'Tis the Season [Job/Garret]

Job Name: Disaster at the Coming of Age Ceremony
Job Rank: B
Job Location: The Tundra
Job Rewards: 200 XP, 15k Huang
Job Prerequisites: [Reserved Azix x Garret]
Job Overview:
Asisiak welcomed Azix and Garret to the village when they arrived from Reim. During the feast there were stories of their cultural coming-of-age ceremony, the battle against the Rampaging Unicorn. It just so happens that it is the season for a higher amount of activity from the creatures, and they expect to be able to hunt one of them off the tundra. To allow the newcomers an opportunity to see a core part of their culture, Azix and Garret are invited to witness the battle that will lead to this warrior's Ceremony. Unfortunately, more than what was expected showed up, and both Azix and Garret find themselves forced into providing assistance in order to come out of this alive...

Spoiler:

Silver twists in the mounds of twilight reflected crystals swept the land before the group. The wind howled over hills and through the sparse trees that stood in its way. In the distance, the ocean could be seen over the edge of the iceberg. Azix wrapped the thick, grey, fur cloak tighter around his body as he trudged through the snow alongside Garret. They traveled with a small group of Imuchakk on the way to watch one of the young males' coming-of-age hunt.

With the coast in sight, Jerichoho's face set tight in a mask of determination, yet his eyes betrayed a hint of nervousness. Azix flashed the younger Imuchakk a reassuring smile and wink. Jerichoho gave a small smile and turned his eyes to the challenge ahead.

Leaving the boy to his thoughts, Azix looked over to Garret, "Excited to see the Rampaging Unicorn as well?" In truth, Azix was more interested in seeing the hunt, than the beast.

During the welcoming feast, the Imuchakk had discussed that the Rampaging Unicorn were massive serpent-like creatures of the sea, with a long horn protruding from its head. The Unicorns were supposed to have immense strength and be extremely quick in water. With that knowledge, he had been surprised to learn that they expected their youth to slay one by their self to be considered an adult. Surely there were safer ways of determining maturity. Azix found it hard to imagine that the Rampaging Unicorns were that strong and had to see for himself.

Luckily, Azix and Garret had arrived at the start of the season where Rampaging Unicorns typically came closer to the icebergs. Using his diplomatic status as a guest, he had requested to watch one of the hunts and Asisiak had agreed. Once the workers had settled down, Azix had been invited by Jerichoho and his group to witness the strange cultural ceremony.

They arrived near the shoreline and came to a stop. Jerichoho looked between the members of his tribe before heading into the waters with his spear. He waded out a few feet and looked around for signs of a beast. Azix watched the crashing waves carefully as well, looking for signs of a sea creature, but not knowledgeable enough to know what to look for.

[380/1500]

Garret walked along with the rest, his layers of clothing sufficiently warm to keep him alive, yet the chill of the frigid air would not be stopped. He looked over to Azix's cloak, and briefly imagined that it must have been quite warm. Garret sighed, watching the cloud of air as it left his mouth. Garret changed his attention from his breath to that of those who were leading them to the grounds where they believed the Rampaging Unicorn was to be. There were enough of them to carry the dead beast back, and the use of a few sleds would make the work just that much easier.

Garret took note that the Imuchakk and Azix seemed to know each other, as a look of reassurance passed from the light Magician to the Imuchakk. Garret focused back to their environment, listening for anything out of the ordinary. His constant surveillance of their surroundings was a result of the danger he had found himself in on a daily basis; a trait the Imuchakk shared with the Spymaster. While the Imuchakk weren't in danger of assassins, they had their fair share of issues in the hunting world. Not that Garret himself knew much about those.

Azix asked Garret if he were excited to see the Rampaging Unicorn, and the man thought on it. It almost seemed like he had ignored the question, as he had taken that long to think on it. "I hear they taste delicious, and there are many ways to prepare them. Though, I think what I'm most interested in... Is the horn, that they use as their weapon. Everyone here seems to base their weapons off of the horn, and it looks fairly sturdy." Garret was interested in the feast, but it came as no surprise that his primary interest lay in the combat functionality of the horn itself and how those of the Imuchakk nation used their unicorn horn weapons in battle. Unfortunately, I will not have the opportunity to see the unicorn horn in use... He knew that only those who had gone through the ceremony actually had the Unicorn Horn weapons.


Jerichoho moved forward, to the forefront of the shore, looking for the signs of the Rampaging Unicorn. The group came forward, waiting expectantly. The young Imuchakk would have gone deeper into the water had it not been for the sudden appearance of the creature he was hunting. The surface rippled with its movements, and it was apparent that this one was fast enough underwater that the normal advantage that an Imuchakk had in the water was not quite enough to match the speed of the beast. This was soon noted to be an extremely wise decision, as four more ripples in the water were seen. The Imuchakk grew deadly serious as they saw the change in the water, immediately understanding that this wasn't simply one that they were up against; it was a group of the creatures. One alone would be difficult for a warrior to face, but five in total? Impossible.

The Imuchakk cried out a warning to Azix and Garret, informing them that the creatures were far too dangerous to face, and that the two should stay out of battle. Garret looked to Azix; he had a feeling that the man wasn't going to simply back down. "Lets go, Azix. They'll need all the help they can get." As Garret said that, Jerichoho had gotten back onto land, yet that was no deterrent to the creatures. Being natural predators, and being in a group, gave the beasts the confidence to come onto land and challenge the morsels before them.

Garret paused, pulling Desceld into his right hand as he pulled Kuroi Shimo into his left. The beasts were incredibly intimidating, ranging between two times to five times taller than the Magician... And anywhere between 10 times longer than he was tall to 23 times longer than he was tall. The two on the outside, that seemed to want to flank their group, were the largest. The Imuchakk people seemed to have their hands full with fighting off the three smaller ones. "I'll take the right. You take the left?" Once Azix confirmed, Garret would move out to meet the creature in battle...


OOC:

Word Count: 716/1500

Azix chuckled at Garret's response, of course the Spymaster was interested in the beast's horn. Azix knew that Garret trained any chance he got, showing a strong desire to constantly improve his combat prowess. Azix had to agree that the Unicorn Horn sounded like it could be fashioned into an impressive weapon.

As they watched the waters, Azix noticed a ripple that proceeded four more. The Imuchakk's reaction made it apparent that this wasn't normal. Ignoring the Imuchakk's warning to stay back, Azix looked to Garret and nodded. "Right behind you."

Azix pulled his Staff of Refractions into his left hand while removing his Magic Carpet from around his waist. He agreed to take the Unicorn on the left, leaving the other for Garret. A trickle of magoi activated the carpet and he hopped onto it, wanting to avoid the icy waters. He offered to let Garret onto the carpet and would wait for the man if he accepted, before flying overhead the two Rampaging Unicorns that were trying to flank the group.

Azix flew a few meters over the surface of the water, looking down at his prey below. He noted that he was currently over the beast's midsection and that it was several meters under the water. Using Crazy Horse, Azix manipulated his hair into a snake-like braid that undulated as it grew till nearly half the length as the beast he was fighting. The braid coiled around his magic carpet, the tip hanging off the edge before shooting downwards into the sea. The braid met the beast's back and barely managed to pierce into the Unicorn's hardened skin.

He stared in disbelief for a moment, remembering the damage his hair had caused to the bear at the hot spring in Kios. He recovered and retracted his hair till it was its normal length at his shoulders. Azix did manage to piss off the Unicorn, even if he hadn't caused it much harm. The Unicorn flicked its body around to pull its lower half forward, while its tail shot out of the water several meters in front of the magician, before Thrashing back down. A large wave rushed towards Azix, threatening to swallow him up.

Azix jerked the carpet to his left, in an angle around the wave and barely managed to avoid it. He saw the wall of water pass by his side and let out a sigh of relief. His eyes searched for signs of the Unicorn and noticed a large spike piercing the waters. The monstrously long beast Charged out of the sea in an arc that would hit the man on the carpet.

With no time to react, Azix's Borg flared up to take the strike from the Unicorn's horn and promptly shattered. The surprise from the attack as well as the force of the blow sent the magician off balance and he started to fall from his carpet. He swallowed his panic and held out his staff as he fell, conjuring Kage Youshiki. A mass of shadows appeared in the air and streaked towards the underbelly of the Unicorn.

As Azix splashed into the icy cold water, the mass of shadows reached the beast during its descent. Two massive shadow thorns formed from the mass, one piercing into the beast's soft underbelly and the other finding its mark into the beast's hardened sides. Azix had to will himself to hold onto his staff as he thrashed wildly in the water. His teeth chattered as he calmed himself and he managed to miss the beast's weak spot.

Below the magician, the Unicorn swam in a circle around its prey, waiting hungrily to lash out again but biding its time to instill fear. For his part, Azix had managed to force himself to focus on the fight and not the cold water. His eyes followed the beasts head, hoping to judge its path. When the Unicorn finally turned its head, Azix saw a flutter of blue Rukh near its horn. In the ocean, it didn't surprise him to see blue Rukh, but it did strike him as odd.

His instinct was soon affirmed when a massive stream of water burst towards him. The bubbles it created as it moved through the water alerted him to its presence. Azix would never have noticed it for what it was without his time with Garret. Biting the thumb on his right hand, Azix blew it up to a ridiculous proportion and held it below the water to block the Hydro Pump. His Big Hand managed to block the attack, but he was still pushed up out of the water for a moment, at the same time the chilled wind picked up.

He landed back in the water with a splash and Azix scrambled to get his bearings with such a large hand holding him down. The Rampaging Unicorn had followed up behind the spell to snatch Azix up in its teeth but they found his massive hand instead. Unable to fit it in its mouth, the unicorn turned its body and swam away from Azix.

The magician's hand deflated and he pushed his body back up to the surface. He sucked in a much needed breath of air and wiped the water from his eyes with his free hand. Before him, he saw the waters part in the Unicorn's wake as it came towards Azix once again. Commands to the Rukh passed from the magician's lips, calling both black and yellow Rukh to conjure a Solid Spear of Light. The strength and light magic infused spear stretched forward and collided with the Unicorn's face, eliciting a roar of pain.

The Rampaging Unicorn twisted its body and Azix noticed that the soft scales gave way to a soft underbelly. Using Swiggity Swooty, Azix extended his arms as new joints formed, allowing him to contort them at odd angles. While he held his staff in his left, his right arm was free to travel towards the Unicorn's belly and give two sharp smacks to it. Azix heard two sickening cracks of bone and the Unicorn flailed its body in the water. It gave a wheezing roar as it dove down into the depths.

To his right, Azix spotted the magic carpet floating and he swam over to it. A trickle of magoi activated the magical tool and he pulled himself up onto the carpet. He shuddered underneath his sopping wet clothes and scanned the waters to find the Unicorn. He didn't have to look too long before he found it floating up towards the surface, blood trailing from its mouth. 'What did I hit?'

He laid on the carpet for a few more seconds, shivering as he tried to catch his breath. Remembering his allies, he pushed himself up on one elbow to see how they were faring and if he needed to step in to help.



[140/300]

Spoiler:

Garret moved when Azix confirmed that he would, in fact, take on the other side. The Blue Magician had a great deal of confidence in his combat capabilities, and immediately charged the creature. It took his challenge, and leveled its horn towards Garret while barreling forward in a Charge. The Magician jumped into the air, right before impact, and brought Descled down upon the creature's horn in order to clash up against it. His choice of attacking the creature and absorbing the blow caused his blade to crack. Another technique of that level would likely destroy his blade. Even so, Garret felt that he had obtained an advantage. By removing his feet from the ground, he had removed the opportunity that the Rampaging Unicorn had to slam him backwards into the ground; with the downward force of his strike against the horn, and the upward force of his jump, he planned to flip over the creature's head in order to get above the beast.

This proved to not be the wisest of ideas, however, as the creature suddenly flipped its head upward and Garret went flying into the air. The magician looked down at the creature, which seemed to be preparing something. A short moment later a burst of water came from the creature; Hydro Pump. Garret responded in kind, sending a Jet Stream to intercept the opposing pressurized stream and causing the two to crash against each other and splash away. While the spell clashed with the beast's magic, Garret briefly looked over to Azix and noted that somehow the man had grown his hair's length to an incredible degree before sending it down on the beast. While he was curious about what the magician was doing, Garret had his own battle to work on and only had a small amount time to respond to the next move from the Rampaging Unicorn. Garret cast Controlling the Currents. The cylinder of water grew beneath him even as the great beast jumped up in an attempt to swallow Garret whole as he fell from the sky. The beast would have been successful, had it not ran into the pillar of water that pushed at it while keeping Garret afloat in the air.

It roared out in frustration as its moment was stolen by the spell, and Garret took that as his opportunity to give the creature a 'gift'. While Garret was unaware of the creature's unnaturally thick hide, he was given the first ever opportunity to force his opponent to take his Ice Explosion down their throat and explode it from within. Garret did exactly that, and the spell traveled within the beast. Garret's pillar of water brought him down at a similar rate that the beast was falling from the sky, keeping the explosive within an appropriate range for Garret to give the orders for it to implode.

From within the creature's body the spell tore the beast up, slicing various internal organs up and destroying a good portion of its body. Unfortunately this meant that the beast was good for less uses, though Garret was certain that after today the entire village and then some would have enough food for the next three or four days. He settled down to the ground, and looked towards the progress of the other combatants to see who needed assistance the most. His first check was Azix, who was still battling his opponent. Though Azix seemed to be struggling, the Magician pulled through before Garret was able to provide support, defeating the creature in some unseen manner due to his position in the cold waters. He will need to dry off and warm up... Those waters are likely to be incredibly deadly for humans... He had never seen hypothermia, nor frostbite, but he had heard that their effects were incredibly deadly. Nothing that the Imuchakk seemed to care about, though, as they seemed to not notice even the coldest of environments.

At the thought of the Imuchakk, Garret quickly looked to the three remaining beasts and their prospective fighters. None of the Imuchakk seemed to be helping Jerichoho's battle out, directly. Instead, each of the adults had teamed up to take on the other beasts and keep them from interfering with the coming of age ceremony that Jerichoho was going through. Garret slowly approached, gathering his breath and preparing himself to support them. As he came closer, he began to note their battle strategy; it looked as if attacking the upper half of the creature was futile, as the weapons imparted few to no wounds on the creatures. Yet as a team, Garret watched as three men eventually bring the beast's underside to bare, while the others struck the creature's underside. Ah. So that is how these creatures should normally be hunted. Garret paused, determining that they likely needed no further help, and watched as the men worked with great teamwork and defeated the other two extra Rampaging Unicorns.

That simply left Jerichoho, who fought the creature long and hard. The battle seemed to be a standstill, but with a few techniques that surprised Garret and caused him to be a bit envious of the pure and raw strength of the Imuchakk, the 'child' had become an 'adult' and slew his very first Rampaging Unicorn. When the deed was done, the others clapped and cheered. Garret joined in on the clapping, respecting the customs of the Imuchakk. One of the Imuchakk came up to him and grinned. "Both yourself and your other human friend, over there, took a unicorn on by yourselves as well... And adults, no less! Looks like today, three children became adults!" the laugh was deep, and Garret raised an eyebrow at the man, not quite sure what he had just gotten himself into...


OOC:
-exit-

Word Count: (974+716) 1690/1500
Magoi/Stamina: 200/300

Weapons used:

Abilities Used:

Azix guided his magic carpet over by Garret and the Imuchakk, letting out a sneeze as it settled down on the shore. He stood off the carpet and wrung it out before draping it over his shoulder. Azix was already soaked and frozen to the bone, what did another wet layer of clothing matter? He arrived at the tail end of the conversation and gave a half-hearted chuckle over the sound of his teeth chattering. "This new adult needs a fire and a change of clothes."

The Imuchakk who had been talking to Garret laughed and motioned to Jerichoho to start a fire. Azix took his place in front of it as the Imuchakk gathered sleds and loaded up the Rampaging Unicorns' carcasses onto them to take back to the village. It took enough time that Azix was no longer shivering, but his clothes were still damp. He didn't let that slow him down, instead he helped pull the sleds back to the village with the others.

Once he was back in the village, Azix quickly changed his clothes and hung them out to dry. With so much food brought back, it sounded like it was time for a massive feast. With a feast came large bonfires and the warmth would be very nice after playing in the icy ocean.

[exit]