(ooc: Kanshisha, I didn't get your e-mail. Please check that the file isn't bigger than 1 Mb and that you sent it to meet_soul_reaver@hotmail.com . Type the address in by hand if necessary - I think you've got the wrong one in your quick address list or something.
Oh, and sorry about the mistake Kitharsis)

Kanshisha's fury seems to override his better judgement as he thrusts his hand into the Warp Lord's aura. Immediately, the aura sizzles and crackles with black energy, shredding flesh, muscle and bone apart in a split second. Kanshisha's hand has been completely vaporised up to where he thrust it into the surface of the sphere. His dimensional blasts simply diffuse on touching the surface - the sphere does not even so much as ripple, and the firey explsion from his remaining hand disappears into nothingness before penetrating more than a millimetre or two into the aura.

Soul Reaver sees with growing dismay and disbelief as Yue's magical arrows also shatter into fading sparks upon entering Blackrend's aura. This thing simply seems impenetrable.

Behind Kitharsis' barrier, Soul Reaver looks at Asaki... no injures are actually visible on her, but some blood stains the corner of her mouth.

Internal injuries...

Soul Reaver quickly chants a spell of healing. As much as casting these spells drains him, he cannot allow her to be cut down so ignominously.

Soul Reaver rapidly weaves the spell over her, renewing her strength and rapidly healing her internal wounds.

The Warp Lord, unfortunately, has realised that the Staff was merely a decoy. Still sensing and hearing the staff charging even though he knocked it from its wielder's hands, he now turns back to trying to find the Staff. Ignoring everyone else around him, knowing with confidence they cannot touch him, he instead looks for the true Staff. For the first time, he begins to rise...

Stavarus, however, knows that the time has come. The cloaking device fails under the strain of the energies in such close proximity, and Stavarus appears, holding the Staff of Ashara in his hands. It is glowing a bright yellow, so bright that it is blinding to look upon. Arcs of power crackle from it in all directions.

"WHAT?! The plaything returns?!"

Stavarus shouts over the din, though he now feels so weak that the effort almost makes him falter.

"I swore I would destroy you, foul Daemon! Now, at last, revenge is mine!!!"

Blackrend raises his hand upwards and brings it down, projecting forward a blast of energy so immense that it rips apart Kitharsis' shield in a split second. He raises his hand again, roaring deafingly as he does so... Soul Reaver realises that once that hand falls, Stavarus' life must surely be forfeit, and their advantage lost...

And Stavarus completes his attack. With a huge whoosh, a yellow ray of blinding power streaks from the Staff straight towards Blackrend's chest. The Warp Lord's eyes narrow in hatred just as the yellow light washes over the entire room, making it impossible for Soul Reaver to keep his eyes open......

(ooc: Damn. I have to go to bed. Will finish this as soon as I can tomorrow morning...)

Stavarus averts his eyes and drops to his knees. He is feeling weak, drained, and empty, his face is pale as death.

The light from the Staff of Ashara slowly fades away, and Soul Reaver gradually opens his eyes once more.

(ooc: Cue the Weaver of Destiny Theme song number three, “Legacy of Kain: The Soul Reaver”. You’ll probably need it on repeat.)

The Warp Lord is unharmed.

He stands before his throne on a pair of muscled legs, his shoulders shaking as he laughs. His crimson eyes burn with pure malevolence. With a leathery sound, he unfurls four pairs of massive bat-like wings from his back, spreading them out and casting a terrible shadow over the companions before him. His six arms are spread wide, as if waiting for a blow that now will never come. The images upon his torso and body twist mockingly as his aura flickers, untouched by the assault.

He looks more like the terrible multi-legged spider than ever.

Stavarus shakes his head in disbelief.

“No… no… it cannot be…”

The Warp Lord gestures with his hand. The Staff of Ashara is ripped from Stavarus’ grip and disappears in a flash of power, only to reappear beside the Warp Lord’s throne. Chains and iron wrap over it, locking it firmly in place.

The Warp Lord looks at the stunned companions once more, and laughs. He gestures again, and the ground beneath the companions erupts into a mass of black tentacles. They wrap themselves around the surprised warriors, holding them immobile as the Warp Lord speaks.

”Ah, you poor, short-sighted finites! You truly and honestly thought that you could defeat me so easily? Did you think I could not see through Stavarus’ invisibility, through the decoy Staff that you wielded against me? Did you think a toy like the Staff of Ashara could really touch me?

Within me lies a spark of the Warp’s own essence, the essence of destruction and annihilation, the antithesis of everything. Tempered by my own powers, I can manifest that essence as the aura you see around me. Your powers, that Staff, you yourselves… they are all as nothing to me!

I can see into your puny minds, finites. There is nothing I do not know about you. I also know you do not understand what has happened, what I am attempting to do.

Since the beginning of time, since before the first suns even flared into life in your sad universes, I have been trapped here, hidden here, planning for this moment. Finites and mortals have merely been pawns in my game since the first sentient creatures appeared upon your worlds.

I never gained the power to open Warp Gates of my own – a curse of my Daemon heritage. But there are… other ways.”

The Warp Lord gestures towards the top of the chamber. The horrible crimson mosaic beneath the stones of the chamber is whirling around madly, with the Warp Lord as its centre. The ceiling of the chamber becomes bathed in a reddish glow.

Fused into the rock of the ceiling are hundreds of figures, their bodies withered almost to skeletons, their mouths torn open in screams of never-ending pain. Yet they still pulse with a terrible, unholy life.

“They are all Warp Travellers, just like you are… and they are all mine now. I have defeated them all and made them mine. I keep them alive and constantly drain their powers… in order to maintain the Warp Gate that I have opened. The Warp Gate that you see.”

The Warp Lord’s eyes glow crimson.

“The Warp Gate is at the verges of collapsing the barriers between worlds. Once they collapse, the Warp itself will spill out into all other realities, consuming them all. Reality will cease to exist. Everything will become a part of my domain, and everything will be mine to control. All that I need are a few more foolish Warp Travellers to rend reality asunder.”

The Warp Lord laughs again.

“Can you not see that I have controlled the path you walked since the beginning? You were all just unwitting pawns, just puppets under my control. The threads of fate are laid bare before me, finites, and I manipulate them at will. I am the Weaver of Destiny, the architect of your futures.

The Daemon that slew Stavarus was one of my unknowing agents. I secretly guided its path so that Stavarus would die and become mine, and Rhavin Ironheart would finally lose his mortality and attain his full potential… as a Warp Traveller. I have guided his life since before he was even born.”

The Warp Lord turns his eyes upon Stavarus.

“I took you, Stavarus, tortured you, and infused you with a spark of my own essence. I knew the hatred you were capable of, knew that after what I had done, you would blindly seek revenge against me.

Did you truly think that you escaped from me? I LET you go!”

Blackrend laughs once more.

“I ensured that another of my agents on Dynaria, a worthless mortal sorcerer, would have a fatal meeting with Soul Reaver. Through him I sent the visions that set Soul Reaver upon this path… by then, he too was long ensnared in my web.

I later took Soul Reaver to myself, and tortured him to give him the determination to fight against me, before releasing him. Through Soul Reaver, I ensnared the rest of you as well. I ensured from the beginning that you would all meet him, and that you would all foolishly follow him into this quest.

The short-sighted council of Inferno were also my unwilling puppets. I revealed enough of my existence to them that they could surmise that Blackrend was still alive. Thus, they set you all upon the path to their own destruction.

Khora was a willing but equally blind pawn. I gave him information about you and promised him power. But he was still just a pawn, and I sacrificed him once he had outlived his usefulness. He convinced you that I wanted to keep you away, that I needed to keep you from the Staff of Ashara – that those things were against my plans. But Khora did not realise what my plans really were.

The Staff of Ashara was merely a ploy to bring you here, to convince you that you could defeat me. I have no weakness towards that toy. All the opposition and hardships you faced were engineered to make you think I was trying to keep you away.

And now stand before me, trapped and alone beyond the borders of your reality, with no escape and no way to defeat me. I will crush your spirits and use you as the final key that will shatter the borders of reality. At least you can rest easy in the knowledge that the eternal torment that awaits you is nothing compared to what the rest of your kinsman will face when my Warp consumes them.”

Blackrend looks at Stavarus once more, a sadistic, pleased grin on his face. Of all the warriors, Stavarus is the only one not ensnared.

“You I must thank most of all, my progeny. Though you did not realise it, you have become like me. You have become one of my kind. Your form and your soul are one and the same, and you have served your purpose well.

You let your thirst for vengeance consume you utterly, let it make you blind to the truth. You led your companions here and played a pivotal role in the destruction of reality. You are a true Daemon after all.”

Stavarus grips his head in despair, hot tears running down his face.

“No… no….”

He collapses pitifully, his spirit broken, his determination shattered. All his pride and arrogance crumbles around him.

The Warp Lord’s laughter echoes through the Chamber as he prepares for his assault…

(ooc: Oh dear. Bet you didn’t see this one coming.)

(ooc: Well Clutch, I'm e-mailing you about it, but it's fairly irrelevant... it's doubtful anyone will have a chance to cast any lengthy spells now anyway. Oh, and Kanshisha, I think Clutch's idea is a good one... try sending the pic to soul_reaver@board-battles.com)

The Warp Lord floats into the air, blue power crackling around his body. He no longer feels any need to hold back. Now he can toy with his prey at will to break their spirits. Keeping them under careful watch, he unleashes his powers against them... each of the companions is plunged into blackness, where only they and their own personalized nightmare seem to exist...

Asaki is suddenly blasted backwards, her clothes rent asunder, several shallow cuts appearing accross her naked skin. In the hollow darkness, she hears the Warp Lord mocking her.

"When will your realise the truth? Look at yourself! You are just a child, a mewling babe who knows nothing of the universe. You cannot save anyone. You could not save your family, and now you cannot even save yourself!"

Suddenly, a black-dressed figure appears before the naked Asaki. It holds a crimson blade in a glinting, stern salute before its cold, emotionless face. Though Asaki knows it cannot be him, it looks just like Soul Reaver. The warrior gets into a fighting stance, and advances on Asaki, the sword preparing to slice into her uprotected form, even as she feels her strength unnaturally being drained from her...

Clutchfiend, upon being plunged into darkness, hears the Warp Lord speak.

"And what are you, proud warrior? Nothing but a vagrant. You belong nowhere, have no true loyalties. You hide your true self from those around you because you are afraid even of your own shadow! You invent the ideas of a just cause simply to convince yourself that the destruction you wreak is justified! Let me end your misery for you!"

A platoon of obsidiant warriors appear around Clutchfiend, sprouting from the ground itself. They are humanoid but formless and identical. Cameron knows there is something terrible lurking beneath their faceless facades, but he does not know what. They leap at him, blades manifesting from their fists as they do so, each one skillfully aiming to rend the warrior apart, forcing him to desperately defend himself...

Yue's blackness remains empty for a long time. She feels alone, isloted... and a rising, irrational fear.

"This place is black and unfathomable as your memories, child. And like your memories, it hides horrors unseen. How long do you think you can last before it drives you insane?"

Yue can suddenly smell blood. Crimson liquid trickles around her feet, rising steadily as screams and cries of agony slowly grow louder around her. She hears a feral growl, like that of a pack of wolves. Though they seem to be getting closer, she can see nothing, sense nothing, even as the terrors stalk closer...

Tukedo suddenly feels what could be registered as a pain in his chest. His organic flesh is twitching, spasming as if in agony.

"A machine that seeks life. How foolish of you to seek a soul in my own flesh and blood. The 'symbiote' that you carry upon you is made of solidified Warp energy. It is a part of me, and it is still mine to command. It seems that the very source of your stolen 'life' is actually in my hands after all."

The organism on Tukedo's chest seems to try and resist, but it cannot stand against the will of its creator. Sprouting innumerable tendrils, it's flesh blackens as it wraps itself around Tukedo, sprouting metal-piercing spines as it grows ever more hostile...

The two bounty hunters suddenly find themselves in the darkness together. The words they hear are quiet, suggestive... and devestating.

"Tell me... how much can you ever trust your fellow man?"

Matthias feels a growing distrust, even hatred towards Damien. He knows it is unfounded, knows it is unreasonable, but he still cannot bring himself to resist it. Damien is engaged in a similar struggle, his mind flashing with visions of putting a gun to his companion's head and pulling the trigger... ending his treachery once and for all...

Kanshisha is bathed in a eerie light.

"How much power can you really bring yourself to use before you destroy yourself, Kanshisha? You know you have damned yourself through the energies you wield. Yet you cannot resist using them... again... and again... and again..."

As Blackrend speaks, five armoured skeletons rise from the ground in front of Kanshisha one by one. Each of them wields a scythe in its hands. They advance with no fear, even as Kanshisha feels the urge to strike them all down with his superior powers...

Tamrissa hears Blackrend single her out.

"The proud lady, standing against the universe, afraid to feel and admit her own weaknesses. Yet they are real, my lady... so very real..."

With a clang, Tamrissa finds herself enclosed in massive iron box. With metallic screeching, it begins to close in on her. Through a tiny window in the steel, she sees Fei, looking in at her with a bemused look on his face.

"Come, Tam... you know we were meant to be together. Swear to be mine forever, and I can get you out of here..."

Jharm finds himself in a darkness of not only light but also of the spirit. He feels somehow alone, abandoned by the very God he serves.

"You, arch-angel, are perhaps the most misguided of all your companions. You do not even see your own hypocrisy, your own failing. You serve a God who speaks out against death, then metes it out through you. You have become his sinner, the instrument through which he keeps his hands clean of the bloody tasks that his rule invitably will require. There are many Gods besides him, Jharm, yet you blindly follow yours never seeing that he uses you as his executioner. The time has come to pay for your sins!"

Even as Jharm feels a terrible doubt begin nagging at his faith, four angels with burning swords appear around him. Their faces are serious as they close in from all sides, intending to now absolve the sins they see in their own brother...

Kitharsis' body suddenly convulses in his own private hell.

"One's body is one's temple, is that not true, Kitharsis? But tell me then... what kind of twisted god would be worshipped in yours?"

Kitharsis' body is suddenly wracked with pain as his flesh and muscle begins to bulge randomly. It feels as if he is ripping himself apart, as if his contant mutations were about to run completely out of control...

Kawanua finds himself standing alone, his hands feeling sticky and warm with blood.

"You, Kawanua, have always been a murderer. You always will be. Forgiveness will come only with your death."

He sees Samantha lying before him, her body torn open, her organs ripped out and scattered around the floor. He knows, somehow, that it was he who did this deed. His life is meaningless... to continue living will only bring agony. He realises that he is holding a glinting dagger in one hand. Kawanua struggles against the urge to simply end it all. Yet everything is so futile... so futile...

Fei, who lies sleeping within the amulet around Tamrissa's neck, hears no words, needs no assault. It makes him all to aware of the bond he shares with Tamrissa. She is a weakness to him, and the pain she will feel will soon be his too... if only there was some escape from her bond... yet he knows there is no hope. He knows with horrifying certainty that she will be the doom of his body and soul in the end...

Sera, seperated from Kawanua by the blackness around her, hears the Warp Lord speak to her as well.

"So quickly reunited with your family, and yet so quickly parted. Do you even know the horrors that your father has inflicted on others after he abandoned you? Perhaps your reuinion was not worth the trouble after all..."

Sera suddenly sees Kawanua, slicing the head off Kanshisha with a wicked grin on his face. Kawanua then turns towards her, his body soaked in the blood of innocents. His eyes show a hot insanity as he moves towards her for the kill...

And Soul Reaver, standing both proudly and fearfully in his darkness, hears the Warp Lord's taunts ring painfully in his ears.

"You would pretend to know what justice and honour is, can bring only misery and death to those you love. Even now, all of those you care for are being defeated one by one because of your foolish, self-righteous arrogance. You cannot help them. If only there was a way to go back... to correct the mistake you made so long ago[/b]

Soul Reaver finds his own long-dead son standing before him, looking as he did on the day of his death. Behind the son stand the decaying figures of the thousands of people he has failed in his lifetime. They look at Soul Reaver with rotting eyes as his son advances on him, glinting steel sword in hand.

"Shall we finish this, father?"

Blackrend laughs to himself, preparing to use the bodies of his puny finite victims once their resolve finally fails...

(ooc: I've tried hard to personalize these attacks for everyone... if there's a problem, please let me know. Realise that most of this stuff is created by the Warp Lord, so it's not an illusion, but it's not exactly real either. For example, what Sera sees is simply a type of clone of Kawanua killing a type of clone of Kanshisha. However, the Warp Lord is assaulting our minds to make it seem as real as possible.

Try to make this as nasty as you can. And yes, we should really be getting creamed at this point.)