paradisalogs | 18

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18 - Rye

Who: Duke and any other sleepers~
What: Welcome to Duke's nightmares
When: During Nightmare plot
Where: Random forest clearing - or dream-like odd shifting. It's a blind guy's dream, who knows.
Rating: pg 13 for blood and deaths.

Its a bit murky, the forest and trees of an area remembered but not seen in a long time. Unsurprising, to those who knew Duke, who is currently sitting along the side of...

Calling it a monster would be accurate, given its size, and meld of parts. Large with fur, feathers, scales in white and yellow, multiple pairs of wings tucked against its side. The creature is the only thing, aside from Duke, who is clear about the dream. Duke looks a bit like a doll in size to the creature, and both seem to be injured, but healing, by the brown splotches to the fur and bandages to Duke. It was almost peaceful, a forest and small birds..

That all take flight as faceless warriors swarm in, causing both human and creature to lurch to feet, try to get clear. Surely a creature of that size, injured or not, wouldn't be troubled by a score and half of men and women with swords, spears, crossbows, and magic. Should have been able to get one swordmage and one large monster out.

It wasn't. Duke staggers away, then struggles to remain from going down as the creature roars-screams, and Duke freezes half down as blood splatters over him.

There are other faceless fighters, other people knocked apart and hurt. Maybe they aren't familiar to Duke, but they might be familiar to someone.

(OOC: The other "fighters" can be any sort of officials, or soldiers, or military for the added characters. The person getting targeted is anyone close to the added character. Duke's own 'friends' will get oddly described from when he's in Para, so o/ ... and he probably won't remember more than vague details of any other dreamers.)

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Duke is confused by the 'I can't', as his world mostly produces combat-oriented mages, and Felix could use magic, why couldn't he, but the cry of an unfamiliar name and the no after it are confirmed with a glance, and Duke is fairly sure that may be a 'why'.

Duke still wants Felix to run, though, and it will take more than rough soldiers hauling him from under the still wing to make him lose this green-glowing spell. A great funnel cloud forms and pulls at them both, but tears soldiers from the ground to drag into the center, where lightning strikes them repeatedly.

"Run! Get out of here!" Before that shape on another edge can slowly fill in with what could be a mimicry of what Felix looks like, indistinct and lacking any color, in what might look like what he had worn on the day Duke had tried his magic experiment, 'solidifying' as the winged creature faded. Almost as if he was taking the place.

He hesitated, wanting to get to this brother's body even though there was clearly no point. Duke was trying to save him from a battle he should have no part in. Nor should anyone else he knows, and seeing that is enough to make anger replace the fear.

There's a feeling like static in air as he turns a glare on a group of soldiers, a pulse, then they simply all fall to the ground in pain.

And then he's running towards Duke, even though he'd rather fall to the ground and be sick.

"We can both go!"

Duke is honestly a bit stunned by that.

Although it sounds like a wonderful idea, so that he can avoid watching them all die again. So Duke does his best to get free, fire forming an orb about him that doesn't so much as singe him but sends something that looks like a snake roaring out toward the forest.

Some corner feels absolutely terrible about it, but the rest of him feels sick and like he needs to get away.

He's there and helping to haul Duke to his feet. Part of it is fear and part of it is rage. How dare he ask Felix to run, when Gideon and Mildmay are lying dead in the middle of a battle. The only thing that's keeping him moving is the spark of idea that this can't be real, but it doesn't make it hurt any less to see.

He can't save them, but he can try to help Duke.

"Why is this happening?"

"Because this is how it happens." Duke gives Felix the confused look that someone gives to something that is so bizarrely out of place in somewhere they have gone through hundreds of times.

"... You ... are new though."

"It's a dream," he says, as much to reinforce it to Duke as to himself. Dream magic he'd had experience in. Far more than he'd liked, even. But it was hard to keep hold of reality when what he was seeing felt so nakedly real.

He spins on his heels.

"They're coming again. Duke, please..."

That might be because at least part of it is real to Duke.

"... True enough." Possibly to both things, although he's still confused at the 'please' and his name. Please what?

... Weren't they planning on running? "... this way. Maybe it will work." A bit of a tone of 'nothing else does' to that last phrase, but Duke will start for the trees.

Felix follows, as far as he can manage, though he can't help but glance backwards as they go. He catches sight of a lithe form, ringed in fire, cutting down several soldier before they overwhelm him.

He almost stumbles and falls to his knees, but manages to keep going, though by the time he turns his eyes back to the forest, there are tears in his eyes.

It makes it hard to see.

Duke seems to be having trouble deciding again. He knows this is a dream but at the same time, running feels like he's betraying those in the clearing. Knowing that it wasn't real against the feelings that insisted that what he was doing was wrong, that he was leaving them to die, that he should be able to protect them.

So he slows a little. "Perhaps... should ... try to take any that are alive with?" He's not feeling good about running anymore, Felix.

To be honest, neither is he. He ran because Duke asked him to, but there's something bone-rendingly wrong about living while his loved ones died. People who were far more capable and worthy than him.

"Is there anyone left to save?" he asks, but he's slowing too, and it's a weak resistance.

"If... there isn't currently, a few minutes they'll be back." Its that drained sort of hollow humor that comes from something terrible being seen again and again.

"Seems to be how it usually works."

"Why let it keep happen? Can't we break the pattern somehow?" he said, desperate with worry.

"How?" Duke is a bit confused. "I have exhausted my spells upon them, there is always ... more." Although he will admit he hasn't tried to use himself as a shield, although mostly because his friend would do his best to prevent that.

"I'm here. That changes it already. Do something different. Why keep letting it happen?" he says, voice a little strained.

"....." Duke stares blankly at Felix for a long moment. He can really think of one major thing different he could try, and he's fairly certain it isn't that good of an idea.

"... and if it doesn't work to aid you as well?" Because he thinks he could stop.. his end of the dream, at least.

"Then it doesn't work. It doesn't matter. Either we leave together or you try to stop it, because I can't. And I suspect...since this is your dream, that breaking the pattern will stop it," he said.

And if it didn't, he let the soldiers kill him.

"...." Duke really sort of had two options with this, but he really didn't want to do the first, so the second.

"... Suppose you may be joining me in that then. Distract them so I can attempt?" He's really sorry Felix.

He glanced backwards at the battlefield.

"I'll do what I can..." he said, then summoned up a half dozen witchlights, sending them skittering towards the soldiers. They spread out in multiple directions, then upon closing in on a ground, expanded suddenly in head the light, dazzling and maybe even searing anyone who got too close. He kept them moving, lights flashing and bursting all over the forest so it would difficult to pinpoint their source or even get their bearings.

Duke vaguely remembers that the friend-or-foe tag had been something completely new to Felix, so he does his best to avoid any of the lights he notices. He needed to find one of the soldiers and a weapon before the re-spawned friend could figure out his plan.

Given that there were quite a few soldiers, this was easier than it sounded, and but the work of a moment to wrest the blade into a way that Duke could cut his throat.

(Two options; either this works and dissolves the dream, or it works by breaking the pattern and now there's an angry Duke's Best Friend. depends on if it should be done with by now, i guess)

Felix's magic might not be offensively powerful, in the way that Duke was familiar with, but it had the advantage of being very precise when he needed it to be. At most the lights were distractions, and the more power he poured into them the more vulnerable it made him. It would become a race to see if Duke would find what he needed to, or if the soldiers would wise up and get to him first.

((ooc:Since it's your dream I'm open to either. You can even bad end this and result in Felix getting killed. I'll follow your lead))

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18 - Rye

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... in head in light?

I honestly forgot what that was meant to say /dedcat