Golden Age: Ruin

*Whatever they do, the Manticore thrashes around in the water, trying to break free. The Seraphim simply flexes its wings & the water automatically evaporates. It begins flinging blades of light at Kelphy.*
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*The wall partially collapses, causing the pair to stumble into the moat. Mordred freezes it before he sinks too far, leaving Ari trapped partially frozen. Lilith, Thiera, & Gallahad run out as Mordred breaks free & starts walking across the ice.*

Mordred<I see now that I'm far too exposed. I'll simply have to take my Kingdom in all-out war. I've a few affairs to attend to before then, so we will resume our battle during the Solstice.>

Sophia runs in front of Kelphy and twirls her polearm deflecting the blades of light.

"Run Kelphy, get out of here!" Lune nearly commands her.

Kelphy: <Very well, then let us all run... to the castle!>

*She holds her hand out, casting a water burst on the Seraphim, and runs past them, towards the castle*

*Marcus appears at the hole with Rayna again on his back.*

"We can't let him escape, he must answer for his crimes!"

OOC: Now that I think about it, that should be Seraph. Seraphim is plural. Oh well. May as well keep it like that.

*The Seraphim flies into the sky, disappearing intto the clouds. The Manticore breaks free & starts running after them. Eventually, they come to the moat where Mordred is confronting the others. Mordred disappears as the top of a tower breaks off & lands nearby. Arthur walks out of the hole in the wall.*

L"Why the solstice?"

Arthur<I haven't the time to explain right now. We must go to Merlin's aid. Gallahad, Ywain, Green Knight, clear these foreign monsters from the city. Everyone else, with me. We will discuss our final strategy after the battle.>

*He runs back into the castle, pushing a lever that moves the throne aside, revealing stairs to the Castle Keep.*

"Everyone, follow the King!" Lune commands.

*Ari rams his sword into the ice, attempting to break free. Kelphy runs up to him and lays her hand on it, causing it to shatter. They follow Arthur, running*

Ari: <...T-Thank you.>

Kelphy: <You're welcome!>

L"Who the Hell are you?"

T"Whoever she is, she's a mage, just like me! I was beginning to feel lonely...."

*They run after Arthur. When they get to the roof, they find him clashing swords with the Seraphim (only it's using its wings) from earlier. Nearby, Merlin & Seraph are clashing staves as though it were a sword fight. Merlin leaps back, causing a bolt of lightning to strike Seraph, but he channels it through the ground, causing it to arc wildly & destroy a tower.*

Seraph<Admit it! Admit I'm better than you!>

Merlin<You're really after something so petty?>

Seraph<ADMIT IT!>

*As he shouts, the sky seems to come alive, shadows darting about him. He grins maniacally as he gestures & they all fly towards Merlin, barring fangs, claws, & various weapons.*

"I would suggest not getting involved in this Kelphy" Lune says dryly.

OOC: Yet again I feel as though I should retcon a female char out of existence.

Kelphy: <Oh, hello, my name is Kelphy.>

*She nods firmly to Lune*

Kelphy: <I trust Master Merlin's magic skills.> [I expected to find Roatha around.]

Ari: <(...W-Who is that?)>

*He widens his eyes, staring at Seraph*

OOC: What?

R"That's Seraph. He was a mage for the Round Table a while back, before he went crazy. I'm told that knights from the peasantry weren't taken very seriously. Dagonet was more of a court jester than anything else."

L"What are you doing up here?"

R"That thing's feathers have to be crazy expensive. I saw it rising to the castle roof out of a window in the treasure tower."

*Sure enough, Roatha had a sack of gold slung over his shoulder. He drops it & draws his sword.*

R"And from the looks of it, Arthur will need help killing it."

*The Seraphim had swiped its wing, crushing Arthur's chest plate. It then opens its wings, causing a wave of fire to wash towards them. Meanwhile, Merlin was blowing up the various shadows, twisting the dust into a tornado to protect him from the various daggers forming in midair & hurtling towards him. Cackling madly, Seraph thrust his staff into the ground, causing a good portion of the roof to collapse, dumping him & Merlin into the floor below.*

Kelphy: <..Roatha!>

*Ari draws his sword and rolls through the flames, slashing at the Seraphim. Kelphy shouts down to the floor below*

Kelphy: <Master Merlin, are you all right?>

OOC: Sophia, retconing her out of existence.

Lune draws his blade once more and follows Ari through the flames to attack the seraphim with a wide slash.

OOC: Why?

T"You know this jerk?"

*Roatha frowns, muttering something like "What do you know?" The others manage to hack off 2 of the Seraphim's wings & Arthur stabs it in the face. It kind of deflates after that.*

L"Does it occur to any of you that something with that much power might not die quietly?"

*Sure enough, the corpse starts to smoke. Merlin doesn't answer, but there are flashes below like fireworks. Occasionally, they illuminate him or Seraph.*

"No it did not" Lune runs like hell from the corpse.

OOC: Because I'm fail

*Ari runs back over to Thiera as well*

Kelphy: <Well.. all right.>

*She jumps down*

*When the Seraphim explodes, it dumps them into the room below, as well. After they finish clearing themselves from the debris, they catch Seraph stopping a bunch of fireballs in midair & turning them into confetti. Whenever Merlin begins his next spell, generating an orb of water in midair, they leap from the ground & slash viciously at his abdomen. He falls down, bleeding heavily, as Seraph stands over him.*

Merlin<Seraph, wait! Squandering the power of magic was the greatest mistake I ever made. Please, don't let it be repeated here. Help us stop Mordred & Senthose.>

*Seraph puts a finger to his chin as though thinking.*

Seraph<Nah.>

*He grips his staff in both hands & cracks Merlin in the face. Then he proceeds to beat the unconscious old wizard randomly with his staff. Arthur starts toward him angrily, at which point he waves his hand & the confetti turns into an origami chinese dragon, which bares its fangs at him menacingly, flicking its tongue.*

*Kelphy holds her hands out and fires a jet of water at Seraph, Ari just watching the origami dragons*

Kelphy: <Go away!>

Lune draws his second sword, the rapier, he has a feeling he's going to need both his longsword and his rapier shortly.

*The dragon swats the jet of water with its tail, which wilts & falls apart. Arthur slices at its upper body, but unless he actually cuts off a limb, it doesn't seem to hurt it. Roatha darts past it, swiping at Seraph, who leaps back.*

<Fine. I'll let you say your tender goodbyes.>

*With that, he vanishes into thin air.*

"BASTARD GET BACK HERE!!"

Kelphy: <Master Merlin?>

*She kneels down to check on his wounds, Ari slowly walking up to them to watch*

*After setting the dragon on fire, Arthur ends up being attacked by a flaming dragon. Fortunately, a section of the roof drops on it, trapping it if not destroying it. He heads over to Merlin & checks his vital signs.*

Arthur<I'm sorry...but he's gone. And so is the country we built together....>

L"No. It's not over yet."

*She sounds sort of unconvinced. Roatha fishes something out of his sack & hands it to Kelphy.*

R"I'm not sure what it is...but I think he'd want you to have it...are you alright?"

Kelphy: <...G-Gone?>

*She stares at his face, shaking*

Kelphy: <...You mean, just like that?>

*Ari stares at Roatha like "who the hell are you, anyway?"*

"We should burn the body, it is a fitting funeral for one who's legend has spread all across the land."