Inquisition (Plot Villain)

[Veran]

A glorious day over Lake Hylia. The winds were mild and the lake was calm. The strong sun hung high in the sky and caused the lake waters to glitter. You would assume that if children were at play, this would be the best time. They could freely enjoy the weather and the great swimming that Lake Hylia is known for. But that is far from the truth for on this day Lake Hylia was a place that any sane individual would want to be far away from.

The clap of hooves smacking the ground echoed off the walls of earth surrounding the lake. Each pound as if a warning that something sinister was riding straight toward the lake. The horse was nothing spectacular; a brown stud with spots. The knight riding it, however, was darker than night. Light seemed to be absorbed into his armor as if it was made of dark matter. The red shock of the knight's helm's plume shot directly into the air and down his neck. His helm was angular to match the long spikes and blades that accented the rest of the black steel. Hanging from the saddle was a sword longer than two men, ready to be drawn at any moment to glide through anyone nearby.

Approaching the edge of the water, the Black Knight reered back on the reigns and the horse went up two its back legs before slamming back down. His helm turned from left to right and then left again, even ordering the horse to do a circle. Was he searching for something?

"It is here!" he shouted at the end of a spin. "I can feel it. Right here. Right where he said it was. But where?! Come out! Come out!"

As if commanded, the sky flashed a bright blue. A whalesong came from the gigantic leviathan floating overhead. Its blue body glistened in the sun briefly, but the Knight noticed that it was actually transparent. It floated there in the sky for short while, twisting and turning its serpentine body. Without notice it shot down at the Dark Knight!

A blade as long as a Goron is tall emerged from the saddle. The steel sliced through the monster's body, but oddly enough the blade met no resistance. As if the leviathan was made of smoke, the Knight's blade passed through with ease and it disappeared into nothing. The Knight paused, stunned at the aftermath of that quick battle.

"My, that was exciting!"

[Rules: Up to 4 member slots available. You cannot be participating in another plot thread. I will be posting at least every 24 hours. The grounds for ejection from the thread are being skipped twice in a row or three times total. This isn't to be mean, but to ensure thread completion and to maybe get someone else involved who can be more active. Casual battle style.]

[Kulau]

Kulau was exercising in the water when he heard the thunder of the hooves. Immediately he ducked down under the water and swam quickly away from the hooves, hiding behind an island jetting out of the lake. He watched the knight and the leviathan do "battle" stunned at what was occurring.

What in the name of Nayru?[/color] he thought to himself, watching this black knight as he slew the leviathan. He didn't want any part of this man, he just radiated an evil aura. Perhaps he was jumping to conclusions at a man wearing armor that was absorbing the light, but he could tell this was bad news. Instead, he ducked back down into the water, slowly approaching the black knight from under the water, quickly searching for a vantage point.

[youkai]

Youkai had been enjoying the calm winds around Lake Hylia. It was his day off of duty and he had decided to bring Swift to the lake in order to celebrate the fact that Sir Wilder had lifted the ban on his powers. It had been months since he was allowed to manipulate his element and he had come to the lake in order to do some well needed practicing. In fact the wind in the area was slightly more calm before his arrival. As he re-familiarized himself with his ability, Swift enjoyed the beautiful surrounding view of the lake, once in a while taking a drink of its water.

This peaceful and relaxing training session was cut short when Swift's ears perked up. He had heard the hooves of the Black Knight's horse before Youkai's half Hylian ears could. Sensing from his wolf companion that there was trouble, Youkai grabbed the Howling Fang he had set by a tree and mounted it on his back. Swift did not like what he was hearing, and Youkai trusted his friend's intuition. A battle was about to begin, one that could change Hyrule for the worst.

Hiding within the tree's and bushes surrounding the Lake, Youkai and Swift witnessed the quick battle that took place between the Black Knight and the creature from the lake. As of right now he couldn't tell what the Knight's intentions were, so he decided to sit back and assess the situation as it happened. It was something he was very good at doing. Swift's instincts however told him exactly what this intruder was. He was an enemy, and it took every but if the young wolf's willpower to obey his masters orders and stand down for the time being.

[Volkin]

A couple hundred yards away from the lake, Volkin was visiting his family after having received an urgent message via the mail man. He had rushed home as soon as possible to find that his father had fallen ill. Thankfully he had recovered a great deal since Volkin had received the letter and the situation was not nearly so dire as they had initially thought.

It was a few hours before he was about to head back to the ship when he heard the commotion of the knight and the leviathan fighting. Volkin climbed out of the burrow and looked back to his parents. "I'm going to go check it out. Mother, get Father back further into the forest." He said, forcing a sound of authority that he did not feel.

Once he was sure that his parents were heading away from the danger, he gathered his weapons and began sprinting through the forest. "What?!" He took a step back at the sight of the knight but did not run. This was his home and what sort of adventurer would he be if he couldn't even defend the place where he grew up?

[Fane]

Fane watched as the Dark Knight killed the Leviathan with a single swipe of his blade. Interesting; normally, Fane would see if he could employ this thing of amazing skill. Someone such as this could definitely deal some major damage to any foes that would emerge against Fane. Things were never that easy though, were they? As Fane watched the knight, the whole picture slowly came into view. This knight was dark, evil, and it was seemingly obvious.

Standing up, he looked around the area, noting to himself that there were three others here. Fane wasn’t normally one for jumping headfirst into justice and serving it on a hot plate of kick ass, but today, he found the idea that this knight would be worth a bounty at least fancy.

“Fun.”

[Veran]

(OOC: There is no posting order.)

Still stunned at the results from that rather simple fight, the Knight scanned the lake for any other ghostly creatures that needed slaying.

"What silly purpose did that serve?" the man asked himself gruffly as he slid the lengthy sword into its sheath alongside the horse. "Was it a guardian, perhaps? Ugh, nevermind that! I must find it! I will sow the seeds of discord once again!"

At this point the knight threw up his guantlet above his head. Dark blue energy akin to a flame gathered there. It started out no larger than a fruit, but jumped in size over and over again within a short period of time until it was larger than a car. With great force and anger, the Knight flicked his arm forward and the giant sphere catapulted into the center of the lake. Water briefly plumed as it struck, but immediately a pillar of blue flame spiraled up and high into the sky and instantly turned the water that made contact with it into steam.

"Respond to my darkness! Answer to my call!"

The Knight had no idea he was being watched.

[Kulau]

Kulau couldn't believe his eyes. This man had created a pillar of flame, right into Lake Hylia. He thought to put a stop to it, but he couldn't. He was just one man, against all that power what could he do. He was conflicted, as he approached the shore, he wanted to leap out and confront the man, but he needed something, a distraction, a cover, something to give him the upper hand.

Wait a minute, that was it.

Ability Activate: Fog Cloud

As the fog crept out of the water, much like the steam was from the pillar of fire, Kulau crept out with it. He attempted to move to gain an advantage against the Black Knight before he struck his first blow.

[youkai]

Youkai's eyes widened as the Knight made his move against....the lake. A blue flame erupted from the center of what was once a beautiful lake. Youkai couldn't stand for this. The destruction of his kingdoms largest landmark. As a Knight sworn to protect Hyrule he would now make his presence known.

He nodded at Swift and without hesitation the Wolf made his charge toward the Black knight, using the seemingly random fog as his cover. Swift was just the right height to be concealed by the thickness of the low creeping fog. Youkai himself picked up The Howling Fang and disassembled it. Holding the main Sword in his hand, he used his wind manipulation to cause the other swords to float around him at a convenient distance should he require to grab one. He walked out of his hiding spot behind the trees and took flight. he figured that he would have the advantage if he attacked from the air.

"Razor wind!" He shouted out the name of his ability as air began to move around him forming two disk like blades of sharply compressed air. The two projectiles were launched toward the Knight. Even he if were to block them, he would at least be distracted by the advancing wolf who for the moment was targeting the Knight's horse.

[Razor Wind(x2) was cast for a (2) post cool down]

[Volkin]

Volkin watched in silence as the pillar of fire formed at the lake. His eyes went wide and he took a step back, momentarily terrified until he realized what was at stake. If this man could do that, then what would he do to the forest around it? He couldn't let this man touch the forest, his home.

As soon as he saw Youkai and his wolf start charging for the knight he drew his sword and dagger and sprinted around toward the back of the knight, hoping that the other two would keep him distracted long enough for him to do what he was thinking.

Volkin closed in on the back of the horse and kept a close eye on it's feet as he lashed out with both the sword and the dagger and aimed to sever the tendons in the back of its knees. If he could knock out the horse's mobility then the knight would have to dismount and they would be on more even terms.

[Fane]

Despite their exemplified bravery, Fane figured the Hylian Knight had the better idea. As the pillar of fire appeared, it was obvious that the Dark Knights attention was fully fixated on it, or something in its direction. He was not in the slightest bit meaning to look for surrounding foes, or even aware of the four watching him. So far, Fane figured none of these soldiers were actually aware of him, which could prove useful. Taking a few steps closer, he drew Veritas, the golden trimmed ebony flintlock pistol, twin to Aequitas.

Raising it to eye level, he aimed and prepared to fire when a small fog rolled in, blocking his eyesight of the foe. Grunting, Fane put the flintlock back in its holster, and watched as the actions before him played out. With a full spring at this decreased elevation, he could reach the Knight in a matter of moments. From where he was now, he could fire a shot and have about an 85% chance of hitting the knight. The odds were good, and with surprise on his side, despite the other men revealing themselves so soon and attacking, Fane awaited.

As soon as the third man pitched in, Fane knew he had to jump in soon. Not too soon though. Patience was a virtue for reason. Watching from the shadows, he watched as the Hylian Knights wind based attack projected at the Knight, exactly where the mysterious fog had appeared. Fane was not dumb. It was a matter of intelligent processed thinking that would lead anyone to one conclusion, that something intentionally caused that fog, and it wasn’t the Hylian Knight. The Fog may be providing cover, but it also blocked Fane from shooting his pistol, and possibly dealing major damage to an unsuspecting foe.

Hm….Fane.

The snow haired man remained focused on the battle as the voice of Valen, the poe trapped within his blade Aarondite called out. What?

Razor wind will most likely dissipate that fog and push it out. As of right now, that Knight will not be able to see you through the fog surrounding him. When it is removed from the area, shoot. If it is not removed, you’ll have to compromise.

Fane immediately drew his gun Veritas once more, and aimed it where he suspected the foe to be. IF the fog is dissipated by the attack Razor Wind, Fane will aim and shoot. If not, he will holster his gun and stay put, hidden by shadows.

[Veran]

And without any legitimate reason, everyone mobilized for a kill. Can't a guy throw a flame into a lake in peace? Only the fishes were harmed, after all! Maybe he was hungry!

The Knight watched and tapped his metallic finger on his leg. The Holy Grail that he had been searching for was right here. Right where he was told to be! But why wasn't it responding to his power? His command? Had he been lied to?

When the bank of fog rolled out of no where, the Knight paid little attention to it. After all the pillar of blue flame was pumping out steam pretty heavily, so it was natural that fog was to be found. Especially over a lake. Little did he know that warriors were running amok.

Kulau was shifting within the white shadows, awaiting his chance to strike.

Swift, the wolf, was advancing at a high speed. Its paws struck the ground silently within the mist and was advancing at high speeds. Ready to totally destroy the Knight's steed, but all for naught. Before the beast was within range, Volkin burst through the mist and with one mighty slash cut off both rear legs. Just as fast as the legs struck the ground so did the horse.

Now mounted on a useless horse and without any idea where these attacks were coming from, the Knight grabbed his sword and jumped high into the air. Just as he did so blades of air cut through the fog. As they spun, they shredded the horse to pieces and it let out a single cry before there wasn't enough left of it to continue living.

With a short 'cuhklink' the Knight landed right where he once was. He pointed his long sword to the bank, ready to take on anyone that dared to come out.

"My, aren't you brave!" he called. "There is no beauty in cowardice! Striking a lone soldier as myself with a group? What rats! How humiliating for you!" His mocking was followed with a laugh.

A laugh that was cut short. 'PING!' A bullet struck his helm and blood spurt out the other end. As if a statue, the Knight remained standing for a few seconds as his laugh faded away until finally his body fell to the earth. More blood pooled from his helm to the earth below and mingled with the remains of his beloved horse. The Knight died alongside his horse; as he should.

And just like that, the battle with the Black Knight had been won.

[Volkin]

"I'm not a rat! I'm a weasel!" He turned on the knight with swords ready to strike him down only to have him fall from a shot to the head. "...." He stared at the knight and his horse, blinking a few times and looking around somewhat awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

He looked to those who had also attacked and looked down at himself. "Do I really look like a rat? People have been making that mistake a lot lately. Ah well." Volkin shrugged once and wiped the bloody swords on his pant-legs before beginning to search the knight, looking for anything that might be of value. It did bother him, however, that such a knight could be defeated in one blow. It just didn't feel right.

[youkai]

Youkai landed softly next to the corpse of the Knight and his steed. Swift regrouped to his master's side, rather than sniffing at the bloody remains like a wild wolf would have done. Youkai stood speechless at what had just happened. He had no idea there were others that were going to confront the Black Knight. He wanted answers before he passed the judgment of death. His attacks were not meant to be fatal, which was why he had shouted and revealed himself to the Knight so openly.

He cursed under his breath as guilt began to overwhelm him. He quickly turned to the three individuals that were his accomplice to this borderline murder. He recognized his friend Ambassador Kulau. He knew he wasn't a fighter so he most likely had little to do with the actual death of the Knight, though it did explain the thickness of the fog. That left the other two, not to mention himself. One was a minish, who despite the bloodshed in front of him was simply complaining about the insult the Black Knight had made. Such immaturity... Youkai thought to himself.

His gaze then fell upon a human who had a pistol in hand. He was the one who delivered the killing blow. Youkai grew frustrated. "Why did you use lethal force!?" He asked the man in a stern voice. "We had no idea what his intentions were! I wanted to question him!" He began putting together The Howling Wolf as he grabbed the floating swords around him and reattached them back to the main one. He looked toward Kulau. Surely his friend would agree with Youkai's anger. For all they knew the Knight was here in order to fight a greater evil. Stranger things have happened at this very lake.

The Knight stared angrily at the two who assisted in the death of the black Knight. Yes, Youkai could not fully deflect the blame from himself. If he had not distracted the Knight, perhaps he would still be alive right now. "Did it ever occur to you that perhaps the Knight was here to fight something far darker than he?"

[Fane]

Fane watched as it all played out, and as the Knights horrendous laugh echoed out, it was cut short by a well aimed and directed shot. Fane quickly began walking forth, reloading Veritas, then placing it back in its respective holster. He wanted to search the knight as well, remove his helmet and see what remained of his head. Youkai began running his mouth, clearly upset by the outcome.

“Should of acted quicker. Knight.”

He muttered, spitting on the ground after he finished saying Knight. A Hylian Knight such as himself should have simply walked up and questioned him instead of sending out attacks. Besides, lethal force was the best. It didn’t actually feel awkward to Fane that this man was dead that easy. He rather believed it and enjoyed it. A Bullet to the head was fierce.

"And yes, it did. I thought about it, and decided I didn't give a shit." Standing a few feet from the Hylian Knight, his hands rested on his flintlock pistols, ready to pull them from the holsters whenever.

Fane. Kill this squandering Knight. Valens voice resonated through his head.

Shut up. Killing isn't that easy.

[Kulau]

Kulau emerged from the fog and...the knight fell. He left his battle stance and looked around. He then noticed Lord Youkai being upset with a mysterious man and his pistols. He made a motion towards the two, shaking his head and suggesting they stop.

"Peace, Lord Youkai. Save it for when this is over. I doubt this man wasn't serving a larger purpose." He looked around at the landscape, watching the steam and fog dissipate.

"Be on your guard, this isn't over." He then looked over to see the weasel looting the corpse. He walked over and started to confront the Minish.

"Don't desecrate the dead. Leave him for now, we have more important things to worry about."

[Veran]

...Or so they thought.

Without notice the corpse lurched up and into the air, tearing away from anyone that had been frisking the body. It did a full backflip midair and landed swiftly twenty feet away from the group. As if nothing had happened, the Knight once again pointed his 12 foot long blade at the group.

"That kinda hurt! Hah hah hah! But you have no idea the consequences of your actions! Fools! My, what failures! Can't kill one poor measly little man with a group of 4? Oh, wait! You already have! Hah hah hah!"

As more blood poured from his helm and down over his breastplate, the Knight scooped some up and allowed it to fall between his fingers. He again laughed at it as if it was nothing.

"Ugly worms," he called, flicking the blood off his hand as a more serious tone took over. "You've now soiled this body and delayed my search. I will pay you back in kind."

Each warrior's shadow began to stretch. Slowly the shadows rose into the air and took form. Beside each warrior now was their shadow. With red eyes and a black form, the copies were perfect. They retained every strength, weakness, and power of their counterpart. The only difference was that their killing intent was way larger. Even the mutt now had a dark wolf standing beside it.

Dark Kulau shifted into a battle stance and got ready to strike Kulau. Dark Fane pointed Veritas and Aequitas at Fane, ready to pull the trigger. Dark Youkai held Howling Fang across its body, but pointed forward at Youkai. Dark Swift bared its black teeth as it growled at Swift. In each hand, Dark Volkin held a blade, awaiting the chance to leap forward at Volkin.

"Dispose of them."

[Kulau]

Kulau had barely finished his statement when the body rose back up and mocked the group. When that was done, Kiulau found himself face to face with Dark Kulau, who was poised to strike. Only a beat behind was Kulau himself, shifting back to battle stance. He waited for Dark Kulau to make the first strike, intending to parry and strike back at the foul abomination. He certainly picked a fine day to go for a swim, that was for certain.

"I shall not lose this fight. Fall, incarnation of evil" he declared to his shadow.

[Fane]

Fane stood bewildered as the mass of darkness rose and the Knight recovered from a shot to the head. What was under that damned helmet? Perhaps it was the assumption that the shadows intent to kill was far greater, but then one didn’t know Fane. Certainly, it didn’t know Valen, and that was the shadows disadvantage. The input and strategic direction of Valen could not be replicated through the shadows head. It was literally right beside Fane, with both pistols drawn and ready to fire.

Its first mistake; use your blade.

Fane did not wait like Kulau. No sir, he immediately dropped his hand and gripped Aarondite, bending his knee’s and swooping forth underneath the guns. It was close enough for a sword, meaning the gun was a mistake to pull. Immediately, as he drew the blade, he lifted it horizontally above his head somewhat, aiming to catch both of the shadows drawn guns up with a push, to assure he was not shot. His left hand pulled back, and a whirl of demonic energy centered in his hand.

Using Demonic Pulse, he gave a thrust with his left hand as the rippling energy tore around his palm. They were so close, and the energy was pure magic. If his hand hit, the explosion would hopefully tear the shadow to shreds, as the attack was a pure powerhouse of energy. If not, he would close his fingers and allow the powerful blast to push forth, dealing less damage but still hitting the shadow most likely.

What the hell is this Valen?

Concentrate. Kill first, then ask

[youkai]

Youkai had given the human a glance of distrust. His attitude was troublesome, however whats done was done. The Knight would not give Fane the light of day by responding to his disrespect. Nodding at Kulau's words he prepared to sheath his Howling Fang on his back, however just as he was about to do so the man they had just killed sprung back to life with blood still gushing from his wound.

Rather than detaching his sword he held the Howling fang in its full complete glory. The massive sword was not as long as the Black Knights however its thickness and durability was more than enough to match. Suddenly however, Youkai learned that for now his enemy was not the Knight but a shadow of himself. A more aggressive version for sure. Dark Youkai wasted no time in attacking with his just as dark Howling Fang. Youkai lifted his sword to meet the Dark entity as the two large weapons of steel clashed with a loud crack of metal on metal impact.

Swift too had problems of his own. The two canines growled at each other before the more aggressive Dark Swift lunged at its counter-part with no mercy. The two wolves tumbled and wrestled, both evenly matched in a battle for bestial survival.

The two Youkai's were equally matched as well, matching each other blow for blow. Jumping back Youkai cursed under his breath as Dark Youkai gave a sinister smirk and continued his assault. Youkai knew the advantages of the Howling Fang so he had an obvious upper hand. Taking apart his sword once more, the Knight held the two back blades of the sword while the other blades floated around him in easy reach. His quickness bested the slow moving completed Dark Howling Fang as Youkai easily dodged and parried until he saw a opening to thrust one of the back blades into the stomach of his Dark Counter-part. Nothing ever beats the original! he thought to himself, grabbing one of the dagger blades from above him. He took careful aim and when he had a clear shot, he expertly through it at Dark Swift, piercing its skull just as it was about to bite Swift.

With the two shadows taken care of, Youkai faced the Black Knight with confidence. Swift regrouped with his master, bringing the thrown dagger with him, letting the wind take it from its mouth and return it to its brother blades. He turned to check on Kulau, if his good friend needed help, he would lend it.

[Razor Wind is now availiable for use again]

[Volkin]

He got up into a kneel as the knight hopped up. Volkin wasn't surprised that it had happened, although he was somewhat surprised that the knight hadn't outright attacked him. That feeling didn't last long as he noticed his shadow moving to form a darker version of himself.

He grinned a humorless sort of grin and got to his feet, picking his sword and dagger back up as he did so. Before the knight could give his order, Volkin was off, charging headfirst and aiming both swords at the shadow's chest, ready to knock the shadow's swords away if need be.

At least that's what would be seen, those around would be able to see Volkin atttack and hear him moving and the shadow would be able to feel the attack. Volkin, however, was using his Illusion ability to trick the senses. As the illusion moved in to attack from the front, the real Volkin slid around to the side and plunged the sword into the shadow's back and the dagger through the back of its neck, twisting both of them before pulling them out to the sides, aiming to rip through whatever it was made of. Sure, that thing might have more killing intent, but Volkin was fighting to protect his home and his family, there were very few things that could motivate someone to fight such as that.