ENTRY ONE, WRITTEN 11th of Resplendent Water (JUNE 6 2016): When we last left off, the Circle was split. One one end, we have Li, Vincent, and Rain, accompanied by Jasmine and Rajah, going for the Manor in order to release Kaylin from imprisonment. On the other end, Akantha and Agiras, accompanied by their goon squad of Realm soldiers, went to visit a small clinic which has, supposedly, been attracting clients from all over. Unsure and somewhat cautious, Li’s group discussed how to go about releasing Kaylin from the estates dungeon in order to return her to Eramis without him needing to bring the estate down around him in the process. While Li went off to heckle a blacksmith about a blade, Rain snuck inside the estate on her own, quickly finding the hidden passage down into the dungeons within River’s office, where Kaylin had been held across from Li during his brief stay. With the help of Karin, the special key to the cells magical lock was found, and the three girls were soon on their way back out. Outside, things were becoming less than quiet, and before long, Karin was called back to her masters side.. While waiting for Rain to return, Li spotted guard patrols walking the perimeter, and towards Vincent. Despite attempting to distract them, things quickly escalated as Li was detained, and shortly after Ataden entered the scene along with Mara, sentenced to death with 3 hours. Unable to hear this and remain hiding, Vincent revealed himself and tried his best to take control of the situation, demanding Ataden take him to River and Matachi to talk about Eramis, and possibly threatening Ataden should anything happen to Li. For motives unknown, steel was drawn, and Vincent and Li were now face to face with a Wood Dragonblooded and two squads of guards. The battle was uphill from the start, Li without a weapon, and Vincent taking a wound from Ataden within the first seconds of combat. Desperate to regain some kind of footing in the battle, Vincent summoned his Glorious Solar Plate and tried to get Ataden to yield, but he was undaunted and the battle continued. Struggling against Ataden and his guards, the fight reached a grim low for the two Solars when Ataden was about to cut down Li. To their wonder, Atadens disgust, and everyones shock, Mara stepped forth to save Li’s live, clashing against her elder brother, and exalting as a Solar of the Dawn caste. Unable to bring himself to fight his own sister, or what used to be his sister, or perhaps too shocked to carry on, Ataden sent them away, giving them 24 hours to get as far away from Greyfalls as possible before the Wyld Hunt would be on them. Leading Mara away, Vincent and Li encountered Jasmine, and sensing that Akantha and Agiras were in trouble, the group hurried to find them. When visiting the clinic, Agiras and Akantha split up. Believing that Eramis may be the miracle-working physician at this clinic, healing the wyld-mutants and other similarly afflicted folk, one soldier was sent back to inform River. Agiras, accompanied by the captain (minus his armor) went into the clinic to speak with Eramis while Akantha hunkered down with the remaining soldiers in a building across the street. After speaking with a clinic aide, Agiras was invited in to have a private talk with Eramis. He attempted to negotiate with Eramis, offering information on Kaylin’s location in exchange for Eramis’ promise to stop slaughtering Dragonblooded. Eramis, predictably, refused. Agiras’ following refusal to leave the clinic until a deal was brokered lead to blows. Claiming that the Realm corrupts all, and implying that he would kill all the Realm has touched, Eramis once more tried to expel Agiras from the clinic. Not having any of that business, Agiras attacked him with a stream of fire. Unfortunately, Agiras was without Ash, leaving him without firepower (haha) (April, die in a fire). After this initial attack, Eramis launched his own, kicking the poor sorcerer through the wall and into the street. Akantha saw this from her perch and lept down, rushing to Agiras’ aide. Karin, summoned by Agiras, handed him his flamepiece, Ash. He fires, but Eramis easily dodges- Akantha arrives to Agiras’ aide, blocking a blow from Eramis even as his form warps. He is growing larger by drawing debris towards him. The three trade blows, and Eramis, upon touching Akantha’s grimcleaver, seems to recognize something. As the battle continues, Eramis conceals himself, completely disappearing from sight. This causes the two Solars to have some difficulty. One cannot hit what they cannot see. Going back-to-back, Agiras and Akantha wait for an opportunity. Eramis comes in close and grabs Ash to block Agiras’ blow. Taking advantage of this, Akantha attacks as well. Once they have Eramis up close, the two enter a close, difficult combat. After a few whiffs from both sides, Agiras and Akantha both enter bonfire. Finally, after what seems like an eternity of combat, Agiras lands a solid blow on Eramis. Unfortunately for the Solars, this elicits amusement from him, as he drops his invisibility and his next blow brings Agiras to his knees. Even more bad luck, Akantha begins to lose control, wildly attacking Eramis. Although she lands a blow, he goes for Agiras and knocks him out cold. Seeing her Circlemate dropped pushes Akantha over the edge- her cursed grimcleaver asserts control, making her lose any grip she had on self-control. She throws herself at Eramis, but he simply grabs her by the neck and advises her to be rid of the grimcleaver before it consumes her. Refusing, Akantha stabs him in the stomach, prompting him to drop then knee her, knocking her to the ground. Her worry for Agiras causes her to give up and accept Eramis’ cease-fire, taking Agiras to find the other group.
