Post by WoDBerlin on Dec 8, 2010 12:55:40 GMT 1
A dark-furred Black Spiral Dancer walked over to Adran and undid his shackles.
“Betray us and you'll be the first to die.”
Katrine was able to slip out of her shackles using her Ragabash gifts, but as she saw Adran being released by the BSD, she confronted him with a snarl.
“Traitor!” She shifted into crinos and made herself ready for an attack on Adran. The other Dancers were already bracing themselves against the attack from the skies.
Adran shifted into crinos as well and tried to explain,
“She lied to you. We need to get that book away from her...“
But Katrine had already lunged, raking her claws across his chest. Adran's frustration at the situation, coupled with the pain of being hit, filled him with rage and he followed up with an attack that tore into Kat's chest and came out with a gush of blood. Both then took another two swipes, but both missed by a wide margin. Then Adran's claw connected hard with the wound that Kat had taken earlier and pulled out a critical organ or two, but Luna's rage filled her, just enough to lash out at Adran before she drifted into unconsciousness. Katrine's claw took out a chunk of Adran's side out, but he was still able to move, at least until he started vomiting up blood. He had to use one hand to keep his insides from falling out due to the wound Kat had given him. Adran could still see Katrine breathing, but only just barely. He knelt down next to her and channelled his essence to heal her wounds. Katrine blinked, surprised.
“What do we do?” she asked, looking around as the Black Spiral Dancers braced themselves for the aerial assault.
“We need to get the book,” Adran whispered.
Danny caught a glimpse of Adran and Katrine struggling, then saw them head towards the book and knew what he had to do. With the gift the spirits had taught him as a young Galliard, he directed Anna and Cloud-Dancer.
Keep the bastards away from those two. They are our last chance.
Then he called and Simeon and Vasara to him.
We'll take out the witch. Follow me.
He folded his wings and dove, claws extended, towards Joni.
Adran and Katrine made their way to the book, hoping the arrival of the others would give them some time, but they were immediately blocked off by two Black Spiral Dancers. The larger one, a male with broad shoulders and an angry snarl, rounded on Katrine. The second, a woman carrying a bone, faced off with Adran. Within seconds, Cloud-Dancer's icy shards hit the man straight in the face, and one of Anna's arrows was stuck in the woman's side. A second later they were on the ground, Cloud-Dancer's axe rending flesh from bone as Anna's teeth found the woman's throat.
The rest of the winged Garou overhead began their own attacks as Adran and Katrine got into battle. Vasara took point and the two Silent Striders followed him as they dove straight towards her. She was ready for them, and electric blue bolts of lightning shot from her hands to strike them down before they could reach her.
Vasara collapsed only a few inches from her, gasping and twitching, but Danny and Simeon landed their blows, despite the lightning. Danny did very little as he landed next to her, but Simeon came away with a chunk of flesh from her arm. She hissed, as if the large clawed werewolves were nothing but a mild annoyance getting in the way of her plans.
The Hag, meanwhile, glanced up from the book and with only a look, delivered her orders. Two of the Black Spiral Dancers moved towards Vasara. One of them was large, and as he moved, his claws started to shine silver in the moonlight. The second had the light grey fur of a Fenrir, but the marks of the Wyrm were drawn across his torso and back. Vasara willed himself to forget his pain with the gifts of Fenris and got to his feet just as the Silver-Clawed Dancer gave a snarl and lunged. But then Danny and Simeon were again by his side, fighting with him.
At the same time three Spirals, one of them club-footed, closed in around Kasiya and Konstantin. If they had any thoughts of going to aid their friends or calling for help, they were now extinguished. Konstantin raised his hammer ready to fight, and even Kasiya knew that this was his only choice. He would have to go down fighting with his Sept. This was what it meant to be Garou.
And so began the battle. On three fronts, claws, teeth and steel clashed and blood and viscera splattered the Umbral grass.
Only the strange witch and the Hag were not bothering to fight. They moved towards the book as the Black Spiral Dancers held off the Garou. This was their plan, and it was more important.
“Tangled-Web hasn't returned with the stone,” the Hag croaked.
“There is another way,” said the witch-woman. “Christiane, come here.”
Konstantin looked up for a second as he heard his daughter's name through the roars and snarls. She looked terrified, but moved towards her mentor as if under her spell. The witch-woman took her by her wrist with her good hand and led her towards the book.
Somehow, Konstantin saw it coming before it even happened. Even as the Dancer turned towards him, a wave of energy came off of Joni. From their point of view, it looked like it was aimed at Christiane rather than at him. Christiane was enveloped in a halo of energy, which then dissipated and flowed back into Joni. She screamed as her very life-force was ripped from her and dropped to the floor dead. As he watched his daughter die, Konstantin felt his rage overcome his senses, and by the time he got it back, the witch-woman was lying dead at his feet with her skull bashed in from his hammer.
But he was too late. His daughter's lifeless body now lay a few feet away, and the Hag wore a satisfied look as she began to chant in the ancient tongue of the tribe. The book started to glow.
A screech interrupted the chanting and two birds flew over the battle. One was a large white feathered Owl, with wings not unlike the wings that the Sept had. It flew over towards Adran and Katrine and dropped the sword, Tyrfing, into her hand.
Come with us. It whispered.
The second was a smaller falcon, it flew with incredible speed towards the book and grasped it with its talons just as the Hag swiped it with its claws. It barely had enough life left in it to fly back to the edge of the clearing and drop the book into a waiting Emelie's hands.
Now, run. Said Merlin, and collapsed in the clearing, the last of his essence fading away.
And Emelie did. Amid screams from the Hag to retrieve the book, she clasped it in her arms and bolted.
And the battle raged on. Both the male and female dancer now lay motionless.
“Go, follow her, make sure she does what she needs to do,” Cloud-Dancer said to Adran and Katrine. Both of them were suffering from deep wounds, but neither of them let the pain wear them down. They followed Emelie into the woods.
Cloud-Dancer dragged Anna to her feet and surveyed the battle field. One one side, Konstantin alone swung his hammer against the Hag with a rage that she had never known, and would never know. At the other end, the Silver-Clawed Dancer faced off against both Danny and Vasara while his ally lay dead. Simeon was on the ground, nursing a stump that was once his leg. The Dancer ripped through Danny's chest as Vasara bit deep into his shoulder and ripped out an arm. But even as Anna rushed forward to help her Alpha, Cloud-Dancer dragged her back and towards the three Dancers intent on ripping Kasiya to shreds. There was no way he could fight all three of them on his own. Anna felt her own rage take over as she recognised not one, but all three of the Black Spiral Dancers. With a howl she flung herself into the battle. Cloud-Dancer's labrys followed and with just two swings, the club-footed Dancer was dead.
But then another loud glorious howl echoed through the woods. It rung battle mad and proud with the voices of the two Ahrouns. Even though they were only two, Saxon and David were welcomed. They battle was going badly for the Garou, and right now their last hope was failing fast.
Saxon saw his Alpha go down against the large Silver-Clawed Dancer, as both the Silent Striders lay bleeding and motionless. With a snarl he leapt at the Dancer showed him the true strength of Bear as he ripped his throat out. David saw Anna struggle for breath as a heavily-tattooed Dancer's claws closed around her throat. His snarl caught in his throat as he recognised the Dancer too, and he felt his own rage take hold of him, and his claws and teeth guide him to destroy the man he had sworn vengeance to.
But even with the newcomers, the battle was going badly for the Sept. Only four of them were standing in the clearing now, Saxon, his claws red with the blood of the Silver-Clawed Dancer, Cloud-Dancer, with Medraut screaming to avenge the fallen, David, with the taste of his enemy still in his mouth and Konstantin, whose grief was now only surpassed by his rage.
Anna twitched and gasped for breath as her already weakened heart threatened to give out.
And now the Hag was standing, glaring at the remaining Garou with a terrible hatred and anger. But she had one last card left to play. If the two in the forest didn't prove completely useless, she would still have her ritual.
But now she needed to take care of these last aspiring heroes.
She looked down on them as she grew in size, her skin taking on a spongy grey texture. Spores poured from her mouth and nose. The smell alone was enough to make the Garou hesitate, but the sight made them summon their last will to stay standing and not run in terror. She gurgled and spluttered.
"Kill it!" screamed Cloud-Dancer, and the three Ahrouns didn't need to be told twice. With an anthem of war they charged fearlessly into battle.
The Umbral forest loomed ahead as Emelie ran. She felt she was being followed. The loss of her totem and her pack was still there, at the back of her mind, but it would be a while before she let it sink in properly. Now she had to follow Owl. And that was what she was doing.
Two unseen figures slunk the woods. One was large and female, the other small and male, but both moved with the darkness and shadows as only a Ragabash could. They knew full well that they couldn't fail the Hag. Not again.
And in the forest, Adran and Katrine too were tracking Emelie. They were close behind, but neither of them caught sight or sound of the two shadows in the dark.
Emelie stopped at the edge of the forest, catching her breath and estimating the direction. She only stopped for a second but that was their cue to pounce.
In the forest, Adran and Katrine heard a howl of pain and rage. Within moments they joined the battle, and Tyrfing screamed as Katrine slashed at the larger of the two Dancers.
There's no time. We must go. Owl said. Emelie's leg was searing with pain but she tried to struggle to her feet. Adran wasted no time, but gave the last of his essence to keep her moving.
“Go with her, I'll hold them off,” he said to Katrine.
“Are you sure?” Katrine asked, but Adran's look of determination was enough. She nodded and together with Emelie, they followed Owl towards the city.
It was only determination and force of will that kept Katrine and Emelie running. The city unfolded around them, but they never stopped, despite the webs, and despite the weaver. And nothing stopped them. Somehow, the city seemed to know that what they were doing was important for its survival. But what they didn't know was that it was important for the world's survival. So much was at stake that nothing interfered with the two runners as they made their way towards the centre of the Berlin.
And then, just as they thought they could run no longer or they would collapse, they stopped to catch their breath, and the strange uniformed man joined them.
“You have brought what we need,” he said. “There is little left to be done, but understand this. What you have done here today, and what your Sept has done to help you, will alter the course of history. The world today stands at the brink of war. This can be an era of peace, or it can spell the end, the war to end all wars. Are you ready to do this?”
Katrine had no idea what 'this' was, or what the spirit was talking about. But Emelie nodded.
“We're ready,” she said.
The spirit looked at Katrine.
“Come to me,” he said. And then he held her hand, and melded with her body. A strange feeling took over Katrine. She felt she was part of the city. For a moment, she felt she was the city. She heard and saw every sleeping child, every brick, every tree, and all of its pain and suffering through history. She felt hope and despair, joy and sadness, and pain and elation all at once. It was almost too much. Emelie saw her tremble as tears streamed down her face.
But for once, Katrine knew what to do. She raised the sword and stabbed the book. It seemed like a silly thing to do, and from what Adran had told her, it wasn't even supposed to work. Anna had tried to rip the book to shreds and it had reformed. But somehow, she knew she had to do this. She knew because the city knew. And she was the city.
And Emelie felt the book in her hands begin to burn, and she dropped it. Katrine felt Tyrfing burn, she felt her hand burn, but she couldn't let go, because the spirit was holding on tightly.
“Let go,” Emelie said. “Let go!”
“I can't,” Katrine said. But even as she spoke she knew it wasn't her speaking. It was the spirit.
“It has to burn, so the city won't.”
Slowly, she felt herself weaken as the last pieces of the book burned. But she knew it wasn't her that was weakening. It was the spirit.
“Let go, or you'll die,” Emelie begged.
“As long as the city lives, I will too,” said the spirit
On the physical side, Berlin slept, the people themselves oblivious to the battle that had raged on the other side of the gauntlet. Nobody knew of the sacrifice the members of Berlin's last Sept had made to keep their city alive. A few months later, the wall would come down and the city unified. An era of peace would begin for Berlin and the wall, a symbol of division and oppression, would be destroyed.
The sun rose slowly in the clear sky, and brought with it the first day of spring. .
“Betray us and you'll be the first to die.”
Katrine was able to slip out of her shackles using her Ragabash gifts, but as she saw Adran being released by the BSD, she confronted him with a snarl.
“Traitor!” She shifted into crinos and made herself ready for an attack on Adran. The other Dancers were already bracing themselves against the attack from the skies.
Adran shifted into crinos as well and tried to explain,
“She lied to you. We need to get that book away from her...“
But Katrine had already lunged, raking her claws across his chest. Adran's frustration at the situation, coupled with the pain of being hit, filled him with rage and he followed up with an attack that tore into Kat's chest and came out with a gush of blood. Both then took another two swipes, but both missed by a wide margin. Then Adran's claw connected hard with the wound that Kat had taken earlier and pulled out a critical organ or two, but Luna's rage filled her, just enough to lash out at Adran before she drifted into unconsciousness. Katrine's claw took out a chunk of Adran's side out, but he was still able to move, at least until he started vomiting up blood. He had to use one hand to keep his insides from falling out due to the wound Kat had given him. Adran could still see Katrine breathing, but only just barely. He knelt down next to her and channelled his essence to heal her wounds. Katrine blinked, surprised.
“What do we do?” she asked, looking around as the Black Spiral Dancers braced themselves for the aerial assault.
“We need to get the book,” Adran whispered.
Danny caught a glimpse of Adran and Katrine struggling, then saw them head towards the book and knew what he had to do. With the gift the spirits had taught him as a young Galliard, he directed Anna and Cloud-Dancer.
Keep the bastards away from those two. They are our last chance.
Then he called and Simeon and Vasara to him.
We'll take out the witch. Follow me.
He folded his wings and dove, claws extended, towards Joni.
Adran and Katrine made their way to the book, hoping the arrival of the others would give them some time, but they were immediately blocked off by two Black Spiral Dancers. The larger one, a male with broad shoulders and an angry snarl, rounded on Katrine. The second, a woman carrying a bone, faced off with Adran. Within seconds, Cloud-Dancer's icy shards hit the man straight in the face, and one of Anna's arrows was stuck in the woman's side. A second later they were on the ground, Cloud-Dancer's axe rending flesh from bone as Anna's teeth found the woman's throat.
The rest of the winged Garou overhead began their own attacks as Adran and Katrine got into battle. Vasara took point and the two Silent Striders followed him as they dove straight towards her. She was ready for them, and electric blue bolts of lightning shot from her hands to strike them down before they could reach her.
Vasara collapsed only a few inches from her, gasping and twitching, but Danny and Simeon landed their blows, despite the lightning. Danny did very little as he landed next to her, but Simeon came away with a chunk of flesh from her arm. She hissed, as if the large clawed werewolves were nothing but a mild annoyance getting in the way of her plans.
The Hag, meanwhile, glanced up from the book and with only a look, delivered her orders. Two of the Black Spiral Dancers moved towards Vasara. One of them was large, and as he moved, his claws started to shine silver in the moonlight. The second had the light grey fur of a Fenrir, but the marks of the Wyrm were drawn across his torso and back. Vasara willed himself to forget his pain with the gifts of Fenris and got to his feet just as the Silver-Clawed Dancer gave a snarl and lunged. But then Danny and Simeon were again by his side, fighting with him.
At the same time three Spirals, one of them club-footed, closed in around Kasiya and Konstantin. If they had any thoughts of going to aid their friends or calling for help, they were now extinguished. Konstantin raised his hammer ready to fight, and even Kasiya knew that this was his only choice. He would have to go down fighting with his Sept. This was what it meant to be Garou.
And so began the battle. On three fronts, claws, teeth and steel clashed and blood and viscera splattered the Umbral grass.
Only the strange witch and the Hag were not bothering to fight. They moved towards the book as the Black Spiral Dancers held off the Garou. This was their plan, and it was more important.
“Tangled-Web hasn't returned with the stone,” the Hag croaked.
“There is another way,” said the witch-woman. “Christiane, come here.”
Konstantin looked up for a second as he heard his daughter's name through the roars and snarls. She looked terrified, but moved towards her mentor as if under her spell. The witch-woman took her by her wrist with her good hand and led her towards the book.
Somehow, Konstantin saw it coming before it even happened. Even as the Dancer turned towards him, a wave of energy came off of Joni. From their point of view, it looked like it was aimed at Christiane rather than at him. Christiane was enveloped in a halo of energy, which then dissipated and flowed back into Joni. She screamed as her very life-force was ripped from her and dropped to the floor dead. As he watched his daughter die, Konstantin felt his rage overcome his senses, and by the time he got it back, the witch-woman was lying dead at his feet with her skull bashed in from his hammer.
But he was too late. His daughter's lifeless body now lay a few feet away, and the Hag wore a satisfied look as she began to chant in the ancient tongue of the tribe. The book started to glow.
A screech interrupted the chanting and two birds flew over the battle. One was a large white feathered Owl, with wings not unlike the wings that the Sept had. It flew over towards Adran and Katrine and dropped the sword, Tyrfing, into her hand.
Come with us. It whispered.
The second was a smaller falcon, it flew with incredible speed towards the book and grasped it with its talons just as the Hag swiped it with its claws. It barely had enough life left in it to fly back to the edge of the clearing and drop the book into a waiting Emelie's hands.
Now, run. Said Merlin, and collapsed in the clearing, the last of his essence fading away.
And Emelie did. Amid screams from the Hag to retrieve the book, she clasped it in her arms and bolted.
And the battle raged on. Both the male and female dancer now lay motionless.
“Go, follow her, make sure she does what she needs to do,” Cloud-Dancer said to Adran and Katrine. Both of them were suffering from deep wounds, but neither of them let the pain wear them down. They followed Emelie into the woods.
Cloud-Dancer dragged Anna to her feet and surveyed the battle field. One one side, Konstantin alone swung his hammer against the Hag with a rage that she had never known, and would never know. At the other end, the Silver-Clawed Dancer faced off against both Danny and Vasara while his ally lay dead. Simeon was on the ground, nursing a stump that was once his leg. The Dancer ripped through Danny's chest as Vasara bit deep into his shoulder and ripped out an arm. But even as Anna rushed forward to help her Alpha, Cloud-Dancer dragged her back and towards the three Dancers intent on ripping Kasiya to shreds. There was no way he could fight all three of them on his own. Anna felt her own rage take over as she recognised not one, but all three of the Black Spiral Dancers. With a howl she flung herself into the battle. Cloud-Dancer's labrys followed and with just two swings, the club-footed Dancer was dead.
But then another loud glorious howl echoed through the woods. It rung battle mad and proud with the voices of the two Ahrouns. Even though they were only two, Saxon and David were welcomed. They battle was going badly for the Garou, and right now their last hope was failing fast.
Saxon saw his Alpha go down against the large Silver-Clawed Dancer, as both the Silent Striders lay bleeding and motionless. With a snarl he leapt at the Dancer showed him the true strength of Bear as he ripped his throat out. David saw Anna struggle for breath as a heavily-tattooed Dancer's claws closed around her throat. His snarl caught in his throat as he recognised the Dancer too, and he felt his own rage take hold of him, and his claws and teeth guide him to destroy the man he had sworn vengeance to.
But even with the newcomers, the battle was going badly for the Sept. Only four of them were standing in the clearing now, Saxon, his claws red with the blood of the Silver-Clawed Dancer, Cloud-Dancer, with Medraut screaming to avenge the fallen, David, with the taste of his enemy still in his mouth and Konstantin, whose grief was now only surpassed by his rage.
Anna twitched and gasped for breath as her already weakened heart threatened to give out.
And now the Hag was standing, glaring at the remaining Garou with a terrible hatred and anger. But she had one last card left to play. If the two in the forest didn't prove completely useless, she would still have her ritual.
But now she needed to take care of these last aspiring heroes.
She looked down on them as she grew in size, her skin taking on a spongy grey texture. Spores poured from her mouth and nose. The smell alone was enough to make the Garou hesitate, but the sight made them summon their last will to stay standing and not run in terror. She gurgled and spluttered.
"Kill it!" screamed Cloud-Dancer, and the three Ahrouns didn't need to be told twice. With an anthem of war they charged fearlessly into battle.
The Umbral forest loomed ahead as Emelie ran. She felt she was being followed. The loss of her totem and her pack was still there, at the back of her mind, but it would be a while before she let it sink in properly. Now she had to follow Owl. And that was what she was doing.
Two unseen figures slunk the woods. One was large and female, the other small and male, but both moved with the darkness and shadows as only a Ragabash could. They knew full well that they couldn't fail the Hag. Not again.
And in the forest, Adran and Katrine too were tracking Emelie. They were close behind, but neither of them caught sight or sound of the two shadows in the dark.
Emelie stopped at the edge of the forest, catching her breath and estimating the direction. She only stopped for a second but that was their cue to pounce.
In the forest, Adran and Katrine heard a howl of pain and rage. Within moments they joined the battle, and Tyrfing screamed as Katrine slashed at the larger of the two Dancers.
There's no time. We must go. Owl said. Emelie's leg was searing with pain but she tried to struggle to her feet. Adran wasted no time, but gave the last of his essence to keep her moving.
“Go with her, I'll hold them off,” he said to Katrine.
“Are you sure?” Katrine asked, but Adran's look of determination was enough. She nodded and together with Emelie, they followed Owl towards the city.
It was only determination and force of will that kept Katrine and Emelie running. The city unfolded around them, but they never stopped, despite the webs, and despite the weaver. And nothing stopped them. Somehow, the city seemed to know that what they were doing was important for its survival. But what they didn't know was that it was important for the world's survival. So much was at stake that nothing interfered with the two runners as they made their way towards the centre of the Berlin.
And then, just as they thought they could run no longer or they would collapse, they stopped to catch their breath, and the strange uniformed man joined them.
“You have brought what we need,” he said. “There is little left to be done, but understand this. What you have done here today, and what your Sept has done to help you, will alter the course of history. The world today stands at the brink of war. This can be an era of peace, or it can spell the end, the war to end all wars. Are you ready to do this?”
Katrine had no idea what 'this' was, or what the spirit was talking about. But Emelie nodded.
“We're ready,” she said.
The spirit looked at Katrine.
“Come to me,” he said. And then he held her hand, and melded with her body. A strange feeling took over Katrine. She felt she was part of the city. For a moment, she felt she was the city. She heard and saw every sleeping child, every brick, every tree, and all of its pain and suffering through history. She felt hope and despair, joy and sadness, and pain and elation all at once. It was almost too much. Emelie saw her tremble as tears streamed down her face.
But for once, Katrine knew what to do. She raised the sword and stabbed the book. It seemed like a silly thing to do, and from what Adran had told her, it wasn't even supposed to work. Anna had tried to rip the book to shreds and it had reformed. But somehow, she knew she had to do this. She knew because the city knew. And she was the city.
And Emelie felt the book in her hands begin to burn, and she dropped it. Katrine felt Tyrfing burn, she felt her hand burn, but she couldn't let go, because the spirit was holding on tightly.
“Let go,” Emelie said. “Let go!”
“I can't,” Katrine said. But even as she spoke she knew it wasn't her speaking. It was the spirit.
“It has to burn, so the city won't.”
Slowly, she felt herself weaken as the last pieces of the book burned. But she knew it wasn't her that was weakening. It was the spirit.
“Let go, or you'll die,” Emelie begged.
“As long as the city lives, I will too,” said the spirit
On the physical side, Berlin slept, the people themselves oblivious to the battle that had raged on the other side of the gauntlet. Nobody knew of the sacrifice the members of Berlin's last Sept had made to keep their city alive. A few months later, the wall would come down and the city unified. An era of peace would begin for Berlin and the wall, a symbol of division and oppression, would be destroyed.
The sun rose slowly in the clear sky, and brought with it the first day of spring. .