My Superhero Fantasy: Tales of Babylon

Quetzal

Quetzal very quickly changed back into his humanoid form, dusting off his chest after setting his buckets down. He ran slightly from the crowd, afraid of a stampede. Then he heard the Ashen Hound's challenge, and saw Zur lunge at them.

He didn't think he'd have to fight one of the faculty. Most of the fights he was in were against monsters out for his own blood, but he wasn't used to fighting something this humanoid. However, this guy had to be very strong in order to comfortably challenge all of them at once.

Nonetheless, Quetzal rushed in, pulling out an oversized fang with a handle. It was very durable, moreso than other swords, but it couldn't hold an edge aside from the point, making it more akin to a thin bludgeon than a proper sword. As he approached Ashen Hound, he prepared to strike.

Magnus Nicholson

Magnus had set the pole down and watched the children come drink the water he had provided, unconcerned with the ones who were taking notice of him.

Ashen Hound's challenge, on the other hand, gave him pause. He was no stranger to fighting, but this was his teacher. Clearly he wouldn't be able to go all out, which ruled out using his bladed weapons. He would have been able to try launching metal at them, but with Zur making himself so big in his attack, he wouldn't be able to do that from the front. No, Magnus would have to try getting around her and attacking from behind.

Seeing Gosetta and Quetzal were also rushing in to fight Ashen Hound, Magnus figured she was sufficiently distracted. He ran around Ashen Hound's left side, shifting his metal around so his arms ended in blunt pieces of metal, and then started rushing towards them.

Latarak

After helping Cole finish the climb, he couldn't help but smile at the horde of children who descended upon them. Lat had always liked little kids, given that he'd been not much larger than them before his growth spurt. Also, they were innocent. A child didn't care if you had fur or not! Or if you were wood, and dragon, or whatever. It was refreshing.

Ashen Hound's request to be attacked was interesting. The steps had clearly been meant to test their bodies, so maybe this was for their brains? Zur took a frontal approach, which was useful if not the best idea, and Magnus the left. It would make sense to circle to the right, but doubtless, that was what "Ashy" would expect. So he waited for the teacher's response to Zur and Magnus' movements. After all, Ashy could teleport. Silly to expect you'd grab them so easily. As he waited, Lat dumped a bucket over his head. Running and climbing the steps while wearing fur was hot work.

Lambert had to keep himself from jumping into the nearest tree once kids appeared all around the place, he wasn't particularly fond of big crowds, and being the center of attention is something that he would have wanted to avoid. He managed a small smile and a polite wave as they advanced.

But all of that was lost in a second as the world seemed to stop and start spinning, with the knight clutching his head as he faltered.

Nice time for this, Lance

But it all lasted for a second, just before straightening up, smiling and waving more confidently to the crowd as he pulled the small book to check a few things as the kids left. With that, he made sure to keep track of who was who. And the teacher wanted to make a test out of this? Fine by him.

He charged in, himself, quickly unsheathing the blue sword as it was covered by energy, as if it was a second scabbard, he didn't particularly intend to attack, but if he did this properly, he would be at the other side. It all comes down to timing.

Slightly Less Humble Test At The Steps Of The Academy

Steady and at her own pace meant that when Kyn arrived at the top of the stairs she was able to simply lower her buckets down, take a moment to breathe in the likely thinner air and center back into her usual state of composure. She smiled a little as she saw how the others in this ad-hoc class had done and then turned to regard the brewing fight between the tutor and the literal dragon.

She also did not believe the dragon had this totally under control. The teacher was an experienced combatant and shapeshifter, she probably had some nasty tricks in mind for both the fight and to try and keep anyone from slipping past. So Kyn decided to help on the fight front by drawing her bow and staying ready for any particularly key moments to fire an arrow at the teacher.

Enkidu Academy entrance

Well. First they made a circus of reaching the boat, then climbing the stairs became an endurance test, and now the teacher was turning the very act of entering the building into a trial by combat. Giorgia had gone from assuming this was all standard Protector procedure, to convinced Ashen Hound simply loved challenges and competititions.

Had this been a more ideal environment, Giorgia would've had no problem humouring her. Unfortunately, this was clearly not somewhere steeped in death - she could detect absolutely no spirits to call to her aid, nor corpses to wield as puppets. It only briefly crossed her mind how messed up "oh, nobody's died here, that's a real shame" would sound if she said it out loud. But Ashen Hound seemed set, so Giorgia was going to have to come up with something.

Her typical method of attack when she wasn't using the postmortem remains of others was sadly also off limits. Somehow, Giorgia didn't think the Protectors would approve of a potential recruit attempting to rot Ashen Hound's flesh where she stood. That left her with brute force, which she had never been good at... or, Giorgia realised as Zur and Lat went straight for Ashen's throat, she could use the approach of all the much larger, more physically imposing students as a potential distraction. That worked too.

Giorgia disentangled the wooden pole she'd been carrying for Giove knows how long from the buckets on its ends, making sure not to spill any of the water or strike any of the children who were lapping it up. She intended to get past her teacher with as little direct confrontation as possible, but an improvised weapon to hold her off in a pinch couldn't hurt. Holding the pole rigid as she had before, but now without sloshing water buckets to worry about, Giorgia quickly sprinted forwards. The hope was, with all the more brawl-inclined students keeping her occupied, Ashen wouldn't be able to focus on the scrawny, surprisingly nimble undead student dashing past her, and anything the teacher did try would be easy enough to deflect.

Enkidu Academy, Front Steps

This was too easy. The Hound stood still. Her eyes were shut, her ears honed in, able to hear their breaths as she waited. Even as they pounced, she didn't budge. What was seconds to them was an eternity for her. She bared her fangs, tail flicking back and forth, grinning like the devil as they made their attempt.

And then she was gone.

Her eyes flashed open as she vanished, disappearing in a puff of smoke, the students converging on one spot. They crashed into each other, tripping and falling to the ground in a heap. Poor Giosetta was at the bottom, moments away from being flattened. The smoke grew, turning into a hazy mist. The doors were obscured, the air filled with shrill laughter.

Not bad at all, not at all! But I'm afraid you'll have to use your brains. Per the words of her most holy, the Gods intended us to be more than blunt instruments. Whether you believe it is your own business, but it's something to consider, no?

The laughter continued to grow, surrounding the students like an invisible net. Cole and Latarak were left alone, but Kyn and Giorgia didn't get off so easily. Kyn would feel a tap on the shoulder, urging her to turn around. The culprit was hidden from view, engulfed in the mist, but it wasn't tough to figure out. A gout of blue flame erupted at Giorgia's feet, blocking her path. The flames spread, encircling the other students and keeping them trapped. If they jumped or flew, the flames would surely grow to reach them.

But they weren't in danger. The flames were hot, but they weren't an inferno If they approached, they'd be pushed away or covered in soot, but they weren't dangerous. It was as if they'd been set on safety, but they were no less an obstacle.

Seeing the others fighting like this, really giving their best account of themselves against the Ashen Hound - who was now firing off flaming blasts in return - left Cole standing there. Teeth clenched, divided between wanting to do something and worried he could once again end up hurting someone way too much. What if the others didn't get out of the way in enough time. What if Ashen Hound took the attack head on and didn't—-

He couldn't just sit back though and let the others fight while he just ran away or cowered. He had to at least try. But before he could try and step in - to join the fray like the others...

"Laterak? Uhh, Mr. Laterak?" Cole looked beside him and asked, "If—-If I end up going too far, throwing too much force...can you help?"

He then took three steps forward...and breathed. He felt for it - and found the power rushing to the surface. His right eye glowed bright blue briefly - flickering between glowing and normal several times, his hair beginning to raise from his head. Before long, crackling pure power coursed by him and rippled against the ground - several rocks levitating or outright disintegrating.

He focused on Ashen Hound - or at least, the mist in which he figured she was located. Directed his power there, as best he could. He raised one hand, wincing as he had to grip his wrist to keep his arm from flopping to the side from a spasm brought about by a crackling bolt of power. He anchored his feet along the ground, and the power gathered in the form of an undulating mass of bright blue force growing and shifting in his palm. "G-Gaah...G—-urgh..." Cole tried to focus, the mass of power rebelling against this and forming larger, spikes of electric looking force arcing off of it and raking the ground around him.

Several pulsating waves emitted from the bright blue unstable sphere. Loud and rumbling.

Cole finally fired the mass of power at that mass of mist he assumed housed Ashen Hound, his whole form crackling with sheer force as it leaped from his hand. The mass of power slicing the ground with thin stray bolts of energy - the blast growing in size as it contracted and expanded, lighting up the entire area as it approached the Hound, the ground melting directly under the blast.

Edited by NickTheSwing on Mar 26th 2023 at 3:58:31 AM

Magnus Nicholson

Magnus tripped over... well, with about five students all charging at one spot, he wasn't entirely sure who it was, but in any case, he crashed to the ground. His body temporarily fell apart, but this impact wasn't as hard as the one on the boat, allowing to reform much quicker. Getting up, he looked around for Ashen Hound, but saw only mist... and the blue fire spreading around them.

This gave Magnus pause. There was little that could truly hurt him, but heat and fire was one of those few things. On the other hand he doubted that their teacher would try use something that would kill her students. Magnus pushed one item in his body, a frying pan, over towards the flames, but felt some kind of force push it back when it got close. In any event, he kept the pan next to the flame, just in case he needed something with a bit more heat. He turned to the other students that had been charging, Zur, Quetzal, Geosetta, and Lambert, if he remembered right.

"Clearly we need a better plan," he said to the group. "I don't know how that teleporting works, but I'm assuming keeping Ashen pinned down for long isn't an option. And she could be anywhere in that mist. Any ideas?"

Quetzal

Quetzal ended up going near head-first into the other students, ending up reeling as he readied himself, getting back on his feet.

"Unnghh... well, I didn't want this to be easy, anyway."

Quetzal was about to dash towards the Ashen Hound again, but then noticed the wall of flames blocking his path. He knew a bit about how to manipulate the water, but there wasn't a clear source of it nearby, much less enough to put out the flames. Instead, he attempted something else.

"Quetzal Wind!"

Quetzal swung his fang, focusing his wind ability into the swing, firing a blast of wind at the flames, hoping to create a gap where he could go through.

Laterak

He nodded to Cole's request. Being unsure of yourself was something he knew a bit about, given his own changes. The young god positioned himself behind his classmate, both to avoid any accidental damage from whatever Cole was going to do, and to observe the aftermath.

As the energy grew before being sent at Ashen Hound, Laterak considered his options. Strike his charge briskly on the head to quell the power before it grew too strong? No, it might be fatal if he misjudged. Dump water on him? No, again the startlement might prove disastrous, and a cloud of hot steam wouldn't help anyone either. Finally, he settled on a plan-if Cole seemed to need, he would fling the boy directly upwards. It would force him to redirect his thoughts to flight, and if he passed out from the strain, Lat would simply catch him. It was an elegant, simple plan. Of course, Lat had no way of judging how hard to throw him, or how safely to catch him when he came back down, but those were problems easily solved, no doubt.

Zurkraziir

Naturally, his classmates ignored his words and joined the assault anyway. This proved unfortunate for some of them, as Zur's immense bulk plowed through anyone who'd gotten in his way before he managed to stop himself.

Skidding to a stop, Zur growled as he observed the new obstacles - mist and fire. Worth nothing against a dragon.

He reared up and began to beat his great wings, attempting to blow away the laughing mist. As he did, Zur's belly began to glow slightly, before the light worked its way up towards his throat. Clearly, he was intending to unleash a blast of dragonfire on Ashen Hound the moment he caught the teacher in his sight.

Such a thing might seem extreme, but the Hound had challenged him, and called fire of her own. Turnabout was fair play.

Magnus Nicholson

"Wait!" Magnus shouted at Zur. He could tell his classmate was about to unleash a dragonfire blast... and Magnus wasn't in favor of more fire getting spread around the area.

"What'll stop her from just pulling her disappearing act again as soon as your fire gets close? We can't just keep attacking her on sight without a way to make sure we'll actually hit our target!"

Battle! vs. Ashen Hound

Giorgia's senses may be duller than they were in life, but she can still sense incoming fire just fine. She twists just in time to avoid the blue blaze as it roars to life, using the pole as a counterweight to keep her balance.

She stares into the flames, knowing there is no way forward except through them. Once again she curses the deathless safety of Enkidu Academy's grounds. This would have been an excellent time to summon a drowned spirit, one bound in death to water...

The Hound cuts her train of thought off with a telepathic interruption. Grimacing behind her mask, Giorgia mentally responds.

Your gods, perhaps. But it is Plutone who gave me new life, and he says all paths are valid, so long as they lead to victory.

Which path to victory she shall take is still an open question. Giorgia's only tool as it stands is the pole, and while she can't say for certain that these clearly magically cooled flames would burn up wood, she's not taking any chances.

The newly awakened knight managed to get up after getting knocked down, but there was still a lot of fire coming their way. His blade started glowing and he swung it upwards to block the flames.

He could only hope that worked well.

Test By Combat

And turn she did, dropping low and loosing the arrow as she did so. Visibility was turning poor and the sound of laughter was coming from all directions at once, so Kyn tried to backroll to give an opportunity to swap her bow for a hunting knife. She knew her skills and knew that as much as possible the teacher was likely trying to counter them so it was best to take up a backup option that probably could do with some critique once this trial was done.

Now she just had to retain awareness and let the prey come to her.