Protectors of the Seal

The rapid sound of sneakers on linoleum break through the hallways of the second floor of Seven Saints Academy. He swiftly weaves in between his fellow classmates, nearly bumping into a couple of them in a mad dash to a certain room. One of the History teachers pokes his head out of his classroom door, obviously perturbed by the squeaking. He calls out as soon as he sees the perpetrator and he bellows in his most commanding voice, "Elias Everett! No running in the halls or you will be disciplined severely!" To the teacher's surprise, Elias keeps his pace and runs right past the teacher. He continues his weaving, his chest heaving, wanting so much for a breather. Wanting so much for the fire in his lungs to subside. He continues weaving through the crowds formed of the last bell signifying after school activities time. Out of my way, you have no idea the troubles you will be in if you do not let me pass He thinks to himself. His right arm shoots for his left, the feeling of the cloth wrapped tightly around his arm feels nice to the touch, but the truth of what said cloth is hiding may cause panic to arise in this establishment.

Soon, he comes across a door and slides to a stop. His right hand grasps the door's knob and turns it. The door opens and as soon as there is enough space between the wall and the door so that he may pass through, he enters. Quickly shutting the door behind him and locking it. He drops to his knees and grasps his wrapped arm. "Of all the days this could happen, why does it have to be today!?" He calls out as he begins gritting his teeth. "There is an attack on the seal! Where is Samidare!?"

"Grand Wizard!" Erika's voice sounded above the din of her more 'mundane' classmates as the constantly exhausted teacher attempted to mentally prepare herself for what was to come now that classes had ended, "We must make haste! The eternal enemy is once again striking out against us! I shall see you upon the battleground!"

"No running in the halls-" She tried to say, but Erika was already hurtling down the hallway. Truly, the Grand Wizard speaks in riddles, though I would be wise to heed her counsel, whatever it may be. She thought to herself as she closed in on the 'Occult Club's' classroom. A clever facade, as any strange happenings could be simply waved off onto false magic and ghosts, keeping the true purpose of the room a secret. Without pausing, Erika attempts to enter the room, only to be stopped from opening the door by an unseen force, knocking her flat as she collides with it.

Elias can feel a slight nudge against the soles of his shoes followed by the sound of a body slamming onto the ground. Without a second thought he stands and opens the door to see his second in command sitting on the ground. "Dark forces are upon us, Dragon. Stand tall and be prepared to-" He cuts himself off as his arm begins to violently shake. "Soon, you will feel relief, for now lead me to Samidare." He says to his arm as he begins to clutch it once more. As if being pulled by some force, he moves through the room to a locker with a swift motion, he enters the code and unlocks it. A brilliant silver blade sits inside in a sheathe. He quickly takes the blade out of the locker, unsheathes it and points it at the barren wall on the far side of the room with a circle painted in black.

Eliza looked up from the oaken desk in which she sat behind. She took her glasses off and polished them on her shirt, staring at Elias who had just come bursting through the door yelling. He stood up after a thud on the door and opened it, yelling some more. She watched him for half a second and then placed her glasses back on her face, moved the cardboard box representing her oak desk and continued to scribble on the paper in front of her.

"I am prepared to do whatever it takes; it is my sacred duty to protect to realms of mortals from those who would destroy it." Erika loudly announced as she entered the room, locking the door again behind her. "Good Afternoon, Ivory." She added, not pausing from her holy mission. She approached her own locker, waving a hand as she released a small burst of her Draconic powers, opening the magical seal she had placed upon the door and retrieves her own weapon, throwing the sheath the ground as she spun on heel, her blade and her soul ready for the upcoming battle.

Eliza ignores the girl giving her a greeting and continues scribbling on her paper, sticking a tongue out as she does so. Suddenly, she drops the crayon and jumps onto the box in front of her, sticking the paper out proudly. "I did it!"

"Very good, Ivory! Your help is very appreciated in our time of need. No, in the world's need." Elias says, still staring down the wall. "By the power of Stardust, no evil will break this seal." He calls out, as he begins to see what he believes to be a dark aura emanating from the outskirts of the black circle. His eyes narrow, but quickly widen as he believes there to be an evil force approaching Erika. In a quick motion, he rushes behind Erika with his fist cocked and ready for a powerful strike. Unfortunately, his adversary is quick and slippery as his fist connects with just the wind. "They've been experimenting with ancient magics! They've become invisible!" He calls out, alerting his comrades.

"Then I must fight by instinct and not by sight!" Erika replied, closing her eyes and entering a relaxed stance. For several seconds, she stands there unmoving, before swining out with her sword in a wide, horizontal arc in front of her. As she returns to her original stance, a streak of blood can be seen along her blade, the ink-like substance contrasting heavily with the pure white of her sword. More drops of the ink-like blood can be seen materialising from thin air and falling to the ground from the wound she had inflicted upon the invader. "They still bleed the same! Have faith, comrades, for righteousness will prevail once more!"

Eliza stood proudly to attention when Elias addressed her. After Erika drew first blood, the girl dropped her scribbled paper and begin shouting orders to the other two. "Form a circle! Backs against each other! Keep your blades moving! Don't just let them walk into your guard, Erika!"

"Very good strike!" Elias says, praising his comrade. His eyes shoot to where the ink like blood had splattered and begins to see footprints stepping into it. He tracks the footprints with his eyes as they end right in front of him. With an upward slash, Samidare feels the tinge of warm blood on its form. His adversary as well falls to the ground after materialising. "We can use their blood to find them quickly." He says, pointing out an obvious strategy. In his time as a protector, it doesn't seem as though their enemies speak the tongue he and his comrades do. Which in most respects is a relief. That is, he believes they don't speak in the same tongues. The order comes out from Eliza and his back finds Erika's his sword poised and at the ready for another attack.

Erika once again closed her eyes, this time mindful of her comrades positions. She felt a presence close to her right, and then another, further away, but making a beeline for Eliza. "On my right!" She shouted, drawing upon her Arcane magics. She raised her hand, focusing on it intensely as razor-sharp shards of ice formed around it. With a flick of her wrist, they were launched towards the invisible assailant bearing down on Eliza, all seven impaling him from behind.

Eliza carried on shouting orders, oblivious to anything else. "Erika! Focus! They're surrounding you now! Stop playing around! Elias! Great job!"

Elias, fueled by the encouragement of Eliza follows any blood trails he may see beginning to crop up in menacing footprints and as soon as they begin to get close, Samidare makes quick work of them. Destroying them in either one or two fell swoops. The ink-like blood continues to spread on the floor. He falls silent, focusing on his senses and on his left arm as it continuously begs to be released from the wrappings. He feels the presence of multiple enemies begin to stack in front of him. "Samidare of the Great Wolf of Stardust." He says, proudly. "Show these fodder your strength." He raises his blade and strikes down in a vertical slash. A brilliant light emerges from the blade and cuts through the enemies in front of him. He has no time to celebrate as Samidare is flung from his hands. He feels the horrible sense of dread as another power appears at his left side.

Erika twirled, spinning her weapon above her head before violently striking downwards in front of her. She felt the blade meet resistance, before she pulled it free; black blood spilling out. She turned again, trusting her sixth sense to guide her. Ahead of her, she sensed magic, as well as the same presence that surrounded them.
"Witch!" She called out, plunging her sword into another adversary. This time, she did not pull it free, instead conjuring a small ball of fire, throwing it at the Witch.

"Yeah! Erik! You go-" Eliza suddenly sat down, bending to pick up her paper. She turned it over and, picking another crayon up, begin to draw as quickly as she could. She was designing a banishment mark, though whether she could finish it in time was a different story.

Without Samidare by his side, Elias' hand balls into a fist and with a great force, he sends a right hook right into an enemy. He feels the hit connect and the enemy is flung backwards into a group of its friends. He checks to see how both Erika and Eliza are faring and nods once he sees they are both doing well. "Keep it up, you two. You are doing the Original Ones very proud!" He laughs as he lets another punch loose, connecting with another enemy. The pressure in his left arm continues to build with each strike as what appears to be light begins to flash between the bindings on his arm. If I don't let this power out now, I may not be able to use it again for this fight. Despite his thinking, he continues laying into enemies without leaving Erika's back exposed.

The Witch easily deflected the small fireball, something that Erika had expected when she'd thrown it. It wasn't particularly powerful, but it had given her some insight into the Witches' power. As she considered her next action, several large spears materialised around the hidden Witch, tips pointing towards Erika. As they flew towards her, Erika didn't flinch. She calmly raised her hand, and with a short burst of her Dragonfire, incinerated them all. As the smoke cleared, she threw several shards of ice at the Witch, hoping that at least one of them would hit.

The heat from Erika's Dragonfire fades to an icy wind, the witch is nearly overtaken by this barrage of ice spikes. However, as the dust settles, it appears as though the spikes had come close to the Witch but only with a couple piercing her. The rest, instead, have come to pierce the cronies as they use themselves as meat shields. Elias, feeling the complete unnerving nature of the nearby witch begins to feel another disturbance coming from that same area, in response, he turns to face the Witch's location. It is apparent to all in the room that this Witch was using the time given to her to conjure up a very nasty spell. Dark Aura pools in her area as cackles begin to fill the room. "A Spiral of Black Chaos!" Elias calls out, looking expectantly to Eliza and then to Erika. The pain in his arm causing his arm to pulse, he begins to slowly unwrap his left arm. Freeing it from the binding, revealing what appears to be the insignia of the wolf in black ink on the backside of his hand. The same insignia in his eye begins to glow an iridescent blue.

Erika jumped back, pulling her sword free as she put as much distance between herself and the Spiral as she could, while still throwing shards of ice. She noticed Elias' true powers being unlocked, and switched to distraction attacks rather than out-right killing blows.
"We need to fix the seal or more will come!" She shouted over the battle. She had never had the time for seals, the memory of the first White Dragon's imprisonment still leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

"So seal it Erika! Come on! Elias is too busy right now!" Eliza shouted back at the girl. She didn't know what Erika expected. Obviously Eliza herself wasn't going to seal the portal. How stupid.

A large smile spreads across his face. A dark expression filled with manic intent. His gaze is focused on the Witch and his eyes narrow. In this charging state, Elias is rendered useless. It is saved however, as tendrils of light extend from his arm and lick around him. Any evil presence is driven back ever so slightly and is held at bay. Magic is the only way to pierce this defense. It may be problematic if the Witch were to prematurely fire her Spiral, though she had begun charging first. A rush overcomes his mind as he is taken into a dream he once had involving the Original Wolf staring down a much greater foe charging a Spiral of Apocalyptic Flame. The battlefield had been overtaken by this orb. The forces of both armies lay decimated upon the barren Earthrealm ground. The spirits of his comrades fueled his anger and the Original Wolf leapt forward with remarkable speed as the Spiral was released, man and spell met and a brilliant power detonated the battlefield, leaving a large crater. He snaps from his vision, declaring in his mind I will survive, much as the Original Wolf had.

"You have the relics, We would need them to repair it," Erika answered her in between her spells. "Do you not know how fixing the seal works?"
Erika raised an arcane barrier, sending some unholy spell cast at her harmlessly into the ceiling, her free-hand moulding an ever-growing flame into a large orb of Dragon's Fire; perfect for shedding disarray and panic through the enemies forces in preparation for The Great Wolf's attack. In the seconds before the spell left her hand, her head was clear, despite the chaos, she was calm. The Dragon was the eye of the storm, her dreams had taught her. She was almost euphoric, enlightened by her own power as her foes fell before her.

The cackling from the Witch grows louder, droning out most sounds as it breaches the deepest recesses of the room. The immense power from the Spiral begins moving forward. It begins drowning everything it touches in a black aura as it moves towards Eliza. I haven't reached my peak yet. Dammit Elias thinks to himself. This will have to do. His body moves sideways as his arm begins to stretch out, his index finger pointing forward. His skin begins to shine and slowly begins to harden. Soon, his arm is armored, his index finger sharpened into a claw "Stardust Overdrive!" He bellows. Without a second thought, he rushes forward as soon as his arm drops and begins to block the path between the Spiral and Eliza. "Eliza, did you not hear Erika!? We need you to repair the seal. Erika! Protect her!" Elias calls out to the both of them with his eyes trained on the area being engulfed by the dark aura.

"By the Seven Saints of this Academy, you are a blight on this great realm. I hope you have made peace with yourself knowing that your attack was futile." Elias says, berating the Witch and her ilk, his left arm rearing back, shining with a pure energy. "Stardust Handshake" His hand shoots forward, connecting with the black aura. He feels a heavy resistance coming from it. No doubt due to his premature transformation. The Spiral and he stand locked in place by their feuding power levels.