[Aella]

Aella sought retribution. This, above anything else, was why she was here risking her life. She stood proudly over her kill, her hands still grasping her sword whose faint crescent-shaped edge rose and fell in rhythm with her breath. Her heart raced, too, and adrenaline coarsed through her veins. Even if this creature had some way of conversing with their group, even if it had been the most charming diplomat that had ever lived, she would still try and cut it down. She only hoped that her companions wouldn't mind.

A quick glance about her told that the knot was drawing ever closer; she caught fleeting images of metallic reflections and heard the crunch of leaves underfoot (or perhaps underhoove). She felt in danger, moreso than before.

As good a fighter as any one of them may be (and Aella certainly did not claim herself by any means skilled), they were at a numerical disadvantage, and with a poor position to boot. The one orating was distant, the ones lurking at their flanks and rear more immediate, but for one of the creatures to do something so different than the rest Aella could only assume that in that difference lay power.

She had tried to read the emotions of her companions, hoping to glean some new insight, but she felt morally conflicted. It was as if each one of these creatures had taken away her home, her family, and her chance to make amends with the past. And now they wanted to kill her, too? To harm the sacred order of nature? How much life must they destroy before they feel sated?

"To Hel with that!"

She slashed the air as if the creature had been immediately infront of her. She slashed as if the sizable distance between her and her target did not matter. And as she slashed she drew upon her element, abundant and readily available, and compressed and wrapped it as best she could about the disturbance the blade caused in the air.

Her efforts made no noise, not much more than she would have made if she had simply waved Foehn about like a loon. There was a soft whooshing akin to a gentle breeze, and the faintest of outlines shaped as a crescent traversed the course between her and her target.

And then, a deafening boom.

The creature stood with its muscles tensed and polearm rooted in the ground before it. A small circle of earth at its foot appeared untouched, but past an arm's length five-meter-long gashes marred the soil and split rock and limb. It was as if an ancient tree had been torn from the soil, its deep roots clinging till the last moment and tearing everything apart in one last act of defiance. The whole area was asunder - everything except the ground the creature stood upon, and, to Aella's astonishment, the creature itself.

Piper's Boutique || Jessica Clark

[Ionia]

Nia was still pissed at Misha, but since the giant animal-thing was running at her, she channeled her anger toward the strange creature instead. She dodged and counter-attacked each time it swung the heavy axe at her. However, the first time she deflected the blade of the heavy axe, Nia was sent stumbling backward by the sheer force of the ox-man's strength. As she avoided the next blow by swerving behind a tree, a good third of the trunk splintered apart from the impact of the blade. Eyes narrowed with focus, yet scanning for other assailants when she could, Nia vaulted backward for wider berth from the rest of the fight.

Charging after the skotadi, Nia's opponent raised his axe-handle for another swing, and that's when the heaviest of shadows descended from the leaves. The pillar slammed at a sharp angle against the flat of the blade, knocking it clear out of the malaki's grasp. As the blade skidded across the forest floor and the malaki faltered with surprise, Nia drove her dagger into its heart. Mythril twisted easily in the beast's skin, but Nia's triumph was short-lived. In the seconds before the creature realized that it should be dead, its heavy hand slapped Nia toward the ground. She'd raised her arms to block it just in time, or her head would have been off her shoulders.

As she slid over the dirt, she heard Jericho's shouts about a portal, dinner, and something about a whole barren world. Soon, the vanguard was surrounded, and while the creatures had halted their attack, their menace showed that it would only be temporary. Nia knew enough about war and conquering to agree with Jericho—Elysia was ripe for the picking and there was no way in Hel that the creatures would leave it alone. If even one of the monsters returned to their portal, Elysia would soon see swarms.

“We'll kill all of them.” The skotadi's voice rang harsh and clear as she strode near Raph, the ground at her feet roiling with shadows. As Aella initiated the second attack, Nia saw Raph combine his own winds at the nymph's target, and Nia turned immediately to spin a throwing knife toward one of the bulls. The knife sank into the corded muscle in the beast's neck, but not nearly as deep as it usually would have. Not even...

[Official NPC]

Captain Lysistrata had been adamant that sending an untrained rabble into the forest was a bad way to gather intelligence (least of all with an officer of the Varagoi instead of a proper spy), but her superior officers had sent them anyway, recklessly ignoring her concerns so they could pander to as many political factions as possible. Everyone wanted to know what under Hel was going on, and no one was willing to wait for others to bring them answers. Now she was the one stuck with a ragtag band of individuals who had either very little combat training, couldn't take orders (especially as no one had designated a proper leader), or who just plain didn't play nice with others. As a result, the idiots separated as soon as the fighting began.

What she wouldn't give for a formally trained squadron capable of staying in formation and responding without question to her commands.

“Form up, you runts!” Exasperation seethed from her shouts as she struggled to gain some control over the situation. She was accustomed to the structure of the Apali army and, without it, floundered. “Back to back! Form a circle so they can't get the drop on us!”

Olympias was used to being obeyed, but she was worried. That moron, Nimisha, had already screwed them over badly; instead of gathering the intel they needed and then taking the best course of action (such as cutting off the bulls—Malaki, had the telepath called them?—from this portal he mentioned to be sure they couldn't escape to bring reinforcements, or waiting for back-up for the same reason), he had forced their hand. And now he and the other, Aella, were breaking their Creed left and right. The captain didn't like that one bit. She liked to peg people in their proper places and wasn't sure how to react when they deviated from the norm. Their unusual behaviour was making it difficult to predict their movements or to plan out a strategy for their defence.

“Let's come out of this in one piece before we worry about the rest of them!”

[Kiel]

Kiel didn't like the thought of massacring an entire clan, which was kinda the impression he got from what Jeri had said and what Nia was telling them they had to do, but, like, he liked even less the idea that there were more of these things ready to pluck his home dry if they got wind of Elysia's existence or, like, richness of life and whatnot. Like, now that he thought about it, he guessed they were pretty lucky, really. Like, Nirim was pretty green and varied, too, for the dragons, but he'd heard stories about Zanarya being drier or something and always just figured that they liked it that way. But, like, he'd heard other stories about Earth, like, choking people now, or maybe it was the other way around, and, like, what if not all the realms were ideal for their residents, you know? He kind of couldn't blame these Malaki things for wanting a new home if theirs was bad for their health, you know? Like, the grass is greener, and all that.

But, like, damn it, they'd killed mercilessly and eaten people. Like, that made him so mad he just, like, rawrrrr, you know? They didn't have the excuse of being animals like the hydras or the vlareons, or, well, he guessed maybe vlareons weren't really animals, if some of the stories about them were true, you know? But, like, if Jericho could translate thoughts and intent, they couldn't say they were only operating on instinct, you know? And they'd killed so many people, like, entire communes, that they couldn't only be doing it just for the food, you know? And, like, Chandric was teeming with life, okay? Like, okay, so it was way creepy and dark and unfriendly, but it was definitely lively, so they really had absolutely no excuse at all for, like, eating people.

“Like, rarrrrrgh!” He had tried to get a head count, but Aella's attack, like, triggered a counterattack. (And, like, what the heck was up with the Nymphs going Rutilus on their butts, man, for sers?!) The Malaki she'd targetted stood at the centre of the carnage, like, totally unfazed. It (he? she? It was kinda hard to tell) lifted its axe and roared, like, and it was some kinda signal 'cause the others were suddenly rushing at the vanguard in the middle. By instinct, Kiel, like, stepped forward to act as a blockade so the more vulnerable members of his group had some physical barrier and could concentrate on their, like, you know, the good stuff.

“Shield!” He yelled, kinda desperate. Shane had hunkered down beside him, ears flat an tail high ready to, like, be all pouncey and stuff. “Somebody! Shield would be good!” Two Malaki were headed right for him, one with a, like, ginormous axe and another with a spear thing so long he'd be taller than Zeph if he got impaled on it. “Somebodyyyyyy. Now would be good!” He saw Nia toss a throwing knife that acted more like a nuisance to the bull she'd hit than actually causing damage, so he tossed three in quick succession at the bull with the spear. The first two did nothing, but the third caught the thing in the eye, and, like, dude could that thing roar. The other Malaki kept on coming. “Now, now, now, now, now, now!” He threw his boomerang in wildly haphazard fashion, hoping that it would at least, like, distract the bulls even a little bit, and, like, drew his hook swords quick-sharp 'cause, like, he figured deflecting was more urgent than trying to get up close and personal, you know?

[Faris]

There was a brief lull in combat, and the din of metal upon bone and more metal softened just enough for Faris to hear the word "portal" leave Mister Jericho's lips. He had not been able to catch anything that came after the one-word exclamation, but it was enough. Faris let go of his bubble of water. He could not make out anything from the restarting clamour of combat. Still, the painful gasps for air by the prone figure down below were obvious to him.

Portal.

It was just one word, but immediately several connections had sprang to his mind. They had come from another world. They knew how to use a portal. They had a portal. They had been forced out from the world they had originated from. They were considered 'evil' by Elysians. It was not a complete match, but the points of resemblance where they existed, were uncanny. Faris studied the bull-person once more, lifting a hand to the side of his head. Before his hand was even halfway there however, the hand was forcefully jerked downwards, curling into a fist.

Exactly how many have you abandoned, Xanth? You –

“Somebody! Shield would be good!”

The familiar and mildly grating sound of Kiel's calls for help broke Fari out of his reverie. After a moment of silent indecision, he tore his eyes away from the bull-person and focused his attention back to the trapped members of the vanguard. Kiel was nowhere near being his favourite person in the world, but they were not complete strangers. At least he would accomplish more here than trying to communicate with the bull-person he had been attacking mere seconds ago.

The Rutilus was in a bad spot, having somehow caught the attention of a good number of bull-people. Luckily the uncertain path of Kiel's boomerang had bought him a bit of time, and the bull-people had not quite closed in on him yet. Quickly, Faris created a heavy downpour that soaked the ground, then swiftly gathered and concentrated itself to form walls of water. Slightly quivering and very wet, the thick walls of water segregated everyone on the ground into smaller groups. Not the most conventional of shields, but the walls had cut off a few of the bull-people completely from the vanguard, which would offer reprise for most of its members.

With the exception of Kiel. A number of bull-people had been heading towards him. So unlike everyone else who was more or less evenly matched in numbers, the loudmouth Dracovari had been saddled with three bull-people. Even Faris had to wince a little. The Rutilus was in for a tough fight.

....Tough luck, I guess?

Spoiler

OOC: Apart from Kiel everyone else gets to decide their grouping on the battlefield \o/
The walls are about one arm’s-length thick-ish? and characters can actually pass through the walls, but there's some resistance, and they'll need to hold their breaths

[Kiel]

The second the water walls slammed down, Kiel breathed, like, a sigh of relief and stuff. Like, they only had water-bender on the team so, like, he yelled out, “Like, dude, Faris, thanks, man!” They had met before this venture and, like, Kiel was pretty convinced the Zanaryan didn't like him. Like, the stymphy feathers were so not his fault, okay? But, like, the dude had still given him the shield he'd asked for, so, like, he had to be a nice guy, you know?

Except, like, “Wait, wait.” Three on one was so not cool, man, for sers! “Wahhhhhhhh, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!”

[Jericho]

Jericho was ecstatic to be at the centre of a group of outmatched fighters. Really. He even said as much. “Are you nuts, woman? Clump us together like this and they'll only need a couple of swipes!” Lysistrata shot him a glare, and then suddenly they were cut off from one another by a wall of water. Jericho blinked, glanced left and right without moving his head, and then looked up. The walls were tall enough to trap his allies, but Misha had said the Malaki could clear ten feet easy.

“Taller!” he called out, unsure where the Marid responsible for the wall was. “Make it taller!”

At his back, Rusty and Ninian were getting completely thrashed by a Malaki with four horns. “Idiots,” he snarled, “you're getting your butts handed to you by a female. Kick! Kick!” If the Therians were listening to him at all, they gave no indication. Instead of kicking her snout in like he wanted, they were backpedalling and looking the bull up and down for weak spots. That forced Jericho to move with them or else not have his meat shield any more.

“Uh, Jericho...” Ninian glanced over a skinny shoulder.

“Yes, Nin?” He was surprisingly calm, given the situation.

“Any chance of you doing that thing you do?”

“If you think you can keep that thing off me long enough...” The pair lunged forward to tackle the Malaki female. Jericho cast a glance about, peering through the water walls to locate the nearest targets besides the one trapped with them, and then stumbled back another step so he could feel the water rumbling at his heels. Pulling into himself and blocking out everything around him but the three targets, he plucked at old memories of the worst pain he'd ever felt and then shoved it back out.

A second later, three Malaki stopped to clutch at their heads, their screams ripping through the clearing. Jericho touched a finger to the blood seeping from his nose and gave a rare grin. He'd pushed harder than ever before, and the Malaki collapsed, unconscious. Rusty and Ninian glanced at one another. Nin lifted a hand, claws out, and slashed at the female's throat.

[Maaike]

Maaike couldn't stay in falcon form any longer. She didn't revert by choice so much as got the wind and the feathers knocked out of her when she was slammed bodily against a tree by a rampaging bull. She was lucky, really, that the impact hadn't just killed her. As it was, she'd gotten separated from the others and didn't have chance to take stock of the situation.

She felt oddly more vulnerable in human form. She was still dwarfed by the bulls but didn't have the falcon's manoeuvrability (or its talons). She wasn't an offensive fighter so she normally used her environment to wear down her opponents, but there were too many of them and they were more agile than they looked. When one gave chase, she kicked off a trunk, grabbed a low branch and swung up into the tree. That normally would have given her the opportunity to catch her breath or assess her next move, but the damn thing jumped straight up and almost grab her ankle.

“Yip!” Startled, she snatched her foot out of reach but lost her balance. She twisted in mid-air, and caught a branch with both hands. The air exploded out of her lungs, driven by the impact across her diaphragm, but she didn't have time to stop. She turned the fall into another swoop, flipped around at the peak of the swing, and used the return arc to smash the chasing bull's nose with her foot. It staggered but recovered faster than she'd hoped.

Maaike used the time the bull was shaking its head clear to climb higher and dart along a thick branch to a neighbouring tree. The Malaki followed, prodding at the leafy vegetation over its head with one of those long spear things. Maaike frantically scanned her tree for some sort of weapon but the branches were either too short or thin to do any damage, snapped off too easily, or wouldn't budge. Typical.

Then she caught a glimpse of what looked like a maze built of water, surrounded by more of the bulls, and heard Blabbermouth's yelps. Okay. All she had to do was get to them and then at least she'd have back-up. But where was Aiden? He wouldn't just abandon her, would he? He better still be alive, damn him.

When the Malaki's spear poked up into her vicinity, Maaike slammed a foot against the shaft to trap it against the trunk and then threw the largest branch she could find, as hard as she could manage, on top of the bull's head. It roared and shook its head again, loosening its grip on the spear long enough for her to snatch it up and out of its reach. Aggravated, the Malaki bent its knees, glaring up into the tree, and Maaike realised it was going to come after her.

“Bad. Bad idea, Maaike.” As it pushed off, she fled along another sturdy branch into another tree, and another, until she was right over the water maze, the bull thrashing through the growth behind her.

[Aella]

Hel erupted, with Kiel at its epicenter. Malaki poured out from the woodlands, axes and spears raised high.

Aella hunched down, steadying herself. Beads of sweat trickled down her bronze skin.

Kiel called out for a shield, though she had no way of obliging. That captain of sorts barked some orders, too. And then, battle.

Walls of water materialized around her, cutting her off from the others. They were opaque and suspended midair. An ally's trick, no doubt; a cruel ally, to trap her with two Malaki and naught space to dodge. Droplets of moisture cascaded off the walls and a thin mist hung upon the air. Foehn lapped it all up, trails of steam rising from the gleaming metal like wisps spiralling languidly towards the stars.

Both of her partners had axes the size of her, and their eyes burned like hot coals. They advanced.

So she went to meet them.

And then slammed aside an axe aimed to cleave her from shoulder to groin with a sudden gust of wind, sending it off course and embedding it into the ground at her right. Its wielder stumbled, its arms exposed and attention diverted. It was an opportunity she had to take. She raised Foehn. The other malaki took two huge steps towards her and swung at her armored abdomen, so she turned into the attack and quickly slashed down at both the axe's haft and the creature's hands. It missed the latter but sliced clean through the former, which shriveled, dessicated. The heavy head of the axe spiralled past her (she had to lean into both malaki or take a grazing hit) and disappeared within the cascade of water.

The other malaki yanked its weapon from the ground. Aella had no space to move. Her eyes darted between both adversaries. The one discarded its broken weapon and moved to grab her. She spun towards him while the other swung at her back.

She lept at the target infront of her, narrowly escaping the weapon at her back but slamming hard against the creature's chest. It backpedaled then seized her arms at the wrists, yanking them to either side. She clung to her sword, thrashing and kicking, but could not free herself. The elements became her only weapon.

The beast ground its fingers into her skin and Aella cried out in pain. My wrists are being crushed, she thought, tears welling in her eyes. The creature shook her sword-arm and easily flung the blade aside. When held, her slim body made an easy target. The other warrior meant to prove just that.

But a second before he could, the hold upon her wrists vanished. Blood flooded back into her palms, searing like flame in her veins. Her captor had brought his hands to cradle his head and screamed in shrill agony, though she had not a clue why.

She quickly gathered all the air about her, gave it form and substance, then aimed it like a javelin at the bull's back.

And then fell prone as he lurched - right into the axe of his companion. Blood splattered everywhere, Aella catching most of it. She had to force back her desire to wretch.

Having just slain an ally, the other creature exploded with rage. It swung at her, but she rolled to her side and thrust forth her arm, blasting her and the weapon away from one another. Aella didn't have a chance to get up; a hooved foot slammed into her flank sending her tumbling. The back of her head ricocheted off a partially unearthed stone and her breath was forced from her. A warm slickness slid down her nape. When she tried to stand she immediately stumbled and fell again. Her vision was blurred. At her side multiple copies of Foehn smoldered, the grass around them brown and dead. If only Hesperos were here. Everything hurts. She went to grab her sword.

And looked up to see her enemy towering over her, a hoof ready to crush her ribcage.

She made the air pressure drastically increase around the creature's head, forcing down upon it with all her will. Her heartbeat rose dangerously as she exerted herself more than she had ever before.

Pop.

The warrior's eardrums burst and bled out freely. The bull froze for a second, stunned, but a second was all she needed to bring Foehn from where it lay on the ground up and across the creature's exposed leg. She felt sorry, but with her body wracked in pain any sympathy was short-lived. The malaki fell, on no fault of its own, so she pushed herself up and stood over it as it had over her. In its eyes she searched for the truth about her family and her home, for an answer for all of this suffering. Finding nothing, she gave him death.

Piper's Boutique || Jessica Clark

[Maaike]

The axe head that Aella had sent flying scythed through the water wall, slowed a little by the resistance but not nearly as much as a person might have been. It cut through the calf muscle of one of the three Malaki fighting with Kiel, then thrashed into the undergrowth. As the antlered creature's leg buckled, spurting blood, and it fell to its knees, Maaike flung herself from her tree with the spear clutched in her hands and pointing down. The impact as it pierced into the Malaki's spine jarred all the way up the shaft, but she managed to hang on. Using the dying male's shoulders as leverage, she flipped back, clear of the melee to put the water wall at her back.

When one of the remaining two Malaki diverted from Kiel to her, Maaike rolled under a swing of its axe to grab the shaft of the bloodied spear, but the damn thing was wedged deep in tissue and thick, corded muscle. Even in death, the things were too bloody stubborn to give an inch.

“Hind's teeth!” Pivoting and leaning to avoid another swing, Maaike spun toward Kiel, frantically scoping him out for a weapon she could use. “Damn it, why couldn't you have a real sword or a huge axe or something like normal Ruts?” She seemed to have lost the bull that had been chasing her, at least. Maybe if she had time to morph into her naga form, she'd stand a chance...

OOC// 7 adults and 1 youth left alive (1 of them unconscious near Jericho somewhere).

[Official NPC]

Konokay was shamed. He had lost his spear to a tiny humanoid female. He chased her through the trees but his antlers snagged on branches that became too narrow to support his weight or provide sure footing. He was shamed a second time when he crashed through the lower canopy into the undergrowth below. One of the braves saw it and pointed with his runka at the fallen warrior, his head thrown back and a chuffing noise coming from his throat. The brave was laughing.

Back on his feet in no time, Konokay smashed his antlers into the brave's. Garnak staggered back, furry fingers clapping to his bruised head. Konokay snatched the younger Malaki's spear for his own and turned away without a word, headed for the maze. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. He reached out to touch it. He prodded it. It gave a little beneath his weight. His head tilted back so he could assess the height of the walls. He could jump or push his way in if he wanted.

Something caught his eye overhead, a glimpse of a flying creature. His first thought was, "Mystrider", but the colours were wrong and there was no myst. He pointed and chuffed to draw the attention of the warriors around him, and they looked up, too. Still feeling the shame of losing his spear, his words were short and sharp. “What is that?” They shook their heads and shrugged.

Konokay moved back the way he had come. Garnak gave him a wide berth, then shook his head and backpedalled when Konokay insisted on moving closer. When he clutched the brave's shoulder, Garnak jutted out his chin in defiance. “Come with me.” Knowing better than to refuse, the brave followed him as he jumped up, back into the lower canopy of the trees, and then higher — high enough to see that whatever was flying overhead had its own rider who was looking down at the cascading walls of water and gesticulating. Some of the humanoids they had killed before had commanded water and air and earth just like that.

Grunting, Konokay pushed down foliage and then held out the runka to Garnak. “Prove yourself to me.” He pointed up. Garnak grunted back, braced himself, and threw his spear with all his might.

[Kiel]

“Wah!” Kiel deflected a spear with one of his hook swords and pivoted under it, but the Malaki was too strong to let go of it and, like, hen he came back up from his turn, he got, like, a face full of furry fist. Blood spurted from his nose and into the back of his throat, and he staggered back a step, stars totally ringing his head. Shane's snarl sounded right by his ear and he realised he was on his back, pain buzzing in his calves like he'd been literally swept off his feet.

“Wah!” He was, like, totally a goner, man, for sers! He rolled and tucked in his elbows to avoid an axe swipe, then kicked out at the Malaki's wrist where it was holding onto the shaft. He rolled back and used one of his throwing knives like a pick-axe, digging the blade into a rope of calf muscle 'cause he'd lost his hook swords somehow when he got flipped. And then an axe head came out of, like, nowhere and took one of the Malaki off at the knee and, like, Kiel glimpsed a flash of orange as Maaike leaped out of the trees to be all, like, skewer one of his assailants on a suspiciously familiar-looking spear. She was totally a klepto, man!

Using her diversion to roll back to his feet, Kiel lunged for one of his hook swords and turned for the other, only to find Shane totally holding it for him in her teeth. He took it and swung back to deflect a blow and, like, yelled at Maaike. “Like, dude, my katana has sharp and pointy bits too, okay?!” He could kinda guess what she was talking about, though. Like, these guys had much longer reach than them 'cause they were taller and had, like, weapons to match. Kiel's katana would only be useful if he could get way too close for comfort but, like, it had a diamond edge and that would cut through, like, pretty much anything. Like, right? Except like maybe other diamonds. Even so, probably their best bet would be if he could get that spear free of Maaike's victim and, like, be all wieldy and stuff.

“Shane!” Already getting the gist of what he needed through their Chosen bond, Shane, like, pounced at one of the Malaki and sank her fangs into its thigh. She ducked away and pounced again, this time latching onto its wrist so it couldn't be all, like, stabby with it. Kiel sheathed his hook swords and yanked out his katana as he turned, forcing the other Malaki to pull back before it could grab Maaike by the throat. “Maaike, here!” He tossed the weapon in the air and, like, trusted her to watch his back; reaching for the shaft of the spear, he pulled as hard as he could. The weapon came free of the spine it had skewered and he, like, totally turned with it to jab haphazardly.

[Faris]

Hearing the various clamours from below, Faris could only conclude that Elysians generally lacked an understanding of the concept of appreciation. He concentrated on the thankless job keeping the walls up regardless, with a fierce scowl on his face. Just maintaining them were taking up all his concentration; adding new ones or even altering the shape of those already present was out of the question. The amount of calculation was a fair bit too much for him to handle, which was why Faris usually preferred to use his ability on a smaller, closer scale.

After all, they seemed to be doing alright in spite of the vocal complaints being made. Bull-people were going down, rather quickly too in fact. Faris surveyed the battleground laid out in front of him, feeling quite pleased with himself.

He was considerably less pleased when the anka beneath him suddenly swerved. The water walls collapsed with the break in his attention, splashing onto the ground unceremoniously. As he slipped from his seat and begun his downward tumble, Faris caught sight of something. A glint of light in the far distance. Perhaps it was just a lake, but it was the wrong direction for it. Were there other lakes in the Chandric perhaps?

But there was no time to dwell on such matters; Faris was free-falling downwards, going faster and faster with every passing moment. Instinctively he worked through the shock that had gripped his mind, creating something so familiar to him that it would need next to no calculation. It was an instinctive manipulation, and despite it being on a larger scale than usual a translucent structure quickly formed and caught him.

The initial impact still hurt, but not as much as landing on solid ground would have been. Faris was now rolling down a watery mimicry of a rainbow, a liquid slide that thoroughly soaked his tunic and breeches. Not quite managing to right himself in time, Faris ended his ride with a sideward roll onto the Chandric undergrowth. He came to a stop not long after, and reached out for his trident. He waited for his vision to stop swimming back and forth, making no move to stand up.

"... Ships over ankas any day, any day."