Darkness Meets Death( Azreal Solomon )

[Paul Ares]

Fall 20 511AV (OOC bold text= thoughts Ares had finally decided, without much difficulty, that the beach was his preferred dwelling grounds. The cold bothered him little as he sauntered slowly along the beach. Though deep within his being, something evil was happening. He knew not if it was all the blood he had spilled or the loss of his mistress, or perhaps a combination of the two along with his growing mistrust and dislike for humans, but his thoughts were morbid indeed. This accursed gutter called a city shall crumble beneath the feet of the filth that inhabited itHis hate fueled itself as his eyes fixed ahead on another weakling as he got impaled on a muggers blade, then, the familiar metallic sound of blade being removed from flesh as the mugger ripped back on the sword. The victim continued standing for a few seconds untouched, as the mugger seemed to let his victim pass in peace, even if he woulnt let him rest in peace. And I will ensure that they suffer for it. When their stomachs are full they will be starved... When they are settled they will be forced to move He continued pacing ahead, watching as the unknown victims arms fell from the air where he had held them, prior to being impaled by the thug's sword. A look of amazement on the victims face as he realised his end was upon him. When they surrender, their heads will be separated from their shoulders... Indeed those they loved would be passed to the everlasting dark, he was closing on the two men now, and he watched as the victim plummeted gracefully, gently to the earth's surface. Dropping with a dull thud in the beach sand. ...and What they have built from the ashes, shall be returned to whence it came! He watched silently as he came into the immediate vicinity of the mugger and his dead victim, approaching from the rear of the mugger, he lightened his steps and was made inaudible by the beach sand, as he slid at the muggers back. As if he was invisible to the man he came to a silent halt at his back. The demons that had remained dormant for so long would be loosed upon Sunberth! He made a silent set of Trained gestures as he stood behind the unsuspecting goon, forcing a maximum concentration of djed into his right arm and shoulder. Not that the shot he wanted to take would need much power or speed, just because Ares was driven to do so. The mugger suddenly snapped around as he realized he was not alone. He attempted to face Ares in a rising spin on his heel, Yet the very motion was the thug's last as Ares brought down his clenched fist into the man's adams apple, crushing his windpipe as Ares' knuckles dug into the soft flesh with a dark display of unarmed skill without remorse ... as such would be their reaping from the seeds they had sowed... His features remained solemn as ever as he silently watched. The mugger took and exceptional amount of time to finally die as he choked on collapsed tracts horrified look on his face as his eyes started pushing out of their sockets, opened widely yet looking at nothing . struggling with death's grip, squirming as the dark came to perch upon his soul, then finally as if he had accepted his fate, a look of complete serenity crossed his face as he exhaled the last of his gift of life. Ares spat on the corpse at his feet as he watched it lie there, eyes wide open as if the were looking at him Speaking out loud for the first time he said, "We still have judgement here, that we but teach as lethal instruction. Which having been taught, return the judged to plague the creators. This even-handed justice delivers the ingredients of our poisoned chalice, To our own lips." The words rang true, and even as he spoke them, he knew that one day he would have to drink from that very same chalice of which he had spoken of. He had decided that the moment was over and the deed had been done. So it was time to move on, yet, as he lifted his focus from the two inanimate figures at his feet, he noticed a cloaked figure wielding a scythe. His heart seemed to have stopped for a mere second as he froze inwardly, thinking back on his previously spoken words... " You there!" He commanded at the silhouetted figure, " did you enjoy the show?!" He could feel the onlooker's gaze upon him, obviously this man had no fear of Ares, and his abilities for stealth must be fairly good to have snuck up on Ares, even in the state he was in. Ares bent over and reached out to see what the dead thief held in his still clenched fist. Prying opent the cold fingers in a solitary motion, they revealed a small pouch. Inside the pouch he had found a small vial containing a brownish liquid of some sort, perhaps a potion or some sort of poison, and 30 gold rimmed mizas. He raised himself out of his crouched position, and looked at the man whom had not moved a single pace. Lifting the vial into the moonlight above he tried to figure out what it was he had but alas had no idea what the vial contained so decided not to open it. " So," he started, " you seem to quite an interesting fellow, standing there as if-" his words were abruptly cut off as he saw another man appear from the gloom behind the cloaked figure. It was obvious to him that this was not an ally of the scythe wielding figure, as the man behind him already had a dagger in the air, prepared to strike as soon as he covered the three paces to his victim, " you might want to look over your shoulder there." Perhaps it was a friend of the dead mugger at Ares' feet. Either way it was his turn to watch now...

[Azrael Solomon]

Azrael had his bag wrapped over his shoulder as he walked toward the beach. He could hear the sound of the ocean off in the distance and felt the ocean spray through the thin cloth he always wore around his head to conceal his identity and blood line. He used his scythe to cut through some of the underbrush as he walked silently. He had no home at the moment and sought shelter in one of the many sea caves along the beach. He cursed as a thorny plant pulled on his cloak, which caused him to pause a moment and carefully unhook his garment. When he straightened back up, he could hear a mild scuffle ahead. He continued forward until his body was hidden at the edge of the forest. He sunk the scythe handle into the sand and let it go to allow it to stand on its own. He watched as the man threw a punch at someones throat, their bodies lit well by the moon above. Azrael chuckled to himself as he continued to watch the brutality. He watched as one man took out the would-be muggers. He wasn’t one for senses less violence, despite what his past suggested. He looked over the scene and noticed another body on the ground and he sighed, “two dead.” The scuffle over, he watched as the man leaned over the body and began to strip him of anything valuable. Azrael knew better, muggers were like dogs, they hunted in packs. His eye scanned the area around him and was on high alert as he walked onto the strip of beach. He heard a snap of a twig behind him, perhaps it was just the debris as it settled from his weight. Another snap, it confirmed that someone had attempted to sneak up behind him. Azrael paid no mind as the other man began to speak. He didn’t hear the man as he warned, instead he focused on the assailant behind him. The way the mugger held the knife made him vulnerable to an attack as Azrael side stepped out of the way. The silver of the blade was caught in the thick fabric of his cloak and Azrael used that and his hands to disarm the man. Without a weapon, Azrael had no problems bringing a foot up to slam right into the soft chest. The man caved in and began to fall forward, but Azrael caught him by the neck. He applied just enough pressure to hold the body up, but not choke the man. He leaned down and began to talk to the mugger as he gasped and tried to draw in breath, “That was very good, you almost had me.” He side stepped out of the way to let the disabled mugger look at the beach. “Two dead, for what? A couple gold? I’d guess you work for someone, you do work for someone correct? Your blade suggests you do,” The mugger nodded in his hand, “Then let me give a bit of advice. Instead of slaughtering several, follow targets and study them. What do they buy through the day, what do they wear? If they seem wealthy, take them out.” Azrael let go of the muggers neck who immediately backed away from Azrael. “You have no business here brother. Leave before I give you something much worse then bruised chest.” The mugger growled a bit and looked at the two folks. Even though Azrael’s mouth was covered, he could tell from his eyes the man had a smile across his face. He backed away into the darkness and vanished into the forest. Azrael reached back and grabbed his scythe where it remained planted into the ground. He walked toward the man cautiously and soon past him. His foot nudged the man he didn’t see die and soon turned the body over onto its back. He could tell this was just a common man, not a thief or mugger. He looked up at Paul, “Was this your doing?”

[Paul Ares]

Ares watched as the cloaked figure approached him, he made no move, he merely readied his frame. His muscles twitched in anticipation, and his senses peaked to their very limit. Then the cloaked figure halted and turned over one of the corpses, "is this your doing?" Asked the man as if to imply a punishment would follow. Ares had no qualms about ripping out this persons heart from his chest cavaties, but he had sparked certain interests in Ares' twisted mind. "It is clear to see with your own eyes that, that man had been ran through. I don't need a weapon to kill scum." Pointing at the mugger he had killed as he spoke calmly, "who are you? Why did you find such pleasure in watching me finish off that weakling?" The questions escaped his lips one after the other. "do you know what this is?" Ares stretched out his hand, opening it palm up, he revealed the vial containing the brownish liquid, " I found it in this ones hand as I sent him to the dark" his deep voice, inherited from the his lion counterpart, filled the space as he spoke to his opposite. Ares merely watched as the figure inspected the vial," So? What is it?" He was quite interested to find out what the mugger had killed for. He lifted his focus from the vial back to the mostly hidden face of the cloaked figure before him. Closing his eyes he focused the djed flow into feline eyes, no he didn't have trouble seeing, he just wanted to see this guys clearer. As his vision brighted some more, he make out certain details that were not hidden on the figure. Firstly and most obvious was the figure's hands the were clawed and covered in short brittle hairs, then moving his sight up to the man's eyes he could see the yellowish orange eyes. funny thing was that as this man hid his identity from the world, he made it more obvious that he was different. He was different from his own people just as Ares was different from other Kelvics. He was indeed not human, perhaps mixed with some other blood? "May I ask you something that requires truth and perhaps trust toward a stranger standing over two corpses?" He continued not waiting for a reply, " would you remove that fabric from your face so I may see your true self?" He continued, " you see I believe people meet for a reason, and that the weak perish for the strong to survive. You are not weak and you have met me here for a reason." It was hard to explain, but ares had a certain feeling that this was a meeting fated by Rhysol himself. He had just made the darkest most empowering decision of his life, and out of nowhere a cloaked warrior with a scythe appears before him, as if a sign from Rhysol to the lion, that he had the god's stamp of approval. He waited for the man's response then said, " we don't know each other besides what we have seen, but I would like for you to join me." He had seen the man returning to the bush for his weapon and had deducted that perhaps the wrapped up mystery figure made his home there. " I have made my home in a wrecked ship, there are plenty of bunks available and the locals don't go near it, out of fear. I had killed many though before they learned not to enter my abode. Come..." Said Ares as he started moving toward the wrecked ship once more", we have many things to discuss..." He had not yet seen the face of this man whom he spoke, but had seen his character displayed in full, and had no reservations about allowing such a man into his den. .

[Paul Ares]

[size=150] [img]http://i44.tinypic.com/2wpkz13.jpg [/img] Ares watched as the cloaked figure approached him, he made no move, he merely readied his frame. His muscles twitched in anticipation, and his senses peaked to their very limit. Then the cloaked figure halted and turned over one of the corpses, "is this your doing?" Asked the man as if to imply a punishment would follow. Ares had no qualms about ripping out this persons heart from his chest cavaties, but he had sparked certain interests in Ares' twisted mind. "It is clear to see with your own eyes that, that man had been ran through. I don't need a weapon to kill scum." Pointing at the mugger he had killed as he spoke calmly, "who are you? Why did you find such pleasure in watching me finish off that weakling?" The questions escaped his lips one after the other. "do you know what this is?" Ares stretched out his hand, opening it palm up, he revealed the vial containing the brownish liquid, " I found it in this ones hand as I sent him to the dark" his deep voice, inherited from the his lion alterior, filled the space as he spoke to his opposite. Ares merely watched as the figure inspected the vial," So? What is it?" He was quite interested to find out what the mugger had killed for. He lifted his focus from the vial back to the mostly hidden face of the cloaked figure before him. Closing his eyes he focused the djed flow into feline eyes, no he didn't have trouble seeing, he just wanted to see this guys clearer. As his vision brighted some more, he make out certain details that were not hidden on the figure. Firstly and most obvious was the figure's hands the were clawed and covered in short brittle hairs, then moving his sight up to the man's eyes he could see the yellowish orange eyes. funny thing was that as this man hid his identity from the world, he made it more obvious that he was different. He was different from his own people just as Ares was different from other Kelvics. He was indeed not human, perhaps mixed with some other blood? "May I ask you something that requires truth and perhaps trust toward a stranger standing over two corpses?" He continued not waiting for a reply, " would you remove that fabric from your face so I may see your true self?" He continued, " you see I believe people meet for a reason, and that the weak perish for the strong to survive. You are not weak and you have met me here for a reason." It was hard to explain, but ares had a certain feeling that this was a meeting fated by Rhysol himself. He had just made the darkest most empowering decision of his life, and out of nowhere a cloaked warrior with a scythe appears before him, as if a sign from Rhysol to the lion, that he had the god's stamp of approval. He waited for the man's response then said, " we don't know each other besides what we have seen, but I would like for you to join me." He had seen the man returning to the bush for his weapon and had deducted that perhaps the wrapped up mystery figure made his home there. " I have made my home in a wrecked ship, there are plenty of bunks available and the locals don't go near it, out of fear. I had killed many though before they learned not to enter my abode. Come..." Said Ares as he started moving toward the wrecked ship once more", we have many things to discuss..." He had not yet seen the face of this man whom he spoke, but had seen his character displayed in full, and had no reservations about allowing such a man into his den.

[Azrael Solomon]

“I do not find pleasure in watching death. Theses, scum as you call them, already suffer alive. Killing them is only doing a favor.” Azrael grinned through the fabric. He looked up at Ares and studied him for a moment as Ares seemed to do the same. His eyes soon traveled to the vial in hand. He took the vial from Ares cautiously and examined its color in the moon light. He could tell by the opacity that it was possibly some sort of sap or slime based concoction. Carefully he opened the vial and took a quick sniff. It had a metallic scent to it, much like blood. He waited and found that he didn't feel any ill effects. It must of been a minor poison, something most likely only effective through injury, most of the petty poisons worked that way. He listened to the barrage of questions and leaned on his scythe in hand. “If it tell you what is in this vial, what will you gain?” He was polite with his question. He fiddled with his cloak and made sure it had not been cut to badly. He didn’t take the dagger, mostly because he figured the thief would be back to reclaim what was rightfully his. Azrael didn’t intend to hurt anyone that night, the mugger was just a victim of circumstances. His brow crooked when a complete stranger asked him to reveal who he really was.. The gears turned in his head as a slight red flag was raised. “Hmm you feel that we were destined to meet? We can go to your residence and give me room and board.” He paused then shrugged indifferent,”Do you think I am a fool? Perhaps you are a bounty hunter, someone unsavory found out I practice a branch of herbalism aye? No, the amount of trust you share with myself is not shared, at least not yet. I give you my word, I do not intend to kill anyone this night.” Azrael picked up his scythe and took up a fighting stance, “One way to prove your word and find out if my word has value. You must consume that vial of poison. If you do not complete this, I will have to assume you are a bounty hunter who kills any thief in your way in hopes you blindly find the correct one. I give you my word that between the two of us, no one will die. Drink the poison or prepare for battle.” Azrael shown no fear as he choked up on his scythe. Blade ready to slice through any opponent or would be bounty hunter or theif. He found the compromise to be fair, no one could truly be trusted in the hostile city of Sunberth.

[Paul Ares]

Drink the posion or fight for fun? No one would die? What's the point of fighting if your not allowed to attain complete victory? Not to mention that the only thing a fight determines is who is the most motivated to win. So this warrior saw himself as too good to finish a mugger, but saw himself as superior to Ares? It mattered little to him. He had no qualms about death, and so opened the vial and swallowed its contents saying"What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we cannot cross to the abbyss that seperates us from ourselves?" The liquid was bitter, and instantly numbed his taste buds. At first nothing happened to ares, then suddenly his vision swam, and his heart rate quickened. So this was the feeling of approaching death? Funny but Ares remembered reading a book written by a monk, the subject matter being, death and the process of dying, he explained the steps of your system shutting down." Death is our common destiny, I live for the thrill of death... So be it." The first step being the outer dissolution, which is when you experience your senses cease to function, and looking at the figure before him again he could only make out the man's outline, and he could hear his voice but could not decipher the words. then loss of physical power, and at the very moment the thought sprang to mind, Ares plummeted to the ground, his head felt heave as he tried to lift it, and it felt as if a heavy weight pressed down on his chest and at this stage Ares lost conciousness.His final thought being, a warrior dies but once, but a coward dies a thousand times over

[Azrael Solomon]

(Place Holder)

[Azrael Solomon]

The ocean spray had begun to rise as the sound of the ocean roared fierce like a lion. The moon’s rays glistened off the ocean surface as the glassy water was agitated by the waves caused by the monster beneath its surface. The sand, cool to the touch, comforted Azrael’s feet that ached from travel. He watched as Ares uncorked the vial and in one chug, without a hint of hesitation, he swallowed its liquid. Perhaps Ares was a worth adversary, but most of all Azrael found that the man had a sense of loyalty or was easy to trick. He watched as Ares began to do the dance of death, which made Azrael’s eyes crook. A snicker came from his mouth as Ares’s body seemed to lie flat and shut down. He began to laugh when he watched the man attempt to lift his limbs but couldn’t. Or so he thought at least. Azrael dropped the fighting stance and buried the staff of his scythe into the sand once again. He leaned on his weapon for support as his cackle began to echo off the thick leaves of the brush behind him. After a moment of silence tainted by Azrael’s laugh, he straightened up and recomposed himself. He knew by the way the body died that the poison was most definitely a weak poison. The stuff that actually can kill tends to come in stages. Azrael’s gloved hands came up and began to meet each other in applause. “Bravo bravo, I needed a bit of theater in my life!” Azrael’s foot moved up to nudge Ares. Ares could feel the touch to suggest that he was in fact okay. “Now get up you jester. That was a terrific performance, completely convincing! Now that you have proven to me you have trust in me to not kill you, I have no choice to take you up on your offer of housing. Besides, sand and sea cliff caves get old quick comrade.” Azrael picked up his scythe and set it in the ground next to Ares, it was his offer of a hand up from the cool sand beneath the body. Bit of OOC: Ares, I couldn’t kill you without a moderator. One thing to note about Azrael is he is cynical, sadistic and loves to play mind games. What Azrael was doing in the last post was A) Seeing if you’d choose something potentially deadly when you could probably take up combat and prove your worth other ways B) he wanted to see if his deduction and assumption about the poison were correct, C) in the event he was wrong he found a free test subject to observe how the poison effects the body and then at a later time attempt and figure out what was the poison. Anyway, we may continue just as planned if you wish. But I warn you, Azrael has selfish intentions and it isn’t below him to throw a monkey wrench at you, just to watch you squirm and figure a way out of chaos. That goes with any crime group, hell any group on Mizahar. Azrael, will Fyou up if the opportunity and right reasons arise.

[Azrael Solomon]

When the man didn't respond to him he didn't mind. He lifted his scythe and collected his belongings. He didn't bother to search the body for anything of value, why add insult to injury when he might have accidentally persuaded a man to commit suicide. But if the man was in fact dead at least he seemed to pass peacefully. The man fixed his cloak before he looked around to make sure no one else had watched the little encounter. The ocean waves crashed and foamed along the sand. The ocean spray heavy in the air as the wind blew to sea and caused a thin veil of mist over the inky black. As the night progressed while Azrael searched for a spot to rest in nature's shelter, the surf grew choppier. A storm must have grown out at sea and only was confirmed when a flash turned the black water momentarily a brilliant silver. The crash of the waves moved in land inch by inch. Soon the cool water lapped at one of the body's feet. Azrael made haste and found a nice dug out along one of the cliffs. It wasn't a cave, perhaps a heavy boulder once occupied the indent in the cliff face. He studied the rock face of the cliff as he adjusted his pack across his chest. He brought a hand up to a notch in the stone and flexed his muscles to test the stability of the small ledge. One of his feet left the ground and soon found something to push up on. The ledge was slanted only slightly, which helped Azrael keep his balance as he began to slowly climb. He knew this was probably not the smartest idea as the surface began to move further and further inland. The storm approached land as it crawled across the heavenly plain of existence. Stone by stone he climbed to his possible shelter. He reached for another notch in the cliff, but fumbled as the earth gave way from under his fingers. His sharp nails scraped at the rock as he began to slide down the cliff face. But those strong fingers soon found grip again and he continued his climb into the indent of earth. He pulled himself into the shelter and was pleased to find it had several candles set up at the back. He wasn't the first to call the cliff home. The surf had risen to a point where it began to move some of the lifeless or knocked out bodies. Their bodies settled in the smooth, cool, sand faced toward sea as if ready to be swallowed by the black, glassy monster that was the ocean. Azrael took off his cloak and spread it out over the face, just in time to block the beginnings of a gentle drizzle. Soon the rain started to fall as if the heavens opened up and summoned forth a land wide water fall. The noise of the rain deafened and echoed throughout the dug out. It was going to be a wet night for Azrael as he waited for the sun to rise again.

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I'm going to close this thread. I'm not sure were Paul left and if he returns, we may continue in another thread. But for now, this is done.

[Archelon]

Thread Award "..." And the Results!!!!: Paul : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Observation 1 Intimidation 1 Lores: Lores Azrael(poor) Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : interesting thread sorry it ended so soon..(