Generic Foresty Thing [Open]

Twilight | Time seemed  to stand  still liked a withheld breath as the sun slowly dipped over the horizon, painting the skies in hues of orange and gold. Looming  clouds list  lazily across the open canvas those plumes  turning purple and blue as the last  remnants of those rays slowly  fade-- with the passing of day, came  night and soon the forest  below  was cast into darkness. The air was still save for a gentle eastward gale which rippled softly through the veins of towering trees. Branches rattled  and groaned  as if in  protest, their leaves  rustling with a gentle sway  as  the very earth  shifts  and foliage  sweeping across these planes like sand upon the dunes. Ever changing. Soft, were the tune of the nightingale their songs serenading the surrounding woods. A soothing calmness  which seemed to reflect the state of the forest. All was still, or so it would appear. When gazed  upon at a distance one was able to admire the great vastness of the woods a seemingly endless sea of emerald. Places yet to be discovered and truths yet to be found. Long arching tress, cast undulating shadows upon the ground appearing jagged and rigged like claws grasping at the surface of the earth. A path ran its way through the forest, like a bridge from one town to the next it winds through the uneven terrain allowing ease of travel [by carriage or foot].

Currently moving through the forest was a small squad of Dorian troops. Lead by their commander Analeska Deker, Anna was a tall and lithe woman. Well toned as a soldier of her caliber should be, with a long sword at her side, and armor meant for scouting surrounding her and her large black wings. Her wings had metal plating running along the outer wing bones, which projected a shimmering force field around them. She lead a detachment of twenty troops, all flanked out into the tree's and going about their business of making sure nothing surprised the commander.

Anna continued to scan the area, looking for anything that seemed to be a threat. She had been sent out here to scout for potential resources, as well as keep an eye on the local populous. She however wasn't stupid, she knew she could be walking into an enemy trap. So she had brought twenty of her best troops, and equipped herself with a few new toys. The scouts on the farthest end of the circle she moved in continued to report any new activity, she herself was expanding out her senses as the Priest had taught her. Set out a mobile field, scan every potential resource, not it using the on board AI in correlation with the map, and then keep moving.

"If I could find a rift, maybe the Emperor would give me command of the company." Her troops did not necessarily agree with her, but they nodded in agreement. Something of that caliber could catapult any soldiers career in the emperor's eye's.

Off the  beaten path, the forest was just  like any other trees  spread  in abundance  they seemed  to stand  in unison, unnaturally so, as if soldiers protecting the boundaries of the forest that were divided  by  the road . The soft  hoots of an owl  pervades the night air, followed by   the  sudden  rustling  of feathers as it takes  flight to avoid  the commotion brewing below. The Dorian Empire, or rather what was to be a small representation . Their  presence was not  lost upon the  forest.

One by one secrets were exposed--- by those scans -- revealing  an abundance of natural resources  yet to be tapped. Though perhaps not  entirely what the commander was looking for, not yet at least.

The air seemed to thicken as they  ventured deeper still  into uncharted territories, trees  appeared crooked  and bent  as if  the very nature of this  place was twisted at its core. They arched  over  the various  paths seeming to glower over the  intruders -- their  branches grasping and  clawing at those  who unwittingly  walked into  them.

A solitary, silver orb, tracked their  progress from above  seeming  as if to  glow  in the darkness , a black mass sitting  up in a tree.  The  being  remained motionless, allowing the  group to  pass  until  the  one that was  presumably  the Leader  passed  underneath, and  in a single  motion the  being -falls- from the tree, bounds  of cloth cascading behind h him like water over the crest of a hill, landing  weightlessly  upon the ground behind her in a slight crouch.  

'It  would be unwise to venture further.'  a soft, child-like  voice  called out to her. Though  it was  unassuming, and easily overheard and even as he offered that warning,  there came a loud and  bone chilling scream. One of the soldiers? Only time  would tell.

The boy turned his  head  slightly in the direction of the noise as he rose to his full height of around 39 inches. He donned a simple  black  cloak which appeared several sizes too large as if made for an adult, and that fabric pooled about  his feet --giving the small Child an almost formless  indiscernible  appearance. The fabric frayed and torn whipped out like the embers of a flame carried by that  subtle breeze. Face covered by the shade of a hood, but beyond  that  a porcelain mask expressionless and with only a single slit  over the left eye.  

Regardless of the source the message was clear. [leave now  or suffer the same fate]. The victim would be  found  standing at the center of a small clearing. Their eyes having been removed  from their sockets their face contorted  in horror,  drained of color and wrinkled, no  longer recognizable as the man  they  once were and soon  their  body would crumble still within its clothing  leaving  behind  nothing but a pile of ash.

The boy uttered a single word:'Inferus,' The Face Snatcher, one of  three forest guardians, who like the trees around them had become warped with animosity  towards men.. and that hatred spread   like venom which  poisoned  these lands. The creature possessed  the power to peer into the hearts of  men, their wants, their  desires, and their fears. How then would  they  react  when faced by the creature who appeared  before them as a lover and a friend?  

The creature was long  gone  by the time  anyone  arrived at the scene-- opportunistic   by nature it stalked  the surrounding  woods. Watching ... waiting...

For a while now, Fenris had sent the Ultonis to explore the woodlands and establish a presence. The resources of such a biome were worth protecting. The Ultonis were perfect for this job, as they excelled in such environments. And working at night, was an even greater boon to them.

They glided like silent shadows, their grav-harnesses allowing them to leap from branch to branch, and no matter how thin or brittle maintain their balance upon them without them breaking. Their hazard-gear covering them against foreign intrusion of biological agents.

They had come because they had scouted the Dorian Troops. The Ultonis would be all too happy to give the Dorians a warm-welcome, but it seemed someone had beaten them to the punch. The leader of the squad signaled for them to hang back and observe, each of them taking up a perch that in relation to each other allowed them cover all their blind-spots, and maximize the effectiveness of their vantage-points.

Their were only 8 in total, moving to surround the area where they had seen the event. Their bows out, and arrows nocked. They stuck to the shadows hidden by foliage, and their sound muffled by their harnesses. Their cloaks also camo'd with the environment, however they did not have their actual cloaking fields on. They waited vigilant to the dangers now present.

One of her troops was the first to note the yell, the information traveling through the interwoven netwrok between each soldiers gear and finally to their commander. Anna issued a non-verbal command to collect everyone within eye sight. Collapsing the spore field to a much smaller range, however this would increase the power of the spore field each soldier generated. Resources had been noted on her mental map which linked up with the nearest command station.

The being which warned her not to travel forward, would be given enough room to move about however, Anna would speak in a calm and respectful voice. "What can you tell us of what lies ahead?" Zeldrians didn't mess around where the safety of their soldiers were concerned. She saw the porcelain mask of the child and couldn't help but grin. It reminded her of her Emperor when he spoke to the people. The soldiers raised their guns, unlatching the safeties on the advanced looking assault rifles, and letting the active spore batteries take hold. Squad one took point, Squad four protected the rear, while two and three flanked out and spread out. Each of the five troops along the side set their guns to differing spore macros for the widest possible distribution of punishment should they meet an enemy.

Once they moved in to find the killed being which burnt down to a crisp everyone began to look around with worry. Analeska stood in the center, hands crossed under her breasts. She didn't need to ponder the meaning, but simply needed to wonder who did it. Celesin could of been to blame of course, but they never were the kind to kill innocent civilians. Then again, who knew what this person had been before. She called out as she readied any neccesary defensive macros for her troops, her mind opening the door to the hold of Feng Rex, and saturating the air with it's nature, spreading out as far as she could. "My name is Analeska Deker of the Dorian Empire, Daughter of the First Sword. Be you friend, we request permission to scout this area for the good of our needy people. Be you foe, I demand you show yourself to face me in honorable combat." Anna may be a good commander, and great at keeping her troops safe, but Zeldrian pride died hard. She had just announced her position to the Ultonis and whatever else was here.

Speaking of Ultonis, should any of her troops come within roughly thirty feet of a hiding Ultonis, their stealth would be unmasked as the spore field each soldier generated would react to them. If they somehow were within thirty feet of Anna and didn't trigger the spore field for some reason, the Hold of Feng Rex would detect their presence, after all it was attuned to the elemental plane of Air, and their very presence would be registered in the commanders mind. If they didn't show themselves problems might be coming.

The child remained motionless, fallen  leaves swirling about his presence before they settled upon the awaiting earth a bed  of foliage which had already  accumulated there. That solitary orb looked over he female, first drawn to her wings and that strange  glow which seemed  to   project from them, finally his gaze  met her own as she turned to address  him. Though the greeting was something  unexpected. The child's presence was usually  dismissed or he was usually addressed in  a condescending manner. A faint glimmer streaked across the surface of glass, chin tipping slightly  back. Locks of silver hair brushing over the surface of his would -be-face. Lips curl slightly beneath the  mask  offering the female a warmed smile though  she would only be met  with those red painted lips. Stoic in its depiction.

He  was immediately  drawn  to her by her mannerism, the way in which she spoke,  feeling that he could trust her...   even though the way in which  child had introduced himself almost implied that  he may have had something to do with the dangers that lie ahead. Usually  greeted in disdain  or dismissed entirely, many  were wary of the  child. Despite the ambiguous form however the ill-definition  of a lithe frame could be made out beneath abundance of cloth. Reluctant at first he finally broke the silence   'A creature..' it was a mere whisper as if speaking of the beast would somehow  summon it  from its hiding. 'Used to tend to these woods and nurture them..  though now only knows darkness. It's able to copy faces and uses this to ambush its pray...' That mask the child word, was likely the reason that he had yet been spared. Now that that she knew how it hunted  would she have a way to counter it?  And indeed the forest  around them seemed to have been neglected by  the spirits of old, the trees slumped and desaturated,  appeared as husks themselves, like the lifeless form of the man that stood before them, before fading to dust.

'I think it can still be saved.. that men and nature can live as they once have..' his voice was almost pleading, innocently as  a child who knew not the greed of men's hearts..  

And as Analeska   expanded her senses; she would indeed feel the presence of the creature that lurked about  in the shadows [as well as something else... something dark that inhabited the very trees around them] -- though it did not appear  before  them as she commands. No, the forests  was not bound by their laws. It merely waits like a silent  predator stalking its pray, until the  moment  presented  for it to strike. Branches of trees  rattled once more as wind pushed against their tops.--  It carried a  distant voice  -- a silent whisper. 'Leave this place and be spared, you are not welcome here.'

Anna smiled serenely at their new traveling companions words as they came to the clearing. It took faces? Well that could be easily remedied. The immediate order to mask up was given. Any soldier without a mask was to be seen as an enemy. Within the blink of an eye the smart fibers of her own commanders uniform would expand and cover her face in a helmet not unlike her own fathers bird of prey war helm. It fit her better, since she had wings and he did not. She was taking no chances, and as such every single one of her troops would don their own masks. She heard the words of hope from their guide and seemed to be very intrigued by this thing. She was not against making a new ally if she could, respecting nature was not impossible for her and her kind. Their entire scientific development was after all based around biological technology as a fuel source. This may bring answers, and new avenues of thought outside of the dangerous spindle spores they currently employed in Dorian.

A ping of the forest and multiple other contacts would ring out in her mind. There was something that would need to be investigated. However before she could think of a way to address the larger presence the eight smaller presences would now be on the offensive. She registered multiple contacts coming at high velocity in her direction. To slow to be bullets or other faster projectiles, but much to fast and small to be people. She moved on instinct towards the small being, crouching low and wrapping her wings around both her and the masked guide. The flashbangs would stun her senses for a moment, her instincts forcing her to grab on and protect the masked being. The frag grenades however would smack into the ground around them. The explosion of concussive force and shrapnel rocking her from side to side. The actual payload of shrapnel would find her wings and be deflected by the force field with a bit of effort. Once the moment had passed she stood up and released the guide. Her hand moved towards her hip where she drew forth a slim long sword in the blink of an eye. Her demeanor had changed from understanding and willing to parley, to something resembling rage.

Cowards. She hated cowards. Lowest of the low. She reviewed the information fed to her by the spore field, the method of their retreat could not be determined as the field didn't move out that far to where the Grav Harness may of attached itself to something for quick retreat, but the speed and accuracy of their movement made her believe it was Celesin, breaking their word. After they had all worked together in Nexxian, after she had personally given the order to minimize their own casualties and not take advantage of the confusion to get a few kills in. Unheard orders were given to her four squads, basically telling them to keep their eye's open and look for more cowards tactics. They were a mere eight, and they were twenty and one. The advantage was the attackers, as they most likely knew the terrain better.

Her troops closest to the direction that the Alis had fled would activate their own personal shields, and keep their spore fields at a lower concentration for maximum power. Though this would give them less time to react, they would be better defensively. Those two squads moved to follow, at a slow pace, but ready to fight the moment contact was made. The most forward squad not pursuing the Alis would move closer to the commander and begin to set up a small beacon on the ground, while the final guard now spread out all around them waiting for them to come back for the commander.

Anna spoke to the masked being. "If you can communicate with this thing, I suggest you ask it to focus its attention on our unwelcome guests. They want nothing more than to destroy and enslave this world. Nothing will be safe from them. They are the enemies of all life. Nature and Civilization alike." She spoke to get this young creature to understand her as much as the thing which spoke through the air. She wouldn't leave until she could get to the bottom of both mysteries.

A soldier made a motion that showed the beacon would be set up unless something interrupted them. She spoke now, to make sure anything listening in would hear her. "If anything strikes again, I will be requesting reinforcements directly from Sydokai. We may have hostile contacts, information we have gathered suggests either hyper fast natives, or Celesin." She grinned and continued to channel her holds power through her body, the very air around her crackling with electricity as it mingled with the spore field.

The child continued  to walk alongside the commander, fabric  bunching slightly beneath  his feet though despite the hindrance he moved with a sort of practiced step that may have seemed odd for most children. Chin tipped  upward, revealing that glass surface  and those  silver locks which framed either side of the face. Those  features were  expressionless, though if she could somehow gaze through the surface of the mask she would notice the slim smile  that stretched across his face. It was not often that one regarded the child's words  so seriously  and  it was almost odd in a way how willing she was to adhere to his advice  even though that they had only  just met a few moments ago. Nor did he seem that concerned about their presence of the  shoulders, despite being alone amidst the group of 20 armed men--- though they small group  were not allowed much time to  ponder over the body before they were attacked. A group  of unknown Assailants who used the shadows to their advantage almost as the creature itself.

Seemingly  aqueous  material  billows outward in response to the oncoming projectiles, though before he  had  much of a chance to react his  lithe frame was easily envelope under the protection of Anna wrapped almost completely by  her wings-- and it was well that she did since the boy did not appear to have any way of protecting himself. Any touch would have dispelled the almost shapeless form  of the creature revealing the  form  of the child beneath  who appeared to be around the age of  five of six. Even his voice seemed to conceal his identity. Chin tips backwards, offering the female an almost confused glance  as debris and dirt pelted   against  the barrier. Though it seemed that the two of them had  made it out unscathed. And as the dust settled  he briefly  glanced about to examine  the scene, noting the two craters which had been created due to the impact of those arrows, a couple of trees had  toppled as well their branches creaking and snapping  as they crossed over the now baron patch of land.

"T-thank you.." he  offered, somewhat surprised by the sudden turn of events. "It might be too late for that.." He replied plainly, though there was a certain doubt within his voice that was not there before as if the confidence to wander about these parts  had wavered slightly.
Soon however, an eerie silence fell over the area. There came no response from the  disembodied  voice  however a dark and  unsettling  presence  formed and  the faint outline of a person could be made  out among the tree line it stood there. Four  dark red orbs peering out at the party. Slowly  it  emerged,  appearing as some strange humanoid creature though as it stepped out into the Alis-made-clearing  its  form became apparent under the pale lunar glow. It had what seemed the body of a spider  with six elongated legs that appeared  like spears themselves, two  long  spindly arms which protrude from its shoulders.. from its human torso that say on the body of a spider, its faceless  features gazing out over the now masked  company.

The Arachnid seemed for a moment that it might not  do anything.. dark particles slowly forming around it like a cloud of miasma.   Then a loud screech rippled through the trees which  amplified noise. Its intentions obviously  to stun those  who had heard it. Then it darted towards those soldiers who remained present,  weaving expertly through the trees  like a spider upon its web, those long legs attempting to batter anyone who may happen to get in the way.

---Meanwhile ---

The  role Alis  had to play in the commotion did not go unnoticed by -The Forest- and the presence which had previously  been hiding within the trees  became apparent. ClickClickClick .. the soft rattling of joints echoed  loudly throughout the surrounding forests. Something had awakened, the very wind itself  stirred and the being  manifested itself  in the form of bright crimson  leaves that swirled upon the air, before it shot off  like a lance in the direction that the arrows had originated from and would  attempt to pursue those  that had assaulted the lands.  Its presence tapping into the vast network of trees, a faint pulse that radiates  through their branches and roots alike like the faint beating of a heart attempting  to track their  route of escape. It would proceed to chase them  until it either caught up to them or they had managed to escape well beyond those twisted trees. [that seeming to be the extent of its influence] And unlike the blind-rage of Inferus, it was something entirely different something cold   and with obvious intent.