Never Surrender

Grave spread his wings to take flight after her. "Agreed. We may only pray the nights events take place in our favor." The unsettling sense nagged at Grave's mind as they traveled. That such a threat would arise in the form of pages and ink... The unfavorable reception they were met with was no surprise. The majority of the world's dominant races were on hostile terms; and small armies of each had gathered in one area. Grave surveyed the forces, arms crossed, making a quick soul count and gauging the atmosphere. "The same could be said for myself... Hm. If you insist." He calmly responded to Seclusion's assertion for him to speak. He unfolded his arms and stepped forward.

"If you have come of your own will then I need not explain to you the importance of this mission. The ritual itself is destined to fail; it is of low concern. Anarchist groups of this nature are not unknown to these lands, but this particular sect possesses a most dangerous tome: the Ninkah. The threat posed by whatever manner of foe you may encounter, be they soldier or beast, is infinitesimal compared to the devastation the spells of that book. That is the primary target." The soldiers before him were listening intently, though the tension had yet to lessen. These were the warriors who knew of this task's consequences and were willing to temporarily put aside their differences. Even for but one night.

Grave ran through the soldiers' positioning with a few of their choice leaders. At the very least, coordination was at an all-time high. Soon after, the troops set off for their designated areas. Once hidden, they would lie in wait and watch for Seclusion's or Grave's signal to begin their attack. Once they had gone, Grave turned to her. "I assume you have readied a point of entry; I've observed your proficiency of doing so in the past."

Seclusion smiled at him "Of course I have" she said to him and pointed out where they would be entering "They won't guard and unknown entrance, these ruins were part of another settlement of my race so I know them very well" she said to him "But unfortunately, I need to be extra careful round these ruins, if I get ticked off too much, Grave you better run as far as you can" she said to him quietly. "they'll all know to stay away from me regardless"

When they were all ready she split them into small groups and got them to mingle as well so that the demons and angels could cover each others weaknesses before she directed them to the ruins staying in the shadows of the doorway and getting Grave to help dictate which group went at which times.

Grave followed Seclusion to the infiltration point, directing the troops to maintain their positions until they could get a visual on the target. He swiftly moved through the darkness to stand at the doorway, opposite of Seclusion. He peered inside from around the corner. The area itself was vast thanks to its loss of complete buildings. Dilapidated structures and time-weathered stone littered the once thriving city of Wilheim. The landscape did well to provide cover for the soldiers' advance. For now, however, Grave still could not see the ritual's location. "..." He signaled to Seclusion that he would move forward.

Dashing from cover to cover, Grave made his way toward the city's center; or, what was left of it. The paved roads had been cracked by earth and root, and the large fountain that once adorned the city's epicenter had all but crumbled away. That was of little concern at the moment. Now, a large group of individuals from every race stood surrounding the fountain. A tall figure, visibly female, wearing a thick brown cloak stood on the fountain's remains. She held something in her hand and was chanting a foreign incantation. The object she held was a book carrying a very sinister aura about it. The Ninkah.

Grave was about to signal for the troops' advance when that wary feeling struck him again. He looked through the people standing around the fountain. They were indeed alive and carried souls, but they all stood eerily still. As if they were not breathing. What's more, the holder of the cursed book was undoubtedly female. Were they not told by the contact that his 'Master' was a male? This didn't feel right... The Soul Demon signaled to Seclusion once more, this time to quietly relay message.

"Something is very wrong. Be on your absolute guard."

Seclusion noticed Grave's signal and replied back "Same goes to you Grave" she smirked and turned her attention to the book and it's holder, she acted carefully and cautious. Her moved quiet and subtle even her wings stayed deathly still, even her breath. "They won't be able to complete the ritual" she whispered to Grave "They're missing both our races so it will not work, at least I do not think it will." she said silently to him before she began to direct different groups into different areas and warning them to be silent.

However, like Grave had said something was seriously wrong, there were guards that had not yet been noticed by them both, something was hiding them.

Grave readied himself to attack when a deafening sound broke his concentration. A shockwave of air erupted from the cloaked woman in all directions. The gust washed over the remnants of the city and flowed through both Grave and Seclusion. They would feel a powerful energy blow by them, but feel otherwise unaffected by it. Grave looked around quickly to gauge the shockwave's effect. From a distance, he could see the soldiers they had in place stood eerily still. They were still alive, but frozen in place. Even the dust kicked up by the shockwave appeared to be frozen in time. This scene looked distressingly familiar... Looking back to the fountain, Grave noticed it was now covered in demonic seals; they were identical to the one they had encountered in that city frozen by magics.

"Damn...!" Grave cursed as the guards, who had been in hiding, flew from cover and began to slaughter the helpless soldiers. The cloaked woman pointed her finger toward Grave and Seclusion's hiding places respectively. The crowd standing around the fountain rushed them in a battle-crazed frenzy, weapons drawn.

Seclusion snarled lightly when the guards jumped out of hiding and began to slaughter the other soldiers. She looked to Grave as the woman pointed towards their hiding space "Seems we've been found Grave" she whispered and Deadly turned into a scythe suddenly and blocked an attack. "Now then seems it's time we fight" she smirked and angling her blade she beheaded one of them and stood up, proud as ever and looked to her "Now then oh woman of mystery, care to give a name?" she smirked and looked to the woman before she stretched open her wings before lunging at her in an effort to try and see who it was.

The cloaked woman looked in Seclusion's direction and concealed the Ninkah beneath her robe. "Oh, but that would be far too dangerous..." At the last moment the woman darted forward, barely brushing Seclusion without actually attacking. As soon as the two made contact, a faint glow appeared underneath the woman's cloak. She stood upright and turned to face Seclusion. "Giving my name would spell death for me, you see." She lifted her hands to her hood and removed it, revealing a face identical to Seclusion's. "So I think I'll borrow yours for a while." A doppelganger spell, likely taken from the cursed book. The 'fake Seclusion' extended her hand to materialize a scythe in her grasp.

Grave was having an easy enough time fending off the attackers, extending soul spikes and claws at different targets. A very big problem quickly arose. Every foe he 'killed' regenerated their lost limbs and healed their injuries. Quickly. Furthermore, the soldiers they had lost were beginning to do the same, and fight for the opposing side. This was a sort of necromancy Grave had yet to encounter. Such powerful spells existed in one book? The situation was not looking good...

Seclusion watched and gave an uninterested look "Well you see, Seclusion isn't my name, it's was lost long ago" she chuckled and held Deadly "Also the fake is never as good as the original" she said and made the first move telling Grave not to get involved for several reasons Seclusion moved once more blocking most of the attacked and lunged to pin her down and get to the throat.

the soldiers began to try and get to the others having the same problems as Grave. Seclusion growled when she failed taking a hit and then tried to get to her again still

The 'fake Seclusion' responded to her real counterpart in a similar tone to her own. "Names aren't important. I like it better that way." Her movements began to slowly sync with Seclusion's, as if she were quickly learning her opponent's movements and mannerisms. She was fast; dangerously so. Her strikes either matched Seclusion's or drew too close for comfort.

Grave's fight was quickly becoming a one-sided affair. As their forces fell, the enemy's number of soldiers grew. Their chances at escape were dwindling, but that wasn't his objective. They still needed to retrieve the book. Rather than focusing on actually defeating the opposing forces, an endeavor that would prove far too tiresome anyway, he aimed to stall the mass of attackers for now.

"Those idiots" she said annoyed and knocked out her double before she shouted out commands "Get that book you idiots" she then moved quickly yo try and grab the book but ended up getting caught in trouble so instead Deadly took the book and began to shred it.
Seclusion turned back and the double was up moving she headed back and fought with her daggers instead, she knew her own scythe well to the point she knew how to block it's attacks. "Grave can you get to Deadly, I think she has it" she whispered when she ended up back to back with the soul demon.

"Of course." Grave confirmed before dashing through the foes to catch up with Deadly. He took care to cut through the book and any stray pages with soul spikes. The 'fake' regained consciousness quickly and caught her fall. Noticing the book was already gone, she threw up her hand in signal.

"About time... Hold!" The soldiers ceased their advance but continued to attack. The doppelganger shot the three a smug look before sprouting wings identical to Seclusion's. "Thanks for that! See you around..." With that, she took flight at an incredible speed. Grave was about to give chase when an adjacent enemy sunk a spear into his left wing. With a pained grunt, he turned to block another attack. The rest of the forces continued to attempt overwhelming the assassins with their numbers.

"You needn't ask." Grave rose quickly to his feet to resume the battle. It almost seemed like a completely different fight than before. With the book's pages shredded and the doppelganger gone, the soldiers began to actually stay dead after being slain. As their numbers dwindled, Grave couldn't help but think how easy this was becoming. It was obviously a diversion to deter them from following. However, why had the woman seem so smug as she left? And what of the supposed 'male' leader he was expecting? He didn't like the conclusions he was beginning to draw...

The battle finally came to a close, leaving the assassins amidst a sea of red. There were no souls, as Grave expected. Each of the corpses fell to the ground without surrendering their souls, leaving him in a weary and battered state. The hole in his wing remained and his injuries were many. Still, he carried himself with the determination to move on. "This... was an utter loss. Though the book was destroyed, the enemy was not deterred. We mustn't let her travel far." Grave walked uneasily, far from being in any shape to fly.

Grave wearily held himself upright and looked through the surviving allies. "We depart for our respective homesteads and track the doppelganger. There is little doubt they will strike soon, confident in their recent victory." The soldiers exchanged distrusting and angered expressions, clearly indignant of their own fallen men. Grave continued. "Lashing out at one another now will only forestall your own country's preparation for what may come. If you choose not to report to your superiors, only more of your own peoples' lives will be lost." There was a long pause accompanied by a stagnant air of malicious apprehension.


To his surprise, the soldiers slowly began to disperse. It appeared that, angry as they were, reason was not truly lost upon them. Grave felt his wing on its mended area. "My thanks." He sighed before contemplating their next move. "A fine mess this has become... We musn't allow her to travel too far. Who knows the extent of her plan..."