Ashura Ascending

[Esper]

When had things gone so wrong ? They had known Nidhogg to be coming, of course - the warning had been clear - but no one had quite expected the ferocity of the assault. She had lost sight of Aymeric and Lucia once they had moved in to intercept the great wyrm, and now...

And now the steps of faith - Ishgard's last barrier - laid in pieces. She was in pieces as well, beaten and battered and bruised on the floor. She wasn't sure if the blood surrounding her was her own, or Rin's, or... Try as she might, there was little she could do to will her broken body to move, and there was little she could do but channel her power upon herself in the faint hope that she could do something about the others, who were hopefully not...

Hopefully not...

She managed to raise her head, with great difficulty - though she swiftly wished she hadn't. Nidhogg had taken Estinien's form once more, great wings betraying his presence even more readily than ever.... and he was right over Sol'elle of all of them, holding an... eye.... ?

...They hadn't destroyed Tioman's eyes. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she screamed. It couldn't... he couldn't....

[mistalina13]

Sol'elle's lance lay just out of her reach, broken cleanly in two. Nidhogg had wrenched it from her and snapped like a twig in his massive jaws. He had only been able to get it away from her in the first place since she was already seriously wounded. Between his own attacks and those of the smaller dragons that had swarmed the Gates of Judgement the dragoons and had long since been over run. A good deal of them had been killed outright in the process of stemming the tide of Nidhogg's horde. The rest of the Ishgardian forces had been left to do what they could with what remained. At this rate things weren't headed toward a good outlook.

She had not meant to separate herself from Esper and Rin, but the dragons effectively cut off her retreat back to her wife and brother-in-law. So she did what she knew best - kept fighting and kept looking for an opening to draw back when she could. Nidhogg had taken advantage and harassed her further. Now she was in no shape to stand, let alone fight a wyrm - nevermind him. Broken and bleeding with Nidhogg staring down at her wearing Estenien's face. And what was he holding....?

An eye?

Gods no. No. No. No. No!

Somewhere off in the distance Sol'elle heard Esper scream. And she tried so hard to fight him...but she had very little strength left. She was angry, so very angry, that Estenien would do this. Nevermind it wasn't Eistenien, her thoughts weren't making much sense at the moment. It's too bad she didn't have her lance, this would've been the perfect moment to end this twelve's damned war once and for all.

The closer the eye came to her the louder the call in her blood became. It got to the point the dragon's voice muffled the sounds of the surrounding battle.

From a distance Esper might recognize the glow of dragon's blood and would know this was not going to end well.

[Esper]

No, this was not going to end well no matter which direction this ended up taking.

No, no, no, no no ! But what could she do about this ? She heard a rustle, and the sound of a run firing - Rin had aimed for the eye in lack of any other idea, but had gotten swarmed by the horde before he could take well enough aim for it to connect, and a sickening sound revealed what her brother's fate was - impaled on dragon claws.

Her wife... her brother... everything was falling apart, piece by piece, but there was nothing she could do.

...No.

No, there was something she could do. She had promised Ysayle that she would only use this knowledge if there was really no other choice, and... this seemed like there was no other choice, after all. She could delude herself with illusions that she was doing this for Ishgard all she wanted, but Esper knew the truth.

She was doing this for her wife. Her eyes closed and she went quiet, and one would think that her strength had finally left her at first glance. It was highly possible that she would die, that this would be too much for her broken body to handle, but the miqo'te could not care less.

All that mattered was Sol'elle. Blessed mother, I am sorry.... What she was doing would be unforgivable to the other scions, most likely, but perhaps there would not be enough of her to seek forgiveness after this was all over with.

She reached out, pulling at the crystals that had powered the now broken dragonkillers and the steps of faith's defense, reached out toward the city itself, broken and bleeding hand reaching toward one shattered shard. Slowly, she used that strength to crawl her way upright again, which gave the dragon pause. A few seconds.

That was the only thing she needed. "Unhand my wife, you damned lizard." She hissed. twirling the shard in her hand. "Oh great Ashura, lady of fate, goddess of my own desires ! SNAP THIS THREAD OF FATE IN PIECES !"

She stabbed the shard though the gaping hole in her chest, and the entire steps of faith was bathed into starlight, blinding everyone gathered there. The dragons hissed and recoiled, and all around the battlefield, wounds closed, bones mended back together as if they had never been broken at all, the very ground under their feet mended itself to the state the first assault had left it.

Sol'elle would find herself enveloped in warm light, a gentle caress that returned her strength and cleared her mind. She was in a very good position to push off the blinded Nidhogg now.

[mistalina13]

And suddenly there were stars everywhere - not the bad kind either it seemed. Her wounds knitted themselves and her head cleared.

...who could have?

No, not now. There was another more pressing thing to be taken care of first. Nidhogg was distracted but he still had that eye - for now. With her strength renewed it was a simple matter to send her foot into his face with the practically the full force of a jump behind it. He wheeled away from her, the visor on his helm had broken off from the force of the blow and the rest of it had sustained damage as well. Now she was free to move again and managed to pick up her disgarded (now mended) lance before the dragon regained his senses. "I should've killed you a long time ago." After the mess with Thordan even, before he had a chance to get away.

But she had been too frightened then. Afraid of what he represented. What she could have easily just become - and very nearly had.

[Esper]

"Indeed."

The voice that rung forth across the battlefield was ethereal - primal, even - and as the light slowly faded out she could be seen, at the center of it all - floating inches above the ground, her skin shimmering like the surface of a star kissed in supernova, long curls coiling around a slender form - eats and tail easily blending into the mass, the only feature of the primal's face being seen over the mask that she wore being piercing blue eyes. Two other masks, patterned differently from the pleasantly-faced once she wore, floated at the side of her face with ease. The primal was etheral and beautiful, not unlike Shiva had been - and yet, somehow, an air of familiarity could not be denied... Her dark dress hugged her features as she stood here, watching Nidhogg closely.

"Not a mistake we will do again. It is time your fate be cut short, maddened wyrm." How long, now, had Nidhogg been consumed by rage and vengeance ? In a way, Ashura pitied him. Such a base creature, incapable of healing and forgiveness. He was truly to far gone to be redeemed - a mere shell of what had once been a mighty creature, indeed. Wise, perhaps, once upon a time.

But that time was long gone. Weither or not the vengeance driven elezen could be separated from the vengeance driven wyrm... Well, they were similar enough creatures that it was hard to say. It was not a concern of hers, not at the moment - she had to make best of the time she had.

The mask spuns in a maddeningly familiar way, settling on an angry-looking expression. "Repent."

Starlight broke though the darkness once more, shattering the eye that had very nearly turned Sol'elle into Tioman.

[mistalina13]

Right now, in her mind, even if they could not truly separate Eistenien killing Nidhogg would be mercy to the man whose form he held. Any dragoon would rather die than become that. Eistenien had never exactly been typical, call it Azure Dragoon pride perhaps, but he had good - though admittedly not pure in hindsight - intentions back in the beginning. Back when she had been earning her drachen mail. He deserved to be released from this....masquerade. That's all it was at this point really. Sol'elle had not really considered Estenien a friend but he didn't deserve to be used by their real enemy like this.

There was a sense of familiarity in the voice, before Sol'elle even dared look. The power it held was unnatural, and the harshness of it - it didn't match at all.

"Esper...." What had her wife even done? A double image in the Echo provided the answer - a miqo'te wreathed in starlight.

This was Ysayle all over again! But she wasn't about to let the only light left in her life share Shiva's fate, not when she was here, on solid ground, and could help this time.

Tioman's eye shattered as if it had been made of glass, dissolving to mingle with the stardust hanging in the air. Now he held no power over her.

[Esper]

Ashura had heard, of course, but could not afford to aknowledge her wife for the moment. She had to see that the wyrm's eyes be completely destroyed before her time ran out. It was the only way that she could be sure this would never happen again. Well, that Nidhogg would not happen again. If Ishgard was foolish enough to ever repeat the mistakes of the past, well, another dragon would take the maddened wyrm's place.

Such did the wheel of fates ran.

The masks spun again, settling on the third one this time, a more neutral yet serene expression. She would have liked to take another shot at Nidhogg, but fate could not be denied. Instead, the air rippled, covering her companions in a magical shield.




It had taken E'rinhja a moment to gather himself again, mismatched eyes wide and gasping for her like a drowned cat. Which, given the giant holes going though both side of his tunic, probably wasn't that far fetched - he could have sworn, for a moment, that life had slipped away from him, yet the distant light had pulled away from him when he had more or less been shoved back into his body by sheer force of will.

What the hell had 'ranza even done ?! Where the hell had she learned this ?! The knowledge had died with...

Of course.

Ysayle must have taught her. Perhaps for this very moment. He winced, and suddenly turned around to shoot at the dragons coming at him again. When he turned to watch Ashura again, however, something hit him. Nidhogg still looked like Estinian. and given that the wyrm had thought victory assured and had shifted to use Estinien's hands...

The eyes were unprotected.

Rin knew what had to be done. "You guys keep these dragons in bay, we'll take care of Nidhogg ! Hold the line !" He screamed to the temple knights and charged though, blazing his way though the horde just close enough that he could load a wildfire shot and aim at the eye on Estinien's shoulder.

He didn't need to say anything else once the shot connected. Every scion knew by now that if Rin was shooting at something very specific, there had to be a good reason. He could take this one easily, but Sol'elle would have to take care of the other - he risked shooting her, otherwise.

If they gave Nidhogg the opportunity to shift, they would likely be overrun again.

[mistalina13]

Rin was right, she realized, if they could get rid of Nidhogg's eyes he would be essentially powerless. He had taken the shoulder one which left her with... the one in his arm. It seemed she would have a bit of a fight to get at it. Nidhogg roared in pain and took a swipe at her since she was the closest tardget. A wounded dragon could often be the most dangerous opponent one could find, this one doubly so.

She jumped to avoid the first swing, with Ashuras shield taking taking most of the blow. In this form he fought like Eistenien. A dragoon could I'll afford to favor an arm to keep the other out of reach. He would eventually make a mistake and give them an opening that one of them could take advantage of. And it would not take long, not with the wildfire burning through his shoulder.

And with him focused primarily on her for the moment it was simpler to control the flow of the fight.

[Esper]

The wildfire shot ignited with a great ball of fire, sending the dragon roaring in pain - damaging the eye greatly but not quite destroying it outright. With Nidhogg more or less focused on Sol for the time being, it made it easier for him to keep moving and avoid the dragons who kept trying to nip at his heels. He had been about to shoot the eye one last time to hopefully destroy it when he noticed the wyrm's attempt to take flight - and probably shift - so he moved instinctively to shoot at his wings, which was not proving to be very effective.

Of course he would attempt to gain space away to be able to change again. Ashura smiled behind the mask. Predictable. The masks spun once more and once they settled again, she pinned him back on the ground with a gravity spell. "Not so fast, now." She landed softly and started walking toward both dragoons, heels clicking on the restored stone. "Now, now, you should know... I do not take kindly to anyone trying to take what is mine..." Especially not like this. Not by warping her love into the abomination Estinien had became.

"Ysayle taught me enough." She whispered, tauntingly, before driving her booted leg down into the wyrm's shoulder and pulling the eye's aether to herself - much like Thordan had done, what seemed to be a long ago now. It hadn't taken true then, but Ashura would not be foolish enough to leave the eye intact. One lightly clawed hand moved to caress Sol'elle cheek's soothingly, always with the blunt side and not with the tips. It was the only tenderness she could allow her wife for the time being.

[mistalina13]

Sol'elle kept fighting, only peripherally mindful of the bullets and stray arrows flying her way. A faint haze of blood lingered in the air around her, swirling as if it were alive and shimmering like dragon scales. She growled when Nidhogg knocked her into the air and away, with the intention of taking flight. She was able to catch herself in time and jump back toward him, rather than smash into the rubble she was headed toward, landing in time to avoid Ashura's gravity spell. Her lance was pointed at his chest, ready to end this here and now if it proved necessary. The only thing that made her look away from him was her wife's hand touching her face.

"What happens now?" To Nidhogg, of course, but also, more importantly, to you?

[Esper]

"This foolish war ends." One way or another - the dragonsong war sang it's last chorus today. If nothing else, Ashura would make sure of it. "As of the dragoon's fate... I cannot say." Did Estinien have a will to live in a world where his archenemy - the one reason for everything he did, his entire way of life - laid broken into pieces ? That was not for her to decide. If he had the will to survive this, then he would.

If he did not... well. Perhaps death was a kinder fate if he did not.

The eye she was draining shattered in a million pieces, like glass shards of aether that vanished away - and the wyrm roared in pain. In between her considerably larger presence, Sol's lance at his chest, and Rin circling carefully to take the side, the wyrm didn't even have an inch of room to try to move.

She knew what her wife was truly asking, though, how could she not ? She moved to stab the other eye with her free hand, claws gripping it tightly. The sooner this was done, the better. She felt Estinien's faint little spark stir under the layers of Nidhogg's rage - perhaps there was hope for him, after all. "You know the price of what I have done." Even if she survived this, she would have to be judged just like any who had attempted a summoning. She could have run, but where could she have gone ? No, Ashura would face the consequences of her acts, if she made it to that point in time.

[mistalina13]

Sure, she knew it. When this was over - she did not want to think of the other possibility - Nidhogg would be gone. And because of what Ashura had done there would be many more survivors than there otherwise would have been. If they did not show her lenience for that they would be fools, considering they likely would not have won this battle without her.

"I won't let them take you." Over my dead body. Basically.

They could try and claim her tempered, but she still had her own mind.

[Esper]

They could claim Sol'elle tempered all they wanted. Even had Ashura known how to temper - Ysayle had never done so, and had not planned to - the echo would have protected her wife of any attempt. It was not simply about Ishgard - it was about the damage she had willingly created upon the already weakened mother crystal, as well - though perhaps the little curiosity she found lurking in the eye's aether made up for it somewhat. She had not expected Lahabrea to have survived....damned ascians, really. There was no getting rid of the little dark cockroaches, at least not easily. Perhaps it was how Nidhogg had managed his procession of Estinien from beyond the grave ? Dark lips pulled into a smirk from behind the mask.

lets see how well you survive having your aether scattered to the four winds in a million pieces, shall we ? Lahabrea could scream at her all he wanted - he had no power over her, especially not like this. Done in by your own machinations in the end, is that not poetic ?

He did not quite agree. A small laugh escaped her lips. "Well, I did find something else to rid us of, my dear." Her beloved would know exactly what she meant. She had seen Thordan attempt to kill Lahabrea with the eye just as well as she had, after all.

The second eye shattered like glass, and with one last roar, Estinien's body crumbled - apparently lifeless, though he would be revealed to still be breathing upon closer inspection. Aymeric broke though to get to the Azure Dragoon and Ashura simply let him pass. It was best that she did what she had to do elsewhere, at any rate.

"Fear not what will come, beloved." Ashura said, softly. "For it must be done. Whatever may be, my fate has been, and will always be, yours. I did not do this sin for them. I did it for you. It was only my love for you that was ever powerful enough to truly move the stars from their orbit..."

The masks parted - just a little, just enough to take her wife's lips. She looked much the same, underneath it all, though her eyes were endless universes of swirling blue skies.

Then, before Sol'elle could object, she took off, flying higher, higher, ever more so.... Then she released it all, all the aether she had taken, Lahabrea's essence, all of it - in a wild flare of energy. A single flaring star, a man made supernova - the last note of the Dragonsong War.