Book 4. Chapter 6: Ophelia / Tanda - Boss Battles

Book 4. Chapter 6: Ophelia / Tanda - Boss Battles

Ophelia entered the challenge along with Fhesiah, Vesuvius, Rookard and Darris.

This was the party they came up with after considering the many possibilities of what they might face, keeping both parties as powerful as they could.

Thanks to Jakes [Aura of Heavenly Flames], him going with the battlegroup simply made the most sense. From there, separating Ophelia and him felt superior, as she could influence both battles thanks to her chosen specialization that way.

That left the most contention between whether it should be Bloodberri or Fhesiah that enter this challenge. With Darris the turtle beastkin on either side, they had confidence for him to be able to, with support, take the brunt of the damage put out by whatever target.

He was not a viable replacement for the damage that Bloodberri would be able to put out, but that was something Fhesiah had in spades. She just accomplished it differently.

Thanks to Aegis, Ophelia was more than sufficient as the groups healer. Renewal empowered by Aegis would be nearly as powerful as Bloodberris [Divine Intervention], and she would have no problems casting it several times. It only took a tiny bit more time to cast.

She had also recently gained [Intervene]. It was a small thing, but it was a big deal to her. Her speed was already amazing, so her ability to protect others in the battlegroup, or Jake, had just skyrocketed. It also increased her offensive ability, as her lance just became that much more deadly, being able to flank enemies attacking her allies as she blitzed to their aid.

They took in the room, finding there to be a large death knight and a bone dragon. The death knight was nearly five meters tall, a little larger than Vesuvius would become during the fight. The bone dragon was a little taller, when crawling on all fours, as it was.

Fhesiah said, I would say that we are lucky there is a dragon, but

Ophelia noticed what she was getting at. The death knight and dragon appeared to be protected by a barrier of sorts, as she could feel with her magical senses.

Jakes voice sounded in her mind, [It looks like this is how the two encounters are linked. In the plaza with the tower in it, there are three smaller towers. The large tower is protected by them, and there appears to be an order for which they must be taken out, as two of them look to be protected in some way as well. Creatures are about to spawn, too. The encounter is beginning.]

Ophelia said, For now, I want you to defend against the knight, Darris. Fhesiah and I will do our best to contain the bone dragon.

Darris said, Our hearts beat in harmony, the life of the world in our chests. We will prevail.

Rookard laughed. Very true, my new friend. This perversion of life must be destroyed.

The bone dragon crawled towards their party. The death knight used some sort of grasping motion, pulling Rookard toward it and causing him to roar in defiance, dropping his bow and trying to meet the knights fist with one of his axes.

Ophelia activated [Ride of the Valkyries] and [Intervene], blurring toward the knight. It was near-teleportation level speeds, with the shield popping up around Rookard instantly, but it quickly shattered around the knights fist before Rookards counter met with it.

Ophelia lanced and slammed into the death knight, her spear entering the armored creature, then her shield knocking it back several paces. This ripped out her lance, but she saw the creature was quickly healed by a nearby fixture that almost looked like a torch on the wall, in a beam of red light. The armors hole from her lance was even repaired.

Rookard retreated, having been knocked away from the knights grasp, retrieving his bow.

Ophelia shouted, It seems these creatures might have unlimited health. Do your best to slow it down or knock it off balance, rather than taking blows in order to give them.

Darris was filled with his auril as he slammed his own shield into the death knight now, and Vesuvius was growing as he took loping strides toward the enemy.

Ophelia then blurred towards the bone dragon, ready to knock it out of position. Fhesiah had been building up her flames in her dance, but was holding onto them for now.

This bone dragon appeared to have wings, and had a whitish flame inside its chest and head that appeared to be powering it, instead of the green color of the previous. The dragon started what appeared to be a breath attack, releasing a breath of frost. Fhesiah started to suck in the whitish flames.

Ophelia was ready for a barrier, but it appeared that once again this battle would be made easier by

Ah! Fhesiah shouted in pain, and Ophelia quickly cast a sacrificial flaming barrier on her and got behind it with her, to weather out the remaining breath attack.

The bone dragon then tried to pound on it with its claws, but it was stopped for the time being.

What is it? You cant consume this flame?

Ophelia could see that her throat and face were now covered in frost, but it was being removed rapidly.

No, I can. Its just that since the element is so opposed to mine and so strong, that Im harmed while I consume it. I just need to be more careful; it will not be free, exactly. Ill be more prepared for it, next time.

Youre sure?

Yes, I just have to consume some of my own flames along with it. It should be fine.

The barrier was removed, and they both charged the creature. Ophelia lanced the creature in the chest by dodging a claws swipe after strafing around it in midair.

Fhesiah had gone to the other side, sending small waves of flames over the cold creatures body as she danced around it, continuing to still build her orb of flame. Ophelias lance entered the creature again as she stabbed it, and it roared, but once again a fixture healed the creature.

They continued their fight for some time, and Ophelia used [Intervene] to rejoin Rookard, Darris and Vesuvius.

The wolves bit and dragged down the creature, while Rookard filled it with auril infused arrows, aiming for its legs. Darris and Vesuvius took turns knocking the creature off balance, or blocking its blows.

She then heard Berris voice over their bond, [Home Run! Woohoo!]

The fixture that just healed the creatures fluctuated, and winked out whatever magic was protecting them. Ophelia noticed that now when she looked at the creature, she could see a red bar labeled health. It was a lot like several of the games they played, like the fighting ones.

Jake, whats going on over there?

[We had to clear a wave of enemies, and destroy a tower. There are two more to take out, but an enemy was just released that appears to be invulnerable for now, along with what appears to be some miniature versions of it released periodically: a golem thing. Perhaps you have to do something on your side, now? The other two towers besides the main one are seemingly invulnerable as well, for now.]

She sent her thoughts about how the encounter had gone thus far, and that perhaps they had to eliminate these health bars of one or both creatures before Jakes battlegroup could continue. They were in some sort of alternating battle, where both teams must succeed in order to have a path to victory.

Fhesiah released her large fireball attack that she had been saving up for, and flung it at the undead frost dragon. The creature was engulfed with flames as it wailed in agony, and Ophelia saw the health bar had decreased by almost half, the orb being one similar to what destroyed the Necromancer.

She charged in and stabbed it with her spear, her powerful speed and momentum reaching near the creatures frozen core. She continued stabbing it as it wailed in agony, and blocked a return blow with her [Aegis]-empowered shield. Less than a tenth of its health declined from her efforts.

Fhesiah said, Ill take care of this one here. I think the beastkin need some help with that guy.

Ophelia nodded, and used [Intervene] once more as she blazed towards Darris.

Vesuvius was now at full height, but the death knight had used some sort of weakness ability, that was sapping much of the beastkins strength.

Ophelia lanced the death knight on entry, taking the creature from the near 85 percent that it was at down to 80, and knocked it off balance with her shield slamming into it shortly after. It had stumbled down to its knees as a result.

Vesuvius then landed a powerful swing of his glaive to the creatures shoulder, his auril sending a burst of flames into the creature; his heat finally having built up to where he could accomplish this.

While it would have been more with Jake present, it was still respectable, bringing the creatures health even lower.

She knew her recently awakened brethren didnt amount to much, but with many of them combined, their songs should be enough. She looked over at the boar, Bree. The boar filled with vitality and warmth represented spring, of fertility and the abundance of life, making her song the same as Brigids.

Vesuvius was strong and filled with power and skill, his song filled with warmth, making him similar to Lugh.

Rookard represented the great hunt, bringing death to his enemies, but also protecting the balance. His song was closest to Arawns. Many of the other auril heroes could add different elements to enhance these songs, and Tanda thought that the turtle and the naga could fall between Arawn and Brigid. That left Tanda to sing the song of rebirth.

It might be better if you can replace Bree with the stag, but I should be able to make it work. We have many of my brethren here.

Jake nodded. I wanted to see the stag or the lion, as I havent had a chance yet. He thanked Bree once more, and then he unsummoned her, her disappearing into motes of light.

Jake then summoned the stag. The large creature appeared before her, and its powerful auril heart began to beat. Tanda smiled at the creature, and many of her brethren noticed their guardian.

Wow, this summon took a little more than the others. And its a male, like you would expect. I name you Oran.

I like that. Hell help my people with our song.

Jake smiled at her, then he turned to Berri, Great work, Berri. Its a good thing you saved enough ammunition.

She blushed, I wanted to make sure we had enough! I didnt want to mess it up and make you disappointed again

Once again, Tanda was amazed at her voice. From the very first sentence she heard from her, Tanda felt that Berris voice sounded like a calming melody.

That the words meaning instead were often about excitement and anticipation was an odd duality.

The other womans voice, Blood, was more confident and her tones precise. Her voice was almost mechanically correct, producing the proper notes right on the beat.

Jake said, Still, I cant help but feel the beastkin are so well coordinated. I have seen many of the melee reptile beastkin ignore a golem approaching their back, for it to be cut down by an avian one. Its like they have fought together for months, working well in tandem and as if they knew their back was covered. Yet I know these people have been apart for hundreds of years, until today. Perhaps even unusual to me, is that the beastkin move before I can direct them sometimes.

Tanda was stricken. He didnt know what he was doing? Jakes aura was more like auril than he knew. When an auril hero was present on the battlefield, their powerful heart beat drove the song, their desires being present on the battlefield.

Like a conductor of an orchestra, their will itself changes the music, and guides their brethrens own songs. They command the battle with their heart, no words necessary. Jakes aura was doing the same thing, changing their song.

Tanda decided to illuminate Jake, Its because our hearts beat in harmony. Every beat a note, every heart with its own song. As our desires and struggles align, as we work to fight and protect our choir, they begin to sing the same song. When our hearts beat in cadence with the world, our song becomes a powerful weapon to protect the balance.

Jake looked over at her brethren, and looked thoughtful. He smiled, and she could feel his awe over their new bond. Wow, youre right. I hadnt even noticed. Thats really cool.

Tanda looked at him with surprise. You can hear our song now?

He laughed, No, unfortunately. But I can see it, if I look hard enough. I just needed to know where to look.

Tanda looked over at his eyes curiously. Can he really somehow see their hearts beating?

Berri said, And I can feel it! The little lizards are like, du-gun, du-gun, du-gun! And then the tiny birdies are like, do do, du-gun, do do!

Tanda looked over to the large lizard man, Jarrix. He was nearly three meters tall. Little? Despite her words being so ridiculous, Tanda couldnt help but feel that somehow Bloodberri could in fact feel her peoples melodies, her words following a proper cadence.

Even before her people awakened, they could somewhat feel the beat of their brethren. Once their heart awakened and connected to their will, their soul, they could hear the song of their people from nearly a hundred paces away, in addition to being able to feel the song of the world itself.

Still, it was clear he was unaware he was driving the song with his Aura.

As to the reason us beastkin react to your orders before you give them, youre already giving them in another way.

Jakes eyebrows rose in surprise, and his expression even showed doubt.

Your aura. You dont know what youre doing? It merges with our own auril, and changes the beat of our songs. I can feel what you want, particularly in battle. But its not an order, thankfully. It feels more like a desire, or suggestion.

Really? Huh. I guess I kind of was thinking like that? When I direct Bill, I do mostly impose my will, or order the creature. But with Berri here, I kind of think more along the lines of, It sure would be nice if Berri smashed that. I was kind of doing the same thing in my thoughts with the beastkin, especially with when I wanted one to protect another. It was more a wish or a hope, but then my words were definitely an order.

Jake looked over at Tanda with a smile. He asked, So, how is it? The Frameworks guidance. You took the burst damage specialization, right?

Tanda pondered for a moment, thinking about the last week since she had gained the Frameworks guidance, to think about how to answer. Not including the assault to recapture the Alliance HQ today, she had already been in over a dozen fights or skirmishes, including facing the Champion.

Overall, she was overjoyed at how quickly it helped her improve her skill at using auril. When he was alive, she had excellent guidance from her father. Just by being around him, she could feel the right way to move or manifest her will, and it was why she was so great at it; he had even called her a prodigy.

And yet, according to the Framework, she had only been at level two of [Auril Manifestation]. She knew her father was much better than her at it, but she couldnt help but imagine he was not that much better than her to reach the advanced stage. He simply had more of the energy to use, and able to grab the will from the immediate surrounding area and use it.

She could tell that within this week and these many fights, she had already made exceptional strides in using it, reaching level four. She realized that she mostly had her new enhanced heart to thank for this.

Tanda couldnt help but imagine that within a week or two, she should achieve level five in all the auril skills and be exceptional in using her peoples auril energy, making her a much more powerful predator and protector.

The guidance is superb. In the end, it does feel that it helps me find harmony all that much easier, and to manifest my will. My claws have become sharper in such a short time. I really feel that following on this path, I might be even better at finding and protecting the balance.

Jake said, I can understand it might help you with protecting the balance, but finding it? What do you mean by that?

When my people awaken, our hearts can better hear the song of the world. When we go to an area, we can feel the balance of the land. We tune the song with our hunts, to improve the balance. Through balance, life strives and grows. By the Framework improving my ability to use and sense auril, it makes me better at finding the right balance; finding the right plants to collect or plant, the right beast to hunt in the area.

Jake replied, I see, thank you for sharing that with me. That was sort of in the play, but I didnt have the context to understand what was being said. You mentioned plants or beasts, but your ravenwolf tribe, seems to do its best to keep the balance within the beastkin themselves too, huh?

He smiled at her, and Tanda couldnt help but smile back as she nodded.

He continued, Well, I can see that the balance is certainly important for your people, so that means its important to me. Ill do my best to make sure Hearthtribe doesnt disrupt this balance any more than it has to, in order to kick Tartarus off this world.

Tanda smiled, and did her best to will her damned tail to not wag behind her, but she knew she was only partially successful, her tail having a mind of its own.

Jake was surprisingly both insightful and considerate, truly appearing interested in learning everything he could about her people. The cadence of his song kept improving, and she could feel his desire to become a part of her peoples community.

The man had turned what was clearly a losing war, to one that she had some level of confidence that they would start to win. He had already saved thousands of her brethren, rallying many warriors to fight.

Jake even discovered her peoples long-lost brethren, their songs rejoining her people after a thousand years. It had only been one week, what will things be like in a month? She looked forward to what would happen next.

She was proud he was now her courting mate, and couldnt wait to enjoy their courtship in full.

Tanda now had a number of the thornlash plants built up, building them near Orans own plants and vines near the center of the plaza.