The Hunt (South, Beast #4)

[Guinivere Marcel]

The Hunt

The South Court is hot enough to make even fae sweat, which may be why this creature prefers the seas. Pristine beaches roll in every direction as the waves beat the shore. Salt is heavy in the air and the wind is stinging, and seagulls can be heard all around. This beach is desolate for now, but something is stirring in the water.

This is the scene of the hunt, as the fae wait for near-forgotten monsters to emerge from their hibernation. Something has stirred them awake, and now they're prey for those who need precious dragon scales to protect themselves from iron.

The hunt will proceed as follows.


Posting deals damage. Each post deals a base damage of 5 to the current beast. This damage can be increased by characters with a combat-related learned skill; otherwise, bonuses are based on the school that the character is or was part of.


+1 damage: school of theory
+2 damage: school of tailoring/craftmanship/foraging
+3 damage: school of herbalism
+4 damage: school of magic
+5 damage: school of war



This creature has a health of 100. There will be a new creature arising to be hunted each week. This is with the exception of the last week, which will have two.

Happy hunting!


The Dragon you seek is a white, serpentine creature that has only been seen by beaches. It can whip the waves into a frenzy and vanish in the foam, but the glittering detailing on its skin is a clear giveaway. Whether or not it can come on land remains unclear. To kill it, you must face it on its own territory.

Gemini Enigma Jin-Hwa Mei Adem Agni Yadav Bran Viola Calanthe Willowlace Marcellus Yong @cheshire Sutton Elizabeth Bane

[Cassie Eloise Enigma]

    Cassie stood with her feet in the surf, tasting salt on her tongue. She hadn’t been near the sea in ages. She’d never been allowed. Her heart rate sped up, the saltwater in her veins thrumming with excitement, so glad to be so close to the land where it came from. There was a magic here, a glamor, that could not be found within the land. She took a deep breath. No one had ever taught her how to use the powers she got from her mother’s side. She’d extensively studied the ways of the Undersea, and yet her knowledge of her own power was never addressed. It was like her father was dangling it in front of her. It was like he was trying tell her, Learn about this place for me and see that you will never belong.

    Even now, as she stood with her feet in the water, she could feel the current bending around her. She looked down at her feet. The water swirled around her unnaturally, even as the waves came in and out. Cassie waded in deeper, until the surf was up to her knees. The land fae who were participating in the hunt hadn’t been sure how to capture this beast. It was obvious that they didn’t like that. She turned, looking back at Jin-hwa, who was standing a little further back. “You’re the only one who can take this beast down, you know.” Had the weeks of hunting for all of these creatures finally desensitized her? She looked back out to the sea. “I can try to help, but I don’t think I’ll be of much use to you.”

TAGS: Jin-Hwa Mei
OUTFIT
WEAPON

★fai

+5 damage

[Jin-Hwa Mei]

Gemini Enigma
Vĩnh Lý ; Cassie Eloise Enigma

Jin-Hwa tilted her head to meet Cassie's gaze. Her hand wrapped around the handle of her new weapon. It hadn't dulled at all. She had spent the past week cleaning the blood off of it, but she was sure there was still gold in the veins of the metal. Or gold in her veins. She would not soon forget how that felt.

Her amor was golden, glittering, a bodice of plate with chainmail under the whole thing and snake-like bracelets on her arms. Had she earned this adornment? It was dim in comparison to her mother and gaudy in comparison to what she had favored before. She did not know who she was emulating anymore.

She had called Cassie spoiled, but here she was, with three hunts, one kill, and many more fights behind her, standing on the sand like it might slip away. The sea ought to have assured her, but it felt foreign. That blood on her face felt like the poison she had warped. She found that neither was quite natural. But if she deemed to be a goddess, supernaturality should become her forte.

"I have done it already." she said, running her hand over the bracelets on her arms. They covered where her tattoo would go when she returned to the undersea. She would then cut hole in her armor to display it. It was impractical and traditional, two things the Undersea Warriors loved best. It would be a new challenge for many of the palace armorers. Those killers cuts had not been made in centuries. "When I cut my stripes, I would have you with me." She would never surrender the kill to anyone. But there was a time to step back.

Hubris had nearly destroyed that Enigma boy. She could have killed him. She was not so foolish to leave herself so open. 

But it had never been in her nature to avoid a challenge. She was ruthless to the end. "Do not disappoint me." She would not save Cassie either. 

+5 damage, school of war; Total of 10
Weapon Armor Aesthetic

[Annalise Lorelai Luce]

Dorian Northbow
Nikolai Hugh-Sokolov

Annalise had watched the girl from the North kill that dragon. Her form could be better, but then, so could everyone's. She had watched the girl from the Undersea kill the East dragon. The dragon hunters of old were all women, and now that seemed to be repeating itself.

Not that Annalise wanted the kill. She didn't need to be involved in dispatching so majestic a creature. She could see the thing, arching in the waves. How they planned to enter, she had no idea. Her butterflies would fly sharp and true, wherever she threw them. She had a new knife, for close range. It had been a gift. She loved sharp things but she loved beautiful things more. Now she had both.

It looked like a snake, before them, and the sea was a trunk it was winding its way around. The undersea fae were at the front of the group. She would let them stay that way. She was here, and she could feel the salt spray, but she was in no danger of being pulled in by the tides.

+5 damage, school of war; Total of 10
Weapon + Armor Aesthetics

[Vĩnh Lý]

Vĩnh took gentle steps in the sand towards the glittering coastline where Cassie and Jin-Hwa stood, one already partially submerged in the blood of their progenitors, the other to his left, gazing across the expanse as though it were a birthright she was unsure whether or not to accept. He would ensure she did so. Holding a respectable distance, Vĩnh placed his forefoot on the surface of the ocean, a thin frost forming on the barrier between sea and land where it was promptly dashed by the waves. He clapped his hands once, grinning contentedly with the excitement they were soon to face.



“The weather is beautiful! Don’t you agree? This will be quite exciting!”



Vĩnh looked expectantly between the two.



“Princess Cassie Eloise Enigma, If I may, you do very much possess a purpose here. I understand you may be apprehensive, but there is no need to feel this way. Align your breathing with the ebb and flow of the waves.”



He turned to address Jin-Hwa Mei with this same gentleness.



“The serpent yet lives your highness. Nothing is ensured. I will keep the creature as impotent as I can while the two of you take the beasts heart. Barring this, I await your command.”



With this, Vĩnh walked directly into the water, his body consumed in blue. Ten meters out, and another five below the waters surface, he turned about hands clasped behind him, and awaited the movement of his superiors, a valet holding open the door to the sea

tags-Cassie Eloise Enigma,Jin-Hwa Mei,

[Kallias Greyson]

Kallias made himself steady his breath. It was nearly over. The hunt was nearly at its end. He supposed he should be happy. But he wasn't sure how to feel. It was a blinding mess of emotions that threatened to consume him. Was he meant to feel so conflicted about the lives of mere dragons? But no dragons were mere. 

The waves thundered in his ears in a chaotic chorus designed by the sea itself. He could taste the salt in the air, feel the winds ruffling his hair. It would have been beautiful, if it hadn't been tainted by the bloody work they were meant to be doing. He stood close to the water, but not quite close enough for the foam to graze him. He didn't exactly desire to be wet. He knew that this hunt would most likely end in the ocean water getting all over him. A sigh fell from his lips. 

He was not from the Undersea. He was not one for the cold, cruel hold of the ocean. Even so, what choice did he really have? Adjusting his hold on his bow, he supposed he could just shoot it from land. But would there be a chance for a decent hit? With a glance at the dragon winding in and out of the waves, he doubted it.

As she had been the last hunt, Cassie was with Jin-hwa. He wanted to speak to her. But, if he were to be honest, Princess Jin-hwa scared him a bit. There was something... mad about her. Perhaps he'd read too many books about cruel princesses. He wasn't sure. What he was sure of, was that Cassie was competent enough to handle herself. Or, he hoped so. He would hate to see her hurt.


(Mentioned: Cassie Eloise Enigma , Jin-Hwa Mei )


+3; Herbalism. Total of 8

[Calanthe Willowlace]

    Calanthe stood along the bright shores of the South Court's coast, watching the dragon dart the waves, it's scales shimmering like the water it resided in. Quietly she marveled as she took in the beach around her. The sands here were soft and warm and sparkled like powdered gold, and the waves lapped at the shore; water crystalline and clear. Nothing at all like the frozen cliffs and bitter waves of her homeland coasts. 

    She had kept her armor light, a thin breastplate and bracers on her arms and legs. The armor was cold silver in color, with etchings like frost and carvings like ice crystals decorating the metal alongside her family crest. She almost wished for the heavier, more protective armor that was more common in the North Court but knew it would've been far too warm since much of the staple North Court armor was made of leather and sported thick furs in the linings and as decoration along the edges of the pieces. 

    Enough of that, she thought, this is no time to be wishing for different armor, even if I do prefer it. It would be useless here anyways. Too warm, and no good for a water-based battle. As she shook the thought from her head, she took at look at the fae around her. Many of the faces were familiar from the hunt in her own court, some she had met before but had not been involved in her previous hunt, and other's she'd never seen at all. One face among the throng caught her notice in particular. With a presence just as warm as the beach they occupied, the sunny prince of the South stood among the crowd, happily chatting with anyone who happened to stand too close. Even here, at the brink of a battle against a wonderous, dangerous beast, he seemed careless; laughing and smiling like the threat that lurked among his shores simply didn't exist.

    Ridiculous, just what would it require for him to anything seriously?





Luca Oleander , 

[Cassie Eloise Enigma]

    Cassie looked back at Jin-hwa and nodded. She would try her best not to disappoint, but it was best if they all lowered their standards as to what she was able to do. This was the realm of her birth, and yet she felt more out of place here than she had at any of the other hunts. Every time Jin-hwa spoke to her, she felt like a child again, standing in her father’s throne room. Do not disappoint me, Cassandra. It had looked so different than it did now. But then again, it was not his throne room anymore. She glanced past the other Princess to the rest of the land fae, standing apprehensively on the shore. She spotted Kallias among them. The only thing she could do was look at him. What would Jin-hwa think if she did anything more to acknowledge him? Love was a weakness to her, and yet she cared more for Cassie than she did anyone else.

    She looked back out to the sea. She didn’t want to hear the butler’s words of advice. What did know? He hadn’t been snatched from his home at the age of eight, given no explanation as to why she was being taken, forced to bring herself to the conclusion that she would be raised to be a concubine, forced to forget the land she was born in. Cassie watched as he disappeared into the sea. Once he was no longer seen, she found her breaths slowing naturally, moving through her like the waves she stood in. She didn’t want to admit it, but his advice had worked. She felt herself becoming more grounded, felt the currents align with her will. “I will do my best, Your Highness. Direct me as you wish.” Cassie drew the misericorde blade from its sheath at her hip and moved forward, sinking beneath the waves.

TAGS: Jin-Hwa Mei , Kallias Greyson, Vĩnh Lý
OUTFIT
WEAPON

★fai

+5 damage

[Luca Oleander]

the hunt

[attr="class","box1a"] Luca stood with his feet in the water and damp sand, tempted to close his eyes and soak in the sun's glare like a sponge except that it might increase his risk of being eaten. Brilliant noon sunlight glanced off the dragon's scaled when they flashed here and there between the waves. It was a beautiful creature; shame they had to kill it. Shame it had decided to start devouring his subjects. He'd heard the other day that one of his former lovers had fallen prey to the creature. It truly was a shame; the fae in question had been poison taster for an emissary, with luscious teal curls and a dazzling way with their hands.  The webbing truly added to the experience.  Luca sincerely hoped it was not a prophecy that the beautiful had to die. He didn't like the idea of wearing such a target. Then again, who in Faerie was not beautiful? Even the strangest-looking fae were beautiful in the way of their grotesque; the only ugliness this land knew was so extraordinary that it became divine.  Luca cast a glance along the shoreline to take stock of the party. They would have been magnificent in the sunset, but even now it was a sight that filled his eyes. He spotted his dance partner from that one revel among the faces, the North Court girl who'd disregarded his title. Perhaps he'd fight by her side, just to have her snap and stonewall him again. It had been delicious in a strange way.  He drummed his fingers on the hilt of his blade, which was made to look gold but was in fact bronze beneath, and flashed a pearly smile to the nearest hunter. Everyone else was far too serious about this ordeal, he mused. Besides, something like a life-or-death situation was far too minor to break his smiling streak. He'd glided past worse. All he had to do was ride the updraft of a laugh. And if he shone brightly enough to blind them, what flaws were there to see? mentioned: Calanthe Willowlace [newclass=.box1a]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1a::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #e8a72a;[/newclass]

Music Word count: 343 Notes: +9 (school of magic)

credit to Laura of Adox + SeaJem

[Guinivere Marcel]

Damage Report 62 Points of Damage have been done. 38 health points are left. 38/100

[Jin-Hwa Mei]

Vĩnh Lý
 Cassie Eloise Enigma

Jin-Hwa watched Vinh enter the water like a hawk waiting to strike. She could see the bigger game here, and she did not believe for a second that he didn't see it. She could not tell, in all honesty, what Cassie knew and what Cassie ignored. She did not hope to find out.

"Vinh." she said, calling him back. "Cassie will do well today," she said in a low tone, watching him. It was a gamble, throwing the rod and seeing what you caught. He would understand the message or he wouldn't, but it would certainly show his loyalties.

She didn't trust her cousin for a second, but she didn't have to for him to be useful. Jin-Hwa had played with figures when she was small. Now she played with the fae, spinning them like tops and watching them fall.

"Go into the water," she said to Cassie, nodding at where the beast was, becoming more and more obvious. "Bring the fight to it." She stared her down. It was a challenge. It was an offer. 

+5 damage, school of war; Total of 10
Weapon Armor Aesthetic

[Annalise Lorelai Luce]

Dorian Northbow
Nikolai Hugh-Sokolov

Annalise was tired of waiting, tired of standing in the back and watching. This fight mattered to her. The creature was close. She could handle this here and now. She could finish it. 

She lifted her hand and threw, two stars, glittering through the air before hitting their mark. She saw them glint on the surface of the water. She heard the scream. It didn't sound like a dragon's roar. It sounded like a seagull. But there was blood in the water. She had hit the serpent. Curious.

She took a step forward, then another, until she was running into the surf. She left no footprints. She never had. It had concerned her parents, but so much had been odd about her. Now? It was expected.

No one was organizing this hunt. The Undersea Court was standing by the waves watching it silently. She was bored. The young Duke did nothing. He seemed to have forgotten his courtly manners. Enough of this gawking. She would handle this herself if no one else did. 

+5 damage, school of war; Total of 10
Weapon + Armor Aesthetics

[Vĩnh Lý]

Vĩnh listened carefully to her words before nodding and smiling.



“She will. Your highness?” The epithet now turned in Cassandras direction. “Please, if you don’t mind, lead the way. We will be entering on the ocean floor to draw it beneath the waves. It has just dived. Your aptitude for the element will become clearer once you are fully submerged.”



This was not entirely true, nor was his point about breathing alongside the waves, not exactly, but they were both ways of exercising a feeling of control, and reassurance that her abilities were indeed quite real. If she believed him, these tips would suffice, though Vĩnh would likely need to teach her in a more complete sense later. There was no time.



Vĩnh watched a series of fallen stars pass through the oceans surface as he reentered with Cassandra in tow, drawing red streaks out into the water from the dragon, now in full view. A young girl had entered the surf, he could see her lower body bisected by the barrier between sea and air, the rest of her hovering just above that same threshold. Her insides were slick, muscle and bone drowned in fluid blood, like water. If the temperature of the body became low enough her insides would numb and become useless. It was especially easy to exercise precision with his target submerged in the surf. Her throwing arm would recover once shed dried off and warmed her body, though this would take time- if he lowered the temperature any further, the clusters of muscle tissue in her forearm and bicep, like clusters of blossoming flowers, would wither and die.



Your intrusion into this sacred testing ground is unwelcome. Return to shore.



Princess Jin-Hwa Mei was certainly capable of resisting the sudden chill that spread across the shore, close enough to freezing that it would drive out any land fae still in the water, a thin seal now placed before the gates of the sea. The gates were now shut behind Cassandra, Jin-Hwa, and Vĩnh himself, Cassandra locked into an impromptu rite of passage, the serpent coiled, wrapping about itself in the hollowed chamber of the open water. If Cassandra was endangered by the beast, it would succumb immediately to severe brain hemorrhage as its skull passed boiling point. Vĩnh did not expect this would be necessary.

tags- Cassie Eloise Enigma, Annalise Lorelai Luce, Jin-Hwa Mei,

[Annalise Lorelai Luce]

Dorian Northbow
Nikolai Hugh-Sokolov

Annalise drew in a sharp breath at a sudden pain. One moment, she was in the water, arm outstretched, watching the creature bleed. The next, her arm dropped from a shooting, stabbing pain. She looked down and the water itself seemed to be freezing over. Ahead of her was a girl who had to be Undersea, standing in the water, oblivious. She turned to look behind her and saw the Undersea Princess standing in the surf.

She narrowed her eyes. The girl was looking at the horizon, but there was something smug on her face. Annalise was furious. She may have been a princess, but she was still just a student. She could not injure her instructor on personal pride.

And yet. The princess wasn't looking at her. The girl ahead of her seemed oblivious. The princess' attendant did not seem phased. Annalise's arm was still hanging limply by her side, but the throbbing had dulled. She looked down and the water did not seem iced over in any way.

She shook her head once, then turned back. She would face the dragon again when her throwing arm healed. She could handle this later. For now she would be consigned to watch.

+5 damage, school of war; Total of 10
Weapon + Armor Aesthetics

[Cassie Eloise Enigma]

    Cassie nodded almost imperceptibly at Jin-hwa’s request. Her hand shook around the hilt of her misericorde blade. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vinh retreat and she jumped as two stars shot through the water near her landing perfectly in one of the beast’s front and hind legs. How was she to bring the fight to Jin-hwa with a simple mercy blade? How was she to do it all alone? Panic rose like bile in her throat, and she swallowed, trying to keep it down. The beast turned, looking for its attacker, and only finding her, it began lumbering in her direction. She looked back in her panic, finding that Vinh and Jin-hwa had disappeared. Looking back was a mistake. The beast was within 100 yards of her, and only getting faster, fueled by its anger.

    Her heart was racing. She was going to die here, right now. There was no way she could take it down by herself. The current around her went haywire, swirling up, down, circling Cassie so fast it was like wind ruffling her hair. She tried to control her breathing and found that the currents calmed too. It gave her an idea. An incredibly stupid idea, yes, but it could work. She trusted Jin-hwa to get her to a medic if it was needed. She stood firm as the serpentine creature came barreling toward her, and just as it was about to approach her, she will the currents to take it up. It curved over her, and she managed to stick her blade in, using the dragon’s momentum to slice a long line through its belly.

    She lowered the blade. It worked. It was a stupid idea, and the dragon wasn’t dead yet, but it had worked. There was blood everywhere. The dragon was practically leaking blood as it snorted in anger and pain, a jet of bubbles that dissipated before they could reach Cassie. She almost laughed with relief. She turned to the surface trying to see if Jin-hwa and Ving were near. They weren’t. Had she gone out farther? She would have to kill it here. Her small success had given her hope. She turned back to the beast was it was shooting back towards the shore. Towards Jin-hwa. She wouldn’t let it touch her sister. She swam after it, misericorde in hand, wondering if she could use the current to help her along.

    The beast looked up in front of her. It must have found something. Aligning itself perpendicular to the surface, the dragon prepared to shoot up through the waves, probably with a faerie in its jaws. Cassie had to stop it. It’s tail curled behind it, reminding her of a spring, poised to take off, its blood tinging the waters crimson. She didn’t think as it shot up, gaining momentum. She threw the misericorde, angling the currents up around it, making her aim land true. The blade sunk into the spot where the beast’s heart would be, just as the beast froze, and sank to the ocean floor. Cassie stuck out a hand, and the blade returned to her grip. She couldn’t believe it. Her mind went quiet with shock as she swam, unassisted, to the surface. Her head broke the surface, and she emerged, blade and body covered in the slain dragon’s blood.

TAGS: Jin-Hwa Mei , Kallias Greyson , Vĩnh Lý
OUTFIT
WEAPON

★fai

+5 damage