The last of the Old Moon's telepathic assault faded in Gyr's mind, and the awe of standing before a reborn dragon god king settled, as well.  Next, he had to worry about the teleportation circles.  Thrilled though he was that they were operational, purportedly, it still gave him some minor motion sickness (that he did well to hide).

He and Phelan set up the workshop for a quick ritual... and he cleared his psychic throat.  "So, I suppose we should have that talk about 'keeping secrets', seeing as how I am now reporting to Malus," he said, and moved some stones around for better druidic channeling.  "You're right, I shouldn't have kept it for as long as I did, especially considering whom it came from and its sensitivity.  In my defense," he amiably amended, "the adventurer's guild said nothing about relocating an entire population of mind-controlled Umbreans and their abandoned city.  I'll admit, the Old Moon was a surprise, but I signed up as a guide, not a diplomat, and it makes me wonder how much the guild knows about what just transpired or what your party's intents were.  Gods know, this'll be a political tidal wave, once it gets out.  If it came as a surprise for all involved, then it sounds like we all had little to prepare with about the intrigue of this adventure."  He chuckled over a shoulder.  "It all turned out for the best, at least.  So, I've got two-dozen words to say to Malus, Phelan.  Is there anything you want included?  I could send more than one message, if you like."

Gyr prepped a message, maybe two, and went through several iterations to get all the important info within twenty-five words before attaining a satisfactory product (perhaps Phelan helped him with it, smart guy that he is).  Quite pleased, the Ulh readied his wind chimes to start the ritual... and then chanced to look up and saw the meteor shower... he sighed and got out another sheet of paper to start again.

Gyr rolled 32 [nat20] on Nature, for Animal Messenger.

Despite her thoughts, Willa didn't immediately step forward to make them known.  She was in a decidedly uncomfortable situation.  All this felt much too big for her.  She didn't like being part of big things.  Big things were meant for big people and she was anything but.  Better to stick to the small things.  Help a person here.  Help a person there.  All safe and understandable.  Not trying to foresee the multitude of the ramifications that might arise, good and bad, from inviting world a destroying something-or-other to your home, so that an orb could return to being an ancient dragon king again!

There was also the fact that she was about to make a suggestion that left a 'sour' feeling in her mouth.  Her Patron had been so helpful to her up to this point and always at their own discretion.  It just felt wrong to ask something of someone who had freely given so selfishly.  The word 'audacious' came to mind.

Still, step forward she eventually did.  The orb and Ydri had been helpful.  Perhaps even instrumental in saving the lunar umbreans.  Who knows how much trouble she and her friends had been spared by their distraction?  Then there was Brinor.  He might not have been her Iron Jubei, but he had proven himself just as much.  Without him the lunar umbreans could not have been saved at all!  And both her, and his now lost in space or time, or both, predecessor wanted this.  It was the least she could do.  And she wasn't even doing that much, just making a suggestion.  She didn't even know if it was a good one!  It might be stupid.  She'd had plenty of stupid ideas before.

"Uh," her little voice meekly squeeked.  Perhaps too quite for anyone to care, or at least deign to listen to, in all their giant bigness.  "Maybe Oracle can to help?  Is big power.  Willa not comfortable asking.  Not even knowing how.  Maybe new Dragon-God-Rye-you-Can can, uh, am-bass-e-door being?  Or maybe want ask other Far God?  I..if able..."

    Willa's words did not go unnoticed by the god before her.  He was about to speak when a loud but distant trumpet call rang out from somewhere far above.  A moment later, like lightning, a great winged being landed abruptly beside the adventurers.  The figure was vaguely in the shape of a man, far too tall and thin, which gave it a spindly and delicate appearance.  Several large holes took up space across its body and went straight through it.  The largest was located where the chest would have been.  The second largest would have been the stomach, the third the face, and the fourth where the loins would have been.

  Floating a few feet above its head was an inverted, black pyramid.  The wings were long bands of deep-red cloth which wrapped around the beings body.  The ends of each band of cloth was an arrow of gold set with a teardrop shaped diamond.  What little of its skin of the creature was visible was a pale grey.  Only the hole in its face was uncovered and showed a brilliant blue flesh around the edges of the hole inside the head.  Otherwise it's head was featureless save for the human-like ears, and the lack of any hair.

  It's bare, six-toed, feet touched the ground but did not appear to disturb it.  Its hands were six-fingered with the extra digit being something like another thumb, and in its right hand it held a small, curved horn of black ivory.

  "Fear not, for I am an angle of the Gods Willa.  I am Harkin, and I am the herald for another.  I am the gatekeeper and shall now usher forth one greater than I." the angel announced clearly, and each of the adventurers understood it as though it had spoken to them in their own tongues.  The angel turned its back to the party, raised its trumpet and blew three deep, resonant notes into the air of the bleak landscape.

  Three, progressively deeper, and longer tones replied.  A brilliant beam of light appeared not too far away from the herald and widened to permit the entrance of two equally luminous beings.  Though they looked no greater than children.  As they parted from the portal their luminosity descended to a degree where their features became distinct.  Each was about three inches shy of being three feet tall.  Though each walked nearly a full foot off the ground.

  Their proportions were very child like with their heads appearing far too large for their bodies.  Much like the herald their feet and hands were bare, though unlike the herald their hands and feet appeared almost human-like.  Both wore a matching dress of long, black pantaloons.  At first it looked like they also wore a skirt but this was an illusion created by the odd, knee-length coat they wore.  The coat lay over a loose, layered shirt which ended in a tight, high collar about their necks.  The coat itself was layered, much like the shirt beneath it, and grew rather thick about the shoulders though neither the coat or the shirt looked bulky.  Both were white.

  Their head resembled the bulb of some exotic flower.  It was split from where about the spot where one would expected the nose to about the exact opposite spot on the back of the head.  From this cleft rose a fan of deep-blue flames.  The two beings walked upon the air as if their feet were bound to some otherworldly landscape.  Each held the other's opposite hand and it was only a few moments before they had reached Willa.

  "Feat not Willa for I am Aion, the first of the angels, the architect of paradise, and the mouth of the Gods." the two beings spoke in unison, one with the voice of a girl and the other with the voice of a boy.  Like the other angel their speech was clear and familiar.  "The Gods know of your plight but can only act upon your wish Willa, and your permission oh Ryukhan." the angel spoke first to Willa before turning their gaze upon the might dragon god.

  Ryukhan's brow briefly furrowed and he nodded.  "As much turns upon this question Willa I would tell you to forget about the lofty affairs of the Gods and consider only that which lies before you in your domain of concern.  Do you desire for the Gods to aid Ryukhan and restore Xoraxanto to his true nature?"

  At that moment Amare's telepathic voice whispered in Willa's mind "Willa, if you want what is best for Xoraxanto then I would recommend you ask for Xoraxanto to be reborn.  Remade rather than restored.  I know it seems to be a slight difference but it is a significant one." is voice urged hurriedly.

  Elsewhere...

  Phelan paused for a moment, clearly deep in thought.  The moment dragged onto to the point where Gyr had to repeat himself.  Startling the narayan slightly who had gotten himself lost in thought. "Request that Malus contact me.  There is simply too much to discuss through a magical missive." he said, then added "Oh and we're still going to have that talk, my mind is too focused on the task at hand right now for that, we still have to lug Amare back to the moon.  And.  Not to neglect the significant problem of finding this hollow, or hidden edifice which we have to traverse to find a golden lake or sea that can restore him."

  The ritual was performed masterfully with a wild, black house cat, showing up to receive your message.  There was something oddly familiar about the cat which Phelan could not place.  Until it spoke, after it had cleaned one of its ears.  "That's interesting!  You should be glad I was hanging around to overhear how your intrepid escapade played out."  It took Phelan a moment to recognize the voice, it was much more feminine and deeper compared to what it had been but it was Morrey's voice.

  The cat winked at Phelan.  "See you around kid!" and broke off into a run from the seated position she had been in only a moment before.

  Standing outside the workshop, Drex saw the cat running past him and heard it giggling.  A peculiarly bubbly noise before the feline disappeared around a corner a moment later.

  Once they finished up with the ritual the three adventurers made their way to collect Amare from the large storage area where he had been kept.  Only to find the guards missing.  Inside a curious situation was playing out.  A humanoid, about five and half feet tall, dressed all in black clothing.  Was leaping towards Amare's statue only to suddenly be caught in mid air and to leap backward upon the path they had taken until they landed back on the ground some five feet away from where they had been before.
  Phelan recognized the effect at a glance.  It was the odd time reversal effect which the umbreans had accidentally discovered around Amare in his present state.

  Two eyes, so dark brown as to be almost black wiped around to glare at the intruders through the only gap in the fabric which was wrapped around their head.  Dark skin suggested that the person in particular was at least human.  But otherwise it was difficult to identify anything else.  They said a single word that the adventurers did not recognize then pulled three small balls from a belt you had not even realized was there until they had withdrawn something from it.  The dark stranger dropped one ball and threw the other two at the party.

  Black smoke erupted from each ball and the overpowering smell of mint made your eyes tear up.

Willa, ever happy to listen to Amare and also thankful to have some guidance, repeated what he said.  But not before shyly making her usual welcome, of course.

"Hi!  Willa is. Be friends?"

After a moment of letting her offer settle, made genuinely and equally to both both Harkin and Aion, she spoke again:

"Ama, uh, Willa think would be good to...re-born Xor-ax-an-to." The little oozeling took particular care to pronounce the name correctly.  She was prone to mistakes when she spoke fast and thought that any mistakes here might be bad.  "So is to be remade.  Not...restored?"

Gyr regarded the narayah patiently.  "I'm sure that'll be a fun conversation I have with myself, and then will repeat to you," he quips.  "Ask him about the falling stars, it should be easier that way instead of putting it in the message."  As requested, the missive is altered only enough to "Talk with Phelan" as the Ulh does his best to combine a few other words via synonyms to keep it under the 25 limit.

He grunted at the cat and its capricious greeting.  "I'm pretty sure that was Morrey," Gyr thought aloud, "which makes sense, but I can't for the life of me wonder why she came herself instead of some other simpler creature.  It's possible that Malus already knows some of what's up."

With the workshop cleaned up, Gyr kept to himself on their way to Amare, aside from idle chitchat about what he might've known about a restorative golden sea on the moon.  "Not to cause alarm, but the guards are missing," he noticed, and already had his staff out (just in case).  He followed whoever went in first (if not himself) and had his stones at the ready.  The dark-cloaked suspect alerted him, but though the battlewise druid was ready to fight, the assailant's speed was not to be matched.  The stones whipped up a wind to blow away the smoke covering his escape.  "Where did he go?"

(Using Wind Wall as a narrative utility.)

    Aion walked forward and knelt before Willa, still a little taller than her but the angel was able to reach out and took each of her hands in theirs.  "Yes Willa, we are your friends." the angel nodded their heads and so did the much larger angel, Harkin.  "The Scion of the All-Father gives you wise council.  There are times when it is best to start a new rather than to try and reclaim what has been taken."  Aion's hands were soft and warm.

  Moonchild looked up at the gargantuan, black orb of Xoraxanto and asks, his voice puzzled "You've no problems with this Xoraxanto?" his eyes searching he continued "Isn't this just dying with extra steps?"

  There was a pause and Ryukhan looked about to speak when Xoraxanto's voice spoke from the air "Moonchild." the voice was calm and level yet the orbs content looked everything but calm.  The smoky blackness looked like a thunderhead.  "This orb is a prison.  It was made from my own body." he let that linger for a moment before he continued.
  "When the queens defeated me I immediately enchanted and transformed.  For my crime of usurping their natural authority I was beaten, and broken.  I was tortured in every way my captors could devise." Xoraxanto's projected voice faltered almost imperceptibly.  "Eventually they grew bored of my dying carcass.  They could not let me die because there was every chance that another would try to resurrect me, either to make use of me or to give me reign.  So they devised my prison to be an immortal and invincible one.  When I was transformed from flesh to stone it had been delicately engineered so as to be as exquisitely painful as possible.  Barely does even the shadow of a memory exist of when I had not been tormented or in pain." his voice had started to rise but he appeared to have noticed himself and stopped for a moment before he finished.
  "Death was a wish I'd imagined only in my dreams." there was silence for a long moment which Moonchild broke.  "I.  I am sorry.  Its because I sympathise that I." the figure in black armour looked defeated  "I.  I had to say something.  I would not be able to live with myself if I stood by and did nothing when someone who suffered like I-er-you have, rushed headlong into the jaws of death just as you have regained your freedom."

  After a moment Xoraxanto replied "I thank you for your concern Moonchild.  I can see there is some kindship between us.  So I would ask something angel, about my...rebirth.  I would wish to be reborn in the care of these adventurers, if they would be so kind as to be my parents?"

  Elsewhere...

  Phelan quickly pushed his snout into one of the magical pockets of his cloak as Gyr's spell dissipated the smoke around them.  Phelan knew he'd not learn much if he just held is breath and waited for the scent bomb to pass so he took in what he could even though the smell burned his nose.  What the overpowering smell of mint was meant to erase was still there, for now.  The intruder, working assumption was a thief, who had tried to steal Amare?  Hmmm too little to go on beyond that, he thought.  But the smell told him a few things.  The thief was a human woman, and a young one at that, an imperial too.  He had enough of her scent that he'd be able to recognize her should he run into her again.  Without the scent bombs next time.  His eyes watered.

 The umbreans were not doing so well however.  Their whole escort had collapsed.  From a cursory inspection they were at least still alive but they were fast asleep.  Unfortunately trying to detect what alchemical substance might have done the deed was next to impossible due to the overpower stench of the scent bomb.

  No other trace of the intruder remained.  Not even the sound of running feet.  There was only one way out of the chamber so the thief must have passed by the adventurers only a moment ago.  She was preternaturally fast and who knew what other tricks she might have...

  Fortunately Amare's statue appeared no different than it had the last time you'd seen it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:03, Sun 24 Dec 2023.

The wind whipped about them to scatter the fowl fumes, but the druid wove the whistling wall in a winding path to give those inside plenty of viewpoints out.  For Gyr, this let him clear his eyes and figure out where the thief might have fled.  Of course, all of their obfuscation tricks made it their run for the biggest, easiest exit the obvious choice (why else bother?).  It was a long hall, though... so Gyr sent his serpentine vines along the walls and ceiling to form a damaging barrier at the end.

Standard Action
Vine Serpents
Area burst 1 within 10 squares
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: 27 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 16 damage, and the target is restrained (save ends).
Miss: Half damage, and the target is immobilized until the end of your next turn.
Effect:  The burst creates a viny zone that lasts until the end of the encounter.  Any creature within the zone that leaves or attacks a creature outside it takes (10) damage.

Ruuk's eyes went wide at the goings on, with all the important beings arriving. First, the arrival of the heavenly herald, Harkin... then the twinned Mouth of the Gods Aion...

But the biggest surprise was that Xoraxanto would be willing to allow his rebirth to be among the party. True, dragons had done nothing good to the once Dragon King, but to allow mortals to become the caretakers of a reborn form...?

Ruuk bowed, his tail coiled beneath him. "Well, if that is an option that you take, Xoraxanto, I would be more than honored to be your caretaker while you grow into your own again."

He chuckled a he straightened, grinning widely. "I never did get the honor of being a father; this would be a most welcome opportunity to experience something along those lines."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:46, Wed 27 Dec 2023.

    Xoraxanto's voice was filled with both relief and happiness.  "Splendid!"  Aion's gaze returned to Willa.  "Do you need anything to prepare for this task ahead of you?" Aion asked.


  Elsewhere...

  The thief was caught by the vines and let out a loud grunt which echoed through the passage.  The thief struggled for a moment a flash of magic from their shoes and the thief was dashing again even as the vines tore at their clothing.  Leaving several large strips of cloth behind.  Blood was clear on some of them.  But the thief ran on throwing a smoke bomb behind to obstruct the adventurers view again.

  Drex had by now drawn his weapon and was standing guard against any approaching attackers.  Considering guarding his friends and the fallen umbreans more important than tracking down a would be thief.  After all, as long as there was a trail to follow, he reasoned the perpetrator could be tracked down.

Gyr's eyes narrowed; half of him enjoyed the chase, the other half just wanted the thief caught (impressed though he was with their tenacity).  He sprung forward with Sylvan thoughts and stretched out the vines to once more intercept the invisible intruder.  "Still in a hallway," he reasoned, and filled the rest of it with lush flora and tangling roots to block off the exit.

Move:
>7sq (up to Vine Serpents)

Minor:
Verdant Bounty
Area burst 2 w/in 10sq
Effect: The burst creates a plant-filled zone that lasts until the end of your next turn. The zone is heavily obscured, and you and your allies gain a +5 bonus to Stealth checks while within the zone.
Note: Since this creates a "heavily obscured" area that only benefits Gyr and his allies, it should prevent the thief from just running right through, at least for a few seconds.

Standard:
Earth Roots
Area burst 1 w/in 10sq
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: 20 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 13 damage.
Effect:  The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of your next turn. Any enemy that starts its turn within the zone is slowed until the end of its next turn.
Sustain Minor:  The zone persists, and you can slide one enemy within 2sq of the zone 4sq to a square within it.

Willa froze for a moment at the unexpected question, not quite sure what she was being asked.

"Friend Aion is meaning things for baby care?  Willa not know what Zor-axe-and-two being baby is like." She looked to Ruuk for help.  "Is needing baby things?  Like carry-sling?  Special food.  Also medicine?  Nappies?  Cot?  Playpen?  Uh, Willa think Willa needs book on how to be parent!"

    There was a smile in Aion voice at first but it quickly became serious.  "When you confronted the Hecatomb you acted as the Avatar of Akysha and with his power destroyed the daemon and freed the captured spirits that had been in the Hecatomb's clutches.  What we must do now is much the same.  The Gods and Their Angels are prepared to retrieve the spiritual beings of the dragons of old, as well as any others we can rescue from the clutches of the Great Evil which holds keeps them in their torment.  Though we require you to open the way for Us.  It would be your task to draw away the attention of the Vast Hatred that we may strike where it is weakest and thus have the greatest success.  The vessel Xoraxanto occupies is both his prison and his protection.  As long as he remains within his spirit and soul are protected from the All Consuming Hate.  If he is to be saved his kind must be saved first.  It is the sympathetic connection between himself and his kind which allows for That Which Hate's All to consume Xoraxanto the moment he is freed from his prison." Aion finished.

  Moonchild whistled, then asked "So uh...how could Willa uh, we uhm...distract something you describe as a Vast, All-Consuming Evil?  Won't we just be, uh, consumed?"

  "By conjuring a part of the entity's attention.  Though immense it is limited, it would be drawn here by the fragment we've conjured.  We could make use of the temporal anomalies in this region to slow the Evil's awareness enough to purchase Ourselves more time to act.  Though you-" and Aion pointed at Willa and her companions "-should not engage the entity in combat as no weapon you presently wield can harm it.  Challenge it in whatever ways you can imagine you may succeed in harming it in some capacity We are not aware of.  Take heart though, for the Gods have proclaimed that it is the umbreans who will bring about the Great Evil's end.  Though if that is to happen today or in the future I do not know." Aion finished.

  "Is there anything else you need for this confrontation?" Aion asked.

    Elsewhere...

  Gyr's magic flew ahead of him into the cloud of deep, purple smoke, which the thief's smoke bombs had created only a moment before.  Gyr could not even see the flashes of his magic taking effect beyond the cloud.  And the hall was such a mess of noise it was hard to pick out anything.  If Gyr was to know what had happened to his quarry he'd have to move beyond the cloud of smoke blocking the hallway.

  Phelan coughed and remembered it might be best to arm himself.  His nose still in his cloak pocket, he held his breath as best he could still.  His lungs were burning at this point.

[Unfortunately obscuring elements do not impede movement only lines of sight.  At best it could be considered difficult terrain but such things are mentioned in powers so this is just dense foliage which hampers vision, not movement.  Which also means that to confirm weather you hit the thief or not you have to move past the cloud of smoke.  Your power may have hit, as I don't see a line of sight limitation in the power description you can use it and at present there is nothing in play which blocks line of effect down the hall.  The Thief's invisibility had not broken last Gyr saw them, but the new obstruction is in the Thief's favour, e.g. the cloud of smoke, which would have broke Gyr's line of sight on the Thief.  Meaning not only have to move beyond the cloud of smoke but you need to use another Perception check to try and find them when you do.  The smoke clouds remain until end of the encounter unless something blows them away.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:38, Mon 29 Jan.

Gyr took a page from Phelan's book and covered his mouth and nose with his cloak, but still tried to glimpse through the obscuring field...

Perception vs. Ninja: 22

...He took a step back from the spicy smoke to think, and considered the blood on the ground.  "Not threat of pain nor lack of path obstructed that woman's escape... her actions were truly not her own, like a puppet pulled by their strings... violently at that."  Gyr stayed his vines and flapped his cloak to better disperse the smoke nearest him.  It was best not to kill her in the attempts to capture her, for surely, her controller would do the same just to prevent it.  Instead, he returned to Phelan and Drex.  "Despite my best efforts, I could not contain the intruder," he reported, "though now I worry that if I had even snagged an ankle, her foot would have been ripped off in the attempt to prevent her capture."  Whether he joked or not was unclear.

Willa felt a deep concerns at Aions words, though she tried not to let it show.  Firstly, being an 'avatar' had not been a pleasant experience. She would do it again of course, but it had been far too much power for such a little umbrean.  Also, she'd had no control.  What if in that moment, if she could act herself, might she have been able to save Aviana?  And finally, had the daemon actually deen destroyed by this Akysha?  She didn't want to doubt the powers of the powers, but she could not forget the fight she and Amare had with her old rod in the Weyr.  What if Aion and friends of were not as able to stop this evil as they thought?

She fought back her doubts.  It didn't matter!  This was happening and she would try to free Xoraxanto because it was the right thing to do!  That was all that mattered.  All she really understood.  Little things for little things!  And as such big things for big things like Aion.  Surely it had a better idea of its own strength, its friends and whatever this unfathomable evil was.

So what would she need?  It weapons would not help, what could she ask for?  It sounded like it would be a battle for wills, but how would that work?  How do you trap evil?  Can you get it caught up in a game?  If only Gyr were here.  He'd done so well challenging Lord Jub Jub before.  Even won!  That was it!

Willa looked at Aion and asked:

"Uh,  Willa not sure if can do, but wondering if Aion can to fetch friends of Willa?  Aion having friends of fight evil.  Willa thinking also needing help.  Uh, maybe to ask first?  Maybe friends of Willa, busy."

"If...if are busy.  Willa guess maybe anything Aion can do to help.  Maybe protection?  Or, or is place where evil not do well where Aion can take us?  Place to where to maybe make evil be confused maybe?  Like maze, or, or mirror room where Willa get cloak?"  She flashed her reflective cloak off to hopefully help Aoin understand, before looking unsuredly at Ruuk again, "Or m..maybe, maybe Ruuk have idea?

"Also, Willa wonder if is safe for Xoraxanto to be here?  If evil want Xoraxanto and Aoin bring evil to Xoraxanto, is not problem being?  Xoraxanto safe in sphere?  What of others on moon?

Also also, if all works somehow.  C...could Willa ask, uh boon, of Aion and friends of after.  I...if possible.  Having idea of something good to do, Willa hopes."

Ruuk coiled up near Willa, running a thumb over the pommel of his blade. "Well... what kind of things does this 'All-Consuming Hate' consume? Perhaps we could find things that would be an anthithesis, or at least at least induce 'nausea', get it to reduce itself, even if only a little."
He looked to Aion. "Is that possible? From my limited knowledge, nothing can consume EVERYTHING... and in that case, perhaps slow it down further by distracting it with 'tastier' targets with illusions or summons?"
He chuckled. "Hell - pun intended - if we can get some fiends up here, we might make things a little safer for the world at large at the same time..."

    Aion replied. "If you are asking about your friends who have gone to Ancerenth to retrieve the vessel of Amare, than I must inform you that they are otherwise occupied." Aion turned their gaze to Xoraxanto.
  "The once Dragon King is far safer than any of us here.  The powers which bind him are the same as yours.  Antecedent to the foundations of the world." the angel stretched out their lone hands to the blackness of the sky.
  "So the risk is least to you as well." Aion nodded towards Willa.
  "For your friend, the Eye, shall refuse Evil any purchase upon you."

  Listening to Ruuk, Aion burst out laughing.  It was a humorous laugh, akin to the laughter of a child, full of mirth and good spirit.  The twin-like angel, typically so symmetrical in their motions displayed asymmetry as each body responded to their laugher in his, and her own way.  The left held their face, or rather their mouth, had their heads had more than a passing familiarity to human anatomy.  The right patted their thigh repeatedly.  After about a minute of chuckling the angel regained their composure and half gasped a reply to Ruuk.
  "Oh child of the Leviathan, Ruuk of the Fathomless Deep you make good guess work and surprise me.  We have not found the limits of Its appetite yet, but what you suggest has already been tried many times.  The Evil could not be perverted from its purpose.  Thus why this approach, a novel one put forth by the Gods Themselves will work.  Though myself and the angels know not the how of it.  The Gods judgement has never failed though Their Wisdom and Insight appears as mysterious to us as it is to you."
  Something Aion said ticked away at the back of Willa's mind like loathsome lice.  She couldn't quiet yet put gloves on it, so she listened further.

  The angel looked at both Willa and Ruuk when next they spoke.  "Your reservations are great, and soundly founded.  Fear inspires doubt, so that you may acquire certainty, for that keeps you alive and uninjured.  However, time grows short.  The advantage you have lies in surprise and the alignments of the elements about you.  Tarry much longer and that privilege shall be lost."
  The tick in the back of Willa's head stopped, like it'd popped and unfolded into an idea in Willa's mind.  Xoraxanto was the fulcrum.  He was the last living dragon, and his existence for a dozen millennia - Willa dared not wrap her mind around that idea, for that way lead down into the spiral of madness about her own nearly equally long existence - of loneliness and pain was the lever.
  The heart of all magic was experience, good magic used good experiences, bad magic used bad experiences.  But the big magic, the stuff the professors had talked about in funny voices, were the ones which somehow put the good and the bad feelings together into something greater.  Like the feeling you get form a really good story, one of them had said.  Or when you won a battle or something-like-that.  The word they used had been acu, aka, aachu-
  Willa suppressed a sneeze.  -aku?  No...what was it? Accom?  Oh that sound about right, Accompla-something?  Yeah that was the word they used.  Though a tangent in her mind wondered what plush had to do with feelings, maybe that's why stuff toys made you feel better?  They were full of accomplushment.  Certainly that was right, she thought.

[No Elsewhere this round, you guys are actually a fair bit ahead of Willa's group so I'm pausing to focus on them for a spell.  My next post will probably include you guys again.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:05, Fri 09 Feb.

Willa's psyche boiled down to five main aspects: compassion, loyalty, curiosity, justice and innocence.  Though it felt like the last of those had been slipping away more and more recently.  Right now, however, she was focused on justice.  Bad things needed to be shown that what they did was bad!  Stealing back the dragon souls from it did not feel like a just punishment to her.  That was putting things right, but it was not a punishment for a bad deed done.  No, this new big bad needed to be shown what it was to be on the receiving end of the horror it had wrought.  But how?

Willa frowned in thought.

This wouldn't be the first time she'd literally fought something without physically fighting it.  Though she didn't understand how or why, it seemed that somehow, sometimes something small can beat something far bigger.  But how could being bigger not always mean being better?

It was an odd concept for her to wrap her mind around.  Bigger things had bigger power.  Stood to reason.  There had been enough things bigger than her in her life that had always shown her such!  It was just a matter of size.  Something small could never be as dangerous as something big.  A pigeon was not a threat, but a Roc?  Odd name by the way.  Why call a giant bird a rock?  They were very different.  Couldn't be more so.  Willa caught herself before she wandered off a tangeant.  Her mind was trying to tell her something, she just needed to wade through the mire of her own thoughts to find out what!  She didn't have time for distractions.  Time was short.  Perhaps shorter even than her.  Another strange phrase, how could time be short?  It didn't really have size.  It just was.  Like the sky.  No one ever accused that of being short.  At least not to her knowledge...

Regardless, the matter of the fact was that being big meant bigger muscles, thicker skin, bigger power, etc.  Like, if you took something small and made it the size of a mountain maybe now it could now destroy a building, whereas before it could only detroy aaaa...she struggled for a comparison...a cracker?  That'll do.  They tended to be small and easily broken.  So, in conclusion, being bigger means everything is bigger.  Good.  That seemed like the first part of what her brain was trying to tell her.  But then, she already knew that...didn't she?

Now where to?  Oh, right, her other 'fight'.  In it she had supposedly beaten something nasty and to all accounts quite big with a few choice words.  Or perhaps more importantly, a few small words.  That sounded wrong.  Why and how?  Willa didn't think she could be defeated so easily.  Well, unless those words ended in a fireball or some such being thrown her way.  But words could her hurt.  She knew that all too well.  Some words more than others.  Vermin and Vampire were particularly bad ones.  Which was odd because they were actually acceptable speech, whereas some others that were not were far less hurtful and even fun.  Oddly, those ones that were not could even make you feel better!  Like those times she and Gyr had said so many of them to each other!  She made a mental note to say more to him when she saw him next...

So yes, Willa understood that sometimes some words could 'cut' pretty bad.  But cutting was not killing.  She'd certainly never died from words herself!  At least not that she could remember.  Another life, maybe?  That was a whole nother thing.  At least she could say that she'd survived all of the injuries that words had dealt her so far.  Also, she couldn't remember actually ever having seen anyone die from words either.  Other than the nasty.  Not that she knew for sure that her words did in fact kill it but, at the minimum, they got rid of it for a long time.

Oh!  A long time!  Like a short time, but more.  So short time did make sense after all!  More sense than when she was scrutinising it before anyway.  She shouldn't really have doubted.  The phrase was made by bigger and smarter people than her.

And that was another thing about being bigger!  Surely bigger things must be smarter too.  They have bigger brains!  Like an umbrean pool.  More umbreans means more thoughts!  Though Mr Phelan was small, not an umbrean and smarter still...He was a problem in her logic...ugh she didn't want to think about him now!  If she thought about him she felt he'd completely invalidate the point she was trying to tell herself! Oh, but Mr Phelan was very old!  Maybe that was it?  All of the tutors at the academy were old too.  Being old must also lead to being smart.  Imagine a giant, ancient Mr Phelan - he would be the smartest person of all time, ever!  That was something Willa wanted to see!

But wait...being older also made things better too?  Well no.  That didn't sound right.  Very old people were not very strong people.  Quite the opposite.  But what if...what if old age was not a thing?  What if you lived forever?  Would you continually get stronger and stronger then?  If so why?  She thought about the most obvious example: training.  The more you did something the better you got at it.  So, back to what she thought before: it was that accomplushment thing.  Experience!  Hold on brain - Willa was getting closer!

So, time to recap.  Making small things bigger makes them bigger, in all ways.  It is a matter of scale.  Age also makes them stronger, if they are not worn down or broken by it.  But how does that help her here?  It just serves to make her even more worried about what they were about to face!  It sounded more massive and more older than she could imagine!  Damned mind!  Betraying her like that!  She thought she was onto something for a mo...no that's wrong.  Like that old tutor with the weird numbers and symbols that had confused her lots back at the academy used to say to his students, she'd 'forgotten to carry the one'.  She'd made a mistake somewhere...She ran over her thoughts again and after a moment it hit her: experience didn't equal age!  Look how young she was, but she felt sure she had experienced more in the last few months than many.  Sure they might be smarter than her overall, but that was due to prior learning.  If she kept going at her quick rate and them at a slower one, didn't matter how old they were, given enough time she could catch up!

Hooray!

But why exactly did that mean she was able to beat the big nasty from before with just words?

If being bigger is a matter of scaling everything up, then did that mean it also scaled up the bad things too?  For example, if words could cut painfully, would scaling the victim up, cause more damage?  Perhaps but it didn't feel all that likely, unless...Willa had experienced A LOT of painful words in her short life.  Time and time again.  Over and over.  To the point where she barely noticed them now.  Her experiences had made her stronger against them.  So when she fought the nasty before and beat it with sympathetic words, was it because of those two things?  It had both never been pitied before and the impact it felt from those words were all the more effective because of its huge size?  It made sense!  At least to her.

If so, how could she utilise that here, unless...

Willa could - and would - never claim she understood anything about the universe, let alone its fundamental laws, so she couldn't say for certain that her logic was in any way sound, but doubting it would lead to her literally second guessing everything!  No, she needed to rely on her own experiences and hope that they too would become better when scaled up.  Trust that this could work.

"Willa think," she suddenly spoke up after her silence, "Willa think we should feed Zor-axe-and-two to Consumer."

As usual, Willa choice of words left a lot to be desired, causing more confusion than consensus.  But after a little time explaining what she meant, it boiled down to this:

Willa had, finally, theorised that it might be possible to harm something that was - to all ends and purposes - invulnerable, from within by having it experience something it had never had to deal with before.  At least not to any significant level.  It simply wouldn't have had the 'training' to be able to deal with it.  And thus would be vulnerable to it.  Just like her last fight that was vulnerable to being pitied, so might this new threat be similarly vulnerable.  Only this time she wanted it to be something it would not like to experience.  She wanted to punish this thing for all the hurt it had caused.

Out of her, Ruuk and Xoraxanto, there were three options and she didn't know enough about Ruuk's life to know what he brought to the table other than, perhaps, confusion from being swapped into this world.  She felt bad about this and promised to ask him more about his life once they were done here.  She, herself, felt she could best bring fear to the table.  She'd lived so much of her life running and hiding before she started to master her fear.  It was a huge part of her.  Though these days she uses it more than she suffers from it, incorporating it into some of her spells and abilities.  But fear is not so much of a punishment.  It is a survival instinct.  A symptom.  You fear the thing that could happen to you, not fear itself.  It was what fear warned you about that was the true punishment.  Such as pain.  And Xoraxanto had that in spades.

She wasn't sure how to weaponise the aeons of pain that Xoraxanto had suffered exactly, but was hoping someone else might have an idea.  It seemed a lot more difficult than a few simply spoken words.  But if it could be directed so, then it might, maybe, could possibly work?  Perhaps?

    The blue flames issuing from the open bulbs of Aion's head vanished.  "There is indeed a powerful magic in your idea Willa." Xoraxanto added.  The angel looked over at Xoraxanto then back to Willa "The profundity of it has certainly caught me by surprise." the angel nodded at the herald.  "The Herald shall attend to the hosts, you will wish to go with them I think Ryukhan." he bowed to the dragon god and Ryukhan inclined his great head in a barely visible nod.  "I will return soon." he said and leapt into the black sky with his mountainous bulk.  Yet there was barely even a breeze to mark his passing and the lunar dust barely stirred.  The Herald briefly bowed, bringing each of his hands together in a prayer before he too shot skyward with nary an effort.

  Aion spoke to Willa one last time before he began to draw the ritual site.  "I will draw the ritual but I shall not begin it until you give the word.  I shall stay behind you during the right to maintain it but you shall be its head.  Your friends here can give you aid of course, to the best of their abilities but much of this task rests upon you."

  As Aion drew the shapes and sigils, Will and her companions planned.  Though something peculiar happened just at the start.  Darkness swallowed her and her friends for a brief moment.  Then it lifted.  A little confused the party looked around only for darkness to swallow them again.  As someone started to curse the darkness lifted.  Willa had a sensation of awful delight when darkness took them a third time.  "Friend!" a deep, sonorous below reverberated from the world around Willa and her companions.  "I could not help but notice that you are about to go up against Big Nasty.  A very brave thing to do for someone as small as you to do!  I am almost certain you can manage it too!  Now I thought such a momentous occasion warranted a little pomp and ceremony so I'm giving you and your friends what you could call ceremonial garb, I just think it would look good on you.  I also had some extra made for your other friends who aren't here right now as I was rather inspired and I am in a charitable mood.  Oh and before I forgot to mention, there is a special rod and tome I've been meaning to give you.  It wasn't until now that inspiration stuck and I knew exactly what from my collection would be perfectly suitable for you.  Now I've kept you long enough.  We'll have another chat when you don't have such pressing matters to concern you.  A conjunction should be occurring soon between the inner planets of you sun, that'll allow for more than this terse conversation.  Good luck!  I put some money on you!" the darkness faded.  Moonchild looked bewildered.  Xoraxanto made a guffaw.

  "Willa? Who...who...wha-?" Moonchild was at a loss.

  In front of Willa was a packaged, wrapped in black cloth covered in silvery glitter, held together by a golden ribbon tied into a bow at the top.  The present was nearly as tall as she was and a bit broader and deeper than its height.  Three other presents lay stacked ontop of each other beside her with a string of glass holding onto a card made of slate upon which was engraved a name.  Each present was named for one of the party.  Including Xoraxanto and Amare.

Ruuk blinked, but smirked. "Willa, have I said how much of an honor it is being your friend?"
He slithered over, picking up his and, aftrr a moment, Xoraxanto's packages, preparing to move over to the dragon King and assist in making sure his 'garb' fit right. "Not a lot can startle me much anymore, but getting to experience things such as this certainly make my time alive more worthwhile!"
He opened his package, ready to try on his 'Ceremonial Garb' without question. The voice and power displayed were terrifying, but they were on the parties side, and getting Xoraxantos safe was far more pressing.
"So how do I look?

Willa was suprised to hear such a voice right now at this moment.  But it didn't last long.  For whatever reason, voices seemed to like talking to her!  Not all were nice, but most were and this one both seemed to know her and called her friend.  Plus it had bought gifts for everyone!  So she decided to trust it.

After a quick check to make sure it wasn't in her head and that her friends had heard it to, she looked to the sky and shouted, "Willa and friends of thanks!"

Feeling suddenly guilty that she didn't have anything much to offer in return (she had previously given her most treasured polished shell away), she hurriedly began digging through her pack for something, anything she could offer in return.  Though all of her 'treasures' were valuable to her, she understaood that she really had little to offer that others might want. She obviously had not been collecting enough!  She would need to pay closer attention to her surroundings for special little things in the future.  Things had been so busy lately that it felt like she hadn't had a chance to think about that for a while now.  A shame!  What wonders had she missed?  There even seemed to be a lack of new curios that would sometimes just appear in her pack of their own accord.  Seemed everyone and everything had been busy recently!

She did stil have pedi's box, but she didn't want to give that up.  It was all she had left of him and he'd need his home back if he ever returned.  She did have a couple of bits and bobs from the moonbase, but they were still on the moon now, so if the voice was really interested in anything like that, it would not have to go far to get them for itself...

Finally, she settled on a goblet that she had picked up.  It came from the umbrean feast table back down in they Weyr, so was probably quite fancy, no?  She remembered taking it for Iron Jubei, but never got a chance to give it to him.  She hesitated, remembering her lost friend and protector.  She pondered if it was worth keeping should she ever see him again, but thought better of it.  It didn't mean anything to him and was just a silly notion on her part.  If, no when, she saw him again she would find a much grander gift!

So she took the goblet in both hands, held it up and shouted.  "Uh, is not much, but is present."  She then carefully placed the cup on the floor, looked at it for a moment, then quickly gathered up her things.

First she dressed herself in her new robes as best she could.  They had to go over her armour, under her cloak and backpack.  It was a bit of fight at first as she rushed to put them on, until she realised it would be best to take her cloak and backpack off first!  Next she took the rod.  She already had a fine one.  Also a gift.  But she'd never been told she could not use two!

Finally was the tome.  A dangerous and fragile item as far as she knew.  Books and her did not get along very well.  There were so many at the academy and she spent so much of her time there climbing and hiding amonst them that it had, sadly, proven quite impossible to keep them all clean.  So Willa had never been so grateful for her reading gloves!  More gifts.  People were so generous!  She gingerly picked up the tome, trying her damndest not to get any slime on it and looked for a title before packing it carefully away.

Looking at the remaining cloaks, she turned to Ruuk when he spoke to her.  Her face lit up and she clapped excitedly for him.  "Ruuk looks very, uh, seri-moany-us! Umm, think Ruuk maybe can to carry robes for Mr Phelan Sir?  Also Gyr?  Also, also Drex?"

Then, whilst Ruuk attended to Xoraxantos, Willa struggled to bring Brinor's tarp-like ocean of fabric over to the taur without sullying it.

    The clothing Ruuk wore and what Willa, Moonchild, and Brinor found in their boxes was made in the same style and material.  Layers upon layers of fabric so smooth it felt like the surface of clear water.  It was a deep, dark, mottled blue with strange streaks or flows of slight different shades of blue making peculiar patterns across the garb.  They were each highly formal dress, something you'd expect to wear to a ball, or banquet.

  The layers of clothing grew lighter as you pealed them away, though given there was about a dozen of them the transition was very gradual.  Dressing in the clothing it was very obvious the material was magical in many ways as it slid onto your body with any effort, and even wrapping itself around you without aid.  It fit snugly yet stretched to keep you covered as you moved.  It was almost a second skin.  In the light the cloth shimmered like a seashell and in the darkness it appeared to have a second edge to it as it there was another layer to the garb which only the shadows could expose.  That barely perceptible layer vague resembled flowstone but you couldn't make out its colour only its vague shape and texture as it was only barely visible in dim light, but not something you could touch.  The edges of the fabric resembled embroidery, or filigree, but honestly put you more in mind of stone work.  And that really seemed to be the substance of the garb yet all contact with it and motion said it was satin or silk.

  Made of carefully fitted pieces of clay-like metal the pieces formed two different patterns on each side of the tome.  On the one side was star like pattern around a jewel which resembled a star sapphire, yet the texture of it changed whenever you looked at it.  The pattern of the metal on the reverse of the tome was of a ring with an inscription which read "Look up, behold, and wonder."  The pages of the tome were made of a silvery, metal leaf.  Their edges looked horribly sharp so she'd have to turn them carefully.  Faintly glowing runes and diagrams filled the pages, and more pages appeared to turn than their should have been space in the tome for.  From a glance Willa found the tome discussed a wide range of magical subjects, most far above Willa's experience, or understanding.

  The rod was a simpler subject compared to the book.  A simple length of polished stone.  It was a dark, bluish colour similar to the clothing in that respect but it sides were covered in flowing lines which made out a pattern which Willa could not perceive in her mind's eye.  She'd probably need Phelan's help or spend some time drawing out the patterns to make any sense of them.  But the instructions for the rod were simple enough.  It was a tool which would work in conjunction with the magic from her pact and would provide some magical aid to here allies should they be nearby.

  When Willa looked for the goblet she had offered up to the entity she found that it had vanished from where she'd left it.

  Now prepared as best as they could the party looked for Aion.  Though he did not appear to be nearby.  But Xoraxanto had moved over to a spot not too far away.  Given the orb's titanic dimensions it was not too hard to spot, even against the black sky.  Ydri fidgeting nearby.  On approach you could spy what Xoraxanto was floating over.

  A flattened area about nighty feet across and perfectly level compared to the rest of the lazily terrain of the moon.  The area was mostly taken over by a large, simple, arcane design.  At its heart was an overlapping circle and triangle.  At the points of the triangle, and adjoining the circle, were much smaller circles, each about ten feet wide - compared to the thirty feet of first circle.  Those three circles joined with a fourth at the inner corners of a square which itself was wrapped a larger circle.

  Glowing, white markings in supernal script - that flowing dance of writing which refused to stay still - traced an outline around everyone of the symbols golden lines.  The circle itself appeared to be part of the ground, and the supernal script looked as though it had been carefully painted onto the ground.

  The floor looked smooth, almost polished but felt rough beneath your feet, or tail in Ruuk's case.  Aion raised a hand in a stopping motion as you approached.  "Hold please and take off any shoes you might be wearing and leave them at the edge of the platform.  This place is holy ground.  I will descend myself in a moment." the angle said and went back to putting the finishing touches on the last of the supernal markings.  While he worked he explained himself.  "I'd begun drawing the ritual markings when my intuition was drawn here.  I found this site already prepared for us.  I investigated it and found it had been created by those who dwell within the heart of this moon.  It is simply elegant, as though made by the All-Father Himself.  And there are few craftsmen better than Him.  It is almost identical to what I had envisioned but with some remarkably inspired changes." the angel pointed to the square and the inner circle as though that would yield some clues.

  Aion rose from where he had lain in the air, over the ground, and walked over to the fourth circle.  As he did he slowly descended until his feet touched the ground.  A high pitched chimed sounded as his feet touched the ground and a sense of serenity swept over you.  Brinor recognized the feeling, it the sense he'd experienced beside shrines, and inside temples.  The peace of just being in the right place.

  The angel directed Will and Moonchild to stand in the circle directly across from him.  "You will hold Xoraxanto for the duration of the rite." to which both Moonchild and the once Dragon King responded with incredulity.

  "He's a bit large." Moonchild noted his face for once visible thanks to the clothing he wore rather than the usual armour.  He looked somewhere between aghast and incredulous.

  "That won't be a problem. Size is a matter of perspective." the angel held out one hand and grasped Xoraxanto out of the air as though he was not a vast orb but rather a ball and so the gigantic sphere was made no larger than seventeen inches and handed to the stunned Moonchild.

  "The reason he is holding you, your majesty, is both for your own protection and to facilitate whatever magic Willa will conjure.  Moonchild is both a font of power, and in the unique position of being a tripartite entity." Moonchild's grip on Xoraxanto's orb tightened.

  "You are warrior, you have kept other safe and so you will keep Willa and Xoraxanto safe." Aion finished then turned to both Ruuk and Brinor.  "You two will stand across from each other in the circles between Willa and myself.  Your purpose will be to confront anything which tries to break through the circle.  Only turn away any attack which comes your way.  Do not confront the entity directly.  Use the barrier to your advantage and whatever you do, do not fully leave your circles until the rite is concluded.  You do not have to worry about damaging the diagram of the sigils themselves, those are carved into the world in ways your actions can not change." the angel nodded and made sure everyone was in their places before proceeding to his own.

  "We begin." was all Aion said as he raised his hands to the sky and began a slow, methodical chant. "Where Heaven and Earth abide, Aion calls forth the eye, from beyond this sky, that which desires the Once Dragon King, Xoraxanto.  I hold and bind, by chains of breath and light, that slayer of Xoraxanto's kind!" the air above the heart of the circle had begun to boil shortly after Aion's chant had begun.  Shrill screams tore the air not long after as indistinct, shimmering shapes spilled out from the frothing air.  The adventurers felt as though they had stepped into an oven, as heat, which by all rights should be burning them alive, swept upon them.  Shrieks, cries, laughter, singing, exaltations, a veritable cacophony of nigh indecipherable voices roared out from the tortured spot.

  Hate.

  HATE!

  H A T E!

  A furious revulsion, a desire for your destruction so intricate and personal that vision of yourself being torn apart and flayed in exquisite, and horrific detail flooded your senses.

  A moment of blessed release, silence the angle's small voice was loud as thunder "Hold fast!  Do not let the Evil Thing burrow Its way into you.   You must counter it with your own experiences to hold your ground.  Make a shield of your strength to stand against the horrors It hurls against you!".

  Radiant glyphs, like swarms of insects, fly about the edges of the innermost circle where ever the shimmering Thing was pressing against the air above the circle, even the ground itself was not unmolested as it glowed almost completely white.  The air still smelled of burning flint, despite the gruesome scenes playing out on one side of your senses.

[Rp time!  Willa, Brinor, and Ruuk need to defend themselves against psychic attack, how will they go about this?]
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 15:23, Mon 01 Apr.

Ruuk, for his part, drew his scimitar, using it to focus himself. This was a psychic attack, and one he could not counter, merely parry. So he had no need to attend to openings, merely watch for strikes.
The serpent fell into the serenity he'd experienced, recalling those times he'd felt that emotion as he began a sword dance. He'd learned it a while back as a way to practice his swordplay, its smoothness mimicking the ebb and flow of the oceans.
As for using the barrier, he imagined if he could redirect attacks along it instead of directly at it, the Hateful Hunger's reach attempts would become as the ocean waves, breaking along a resolute shore.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:22, Wed 03 Apr.

Brinor ran his hands down the strange fabrics, smiling as the repetitive motion calmed his mind.
He too, sank into the serenity, dropping to all four knees as he began to pray. For now, not wanting to draw the hunger to Ryukhan, he simply began to murmur prayers of thanks and wellbeing, his mind imagining a glitting, silver shield, woven into the barrier wall. His faith would be a shield, repelling and redirecting attacks sent towards his friend Willa. As always, he would be a protector for his friends, a shield to defend those who could more easily strike down their foes.

Of all the companions, Willa was arguably the best prepared to deal with fear.

Contrary to her bubbly persona, she had always been drawn to it.  Something about 'dark and sinister' appealed to her.  Like a child saying a naughty word, or playing a prank, it was just the more thrilling choice.  These days it was more obvious than ever.  Before donning the ceremonial robes, everyone could see how black her leather armour was and how it was suffused with creepy green-glowing metal studs.  How her helmet resembled a demonic skull.  And how shadows would cling to her every movement.

And it was more than just aesthetics.  Fear had played many parts thoughout Willa's life:

• She was an umbrean, herself innately unsettling.

• She'd grown up in a world full of fear.  Both as its victim and as its source.

• She'd learnt to utilise it, weaving it into many of her own spells.  Likely with more to come.

• She'd even prepared a little for it.  Her recent acquisition, a scintillating cloak, provided protection against such assaults to her and her nearby friends.

She was not immune to fear by any means.  This assault represented as much a danger to her as to any of her companions.  But at the least she was not afraid of fear itself. And that might make a huge difference.  Especially, because she was also so, very, very, ANGRY!

She'd come to realise that this was Aviana all over again!  Only a thousand times worse - done to an entire race!  And that could not stand!

So, she would not retreat.  Would not seek assurances from past instruction, or solace from the divine.  This thing did not deserve the satisfaction of seeing her balk even a little.  Not after all the hurt and pain it had caused.  This thing needed to be punished!  Its victims deserved justice!  And her defiance would tell it so.  She would use her anger to drown out her fear, harden her resolve and break its waves of terror.  She hoped...

    The cacophony grew.  Unreal winds blasted against you.  But you held your ground against the onslaught.  Magic fought against whatever preternatural forces this evil Thing wielded.  You didn't have time to read, or even recognize, the supernal script which warded against the worst of the assault.

A deep, monstrous voice growled "Foolish!  Cowards!  Food!"

A woman's voice snapped "Your guard means nothing!"

A childish voice jeered "Soon you'll be ours!"

Laughter of all kinds broke out from the shimmering mass.

  Whatever Willa had in mind she had to make use of it now.  Though something pricked at the edge of her mind.  She was...hungry?  No she sensed food, an a lot of it, in front on her.  Flickering her awareness to the noetic domain for the briefest of instances, she beheld this evil Thing as a huge, twisted up  mass of emotional energy.  It was so large she could not hope to feed upon it alone.  But it was like some sickly tree all rising from a central mass of...

  She could sense it, just barely, at a distance both near and impossibly far at the same time...

  Pain?  No, more.  Agony.  A thought crossed her mind in that instant, what would happen if she took away It's pain?  Could she even do that?  Where would she put it?  Could she eat pain?  If pain was a feeling, maybe she could?  But there was too much to handle all by herself.  And even then would that even do anything?  If this evil Thing was based on pain maybe depriving it of It's pain was the key to distracting it long enough.

  Whatever the case might be she had to decided what to do next and had to do so now.

[The evil Thing has made its move now its your turn to respond with whatever plan you have in mind!]