since the fencer normally always found himself doing something or other. Hopefully before long they would wind up back at Reorx's forge and let him start work on whatever he wanted. They wouldn't know until the weapon was done of course, since that was some of the Dwarf's genius.

As for Zachary, I wonder how he is doing? He left for training a little while before we left here. I wonder how that is going? I know you're growing stronger, my young squire. The question is how much will you grow? Will it be to the point you can surpass me? Mayhap you will. Mayhap you shan't. Who can tell, aside from fate. All things need to occur before they can truly be revealed to us all. I can't wait to see what fate has in store for Zachary.

As the thoughts within the Aura Master's mind faded, the horses stood outside the door of the den. Now the only thing left to do was get Reorx to find a way to move the metal and move on. This would, truly, be interesting.

[insaney]

He looked at the three, then at the horses, then at the large piece of metal on the ground.

He started laughing.

“Ahehehehe! Ye brought the last piece first!” he said, still trying to contain his laughter, “I can’t get any work done with this alone, ye know! Perhaps I should have told ye that I needed either of the other two materials first.”

Reorx walked over to the large piece of Adamantium which still lay bound behind the horses. The dwarf laid his hand on it and felt it. He moved his hand from side to side before puckering his lips to blow some of the dirt away.

“But it’s a mighty fine piece of metal,” he spoke, stroking his long, red beard, “it’s a lot, too--I mightn’t need any for a long while te come!”

The God of the Forge turned to the horses now, resting his hand on one of them and petting the mane.

“And some might fine beasts as well. As I suspected, ye did not disappoint!”

Zorlo grinned at this, while the siblings chuckled.

“Now, boys,” he began speaking again, looking at Rain and the fencer, “I don’t expect te lady to be doin the heavy liftin!”

Reorx chuckled while Rain responded with a smile and a simple, “That’s fine.”

Rain and Zorlo held ends of the large piece of metal and lifted it, having some difficulty doing so. It was a little complex, but they found a place to rest the large metal down inside Reorx’s crowded workshop.

The two other Gods were there as well, looking at the Grim Angel and the fencer as they walked up and down behind Reorx, looking for a place to rest the thing down.

But they had no time to rest now; the other two pieces were waiting.

Elune saw them off as the three mounted their horses once more. The horses neighed and snorted, ready to move their massive muscles.

“Now!” Zorlo grinned, slapping the horse on the behind as it turned around, “To the Ents!”

[Zorolo]

The sound of the horses' feet crushing the ground filled the air as the three road fiercely forwards on their large horses. The might beasts had amazing endurance and strength, along with a great deal of courage. Still, a strange feeling lingered in the air. Something much unknown to any normal mortal, however, the Aura Master wasn't a normal mortal. Still, a strange, almost angry air began to fill the land. as the horses rushed forwards, something seemed to appear slowly.

Zorlo looked around as a faint, white mist began to form below the three and their horses. The ever thickening mist made the landscape appear something more sinister than what it had prior to plains or desert. Something about the now visible forest they were nearing was terrifying. Even to the fencer, a feeling of some form of dread came over and an almost looming shadow seemed to stand high above the world. Aside from the eerie, white mist, the landscape seemed to get darker.

The horses came to a screeching stop! The three were nearly thrown off of their individual horses as the massive creatures stopped. The dark, almost evil seeming forest stood before the group. The green haired man leapt down from his horse, and not so long after, the Grim Angle and Reaper followed. As the white mist poured from the forest, the fencer narrowed his eyes and rested a hand on a tree. Something occurred to the Aura Master. Something he had been told by Kurenkento not too long ago.

"This forest is angry. This forest seeps with anger and malice. The trees of this forest despise the immortals that live elsewhere in this realm, and they are intent on taking it out on invaders." Zorlo's voice was serious and stern as he lowered his gaze to the ground and a tear dripped from his eye.

A few moments passed before the fencer raised his head and looked into the forest. The dark innards were almost awe filled, since the green haired man had never found a forest he didn't enjoy. This forest was sinister and evil. The forest felt almost like the Forest of Whispers when Zorlo had first gone there. This foreign feeling didn't sit well with the green haired man.

The Aura Master sighed as he looked up and turned towards the others. "This forest... the trees... they're angry. Master told me that long ago the immortals and the trees went to war. In this realm, it was an important thing, since the Ethereal Forest has a massive amount of wild Ethereal Nature Element. If harvested by the trees and the Ents, the trees would have been powerful enough to conquer other realms they thought. In the end, the gods won, but the trees here are bitter. The Elders... we must talk to them. We have to convince them to help us... but that won't come easily. I'm sorry... we'll be in danger until we meet the elders."