Ask A Song of Ice and Fire

[Darth Stolas]

Before Raze's wrath the skeletal figure was simply overpowered. It relied heavily on the ability to bind prey and with the demon and half-Sephi's resilience it became hunted rather than hunter. When its vegetable heart was torn free it abruptly went still, the vines and roots withering into a dead gray while the seed was crunched to pieces. Other unconnected roots around it also began to wither as if whatever animated them had been injured.

While the passageway had heat it wouldn't burn the half-Sephi or demon, the little red thread guiding them into it. Stepping through it would again carry them to another layer of this realm. The sides of the passage stretched like the void of space in lightspeed, red and gold embers flying by like stars.

They found themselves in an even more warped location, the peak of a wide, rocky, uneven mountaintop and sections of Morgan's apartment interposed and fused together. Raze's first step cracked the roasted femur of another very dead skeleton, smoke streaming out from a half-crushed skull and shattered ribs.

Vines and roots crawled up the sides of the mountain and grew upward into walls, others inching toward the center where two shapes fought. One like a tall and vaguely insectoid tree, its ten root-legs like spears as they stabbed and blocked. The other was a beautiful monster in a mostly-destroyed tunic. A Morgan whose fine and wilder features both were exaggerated and enhanced by the power he wielded in this place. His silver tones were deeper and his brands glowed gold, hair in chaotic disarray and razor fangs bared in a furious and malice-filled snarl. The skin of his arms was blackened with soot and burnt blood, lacerations across his visible body, and he favoured his right leg. Wickedly curved claws presented at his fingers and feet, a straight sword wielded in his left hand swinging viciously quick at anything in reach.

The Drast's eyes burned like twin suns, pupils narrowed to slits and whites turned black as he fought for his life. Here the roots and vines were quicker and more insistent in their attempts to ensnare the clearly tiring Firrerreo but he wasn't moving far from where he was. Behind him was a door surrounded by ashen roots, a tiny cracked figurine of Andraste sitting sentinel just in front of it. Morgan's glazing gaze turned to Emryc and Raze mid-dodge and luminescent goldens widened in shock and bewilderment.

"Cheri!?" he cried out, voice halfway to a growl. At that moment a root caught around his injured ankle and Morgan returned his attention to it, a defiant roar resounding across the mountaintop as he barely twisted away from one of the tree-thing's stabbing legs, the edge catching his shoulder. Smoking blood sprayed the stone.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

The scene shifted again and Emryc and Raze were both tossed out before a tree with branches like claws. Emryc could make out the familiar figure fighting it, but he was surprised to find himself skidding to a halt. All he saw before him was another monster. Another beast with claws and eyes of fury. With Raze out of him, Emryc could find no beauty in that creature, and he had to remind himself a few times that this was Morgan. This was his love. Even though he resembled closely the part of him that he sometimes despised. He was frozen in place, rooted by the chains of his own shocking thoughts. Emryc quickly glanced over to his side.

Raze was casually poised as if appraising a mildly interesting piece of art. One of his arms was crossed over his chest, the other elbow resting perpendicularly on it while claws curled beneath a sharp chin. He watched with mild interest the situation before him, perfectly content to watch the destruction. After a moment the yellow, animalistic eyes flicked over towards Emryc. And there was that same, taunting and infuriating grin revealing more fangs.

The half Sephi was distracted when Morgan called for him, but the Firrerreo would certainly catch that hesitation from him. Emryc shook himself free of his internal thoughts and rushed towards the Firrerreo, yanking Raze with.

Emryc leapt for Morgan, grasping him and holding him in place to keep him from being dragged. Meanwhile, Raze leapt to action, his sweeping and powerful claws slashing and cutting through the tree’s extremities. The demon moved like a machine, biting, slashing, yanking, tearing. Even if it was struck, it was largely unconcerned and dead set on whatever it sought to destroy till it stopped existing.

The half Sephi extracted Morgan away from the tree before he was tugged towards it from Raze attacking. Emryc jumped away from the Firrerreo to engage the monster. He pivoted inside the tree’s guard, grasping one of the appendages where it wasn’t so sharp. He yanked with all his might to bend it backwards in an attempt to pierce it into the trunk.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Stolas]

There were many things Morgan noticed even in the middle of battle while glowing goldens glanced over the two men who'd come into his mental realm. The first and most obvious source of his confusion was the tall and long-clawed man attached to Emryc, handsome, beautiful, savage. A smug demon that casually watched the fight for life exactly as if it didn't matter to him at all. The other was Emryc himself and the way he'd obviously hesitated. A deep-seated fear and sparks of panic bled into Morgan's surprised expression. The leg struck him and he was forced to give the invader full attention.

For a moment Morgan thought he might have to fight alone, pulling at the binding of his leg and swinging his sword high to deflect another blow. Then Emryc grabbed him tight to keep him still while Raze pounced upon the tree. The demon would be bludgeoned by a swinging branch and the tree paid for it by losing the limb to Raze's teeth and claws. Goldens seemed locked to Raze's unnaturally beautiful and violent form, but their warmed glow then turned to find instead the half-Sephi who'd rushed to his side to save him.

With Morgan's leg freed by his boyfriend he took a half-moment to process what he was seeing, an exaggerated wave of gold brushing across his skin before disappearing in the sea of silver. Emryc was yanked along into the melee and Morgan ran in behind him. The half-Sephi dragged the monster's weaponized leg and it pulled against him. Its only free limb came around to thrust at Emryc's side, thorny vines whipping at Raze whose frenzy was drawing significant attention.

"Emryc!" Morgan shouted and leapt again into the fray, sword swinging up to intercept the attack behind Emryc. His damaged leg protested the effort and he defiantly grit his teeth. Now Emryc was in danger too, man and demon sharing their pains. Neither would be here if Morgan had just been good enough to deal with it himself.

So Morgan made a choice. He pivoted, twisting and pushing off the tree's limb to alter its momentum. Morgan darted as quick and strong as he could directly to Emryc's side. "Together!" His right arm and shoulder slammed into the appendage to add his power behind Emryc's blow while his sword swung down to bite into the stilled tree limb. Most resistance against Emryc's attack disappeared and the blade limb buried deep into the monster's underbelly with a wet crunch while its redirected strike followed through toward Morgan.

It sliced down across the Firrerreo's left side before hitting the ground, edge leaving a deep wound through his ribs. Morgan let out an agonized whine, furious form flickering away and back again as pain and exhaustion disrupted his focus. He leaned into Emryc and the leg they grasped to helped shove it further inside as best he could.

Now badly wounded and with protective layers ravaged away by Raze's relentless attacks there was an opening for the demon to tear into its core, vines writhing in pain and distress.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was pushing with all his might while Raze clawed and bit away. One of the clawed branches swiped along Raze’s side, resulting in the demon’s growl as he twisted and harshly bit down on the offending appendage. Emryc winced in pain but he kept pressing into his attack. He glanced to the side when Morgan abruptly came to join him. His eyes widened in horror.

“What the hell are you-” There was no time to reason with him, but Morgan’s aid certainly helped punch the blade through. His satisfaction at driving the blade through was short lived as the Firrerreo all but collapsed. The half Sephi wrapped an arm around Morgan, holding him tightly to keep him on his feet.

Raze was entirely unleashed on the tree. The demon jumped up and clawed his way up along the tree’s trunk, hanging like an unnatural creature. With one hand gripping on with claws buried deep, the other slashed and tore away at any exposed bits it could find. Chunks of the tree were torn and tossed about in every direction. Raze buried his face into the opening he created, gnawing, biting and gnashing his way inside.

Emryc didn’t pay the demon any heed, looking down at Morgan’s ribs. He quickly tore off parts of his own clothing to press against Morgan’s wound to staunch the bleeding. Emryc gently eased Morgan down to sit, his arm still wrapped around him.

“Are you all right?” He asked urgently, gazing into those unnerving animalistic eyes.

Within moments there was a loud crack as a fissure ran down the middle of the tree’s trunk. After a second, the entire thing burst open and fell apart with Raze standing in the middle. He had burrowed his way in to bodily tear apart the thing from the inside. The demon growled as it looked around, baring its fangs. It didn’t cast a glance towards Emryc and Morgan, stepping past both to scan around the landscape for any other dangers.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Stolas]

Morgan's next intake of breath was interrupted by a sharp hiss of pain. This new wound in his side felt a little too real to just be part of an inner mindscape projection. If it wasn't for Emryc's help his legs would've absolutely given out on him, but that look of horror he caught on his boyfriend's face was just as hard to see.

Goldens turned seemingly on their own to watch the mad demon's dance reach the peak in earnest. The monstrous tree-thing was simply no match for the thing of pure and unadulterated violence that rent and ripped, climbed and clawed. His brows furrowed slightly at it, eyes tracking a particularly large bit of wood through the air, dropping to the ethereal cord, and then settling at last on the man he loved. On Emryc.

He watched in a stunned stupor while his boyfriend pressed his torn clothes to the wound, the cloth soaking up blood. Morgan was lowered to the ground so gently by the other man's strong arm he barely registered it was happening at all until he felt the solid surface beneath him. As he went the glow of his brands began to dim, fury giving way to fatigue. His eyes didn't leave Emryc's face.

When those beloved silvers finally fixed onto gold Morgan's appearance had begun to change. As his fury faded away its physical signs did as well. Claws retracted, fangs became shorter and less pronounced, the hard and exaggerated lines of his face softened. Lit-up brands went entirely back to ordinary silver scars, save for the teeth marks on slender shoulders that in this place were gilded with warm sunlight. Last were his eyes, their luminescence dimming from their harsh glow to the honeyed gold of dandelion wine, pupils dilating from slits to ordinary circles. Morgan blinked once. He looked tired, immensely relieved, and still somewhat confused.

"I am now. I think," he answered uncertainly and wobbled a little, his breaths short and painful. "Will be?" Eyes darted to the tree when it was torn in half from the inside, brows raising upward. They followed Raze's bare form for a little as the demon walked past and then returned to Emryc's concerned eyes. Morgan's less injured left arm came up to lay on his boyfriend's broad chest and delicately moved around where he thought Raze had been struck, gaze flicking down toward the half-Sephi's body. "Are you all right?"

It was suddenly difficult to look up at Emryc's eyes again. "You came for me. I- I'm sorry, cheri. Couldn't keep it out. My fault." His lips opened and then closed again with the sides turned downward, a sign he was upset and didn't know how to express it. Morgan couldn't forget the hesitation nor the way Emryc had charged to his side. It was confusing and scary to think about.

Raze would find there were still roots that tried to grab hold of him but they seemed less energetic. The monstrous and now dead tree had been an assault anchor and without it the hold on Morgan was flagging. But the mental attack's source was still alive somewhere.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc gazed down at Morgan as his hand came up against his chest. There was a slight look of discomfort when his touch brushed over where Raze had been injured. The half Sephi’s eyes narrowed slightly, “I’m not going to say I told you so but…” He gave the other man a silently stern look, thinking back to when Emryc hadn’t wanted to come here to begin with. However, he focused on Morgan for now, tying the cloth tightly around his leg to compress the wound.

The half Sephi stared at the wound for a moment, “This will translate to the physical realm, you know that right?” He asked, unable to keep the concern from his tone.

“Move,” Raze’s voice growled and cut in. The beast was glaring at Emryc and Morgan, especially disgusted by the scene of concern he saw play out before him. The monster’s claws flexed slightly before the yellow gaze stared ahead of him.

Emryc ignored the commentary, looking back at Morgan, “No arguments,” He stated. Before Morgan could say anything, Emryc moved to hoist the smaller man up on his back so his arms wrapped around his shoulders, legs around his hips. Carrying Morgan would be significantly faster than waiting for him to keep up.

Raze turned to look at this, the demon’s jaw tightening. He said nothing in the end as he began to walk. He pointed a clawed finger ahead, “Something there,” He said, “I smell it.”

Emryc began to walk, letting the demon lead the way like a hound on a blood trail.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Stolas]

Morgan flinched his hand away even from that slight look, goldens full of concern meeting stern silvers. "Well. It's true," he admitted, glancing away with sheepish and self-annoyed look. "Promise I'll make up for everything." He tensed when Emryc bound his other wound but refused to make a sound. His gaze returned immediately when his boyfriend mentioned the injuries and then Morgan finally looked down at himself.

Eyes widened as he saw all the blood. "Ah!" Then back to Emryc. "I'm not going to-" Raze cut in before Morgan could finish. The Firrerreo fully turned to look at the demon this time with full focus, the same way he looked at everyone. Despite the fact this being was part of Emryc to Morgan's eyes it was almost like meeting a new and aggressively beautiful person with different mannerisms and facial movements. It felt very strange.

"Eh-?" was all he got out before being lifted into onto Emryc's broad back. A hiss of pain escaped his lips but he shut that down and bore with it, his arms and legs doing their best to hold on tight. "But I- Thank you, Emryc," he mumbled sheepishly, sounding both troubled and thankful. Gold flushed against his cheeks and in the same moment a flicker of warm sunlight broke through the black stormclouds overhead. This place was a reflection of Morgan's mind, after all.

Raze's reaction to the action wasn't missed either. Morgan didn't quite know what to make of this complete separation of the two beings and was watching the demon carefully. Had he been wrong about this too? The prince shook his head to clear it as Raze lead them toward something, brushing his lips gratefully against Emryc's cheek.

"What does it smell like?" he asked Raze, unsure how to address them. "A life of his own," he whispered quietly from behind Emryc's back and fell deeply into his own thoughts while they walked.

The path he pointed them to would lead them down the mountain where now-still roots had climbed up. Morgan was wounded and breathing quickly from his fury but he wasn't powerless, especially here. His brows furrowed and the faintest sound of humming floated through the air, weaving together to form a simple stone bridge where the growing roots had collapsed section of the path. Raze was leading them toward a cave a little bit downward where a cave buried into the mountainside with flowering vines growing across it. It smelled of grave-rot, death, sickly-sweet nectar, and old blood.

"This thing is unnatural. Think we can kill it?" he asked Raze and Emryc aloud, covering his nose while his face scrunched up with disgust.

@Sreeya