Icarus Awakens

Lograve! Let me out! Daniel mentally shouted those words out on repeat, altering them sometimes in hopes that something would grant his release. All the while he pounded on the ice, but it was as strong as reinforced glass was in his world comparatively. This was the result a level 4 power. The dragon had been able to cut through the ice whenever its claws made contact, but not even one of his enchanted bolts fired point-blank would do more than scuff it slightly.

This was hell. It didn’t matter if he died anymore because he’d just end up right back here, completely trapped. Daniel wasn’t sure if it would be worse if he couldn’t move at all. That might terrify him so much he’d pass out. Instead, he couldn’t help but try to think of a way out. That gave him just enough hope that the fear didn’t entirely overwhelm him. Trapped. And around him, in plain view, Hunter. And Tlara. He looked at her to spare him from greater pain and wished her death. When he’d said it the first time, it had been something out of anguish later to regret. Staring at her now he repeated it more firmly in his mind, yearning to if not escape this hell than to kill one of its demons.

She was evil. She… Daniel looked away, regret staining him again despite himself. Hunter had been right. He wasn’t a murderer, and he’d be something far worse if Hunter had agreed to the request. Something very lightly pressed against his mind. A request. Daniel almost accepted before he realized what it was and screamed. The sound was deafening given he couldn’t hear outside. It was the mental pressure from Hunter, present whenever the ringcat wanted to share Daniel’s senses. Or control him.

He could resist easily, of course. Consent was a foundational aspect of how the bond worked. But Hunter could ask again, and whatever had controlled him had figured that out. It was like a drop of water hitting his forehead, over and over again. A small stream of madness as the Host poked him from outside his cage with the mind of his friend. Daniel might have lost it if the Host made Hunter think towards him, but speech seemed to be beyond those controlled in multiple ways. The gentle requests kept coming, and Hunter began to circle the orb. With each step, another request. He’d never thought that this could be used offensively. Were there other kinds of mental attacks? Definitely, he was looking at the victim of one.

What if I tried getting into Hunter’s mind? Could that, no. No! It was biological control. At best he’d be unable to do anything, at worst Hunter’s infected mind could hop into his body and do something. Or, he’d expose himself to the parasites somehow. Were they altering the brain chemistry permanently? Is that how this became Indelible?

Lograve! Let him run at least. What was the point of keeping him as a backup if the Host had things follow him? Sure, Tlara was out and Thomas was down, the rest seemed to be more intent on the lake, but Hunter could be on him in seconds. The sun wasn’t out, he couldn’t use his wings again until tomorrow. He tried to shout that at the Arcanist but was ignored. The mental pressure was unrelenting. The intensity never changed, but Daniel’s will to resist continued to lessen. He didn’t even need to respond, but the pressure would be there until he did. The reminder that Hunter’s mind wasn’t his own.

He wouldn’t tolerate this. He would escape even if it meant he had to set off an explosion in here and try and take Hunter down. Worst case? Permanently. If it truly was the end, he wouldn’t leave his friend to be the puppet of some squid monster. Hunter kept looking at him, eyes locked with his whenever he was in Daniel’s view. It was a blank look, anticipatory, but devoid of malice. That belonged to the creature controlling him, but at the very least it didn’t contort Hunter’s face to match its own emotions.

Daniel breathed and reconsidered his options. He didn’t have a way to explode either of the ammunition types he carried. No room for the lightning bolt, no spineshard bolts left after he’d ditched them. None of his powers had enough punch to break through, even Claw Strike. He did have the heliorite scraps and inside this space there was the chance he could make something. There had to be some kind of way to-

Thud. The sound of an impact against the ice, coming from behind Daniel. That startled him, causing him to drop the wrapped heliorite and cry out as an exposed section touched his leg. Still too low level to properly handle even if he’d found a workaround. It didn’t melt the ice either, which wasn’t unexpected. What had made the noise?

Hunter had stopped circling him and had backed up. Was the Host making him go to the lake to stop Lograve? Some of the controlled that had jumped had resurfaced at least, so it wasn’t making them drown. He wouldn’t have to worry about-

THUD! Daniel found out what was making the sound. It just kept getting worse. A new layer of this hell opened up every minute. The sound was Hunter, running into the ice orb head first. The constant mental pressure had been relieved only to be replaced by one request accompanying the strike. No, Tlara wasn’t evil. This was evil.

The Host was trying to force him out, as if he had a choice! As if everything about this didn’t touch the rawest nerves he had. What was even the point of letting Hunter take control? He could revoke that, couldn’t he? Or would the Host come along with it, not needing- THUD!

Hunter stop! he mentally screamed, but there wasn’t a reply. Not a telepathic one. THUD!

A small amount of blood stained the fur. It came from beneath the armor plate that fit onto the top of the ringcat’s head. Hunter was hitting his head in that same place every time. Some of it spilled against the glass and it was displayed as if on a microscope slide. Daniel could see the slightest movement within the blood up until it froze. The parasites. THUD!

“STOP!” Only Hunter couldn’t. Is this a good thing? This, this is a good thing, right? Daniel desperately tried to delude himself. Hunter will knock himself out. Maybe some serious damage but after we win I can just give him Regeneration again. He survived a mountain exploding, this- THUD!

What if his skull broke? That’s how the dragon had died, bone breaking off and piercing the brain before the mortals pounded more damage into the hole. There was no coming back if anyone died here, and who would waste resurrection on a ringcat anyway? Only a handful of people knew what Hunter was. Tak! he cried out, hoping the avianoid had come back. But his aura was nowhere. That wasn’t righ- THUD!

The blood was flowing freely now, down one side and crossing where a blue and white pattern flowed across. That was supposed to represent the Octyrrum wasn’t it? Someone had said so. Well, where was it? Where were its gods? They’d seen him before and Torch was the only reason they knew what they were fighting. So where were they now? THUD!

“STOP!” He’d converted one of his hands to claws without realizing it. Anger could do that? Or was it anguish? Still not enough to break the ice, even with hitting where Hunter had. But he had powers, and most of his mana! He looked at Hunter, waiting for the next charge, and extended his will beyond the ice. Telekinetic Reach. Not enough to stop the beast and it drained his mana, but it softened the landing. No thud, just more blood on the ice.

“I can keep doing that as long as you can!” Daniel lied, unsure if the Host would understand or hear him. Hunter didn’t charge again, backing off and looking for whatever had hit him. The monster controlling him was intelligent, but not all-knowing. Its primary objective was to infect as many as possible. Maybe it thought someone invisible had hit him.

Daniel went to punch the ice again, intent on breaking free during the distraction, when he noticed something. The ice was melting, just like Lograve said it would, because he wasn’t controlling it. The construction was still toughened because of how the power had made it, but what if the power’s absence opened it up to another kind of vulnerability?

“Bulwark,” Daniel whispered, keeping the incantation as quiet as he could. A section of ice opposite of where Hunter was separated from the sphere and fell to ground, formed into a shield. Daniel scrambled out, avoiding any red-stained section even if the parasites were frozen. Leaving the protection of the shell suddenly seemed insane, one drop and he was dead, but Hunter needed him.

The ringcat’s head jerked towards him, a few drops of blood flung from the headpiece of the armor from the motion. Every other person controlled by the monster was focused on the lake, though a few distant heads began to turn before ignoring Daniel. The host was under threat, and it was leaving everything else besides Hunter for its defense. It didn’t need too much to infect, just a scratch.

“I’m not giving up on you.” He felt his powers jumping at the ready, prepared to be unleashed just as he’d freed himself. Creating the mostly useless shield to do so had taken some mana, but he had a good deal left to spare. “This is going to hurt, but you’ll get better.”

More of the ice from the shell peeled off as Daniel used Construct Projectile. It was like his other enchanting ability, so long as the shape fit the general intent of ammunition he could make it. He brought forth a spear with several long, thin ends on the front like tines. The weapon flew toward’s Hunter’s rear, the intent to pin him somewhere non-lethally. Daniel didn’t know if he could knock the ringcat out without fully killing him and would settle for immobilization instead.

Hunter was too good. His cooldown power was wasted as the ringcat dodged the ability. Even stacking Snap Shot didn’t guarantee a hit, and the awkward weapon was far from aerodynamic. Like the alpha ringcat, Hunter began approaching with small leaps that both covered distance and allowed him to feint. The combination of Grow Feathers and Snap Shot did hit home, but between the armor and the host’s apathy for Hunter’s health, it didn’t stop the ringcat.

He was forced to Dodge Roll away and back onto the ground around the lake. The water itself was teeming with the swarmlings and if he got too close one would jump on him. Daniel chained the ability three times, Balance keeping him steady as he tried to gain distance. Hunter was in fast pursuit, barely giving him room to breathe. His friend’s pace only increased as off the ice he could move more confidently.

I can’t get too close, Daniel thought desperately as he considered using Moment of Clarity to buy time. Ultimately he wasn’t willing to use the mana, and for the same reason he couldn’t try Telekinetic Reach to make Hunter stumble. Too expensive.

After another Dodge Roll, Daniel was forced to pull out a dagger. He only had heliorite ones on him since why would he ever need an unenchanted one? This is going to hurt, he thought towards Hunter, even though he was pretty sure his friend couldn’t hear him. Infusing it with Scatter Shot, he threw the dagger at Hunter’s foreleg. The limbs were mostly unarmored since Hunter had needed the mobility. The weapon sunk to its hilt and the ephemeral blades carved into the surrounding flesh. It didn’t completely cut off the limb, but Hunter wouldn’t walk on it until it was healed.

Even with his bond and his awakened class, Hunter only had the powers from his level 1 state. Without the ability to advance, without his ridiculous combo attack with Tak, he couldn’t stand against Daniel in a direct fight when it came down to it. Not unless he could get right on top of him, and there was no guile in the beast when it was only acting in accordance to the host’s will.

Hunter tried a Springing Strike, the committed attack recognizable from a normal leap because the course was set, but there was no power behind and Daniel easily avoided the attempt. “Just stop,” he said, this time to the parasite. Hunter started dragging himself on the ground towards him like a zombie that had had its legs blown off. “Stop! You’re not going to get me.”

It couldn’t understand him, and it had no reason to preserve Hunter. It would run him ragged until he died or Daniel capitulated. Neither could Daniel knock out the ringcat without getting close and risking exposure. The blood seeping from the leg wound was already bad, and further movement was making it worse.

“Easy. Easy. No biting,” Daniel said, preparing himself. He was about to Jump over Hunter and try an unaided dagger throw to hit the ringcat with the blunt end while over him, when something came charging out of the forest. It was closer to Daniel and moving so fast he could barely react, even with his dexterity now at level 2. He barely identified it before the sneak attack struck.

Avianoid Monstrosity - (3)

Instead of clawing into him, the monster knocked him down before going for Hunter. What was this? It wore Tak’s armor, but the body shape underneath wasn’t right. Avainoids had a roughly human shaped head with a beak off the front, but this monstrosity’s beak seemed to stretch to the back of the head. At least, there weren’t feathers there anymore, and the ridge coming off where the nose would be ran that far as well. What’s more, it was level 3, and the aura was the purest gray he’d ever seen while in combat.

It was far more feral a creature that came to a stop above Hunter. Terrible claws, not like a ringcat’s but like those of a giant eagle transposed onto a barely humanoid frame. Its back hunched, just barely off all fours. He couldn’t see the face clearly but the eye facing him was completely changed. The whites were tinged pink by multiple red vessels bleeding off into the space. The center was a pure black upward slit of a pupil.

Hunter infected the creature almost immediately with a defensive swipe that carried his blood into the wound. If this was somehow Tak, then that was it. Could he at least incapacitate Hunter before falling to the influence? The answer was mercifully yes. Daniel watched as Tak batted away another swipe and pressed Hunter down into the ground. The beak, which itself was more harshly spiked at the end and larger than normal, opened in a terrible cry to accompany this. It almost deafened Daniel and he was standing ten meters away.

Tak continued shrieking as he brought his mutated face directly up to Hunter’s. Daniel was at the point where he was considering an intervention when he realized what was going on. It was a howl, but not canine or anything remotely close to an animal from Daniel’s world. There was an element of wailing wind, but that was just background. Every avianoid Daniel had ever met had a beautiful voice, even Tlara. It was something that added a mystique to them, something otherworldly that made him wonder why they didn’t all become Bards. Tak was no exception, though in the past he’d either been unaware of his own voice’s pleasing qualities or of how to exploit them.

Now? He was a banshee. It was painful to hear, and Daniel was being exposed to a fraction of what could only be called a sonic attack. He shielded his ears. Hunter wasn’t as lucky. A few moments after the scream he lay motionless. Tak’s head rapidly shifted, tilting in various ways as he inspected the body below him. Then, frenetically, he stood, running towards the ice field.

Seven arrows pierced Tak moments later on the approach, distant archers obeying a host that recognized a potential threat. He wasn’t moving evasively and made for an easy target. Some had hit limbs, but four had hit the chest. Tak didn’t stop. What shouldn’t have been called hands tore away the arrows as the demented avianoid moved toward Thomas, who was still awake, and knocked him unconcious while still under fire. He couldn’t see if the wounds were healing or not but Tak didn’t slow down afterwards, hitting the next person on the ice field, knocking them down, and screaming at them.

The others were reacting. Of their number was Gadriel, one the Host had kept above the ice along with Murdon for reasons unknown. Even if one was down a hand, either could easily defeat Tak in a duel. That wasn’t counting the others still on the ice, most of whom were carrying bows. Impossible, under normal circumstances. Daniel had moved on from a mutation theory to possession, for Tak fought like he was. He stopped taking moments to scream when faced with groups, knocking each down until it was clear he had the time. Somehow, as Tak continued to take hits and move on without falling or killing anyone, Daniel began to hope again.

Of everyone here, this new Tak looked the most like a demon. Somehow, he was pulling all of them out of the depths of hell.