2918/Trial: The Striking Tree

Trial: The Striking Tree
Date of Scene:	29 August 2015
Location:	Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
Synopsis:	Ramuh, Lord of Levin, casts his judgment upon Eorzea's heroes.
Cast of Characters:	255, 367, 626, 627, 642, 666, 756, 815, N'raha Tia, 823, 826, 829, 834
Tinyplot:	The Six Crystals Of Light

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Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    It's an emergency! Or so the Scions and the Seedseers claim, when they send the call to the Adventurers' Guild, that they may get ahold of... well, muscle. Aetheric readings through the Black Shroud have gone a bit crazy, and it's all lightning-aspected, hinting the time has finally come to stop talking about Ramuh and start dealing with him.

    The EAST SHROUD is the same as ever, but the sky is a dark grey, despite it being mid-day. Flashes of blue and purple occasionally illuminate it, and what few bolts of lightning can be seen through the clouds, seem to be striking a single location in the North of the Sylphlands. Tempered Sylphs will bar your way through, though, and so the Scions are unhappy to say they'll need to secure the area for you. That's unhappy because frankly it won't look good to Ramuh. They'll get it done nonlethally though. Just head north from the Hut, follow the Scions.

    Waiting for you at the WARP GATE (and AETHERYTE CRYSTAL) of the Hawthorne Hut is ELDER SEEDSEER KAN-E-SENNA, the blonde teenager patient in her white robes, carrying a large white staff. She'd said she didn't want to interfere-- just watch, unless she became needed. With her already is ALWYN (and anyone else who wants to have gotten here early).

    The travel North is not a long one; you'll pass through trees and shortcuts, finding occasionally Tempered Sylphs (small purple plant people!) that have been tied up, but not killed. And eventually, the noises of battle become louder, and more obvious.

    There is a tree, a massive tree, with what looks like it could be an almost as high stone platform, or maybe it's another tree that got cut into a make-shift tower, a ramp spiraling up its side. At its base is a very large blue crystal, and a lot of symbols, the most prominent of which is a lightning bolt in a purple circle.

    SCIONS are holding the area. YDA (human, wears white hat and black metal visor over her eyes, female, seems to be a monk), Y'SHTOLA (catgirl, obvious healer) and PAPALYMO (lalafell, tiny person, black robes, shooting fireballs around) are holding the frontline with assorted uniformed volunteers (namely, one could recognize LIAVINNE in the mix, using blunt arrows to help push Sylphs back). Near the crystal are URIANGER (tall elezen (elf) judging from the ears making points in his hood, robed from head to toe, YES HE LEFT THE WAKING SANDS FOR THIS) and THANCRED (human, short white hair, looks like the ladykiller type with his cool black shirt).

    The situation could be better, but right now it's as clear as it'll get. The Seedseer will point towards the crystal, Urianger and Thancred, saying that's obviously where they want to be, if nobody else has.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
BERTRAM (hyur, tall, looks like a lumberjack, wears white robes) has gone ahead towards the Sylphlands and joins the group once they catch up. He's been assisting the Scions until that point, but when the group arrives he points towards the Crystal. "I'm fairly confident that's where the Lord of Levin is located. We must needs head there at once. Pray make haste." He sounds extremely serious and somewhat on edge.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    SO HE'S NOT A CUTE CATGIRL OKAY DON'T ALL DROOL OVER Y'SHTOLA okay maybe a little drooling.

    N'raha is here, clad in what's now coming to be well worn and salty plundered platemail, his inferno axe up and blocking, as he does his best to stand between the Scions and the Sylphs. He is likewise On Edge, his tail all the way fluffed out, his expression serious and shrouded under that helmet. He starts backing up though as the others arrive.

    Apparently he's a Light Warrior, so he's got Duties to perform.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Na`Sabal-Une has been... honestly around a fair amount lately. She had a vested interest in the land of Hydaelyn now, due to the fact that its nature was so deeply wounded. So she'd been visiting off and on. Instead of having to come from off-world, she was actually at the adventurer's guild to hear the call for aid!

     So it wasn't long before Nasa was off on her way to the Hawthorne Hut, making use of the warp gate to get to it -- she still wasn't entirely certain about attuning to the Aetheryte Crystals just yet. If they'd even work for her, and all that! The whole 'being from a different world' thing. She met up with Kan-E-Senna and offers a polite bow of her head towards her.

     As they travel north, she looks towards the Tempered Sylphs quietly, noting that they've been tied up. ...Which was probably for the best. They were fae. Even if they seemed unseelie. And... soon, they were at the giant tree and high stone platform! Scions and Sylphs fighting on a frontline that looked almost like war. She moves quickly over towards Orianger and Thancred when they're directed towards the crystal and those two. "What is plan to being?" She asks, fluttering her wings. It's a good thing she is distinctly not a plant person, or she might be easy to mistake for a Tempered Sylph.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    It has been stated that the Primals have the ability to Temper - essentially brainwash, to Valentha's understanding - 'lesser creatures.' So it is that Valentha responds to the call for help with all due haste and her Mind Block at full strength. Not even surface thoughts leak from her. Nothing's getting in and nothing's coming out.

    Would that she could only extend this protection to others. The journey to the great tree is filled with enough examples of just why, much to her horror each time she sees one of the tied up Sylphs.

    "There better be a good reason for all this mayhem. I've got a piece of my mind to give this so-called Primal, and he's gonna choke on it." Valentha exclaims upon reaching the tree.

    She does grin at some of the figures around though. There's no shortage of good-looking people in these parts, even by her not-really-human standards. Ah well.

    "Who's SUMMONING him anyways I've not seen any signs of a serious ritual..."

    If she can figure out what ritual is involved in summoning a Primal, that might lead to an advantage down the line. She is intensely interested in figuring out how it's done. Even if it's only in abstract. She's well aware of how dangerous summoning magic is.

    It's why she's never learned it.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    It's a day they've long expected, but still a somewhat ominous one to have to actually face. It is for that very reason that Setsuko has come; she would not leave this situation to anyone else, for a variety of reasons including her own responsibility in the matter. As soon as she arrives in the Hawthorne Hut, the demigod is greeted by enough important and familiar faces to know that it's happening. She gives Kan-E-Senna, Yda and Papalymo a polite bow of the head, and regards Thancred, Y'shtola and Urianger with more than a little curiosity, being new faces.

    Liavinne gets a very cold, lingering stare.

    "I do not mean to alarm those present," Setsuko says as they approach the crystal, "But battle is inevitable. I can sense it from here. I still intend to speak with Lord Ramuh and see what can come of it, but have your weapons with you and ready." It is a grim truth of her existence that sometimes, she has to be the one to tell people that a fight can't be avoided. And yet, she muses as she raises a hand to the purple aetheryte crystal, she'll try anyway. Foolish, probably. But necessary nonetheless.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    The East Shroud has become welcomly familiar to Kyra over the past few months. The rainy weather in stark contrast of the endless, massive forest would never stop being a novelty to the Galiandan. Though right now she can easily sense the imbalance in the forest and the raging lightning-aspected aether currently saturating the region. She follows the Scions, determined and resolute. She'll even provide them some support as they nonlethally disable tempered Sylphs.

    Though the whole time she does, she errs on the safe side and uses nothing but her potions and mixtures to heal and buff.

    She takes a picture or two of the Sylphs and sends them to Biteblade, curious as to what her plant person friend would say about non-Floran plant people.

    Kyra seems not all that reluctant to approach the crystal, doing so as she wears her forehead-mounted camera. The camera, of course, is on and streaming the feed directly to the Light Warriors (the school club version) MogTube channel. "Do you think Ramuh will reason with us? Everything I've heard about Primals describes them as pretty hostile." Kyra directs her question at Setsuko.

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
    MARISA KIRISAME has come when summoned and promised the opportunity to fight another of Eorzea's ridiculous god-monster-things. After all, those sorts of things have been empirically proven to guard some really awesome loot, and she is nothing if not a fan of loot.

    Her traversal of the trail to their destination is arguably easier than most anyone else in the group. It's hard to beat being able to just fly around to wherever you need to go, after all. She sails over the brambles and through the woods with all the agility of an expert broom-flier, sailing around and between obstacles with a whistling song on her lips and a fistful of laser in her... fists.

    She's not alone, either! There's a heavy tome strapped to her hip, and ~mysteriously~, a girl even younger than Marisa herself seems to materialize on her broom from time to time. Who is this mysterious waif!?

    "Eh, if he talks, he talks. If he doesn't, we kick his ass, THEN we talk," Marisa chimes, her lips pulling up into a great, toothy grin. "It'll be fine, it'll be fine! Just don't worry and get ready for a brawl, and everything'll be just dandy."

The girl on her broom says nothing, but her eyes betray a mild but prolonged sense of disbelief about this whole situation.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    It's an emergency! That sounds pretty important.

    Thusly, Shin is here. Albeit, he's Shin, so while he's taking the summons pretty seriously, he's also kinda hyperactive and a bit overeager. He'll pretty eagerly dash his way towards the area where people are gathering up to deal with the tree.

    He's notably not saying much, despite the pretty eager posture and attitude he has. It's not for any reason greater than simply lacking anything really dramatic to input. He rocks on his feet a bit as people start gathering, rolling and popping his shoulders and back, occasionally stretching an arm or a leg out or up to warm up for the fight.

    Eventually, though, he does speak, "Fight or not, it needs to get handled. Can't just have people getting all uppity and summoning ancient power and shit all willy-nilly. Pretty much everything I've ever read marks it as a bad idea."

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    There's not much to say about this situation. In terms of an 'Emergency', they had been preparing for this sort of thing. Setting up scenarios and conditions of victory. If things came to a head, well, that's what they had been starting up fo-ooooookay that's a big tree.

    Mirielle is dressed not in her school clothes but instead a dark robe that stops short of the ground, revealing heavy shoes for tromping around in a forest. Also because robes that drag on the ground are stupid as hell in a forest. An undrawn hood and a long, straight staff with a crescent upon the top completes her outfit, classic 'magic caster' gear, if samey and drab.

    She arrives a little late, gasping and panting at the foot of the rest of the party, pressing her staff deeply into the soft forest earth and gasping for air. "Why did I... run here? Well, I mean, providing the profile of a rider is bad, but... still!" She complains. "I came as fast as I could, but..."

    Mirielle looks about ready to fall the fsk over.

    "I'll be fine in a moment..."

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     And then comes Xiao, plodding behind Mirielle without much urgency to her pace whatsoever. She's wearing a white labcoat and a blue cheongsam under it with her hair done up in a lazy updo rather than her usual buns. Her arms are folded into her sleeves casually. "Oh. Well it looks like everyone is here." No Xiao, you're late.

     A pause. A looks around.

     "And I do mean everyone." She cracked an amused smile at that.

     The scientist's eyes settled onto the tree, observing it's overall design. "...Elaborate." To say the least.

     She briefly considered how she was going to gather data on Ramuh without the proper tech though... A lightning bolt would fry her computer, tablet, and phone, if she dared to bring any of them out...

     "Pen and paper it is~" And without further ado, a notepad and a pen were produced from her sleeves, all smiles and waiting for things to move along.

     No urgency at all.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Ramuh.

     The mere name evokes a myriad of thoughts from Landon al Cid, *Prince* of Ramuh. It calls to mind ancestral memories of an ancient war, the sound of thunder in the pounding rain, the flash of lightning in the ionized air, and the tingle of electricity that runs through his body. It brings forth images of sweeping towers under the furious storm, of humekind's dominion over - and cooperation with - the elements, and of the wisdom to know when to act rather than how. And, evidently, to the people of this world, it evokes the fear of might, the thunderous power of a dark force, and an enemy to be struck down.

     Landon isn't quite sure how he feels about that. On the one hand, this is not his world, not his Ramuh, unless the continent has learned or decided to change its attitude at some point over eight thousand years, not to mention figured out how to switch from 'living' to 'dead'. And also learned how to transverse worlds with a city on its back. And...

     It's safer just to assume that some things echo across dimensions, Landon decides.

     The Prince of Ramuh has come dressed in his full regalia - the silvery Judge Armor, the long purple cape, and the massive, crystalline Judge Blade. He is well aware that metal conducts electricity, but when you've lived most of your life wearing full plate mail, you tend not to care about little details like that. Disrupting his own flow would be more dangerous than wearing rubber, and he highly doubted that something as simple as basic logic would stop a god-being from shocking him anyway.

     The Prince pays little attention to the battle formation. He's been seeing war formations for the last two months, as nonstop battles with the Shivans keep both sides on the edge. Another one is basically second nature to him now. His eyes are also slightly more distant than people might remember, a little bit less eager and a little bit more...experienced. Aware. Still, he is the Prince, and outside that small change, nothing gives him away. His smile is still broad, and his stance is confident, and his walk is the walk of one born to rule and well-educated in the task, fully capable of combat both on and off the battlefield.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The winds of the Shroud wail, the storm rising in propitiation to the ancient Lord of Levin.

He finds it... Appropriate. There is no delay at the Warpgate. Souji Murasame approaches with purpose and speed, providing the most cursory of pleasantries, his mind already focused razor-sharp on the oncoming conflict.

He concurs with Kaminiagi. Battle is inevitable. But not just battle...

Judgement. That was always Ramuh's purview, and he doubts it has changed here. He arrives at the summoning-place, and looks over the Scions holding the area, nodding to them as well. There is nothing more for him to say that hasn't already been said. He saves his breath, and prepares for the inevitable.

Until Landon arrives. He looks to one side, his gaze flicking to the al Cid scion. "Prince Landon." Souji greets, tersely. "This will be interesting."

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Liavinne gives a friendly wave and smile to Setsuko! Heeeey bestie, she's not nearly drunk enough for the hostilities right now! And on the way, the Seedseer would comment how lively you people are. Not that it's bad.

    Gathering up before the large blue crystal, the fact it's overcharged with magic becomes obvious. The quantity of Aether present here could indeed fuel something very powerful, like a summoning. Or it already has, and it's slowly being drained.

    Urianger and Thancred turn to face the arrivals, the latter grinning. "Well! The Elder Seedseer herself, and that's quite a lot of adventurers. But, say, Bertram, you didn't say you were travelling with young ladies," he says, scooting towards XIAO. "Pray introduce us! My name is Thancred, pleasure to meet you." He reaches for her hand, knees, does the entire polite greeting dance.

    Urianger rolls his eyes, but since he's wearing goggles you can't see that. The Elezen step forward, motioning towards the crystal. "I fear the Lord of Levin is already here. These readings are too powerful to be anything but. This way, qui--"

    A thump, like a heart beat.
    A ripple through the Aether, and an overwhelming force approaches.

    A pillar of blinding blue-white light crashes before the crystal, causing Urianger to back away and fall in line with the gathered group. A stern, male voice echoes from within the massive lightning bolt.

    "Thine aura betrays thee, servants of Hydaelyn."

    The light clears away, revealing RAMUH. He's about twenty, maybe twenty-five foot tall. An old man, with glowing red eyes, and a massive beard longer than his robes, practically as large as he is. Within one hand he grasps a long red staff, and his black robes are lined with dark bronze, forming into armor around the shoulders and collar. He floats off the ground, glancing sternly at all gathered.

    Bertram, Alwyn and N'raha might even feel his comment was aimed at them, specifically. He turns to gaze at Setsuko. "Thou bringeth war to this forest." Then he turns to Xiao, Souji, Landon and Kyra. "And amongst thee I sense a connection to mine own existence."

    He pauses, examining the group.

    "I am Ramuh, guardian of the children of the forest. Under the persecution of men have my children cried out to me. Ever have they only wanted to live in peace, alone, and ever has man sought to trespass. Now I find thee, invading the heart of their homes."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    In a heartbeat, Setsuko's arm comes up to shield her eyes. And in the instant she lowers it, she is greeted with the sight of a towering, robed humanoid whose very existence crackles with power, with lightning. It is such that even she can sense it.

    And in response to his condemnation, to the hostility of his greeting to her in specific and all of them in general, Setsuko Kaminagi lowers herself into a deep, respectful bow.

    "Forgive us our tresspass, Lord Ramuh of the Sylphs. We sought only to speak with you in person. Our attempts to parley with your children have been rebuffed time and again, and we had no other recourse if we wished to avert bloodshed on both sides. Please, hear us out. We seek only peace, and your summoning to this forest is rooted in a misunderstanding. One which I am at the heart of."

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    "Dude! Look at that guy's fucking beard! He must know MAD Kung fu!"

    Shin declares as he points at Ramuh's beard with a single finger, "Or some magic bullshit, which would be much more boring than knowing wicked kung fu." Shin looks at Ramuh and shouts, "HEY! Is your beard indicative of Kung Fu or Magic? Probably magic, because, you know, the robes and magic staff, but I can kinda hope it's wicked Kung fu!"

    Shin shrugs a bit and then rubs the back of his head. He debates on what to say to Ramuh, really, and seems uncertain of if he should answer or let the others. There's a couple people he recognizes, like the Nerd Mage and the Loud Mage, plus the regular crew that attends these. He scratches his head a few more moments.

    He decides against it and reins in his usual impulsiveness to the people that wanna take point can.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    There is a lot going on right now but let's just chalk it all down to N'raha being slightly overwhelemed by the turn out, doing his best totry and keep ahead of allllllll of it...

    And promptly loosing all of that delicately gathered poise as Ramuh is summoned. He staggers, lurches at the sensation. His being is tied to this creature, this primal, and the sensation is smothering. Alwyn and Bertram may have done this sort of thing in the past, facing down primals, but this is... this is something far past anything the catman would have been dreaming of right now.

    That said, he's being addressed, and he swallows, straightens up, and in full view of aparently all of Kyra's Facespace Moogledrome followers, calls out. "We may be servants, but as... S-setsuko says, we have tried to reason with your Sylphs and they simply... There has been a lot of war here, and we'e trying to put this all right again, sir." 'Sir' what the crap N'raha did that come out of your mouth?"

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Liavinne, Thancred... Uranger. Each is carefully taken note of. Nasa's eyes briefly flit over Thancred as he addresses Xiao and reaches for her hand. She shakes her head slightly as she focuses on Uranger, fluttering forward. "...Does see..." Thumb. Thumb-thumb. Magic? Nasa's eyes trail around, looking up towards the source. And then... there was that pillar of blinding blue-white. Nasa /screeches/.

     And she backs up, quickly covering her eyes with both hands. The spits out a string of words in the Drow tongue, the gist of it being something along the lines of 'Ow fuck my eyes why is there always a bright light goddess I should have expected this from a lightning god and brought protection'. ... She calms herself relatively quickly as the pain and blindness begins to fade, squinting as she looks up towards Ramuh. She takes a small breath as she looks up towards Ramuh.

     And then she speaks clearly and crisply, "I am Na`Sabal-Une Of The Fang. I am the guardian of the Forest of another land. We do not come with wishes of battle, we come to hopefully soothe the potential battle and war brewing by seeking the heart of the danger." She murmurs, taking a deep breath as she lowers her fingers, twitching and flicking them a bit. And then... darkness falls over her eyes, a black mist to help protect herself from further blinding.

     She flutters back a bit as Setsuko begins to talk, as she knew more of the situation than Nasa. Hopefully them having a Guardian of the Forest here, even if not /his/ forest... might help calm things? Slightly? Maybe? Right now, she wasn't planning on or initiating any spells beyond that shade of darkness over her own face.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertram steps forward, instinctively reaching for the Crystal of Light that he has been given by the Sylphs, holding it in front of him and humbly making a simple statement. "Pray forgive us for our invasion, Lord of Levin. I am Bertram Silent. We know you seek only the protection of the Sylphs, but we seek audience to see if conflict can be avoided." His robe shifts slightly, revealing a tattoo of Rhalgr the Destroyer's symbol. Inconvenient timing. He doesn't notice. "If your children had let us pass peacefully, we would not have done anything to harm then. Even now, we did everything we could to prevent any permanent harm."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji is about to snap something irritable to one side, given the ongoing discussion, when he is interrupted by the arrival of the Lord of Levin. His jaw clenches, and he braces himself, the thundercrash almost knocking him away from its intensity.

However, he holds, and Souji straightens, looking up at the Lord of Levin, his body straight as a steel pole. He cannot bend here, he cannot allow himself to show weakness. "Some of us hail from another universe, where our legends speak that another version of yourself had fashioned our land and created our people. I am Souji Murasame, and I bid greetings to you, Ramuh." He executes a bow. "We have come here not to wage war upon your people, but to entreat with you. The nature of coexistence is one of difficulty and compromise, something that ocasionally results in grave issues arising. The Sylphs have called you despite efforts to resolve these issues, and as such we must speak with you in order to determine the eventual fate of all who reside here."

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon is unsurprised by this. In fact, he's frighteningly unsurprised by this, at least visibly. Perhaps it's just royal instinct and training kicking in. Maybe underneath that calm surface, Landon is shocked as hell. It's hard to tell.

     "I am Landon al Cid of Galianda, Prince of the continent that is the body of Ramuh. In ages long past, in the world from which we come, another version of you gave birth to our people, in order to fight against the forces of an enemy that would purge all things for its own selfishness. That Ramuh gave his life for the world, and laid down to become a continent upon which his children might live."

     "You are - or a version of you is - our ancient ancestor, mighty Ramuh, Lord of the Lightning, Primarch of the Thundering Winds, Judgement Of The Endless Storm, and no words can do justice to the honor that is meeting you."

     Landon lowers his head and folds his hand over his heart. "Though we are not kin by blood, this tie apparently exists across dimensions. And though it be high arrogance to ask, Judgement Of The Endless Storm, I act on behalf of the innocent who will be caught up in a war between your children here and humekind, calling upon that thin and distant tie for mercy and wisdom. Even across the worlds, you are spoken of as one whose judgement, whose wisdom, whose knowledge is vast, carried frm distant sources by the wind and the water."

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
    Gensokyo is a land of spirits, monsters, demons and gods. Humanity lives there in tense peace with the supernatural. To say that its residents are... more familiar with these forces is not inaccurate. Marisa Kirisame, among almost all humans from that place, has come face to face with the supernatural more than nearly any other.

(It helps that, unlike certain shrine maidens, Marisa actually gets out and causes her own brand of trouble)

    Still, she can count on one hand the number of times she's encountered anything quite like Ramuh. There was the time in Makai, and again on Youkai Mountain, and again with the Buddhist. But in every situation, no matter what, one thing is constant.

There's always, ALWAYS a fight. And then tea.

Why would this be any different?

Well, he's talking first, at least. That's usually a good sign- but it doesn't mean that they're not going to be going into a proper tussle.

    Marisa sails on up to meet the massive Lord of Levin, hovering roughly at face-height. "W-wow," Marisa blinks, a silly smile on her face, "That beard is AWESOME. I've never seen anyone with a beard that massive! Uh. Ahem!" She clears her throat, coughing into a balled fist.

    "I'm Marisa Kirisame, a completely ordinary magician who is, coincidentally, the greatest laser witch to have ever lived! Good t' meet'cha!" Her grin sparkles even under the gathering storm clouds and the shadows of the trees, "I hear you're a pretty crazy wise spirit. Like, one of the wisest. You must know all kinds of awesome stuff! Maybe instead of doing a whole big deal of a fight, you and us can sit down and have some tea, or maybe some booze- I brought some, y'see." The girl on her broom perks up, and retrieves what looks like a big, ceramic jar from... somewhere. "And we can talk magic. Or martial arts. Or something."

    "'Course, I'm not really sure what brought you here, myself," she sing-songs, kicking her legs lazily from the sides of her broom, "But if it's somethin' that we need to brawl over, then maybe after, we can do the talky thing, eh? I'm pretty easy, I just don't usually talk to such a huge, be-bearded god-thing. It's a new experience for me! So, you know, should be fun. Whaddya say?"

Quiet girl peeks over the rim of her sealed jar with slightly wide eyes. "It's 'oni wine,'" she says, carefully. "Master says it's really good."

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Mirielle, as soon as she catches her breath, begin to cast spells. There's a cool green light around her, that flows into her staff as it changes to a pale blue light. Then, with a sigh, she releases the magic, a strange 'opposite' of the hair-standing-on-edge effect falling over herself. Then she begins to cast again, this time on N'raha. She repeats this, over and over, even as she lays out her tactical plan over the Linkpearl, before Urianger hurries them aside. She nearly is swallowed up by the effect of Ramuh's entrance, sqeezing off her cast and hurrying to the side as her own barometric sense goes from 'shit's heavy' to

    You Are Already Dead! ... at least from a weather point.

    Mirielle's knees buckle out then, as she looks up at Ramuh, and /feels/ the power of the primal.

    But, even on her knees, she can continue spamming out BarThunder. Her weather-sense is screaming at her that it's like wearing a windbreaker against a blizzard, but any protection is better than none.

    To Ramuh, she does not speak, instead averting her eyes to the ground. Nope. Nnnnope. Nopenopenope.

    Cast her spell, switch her target. Cast her spell, switch her target. Hopefully people will but her time so she can finish manually casting BarThunder on the entire group.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra steps back from the crystal as she senses just how burdened with magic the thing is right now. It does provide a good moment to reconvene with Mirielle and set up the needed buffs beforehand so when the encounter turned into a confrontation (and Kyra was certain it would if Setsuko said so), they would be ready to take on the wrath of the Primal. This consists of setting up the appropriate buffs. With Bertram and Mirielle handling the protective spells, Kyra loads a number of healing potions into her dartgun and arranges a number of debuffing mixtures she has on hand, ready to deploy them against Ramuh when the time comes.

    When Ramuh does arrive, Kyra stops fiddling with her gear and stares in awe. She could feel it, smell it, eminating from the Primal-a power that undeniably reminded her of home. Her fists ball up and raise to her mouth as she shivers, a tiny 'squee' escaping the white mage. This is followed by a gasp as he addresses the Ramuhans here today. "He /knows/!" she whispers.

    Eventually she gets herself together and manages to speak to the Primal with dignity. "Kyra Hyral, I'm also of the land of Ramuh. And it's like they say, Lord Ramuh! We're aware that the Shroud is out of balance and regret that it has grown to the point where you've been called forth to Judge. Surely there's a concession to be made, one where we can work together to restore the damage wrought by the Garleans?"

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     As they gathered up by the blue crystal, Xiao leaned forward a tad to observe it's form, as well as ascertain it's current state of being overcharged with magic. "My, this is interesting. It looks as if it's already...heh?" Xiao's musings were interrupted by the appearance of...who was this guy? He was in the way of her SCIENTIFIC MUSINGS.

     With her hand taken, the girl blinked once, and then twice, and looked around to make sure he wasn't actually talking to anyone else. "...Are you referring to me?" What nonsense is this? Go hit on Mirielle! ...Actually no. Kyra then! ...No that's worse. Maris-AHAHAHA no. LANDON!? ...Wait, the BL route is locked. SOUJI THEN. ...Wait same thing. Plus that was her boss. Kinda.

     Crap.

     Okay, how to deal with people 101: Smile and nod.

     And that's just what Xiao did. "A pleasure to meet you, Thancred." She finally replied politely. "My name is Xiao Li Yu. But it's good that you came, I wanted to ask-" Whatever she was going to ask was cut off at that. She could 'feel' something approaching.

     "So it begins." Xiao muttered as her attention was taken off of Thancred and towards the materializing Ramuh. She took her hand back at that, using it to shield her eyes a tad as he appeared. ...And wow he was tall. The scientist angled her gaze upwards to meet the gaze of the Primal.

     And while the others talked, she proceeded to scribble notes in her pad with a smile, looking up now and then. "Oh yes, hello Lord Ramuh. It's a pleasure to meet you. ...Well a version of you. As the others have said, we come from another world where you, are the ancestors of a certain race of people, and...well, they've already said it."

     She shrugged.

     Ahhh, she had a bunch of questions, but it would have bee inappropriate to ask them right now. Better let the discussion of the current situation take priority.

     Scribble scribble into her notepad again. A shame she couldn't use a recording device. Maybe if Kyra's didn't get fried, she'd get a copy from her. Maybe.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    Valentha is sensitive to magic. But even if she wasn't, so much saturates this place that her whole body tingles! ... Some of that might be static electricity though. Either way she throws a hand up to shield her eyes when the summoning reaches its climax... and she finds herself facing an enormous beard.

    A few moments later she actually spots the man BEHIND the beard.. and blinks.

    "....SpeccccccTACULAR." The blonde woman gasps, genuinely awed by the being's presence.

    "Greetings unto you, Lord Ramuh, and my deepest apologies for the trespass. Were the situation not so dire we would not be here." Gone is her hyper, 21st century geek demeanor. Like many others here she's adopted a grander, yet more respectful speaking style.

    Her actual manner, not the disguise. "Unfortunately I have little right to speak of the conflict the others do, having not enough time to learn the full details, but I stand with them as an ally nonetheless, and wish to converse on other matters when the time arises."

    A few moments later, she blurts out, unable to help it, "That is a MAGNIFICENT beard."

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    "Peace? PEACE? Thine claims of peace are but fleeting words, the act of barricading one's home before the storm. As thou wouldst have peace of my children, where art thy reciprocity? Men march upon the Twelveswood from the North-East, hailing a banner of technology and conquest. Garleans, Gridanians, it matters not. The darkness in the heart of men is ever present." Ramuh answers Setsuko. Okay, so, he's wise, but he might be kind of a racist too apparently. Or at least, firmly in the camp of 'men are kind of awful people'.

    The Primal turns his head towards Shin, curious. "I am Ramuh, the Lord of Levin. I command lightning and thunder, for I AM lightning and thunder. Thou seeketh a martial artist? Wisdom and discipline are the greater part of such crafts. Thou wouldst do well to temper thy conviction and energy, for thy wasteful nature but allows darkness to seep through." he answers Shin.

    Alwyn stands by N'raha, more or less exactly as impressed. No, really, this is his first Primal. He doesn't count Bahamut. NO ONE SANE would count Bahamut as an encounter. Not back then, anyway.

    Ramuh glances at N'raha, speaking. "Bringer of Light. If thy kind seeketh peace, then where were thee when my children needed help fighting the Garleans? Content were thee to watch, unwilling to spread thy forces too thin."

    Nasa gets a more curious, slightly more respectful glare from the Primal. "A fellow guardian? This mine expectations does blow past. But it is not the forest that suffers, but mine children. Spurned by man, crying in distress."

    The sight of the crystal causes Ramuh to soften his expression, looking at Bertram. "The gift I bestowed to mine wayward children. That you would possess such, without a trace of blood upon it..." He seems to reconsider. "How strong is thy will for peace? Willst thou weather mine ire as proof?"

    It is to Souji and Landon that he turns next, less severe in his gaze. "If thy tale is true, then thou art my children too. Thou inflicteth upon me a difficult choice. To fight mine children from another world, to preserve mine own from this one. But--" To Souji, "Within thy words doth I detect conflict and darkness." To Landon, "Yet within thy words, that divine authority my levin-light upholds. But that thou wouldst both proclaimeth peace, without any obligations to Eorzea, is a sight."

    To Marisa, the Lord of Levin frowns. "But thy will, girl, is to battle. You examplify the darkness that doth bode ill for any living alongside men. Much I know and can do indeed, and much you will experience first-hand." A threat, finally.

    A quiet gaze towards Mirielle, and a brief quip. "Thou art also my child, but I sense duality. Mine heritage in thee I can barely feel."

    His red eyes turn to Kyra, and he hrms, musing to himself for a few seconds. "Thou wouldst offer to repair damaged caused by men? But what good are repairs, when I could halt the source of the damage itself? To smother all men in the storm, and with it free Eorzea."

    THANCRED will totally keep hitting on Xiao, just, not now. Ramuh speaks to her first. "The stench of my crying children lingereth upon you. How am I to trust thy intentions?"

    Perhaps as a culmination of all the beard comments, the Primal strokes through it with his one free hand, glancing at Valentha. "If thou wouldst know the details, thy questions I will answer. But my ire doth grow at thy group, and the time for words is past."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha can't really answer that one. He certainly wasn't here for the first time the Garleans came around. He was too busy watching them ruin Thanalan.
    But then the time for words is past, and N'raha looks over to Bertram, calling out. "We shall weather your ire, Ramuh, if that can mean peace. We were hoping it wouldn't come to this, but..." He glances over at Setsuko. "Maybe this was fated from the very start."

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertram's response is without hesitation, he's familiar enough with the sylphs to know that Setsuko's prediction was likely accurate, and yet likely with some kind of justification. "Lord of Levin, if you would test our merit by show of force. Pray let us not delay the matter any longer than necessary. I will weather your ire, and I guarantee we shall stand through it." And then, he casts proshell followed by a groupwide stoneskin. He's hiding his nerves, this is no trivial matter regardless of his words. "But I must object to your accusations that I have done naught to aid your children. I have defended them from Garleans and beasts alike."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    "I am not of this world, Lord Ramuh," the demigod replies, rising to her feet. "I bear no ill will towards your children, no designs on your forest. There have been no aggressions against the Sylphs on the part of those I come to this world to protect - your summoning was a response to my own use of power, against poachers. They thought me a Primal newly-summoned, and that, I believe, was the tipping point."

    Setsuko lowers her head slightly. "For that foolishness on my part, for my acting without knowledge or tact, I do apologize. And in answer to the question you've posed to me and others, if the Garleans encroach upon Sylphic borders, you have but to ask and I will defend your children as readily as I do the men of Eorzea. And if you seek to test our resolve in battle, I cannot speak for the others, but I am willing."

    Raising her head again, the demigod meeds the Primal's eyes directly. "I long ago consigned myself to eternal battle, it is true. But it is at least within my will to choose whom I bare my blade against. I will not bring war to those who have not earned it, and I will protect those who do not desire it."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Forgive me, Lord Ramuh..." Kyra steps up, holding out her arms. "But if you went that route, you would lower yourself to those who are destroying the Shroud with little regard for anything besides their own progress! Would extinguishing all men be any different from those Garleans coming in to raze the forest and kill the local wildlife? You are lightning! You are thunder! You are above such a petty solution!" she cries, empathically trying to appeal to the Primal's sense of Primal-ness, if there were such a thing.

    "Though." 'The time for words is past' "If you doubt our conviction to change the present state of things, then we'll gladly fight you to show you that we mean business, Lord Ramuh!"

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    "Bitch, don't tell me how to Kung Fu. You're a nerdy mage god," Shin says as he crosses his arms, "The minute you weren't a god of Kung Fu, your opinion on Kung Fu became moot. Don't sit there with your bigass nerd beard and lecture me about how to achieve Kung Fu englightenment. The day I take kung fu advice from the god of recharching iphones and teaching people not to golf in rainstorms is gonna be a non-existant day," Shin notes, huffing a bit and immediately disregarding Ramuh's existence.

    Instead, he wanders off to the side and takes out his cell phone, starting to text someone. Probably Allenby, but really also probably just someone random, as it grumbles to himself, "Stupid-ass bearded nerd god telling me how to Kung Fu. Probably break his hip if he tried, where does he even get off thinking he can..." He sorta trails off into grumbling and muttering.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     So battle was inevitable.

     "I would proclaim peace wherever there is pain, even as I myself must march to war. War is a suffering, a flaw, a waste of life and love. War divides and destroys, and you - all versions of you of which I know, all the great gods of our world - fought against the Darkness only because it was necessary." Landon presses his hand to his chest again. The metal clinks a bit, as gauntlet presses against breastplate.

     "Raise a hand to protect the innocent. Fight to defend those you love. It brings me great sorrow to face you in battle, Primarch of the Thundering Winds. But the tenets of your own self, the divine justice you yourself uphold, require me to raise my blade against you."

     Landon unslings the crystalline Judge Blade from his shoulders, levelling it at Ramuh. His eyes are still firm and unwavering as a card snaps into his other hand. "You are the Wise Wind, the Judgement of the Endless Storm."

     "But I dare say your wisdom is in this world clouded, Lord of Lightning!" Landon suddenly roars, proving that the Prince is perfectly capable of being polite and still being angry, "I dare declare that you who is praised for discipline and peace, who speaks of self-control, have left yourself become corrupted by bitterness and anger! The suffering of the few is the responsibility of all? Inaction is the same as culpability?"

     "I say thee *nay*, Lord of Lightning!" Landon walks forward, because he knows where this is going, "I say to you that you have *failed* in your holy duty, that you have allowed blood and bias to taint the divine justice you are sworn to uphold, that you have confused the choices of the Free with the temptations of the Darkness! I say to you that you who would dare blame all men for the actions of a few..."

     "ARE GUILTY!"

     The blue Law Card blazes to life as Landon fills it with mana. He swings it in front of his face.

     "Here I come, Lord of Lightning! You have made your choice! And so have I made my judgement!"

     And with that, Landon doesn't bother waiting for the others. The Prince of Ramuh lunges, all thought, all action. The blue trail of the Law Card blazes behind him as he runs forward, massive sword clutched in the other hand. Landon does not wait for the enemy to strike first. It is not the way of Ramuh to wait.

     It is not the way of lightning.

     Landon's Law Card explodes into a brilliant crystal barrier, laying horizontal directly in front of Ramuh's face. Landon leaps up it, darting forward, brings the hilt of his blade around...

     And dares to punch the god directly in the face.

     Because that is what it means to be of Ramuh. To judge, swiftly and wisely, and commit to a course of action as fast and true as a bolt of thunder.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     "The Forest suffers as much as those that live upon it. The Forest and its People are one and the same. Without those that live within it, the forest suffers. Your children are a part of the forest, and thus I care for their suffering." Nasa responds, her wings fluttering as she dips very slightly into a bow. She straightens slowly, her head tilting slightly. "If the garleans are causing your children pain, it is likely that other races are being caused pain by them, but I do not know all of the situations of this world; I was simply drawn by suffering. Not entirely unlike yourself." Nasa continues in that melodic voice. She definitely, however, is not a Primal.

     Weather his ire? She shifts her gaze slightly towards the crystal, and then back up towards Ramuh. "...I think that we were to ready for that from the beginning. If it was necessary, that is. We came in numbers in case of a battle, but we speak in the hopes of a resolution without it. If our blades and magic must speak for us... then that is something I am fine with." Nasa says, her wings slowly folding against her back as her bare feet rest upon the ground. She was strengthening her connection with the earth.

     Lightning travels to the ground easier if you're not flying, as well. Nasa's hands slowly lower to the Viper's Blades at her side, taking hold of one and pulling it out of its sheathe, while her other hand shifts forward. She holds the blade back, her free hand forward as she slowly begins to move back from the thunder god. Under her breath, she begins to murmur, gathering power.

     <Spirits of Earth, Your Guardian Calls. Grow, spears that gather lightning!>

     Nasa shifts her foot, pushing her hand forward with one thumb to the side, and her pointer finger and middle finger pointing straight, her other two fingers folded. She stomps her foot onto the ground, and several pillars of rock begin to break through the ground; which will hopefully draw some of the worst of the lightning towards /them/ instead of her allies. They're also spaced widely enough that they also shouldn't hinder line of sight or movement much.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     "Ehhhhh? You can smell th- I mean-" Xiao held her hands up in a feigned motion of defense, but really, she was totally not sorry.

     Good job, Xiao.

     "Well okay. But it was for science! I saw something I didn't know about, so I had to study them. ...Thoroughly." An innocent smile to go with her not so innocent actions. "Would you mind if I got a sample from you too? Perhaps a few strands of beard..." She stroked her chin momentarily, and then added. "Do Primals have blood? A sample of that too would be /grand/!"

     Xiao please.

     /Please/.

     But well, it looked like Landon threw the first stone. "Oops. Looks like it's already started!" She smiled and reached into her sleeves, putting away her notepad and taking out a set of black gauntlets. "Think about it! All the advancements that could be made with your data!"

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
H-hey, Marisa isn't laughworthy! She can totally have fangirls! And fanboys! And people interested in her. God, Xiao, rude!!

    The Primal's words illicit a good-natured laugh from the witch. Despite the danger behind Ramuh's voice, her smile seems invincible. How much hubris can one mage have!?

Enough. They can have enough hubris.

    "Well, of course! I mean, that's what happens in pretty much every run-in I have with divine anythings, so you can't blame a girl for having expectations. And!" Marisa leans forward, her back arching low over her broom. The girl behind her worriedly latches to her waist. "I can't say I don't want to fight you. You're like, an awesome judge-wizard god! I wanna see how far I've come! That's just normal."

    "But, exemplifying darkness? Little ol' me?" Her smile becomes almost... dangerously wide and TREMENDOUSLY witchy. "Nah, for that, you want my teacher. I'm much more of a lightshow sort of mage. Within Marisa Kirisame's heart, there is no room for darkness of any kind! Everything I do and everything I am burns as bright as I can possibly manage. So!"

    "Mister awesome beardman, Lord of the Levin, Big Boss Ramuh, if you want to get rough," The witch draws back, the girl at her back making another uncertain noise. Four crystalline orbs flash into the air around her, whirling in a tight, menacing orbit. "Then I'll get rough. And then we'll drink. But when we beat you, I'm want somethin' out of it!"

"I think a little bit of ~magic lore~ would do nicely," Marisa muses, her shrewd eyes peering at the Primal, "Or maybe... somethin' else?"

    "So," one hand reaches into the folds of her dress, fishing out the little octogonal block that is her trademark. The dense magical energies in the area surge like electricity through her veins, motes visibly pouring out of the air and into the four crystal orbs. She levels the Hakkero, winks an eye, and then declares: "Let's get this party started."

One moment, Marisa is stationary.

The next, she's rocketing in a smooth, wide ring around the Primal.

    Four lances of blinding light erupt from the orreries, blasting at the Primal. A barrage of emerald missiles shriek out from her hakkero, while others seem to manifest in the air around her and join in the barrage. All the while, the girl at her back buries her head into the witch's shoulder-- she's apparently not used to doing this sort of thing so... unprotected.

Alas, today is not a day for giant robots.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    Valentha's attention SWERVES around wildly towards Shin with abject disbelief at his utter huffiness and disrespect. Her jaw is GAPING.

    But then she just shakes her head, and responds to the Lord of Levin.

    "Punishing all for the faults of a few? I can tell something happened in the past to color your opinion of mankind and all those like it, Ramuh, and wish to hear just what. I, too, have seen much suffering caused by greed, ignorance, and fear. Doubtless we could speak for hours on the subject... but never, NEVER..."

    She extends a hand. Instead of using her Techno-Wizard arc-sword, Valentha summons pure psionic power into her grasp. It shimmers and pulses outwards, forming into a crackling, gleaming rapier.

    "NEVER would I THINK to judge ALL of them as lost causes. I'll weather your ire, Lord of Lightning. When it passes, hopefully your good sense will return!"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Ramuh's words to Souji are important, but those words are not all that Souji listens to. He tilts his head slightly, his expression darkening as he hears the implicit threats. This is standard high-stakes diplomacy, where both sides begin shaking their sticks. "Conflict is a part of life, Ramuh. Even amongst your own people, they are not one. The Sylvans and the Sylphs do not agree on the path to the future. But you refuse to look at either the greater picture, nor do you consider the specifics. You have been brought to pass judgement. The fact of the matter is, Ramuh, if you pit your power against that capable of being marshalled by Man, all you will do is destroy your own people in the process. The Twelveswood will burn, and your one-eyed judgement will simply proclaim your own land's doom. If you wish to engage in such folly, you do not deserve such consideration."

There is a sudden movement as Souji pulls up his blade, stepping forward to stand beside Landon al Cid. There is a moment of unreality, as if he never thought he would be doing what he is about to do, before he shakes his head. "If you would speak of judgement, then we too, shalld judge you in turn. Murasame!" The blade responds, the crimson ribbon untying itself.

And Souji staws the black blade with a flourish, crimson runes of hunger burning bright. "It is time to feed." Souji states ominously, before he lunges forward, slashing forward and past Ramuh with a scything blade strike.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Mirielle does not proclaim her alliegance or her heritage. Her head remains hanged, her body shudders, and she continues to cast. Over and over, until finally...

    Shin Tokuyama recieves the final BarThunder cast, the cool ur-static feeling of a lack of charge, even a mild static one. This may also make his phone's touchscreen hard to use. Such are the plights of MAGIC.

    She laughs darkly at the ideas being bandied around, standing up slowly with her staff. Her preparation is done. Even the light talking that they engaged in, the mild discourse before the Prince punched a god in the face, was enough. Not that 'punching a god in the face' was within her calculatons, but it wasn't something she could totally discount. It merely accellerated certain timescales.

    "That... is to be expected, Lord of Levin. Unfortunately, I am not good at grand speeches. However, tactically, I am committed to supporting your demise."

    She steadies herself, extending her staff lightly. She really isn't one to speech!

    She does draw up her hood, though, and seethes with a shady power.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Numerous people declare their intend to fight him-- to prove him they mean what they're saying. Ramuh's frown disappears, his neutral gaze falling on the group. He lays ready to answer, to tell them they may be right, but that he cannot concede without judging them first. Too often have words been used to deceive and lie.

    Well, except Shin, who is less being wise at Ramuh (like Setsuko and Kyra especially) and more being Shin at Ramuh. It's still amazing in its own way.

    Landon's words hit like a hammer, and so does his fist, connecting with the Primal's jaw. He reels backward, bringing a hand up to touch the bruise, and then looking at his hand. Marisa comes at him for a second go, and the Primal's staff slams down onto the ground, thunder rocking through the Black Shroud so loud it causes a burst of wind, and temporarily shields Ramuh from assaults. Marisa's blasts impact the lightning shield, Souji's sword cutting it open, but the Primal has turned ethereal, like electricity.

    "Thy offers of peace will be judged. Climb the Striking Tree, and I will test your might. Prove to me you have the strength to do what you claim, and to fight the darkness within."

    The same way he arrived, Ramuh blasts away, like a massive lightning bolt. It strikes again, atop the stone (tree?) platform/tower. There is a ramp leading up, it's not a hard climb at all. At the top, Ramuh waits in the center of the platform, with Sylph decorations and his symbol all over the place. Tempered Sylphs have stopped fighting, and instead gather over the Striking Tree, humming a song of worship to their Lord in their own language.

    Ramuh will wait for all to have gathered, assuming they intend to follow through. But once they have, lightning illuminates the sky, roaring in anticipation. Hair stands on its edges here, electricity heavy in the air.

    "Now then. Weather mine ire, champions of Light. I will judge thy inner darkness, and thy ability to uphold thy own word."

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
And Bertram climbs the striking tree, he doesn't even speak any further words. The fight is imminent, and in a way it's a relief to know that this is going to be something he knows how to do. He is no diplomat, he is no frontline combatant, but he is a combat medic. And this is going to call for combat medicine. He drinks a cup of homebrewn tea to help him focus, of course it's as magical as his cooking.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    And now we get into the meat of it. N'raha scowls at the... well. The presence of all these other people here. This all would have been SO MUCH EASIER without all these people MAKING TROUBLE maybe possibly. But the catman masks most of that anger as he trudges and moves up the tower, his lashing, frustrated tail the only sign of his inner turmoil right now.

    Well, and the tight shoulders, the growling muttering, the fact he's not being cheery at people and the strangled noises he made when Landon and Marisa and Souji all started early.

    Okay so he's bad at hiding anger.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Her allies lunge, and Setsuko's hand immediately reaches towards Zanjintou, and for a moment or two she simply waits; it's a sudden and hasty attack on their part, and she's not going to fling herself into it blindly on the possibility that such a disorganized attack invites easy counterattack. But he doesn't attack at all; merely shields himself long enough to disappear.

    "...Had the fighting continued here," Setsuko observes in a rather loud voice, "The nearby Sylphs would have been in danger. Such a hasty attack speaks poorly of our intentions for peace." She directs her chastisement at no one person, simply lets it hang in the air.

    And speaking of hang in the air, so does she, soaring up and alighting on the top of the Striking Tree directly rather than ascending the ramp or using the aetheryte.

    Setsuko will not attack, however, until the others have arrived. Until then, she will but stand and wait, saying simply, "...Though it is my fate to fight, Lord Ramuh, I do not cherish ill will or hatred. If we must fight, I am at the least both satisfied and honored that you enter into it with respect for us."

    But there is battle to be fought. And fight she shall, with no further warning. There is just a sudden lunge forward, an impossibly-fast draw of the blade. A picture-perfect battoujutsu draw, in an effort to meet lightning with lightning.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    'Dude, so this jagoff decides to lecture me about kung f'

    Shin gets halfway into his text message when Mirielle's spell hits him. His fingers rapidly tap from reflex for a good half-minute as he watches Ramuh. Eventually, he looks down and realizes the rest of his message didn't type out. He looks down, "Aw man, what the fuck? The touch screen broke. Cheap piece of shit. Next time I'm getting one of those active phone cases for when people punch me so this doesn't happen," He doesn't think about how electricity impeding would diminish static charge and mess with a touch screen.

    However, Shin is completely serious about not giving a fuck what Ramuh has to say any more. So instead of following up the striking tree, he elects to wander off in the opposite direction and go bug someone like... potentially... THANCRED.

    "Hey pretty boy. Does your world have punch magic? I notice it has lots of other magic, like sword magic... and magic-magic... and monsters. What about punch magic? And then one of two potential follow-ups, if yes where do I get some? If no, why does your world suck?"

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
    A wind wall? No. A shockwave generated by a crack of thunder. The fringes of Marisa's lips quirk ever so slightly upwards at the display. "You're not bad, old man," she whispers under her breath, a hand pressing her hat to her head as Ramuh warps away. "I can't wait to see what you're REALLY capable of."

    "I'll meet you guys up there," Marisa chimes to the others as she ROCKETS up into the sky, her book making quiet noises of protest as the wind rushes past her ears. It doesn't take her too long- flight, again, is pretty wonderful in these situations.

    "Inner darkness or whatever, it doesn't matter," the witch says as she crests the Striking Tree. "The moment you turned this into a contest of power, y'all threw all that philosophical, spiritual bullshit right out the window. Come on, Beardman--"

    Once more, the orreries light up. Again, the magic missiles surge out, each one bursting into a sapping, mana-draining explosion. Does she expect her attack to actually work this time!? Or is she just being as flashy as possible to distract the Primal until someone else can pry open his guard? Whatever the case, Marisa stays mobile as she casts, whirling around the flat top of the Striking Tree like the world's most dangerous wasp. "--Let's see what you've got!"

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Strike! Setup! And then... Ramuh speaks. He turns ethereal. She slowly tilts her head as she looks up towards him. She flutters her wings slowly. "...Offers of peace judged by fighting." Nasa mumbles under her breath, thinking to herself. "...Does sound very much like the Drow." She continues with a slow shake of her head. She slowly begins to lift up into the air, beginning to hover her way towards the tower's base. She could fly ahead, but a long ramp to walk up was an excellent chance to plan and prepare for the battle.

     Of course, Setsuko simply flies up to the top of the Tree. Nasa takes a deep breath as she looks towards her allies that ...well, cannot fly. She lifts her hand, motioning towards each of them. The wind begins to gather around her hand, as she begins to murmur another elemental spell.

     <Winds of the sky, boost their flight.>

     A simple spell, Nasa casts a spell over her grounded allies, small winds gathering around their bodies. "...Will the winds where you would go; and go." Nasa states simply as explanation. And if they did such, the wind would, in fact, do that! Carrying them to the base of the ramp, or to the top of the tree. Afterwards, Nasa begins to move with the main group, quietly hoping that Setsuko could weather the attacks while the rest of the party made it to the battlefield.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    After all that posturing and punching a god in the face, Mirielle, Ace Calculator, expected a fight. And this ineffable 'God' decides 'yeah ok cool story brah, climb my tree and fight me'. No. No! NO!

    Mirielle looks at the Striking Tree and nearly falls to her knees again. "Defeated before we even began." She breathes, looking at the insurmountable Everest before her. Oh! Oh, there's a ramp. That's a little better. But only a little bit.

    "... The need outweighs the risk. A caster should be physically fresh as well a..." Nobody is listening to her. Everyone is just going up the ramp. Well, then... Kyra needs one last buff.

    Mirielle knows that Kyra is a powerful caster, and even her non-casted attacks technically work as magic, not physical effects. Thus, there's one buff that should be layered under Kyra's Reflect. She incants quickly, before extending her staff at her friend. "Do try not to get dispelled. This will be draining for me." She offers, before finishing her twice-long cast.

    Mathemagic - Faith x Faith: Overfaith

    A double shot of full-sectrum magical enhancement.

    She slumps slightly, after this buff, but there's a smile under her glasses and hood. "There. Now..." She summons Black Chocobo, clambering up clumsily upon the magical horsechicken's back. "I'll see you at the top." She notes dryly, before she warki-woo's her way to the top, up the ramp.

    Screw walking.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     It's hard to not follow through when you just told a God of Judgement he was guilty and punched him in the face. After something like that, you don't really have the option to say 'nah, I was just joshin', we cool.'

     Not that Landon would. As the god goes up the tree, Landon's platform simply rises, guided by his will and his magic particles. He rises, eyes firm on the spot where Ramuh has gone.

     The platform stops at the top of the tree. Landon dismisses it with a wave of his hand and strides forward, confidence in every step. The metal armor crackles with the mere suggestion of electricity, despite the BarLightning. It's a good spell. It probably won't be enough.

     That's alright. Landon trusts in himself. If he has to dodge it, if he has to ride it, he'll pass the lightning and come out alive.

     Metal fingers tighten around his blade. "So be it. I'll show you the strength of the al Cid family, and the justice we strive for!"

     Landon does not wait for everyone else. Patience is a Ramuhan virtue only where it intends the correct time to strike, and the correct time to strike is still 'before your enemy does'. He'd already started the battle, after all.

     So the instant he's stepped off the platform, he's going. He releases the Judge Blade, letting the massive crystal weapon spin above him as he charges. Wasting time is asking to get killed. Waiting and standing still is asking to get lightning bolted. It's worse than asking to get killed - it's asking to die.

     Law Cards flash in Landon's hand. Blue light fills the area once again, swelling brilliantly. The Judge Blade goes stabbing for Ramuh's stomach as Landon drops the first card.

     "Punishment: BLIND!"

     Crystalline chains lash outwards around Ramuh's head. They aren't chains, though - they're law, law given form by magic and covenant, wrapping themselves around the eyes to blind. With the other card, Landon conjures a barrier, moving it by his own will.

     Just like his punch, the barrier swings backwards, then charges forward for Ramuh's face.

     Landon will punch the god as many times as he needs to make him see the error of his ways.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    As Ramuh vanishes, so too does Valentha Summers. No longer hiding what she can really do, her whole body flickers and sizzles blue... and is gone. With another flash of blue light she's up atop the Striking Tree platform, still holding that crackling sword.

    Then she ceases hiding her aura altogether. What previously would've felt like a rather average amount of magical energy leaking from her becomes a storm. With one hand she gestures to accompany some chanting. Several layers of protection lock into place around her one after another. A thin barrier first forms skintight around her, visible only in magical sight. Then it expands outwards and becomes properly visible, shaping into silvery-blue plate armor. Over top of that a floating barrier forms... Protection from Energy.

    She's just hoping it will be AT ALL good at warding off bolts of THIS caliber.

    It probably won't.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     "Oh. Right. Miss Kaminagi has a point. Fighting down here would have endangered others. That would have been a HUGE waste of research samples."

     ...What, you expected actual human concern?

     Xiao shielded her eyes a bit as Ramuh blasted away towards the destined arena. "...Well, I'm not interested in walking up /all of that/, so...." A pair of black anklets down below took on a faint glow, and the scientist began to rise up into the air. With a burst, she sailed all the way up, cutting the power as she reached the edge of the arena.

     She landed and then reassumed a casual observing posture. "...Where to start..." She mused aloud, looking the Primal up and down. It sounded like she was searching not for the best point to do damage, but the best point to gather SAMPLES from.

     She wasn't helping.

     "Perhaps the beard's tip..."

     Yeah, she REALLY wasn't helping.

     With a grin, Xiao held out both arms, and the gauntlets surrounding her fists began to shift. The metal clacking forward and reorienting itself until what she was no longer wearing a pair of gauntlets, but rather, holding a pair of black blades. "Time to harvest~" And with a burst of speed, Xiao dove straight for Ramuh, lashing out with a pair of quick slashes...to tip of his beard. She was trying to collect beard cuttings. In the middle of a DECISIVE BOSS BATTLE.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "...how is it that I just tried to out diplomacy both Landon AND Souji??" Kyra mutters, quite cleanly capturing Landon going off on Ramuh and his 'Judgement' then punching the Primal in the face. Back in Galianda, the people watching Kyra's feed go /crazy/ over this. Hashtags are had. Memes are created. Lute being hit by Doomtrain finally has competition.

    Of course, Kyra remains entirely unaware of this, focused on getting her stuff in order and queuing up Reflect for herself. She's slow to follow up the ramp to the Striking Tree since being in the back is more conductive to Kyra's particular Jobs. It just makes for better support, after all.

    But before Landon slips by entirely, she quickly casts a Bravery spell upon him. Not that he needs extra courage but extra dealt damage would be very appreciative.

    She lingers as well to wait for Mirielle to cast additional buffs on her, surprised that, along with the Barthunder, Shell, and Protect, she gets a Faith on herself. It's actually quite surprising to her that Mirielle would risk boosting Kyra's infamously dangerous magic. Nasa's wind magic lets her catch up easily after dawdling to wait on Mirielle, the white mage casting Reflect on herself to hopefully prevent some ELECTRIC DEATH on herself. Someone has to be around to cast Life.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji does not even pause as Ramuh vanishes into a huge mass of aetheric electricity and relocates, the wind wall launching him like a stone out the other side violently. He flips in the air as he impacts the side of the Striking Tree, running up the side and reaching the top.

He reaches the top, and comes to a halt, looking upon Ramuh. He only spares a moment to sweep the Murasame Blade up into a salute, respect given moments before he sets into a combat stance.

As much as he uses lightning, it would be beyond foolish to attempt to defeat Ramuh with lightning. He will have to change tactics.

SAMURAI MYSTIC KNIGHT
BUSHIDO SPELLBLADE
> 1: DISPATCH BIO BLADE <

"Consuming fang." Souji declares, blurring forward with a devastating direct strike, as his blade seethes with terrible, poisonous miasma. He has nothing else to say or prove to the Primal. Now there is only the proof of their actions.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Down at the crystal, Thancred eyes Shin and then motions vaguely towards Yda, who was moments ago still punching Sylphs. With fancy magic and flashy moves. "Try the Pugilists' Guild in Ul'dah. The guildmaster there is... what's his name. Hamon Holyfist, right! He'll teach pretty much anyone with the coin to pay the fee." Or anyone willing to help him get coins, too.

    And up people go; at different speeds and paces.

    To Setsuko, the Lord of Levin reassures: "And I enjoy no action I am forced to take; but mine children cry out for judgment, and judgment they will have." She lashes out like a lightning bolt, and her blade crashes into the Primal's staff. He stands his ground, however, straining to push the woman back.

    Marisa's missiles are half intercepted by bolts of lightning, the other half reaching the Primal and detonating. The mana draining seems to disrupt Ramuh's form momentarily, but she's trying to drain a five gallons barrel with a syringe. On the other hand, if she keeps at it, it'll have an impact eventually for sure.

    Blindness and another punch from Landon are inflicted upon the Primal, but time time he doesn't budge, taking the impact and letting the Judge bruise and blind him. Eyes closed, Ramuh rumbles.

    "You would judge judgment itself; would that all my children be as brave and able to stand on their own, but my duty is to protect them, and MY will will not falter!"

    Xiao charges in, carving with her knives; she secures a small lock of divine Primal hair, though this seems to upset Ramuh greatly. "How quickly man turns to such ways; you would still tell me to hold my judgment, to let men kill my children?"

    Souji's blade poisons the Primal, though it's obvious the magic will wear off eventually. There's too much Aether in Ramuh for something to hold permanently, but even poisoning him for a few moments is a good deal. Also the sword cuts through robes and armor, Ramuh's form torn and reforming afterwards.

    Ramuh's staff, still holding Setsuko at bay, if moments from breaking, suddenly flashes a bright blue. Lightning lashes out at her, attempting to send her back before she can break his weapon.

    He follows through, despite being blinded, by thrusting his staff upward. A large surge of magic suddenly marks VALENTHA, KYRA, LANDON and NASA. The air around them becomes heavier, and electricity seems attracted to them. They'll have a few moments to move, or for people to get away from them, before a hail of a dozen lightning bolts a piece crash towards all four, and anyone still near them. The magical barriers are unlikely to stop this cold, but it'll definitely help soak it if anything.

    Those still in MELEE then have to deal with the staff coming down to strike the ground, sending ripples of lightning in a full circle around Ramuh, in an attempt to knock them all back.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    The catman just boggles at all of this, snarling into his linkpearl at... someone, and then charges in once that first Knockback goes off. The Great Levin has his attention on others and that just won't do. Not now, not like this. Not with all these outsiders here, making things worse.

    He channels every single piratical magic angrymode thing he can, his frame turning vagely reddish, his axe glowing with dull red flames, and those green eyes flare over. He can't possibly compete like this. Not like how the Judge is Judging and there's blinds and everything going like this. How could he? He can only do what he can. What he must.

    N'raha howls and launches himself forward, a furious flurry of axe attacks aiing to strike alongside Setsuko, trying to get Ramuh's attention off the others. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He can't even help it, not even a little bit. The youthful anger is roiling through the Miqo'te as a noise of Pure Rage escapes him.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"No one is /letting/ people kill your children. They are killing men themselves." Souji replies, leaping out of the proximity of the targeted people. "The Garleans make war on all, man and Sylph alike. You blame them for not protecting your children, when your children prey on the Eorzeans just as much as the Garleans. Your argument is flawed from the beignning, Ramuh. But then, you were asked for judgement... Not that your own children are worthy of being found in favor." Souji replies dryly.

He sees that the poison quickly wears off... but Souji's blade has not become any less noxious. He can simply keep reapplying it. He spins, dancing around Ramuh and lashing out repeatedly, letting his spellblade slowly sap Ramuh's strength. Ramuh has no blood to drain, and...

Never mind. Either way, he cannot afford to draw Ramuh's direct wrath yet.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    A contest of strength. Setsuko sets her feet, holds her ground against Ramuh; in the end, it is neither her nor Ramuh that gives, but the very ground beneath her feet. Dirt shifts, the demigod's boots give, and she realizes her mistake. She will need to rely on her full abilities to even match him physically. And so she hops back, moments before the Shock Strike would surge through her, neither of them taking injury from the exchange. There is a silent, respectful look in her eyes for a moment.

    And then the demigod hops up into the air, about the time Ramuh uses his staff to clear himself some space. She brings Zanjintou up, holding the weapon vertically as it expands to its immense size, before sweeping it around herself and dashing back in - this time, in the air, where she can meet Ramuh in a clash face-to-face. The tremendous blade swings around, a vertical slash, a diagonal, a series of powerful, battering strikes backed by not just her strength, but all the flight power she can muster as well.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     "It matters not who it is!" Landon shouts over the whirling wind, "I would judge my creators themselves, if I felt they had pre-empted justice! I would judge all the gods, if they strayed from their words!"

     "Your duty is *not* to protect!" The Prince roars as he dodges the first lightning bolt, "Your duty is to *teach*, to *guide*, to be a shining example! Teach them to stand upon their own two feet! Show them justice, wisdom, and courage! Your coddling - your self-righteousness - your arrogance - all these have led to this war! Because they do not know wisdom! Because they do not know justice! Because they do not know courage!"

     LIGHTNING. Landon is struck. Lightning courses through his body, amplified by the metal he wears, and then dulled by the BarLightning. Thunder pours out his mouth and his eyes, threatens to fry his eyes. He screams, because how can you *not*, in those circumstances? Lightning fills his body. Lightning is his blood.

     But he will not be denied. Landon summons up his strength to lunge *into* the whirling staff. The massive thing comes down and flings him backwards, out of the destructive bolts. Smoldering, the prince rolls to a stop atop the field of green, smoke still rolling from his body.

     It hurts to move. Every muscle seems suffused with the power of the god. His fingers twitch, his toes spasm, and his tongue attempts to betray him and force itself down his throat. The inside of his mouth is hot fire. He's fairly sure he broke a bone.

     He stands. Or, rather, he calls his sword back to him, and leans upon it, rising as though it was a cane. Landon's eyes fix on Ramuh as he forces himself back into control of his body, the lightning arcing off him slowly dying.

     "If you had taught them wisdom," Landon manages, "If you had taught them cooperation...if you had taught them to be brave, rather than relying upon you for safety..."

     "What might have been?"

     "What might still be?!"

     Landon hefts the Judge Blade in his hands again. He charges, his feet stumbling as he regains his surety of footing. Even wounded, Landon is still an exceptional swordsman. He lunges at the Primal, another Law Card falling to raise him up. His knee lashes outwards for the god's face as his blade comes down for Ramuh's shoulder.

     This close, he's sure to eat more damage, but Judge is a tank class anyway.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    If there was anything a native of Galianda's Ramuh learned early in life, it was how to tell when you were about to be hit by lightning. Though she feels the sensation building, her hair standing on end and static cling sparking across her hoodie, she assumes that because she has Reflect on herself, she'll be fine.

    She is wrong. The might of Ramuh cannot be deflected by her magical barrier and lightning crashes down on her. Sure, some of it is diverted to the ground around her but the majority still comes through, leaving a surprised Kyra knocked off her feet. She coughs, groans, and pulls herself up. Thanks to the Shell and Barthunder, it didn't do nearly as much as it should have but it was still a big shock (pun intended) to be hit at all.

    Kyra's Lifestream feed is momentarily disrupted by this, much to the watcher's dismay.

    "I'M ALRIGHT!" she calls out to no one in particular as she gets back up again. Since nobody seems to be down, though definitely not undamaged, she decides to take full advantage of the Faith that Mirielle dropped on her earlier.

    Magic functions as intended, meaning that Kyra can drop her Holy spell (which seems suspiciously orbital-ray like in execution) down upon Ramuh.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     "Nobody has said to let men kill your children! Nobody has said not to defend those who call for your aid!" Nasa calls out to the Primal as she lands on the ground, lifting her hand. She had been about to call forth the earth to give another series of lightning-attracting spikes... however, there was suddenly a magical Marking on her. Nasa's skin prickles and she feels the electricity begin to attract her.

     This was too much for magic resistance to resist. She shifts immediately, moving back away from others, and then SLAMMING one of her feet down into the ground. "Stay back from me!" Nasa calls to her allies, before she pulls her hands towards the center of her body, two stone slabs breaking through the ground to form a covering for her to disperse the worst of the lightning bolts.

     Sadly, it only takes a few of the bolts striking to break down Nasa's shelter, and one or two of the strikes hit her directly. Magical shielding and her rock shelter made it so that the relatively frail fae-drow doesn't take /too/ much damage, thankfully. Nasa takes a soft breath as she shifts her gaze around. Alright. What can she do. She steps forward towards the various fighters, taking note of weapons and abilities. And then ... she sees her target.

     N'raha. She steps forward, glancing towards the people who were fighting. She points a finger towards him, a brown energy beginning to gather around the tip of her finger, swirling around it as she begins to cast a spell again.

     <Spirits of Earth, lend weight to these strikes. May this axe hit with all his might.>

     She unleashes the spell towards N'raha, aimed for his axe. Those dull red flames would be joined by magical stone wrapping his weapon; though they didn't add weight that N'raha would feel, he might notice that his axeblade is striking with heavier force. Nasa breathes slowly as she glances around, looking for the next target. Landon? Maybe. Next, though... she lifts her hand, beginning to gather earth energy again, preparing for her next spell.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
To ground out the lightning, to defend against the element of the raging skies, and to teach Ramuh his worth, Bertram calls upon the patient power of the Earth. His focus on this element strong enough to pull rock from deep below the tree and rise up. Covering those who seem to be threatened by lightning, and then followed up by a direct assault on the Lord of Levin. "I wish it did not have to be this way."

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     SAMPLE GET

     "Heehee~ Excellent!" And with that, Xiao immediately stopped attacking and instead produced a sample collection kit from her sleeves. The lock of divine hair was deposited, and then promptly put back into THE INVENTORY. "Okay, now for sample number two--whoops!"

     She could feel the force of that thunder as it washed across the ground. Crossing her arms over herself, the girl leapt back with the wave, the electrical force cascading over her. And boy, did it hurt. Even through BarThunder, she could feel the pulse of electricity coarsing through her body. She hardly wanted to imagine what it would have been like without protection.

     Xiao landed, skidding to a stop some ways away from the Primal before lowering her arms. "...Now...where was I?" Nope. Still not going to attack him seriously. She regripped her blades and burst straight forward again. "Aw come on. It's not like I'm going on a genocidal warpath! I only studied a few! Their lives went towards a good cause! Let me tell you, the data I got from studying their genetic makeup was quite useful for the development of the AANS."

     As if BEARD DAD had any idea what that was. "And your data will be useful as well! You should be happy! You get to contribute to my endless quest for knowledge~" And like that, Xiao jumped straight up into the air, aiming to slash into Ramuh's side, not really to do any heavy damage, but to carve out something. ANYTHING. Cloth or piece of /him/. Did he bleed? Magic particles? Liquid? Whatever she could take, she's go for it.

     Real helpful.

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    Xiao's antics get a frown, but Valentha has bigger things to worry about. She detects the magic gathering around her, pegging her as a target. Her response is swift. She kicks off the ground and slides away from allies...

    Then starts to chant and gesture. Instead of going aggressive with that sword she raises it for DEFENSE!

    The lightning slams into her hard, coursing through most of her defenses. Large bolts split off from the strike, diverted and deflected, but it still slams into Valentha's flesh with the fury of a fierce deity. Right in the middle of chanting. But even as her flesh sizzles and bones smoke, her disciplined mind refuses to flinch, her lips do not falter. Years upon years of intense training to ignore pain in times of battle is required of any who'd call themselves a wizard.

    One single lightning bolt, no matter how fierce, won't stop her spellcasting. It will take much more pain to do that.

    And she has something quite interesting mind too. A thin tendril of blue reaches out for everyone using magic by what Valentha can detect - such as Kyra and Marisa. If this touches them and isn't resisted... it pulses once, then vanishes.

    All those touched will feel an enormous RUSH of power flowing into them as Valentha offers her enormous magical reserves to her allies!

    Notably, Xiao is not offered anything.

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
    Even sucking a trickle of energy away from the Primal is a victory when that same energy is being shaped into lasers, missiles and all manner of other projectiles. The trouble though is that Ramuh is made of so MUCH of the stuff that wearing him down with magic- even draining magic- will just take far, far too much time.

The good news- for now- is that Marisa is NOT the focus of the Great Levin's divine ire, freeing her up to get a bit more... creative.

    "Made of magic particles, huh?" Marisa mutters into the channel that connects her to the others. "Alright. Let's give it a shot. I've got no idea what it'll do, but..."

    "Hey, RAMUH," the witch yells, suddenly going from conducting her orbital assault to barreling straight at the Primal. Lightning bolts streak down from the sky- but she can weave around them, the telltale buzz of the air around her being warning enough to get out of the air. The Primal's staff swings wide, but she's still just out of range. For now, she doesn't have his attention. That's a very good thing.

Because she needs to get VERY close to do what must be done.

    A card slides in between her fingertips. At first brush, it might look much like Landon's own Law Cards, but it brims with a very different sort of magic indeed. "Hey Beardman!!" Marisa roars, her collision course set, "OPEN WIDE!"

Marisa flicks her wrist. Her hand closes around the Spell Card.

--==DECLARE SPELLCARD==--
MAGIC ABSORBER

    There's a tremendous un-sound, a wave of silence that precedes the formation of a bubble of gold surrounding a sphere of un-light. To anyone who can sense such things, the ball seems like a veritable black hole of mana, drawing in all magic it comes into contact with, digesting active spells, enchantments and whatever else into component motes. A umbilicus of raw power flows from the sphere to the witch, who roars as she pulls up and twists away, her bombing run complete.

But, what happens if such a thing is used on a being of PURE MANA?

If her missiles were like trying to take in three gallons with a syringe, the, this is a lot more like... Well, like trying to drink from a firehose.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Being told to give a 'soft eight' when she asks someone what power of buff they want on a scale of one to ten... The obvious answer is a ten, right? If you're asking for a boost, getting the highest amount is only natural!

    As the residual lightning smashes down from on high (on people that aren't Mirielle), much of the aftershock is absorbed by her layered defensive spells that had been set up before - Shell from Bartrand, plus BarThunder. This gives her plenty of breathing room to cast more empowerment magic. As Shin runs up the ramp, she's preparing her spell - one that's extra draining, but always tends to come out.

    Beyond a 'soft eight', Shin Tokuyama gets a Solid Ten.

    Mathemagic - (Aura x Bravery x Haste / Mini

    Gunning an immense swell of magic into this power, as the mana fountain refills her own incredible reserves. She doens't have to hold back. This power that she can pour into Shin is beyond the realms of previous uses of the GigaSwole. No... this is even more beyond.

    This is the WWE SUUUUUPERSWOOOOLE.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    "Sweet, thanks, I might check that out," He says to Thancred before jerking a thumb over towards Yda, "Are all the other punch magic people as hot as her? Because that chick's like..." He tries to think of a good way to describe it, but sort of lets it trail off there, "... I'm just saying," Shin finishes with a shrug.

    He then turns away and decides he should probably actually go help the others. He sights and takes off his jacket and tie, rolling up his sleeves, "Watch my nice jacket and stuff. I gotta go beat up a Nerd God," Shin comments to Thancred before tossing his discarded suit jacket and tie towards the rogue. He then takes off at a jog towards the ramp, moving pretty fast in terms of jogging.

    As soon as Shin gets up there, Mirielle is buffing him. And it has an incredible effect, because as the spell his Shin, he gets WAY more powerful. He grows by a large amount, namely by the end of it he's taller than the Primal they're facing. He also has been buffed offensively in almost all of his physical attributes. Aura ups his strongest powers, while Bravery increases him all around.

    "WOAH!" Shin booms, flexing a bit, "Gonna need to get used to this. Holy shit I feel awesome," Shin intones in his new massive size. He then turns and points to Ramuh, "YOU. NERD GOD. I HAVE SOME SHIT TO SAY..." He then turns the point into a finger-gun, "In the form of a RAP." He might just be biding time to get used to the new body.

    "At first I was going to walk away, and let them beat your ass," Shin rap-talks, grinning at Ramuh as he gets used to the power flowing through him, "But then I decided I couldn't just let that shit you were talking pass," He adds, sighing a bit and shrugging, "At first it wasn't personal, you actually seemed pretty coo," He runs a hand through his hair and puts on his sunglasses to cover those heterochromatic eyes, "But you fucked up when you decided to talk smack about my kung fu."

    "I had so many moves to show you, but I couldn't decide which," Shin continues, his tone holding that more rhythmic matter of speaking as he he shrugs, "In the end, they'll all work fine, because you're a nerdy little bitch," Shin continues, staring at the Primal of Thunder and waving his hand a bit, pacing, "You come in here and talk some shit," He pauses, "And I don't give a fuck about it," Shin points at him, "But I do have one last move to show..."

    Shin darts forward towards Ramuh, finally used to the new form Mirielle has given him. The martial artist flashes into MELEE, more than willing to risk the inherent damages and problems of doing so. When he gets to Ramuh, he spins around, moving his back towards the old man and hooking one of his arms backwards. And then he lets his legs out from under him, trying to use a wrestling move on the frail old man Primal as they both slam into the ground.

    Shin finishes his rap as he gets up from the maneuver, "So why don't you just suck on that RKO?"

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    N'raha braves Ramuh, charging in with his axe. The weapon cuts through the Primal's robes, trailing disrupted Aether as though it were blood, especially thanks to Nasa's enhancement. The Primal's attention shifts to him, allowing Souji to strike in. The poison is reapplied, and the Primal's Aether weakens again, being drained away by the task of regenerating.

    "My children lived in peace, isolated from men," he declares, sternly. "They asked for not a thing more, and yet men have distrubed them, again and again. You would ask me to forgive those who committed the first sin?"

    Setsuko comes down with her much larger blade, cutting through Ramuh with a vertical cleave. His form twists in pain and he floats backwards, wounds sealing, Aether mending the robes and armor. One can never quite catch a glimpse of what's under the robes; perhaps there's nothing, really.

    Landon's knee connects with the Primal's face, as his blade digs into a shoulder plate. Ramuh turns to face the Judge. "We Primals are fleeting beings. We have not the luxury to teach our children anything; we come, we do, we go. Too divided are the people of Eorzea to sustain any one of us for a long time. Mine children did not seek the Aether necessary to sustain mine existence. They wished to be at peace, isolated, and in turn this hath for effect to constrain their ability to call upon me."

    But those are excuses.

    Kyra's Holy spell is met with Ramuh raising his staff, firing a bolt of lightning upward to intercept the spell. Rays of light still pass through, singing and burning the Primal. Stones slam into him next, thanks to Bertram conjuring the elements; they tear at his robes and beard, which reform afterwards.

    Xiao will find he doesn't really bleed, so much as leak Aether. Cloth and hair can certainly be acquired in the mess, though, as her knives find purchase again.

    Marisa deploys a MAGIC BLACK HOLE, which seems to severely damage Ramuh, as he strains to retain a tangible form. Aether is sucked out of the Primal, but there's a problem with the witch's plan: there is a LOT of Aether in the being. If it's feeding into her, she might be getting burned by the absurd quantity of magic flowing into her. The black hole may also just overeat and explode. On the other hand, that looks like it hurt Ramuh alright.

    Shin verbally abuses Ramuh, before spinning him and pretty much literally wrestling him into the ground, their combined strength and masses cratering the Striking Tree slightly. There's a moment of silence, and Ramuh finally answers Shin.

    "I did not understand half of that, but thy intent speaketh loudly indeed. Judgment is nigh, Bringers of Light, of war, of suffering. Steel thyself! Prove you can protect Eorzea! TO ME, MINE ARBITERS!"

    Lightning slams down in front of everyone. A tiny (well, it's still the size of a person) incarnation of Ramuh appears before everyone, as the Primal himself vanishes from under Shin. The Arbiters swing their staves, bringing them down with fury and lightning at everyone.

    Those who can see magic will immediatly be able to tell each strike, and each moment the Arbiters exist, seems to be feeding power to Ramuh, who isn't gone, just... not quite here either.

    And to make matters worse, ripples of electricity arc on the ground: they attempt to bind XIAO and SHIN in place, rooting them through incredible static.

    All the while a tether of lightning forms between BERTRAM and MIRIELLE, as well as LANDON and SOUJI. While linked, any action taken by one person will cause harm to both! But you guys have some competent healers and magic people, surely the tethers can be broken.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     That tendril reaches out towards Nasa, who glances towards it. She reaches out with her free hand to grasp it mid-spell, easily accepting it. That rush of power causes Nasa to briefly falter, glowing as the magic overwhelms her. Some of it is reflexively devoured and shunted into her Hand of Growth for later use. She doesn't take more than is offered or given though. Once the magical surge ends, she shifts her hands again, her single drawn Kukri held to the side, frost beginning to coat the edge of the blade. She subtly presses a button, a dose of poison mixing with the ice that's coating the blade.

     Nasa slowly takes a breath as she lifts her hand up, the earth beginning to rumble beneath her. She doesn't bother speaking for this spell. It was just calling forth the spikes from before to come to the /top of the tree/. Once more, these stony spikes begin to break through the ground, setting themselves in place with simple intent; to be taller than everyone around them and absorb some of the worst of the lightning, drawing it towards /them/ instead of the people, by virtue of being taller. There were only about 10 of them, spaced out throughout the battlefield so as not to be a hindrance to combat.

     As one of the spears breaks through the ground, Nasa steps slightly towards it; though maintains a bit of distance. Alright. Time for the next thing. The Kukri in her hand began to be more thoroughly coated with ice; the length of it elongating as the poison transferred into it. Shimmering poison and frigid i<span style="color:e.

    <cxterm36">Frozen Poison, awaken from your slumber. Icy Web!</span>>

     Her wings flare out, and she's simply hovering for a moment... before she's suddenly dashing forwards at an angle, slashing towards the giant Ramuh's neck and head. Only for him to disappear midway through the attack. The Rahmuhling that appears in front of her gets targetted instead, and she dashes for it! She attempts to strike the center of the Ramuhling's chest! If the strike lands, the poison would begin to take hold rapidly. The area struck would begin to rapidly freeze; even aetheric energies might begin to do such. As the freezing continues, icy spikes would rapidly begin to expand, tearing through flesh and causing the wound to open and spiderweb out in a series of cracks.

     It seemed Nasa had a thing for aesthetics, as a handful of spiders made of ice would crawl out of the wound. They were just ice, however, and would fade when the icy damage would no doubt fade from the Ramuhling's form. Immediately after this strike, Nasa flies away again, zipping back to take a place in the back; ensuring that she's close enough that she can aid anyone who needs it(Or be aided if she needs it), but far enough away that hopefully; she won't be a threat to others if she's caught by some sort of spell.

     And then... she notes those tethers. She looks towards them quietly, frowning slightly. "..." She turns her attention on Mirielle and Bertram. She takes a small breath as she looks towards them... right. Prioritize the support. She begins to move quickly towards them, her Hand of Growth beginning to glow. "Staying still a moment if you can, will to get rid of that as quickly as can!" Nasa calls out!

N'raha Tia has posed:
    If it wasn't silly enough before now all this is happening. We are wrestling the Primal, we are joking about the Primal, we're live-tweeting the Primal, we are telling the Primal what his own business is, we are waltzing in from outside, "-CAUSING PROBLEMS, STARTING SHIT AND TRYING TO JUSTIFY IT ALL WITH GLIB BULLSHIT." Oh dear, inside thoughts have turned to outside thoughts

    N'raha snaps. If there was any single measure of anything resembling control at all right now, it would be the sudden pulsing shove forward as Na`sa's spell swats into him, the heavy blade of the axe swinging even harder as he is screaming out into the arena Ramuh has chosen for them. "LISTEN TO ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL COME IN HERE AND MAKE GRANDIOSE HELLS-DAMNED REASONING." He's glaring over his shoulder at Landon on this one. "YOU MAKE LIGHT OF THE DANGER YOU'VE PUT US IN." This one at Xiao.

    "THIS IS OUR LIVES. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE, AND YOU PEOPLE ARE TRAMPLING IT." He turns in place. Fuck the fight with Ramuh right now, fuck all of this

    The Arbiter appears in front of him, slapping at him with magic and lightning and aggravating shit that he can't really feel at all right now. It's clearly scorching at him and shocking him right through his plate mail, but there is too much anger there for the young man to even comprehend it.
    "WE ARE HERE TO FIX THINGS NOT MAKE THEM WORSE YOU IDIOTS."

    There's a sudden flux of Aether around the Miqo'te, and a flareover of energy as that axe seemingly doubles in size and he unleashes a twirling, spinning murder dance through his Arbiter, through the middle of the fight, and he finishes up in the middle of Shin's business, pretty much uncaring of who or what is in the way.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     SAMPLE #2 GET

     Xiao grabbed the piece of fluttering cloth before it vanished into aether particles, taking out her sample kit and placing it inside. By the time she finished and landed, she found herself nearly stuck to the ground, along with Shin.

     "Oh. Hello there Mr. Tokuyama. We seem to be in a bit of a pinch, don't we?" For as much of a pinch as it was, there was no urgency in her voice at all. Just amusement and curiosity.

     Typical.

     "Well then. I guess we should clear the ground before 'Something Bad' happens." That said, she held a hand out for Shin to take, should he so please, and then proceeded to--

     Oh, the kitty blew up.

     And he was spinning their way.

     "Well, that's a problem." Just a problem. She'd heard everything he said, and all she could offer the raging Miqo'te was...a smile. Xiao looked towards Shin again, hand still offered, and without further delay, she diverted all MP to her anklets. There was a burst of magic power from those anklets following, and she struggled with the static keeping her to the ground, aiming to break the static link and gain altitude.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Setsuko's blade dances and swings until there is suddenly no longer a target... or, at least, no longer the original target. A smaller elemental has appeared before her, and before the demigod can respond, she's bathed in lighning, a searing voltage that throws her to the ground with a hiss of pain. It's not able to suppress her for long, though, and through sheer willpower the swordswoman pushes herself into the air again, Zanjintou returning to the size of a katana - much better for striking out at the Arbiter before her. But then there is the explosion of N'raha's rage, and the act of battle becomes automatic, almost an afterthought, as her attention shifts.

    "N'RAHA! If you have issue, I will gladly hear you out after this battle, but now is /NOT THE TIME TO LOSE YOURSELF TO THAT FURY/, unless you want to get yourself and everyone else here /KILLED/! Control yourself!"

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
    So, turns out that that Primals are made up of a whole shit-ton of mana. This is something of a problem when Magic Absorber doesn't actually HAVE an off-button. Sure, the first few seconds are about as normal as these sorts of things can get, but the Absorber just keeps /going./ Marisa's flight jerks and spasms as power continues to flood through her veins. It burns like liquid lightning, and her spell doesn't stop, filling her with more and more of the Primal's cast-off power.

Eventually, it becomes too much even for the greatest laser witch.

    Coils of lightning twist out from the witch's skin, blinding, blue-white light blazes from between grit teeth. Her broom dips, skimming the ground before flipping end-over-brush, sending the witch and her companion bouncing across the broad plateau of the Striking Tree. She doubles over, hands clutching at her midsection as the raw might of the storm tears through her nerves and screams into her marrow.

    She can't even scream. All her attention is turned inward, trying to wrest the power under control. The slightest lapse of concentration means it's liable to escape, taking the path of least resistance... And the witch along with it. But in the meantime, she has... other problems.

One of Ramuh's adjudicators draws close, its staff raised, poised to crush the witch's behatted head with its blunt end--

    And then it gets waylayed by what is quite literally a horizontal tornado. The Celaeno Fragments stumbles towards her master, broom in tow. Vortices of wind twist all around her, but...

Can a grimoire alone protect the fallen witch!?

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Power flows into Kyra, power beyond her already large MP reserve she carries with her. "Wow, this is..." she flexes her fingers. Though not afforded the luxury of spending time reflecting on the sudden massive influx of magic particles, she finds herself confronted by a smaller version of Ramuh, who swings his lightning-spewing staff at her. Kyra reacts as any white mage would react when confronted with melee attacks and runs the hell away from it, leaving the Ramuhling to swing at empty air. "Ack!" she exclaims before rounding on the Ramuhling and taking full advantage of the extra MP to direct another Holy at it. This time, it does not drop from the sky so much as it emerges from her hands.

    She doesn't spend much time dallying on the Ramuhling because the state of affairs for the others at the moment demanded various degree of healing. In particular, she directs an esuna at Shin and one at Xiao. Shin because he needs to move in order to damage things. Xiao because she's in immenent danger of being whacked by a raging N'raha.

    Kyra doesn't say anything to N'raha right now but she does look pretty disappointed.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    Shin is pretty firmly bound in place by Ramuh's static spell. Thanks to Mirielle earlier, he's not totally motionless due to the BARTHUNDER on him. But he's moving a bit more sluggishly between his new huge size and the binding being put on him.

    "Yeah, it looks pretty crazy, Miss Li Yu," He notes, still trying to get used to the new form. He's sluggish, and this makes him a perfect target for N'RAHA to come in with his axe.

    Shin brings up both his arms over himself to cover his face and body, the massive axe digging into the forearms and eventually hitting bone. A river of blood begins to pour from Shin's arms as the axe severs god knows how many vital internal workings of his arms. He grunts from the exertion of stopping it and stares hard at N'raha.

    "What the FUCK do you think you're doing?" He asks. All of the humor, all of the aloof coping mechanism, and every single drop of the dismissive attitude drops from Shin's voice as if it had never existed at all. As his own blood begins to pool at his feet, Shin's sunglasses have cracked from the pushthrough force of the axe blow. It's a medical marvel his arms weren't sheared off by the strike.

    "I come to your world to help. You don't like my attitude because it doesn't fit how YOU would act, so you hit me with an axe?" Shin lectures, as if baffled by the fact, "Fine. After this mission, I'm out. Tell your... buddies... tell the guy with the spear. After this one, I quit."

    "I thought you were cool, and I wanted to help. My attitude is who I am, but at least I don't hit my fucking friends with an axe when I lose control." Shin tries to kick N'raha at the end of this. A straight, fireman's kick to the center of his arm to push him off Shin's arms so they can dangle limply at his side, "This, by the way? This is me actually mad. So you better back the fuck off and get back to the fight or kill me with the next attack, because this is your one, guy. This is the one you're ever gonna get where I don't beat your ass so bad they bury you in a tupperware container because there weren't enough pieces for a coffin."

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     "Those are nothing but excuses!" Landon roars, "Empty, pitiful excuses! The Ramuh whose blood charges through my veins gave up even his fleeting existence to teach his children right and wrong!"

     "How dare you be anything less than the best! How dare you push your failures upon the innocent for the sake of your children! You claim to be judgement itself - how dare you stain that holy title with bias!"

     "You are *unworthy*!"

     Landon's blade clashes against the Arbiter's staff, the sword of crystallized Law shining brilliantly in the collision. Thunder rolls down the field as Landon presses against the strength of a god with the strength of his willpower, and finds his flesh weak, though the spirit willing. The lightning bolts from earlier haven't been healed yet, and the sword goes flying from his hand. The Arbiter's staff rises.

     Landon dumps what remains of the magic from Valentha into another Law Card, shoving a rectangular barrier directly into the Arbiter's face. The barrier smashes with the force of a missile, backed not by muscle but by raw telekinetic force.

     Landon dismisses the barrier. He's running low on magic. Based on the pain in his body, he's running low on *everything*. He's not sure how much more he can take.

     No, actually, he knows exactly how much he can take.

     Enough.

     "Murasame!"

     Landon's fist closes as the lightning lashes around them. He points over at the man. "I can handle this. I trust you can do the same! Grit your teeth, and prepare!"

     Landon reaches into his cape. In his hand is...

     In his hand is nearly every single Judge Card he has in his possession.

     They burn with light. Landon fills them with what remains of his Magic Points, burning everything he's got and then some. Every bit of his store empties. He closes his eyes, feeling out the battlefield as others start carving into the field.

     "Ramuh, Judgement of the Endless Storm...I, Landon al Cid, Prince of Ramuh, pronounce you: guilty, once again! You who stand for judgement have been corrupted by the bias of blood! Your punishment..."

     "Is everything I have left! JUDGEMENT!"

     Landon throws the cards upwards as lightning begins to crash into him (and presumably Souji as well). They hover in the air, full of brilliant blue fire. Then they start spinning, whirling, furiously blazing above the Judge.

     IMMOBILIZE
SLOW
         BLIND
             BARRIER.

     Spells lash out. Chains of pure, crystallized law explode from the ground. They form out of the air, wrapping around the Arbiters' eyes, legs, arms - anything they can get a fold on. They lash, and wrap, and spread, as Landon pours all his reserves into the attack and grits his teeth to withstand the fury of the lightning.

     And then come the barriers. As the light of the other cards dies, their work done, the last card spins up twice as hard. Crystalline barriers surge into being, already in motion. Landon guides them with his mind, battering into the Arbiters from all sides. The barriers appear, smash, vanish, and reappear elsewhere, a constant assault from all sides as Landon feels his teeth ringing from the lightning lash. He sinks, as if to fall to his knees, pain filling every part of his body.

     But he doesn't. The Prince of Ramuh stands, though every part of him wishes he did not, though he burns inside-out with lightning and drains every part of his strength to power the assault.

     It doesn't last long. No assault like that possibly could. Crystal chains break, shattering into nothingness as the last drops of magic particles fade from Landon al Cid's reserve. The barriers stop their furious assault as the card burns its final light.

     But he raises his eyes to meet whichever Ramuh is still standing, defiance, anger, and righteous judgement still blazing firm within them.

     "I will cast judgement upon even the storm itself, if I must!"

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    With all the things going on, it's the actions of Shin and Xiao that most upset Valentha Summers. The wrath of an angry god venting rage, that she's willing to weather, as a matter of dignity, if it means a better outcome.

    But in the last few minutes things have happened which have her indignantly fuming for the sake of the very being they came to beseech. Yes, her own initial thoughts were that Ramuh needed a piece of her mind, but THIS.

    This is too much. "That is QUITE ENOUGH making a mockery of our duel!"

    Valentha's whole body EXPANDS and clothes rip and tear, all her belongings cast aside. Belongings that cost her hours and hours of work and countless thousands of credits.

    They're cast aside like nothing as her growing body becomes scaley and elongates, growing swiftly. She stoops over to land on her hands as they transform into clawed forelegs. Human features are exchanged for draconic features.

    Yet given how small the platform is - by draconic standards - Valenthanixa does not assume her full size. She is perhaps the size of an elephant, but no larger.

    This explains why she really didn't care about a few lightning bolts though!

    "I will not stand arm in arm with you fools who treat this so lightly. This is the very sort of behavior he is furious about to begin with. And I will have NONE OF IT."

    Shaking her head furiously and just allowing the many lightning bolts to slam into her if they so choose, scorching her hide and drawing rumbles.

    She begins casting a spell. There is judgement of her own to pass. The stormy skies above, already stoked to a feverish pitch by Ramuh, sizzle and crackle in reply to her commanding words of power.

    But although she was ABOUT to join Ramuh in passing judgement, calling lightning down on Xiao, she halts that spell the moment she sees Marisa's in terrible danger. Val's whole body glimmers blue and flicker-flashes, reappearing over top of Marisa, huge wings folding down to shield her and give her a chance to recover!

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Well...attempt to avoid N'raha's berserker rage failed. She felt sorry for Shin, but, well...Marisa needed help! With Kyra's Esuna in effect, the scientist took off through the air, quickly crossing the distance before cutting power to her anklets and skidding to a stop by the struggling witch.

     Whether or not she was aware of the spell that was potentially going to be aimed at her, she didn't show it. Instead, she knelt down by Marisa and raised a hand. The knife she was holding changed form into a gauntlet again and she muttered a spell. "Aspir." Her body took on a shimmery aquamarine glow, channeling into her hand...

     ...And then she simple reached for Marisa, aiming to make contact and begin draining excess magic back into her own body. Sure, Primals had a LOT of magic, but...maybe the pain will be less if two people deal with it. Hopefully Marisa will be well enough then.

     The dragon protecting Marisa gets a look from Xiao meanwhile, and a smile. As if she knew what was about to happen, but didn't.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    There's too much going on. She feels the lightning link on her, and each draw of her mana sends tiny sparks across the line. Fine. If each action caused by her, her partner would feel pain. Her Reflex skill was useless, as this was a status effect, and her natural resistances - even BarLightning - weren't foolproof by any methods. This was...

    This was Mechanics. The dreaded enemy of Adventurers.

    She began to analyze the link, dodging scatterings of lightning and the hanging orbs around - obvious persistent zone damage effects - and trying to simply move away from Bartram. No such luck. But then -- Nasa simply 'eats' the link, consuming the damage and the effect. Mirielle gives her a glance of thanks at Nasa, but she can't waste further time. Using her 'Trump Card' in such a desperate situation takes time, even if she was going for a partial usage.

    She lets her staff hang in both hands, slightly raise, as her glasses - no, her eyes - begin to smoke. No, it's more like a fine white mist that rises from under her hood. And as she incants, under her breath, to her the world falls away.

    If she were to be ready for a turnabout, her calculations noted she had to start now. For Kyra and Bartram, she expected healing - and thanks to the ideas of 'Triage', one must always address the worst cases first, to the best of one's abilities. Spending the time to use her relatively weak curative magic or support. But this...

    This is beyond the pale. Allies are attacking allies, even in such a tenuous position. She could rely on Bartram and Kyra, but instantly wrote off most of the others. Shin landed an excellent attack, but had been taken down. Marisa, their magical artillery, was likewise down.

    Landon and Souji were handling jobs, as well as... Well, there was too many variables. None of them were functioning fully within ideal limits.

    And so she begins to seethe something that isn't darkness, her eyes hidden behind her glasses and cowl, her mouth moving quietly. She was casting and casting, but, the situation couldn't be worse for her concentration.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"Sin is sin. Whoever made it first is irrelevant." Souji replies. "If you would punish Man, while excusing the crimes of your own people, then you are just as bad as you claim Mankind to be."

When Ramuh vanishes, the smaller Arbiters appearing and beginning their work, Souji looks to them and grimaces as the crackling tether of lightning connects both him and Landon. A bond of lightning. How appropriate. "This twisted judgement will do nothing but spell the destruction of the people you would hope to protect."

With a motion, Souji sets into a preparation stance, trying to focus, to find his center as he prepares to strike. He can possibly endure the pain of the assault, but in this case, efficiency is paramount. "Murasame Sword Arts..." Souji hisses, as he prepares...

And he screams as the crackling feedback from the lightning tether surges into him. The smell of cooking flesh drifts on the ionized air, and he jerks and shakes with agony that dances along his nerves. He has been struck by lightning before... but the intensity is on an entirely new level. He is almost driven to a knee from the pain. Almost.

But it is essential that he retains his focus. If he loses that...

Finally, the time comes.

SAMURAI MYSTIC KNIGHT
BUSHIDO SPELLBLADE
> 8: OBLIVION FLARE BLADE <

"Wind of Sorrow."

The Murasame Blade loses the poisonous sheen, before flaring white-hot with annihilating force. The air surges around him, boiling and rumbling as he draws his blade back and cleaves forward, a single slash of nuclear flame and boiling, soulless wind shearing out in a line across the Striking Tree. Where the wind passes, the tiny Ramuhs are struck with a wave of disintegrating force, taking full advantage of the massive number of debilitating actions that Landon has placed on them as he uses his offense to compliment Landon's defensive support.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Nasa strikes clean through her Arbiter; it dies. Well, turns back into Aether. There's not much difference for what it concerns you! She'll also find the tethers aren't the sturdiest spells or anything, either. They're potent magic but they're not beyond being outhealed, dispelled, or physically broken even.

    The same can be said of the electricity trying to bind people to the ground, as Xiao stretches hers to its limit and then takes off the ground.

    Setsuko, too, kills her Arbiter.

    Marisa's grimoire, dutiful and on the ball, blasts away the Arbiter aimed at her, so that's one less!

    Kyra's Esuna won't have any trouble breaking the binds (well, Shin's, since Xiao already took care of her own).

    Xiao eats magic! It's delicious Ramuh magic.

    Landon's spell puts a severe chain of debuffs on every Arbiter; they slow, they stop, they weaken. Their Aether is struck, and partially torn. Souji works unusually well with Landon there, turning his now white-hot blade upon many of the smaller Ramuhs. They're torn to shreds, the Murasame heir covering for those who had missed theirs. The Arbiters disappear.

    Ramuh reappears, overhead, staff raised. His entire Aether gathers into a single strike, as he gazes down upon the infighting group of adventurers, heroes, combat vagrants and others. "So passionate thy will to do Good. So strong thy beliefs that thy very bonds of friendship and purpose shatter when strained. Perhaps I have failed my children indeed, but now I must do as they ask me: I pronounce thy sentence. By the radiance of eld be thee judged."

    JUDGMENT BOLT rains down, giant pillars of lightning-- and judgment. They spin around the arena, some centered on Ramuh, but overall it would be very difficult to avoid, especially with all the infighting.

    The damage it causes is equal parts lightning, and equal parts 'how sinful is your life'. The harsher one could be judged, if their life was laid out for all to see, the more damage it'll cause. On the other hand, it's perfectly possible to steel one's mind enough it doesn't get to do that, and just shocks a lot.

    More importantly, it reveals INTENT. Those who are truthful about being here to promote peace will receive less damage. Those who are not will take significantly more. And those too busy infighting to remember the big picture will fall somewhere in the middle regardless of their intentions.

    Following the blinding display of lightning magic, Ramuh lands in the center of the Striking Tree, lowering his staff. His intent to fight disappears, if such could even be perceived, as he watches to see who is still standing, who rises, and what they have to say.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    A detached part of N'raha watches that axe sink into Shin's arms, watches the blood the carnage and recoils in horror.
    Another part revels in it. Right now he can't figure out which is worse.
    The Rage is still coiling off N'raha as he's kicked away from Shin, as he watches Landon and Souji tank the damage from the paired attack, all of it around him as he /seethes/. The aetheric axe is still there, the catman is still smouldering but he's not charging in at Shin again. If he was in a better spot right now he'd be apologizing but...

    Ramuh. Shin manages to get that back in his head. Ramuh. He's seeing red but he can at least direct this Fury into a direction that isn't the rest of the party.

    The catman's muscles /shake/ and he turns in place to face the Primal again. And it's then that the bolt of Judgement hits him, and he crumples to the platform of the Tree, the electricity arcing through his body, shutting down all the bits of him that had any desire to move. The Rage howls inside him, aching to be released rather than just fade away, but the Miqo'te lets it happen, the hazy red mist around his frame boiling away, healing some of the damage on its way out of his body. He's panting now, the wounds from the fight catching up with him, as he plants the head of his axe into the stone and levers himself... to a kneel. He sits there for a few long moments, before trying to get up to his feet. But what surprises him, is that it's shame, not weak knees, that is making it hard to stand.
    Shame? Shame. Shame for himself, for this whole debacle, for everything here. His voice lifts. "...This isn't what I wanted at all. This was s-supposed to be... This was supposed to be a chance to prove ourselves..."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Setsuko's dancing blade halt, her target having disappeared. She brings Zanjintou up, turning, looking, trying to spot the return of the Primal-

    And then he appears, above, passing judgement in a thunderous radiance that causes the demigod to buckle. There has been sin in her life. Much of it. She is a soldier. No matter the creed she follows to ensure that her killing is not unjust, it is still a creed that sanctions killing, and kill she has. That, more than anything, is the weight the Judgement Bolt brings down on her. But her body rallies against the lightning - if anything, though it causes her pain, something about it seems to enliven the demigod, causing her divine presence to swell just slightly. And as for intent? Hers is as pure as it comes. She is here to defend, to bring peace.

    Setsuko rises, having taken some damage from Judgement Bolt beyond the lightning aspect, but not much. "Passions run high," Setsuko agrees. "It is the nature of man. We are, all of us, individuals. We disagree with each other. It is in our nature not to be unified; though we work for a common goal, we may believe differently in how to achieve it. Sometimes, we will butt heads."

    Her hand takes hold of N'raha's armor. With inhuman strength, she hauls him to his feet. And supports him if she has to.

    "But though we falter, though we lose sight and make mistakes, if our heart is pure, we will ever strive to correct them, and ever reach for a better world. So do not judge us by our mistakes, but by our willingness to correct them." Her words, once again, are meant as much for N'raha as they are for the person she's ostensibly talking to. She's defending him to the Primal. "And please. Do not blame us for the mistakes of others, just as we do not blame you for the cruel behavior of other Primals. You are you, and they are they."

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Infighting. Anger. Rage. Things that Nasa knew well. N'Raha struck out wildly, injuring an ally in the process. It sparked flare after flare of anger and distrust within the group. A group of largely-strangers and outsiders. Even Nasa's own anger flared briefly, focused on Xiao. But she focused that silent, and internal.

     Nasa's gaze focuses on Mirielle as she gives her that brief smile. She returns it, stepping away from her briefly, but carefully placing herself so that she's in a defensive position nearby her, facing Ramuh. A dragon formed, speaking of anger. She looks up towards Ramuh as he speaks. "...Passion does always to runnning high in combat. ...This combat is to being nau different." Nasa murmurs softly. And then... Ramuh pronounces her judged.

     There wasn't even time to bring up a defensive spell, so all Nasa can do is plant her feet firmly on the ground and hope to weather the effects by letting it go through her bare feet. But... she hadn't ... really been prepared for the rest of that judgement bolt. She was not the one to take the most damage, her intent here had truly been to make peace. Ramuh, too, was a part of her beloved Wilds, in his own way. But she had been born a Drow, and raised a Drow. Though she had been working to repent over her life, her soul was Stained.

     And... well. It hurt. A lot. Not the worst, but she was almost definitely towards the lighter mid-range, most likely. It had her wavering in place, her wings fluttering as she twitches. But... regardless of this fact... she stands. She even moves. Slowly, painfully, but she moves. Ramuh is ... actually ignored. In favor of N'Raha Tia.

     Nasa moves slowly towards him, a hand reaching out towards him. "...Things do to rarely go as planned. Even the best of intentions can to causing the wildest chaos and worst pain. All you can to doing is make the best of it and apologize when you do to make a mistake." Nasa murmurs quietly. She does not, actually, touch the cat though. A last minute moment of clarity resulting in her thinking not to shock the cat with the likely heavy static discharge. "...And talk when you are upset, preferably before does to coming to boiling head."

     She slowly shifts her gaze up towards Ramuh, watching him silently for several long moments. "...Naubody is perfect. Naut even you. Everyone does to make mistakes. Is sure the people of Gridania wished to help your children, but they may to have naught even known... or been able to because their own situation has to being unpleasant. Nasa has been busy, has been going around, doing her best to help the land here. Has seen it? Is ravaged. Is monsters everywhere. Everyone is to doing what they can to improve the planet, and while there are to being some who are dark and hold ill intent... does naut mean that all do to deserve to be judged harshly." Nasa shifts slowly, wavering in place.

     She lifts her hands to rub at her face. Ugh. It hurts. She hates pain. She shifts her mouth slightly, biting down on an already-melted painkiller capsule in her mouth reflexively, letting the pain-killing medicine flow through her body. "...Can naut say that understands this land fully yet, but can to telling you... right now, what world needs is to naught being Judgement, but teamwork. Something that did to breaking down today at the end, but until then... we were to being working together well. It did to even letting us stand a chance against you."

     She lowers her hands. "Is naut Nasa's place to speak though. She is of another land. Of another world. Is helping those of this world, hoping that they can to getting the peace they wish for." She looks pointedly towards Alwyn, Bertram, and N'Raha, before looking back towards Ramuh, the dark mist over her eyes shifting, working at regathering after having been burned away by Judgement Bolt.

     "... Your children wish peace away from the rest of the world... first they do to need to make peace with the rest of the world, so that the rest of the world does to naut look at them with mistrust

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     "... Your children wish peace away from the rest of the world... first they do to need to make peace with the rest of the world, so that the rest of the world does to naut look at them with mistrust or fear. The Sylphs of Little Solace have to doing this excellently, and does hope that eventually the rest of the sylphs can to doing the same." Nasa shifts slowly, before eventually just ... falling on her rear. Ugh. Everything hurt. That painkiller needs to start acting faster.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon al Cid is not without sin. There are no human beings who are without sin. Living itself presents temptations, and Landon isn't perfect. He has...he has his indulgences, and he's made mistakes. He's done things he's not altogether happy about, although he's never done anything he's truly *ashamed* of. He's never done anything *evil*. He doesn't lie, he doesn't cheat, though he does withhold information when he feels lives can be saved by hiding things. That's the price of government - even the best of it isn't completely clean.

     And he's killed. He's killed men, and gotten men killed. The battlefield of Shiva may not have had any major incursions in the last few months, but even in the brief skirmishes, people die. People on both sides. Landon has fought hard to go back to the people he loves, fought fierce to protect that which he cares for.

     In love alone is he a tyrant. In all matters of government, in all manners of life, Landon al Cid strives to be a saint.

     He holds himself to an impossible standard. He pushes himself to the limit of health and sanity. He throws himself into battles he cannot win to protect others.

     And he does that now. Landon throws Shin, Kyra, and Souji to the ground. He takes the lightning into himself, three bolts beyond the one meant for him. Selflessness, self-sacrifice, even though one of the men involved is one of his worst enemies. Mercy, even for those who may not deserve it. Punishment, for those who do.

     Landon sears. He courses with thunder, arcs again racing up and down his body. Mercifully, Landon is not a bad man, and his honesty, his morality, his willingness to sacrifice for what he believes in and tell even a god to hold itself to a higher standard spare him some of the worst of it.

     Not all the worst of it. He's got nothing left. He stumbles for a moment, smoldering and swaying as if he's about to fall over.

     He doesn't. He takes a step forward. His eyes are locked so firmly on Ramuh that it seems as if he diverts his gaze he might simply topple there. Smoke pours out of his mouth and nose as he breathes out, then breathes in to speak.

     "You have...failed them," Landon manages, his breath rattling in his throat as he tries to take another step and finds his feet unwilling to move, "But you...too...can do better. You can teach them now, with peace. You can pass to them the word of what happened here, that they..."

     Landon fights himself to get the word out. "That they...might learn from it...and learn to coexist. That they might..."

     "Be..."

     "...wiser..."

     The Prince wobbles for a moment. Then he topples forward, exhaustion burning every muscle.

     "Better..."

     The clang of metal against the tree reverberates as Landon lands. It rings outwards like a gong, filling the air with its brilliant sound.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra's eyes widen in fear as it clicks in her mind that the Judgement Bolt actually contains Judgement from the Primal, that it wasn't just a whole lot of lightning. The bottom drops out of her stomach for she knows that in so many ways, she would be judged guilty. From the events that lead to her being ejected from her family and religion to accidentally ending a life, there was quite a lot she would be paying for.

    That is until Landon grabs her and throws her on the ground alongside Shin and /Souji/ of all people. She isn't unaware of Landon's self-sacrificial nature and knows exactly what is coming. So while she is protected, Kyra strives to make sure that Landon and those next to her, for Souji and Shin could no doubt use it from the fighting, were well-healed.

    Using up all of the extra MP that was gifted to her by the dragon, Kyra calls upon her healing magic and saturates the mound of people from herself, to Shin, to Souji, to Landon. The pile glows brightly with white magic that was just starting to re-emerge in this world.

    "CURAGA!"

    Following that, Kyra is silent. She really doesn't have much to say nor does she really think her support really proved anything to Ramuh.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    Shin is mostly out of the fight, due to the injuries that have managed to royally damage his arms. The act of punching would probably tear his muscle clean from the bone that's how wide his wounds are. This is fortunate for some, Ramuh chief among them, but unfortunate for Shin since he wanted to help the others in the first place.

    Instead, he occupies himself with other tasks. Namely, he starts tearing strips of fabric from his dress shirt and wrapping them around the huge, gaping wounds in his arms so that they'll at least stay put instead of spreading. Makeshift bandages at best so he can actually move his arms at all without making the wounds worse. Instantly, the white fabric turns a ruby red and Shin scowls.

    If nothing else, though, the look he gives N'raha isn't one of disdain or hatred. Shin's angry, but he doesn't seem to have any hatred in his eyes. Simply that of someone prepared to defend himself if he has to. Luckily, he doesn't, as N'raha manages to find his correct target again and the martial artist can heave a sigh of relief and revert to his normal posture for the moment, "Fwaaaaah. It's hard to believe the guy that FF'd me with an axe won't be the person I leave here with the lowest opinion of," He murmurs to himself.

    Shin finds himself thrown to the ground, immediately going,"Fuck me, again with this shi-" But he cuts off as it turns out to be Landon tanking Judgment Bolt for him. Shin, as someone who lives a Monk's Lifestyle is actually pretty pure and generally GOOD. But the lightning probably would have put him down for a long time after the injuries he already sustained. That's why, as Landon falls down, Shin manages to prop himself up onto a knee and murmur, "Shit man. Thanks. I owe you one." He notes, looking at the fallen and armored Prince, "And I swear I'll pay it back."

    Not today, though. As people begin looking to Ramuh to talk after the fight, Shin simply wants to leave. Judging Landon as someone that needs more medical care than him, Shin kinda slowly stands up and then tries to just quietly walk to the ramp so he can leave. This is not a situation he wants to be around for in post.

    This means that he IS hit by the Curaga from Kyra. He looks back over his shoulder, "Thanks. I think that'll hold me. Focus on him," Shin says. He can feel that, at least, the wounds under his makeshift bandages have stopped bleeding and closed a little. He's still leaving, though, for now.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
This is what Souji was seeking to prevent. While he, like all Ramuhan nobility, might wear a mask and dance the dance of daggers in the upper echelons of the government, he knows what he has done and what is good, and what is evil.

As the words ring out, Souji stops fighting, closing his eyes and sighing.

"Judgement is nigh." He says, quietly. Is this how he chooses to face the cleansing power of Ramuh?

Perhaps, perhaps not, as he is suddenly surprised by Landon throwing him to the ground. "WHAT?" Souji yells, genuinely surprised for a moment as he hits the scorched surface of the Striking Tree.

He looks up, and observes Landon, taking the strikes meant for them. Him, Kyra, and Shin... And he scowls. "You damn fool." Souji snaps, but there's no weight behind the words as he stands up again. "Kyra, see to him, quickly." As if she would need the prompting.

He looks towards Ramuh again, noticing that he seems to have expended his will to fight. Is this the end? As the Curaga suffuss him, undoing much of the damage of the battle, he stares at Ramuh.

He has no speech. He has no grandiose words. All he has is a blade in his hand... And he turns, sheathing it. the ribbon ties itself around the handle silently. "Are you satisfied?" He asks the Primal.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Mirielle is about to unleash hell, her frail body shuddering with the immense magic she had been working up until the point that Ramuh returns to the real world. She raises her hand, and the pressure she had been exuding lightly becomes nearly overpowering, in a wave of force that blows outward - the precursor to grand arcanery.

    And then she gets hit by Judgement Bolt. The overwhelming karmic lightning strikes her in her very soul and erases the carefully contstructed thoughts she had brought forth for his arrival.

    Her mind goes blank, her sight goes white, and her body knew only pain. But it was 'gentle' as far as being annihilated by lightning went.

    Which is to say, for all her darkness, all her shade, and all of her vile activities, her resolve here was at least somewhat admirable. She was here to stop Ramuh, to back Landon in pressing upon mercy and peace. These were optimal things, to her.

    While her soul was judged harshly, her mind was graced with some leniance.

    And so, as the bolt ended, she fell to her knees, her charred staff falling away from her hands and she threw up on the ground, heaving and falling to her side, twitching.

    "H-hate... zzz-z-zone A-o-E." She groans, scooting away from her 'lost cookies'.

    "Even with BarThunder..."

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
    Well, that's about the last time Marisa intentionally tries to eat an energy field larger than her head. Of course, this one was approximately four times her size, so maybe she can just try eating a smaller one and be fine, or something.

Wizard Hubris knows no bounds, after all.

    Xiao's treatment seems to work, though. A surge of magic pours into the Dark Knight, even as Valentha alights over them, protecting the trio from the torrents of lightning. Marisa's eyes slowly focus through the pain still pounding in her veins. But at least, for now, she's NOT literally turning into lightning. Even so though, there's still... power. Too much power. The judgment bolt builds in the sky, beyond the canopy of Valentha's wings, and Marisa... Responds.

She lifts her Hakkero to the sky, the other hand reaches for her Grimoire's shoulder--

    Above Valentha, the atmosphere seems to thicken with a peal of thunder, accumulating into a solid cushion of compressed air. When the Judgment Bolts pour in, they'll find significantly more resistance than the Primal may have expected.

After all, this IS his own trick she's borrowing.

    With a groan, the witch rises to sit, her skin still... crackling. "Goddamn," Marisa mutters, staring out at the Primal beyond the dragon's wings. "You ain't that bad, old man. Kind of a shitty judge, but I guess not an awful dad, either. Heh."

Better than hers, at least.

...Probably.

    "Xiao," Marisa glances towards the Dark Knight. Her eyes linger for a moment, before smirking- it's a little weaker than she usually manages, though, "Thanks for that. Woulda been bad otherwise."

Valentha Summers (834) has posed:
    Down comes the Judgement of Heaven and Valentha eyes the clouds warily. Then those eyes CLOSE after giving Xiao a return glare full of the wrath of nearly a millenia of life.

    And in that millenia of life, Valentha has made many mistakes. As a hatchling, too young to know any better or control her emotions she's killed and mangled. Time and again she has fallen prey to arrogance and delved after forbidden knowledge or dared things that should not have been dared. Her life is full of errors.

    But equally so is it full of repentence and efforts to make reparations. She has stood for the rights of all sapient beings, for justice and for peaceful co-existence. Risked herself selflessly time and again in fights even a dragon cannot face fearlessly.

    Just as she stands now shelteringly over Marisa and an 'ally' she doesn't at all respect but is depending on to save the one she does.

    That's a LOT Of power coming down to strike her. Both wings stretch out though to catch as much of it that might've otherwise threatened Marisa and Xiao as possible. And Valentha simply clenches her jaw shut in preparation.

    The JUDGEMENT BOLT slams hard into her, scorching deep through her bones and internal organs. Her whole body crackles, illuminated in the stormy fury.

    THIS one is enough to make the dragon roar in pain. A ferocious, deep, ear-shattering noise nearly as loud as the thundrous crack from Judgement Bolt itself.

    When it's all over with, Valenthanixa's still standing shelteringly. In all likelihood she couldn't offer full protection, with the nature of that attack. But what she received was enough to leave her paralyzed in place. Standing not through any remaining physical strength, but sheer willpower to not fall and crush anyone.

    When all's said and done, Val's principles and ideals, her intent, is unquestionable. She's here in the hopes of mending the ills suffered by a world and its people, and so she turns her mighty head - ignoring the pain in every spasming muscle - to turn her centuries-old gaze at the Primal.

    "We ALL fail. Learning from mistakes, making amends for them, and not repeating them is the cornerstone of maturity. I have done so my whole life."

    Her eyes swerve about though, fixating down on Xiao Li Yu with an excruciating ferocity. It's asking clearly, 'what about you?'

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Xiao grasped Marisa and drew some of Ramuh's power away from her and into herself. "...Agh....ow...seriously?" She grumbled, wincing and shuddering as the electric charged aether entered her body and coarsed through her veins. She was in absolutely no position to be tanking judgment bolts right now, so Valentha's (unwilling)defense of her and Marisa is...convenient.

     She stopped draining the witch once she realized that the other had regained consciousness. "Aha. There you are." She smiled a bit. "Welcome back to the waking world." And then a pained sigh. "Never do that again, you hear me?" Speaking sweetly, she pat Marisa's shoulder once it was all over, then rose to her feet.

     It looked like it was truly over. Ramuh was back as well. But she didn't have anything amazing to say. People were people. That's all it was.

     Valentha's glare is met with a curious look and a tilt of the head. She smiled pleasantly despite the anger being directed towards her, eyes twinkling as if saying...

     'I wonder about that.'

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Judgment comes down, and then it passes.

    "Doth thou regret your mistakes, Miqo'te?" Ramuh asks N'raha, with a tone that implies if he does, that will be proof enough.

    "Thy sentence has been met, Bringers of Light. Thou hast proven, if nothing else, that thy strength can overcome much. Perhaps to put the safety of mine children in your hands is not such a folly after all," the Primal muses at Setsuko.

    To Nasa, he nods. "Mine children saught isolation. If that was their wish, t'was not mine place to tell them they were wrong. But peace cannot be achieved through isolation alone. I see now that to separate all people in corners is not peace."

    Tempered Sylphs fly in, flocking around their Lord. They chatter, looking back and forth between he and the adventurers.

    Ramuh points at Landon; assuming nobody else gets to it (well, even if they do), one of the Tempered Sylphs starts casting healing spells. They're not anywhere near Kyra's level, but they'll help him up. "Rise, child. I sought to judge thy worth here, but it was mine that was found wanting. Mine ire should not target all men, when only some are evil. Once, mine children did summon me, and I laid waste to an army of Garleans. Unwittingly, my children were Tempered, touched by mine light. It is mine fault alone that they are so territorial."

    To Souji, he nods. "I am satisfied."

    Ramuh's form breaks; unable to sustain itself, mostly due to Marisa, honestly, the Primal is reduced to a sphere of glowing lightning, which hovers in the air.

    "My children will learn from this. Peace can be achieved; thy strength will ensure it," he answers to everyone, prompted by Valentha's words.

    "I judge thee champions of Light. Thy task, to excise evil from men's hearts. Falter not when comes time to use your strength. Like hungering shadows do the enemies of harmony gather, and meekness will but feed them. If man is to be delivered from the Dark, it will be by your guiding Light."

    And then, Ramuh is gone. His form breaks, and his Aether scatters back to the four corners of the Black Shroud. The Tempered Sylphs down below have all stopped fighting, and the Scions seem to already be untying them.

    It won't be EASY, but having their Lord tell them to seek peace will go a long way. Having Tempered people, beastmen of all things, coexist with Eorzeans will be a strange, new thing.

    It won't be long before the Scions (and the Elder Seedseer) will be up to congratulate you. And, well, now they want to talk. Because Ramuh sure said some ominous shit, and the Scions are all about that. Not now, though. Rest up first.

Xiao Li Yu (823) has posed:
     Right.

     Well that was all warm, fuzzy and touching, but...

     Xiao had research samples to study! As such, she proceeded to casually sidle off to the edge of the arena, plainly intending to leave while the talking, bickering, and heartfelt confessions of love and cameraderie started up.

     Priorities.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon is put back on his feet by a combination of Ramuh's awesome power and Kyra's awesome power. He stands, though he's still a little wobbly (getting hit by four god blasters and like every other attack will do that to you). He listens to Ramuh, slowly, as the god speaks.

     Then he vanishes.

     The Sylphs, the Scions, the Seedseer, they cluster to congratulate. Landon simply starts laughing, ironclad hand on his head. It is the laugh of tension shattering like glass on contact with the ground.

     The sheer arrogance of him to lecture the god on the proper method of judgement! And not just any god - his own ancestor, of a sort, the distant common father of his entire lineage, and the lineage of all those of his continent! It was staggering. But nonetheless...if a god is not held to a higher standard, if it cannot be an example to be followed, then what good is it? He laughs, and laughs, and laughs. His laughter rings out across the tree for a solid minute before he takes a deep breath and regains his demeanor.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     "...Does naut think that Isolation is bad in and of itself. If does want to keep to self for most part, is okay... that is to being what diplomats and people who do to go out and make sure that all is to being well with people they do to naut want war with is for, yes." Nasa murmurs, shifting slowly as she roots around in her pouches a bit. Eventually, she pulls out a small bottle of some form of liquid. Luckily, it hadn't been destroyed or even really damaged by the lightning. It was warm now, though.

     Nasa slowly stands as she listens to Ramuh talk. Champions of Light? She was among those judged! She takes a small breath. That was something that made her silently happy and joyous, really. Regardless, though, she began to make her way towards Valentha.

     She then takes out a small needle. She would then dip the tip of the needle into the bottle of painkillers and, provided that Valentha doesn't stop her from doing such... unceremoniously attempt to prick a softer area of her flesh. It would likely barely even hurt -- especially with the /extremely/ powerful painkillers and healing aids on the needle. Afterwards, she would carefully stop up the bottle, and offer the needle up to the dragon. "...Has your blood on it." ...Blood was valuable. Especially dragon blood. She was sure Valentha could understand why she was offering it to her.

     She then glances towards the tree. And then towards the Tempered Sylphs. "...Why is tree like this? Can Nasa help?" She asks towards them. "...Grand tree, cut as it is to being... is unpleasant to seeing." Nasa adds as an explanation to her offer. Mind you, she wouldn't help /immediately/. She just fought Ramuh. She had very little magical energy left right now.

     Oh sweet wonderful painkillers though. She could move! Thank goodness! Because otherwise she would be in a world of pain. She looks towards the approaching Scions and the elder Seedseer, simply nodding towards them. And then she goes more or less quiet, waiting for her healing aids to start their job. She was even sitting cross-legged. Just right there. Yaaaaaay painkillers. Also the ability to be semi-conscious while 'sleeping' by performing Reverie instead of sleeping.

Marisa Kirisame (829) has posed:
"Pfahahahaha," Marisa laughs! But it's an achey, too-sore-to-do-this-properly sort of thing, "Don't worry, I'll try to keep from uh, eatin' that much energy all at once." Lightning arcs briefly between her teeth, "Still feels sorta buzzy-tingly though. Could be worse though, I could be dead!"

    The witch groans as she rises further, taking a moment to ruffle her Grimoire's hair... And then looks up to the dragon still overtop of her. "Thanks a lot too, by the way! Appreciate not bein' nice and toasty. So!"

She... looks around, glancing at the beastmen and the others, "What do we do now, exactly?"