>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqntA0XsWg8


The woman you've got in the grip of your scythe tries to dig at the blade as it bends around her neck like a claw wrapping around her throat. Her death throes are limited with the threat of your scythe going in deeper. Her brother bears down on you with a blade, however he hesitates and that gives you the opportunity to grab the woman and pull back and away from him.

You call out to Mira,” Stay back! Everything is under control!”

The man looks off in the direction of Mira, a sneer drawn across his haphazardly colored face. Getting a good look at these two, you can tell that there's something different about them. They've got splotches of color all over their faces, and a light fuzz not too far from the short feathers of a bird. The man's sneer shows lengthened canines that give him a feral snarl.

“Look at me.” You say to him, as his gaze lingers in the direction of Mira. “Look at ME.” You say again through gritted teeth. His eyes flicker in your direction, and you can't help but to grin sadistically, “Watch me kill her.”

The woman's body tenses as she hears your words, she thrashes once and only once as you pull back with all your power, her head falling and body going flat.

The rage in the man's eyes is insurmountable, his devilish grin widens and he cries with an unnatural mix of laughter and despair. He rushes you with abandon as your scythe unfurls itself to welcome him in. With a flourish of your fingers you bring the scythe back with one hand as though to strike, then stab him in the heart with the gold fishing spear, using his own rush to penetrate through his leathers.

He starts to slump into you and you step back, pulling the spear and letting him fall onto his own sister's fresh corpse.

You hear a waning laughter, as his body convulses, “You... Dirty prick... I speared your... mother harder... last...” The jittering laughter ceases with the two dead before you.

>>43092849

It might have been nice to collect information from them, you'll at least have their gear to work with now.

“Is it- is it safe?” Mira ask from afar, you can hear her creeping nearer.

You're about to reply when she suddenly screams.

Looking out into the forest clearing, he see that she's fallen back and is crawling away from something, an animal? “Mira, what's wrong?”

“S-Snake!”

You move away from the dead and look into the clearing to see a large red and black snake weaving through the grass towards Mira, the glimmer of red in its eyes as its body undulates to and fro.


>[Step out into the clearing and throw the gold spear at it.]
>[Talk the snake down, it worked for the Ursarinn, right?]
>[Throw her the spear, let her learn how to deal with things like this.]
>[Write in.]

>>43092875
Aren't you an hour early?
>[Step out into the clearing and throw the gold spear at it.]

>>43092988
>tfw I can't keep a schedule for anything.

Well, I guess it's better that I'm a bit early, I'm going to write some of the memory scenes while I wait for a couple more votes should they come in. Gonna give it 15 mins.

>>43092875
>>[Talk to the snake, it worked for the Ursarinn, right?]
>>[Throw her the spear, let her learn how to deal with things like this.]
even if we can't get them as a shadow, we need all the help we can get.

>>43093032
and if this is being too vague: Talk to the snake, but give Mira a means and responsibility to defend herself.

>>43093025
I don't have any problem with it I was just wondering whether my clock was off

>>43092875
>>[Step out into the clearing and throw the gold spear at it.]

Well this is earlier than expected

>>43093032
I second this, so far the beasties aren't so bad.
We should also make it so that Mira can defend herself. I don't want her to be our damsel in distress even if she can pick locks.

>>43093326
I'd rather use the spear

>>43092875
>[Talk the snake down, it worked for the Ursarinn, right?]
>[Throw her the spear, let her learn how to deal with things like this.]
Didn't expect it to be early

>>43093433
Is that a vote?

>>43093693
yeah

>>43093433
>>43093693
>>43093704
then I count 6 votes and 5+1 IPs.

>>43092988
>>43093032
>>43093114
>>43093326
>>43093433
>>43093584

>>43093727
Unless there's a "face" vote, of course.

>>43093693
How long are you taking?

>>43092875

Raising your scythe, you shear through the foliage blocking your path, and fling the spear at the serpent with your other hand. It goes wide in the serpent's undulations, but your presence makes it hesitate, and hastily slink away as you enter the clearing.

Once it's gotten some distance away, the snake looks back, lifting its head and part of its body off of the ground to stand a rather surprising four feet high as it stares back at the two of you, its ruby-red eyes glittering and the splashes of red across its otherwise black scales catching light like freshly spilled blood. Its tongue flicks out from its jaws as it stares down you and Mira. The girl gets up off of the ground and rushes over to hide behind you as you pick up the spear.

“Blood Viper,” She whispers, shaking.

“If you're hungry, snake. There are two fresh kills.” You gesture over to the freshly cut undergrowth, the bodies of the two scouts lounging in blood. “You can take them for all I care after we've stripped them of equipment.”

“Please, go away.” Mira whispers, clutching at the rags you call clothes.

The snake continues staring for a moment, “Very well, little Guisi.” A feminine voice echoes from the serpent and her silent gaze before flicking out its tongue and slinking away into the undergrowth and out of sight.

Mira finally calms down, “I'm glad she accepted them...”

“Wait, you heard her?”

Mira seems taken aback by the realization, “Oh... I- I guess I did.”

>>43093928

You shrug it off, nothing to be done about it you suppose. If you hadn't interfered, then Mira might've been inside the gut of that serpent. She really does have poor luck with animals. You tell Mira to wait just behind you as you scavenge equipment from the bodies of the brother and sister. The Man's leathers are of decent quality at the very least. Despite the hole you put in it, and the blood. Its well within the range of your size.

The woman's leathers are tightly fitted, it might be a bit big, but Mira could potentially wear them.

Of their equipment, there's two quivers of roughly twenty arrows, recurve bows that look to have been crafted by a professional, sacks of coin on each of them, a day's worth of rations on each of them(likely they never pulled too far ahead of the other slave hunters) There's a couple odd arrows in the quiver that have some sort of a fuse tied to them and a blunt arrow head of some kind of powdery stone...

>You take everything.
>Select whatever you'd like to apply.
>[Wear the bloodstained leathers.]
>[Have Mira put on the woman's equipment.]
>[Keep both bows and arrows.]
>[Give Mira a bow and a quiver of arrows.]

>[Try out one of the odd arrows?]

>>43093950
>[Give Mira a bow and a quiver of arrows.]
I don't think heavier armor would be usefull for either of us

>>43093950
>[Give Mira a bow and a quiver of arrows.]
>[Try out one of the odd arrows?]
Curious what they do

>>43093950
>[Give Mira a bow and a quiver of arrows.]
>[Try out one of the odd arrows?]
Armor would hinder us

>>43093950
>[Wear the bloodstained leathers.]
>[Have Mira put on the woman's equipment.]
>[Give Mira a bow and a quiver of arrows.]

>>43093950
>[Give Mira a bow and a quiver of arrows.]

>>43093950
>You take everything.
explosives. Intriguing.

Give these to the other Guisi

>>43094201
I think he's saying that we take everything no matter what.
The options are what to apply

>>43094221

Exactly.

>>43094221
>>43094241
still

>Give these to the other Guisi
It actually takes training to use a bow.

>>43093950

You decide against putting on the leathers for now. They're too likely to restrict your movement, and they already failed their owner once in any case.

You feel as though you're a rather proficient archer, not the best, but good enough to feather something. Despite that, keeping the bow and quiver on your person, especially one with a back strap will be detrimental to your usual movements, a side-quiver might be better for a faster draw and to be less in the way.

“Have you ever shot a bow before?” You ask Mira as you're looking over the equipment, she shakes her head.
“Are you lying?”

She pauses for a moment, then shakes her head again, looking at you with her caprine eyes. You blow out a puff of air, “Well, I'll need to show you- and the others.” You hand her the bow, the one that wasn't about to put an arrow in her moments before, and fold up the soiled leather armor. If anything, these'll fit one of the others and they'll be thankful to get out of their slavery rags.

Testing out one of the special arrows, you get a little fire going, light the fuse and shoot the arrow across the clearing. As soon as the flame of the fuse hits the charge in flight, it bursts into a blinding red light.

You feel a drop in your gut as you realize that the arrows were meant to signal the hunters, and rush over to pulverize the source of the light out of existence. As you end the light, you hear a whisper.

“Why... I'd just begun... to burn so bright...”

>>43094664

Mira comes out into the clearing, holding onto the salvaged equipment. “Are we going back now?”

With a deep breath, you turn to her and begin the walk back to where you last remember leaving the others, “Yes. It's time to return, you did well today.” You say as you give her a soft pat on the head...

With this equipment, you might just be able to pull something spectacular off...


As you make your way to the others through the woods, Sol begins to set and Luna begins to peak her silver beauty just over the horizon, bringing back the curtain of night. In the twilight hours, you hear a distant, thunderous roar... Likely the Ursarinn seeking out vengeance. You'd wager that it's still a few miles away, however if it's truly a lord of these wilds, it will hunt you and the others through the night...

When you return to the other Guisi with your clothes covered in blood, they barely even bat an eyelash. They're grateful for the food even if it's divided up between several of them. Their spirits are still low and none of them really have any weapons besides sticks and stones. This won't be any good if the slave hunters are armored... You need a plan.

You'll need to make a plan... Whether you face or avoid your foes, or try to get them to fight each other.

>You could use the flare arrows, there are two left after that test shot.
They may be able to frighten a wild beast such as the Ursarinn.
It's likely that the scouts had them to mark the location of the slaves in the night.

>There's still enough daylight to create some primitive traps... Pitfalls with stakes at the bottom could be dug...

>It may be more prudent to try avoiding confrontation all together. You could go off alone and fire an arrow to lead the hunters away.

> The Ursarinn's wrath might be provoked to get it to kill the slave hunters, though that would then leave you with a very pissed off bear...

>Make some sharpened fired spears to arm the slaves

>[Write in, what's the plan?]

>>43094680
>There's still enough daylight to create some primitive traps... Pitfalls with stakes at the bottom could be dug...
We have to deal with it

>>43094680
>There's still enough daylight to create some primitive traps... Pitfalls with stakes at the bottom could be dug...
>Make some sharpened fired spears to arm the slaves

>>43094680
>>There's still enough daylight to create some primitive traps... Pitfalls with stakes at the bottom could be dug...
>> The Ursarinn's wrath might be provoked to get it to kill the slave hunters, though that would then leave you with a very pissed off bear...

Use the flare to lead the slave hunters to the bear.

Dig the pits somewhere else entirely, and when it starts chasing us, we lead it there before blinding it and letting it fall into the pit.

I don't think we have time to train them in archery.

>>43094801
This seems like a good plan

>>43094801
second this
disregard >>43094768

>>43094801
and again if it's too vague: blind the bear with a close-ish range flare, not attack its eyes.

There's a risk of blinding ourselves, but we'll actually know where the pit is, at least.

>>43094680
I vote for >>43094801's course of action

>>43094680

>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKsR8D44L1M

Considering all your options and the diminishing daylight along with the state of the Guisi, growing wearier by the day, this will be your only opportunity to free them of the hunters, and yourself of the bear. As it is, the hunters will realize that something happened to their scouts if they don't report back by nightfall, and the Ursarinn will be pursuing you through the night... It's time for action.

You stand before all the Guisi, and tell them what you would have them do.

One of the Older Guisi speak up, “After all this, you want us to dig a hole? We're sick of holes Reaper, and following you back here might as well be leading us back into one.”

You stare down the upstart with a cold gaze, “Do you not even understand what this hole is for?”

He is silent.

“This hole...” You approach him, keeping your voice steady and gait poised, “This hole will be for your freedom. This is the last hole you will ever need to dig while tired and afraid. This is your hole to freedom, and you're going to dig it. Dig it and put no less than two dozen sharpened stakes to let our pursuers choke on their own blood.”

All the other Guisi seem to like the sound of that. The older Guisi that spoke against you, turns from tired into grinning like a mad old fool. “Reaper, I like the way you think. Unhinged for a Guisi, aren't you?” Part of his face darkens into black, one of his horns lengthening.

Answering his words with your own mad smile, “Good to see that you aren't so meek. You realize that with my plan, I'll be doing most of the work.” Your vision shifts as your skin darkens, “Get to work you old goat, we've got our freedom to claim.”

The two of you share the laugh of old men as the younger Guisi seem to take on a similarly more volatile appearance.

“Tonight we will take their lives.” Your voice growls with a solemn conviction as Luna drags herself slowly up from the horizon.

>>43095193

You designate the area that they're to dig, surprisingly enough there's a Guisi amongst the group that had made a pact with his pickaxe from the slave camp, and another that's pacted with his Hoe, giving you two other contracted Guisi besides you and Mira. The one that pacted with the pickaxe is the mad goat, Cornel that had played Luna's advocate with you. The other is the bother of the sibling pair without their parents.

With them set to work, you distance yourself from the rest. While they work on the hole, you have time to rest and prepare... You learned earlier today that your face, the Reaper of Aurel has a shadow pact. It may in fact be helpful if you an glean into what it is. Or even if you learned more about the capabilities of your scythe.

>[Meditate upon the Scythe.] Scythe abilities.
>[Meditate upon your Shadow.] Shadow abilities.
>[Meditate upon your face's identity.] Physical abilities.
>[Do no waste time right now, get to work on the plan.]

>>43095209
>[Meditate upon the Scythe.] Scythe abilities.
Need to learn more about it

>>43095209
>[Meditate upon the Scythe.] Scythe abilities.
>[Meditate upon your Shadow.] Shadow abilities.

>>43095209
>>[Meditate upon your Shadow.] Shadow abilities.
Mobility/Stealth/Misdirection

.....unless the flare will disable Shadow, in which case

>[Meditate upon your face's identity.] Physical abilities.

>>43095209
>>[Meditate upon your face's identity.] Physical abilities
>[Meditate upon the Scythe.] Scythe abilities.

>>43095278
The shadow abilities relate to the Guisi's alternate form and access to "Shadow pact" abilities.

Light does not disable them.

>>43095209
>[Meditate upon the Scythe.] Scythe abilities.
It's too unhandly and I guess meditating on it will unlock a different shape from the profile

>>43095209
Work on the shadow abilities. Let's see what we've got!

>>43095209
>[Meditate upon the Scythe.] Scythe abilities.

>>43095209

Mediating deeply with the scythe called upon, it rests upon your lap, its scarred blade glimmering like a smile. “Finally learning more about me now, impostor?” The scythe chides you with an eerily mischievous glee.
“You know, those two may not have been Danhor or Hylon but they worked in cohorts with them, I could taste it in their treacherous blood.”

“Will you be silent?” You mumble to the scythe.

It chuckles maliciously, but otherwise quiets down.

You press yourself inward, trying to crawl deeper into the identity of the one that you wear. If you are to survive, you need to learn more about this pact and what this weapon can do. To be recognized as one with such infamy to be called a “reaper,” it must be extremely potent.

As moments pass, you sink deeper and deeper into the inner world between your body and the face's soul, you see a new window, the stained glass of a black bird of some kind... You can't quite tell, it seems to change forms the longer you look at it.

Without hesitation, you reach into the window depicting the scythe...

The Scythe:

Sol is high in the sky on a midsommer's day. The wickwheat of the fields have grown tall and a glorious gold this time of the year.

I broke the first of the grain and let the dry seedlings roll over my fingers and to thespia's loamy earth.
Now is the time of harvest. Time to put my old friend to work...

My house is small, though I'd like to say modest. The kids went to the Towncenter for their weekly prayers to Thespia, the veiled mother, and learning of our kind from the Elders of Guisi. My wife stands before the door, standing in the shade of the awning to defend herself from Sol's glare.
She smiles to me, "That time of the year already? Weren't we married just some..."

"Fifteen years?" I said with a reserved, contented smile. "We've lived here in Aurel for some time. And you're still thinking of our marriage?"

>>43095647

She looks to me with a dreamy eyed stare, she has the soft heart shaped eyes of a Namour. I hold her for a moment, and she kisses my cheek before letting me go.

"I'll go tend to the vegetables, you do what you do, love."

As she departs, her fingers slip slowly through mine to let her touch linger.
My friend lies inside my home, resting against the wall over the mantle, passed down to me from my father, and his father's father, and likey the one before that. Carved from Iron Oak, and the blade's impurity's folded out by a family of blacksmiths we've been friends with for generations... Yes, my oldest friend is this scythe.

A flawless blade maintained through generations, handles curved for a perfect grip, he is our most prized possession.

"That time of the year again, eh kiddo?" The Scythe's voice is far younger than its age, yet it insists on calling me a child...

Taking my old friend out to the fields, I take in a deep breath and raise the blade. I feel the wind blow and release it myself as my friend lets out a blade of air that slices effortlessly through several meters of wheat..

"Wind Scythe."

>>43095662
Something coming?

>>43095662

The memory ends and you arrive back in reality with wet cheeks. Touching your face, you realize that there's an immense pain of loss in your heart.

The Reaper has lost so much. It's no wonder he acts like a man with nothing left to lose.

The pain of that memory is not unlike when your own painful memories come dripping back in. With trembling hands, you clutch the scythe by its too handles, taking in a deep shuddering breath.

With conviction, you raise the blade and let your raw emotion pour through. You utter the incantation for the contract ability, “Ventus... Falcem!”

Bringing the blade across, the wind explodes upon the edge of the blade, ripping through the foliage and blasting back leaves while cleaving through many meters of trees and shrubs. Heart pounding, you catch your breath as you feel a sudden onset of fatigue climbing into your being.

When you're feeling normal again, you dismiss the scythe without another word. Luna's climbed higher, it's about time to get to work.

>[Write in]

>>43095830
Is that an attempt at latin?
How far are the preparations?

>>43095830
>[Write in]
I fucking hate you.
>Make sure the Guisi are ready
>check the traps
>ready the flare arrows

>>43095830
>[Write in]
I guess >>43095891
Can't think of anything else

>>43095891
Yeah can't think of anything better

>>43095830

Checking on the work of the others, you see that the pit's just about dug, they're just on the verge of putting the stakes in. Overall, the hole's not deeper than a man is tall, allowing the others to climb in and out with a helping hand.
It should however, be of adequate size for the Ursarinn. You tell Mira, Cornel, and the others to finish up and get clear when they see the first flare go up. Specifically, you instruct them to rendezvous on the southern bank of the river, up some ways. In any case you'll be able to find them when you return.
You hand over your golden spear to Mira so that she can at least defend herself. With your Scythe's new ability, you won't need such as an unwieldy thing as that anymore. Even if cutting down meters of woods is inherently flashy, it'll serve your needs quite well.


Setting out alone with a bow and the two flare arrows tucked into your waistband, you look up at Luna, her light will guide everyone tonight. You set out north, as opposed to the west and east paths that the slavehunters and Ursarinn are taking respectively.

As you walk alone, you can't help but get the strangest sensation that you're being watched. A trickle of electricity crawls down your spine as you walk, increasing in intensity until you're agitated nearly to the point of summoning your scythe again.

>[Keep going, ignore the feeling.]
>[Halt and look around for the source. They shouldn't be able to evade your senses.]

>>43096053
>[Halt and look around for the source. They shouldn't be able to evade your senses.]

>>43096053
>[Keep going, ignore the feeling.]

>>43096053
>[Keep going, ignore the feeling.]
I know you , Dran.
There's no way that diverting from the plan will work out

>>43096053
>[Halt and look around for the source. They shouldn't be able to evade your senses.]
I want to know what that shit is
But don't spend too much time if we don't find it

>>43096053
>>[Halt and look around for the source. They shouldn't be able to evade your senses.]

>>43096053

You're hard pressed in deciding whether to halt and listen for the source of that strange feeling, yet your curiosity finally overwhelms you. Halting, you listen carefully to the woods, the tingling sensation in your body gradually dying down.

You hear a rustle through the brush, and immediately summon your scythe to stare down the source.

A moment passes before you call out, “Who's there? Show yourself.”

You're met with a chuckling laughter of a different sort than that scouting pair before. This laughter is sincerely blissful in every bit of its tone and feminine giggle. Your cheeks begin to flush with an odd emotion, embarrassment?
The brush parts and a lightly armored woman slides herself into view, a wide grin upon her face and silver eyes surrounded by pitch black of what should be white. She bears a sword upon her hip, and has short bobbed hair as dark as the abyss of the sky.

The woods seem to... take on a new theme
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8E2zS1hkzE

The strange woman smiles and walks over to you with a happy gait despite your tense stance. From what you can see of her body language, she's nonthreatening. And yet still every fiber in your being is ringing out in alarm.

>[“Who are you?”]
>[“Stay back or I will cut you in half.”]
>[“You... You're familiar.”]
>[Write in]

>>43096380
>[“Who are you?”]
>[“You... You're familiar.”]
Who are you and why do you seem so familiar?

>>43096380
>[“Stay back or I will cut you in half.”]

>>43096380
>[“Stay back or I will cut you in half.”]
>[“You... You're familiar.”]

>>43096380
>[“Stay back or I will cut you in half.”]

>>43096380
>[“You... You're familiar.”]

>>43096380

Your hands tremble as you sense an internal conflict between yourself and the Reaper. Something in you tells you that she's a friend, but the part of you that's the guisi is... terrified of this woman.

“Stay back.” You say with a suddenly waning confidence that she's an enemy.

“Oh, whatever will you do?” She says with an agonizingly playful glee, she halts her strut however.

A deep breath, and you say “Or I'll cut you in half,” with deadly tone.

The woman brings her hands to her face, “Oh my! I must have been so rude!”

“Who are you?”

“I mean you no harm, I swear its true. Cross my heart prepared to die, and I cannot yet tell my name, I do not lie. ”

You notice that her speech is odd... Not unlike the rhyming voice of the Ursarinn... “You mean no harm, and yet you cannot give me a name?”

“Unfortunately dear friend, isn't that lame? I swear we'd walk so much further in this life of all games.”

“Life is a game? Are you mad and not sane?”

The woman throws back her head to laugh, yet stifles it with a hand. Once she's through with her fit, she lets her hand slide gently across her face and to brush a part of her hair over an ear. “Perhaps time has led to madness indeed, yet I'm still the friend that you need.”

“Speak your purpose and leave me in peace, I've a people to save and you'll not have more lease.”

“Indeed,” The woman's mirth seems to go from a boil to a low simmer. “I've come to tell you that bloody viper from earlier is tracking the girl. I'd recommend against its slaughter, as she can hear its voice.”

>>43096793
That's one of the twins right?
That's why our face is scared

>>43096793

“I did notice that she could hear it... Did the serpent not eat the scouts?”

“Unfortunately,” The woman pouts playfully, holding up her head with one hand, “The serpent was not interested in food, it was out for the one that took the eye of the Ursarinn.” The woman seems to consider something else and smiles endearingly, “Oh, and my dear friend, the hunters have a magician or two of their own. One's contracted with a bow. If you want the Ursarinn to kill the other dozen or so of them, you'll need to kill that one first.”

“Too bad you've not learned of your shadow yet, Could've mingled with those hunters and slaughtered them before they understood what was happening.” The woman says with a smile as she backs away, stepping back into the brush.

“Wait, who are you? How do you know all of this?” You call out to her and she merely blows you back a kiss before waving goodbye and slipping behind the tree.

“Give the reaper my regards, Faceless.”

You run at the thicket and look behind the tree, and yet she's vanished.

By Luna, who was that?

>[Continue on with the plan as is.]
>[Rush back to ]

>>43096827
Yes, but not why she seems familiar.

>>43096890
>[Continue on with the plan as is.]

>>43096890

Screwed up the options..

>[Continue with the plan as is.]
>[Rush back to Mira to save her from the snake again.]
>[Write in.]

>>43096890
>[Continue on with the plan as is.]
I guess this is leading the Ursarinn to the hunters
>Rush Back
I guess this is to stopp the serpent

Am I right?

>>43096963
Yeah, sorry about that.

>>43096963
Well nevermind
>>43096959
>[Continue with the plan as is.]
Mira is Guisi, she should be able to handle this

>>43096959
>[Continue with the plan as is.]

>>43096959
>[Continue with the plan as is.]

>>43096890

As much as you'd like to run back and save Mira from that serpent, they'll have to handle it themselves. The most pressing issues are the hunter and the bear right now. Without further delay, you rush through the dark of the night, as your eyes attune deeply to the lack of light to navigate. You don't stray too terribly far, and draw your scythe to mark a tree for the direction you need to take to the trap.

Dismissing your weapon again, you quickly take out some sticks with some tinder and get a small fire started. Knocking your arrow, you smother out the fire and light the flare, aiming as high as you can, Holding the arrow until right before the fuse hits the charge, you let it fly and ignite the sky, sparks flying down upon your little part of the woods.

Now it's just a matter of waiting. The flare drifts down slowly, held aloft by its own beautiful dance of light. Your love would have appreciated such a sight- The reaper's love you mean. Yes, The Reaper.

Drawing your scythe once more, you wait for company to arrive. Howls hoot in the background, sending your mood into darker places as you close your eyes.

Tonight, tonight you will kill no less than a dozen men and the lord of the eastern wilds.

>[This... invigorates you.]<
>[This... Depresses you.]
>[You feel nothing.]
>[Write In]

>>43097304
>[This... Depresses you.]

>>43097304
>[This... Depresses you.]

>>43097304
>[This... invigorates you.]

>>43097304
>[This... Depresses you.]

>>43097304
>[This... invigorates you.]<

>>43097304
>>[Write In]
>>[This... Arouses you.]

>>43097304
>>[This... invigorates you.]<

>>43097304

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHXkU2LKm50

You feel the weight of life upon your shoulders, a strange dichotemy where before you were invigorated by the killing, by your face's love of slaughter.

But you, yourself? This is all about reaping what's been sown. The seeds of anger, of hatred, slavery, and servitude have all sprouted forth and taken root. This face, the guisi known as the Reaper of Aurel is a product of all this. Yet this will not end until the ones that have sown the seeds are gone.

It will not end until their crop is annihilated. When these guisi and their families are free, when they are afraid no more.

And then what from there? You still won't know who you really are. Not without your real face.

When your foes come, you will slay them. You will walk forward, and you will apologize for the tragedy that has befallen them. Yes, you may lose yourself to this mask for a time as its bloodlust overcomes you.

Yet you will remember yourself, as far as you've learned thus far.


Trees begin to fall as a berserk beast rushes out toward you and your clearing. You turn to see the Ursarinn staring you down with a single glowing red eye, rage literally boiling and erupting with every flexed muscle.
“LOST EYE. FOOL OF ME. DIE!!!” Are the only words you hear from its inner voice.

The Guisi in you takes over as you answer the arche, a smile crawling itself over your face like a crescent moon as your horns extend and your profile turns a silhouette black.

“Come and get it you fool.” Another voice unlike your own states with challenge. The Ursarinn rushes you and you leap overhead, landing with a roll and immediately bolting away as the bear turns to swipe its deadly claws, catching nothing but stone and earth as it rushes at you.

>>43097719

Extending your scythe, you carry your velocity around a tree and turn sharply as the Ursarinn tries to forcibly slow down and alter direction, colliding with the trees and a bush of brambles. You need not look back to know the beast gives you chase.

Your eyes pierce the darkness, and you see someone lighting a flare to burn away the darkness that is your element. Closing one eye, you run straight ahead for the one that lit the flare, and angle yourself low as you pass beneath the thrown flare before they have time to react.

Men and women cry out in surprise first at your arrival, and then again at the Ursarinn's punishing rampage.

“DIE, KILL, DIE!” Its inner voice echoes out in its seething rage.

You see someone back off, and react as soon as the Ursarinn's body is illuminated by the flare. They would see the snarling behemoth of a bear from beneath the persistent dancing light as it pulsates its own tangible rage.

They draw a bow out of thin air, and reach to knock an arrow.

The others raise shields and spears to fend off the beast, even as its paws swipe the spearheads off, leaving nothing but splintered shafts.

One of the people among the group seems to notice you and charges, calling a spear out where there had before not been one.

Two pacted, like the laughing woman said.

>[Deal with the bowman first, if that bear dies you'll need to deal with the rest.]
>[Turn to the pacted spearman, something about that weapon suffuses you with resentment.]
>[Withdraw, let both groups duke it out, await your opportunity to strike.]
>[Use your scythe's Wind-based attack to take them all out at once.]
>[Write in]

>>43097734
>[Deal with the bowman first, if that bear dies you'll need to deal with the rest.]
We need the footsoldiers to weaken the Ursarinn

>>43097734
>[Deal with the bowman first, if that bear dies you'll need to deal with the rest.]

>>43097734
>>[Deal with the bowman first, if that bear dies you'll need to deal with the rest.]
Gonna trust the twin for now

>>43097734
>[Deal with the bowman first, if that bear dies you'll need to deal with the rest.]

>>43097734
>[Use your scythe's Wind-based attack to take them all out at once.]
I'm a child at heart and can't resist

>>43097734

In the dark, you find yourself at clear advantage against these slave hunters, as they barely register your existence, save for one. The spearman, he noticed you despite your subversive movements.

“Mercuti, shoot the beast!” The spearman calls out to the archer. You immediately turn to her and slip around the spearman's poor attempt at delivering you an offending stab when the advantage is yours.

Yet the distance between you and the archer is still too great to beat the flight of an arrow.

“Ventum Falcem.” You whisper and it carries. The wind explodes as you send out a vertical slice of wind, severing the archer's hand from their bow. They cry out in a blood-curdling scream as their hand drop to the ground along with their weapon.

“PoP Magic!” The spearman cries out to the others despite their business with the bear.

The spearman withdraws momentarily as you turn your head alone to face him as a grim spectre might only barely regard its next victim.

He retains his manhood however as he invokes the power of his own weapon, “Flurry Of Snow's Bite!” His charge is assisted by a sudden chilling air as his spear darts out in rapid-fire consecutive strikes.

You step back out of range or avoid each one despite your sudden onset of fatigue from using your weapon's reaping power. The chill of the slave hunter's attack is refreshing for the fist dozen strikes, and then the bite drives deeper, forcing you to give more distance.

Listening carefully, you back up until you're just inbetween the spearman and his troop as they fight the Ursarinn.
Without even a taunting word, you push off and flip over the Ursarinn. As you come back down from the tremendous leap, you feel as though you're floating down gently and without a sound.

>>43098150

The Ursarinn starts to turn towards you, yet suffers a miserable wound to his forelimb by the spear of that other contractor.
Emboldened further to rage by pain, the rampaging behemoth lets out a bellowing roar that forces you, especially you to cover your ears. Yet that was only a precursor to a berserk flurry of swipes by the Ursarinn that cleaves through shields, weapons, armor, flesh, bones, stone, and wood as though it were a pile of dirt.

Its fierce barrage literally renders all before it and within range of those mighty claws into an unrecognizable splatter. Ten soldiers were minced to oblivion in mere moments, and the beast breaths heavily, laboring for more breath in its blind rage.

“KILL.” Repeats from its inner voice over and over. Between that, and its display of tyrannical power you start to lose your nerve.

Unless this thing dies, it's going to kill everything that's pissed it off.

The archer is useless now, and the last remaining soldier that had been out of range of the monster's flurry drops to their knees, pissing themselves through their armor, the flesh of their face turning a pale yellow with sheer cowardice.
“Please, please spare me beast, I'll do any-” The Ursarinn swats the coward into a tree, causing the sick sound of crunching bones as the limp body falls to the forest floor in an unnatural position.

You back off, your heart beating hard in your chest... What should you do?! Help!

>[Write in]

>>43098157
>[Write in]
Tap into the Guisi shadow power to transform and kill the Beast while it doesn't pay attention.
Maybe blind it completly

>>43098157
Guide it into the traps we prepared.
If necessary tap into our face's "shadow-power"

>>43098157
Get it into the traps somehow and hope it doesn't kill everyone

>>43098234
This

>>43098157

You immediately back off and break contact from the Ursarinn as it turns to you, staring right at your darkened form. Without hesitation it bolts for you.

Leaping through the forest with powerful and silent leaps, using the scythe as a cane for turning and hooking onto branches to keep away from the detrimental undergrowth, you keep ahead of the raging berserker's pursuit as you make your way back to the bear's trap. Sudden doubt makes you wonder if the bear is perhaps too large or too pissed to fall into the trap. At this point, it doesn't matter, it's your only choice as your stamina wanes from the mad flight.

You see the spot with foliage covers the trap, land on the other side of the hidden pit and turn to fire the flare arrow. With no fire, there's nothing to light the fuse, yet you let it fly anyway.

To your surprise, a bolt of lighting strikes the arrow midlight and causes it to explode into a thousand dazzling stars, blinding the furious bear as it runs right over the hole, falling into the stakes.

>>43098495

You look around for a moment, wondering where that bolt came from, but your search is interrupted by the bear's roar as it scratches the edge of the pit, pulling itself up. You can smell the blood, see it glisten under the light of luna. You walk backwards, even as the bear rises from the pit like an infernal, undying fiend. Rage rolling off of its body along with sticky blood. Its eyes glow a violent red- and then you hear something.

A shadow darts before you, the sliver of metal glinting in the light and then dancing, only to strike the bear in its remaining eye like a snake. The figure retreats almost as soon as the blow is delivered and slides back behind you, panting with duress.

The bear roars again, weakness suddenly overtaking its body, and finally, the Ursarinn falls back into the pit.

You look back to the one that landed the final blow to see Mira holding her needle, covered in blood, and kicking back with tears welling in her eyes. “Oh Luna, Oh, Luna... No. Is it dead. Please let it be dead!”

>[Give the girl a big old hug to calm her,”Yes child, it's dead.”]
>[Stand up and look down over the hole. Dead or not, Cut it in half with your scythe's wind.]
>[Take her by the hand and lead her away, don't look back on the beast. This was all a travesty.]
>[(Other)]

>>43098509
>Give the girl a big old hug to calm her,”Yes child, it's dead.”]
Last vote for me. It's getting late

>>43098509
>[Stand up and look down over the hole. Dead or not, Cut it in half with your scythe's wind.]
Not taking chances here
Afterwards hug her and calm her down

>>43098509
>>[Stand up and look down over the hole. Dead or not, Cut it in half with your scythe's wind.]

>>43098509

You stand up, giving the girl a comforting pat upon the shoulder. “I'll make sure of it Mira.”

Rising, you look down upon the bear as it lies still in the pit, both eyes gouged and riddled with broken spears and stakes puncturing its hide. You take a deep breath and utter the words of the Scythe's wind, “Ventum Falcem.” You feel your strength decline once again, and bring the scythe down, the blade cleaving the bear's head and splitting the rest of its mighty body near in half.

Stamina diminished, you fall to your knees and take in labored breaths. After you feel like you can stand again, you bring mira into your arms to quiet her sobbing.

“There, there child. The beast is dead.”

“And- and the hunters?”

You reflect on the now one-handed archer. The beasts of the wood will take him, “They all lie dead and routed. You have no need to worry.”

She hugs you back for a solid moment before breaking away, still flustered at all that's happened in just a day. “The Ursarinn is dead and we're no longer hunted...” She whispers to herself with a mix of sadness and relief.

“Yes, everything is fine now... Though pray tell, where did you get that power?” You ask, noting her sudden strike that finished off the Ursarinn.

“The snake...” Mira looks back at you, “The Blood Viper, it followed us. I heard it's voice, I didn't realize I heard it before. She wanted to give me her shadow since I took the Ursarinn's eye... Now the Greater Blood Viper is the Lord of the Eastern Wilds.”

“Beasts with a hierarchy, who would've thought.” You say with a dismissive expression. You're just too damn tired right now to care about the politics of beasts.
“Where are the others?”

“They're on the other side of the river, the Blood Viper is guarding them.”

“So we have her blessing.” You look back down to the Ursarinn. “Go get them, we're feasting on bear tonight. We'll start a fire without fear and eat far more than mushrooms and berries.”

>End Scene.

>>43098941
Was nice playing as always.

>>43098941
Thanks for running.
It's fucking hard to follow your quests as GMT+1 anon

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>>43098941

[The Siblings]

Some distance away as per usual, eyes look upon the events of the faceless as they unfold. Only this night it is but one pair looking on at the aftermath of the Eastern Lord's rampage. There's a footstep upon a branch and the eyes do not flinch. “Cleaned up that Archer, Rava?”

The woman wipes clean a once virgin blade, tossing the rag into the air before vaporizing it with a bolt of lightning at the utterance of a word. “Of course dear Avar. Can't have them going all survivor on us and informing them of our dear Reaper's advance.”

“You weren't supposed to step in his line of sight.”

“Oh, but brother we've watched him so many nights!”

“And you even helped with his fight.”

“We're supposed to do that, right?”

The brother is silent another moment before rising from his vantage point. “Alas , all is taken care of here. We should begin preparations at the mines and the estate.”

Rava hurries ahead, “Oh certainly! I'll take care of the place of slaves! You've got such class, you go to set up the Hylon's graves!”

The Brother shakes his head as his sister departs in a flash of lightning. He turns to gaze upon the light of Luna, reflecting the light of his silver eyes that empty out into his dark corneas. Eyes then move from that celestial body to a constellation, “Are you watching, father of our Arche?”

>Exuent

>>43099008
>>43098971
Thank you for being here. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far.

Next scene is going to be be some less tension-riddled scenes, some pre-written memories, and getting to know some of the Guisi that you're working with.

I feel bad that the slaves are mostly faceless hole-diggers right now, but you'll get to know at least a couple- hopefully next time!

And expect to really start to understand what the Reaper's shadow pact is! There were some hints in this very thread!

>>43099083
See you