The following was written based on the recent Rikti raids of Virtue and the publicly released information regarding the coming i-19 and Incarnates. It is also to explain the fact that Jelidan, my Katanna/SR scrapper is going to be secluded in 'mediation' until then and using a different build once it comes out. (Yes, I'll post the build to the relevant forum later)
The sky was falling and the Gods of Fate and Chance were laughing at her.
That was the conclusion that Jelidan had reached in the emerald light of dimensionally breached War Walls as she continued the running battle to reach the Town Hall of Kings Row. It was a feeling that she had felt only a few times before and each time she had dreaded it. Just like the unique shade of green that the sky was at the moment haunted several of her darkest nightmares. But she didn't have time now to process the gnawing pit of horror in her belly and bones nor acknowledge the stark wave of terror that the sight of that particular shade of green sky threatened to induced. She was too busy to do so.
Jelidan and the other ‘volunteers' that were alongside her had started at the Independence Port gate and had worked their way through the King Garment Works district and to the foot of the stairs below Town Hall at Freedom Plaza. That had seemed to take hours of non-stop action and fighting, of dashing from place to place, from shelter to shelter, and from one hot spot to another without letup. All the crazies had seemed to descend on them, everyone with an issue, an agenda or pumped urge to inflict pain on others. All the while, the very air burned and became more and more toxic as buildings and bombs alike exploded and the Rikti bombardment continued. Not all of the group that had crossed from the Port into Kings Row were still with the group or were able to keep up the pace. Some were caught in the open and cut down by the patrolling Dropships, others fell to simple exhaustion and the rising pollution levels.
When the team came across an unstable bomb that looked like it could blow at any moment that had landed outside an orphanage, a reformed Brute grabbed it and single handily dragged the bomb 50 metres down the road. This saved the orphanage and those trapped inside. However just as he let go of the bomb so that the rest of the team could try to defuse it, it exploded, spreading him over the nearby shops.
He would not be the only one to fall on that day.
Reports came over the comms system that the Rikti were attacking Skyway and Talos Island, Steel Canyon and Atlas Park, and Periguine Island. With those reports came calls for reinforcements from all quarters as the number of those that were disabled or injured in some fashion started to skyrocket.
It was plain to see that this was no ordinary offensive on the Rikti's part. They were being particularly brutal and ferocious this time. It was almost as if they were offended somehow by the mere presence of this dimension and they were determined to wipe it from existence. For it to be so co-ordinated, so intensive, and so aggressive, *something* drastic must have happened to have whipped them into a frenzy.
‘It's almost as if someone killed one of their Leaders and told them their momma wears combat boots or something and they blame us for it.' mused Jelidan.
At the foot of the stairs of Freedom Plaza below Town Hall, where the Rikti were trying to establish a beachhead, Jelidan and her team charged into the fight, reinforcing the heroes making a stand there.
The two forces, the defenders and the invaders clashed and interposed and then clashed some more. Wave after wave after wave of Rikti beamed into the fight as it dragged on into the night and then the next day. Jelidan and her Blade was everywhere, as were the rest of her team and the others that were comparatively more powerful and able then the ones that normally frequent King's Row. These higher powered one took on the lion's share of the fight and were right in the middle of the thickest fighting and were taking the brunt of Rikti assault as a result. The Rikti in turn gave more or better then they got. Already two more of the 'volunteers' that had come with Jelidan had fallen and medi-ported out to the overflowing hospital. The Blade of Jelidan flashed through the air like rippled lighting as it dispatched one Rikti invaders after another. Other Rikti were encased in the Earth, physically rent asunder, burnt, introduce to lead poisoning or dispatched in other methods.
During a momentary lull where she had been perchance positioned on the edge of the fighting, Jelidan took a moment to try to catch her breath and look over the battle field. It was a hard pressed battle and she in particular was almost at the end of her endurance. Despite her speed, and skill in dodging several attacks had gotten through. She could feel her ribs ache where one of the infantry had landed a telling blow, despite the quick battlefield healing with the medi-corder, and her normally quick mind felt like it was rattling around in her head after a run in with a Rikti Priest. That was before one considered the various cuts and scratches she had on herself from the ‘adventure' just to get to the fight.
With a deep centering breath, she flashed back in and across the battle and pulled a Guardian off a low level defender, while shouting an ancient battle cry. While admirable that the defender was helping out, there had been enough martyrs today - there would be no more on her watch. Jelidan herself had seen far too many martyrs in her lifetime, too many today, and the memories from her Blade were littered with them. Far better were a live Hero then a dead Martyr. Her Blade once more leapt out seeking the Guardian's weak points while Jelidan glared at the Heavies hovering overhead like vultures ready to devour the fallen.
And then suddenly, in a flash, the Rikti were gone...
The sky changed color, the Rikti flashed away, and Jelidan's Blade cleaved through empty air.
An eerie silence fell. For that one eternal moment, the entire suburb of King's Row paused and waited and then let the realization that the invaders had gone slowly sink in.
"Are they gone?" came a soft voice, that of a child with glowing orange eyes.
"Yes, they are gone," rumbled a walking slab of rocks as it bent down to pick the child up.
King's Row was 'safe', the Rikti had been repelled... this time, but at what cost?
The ground was a pitted with craters and other scars from the battle. Spent brass casings littered the area and there were puddles of various bodily fluids of various colors and odors. Several heroes laid on the ground, too still despite the best efforts of the defenders and other medical personnel now working on them. Melted tar and fused dirt mixed together to make a truly graphic signature that only matched some of the memories Jelidan received when she first claimed the Blade. Even then, the memories were from the first invasion and from several wars that the Blade's bearers had been in. As for the invading Rikti, they had taken every single one of their fallen and injured with them. Not one of them was left to be examined or interrogated in any shape or form.
Looking over the devastation, Jelidan swore to herself, ‘Never Again' before moving off to make her way out to where her apartment use to be in High Park in King's Row. There was a slim chance that it hadn't been damaged by the Rikti bombardment. There was little more she could do here; as she wasn't trained to help and the comms system were silent. She herself needed to recover her wits and heal her injuries without stressing the hospital. It had been a near thing - if the fight had lasted mere moments longer, she would have been forced to perform the 'Dance of Four Winds' ritual which would have left her refreshed and basically untouchable for a few precious minutes before leaving her defenseless and exhausted... and dead. That she had reached a point that using such a maneuver looked appealing said a lot, and was something she would have to mediate deeply on.
As Jelidan made her way through the broken streets of The Gish, one voice out of the multitude of voices that whisper in the back of her mind, rose clear above the others.
"There is a better way. You are better than this," spoke that particular voice, resonating with wisdom and experience. Jelidan was not worried about hearing the voice, for it was a voice from on of the Blade's previous wielders.
'But, I'm already going my fastest! How come you haven't said anything earlier?' she mentally protested.
"Now you are ready. Now you will listen. It requires a new way, slightly altered outlook and intensive training, but the rewards will be worth it."
'Will I be able to prevent this?' Jelidan asked recalling the devastation and destruction that surrounded her but had left her apartment thankfully untouched.
"No Fighter can halt an Avalanche in motion, but you will Unleash the Dragon and give you options previously concealed."
'Then show me.' stated Jelidan after entering her unit and locking the door behind her. She flicked her communicator to unavailable and settled into a meditative trance in her training area - this would take some time.
'Dance of Four Winds' = Elude, 'Unlock the Dragon' = release full potential and more power
The sky was falling and the Gods of Fate and Chance were laughing at her.
That was the conclusion that Jelidan had reached in the emerald light of dimensionally breached War Walls as she continued the running battle to reach the Town Hall of Kings Row. It was a feeling that she had felt only a few times before and each time she had dreaded it. Just like the unique shade of green that the sky was at the moment haunted several of her darkest nightmares. But she didn't have time now to process the gnawing pit of horror in her belly and bones nor acknowledge the stark wave of terror that the sight of that particular shade of green sky threatened to induced. She was too busy to do so.
Jelidan and the other ‘volunteers' that were alongside her had started at the Independence Port gate and had worked their way through the King Garment Works district and to the foot of the stairs below Town Hall at Freedom Plaza. That had seemed to take hours of non-stop action and fighting, of dashing from place to place, from shelter to shelter, and from one hot spot to another without letup. All the crazies had seemed to descend on them, everyone with an issue, an agenda or pumped urge to inflict pain on others. All the while, the very air burned and became more and more toxic as buildings and bombs alike exploded and the Rikti bombardment continued. Not all of the group that had crossed from the Port into Kings Row were still with the group or were able to keep up the pace. Some were caught in the open and cut down by the patrolling Dropships, others fell to simple exhaustion and the rising pollution levels.
When the team came across an unstable bomb that looked like it could blow at any moment that had landed outside an orphanage, a reformed Brute grabbed it and single handily dragged the bomb 50 metres down the road. This saved the orphanage and those trapped inside. However just as he let go of the bomb so that the rest of the team could try to defuse it, it exploded, spreading him over the nearby shops.
He would not be the only one to fall on that day.
Reports came over the comms system that the Rikti were attacking Skyway and Talos Island, Steel Canyon and Atlas Park, and Periguine Island. With those reports came calls for reinforcements from all quarters as the number of those that were disabled or injured in some fashion started to skyrocket.
It was plain to see that this was no ordinary offensive on the Rikti's part. They were being particularly brutal and ferocious this time. It was almost as if they were offended somehow by the mere presence of this dimension and they were determined to wipe it from existence. For it to be so co-ordinated, so intensive, and so aggressive, *something* drastic must have happened to have whipped them into a frenzy.
‘It's almost as if someone killed one of their Leaders and told them their momma wears combat boots or something and they blame us for it.' mused Jelidan.
At the foot of the stairs of Freedom Plaza below Town Hall, where the Rikti were trying to establish a beachhead, Jelidan and her team charged into the fight, reinforcing the heroes making a stand there.
The two forces, the defenders and the invaders clashed and interposed and then clashed some more. Wave after wave after wave of Rikti beamed into the fight as it dragged on into the night and then the next day. Jelidan and her Blade was everywhere, as were the rest of her team and the others that were comparatively more powerful and able then the ones that normally frequent King's Row. These higher powered one took on the lion's share of the fight and were right in the middle of the thickest fighting and were taking the brunt of Rikti assault as a result. The Rikti in turn gave more or better then they got. Already two more of the 'volunteers' that had come with Jelidan had fallen and medi-ported out to the overflowing hospital. The Blade of Jelidan flashed through the air like rippled lighting as it dispatched one Rikti invaders after another. Other Rikti were encased in the Earth, physically rent asunder, burnt, introduce to lead poisoning or dispatched in other methods.
During a momentary lull where she had been perchance positioned on the edge of the fighting, Jelidan took a moment to try to catch her breath and look over the battle field. It was a hard pressed battle and she in particular was almost at the end of her endurance. Despite her speed, and skill in dodging several attacks had gotten through. She could feel her ribs ache where one of the infantry had landed a telling blow, despite the quick battlefield healing with the medi-corder, and her normally quick mind felt like it was rattling around in her head after a run in with a Rikti Priest. That was before one considered the various cuts and scratches she had on herself from the ‘adventure' just to get to the fight.
With a deep centering breath, she flashed back in and across the battle and pulled a Guardian off a low level defender, while shouting an ancient battle cry. While admirable that the defender was helping out, there had been enough martyrs today - there would be no more on her watch. Jelidan herself had seen far too many martyrs in her lifetime, too many today, and the memories from her Blade were littered with them. Far better were a live Hero then a dead Martyr. Her Blade once more leapt out seeking the Guardian's weak points while Jelidan glared at the Heavies hovering overhead like vultures ready to devour the fallen.
And then suddenly, in a flash, the Rikti were gone...
The sky changed color, the Rikti flashed away, and Jelidan's Blade cleaved through empty air.
An eerie silence fell. For that one eternal moment, the entire suburb of King's Row paused and waited and then let the realization that the invaders had gone slowly sink in.
"Are they gone?" came a soft voice, that of a child with glowing orange eyes.
"Yes, they are gone," rumbled a walking slab of rocks as it bent down to pick the child up.
King's Row was 'safe', the Rikti had been repelled... this time, but at what cost?
The ground was a pitted with craters and other scars from the battle. Spent brass casings littered the area and there were puddles of various bodily fluids of various colors and odors. Several heroes laid on the ground, too still despite the best efforts of the defenders and other medical personnel now working on them. Melted tar and fused dirt mixed together to make a truly graphic signature that only matched some of the memories Jelidan received when she first claimed the Blade. Even then, the memories were from the first invasion and from several wars that the Blade's bearers had been in. As for the invading Rikti, they had taken every single one of their fallen and injured with them. Not one of them was left to be examined or interrogated in any shape or form.
Looking over the devastation, Jelidan swore to herself, ‘Never Again' before moving off to make her way out to where her apartment use to be in High Park in King's Row. There was a slim chance that it hadn't been damaged by the Rikti bombardment. There was little more she could do here; as she wasn't trained to help and the comms system were silent. She herself needed to recover her wits and heal her injuries without stressing the hospital. It had been a near thing - if the fight had lasted mere moments longer, she would have been forced to perform the 'Dance of Four Winds' ritual which would have left her refreshed and basically untouchable for a few precious minutes before leaving her defenseless and exhausted... and dead. That she had reached a point that using such a maneuver looked appealing said a lot, and was something she would have to mediate deeply on.
As Jelidan made her way through the broken streets of The Gish, one voice out of the multitude of voices that whisper in the back of her mind, rose clear above the others.
"There is a better way. You are better than this," spoke that particular voice, resonating with wisdom and experience. Jelidan was not worried about hearing the voice, for it was a voice from on of the Blade's previous wielders.
'But, I'm already going my fastest! How come you haven't said anything earlier?' she mentally protested.
"Now you are ready. Now you will listen. It requires a new way, slightly altered outlook and intensive training, but the rewards will be worth it."
'Will I be able to prevent this?' Jelidan asked recalling the devastation and destruction that surrounded her but had left her apartment thankfully untouched.
"No Fighter can halt an Avalanche in motion, but you will Unleash the Dragon and give you options previously concealed."
'Then show me.' stated Jelidan after entering her unit and locking the door behind her. She flicked her communicator to unavailable and settled into a meditative trance in her training area - this would take some time.
'Dance of Four Winds' = Elude, 'Unlock the Dragon' = release full potential and more power