The Battle of Death Mountain: Beta

[Ezrihel]

The young blonde stands with the group, putting off a regal but relaxed air. Sure, Demetri had sort of rushed this entire thing down on her head at the last moment while they had been inside the tavern. Sure they had just made a wickedly-mad dash across mystical Camelot, the blank canvas of the Nexus and even the parched steppes that made up this rugged landscape. Certainly, she had flown up a cliff wall and stood at the top, laughing playfully at Demetri for lacking the wings and grace that she had.

She had even sharply scoffed at the fact that IRIS, Demetri’s little pet AI, had called her a succubus and a human. She was no human! Her blood ran purple in her veins and she had wings and a grace unparalleled by any mortal being. Even amongst her people she was a deity of destruction and vindictive justice. No, she did not take kindly to being called a mere human. She had looked at the machine with pointed and visible distaste at that point and wandered to only herself how painful it would be for her to rip the AI from Demetri’s body. Of course, she wouldn’t act on her thoughts, and would simply hide the emotion and greet the leader of this whole sha-bang with respect before the teams parted ways.

That sound that rang out, a shrill chorus of a thousand disjointed cries, bought exciting memories back into her mind. The war, that crimson red and eggplant purple which painted everything on the field of battle, and even- aah, yes, even the forlorn cries of those vanquished beneath the edge of her blade. That somberly primal and dissonant song caused the fine transparent hairs on her arms and neck to seemingly prickle, feeling as though they were standing on end from the melody. It brought into her body that same kind of primal dissonance that urged her to fight, to feel the blood of her foes hot against her pale skin, hear the snap and pop of bones, to be powerful and to have control. It made her thirst for dominance over any who ever so dared stand in her way.

And now certainly, they were most positively here to get this job done. She had been briefed with all of the details on what needed to be done, and what squad she was assigned to. She had committed these instructions to her practically infallible memory. It was because of these small facts, along with the notion that she now had her trusted sword by her side, that she was more than confident to take on this situation.

Upon entering, she immediately noticed how hot the interior was. It was borderline uncomfortable, something that would only annoy her more so if her clothes managed to catch fire from the heat, but she doubted that it would unless she somehow happened to actually dip part of her clothes into the veins of lava. One could easily assume that the humidity was due to various gases clinging to the ceiling, floors and walls of the sticky dark cave.

She also noted that aside from the constant groaning of the volcano and their footsteps, the caves were strangely quiet. It only served to put her more on alert. Her body was tensed, poised and ready to dodge an oncoming attack should any foe try to surprise her. Extending her senses outwards, she could still feel nothing except her group. This action and fact, while it put her at ease for any sort of immediate danger, still made her feel uneasy. There was no way possible that this being, Volvagia, would leave any area unguarded, no, not in it’s own home. Then again, maybe she was attributing too many higher features to this great beast. She wasn’t even sure it could think above responding to threatening stimulus. The beast was after all, simply that, a beast. Nothing more, nothing less. It was likely that it didn't have any sense of strategy in the slightest.

She watches calmly as she walks alongside the group, though she would stay closer to Demetri’s position as she could trust him most clearly to help her fight if the need arose. She knew him the best out of all of the primes, including the young Erik Vrell. She could smell the sharp musky odor of sweat begin to come off of every human in the group, especially the red-helmeted man. She knew that he must be hot under that head cover. The pungent odor caused her to flare her nostrils before exhaling sharply, clearing the scent from her nose before she took another breath in.

With that same detached and somewhat uninterested calm, she watches as the red suited one runs ahead of the group, taking on the role of a combat ready scout and telling them that a few could join him if they wanted. Erik, the young and distasteful brat who she had met before, agreed and followed suit, though not going along the same path as Red. She could feel them, out there in that void called darkness, sitting and hiding, waiting and watching out for the rest of the group.

Soon though, the three remaining members of the group pause to allow one of the rock creatures to plant an explosive load in a structurally critical spot. Finishing its task, it looked up at the dark figure Nealaphh and stated its conclusion. Taking this in mind, the group moved forwards, down the ever curving corridor.

It was normal for a volcano’s caves to be perfectly circular, but even she had to admit that it was strange how neat and precise, yet rudimentary and flawed this tunnel was. She was unsure if this was yet another strange happenstance of nature’s architecture at work, or if this tunnel was something more. Maybe even constructed in some ancient far off time before she had arrived. Maybe it was just the will of the Smiling One that the cave be carved in such a way. Maybe the confusion over that simple fact bought him a sort of tyrannical pleasure. She didn’t know, nor did she feel too compelled to continue on her current train of thought.

Looking over at Demetri, she touched his right arm in a gentle fashion with her slender and pale left hand. This was less a movement of genuine concern and care for the man, and more to gauge his reaction to the setting they now found themselves in, though, what he would see it as, she couldn’t control. If he turned his head to look at her, she would look into his eyes, reading his face before blinking twice and tilting her head to the side in a seemingly curious manner. She need not say anything aloud, for she allowed her soft face to express it all for her. She raised the inner edge of each brow, giving a look of questioning and concern. With just her expression, she had asked ‘How are you feeling? Are you holding up so far?’

After observing him for nothing but a mere second more, she would again bring all of her focus to her surroundings. She hadn’t completely blanked them out while paying attention to Demetri, but she had split her attention to some minor amount. Not enough to allow a sneak attack from a foe on her level of skill, but enough to process his response. With a deathly amount of focus, she continued to follow Nealaphh, the strange being; her High Frequency O’katana resting in its black lacquered-wood sheath hanging on her left hip, but her right hand was gripping the hilt of the sword, ever ready to withdraw the sword and use lethal force. Her left hand would return to her side, also gripping the sheath of her blade. This small detail would allow her an easier time when drawing her sword as all she would have to do was push the handguard up with her thumb and into her awaiting right hand.