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The Celestial Empire (Romance of the Three Kingdoms-ish, Updated 12/09/05)
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<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1799881" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p><strong>What Was That Bolt from the Blue?</strong></p><p></p><p>“I don’t like this one bit,” Felonca heard Nayu complain several hours after the road entered the small gully. With each step forward, the gully seemed to get deeper, its sides tower higher and higher over them. It was some miles back when Felonca couldn’t see over the rim to the lands beyond.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t either,” Felonca mumbled as she put her horse into a slightly faster canter. <em>If we can just get through this place..</em> She gave a slight shiver, as she felt the very rocks seem to close in around her, and the military part of her training crept to the front of her mind once again...</p><p></p><p><em>This is the best place for an ambush I’ve seen...</em></p><p></p><p>Suddenly, something powerful struck her from behind, almost knocking her from the saddle. Immediately, pain washed from the middle of her back, over her shoulder blades and through her limbs.</p><p></p><p>She reeled forward in her saddle, as the scream of panicked horses erupted around her, along with the curses of their riders as they desperately tried to regain control of their mounts. Instinctively, her hand painfully crept towards her back as she felt Nayu and Liu’s hands grabbing her, propping her up. To her surprise, her hands found no arrow or bolt quivering from her back... instead they felt a burn mark in her cloak.</p><p></p><p>“You okay?” she heard Nayu’s worried voice. When she opened her eyes, she saw him alternately looking at her in worry, and up towards the hills in fear.</p><p></p><p>“I’m tolerable,” she grunted back, sitting up again in the saddle. The pain was still there, insistent, but she was still able to move around. Her eyes joined the search, only to see a few skittering pebbles tumbling down the side of the gully behind her.</p><p></p><p>“Ride!” Li’s sharp, urgent command hit all of their ears, and Felonca put her spurs into her steed as the column broke into a gallop, only seconds before a bright flash burst from the side of the gully ahead. A blue bolt of power, looking much like the bolts that Nayu cast before, slammed into Li’s chest. The old warrior reeled back slightly in the saddle, as Felonca caught a barest glimpse of what had done the damage.</p><p></p><p>A skeleton, scrambling behind a rock ahead, the glint of steel in one of his hands.</p><p></p><p>“We’re surrounded!” she heard Nayu shout, as her twin warfans came out instinctively.</p><p></p><p></p><p>“Split up! Miyan, Lu, Felonca, follow me! Chou, Nayu, Liu, and the rest of you, head towards those things up ahead and drive them out! We’ll hold the ones coming from behind!” Li bellowed, the aged warriors longsword already glinting in the afternoon sunlight.</p><p></p><p>Nayu gave an uncertain glance to the rider beside him, only to see that Chou had an unnerving grin on his face.</p><p></p><p>“Now we’ll get to see how well you wield that morningstar of yours?” the young soldier grinned fiercely, before drawing his own blade and dashing forward.</p><p></p><p>Nayu watched only momentarily, before focusing his mind in a now familiar mantra. AS he felt the magic building within him, his eyes followed Liu dashing up the hill with uncanny speed. The monk seemed to leap and bound over the rocks as if they were mere pebbles. A split second after he reached the lip of the hill, Nayu heard him yell to his ancestors in surprise.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Felonca heard the yell as well, and suppressed the momentary urge to look back. Instinctively, she partially cringed, expecting another blast at any moment as her eyes searched about near the spot where she’d seen pebbles falling. As if the fates were listening to her expectations, she saw another brust of light, and felt another blast slam her full in the chest. She reeled backwards, only slightly because of her stance, and had enough time to see her assailant dashing behind a rock... another skeleton, a shortsword in its bony hand.</p><p></p><p>“There! He’s there!” she yelled for Li and the other soldiers, before charging up the defile towards her retreating opponent. After leaping and dodging rocks, she clambered above the lip of the gully with a fierce grin...</p><p></p><p>Only to stop in surprise and shock when four skeletons bared their dull yellow teeth at her, their rusty longswords a feral red in the sunlight. On the opposite side of the gully, she can see three more, clambering into position to start attacking Li and the two soldiers with him...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>“Hold on, Liu!” Nayu called seeing the tops of the four skeletons facing the monk. The young man ran quickly to the right, stretching forth him arm. He lets the magic within his being release, and a long burst of fire lights the air between him and two of the skeletons. They reel from the blast, as Chou and his two companions clamber up the defile.</p><p></p><p>He heard Felonca give a surprised scream, but forces himself to not turn around, focusing on the opponents to his own front...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Felonca backed away a few steps involuntarily as the four skeletons leveled their bony arms, before those yellow fingers pointed towards Li and the soldiers in the small valley below. Four blasts of bluish magic lanced from their fingers, peppering Li and the soldiers. Then, in unison, their heads turn towards Felonca with a clatter, and their longswords flash upward in the air as they charge.</p><p></p><p>The next few seconds turn into a blur for Felonca. Her fans begin their deadly dance, as she spun and flipped, the <em>snick</em> and <em>whoosh</em> of blades missing her by bare inches smothering her hearing. She managed to land a good blow on one skeleton before two searing bursts of pain pierce her belly and her side nearly simultaneously as she was in mid-flip.</p><p></p><p>Felonca cursed as she managed to catch herself and land only somewhat awkwardly. Her sight hazy from the pain, she managed to see two of the skeletons now hefting over their heads blood-stained swords... swords stained with <em>her</em> blood. </p><p></p><p><em>Dammit!</em> she cursed, forcing herself to ignore the pain and twisting and flipping backwards down the hill. In the blur of her move, she sees three gray blobs passing her, and takes heart that the three soldiers with them would be holding those skeletons at bay for a bit at least...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Nayu felt another release as yet one more <em>scorching ray</em> leapt from his fingers, blasting the skeleton just in front of Liu to pieces. The monk and the soldiers with him had managed to carve a hole in the midst of hte skeletons, which Liu especially was using to his advantage. </p><p></p><p>It was then Nayu heard a grunt behind him, and spun around, only to see a blood covered Felonca, tottering about, fumbling in her pouch. Her eyes flicked upwards, and she gave him a rather tense, unnerved smile.</p><p></p><p>“I’m fine,” she said as her fingers clutched shakily around a small bottle that Nayu recognized as healing elixir. A ease slightly, Nayu turned back at her urging, and once again, flames magically flashed through the air towards the skeletons ahead...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>And he says he’s not good at fighting,</em> Felonca thought quietly as she felt the pain in her belly and side subside somewhat. A quick hand-check showed the wounds had gone from enormous slashes to merely rather large cuts, though blood still oozed out. For a second, she thought about imbibing another elixir, until she looked back where she came from.</p><p></p><p>The three soldiers were holding off the four skeletons fairly well, but on the other side, Captain Li was fighting alone versus three skeletons, and seemed to be in bad way. Leaping into action, Felonca charged forward, catching one of the skeletons attacking Li off guard. </p><p></p><p>The fight seemed to go slowly, a near ballet, despite the fact the ‘engagement’ only had her swinging one warfan, the creature blocking, and her other warfan catching the side of its bony skull at exactly the right angle, shattering the abomination. When she spun around, Li’s blade crushed a second skeleton. The third skeleton then started backing away, uncertainly at first, before sudenly turning to run.</p><p></p><p>“Stop him!” Felonca heard Li shout, and without thinking, she’d leapt forward, knocking the creature to the ground. A few well placed swings later and it, too, lay crushed on the ground. </p><p></p><p>The battle adrenaline dying, Felonca could hear around her the shouts and catcalls of a victorious side, as the soldiers made very apparent their opinions of their fallen foes. Gingerly, she got up, and clambered down into the defile.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>“How are you feeling?” Nayu asked Felonca as she limped up. She wasn’t bleeding as much anymore, but the lower part of her tunic was soaked with blood. He watched her eyes go between him and a just-arrived Liu, before heading towards the monk.</p><p></p><p>“Ow,” she requested, and immediately the monk began attending to her wounds. </p><p></p><p>“What were those things?” Chou asked no one in particular.</p><p></p><p>“I have no idea,” Nayu confessed, wracking his brain for any idea of how skeletons capable of launching <em>magic missiles</em> were possible. “I have never seen anything like that before.” <em>Damn effective, though... if we hadn’t spotted them, they could have continued sniping at us until we were worn down... and then...</em></p><p></p><p>Nayu shuddered.</p><p></p><p>“Well, if you don’t know where they came from, at least you knew enough to take down three of those things with that fire stuff you did. Any way you can teach that to someone?” Chou asked, rather impressed by his tone of voice.</p><p></p><p>Nayu looked at the impish soldier, and only had to think for a few moments before replying.</p><p></p><p>“No. None whatsoever.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 1799881, member: 15043"] [b]What Was That Bolt from the Blue?[/b] “I don’t like this one bit,” Felonca heard Nayu complain several hours after the road entered the small gully. With each step forward, the gully seemed to get deeper, its sides tower higher and higher over them. It was some miles back when Felonca couldn’t see over the rim to the lands beyond. “I don’t either,” Felonca mumbled as she put her horse into a slightly faster canter. [i]If we can just get through this place..[/i] She gave a slight shiver, as she felt the very rocks seem to close in around her, and the military part of her training crept to the front of her mind once again... [i]This is the best place for an ambush I’ve seen...[/i] Suddenly, something powerful struck her from behind, almost knocking her from the saddle. Immediately, pain washed from the middle of her back, over her shoulder blades and through her limbs. She reeled forward in her saddle, as the scream of panicked horses erupted around her, along with the curses of their riders as they desperately tried to regain control of their mounts. Instinctively, her hand painfully crept towards her back as she felt Nayu and Liu’s hands grabbing her, propping her up. To her surprise, her hands found no arrow or bolt quivering from her back... instead they felt a burn mark in her cloak. “You okay?” she heard Nayu’s worried voice. When she opened her eyes, she saw him alternately looking at her in worry, and up towards the hills in fear. “I’m tolerable,” she grunted back, sitting up again in the saddle. The pain was still there, insistent, but she was still able to move around. Her eyes joined the search, only to see a few skittering pebbles tumbling down the side of the gully behind her. “Ride!” Li’s sharp, urgent command hit all of their ears, and Felonca put her spurs into her steed as the column broke into a gallop, only seconds before a bright flash burst from the side of the gully ahead. A blue bolt of power, looking much like the bolts that Nayu cast before, slammed into Li’s chest. The old warrior reeled back slightly in the saddle, as Felonca caught a barest glimpse of what had done the damage. A skeleton, scrambling behind a rock ahead, the glint of steel in one of his hands. “We’re surrounded!” she heard Nayu shout, as her twin warfans came out instinctively. “Split up! Miyan, Lu, Felonca, follow me! Chou, Nayu, Liu, and the rest of you, head towards those things up ahead and drive them out! We’ll hold the ones coming from behind!” Li bellowed, the aged warriors longsword already glinting in the afternoon sunlight. Nayu gave an uncertain glance to the rider beside him, only to see that Chou had an unnerving grin on his face. “Now we’ll get to see how well you wield that morningstar of yours?” the young soldier grinned fiercely, before drawing his own blade and dashing forward. Nayu watched only momentarily, before focusing his mind in a now familiar mantra. AS he felt the magic building within him, his eyes followed Liu dashing up the hill with uncanny speed. The monk seemed to leap and bound over the rocks as if they were mere pebbles. A split second after he reached the lip of the hill, Nayu heard him yell to his ancestors in surprise. Felonca heard the yell as well, and suppressed the momentary urge to look back. Instinctively, she partially cringed, expecting another blast at any moment as her eyes searched about near the spot where she’d seen pebbles falling. As if the fates were listening to her expectations, she saw another brust of light, and felt another blast slam her full in the chest. She reeled backwards, only slightly because of her stance, and had enough time to see her assailant dashing behind a rock... another skeleton, a shortsword in its bony hand. “There! He’s there!” she yelled for Li and the other soldiers, before charging up the defile towards her retreating opponent. After leaping and dodging rocks, she clambered above the lip of the gully with a fierce grin... Only to stop in surprise and shock when four skeletons bared their dull yellow teeth at her, their rusty longswords a feral red in the sunlight. On the opposite side of the gully, she can see three more, clambering into position to start attacking Li and the two soldiers with him... “Hold on, Liu!” Nayu called seeing the tops of the four skeletons facing the monk. The young man ran quickly to the right, stretching forth him arm. He lets the magic within his being release, and a long burst of fire lights the air between him and two of the skeletons. They reel from the blast, as Chou and his two companions clamber up the defile. He heard Felonca give a surprised scream, but forces himself to not turn around, focusing on the opponents to his own front... Felonca backed away a few steps involuntarily as the four skeletons leveled their bony arms, before those yellow fingers pointed towards Li and the soldiers in the small valley below. Four blasts of bluish magic lanced from their fingers, peppering Li and the soldiers. Then, in unison, their heads turn towards Felonca with a clatter, and their longswords flash upward in the air as they charge. The next few seconds turn into a blur for Felonca. Her fans begin their deadly dance, as she spun and flipped, the [i]snick[/i] and [i]whoosh[/i] of blades missing her by bare inches smothering her hearing. She managed to land a good blow on one skeleton before two searing bursts of pain pierce her belly and her side nearly simultaneously as she was in mid-flip. Felonca cursed as she managed to catch herself and land only somewhat awkwardly. Her sight hazy from the pain, she managed to see two of the skeletons now hefting over their heads blood-stained swords... swords stained with [i]her[/i] blood. [i]Dammit![/i] she cursed, forcing herself to ignore the pain and twisting and flipping backwards down the hill. In the blur of her move, she sees three gray blobs passing her, and takes heart that the three soldiers with them would be holding those skeletons at bay for a bit at least... Nayu felt another release as yet one more [i]scorching ray[/i] leapt from his fingers, blasting the skeleton just in front of Liu to pieces. The monk and the soldiers with him had managed to carve a hole in the midst of hte skeletons, which Liu especially was using to his advantage. It was then Nayu heard a grunt behind him, and spun around, only to see a blood covered Felonca, tottering about, fumbling in her pouch. Her eyes flicked upwards, and she gave him a rather tense, unnerved smile. “I’m fine,” she said as her fingers clutched shakily around a small bottle that Nayu recognized as healing elixir. A ease slightly, Nayu turned back at her urging, and once again, flames magically flashed through the air towards the skeletons ahead... [i]And he says he’s not good at fighting,[/i] Felonca thought quietly as she felt the pain in her belly and side subside somewhat. A quick hand-check showed the wounds had gone from enormous slashes to merely rather large cuts, though blood still oozed out. For a second, she thought about imbibing another elixir, until she looked back where she came from. The three soldiers were holding off the four skeletons fairly well, but on the other side, Captain Li was fighting alone versus three skeletons, and seemed to be in bad way. Leaping into action, Felonca charged forward, catching one of the skeletons attacking Li off guard. The fight seemed to go slowly, a near ballet, despite the fact the ‘engagement’ only had her swinging one warfan, the creature blocking, and her other warfan catching the side of its bony skull at exactly the right angle, shattering the abomination. When she spun around, Li’s blade crushed a second skeleton. The third skeleton then started backing away, uncertainly at first, before sudenly turning to run. “Stop him!” Felonca heard Li shout, and without thinking, she’d leapt forward, knocking the creature to the ground. A few well placed swings later and it, too, lay crushed on the ground. The battle adrenaline dying, Felonca could hear around her the shouts and catcalls of a victorious side, as the soldiers made very apparent their opinions of their fallen foes. Gingerly, she got up, and clambered down into the defile. “How are you feeling?” Nayu asked Felonca as she limped up. She wasn’t bleeding as much anymore, but the lower part of her tunic was soaked with blood. He watched her eyes go between him and a just-arrived Liu, before heading towards the monk. “Ow,” she requested, and immediately the monk began attending to her wounds. “What were those things?” Chou asked no one in particular. “I have no idea,” Nayu confessed, wracking his brain for any idea of how skeletons capable of launching [i]magic missiles[/i] were possible. “I have never seen anything like that before.” [i]Damn effective, though... if we hadn’t spotted them, they could have continued sniping at us until we were worn down... and then...[/i] Nayu shuddered. “Well, if you don’t know where they came from, at least you knew enough to take down three of those things with that fire stuff you did. Any way you can teach that to someone?” Chou asked, rather impressed by his tone of voice. Nayu looked at the impish soldier, and only had to think for a few moments before replying. “No. None whatsoever.” [/QUOTE]
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