Æhti's Nucleate had wreaked havoc upon the structural integrity of the creature's bones and the durability of its flesh; the stream of flame from Cælum's lips easily decimated it into a sopping pile of burned, gelatinous meat and charred bone. Cleaning that mess up would be an unpleasant endeavor, but at least it was finally dead. The Galsterei was not foolish enough to have lingered once the beast began to fall apart, saving him from being covered in the sloughs of meat and bile that fell from the thing as it died.
Regrouping with Abraia, "...a Wisp or two has to have seen something," he muttered. He was not as quick to anger as she was, but surely, whatever system they had in place that utilized the Wisps as sentinels must have flagged this aberrant event somehow.
It made him wonder: were similar events occurring around Ælheim in tandem and they were simply tending their own settlements first, or were they waiting to see if Cælum was capable of defending his Grove on his own before intervening? However, this was something he ought to ponder more once the danger had fully passed rather than leave himself distracted now.
The young man then rolled his shoulders and patted himself down, checking for injuries. He found none– his magic had succeeded in protecting him from anything more than a few scrapes and wear to his clothing. Looking to Cælum, "thankfully I seem to be alright!" he called up to the dragon.
"It very well might have been made from Paradisian residents, but we can't really be sure of that unless somebody recognized any of those congealed faces," Æhti responded to Abraia with a grimace.
But as they'd been fighting, a cacophony of sounds had started to build– more creatures in the darkness scuttling about as well as the screams of Cælum's chattel. Except at this point, it did not sound as if they were being killed or eaten; their screams did not cut short and there were none of the awful noises of consumption to accompany them. Rather, it was as if they were being carried off somewhere?
If the trio were to listen, they might be able to get a general idea of where the women and children were being taken– off over to where there were few buildings; an open, burned field of the badlands Cælum had added to his territory yet not built anything upon yet.
"They– they don't sound like they're being killed yet– maybe we can save them?" The boy looked hopeful, however foolish or naïve that might be.
Æhti would be off in that direction on foot with Abraia should Cælum assent. However, due to Cælum being capable of flight, it was likely he'd arrive before the others.
Waiting for them in that field was a bizarre sight– there was a massive portal, shimmering, starry aether glowing at the edges, white and fiery, greatly contrasting with the darkness blanketing the village. Monsters of all shapes and sizes were scuttling about, skittering to and fro, throwing people– Cælum's people– into the portal with reckless abandon. On the side farthest from where the trio would arrive stood a strange creature.
It was a strange, skeletal abomination; each of its joints floated next to each other, not quite connected. As it moved, it became evident that its pieces did not need to be anywhere near one another to function, either. Proportionally, its pieces were also much larger than the average man, and its anatomy made little sense. For one thing, it had three floating heads atop its neck, but for another, its spine did not connect to its pelvis. Rather, it snaked forward, carrying another set of ribs, shoulders and arms as well as a fourth head, all of which floated above and before the pelvis. It moved with mechanical authority, like a foreman overseeing a worksite, directing the wild beasts apparently within its control to continue gathering more and more victims.
Regrouping with Abraia, "...a Wisp or two has to have seen something," he muttered. He was not as quick to anger as she was, but surely, whatever system they had in place that utilized the Wisps as sentinels must have flagged this aberrant event somehow.
It made him wonder: were similar events occurring around Ælheim in tandem and they were simply tending their own settlements first, or were they waiting to see if Cælum was capable of defending his Grove on his own before intervening? However, this was something he ought to ponder more once the danger had fully passed rather than leave himself distracted now.
The young man then rolled his shoulders and patted himself down, checking for injuries. He found none– his magic had succeeded in protecting him from anything more than a few scrapes and wear to his clothing. Looking to Cælum, "thankfully I seem to be alright!" he called up to the dragon.
"It very well might have been made from Paradisian residents, but we can't really be sure of that unless somebody recognized any of those congealed faces," Æhti responded to Abraia with a grimace.
But as they'd been fighting, a cacophony of sounds had started to build– more creatures in the darkness scuttling about as well as the screams of Cælum's chattel. Except at this point, it did not sound as if they were being killed or eaten; their screams did not cut short and there were none of the awful noises of consumption to accompany them. Rather, it was as if they were being carried off somewhere?
If the trio were to listen, they might be able to get a general idea of where the women and children were being taken– off over to where there were few buildings; an open, burned field of the badlands Cælum had added to his territory yet not built anything upon yet.
"They– they don't sound like they're being killed yet– maybe we can save them?" The boy looked hopeful, however foolish or naïve that might be.
Æhti would be off in that direction on foot with Abraia should Cælum assent. However, due to Cælum being capable of flight, it was likely he'd arrive before the others.
Waiting for them in that field was a bizarre sight– there was a massive portal, shimmering, starry aether glowing at the edges, white and fiery, greatly contrasting with the darkness blanketing the village. Monsters of all shapes and sizes were scuttling about, skittering to and fro, throwing people– Cælum's people– into the portal with reckless abandon. On the side farthest from where the trio would arrive stood a strange creature.
It was a strange, skeletal abomination; each of its joints floated next to each other, not quite connected. As it moved, it became evident that its pieces did not need to be anywhere near one another to function, either. Proportionally, its pieces were also much larger than the average man, and its anatomy made little sense. For one thing, it had three floating heads atop its neck, but for another, its spine did not connect to its pelvis. Rather, it snaked forward, carrying another set of ribs, shoulders and arms as well as a fourth head, all of which floated above and before the pelvis. It moved with mechanical authority, like a foreman overseeing a worksite, directing the wild beasts apparently within its control to continue gathering more and more victims.
꧁══════════• ༺༉ { Entity, Æhti } ༉༻•══════════꧂
꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂
꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂
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