Chapter One: Ex Nihilo

A war already thousands of years since its beginning, some worlds have already been devastated, but hope remains for those who wish to defend it... or destroy it.

Aeon's armies are amassing once more, though they emerge from the shadows of defeat against the Reapers in the service of Exitium, they hold courage still. Exitium sees this happening, and is already prepared to strike again, this time to kill. Merciless fighting shall take place soon.

Elsewhere, Anima creates her guardians, preparing to defend her creations still, even through the pain of death, she refuses to give in. Chaos's hordes are running rampant through the worlds though, creating pure discord in their wake, challenged only by Anima's warriors, they will, however, win if left unchecked.

Still, the gods are summoning their warriors, as more and more appear in the Sanctuary, a world otherwise known as the home of the gods, they appear in the respective thrones to each god, with the scenery equally matching their power. It is here where our story shall begin, and here it shall start to end, for out of nothing, out of Ex Nihilo, a story will start to weave itself together.

you're a pretty good writer, that was a totally badass intro, almost gave me goosebumps

Nice intro, reminded me of some of the more old school intros from classic video games.

OOC: Why thank you. There will obviously be more, as the story progresses by our hands, each time the chapter ends, it will be on a an event of significant importance, as per the usual cliched style of writing. And the writing comes from lots of practice...I RP a lot, so I know what to say... sometimes...

In Character:

Rain knelt down, supporting himself with his sword. He was exhausted from fighting, as the bodies of a few of Exitium's reapers lay on the ground, dead, by all rights and purposes. The arena here was a grassy field. Not much cover, but it was better than the last world he was at. The wind gently blew Jacen's hair to the side, as the grass moved with it, dancing it seemed like. There were a few flowers, here and there, to make it seem less dull, or at least that is what it seemed like. There were trees in the distance, a forest rather, with a mountain rising out of it, going so high as for its peak to be hidden amongst the clouds.

Jacen "These things... They don't quit." *He says to himself, breathing heavily, as he slowly regains his strength. "I hate it, this fighting... It gets you nowhere..." He slowly gets back up, not trying to strain himself, as he knows better than that. He looks around, at where he was this time. "-and these portals. Every time they appear, I get thrown to some other world. My luck got me in this damn mess, as usual..." He pauses for a second, realizing that he was talking to no one in particular. "I need to stop talking to myself." He says again.

He started thinking that it may have been a bad idea to go out on his own rather than stick with a god. At least then he knows what to expect. "... I still hate surprises." He starts walking, favoring his left leg, as it was injured in the fight. He wasn't going anywhere in particular, just walking forward, aimlessly, as he soon lost himself in thought.

---

Jaxe laughed at the pathetic creature of Aeon, though human in appearance, its wings gave it away. "You're not very good at hiding, or running. Pathetic." He says to the man, walking towards him. He had his sword drawn, prepared to fight for Chaos again, or was it for himself? It didn't matter, especially to the poor soul that was Jaxe's prey.

Jaxe sprinted forward, and then just disappeared, teleporting to behind the man and stabbing him through the chest. He didn't have much time to react, he was barely able to take out his sword before the death blow. "You... y-you traitor..." He said in a weakening voice, at Jaxe.

Jaxe just smiled mischievously, as he pulled out his sword and kicked the man to the ground. "I don't care for your pathetic life. Merely the power I will gain from your death." He says, as an orb flies out of the body and into Jaxe, he glows a dark purple as power surges through his body, that same power increasing by a small margin.

Auger was lost. He had been walking along this grassy plain for a week now, and save for a few of the peculiar and destructive entities which called themselves "reapers", he had encountered noone. " I have been walking around for 2 weeks, and not a single worthwhile fight so far. just grass, grass, and more grass. At least its easy to keep myself alive here...". Auger suddenly noticed the dim sound of footsteps behind him. Looking behind him, Auger noticed a small group of Exitium's reapers. "More trash" Auger lamented, frowning " Well, beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.
Auger was not even noticed before the first reaper was killed. even after being noticed, none of them reacted before he threw the reapers lifeless corpse at the rest of them, creating a momentary shield. The first reaper to get up swung at Auger, but the blow was easily dodged, and the reaper could not even dodge before the blade went through his stomach, fast as a bullet. Auger pulled the chain back, and withdrew his short blade, another reaper attempting to grab the chain, only to cut its hand on the blade when it suddenly withdrew.
Auger had a manic grin on its face, holding his longsword in one hand while he held the chain of his weapon in the other, swinging it above his head. "I would prefer it if you all came at once. perhaps then one of you, at least, will be able to survive long enough to counter attack."
The reapers quickly drew into a line formation, and prepared to charge, and Auger's smirk grew even wider as he charged in turn.

Angus emerged from his fast travel to see a warrior slaughtering reapers mercilessly. He only stood and watched until auger actually missed blocking a counter attack, the blow was not nearly fatal but it stunned him momentarily and he stepped back. Angus could not watch any longer, He raised his staff and disarmed the reapers. Then without any effort Auger sliced through them in one quick, deadly motion. Angus decides that Auger could be a potentially dangerous foe if approached threateningly.
Angus approaches Auger with caution...

Auger was angry. "Why did you interrupt my sport. it finally got interesting, with that many. I probably wont find any sport that good for a while now."

"You had received a blow to your person, correct?" said Angus with curiosity
"I merely disarmed them to make your sport less, Dangerous"

"Fool. if it isn't dangerous, the sport isn't worth it anymore. Besides, this wound barely breaks the skin. after giving them a free blow, I lose them to another hunter. Such a buzzkill."

"I am sorry for ruining your sport" Angus fumbles for words "Would you like me to summons demons for your sport?"

"Hmmm? so you can summon demons? Now that I think of it, I don't know you, stranger. But after seeing what you did to those reaper-things, I can guess at your combat capabilities."
Auger begins swinging his blade over his head, and readies his sword.
"Since you took away my old opponents, i guess you will have to be my new one in return. Don't die too quickly, or I won't be able to enjoy it properly."

Angus feels terror, and flees using Haste

Auger Took chase at his newfound opponent, but soon found himself out of breath. "Damn that stupid creature. First, he spoils my fight, then, he runs away rather than face me. Grrrr... I would do better moving in a different direction, perhaps getting some food before the end of the night.
Auger soon came up on a small hill, and when he reached the top, noticed a groud of dead winged humans, and saw a bit of dust kicked up in the distance, suggesting someone was moving in that direction.
"Who was proficient enough to cause this much carnage, I wonder" Auger mused, "Someone who left this much destruction in his wake...Perhaps i finally DO have an opponent."
One of the creatures shifted slightly, and Auger promptly picked him up by his shoulders.
"Speak, who did this to you?"
"betrayer" the voice came out in a weak rasp from the humanoid being
"Betrayer...? Whats that word mean?" Auger asked, but the creature had exhausted its remaining life force, and let out a sigh before exiting the world.
"Bah, no matter." Auger decided "I can ask the "betrayer" what his name means when I catch up with him....before i impale my blade into his belly."
Auger then began running to the source of the dust cloud, his only regret being that his opponent might be too tired to fight when he got there.

Angus came out of haste to be in front of the kingdom he had long ago been a part of. He walked up to the entrance and was halted by a guard. "What is your business in the kingdom?" he demanded "It is I, Angus the Mage" To which the guard stepped aside respectfully. "Thank you guardian of the realm" mused Angus "your services are of a great value to our haven". Then he walked through the gates, inside the castle walls were people. People were everywhere, bustling about their normal business. There were chickens clucking and pigs snorting on store fronts. People were picking up and buying fruit and vegetables from grocers. Barkers were hollering about there wares, Angus wasted no time and headed straight for his destination. The swordplay trainer could teach him the art of the sword. "Hello old friend" Said Angus greeting his old friend and mentor. "I take it you want more training?" "Yes but not from you, where is the swordmaster?" "He is currently training a group of young warriors to parry attacks." "that is perfect, I am here to learn parrying first and then master counter attacks." "but this will take you many days and nights" said Skaer, judging. "Dark forces grow outside these walls and I need all the training I can get" breathed Angus "and this kingdom will not always be a haven." "Indeed, here is the swordmaster, he is finishing his lesson in a short while." said Skaer as he left.

Angus waited until the swordmaster had finished with his trainees and went to talk to him. "I seem to recall you are a very skilled fighter who can teach his skill, is this correct still?" "Indeed it is still true, do you wish for me to teach to you the art of swordplay?" he replied. "I indeed need to know how to parry blows and counter attacks." "This shall be simple, it should only take a week to teach you a mastery of these skills." "Then can it be done?" "Yes, I will teach you what you need to know, starting tomorrow."

Now Angus is in the (heavily defended) kingdom of Hayldrig (Founded by Duke Hayle, the Swordmaster Hayle's deceased father) where he will spend an RP week training

after finally catching up to the "betrayer" auger found himself looking at a dark haired, red eyed young man. "You" Auger proclaimed, an arrogant smirk on his face "I can tell just by looking at you that you will be a great opponent. Auger drew his blades, switching into his fighting stance "Yes, you will last for quite a while." Auger remarked, throwing his short sword by the chain at his opponent, already preparing himself for the next strike. " You better not disappoint me"

Jaxe turns around and smiles at his new opponent, evaluating him quickly before the battle. "Heh, I'm plenty more than you can handle." He says in response to Auger as he motions with his hand, using magic, deflecting the chain away from himself, and pulls out his sword. He stands there, casually, already mocking his opponent. "Are you sure you want to pick a fight with me? Your death fuels my power. Do you wish to become one with me? Heh, the prey today are so desperate for the end, their fate." He says, just standing there, waiting for Auger to strike once more.

"Heh heh. You will be able to entertain me for a while. but you seem mistaken as to who the prey is here. Auger Moves forward, and brings his longsword down in a quick strike. "Ok, whoever dies in this fight is the prey" A manic grin appearing on Auger's face.

Jaxe rolls underneath the attack, just before it hits the ground, springing up, jumping into the air, spinning around, and doing the same to Auger as he tried to do with Jaxe, his sword poised to slash him. As he lands, either missing or hitting his target, he smiles at Auger, and says, "Oh I'm going to enjoy this." Chuckling to himself.

"someone who lasts the first strike. what a great world. ". auger barely blocks the attack with his longsword, and his blade is driven back, creating a thin, shallow cut on Auger's chest. Auger brings his short sword in for an attack, letting go of the chain right before he hits Jaxe, the chain beginning to entangle itself around Jaxe's legs.

Jaxe looks down and smiles at the chain. "Want to play that game, huh? Well, then, let's go for a ride." He says, smiling, as pitch black wings emerge from his back and he takes to the skies, carrying Auger with him. Once in the air, Jaxe spins around quickly, to disorient Auger, and to try to get him to let go, as energy starts to build into his wings, specifically. Time for high-speed flying.

"Hehehehe."Auger was amused by his preys actions, as the wind buffeted him from all sides. "I havent felt winds like these since those sandstorms when i was a kid." Auger's cut, battered by the wind, becomes a bit deeper and bleeds. Auger, seeing the opportunity, puts the blood on his hands to help him hang on. slowly, he climbed up the chain, heading for his prey, all his mind focused only on getting to his opponent and slicing him in half.

Jaxe smiles again at Auger, as he stops, he puts his power into his arm muscles. He raises his sword, preparing to strike the chain, in order to cut it. "Watch your step now." He says mockingly, as he slices the chain, the energy meant to cut it. Jaxe would watch if Auger fell, swooping down after him, sword held with both hands, pointing to the side as he prepares to strike at him again. His flight leaves a path of black feathers and a line of black energy, which quickly dissipates after a few seconds of existence.

"Hehehehehehe... I had 3 of the best mages of my world enhance this for durability. you think an attack of that level would destroy it?" Auger said mockingly. Sure enough, while the metal chain had a small nick in it, it held. Auger brought his long blade back "but this is an awkward way to fight" Auger grabbed a section, and pulled himself right next to Jaxe "I'm going to make you return to the ground one way or another".

Jaxe was still smiling at Auger. "Mmmm, no, not really." He says, as he fades away suddenly, appearing again a distance away, the chain not carrying with him. "You are an unsophisticated fighter." He comments, laughing now as he thinks he's won again. "Now." He says, as his wings glow a dark purple aura, filling up with energy. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

"people have said that to me before. sophistication just gets ya killed, in my opinion." Auger brings his weapons up as he falls, holding his short sword in one hand and long sword in the other. "You aren't going to run away like the other fools, I hope. Come on, then, try to slay me." Auger's grin was at its widest "Entertain me!"