Battle Without Honor : ENTITY BLESSING THREAD (Leon/Jerrica)

[Leon Durandus]

The fields of Cornelia spread out as far as the eye could see, an idyllic blanket of lush greens laid gracefully over the countryside. Rolling peaks reached for the skies on the horizon, silhouetted against the vibrant backdrop of a deep blue sky. However, they stood to Leon's back and grew farther with each step, for he walked steadily toward the castle which lay a scant few kilometers from him. The masterful swordsman had traveled those lands when first he arrived in this World, braving a most treacherous marsh to reach this civilization. Leon had bested strange beasts there, the sort that were spoken of in poetry. Giants and bloodthirsty unicorns had tasted his cold steel, and he felt stronger for it. His adventurous nature saw that he explore a derelict temple - a relic of an ancient civilization, lost to the passage of time. It, too, was full to capacity with bizarre monsters; the vengeful undead lurked its halls waiting to strike.

Truly, this was a World straight from the imagination of a young boy raised on tales of knights and princesses. Even the kingdom growing ever-closer was a sight which Leon had never dreamed he would see. Its towers seemed to pierce the clouds, and the whole structure was a spotless, pristine white. At its feet, Leon could make out the trappings of a township, encircled by a mighty wall to give protection from the weak yet innumerable Imps and Wolves skulking about. He realized that, in so rustic a place, he would appear as something of an anachronism. His clothes were not of their style, for he was, as usual, dressed in the form-fitting uniform of a SOLDIER from Midgar's alleged glory days. Ironically, his massive blade was the only thing that could be considered appropriate for this medieval period, and even that would turn heads, albeit for different reasons.

However, this line of thought was put to a stop in short order, as was Leon's stride. Without slowing his pace, he planted his feet in the soil and looked off into the distance. Leaves and twigs cracked underfoot, and a calm breeze tickled at his face, yet these things were nowhere near the front of his mind. Leon could feel a strange, exceedingly powerful presence. He felt it in the air around him and the soil beneath the soles of his shoes. It subtly pervaded every aspect of his reality, as though exerting a sort of pressure from all directions. Leon somehow knew that this was the aura of a warrior, yet one woven from an entirely different cloth than any he had ever crossed swords with. He had no eye for the supernatural, so the fact that he instinctively felt this presence spoke volumes to the wandering swordsman.

"Who's there?" He asked cautiously, wrapping a hand around the grip of Naegling. "I promise, if you do not attack, I shall mean you no harm."

[Entity NPC]

Jerrica

Entity of Battle and Gallantry

A war was brewing. It was no secret really. The war had been building to a head ever since Tamesis had shattered her bonds and sucked the Light into a vortex of no return. However, it would take strategy and cunning to overbear the monstrous Darkness now. There were no more gifts of power and enlightenment from the Light to protect them. No one to protect the innocent and unknowing. She would have very little time to protect the precious things of the worlds at the rate things were going. It turned out that some Entities were willing to work with Darkness to her ends to fuel their own desires and ambitions, even to the ends of destruction, chaos and the corruption of the balance. 

Jerrica was one of the few entities that understood the idea of death and fear. She had a past that put her very close to the mortals she was often found among. For this reason she did not have many Entity acquaintances; nor for very long. She had found herself seeking out warriors that fit her description of gallant and turning the fates in their favor. There weren't many who met her standards. After all, a goddess can be picky.

She was riding a chocobo at the moment. It was a black chocobo; truthfully not a chocobo at all but merely her familiar in the form of one so they might travel through this world a little easier. This world was one she frequented often. This was the place she and Chaos himself fought for the mind of one particular knight who had been lost to the honorable ways of life and had succumbed to the heat and insanity of Chaos. Jerrica could honestly say she was used to losses, but never so completely. Never with such a lack of grace or hope had she fallen. But in the end... yes... in the end she had received retribution. At least, from the mortal transgressor. 

Pulling on the chocobo's reigns, she pulled him to a slow trot before halting him completely. She sat watching quietly as a young man with all the fervor of a young wild child against his beloved imaginary dragons, slew his way out of the ancient temple, leaving a trail of sacrifice to the gods that had once been worshiped there. She knew his garb before she really saw his face and for a moment wondered if he were THAT man... but no. That man was far away from here. And this boy didn't have the same kind of soul. However, if he wore those garbs, then he would be a Soldier. From the shine of his heart, he was also in the middle of some conflict... and the smolder of his aura spoke that Darkness herself had come in contact with him and made some kind of deal. Absently she wondered how much he really understood of what he was getting into. Many soldiers made deals with the darkness... very few survived to tell the tale.

The lady of gallantry then dismounted from her dear familiar and held out her hand for him.

"Come, Eula," she whispered reassuringly. "Shall we see what the little boy who plays so happily is looking for? Perhaps we might find out what Tamesis is planning, yes?"

The little bird looked tiny in the arms of his mistress, but his facial expression spoke of pure ferociousness. One would not know by the size of him, but there was a reason the goddess of battle kept him close by. At her speech he let out a gruff little sigh and fluffed up, making himself look bigger than he truthfully was. What Jerrica lacked in taking most situations too seriously, Eula made up for by taking everything overly seriously and with a certain amount of viciousness.

He continued on his journey and she kept her aura covered for a while, following him lightly like a cat stalking a deer. His fights seemed pretty constant through the forests and plains. Creatures here were abundant. Jerrica's presence probably did not make things easier for him. She noted he was heading for the castle town she'd once attempted to defend. It seemed things there were back in balance and order. But if this person who had a love for battle and was touched by the Goddess went there, when Jerrica did not honestly know his purpose here at all, would it be another lost city in the flames? There were so many names on that list... Nebilheim... Terra... She would not allow Cornelia to become another name on that list so easily. Not this time. These were the grounds of her biggest defeat. Pride would not allow that she lose again.

She revealed herself, manifesting a ways behind him. The creatures knew better than to attempt to accost her. The sounds of her footsteps were alien to her even though she made hardly any noise at all. He wasn't completely numb to the forces that be because he called out to her. She smiled. He acted like the typical mortal who knew only what mythology had taught them.

"No need to shout. I'm right here." She spoke with a calm voice with a lilt of a chuckle in it. Her deep brandy colored eyes sparkled jovially. Stepping forward she looked at him for a moment. She'd seen him well enough from afar but she'd not examined his face very carefully.

"I'll be... You're so young... you really are just a little boy fighting his imaginary dragons. I thought I was coming upon a warrior, dressed in that uniform... Are you lost, little boy?"

Her smile curved up along her handsome face and she couldn't help the accompanying chuckle. These fighters... they got younger every generation, it seemed... perhaps she should look into a younger looking manifestation of herself? She didn't want to be out of style...

Eula squawked, fluffing himself up and crawling up her arm to her shoulder, face still full of fury and spite, trying to remind his mistress not to let her mind wander in the face of the mortal with uncertain desires and intentions.

Jerrica brushed her hair back from her shoulder to give Eula room to perch without tugging it then glanced at the young man again. "...So then. What is the name of the interloper who jumped worlds? And to what ends is he here, aside from playing like a mischievous boy who ran away from school?"

[Leon Durandus]

When first the elegant woman appeared behind him, Leon felt the air grow heavy with reverence, as though the world itself were bowing before this strange visitor. The swordsman's eyes, not lacking in perception even by the standards of immortals, saw the dim silhouettes of Monsters fleeing the plain. His ears heard the frantic crackling of twigs and foliage as Imp, Skeleton, and tainted Unicorn alike retreated with all the urgency of cornered prey trying desperately to escape its captor. The sun, a fiery yellow, bore down heavily through the clouds as they slowly but steadily parted ways. Cornelia was ablaze, yet this red carpet of solar rays was laid out for an audience of one. Leon stood alone in the open field with the castle's grand spires as his backdrop - the curtain against which this fated meeting would be played. As the breeze picked up and reached its plateau, the young man's heart felt the same pressure that caused the Monsters to give way and flee.

However, Leon was no mere animal; he was governed by thought, not by instinct, and so he stood defiant.

Unlike Tamesis, who, unbeknownst to the SOLDIER, had hidden her true nature, this graceful stranger may as well have emblazoned her clothes with the word "Deity" in pure, golden silk. She walked with a sureness of foot not often seen in mortals. She was proud, yet Leon could not deny that her pride was well-founded. When a man, no more attuned to the spiritual realm than the next, could feel her power, then she surely was a woman of considerable might. Still, as one who considered himself enlightened and with no need of the gods, Leon was not about to give in just because she scared a few lowly beasts and talked down to him. He stared directly into her fiery, reddish orange eyes, meeting her gaze and matching it with confidence to spare. At first, the bright, electric blue windows into Leon's soul held no malice or contempt, but, when he heard this visitor talk as though he were a mere child, they tightened into a vaguely resentful glare.

"I'm not sure who you are or what standards you're judging me by, but where I come from, I am an accomplished warrior." He assured her, subtly alluding that he was not entirely unaware of her inherently different nature. The bird, feathers black as coal and face twisted into a distasteful grimace, scurried up her arm and judged him silently. "If you wish to get information from me, I suggest you mind your p's and q's, milady. This, Leon spoke with no small amount of deadpanned sarcasm. He lowered his hand from the grip of Naegling, but he did not entirely stay his hand. His sinews were limber and fully prepared to draw forth the crude and brutal blade at no more than half of a moment's notice. "I will tell you my name, but I'm afraid you'll have to ask nicely if you want anything more than that: I am Leon Durandus, ex-SOLDIER. It's a privilege to make your acquaintance."

[Entity NPC]

Jerrica

Entity of Battle and Gallantry

The owl fluffed himself up in indignation as Leon sought to reprimand the Lady of Gallantry. She stroked his head to help him keep the peace, whispering softly, but loud enough for him to hear. "Peace, Eula... He's only a young boy..."

Her lips parted in a small smile as she nodded softly. "Oh of course. I should mind my manners in the presence of an already retired soldier. Forgive me." Her tone seemed to betray the slightest hint of teasing as her left hand stroked Eula to keep him from becoming overly offended. The fiery look from the owl probably gave away that Eula was no ordinary familiar, but then what need would a Goddess have of that?

When the young man invited that he would not be pried of his information so easily, she couldn't help a small chuckle. "Do you hear that, Eula? I think he plans to be trouble for us." Her eyes glowed as fiery as her owls as she stared at the boy, her expression still relaxed. "...Your name and clothes tell me plenty about you. You are of Gaia; one of the men who raped his own world to gain power. And now you make deals with the Darkness... You have learned nothing from your leaders' mistakes."

She held out her right and and Eula took flight up into the air to watch the battle. He would not be called upon. Not for this. Not here. Pride dictated that Jerrica would fight this battle with her own spear.

Stepping forward the noble woman held out her hand before her.

"So allow me to teach you about how the Universes keep balance amongst themselves, young-retiree... I think Ankt and I shall be able to take you easily enough."

As she called it's name, a spear seemed to drop from the owl above. Truthfully, this spear had many forms, and Ankt was the name of the first form. Catching it easily in her hands as if it weighed nothing, she spun it and swung it back behind her before grinning at the young man.

"You can feel free to speak when you've had enough, little boy!" And with that, she charged him, spear swinging quickly out before her as she cut at his legs to knock him off his balance, swiping up diagonally should he choose to jump that way.

(Ankt is on the far left.)

[Leon Durandus]

Leon cocked an eyebrow at her sudden and merciless judgment. He grew more intrigued when she accused him not just of dealing with the realm of shadows, but of reveling in it. This presumptuous woman clearly took pleasure in dancing upon his nerves, and, in her careless waltz, she neared the last of them. Still, he watched with as detached an expression as he could manage, though a slight glare betrayed his own growing frustration. His eyes, so full of the Planet's enhancing essence, seemed to glow just the faintest bit brighter while the self-righteous declarations spewed forth from her crimson lips. Leon, of course, was not nearly so quick to violence as she suspected, and so he stayed his hand for the time-being. After all, to strike so rashly would be to play into her hand, for he did not doubt that she was looking for just such an excuse to snuff out this "great evil". And so, his hand remained at his side, ever conscious of Naegling's grip yet keeping perfectly still.

"You presume much of a man you only just met." Leon cautioned the woman, a growing aggravation showing up on his face. "But, since you already know of my home, you should also know that none of us were told of the consequences of our Mako Showers. As for these 'deals' you're rattling on about, I think you've got the wrong guy." Indeed, Leon was many things, but amoral was certainly not one of them. Though he tried to stray from self-indulgence, he would at least allow himself this much: He did all that he could to help those in need, and any bargains he made were for the sake of others. Of course, Leon knew that misunderstandings were a natural part of life. It was, rather, the haughty attitude taken by this stranger that had him gritting his teeth in frustration. She acted as though she were cut from an inherently superior cloth, spun from the finest materials in all the infinite Worlds.

Still, Leon could not deny that she was different from any he had encountered in the past. The crushing aura which came with her anger may well have driven a lesser man to his knees, but the SOLDIER was not just strong in matters of body. His mind was one of reinforced steel, and this was not the result of his Mako Shower. He was especially defiant in the face of one so arrogant and dismissive, and so he stood with uncommon resolve. This worked in the young man's favor, of course, for he was completely lucid when the woman summoned her mighty spear. The instant he caught sight of the dread weapon falling from the cloudless sky, Leon spread his legs in a powerful stance and reached for the grip of his trusted sword.

She moved with unreal speed. The blade of her spear moved faster than any bullet he'd ever seen, and to evade it required flawless timing. Nevertheless, Leon dodged the low arc by hopping nimbly into the air. The grass below was shaved by Ankt, though its edge came nowhere near the blades. So intense was the force surrounding the swing, rather, that the ground was torn asunder in its wake. At the apex of his jump, Leon had unsheathed Naegling. The sun reflected gloriously off its brutal edge, though the SOLDIER had no time to admire his rather barbaric weapon. His assailant had anticipated his dodge, and she capitalized on that prediction with an upward swing. Leon held out his sword and intercepted the blow, though he was shocked at the power carried by it.

He quickly recovered, landing on his feet and redirecting the spear's momentum with a graceful, circular motion. With the flat of his blade, Leon pushed aside the woman's chosen arm and rushed in to launch his counterattack. The boy gripped Naegling with both hands and gave a mighty, two-handed swing. A pulse of wind surged out, with Leon at its center, driven by the flight of his ninety-one kilogram slab of steel. "What? And surrender? I wouldn't even know how!"