#2writers

[of-frost-and-fire]

Cryomancer Sketch!

A magnificent sketch of our male protagonist done by @coffeesmug on instagram! Do take a look at her art if you ever get a chance, we have much more of her works just in regard of our two characters!

Do stay tuned, the story continues.

[of-frost-and-fire]

The Illicit Conviction

Part 1 Such means of finding criminals were not typically used by many, at least, not by those of authority, no- any criminal who was foolish and arrogant enough to think they could continue their mass of crime and atrocity without repercussions was his cup of tea. Those antics were the felons he targeted, and once they were here- trapped within his enchanted stone walls and thousands of armored men under his single command, why those criminals were broken beneath his feet and became nothing more than scum. Slaves in fact; and for the rest of their days, they would spend them within Endovier, never to see the light of day; only but the walls of stone and rock, and the pickaxe that was valued more than their very lives.

Such a place was categorized as "rehabilitation" for the convicted by the Lady of the court, but alas, she held no jurisdiction over how the interior of Endovier was moderated, at least, not when she wasn't here.

A bright nova of light flashed before his eyes, one in which was a dark grey, and the other, stained a forever snowy white. Having seen the light so many times before, he merely blinked in its wake as a dark cube clanked to the ground, only it was accompanied by two others. Who, as he predicted, laid unconscious and beaten before him. He cringed in disgust at the sight of their bloodied bodies.

"Pathetic savages..." The keeper thought aloud, however, the guards at his side had a different perspective toward the fugitives as they gazed over their wounds. The bones that stuck out of the man's poor flesh, the horrible gashes that ran across the entirety of the woman's face. The lowly men all thought the same thing.

What had these done to each other?-Frankly, some of them didn't wish to know. But, what astonished them most of all, was the fact that they were still breathing despite their many wounds; the reasoning unknown.

A deep and coarse breath was relieved from the Keeper's nostrils, sounding more like a buried grunt than anything else. "You all know the drill," his grated voice stated carelessly. "However, bother not with waking them, it would be unfortunate if they merely passed out on the first retribution." His work was done as he began to take his leave with yet another rusty grunt hawking out from beneath his throat. With that, the four guards made their way toward the unconscious two and dragged them away down the mass of dark hallways.

[of-frost-and-fire]

The Element’s Clash

Part 5 The flame flickering out... oh what a delectable sight that was. It was expected, of course, but he didn't expect to feel such a rise of adrenaline within his veins when the fire that blazed across her very skin was snuffed into a mere wisp due to the frigid ice curling through her own bloodstream. He charged forward as she slowed, the cold overcoming her as his footsteps stomped out the flames left behind by her boots, his pace extremely quick as he began to close the distance between the two rather easily. And when she dropped to a knee nearly blocks in front of him, he couldn't help but chuckle and smirk. And he kept running still, the woman barely being able to right herself as he began to close the distance between the two...

Four blocks away now, the dove would explode in a detonation of frosty devastation directly before the dark-skinned female, forcing her to leap with the hopes that her momentum would carry her past the spikes. And yet she was too slow, the large spikes that shot up from the ground forcing her to channel her flames forth and shatter only the most lethal of the many spikes, the rest slicing and piercing her in many different places as dark crimson dripped from her wounds. All the meanwhile he continued to charge at her, another hundred feet melting away as her jaw was cracked against the gravel road, her consciousness wavering for a few moments as each of the cuts and holes in her flesh began to grow extremely frigid now, the cold filling her entire body as it began to force her muscles and lungs to constrict, the icy effect almost beginning to suffocate her.

Almost...

Unfortunately for the cryomancer, her flame was a rather well-off match when pitted against such chilling magic. By the time he was on the same block, she was able to rise, the undying heat within her very being melting away the suffocating cold as her body began to bring itself back to life, the metaphorical gears in her body - once stopped by a stray iron pole - snapping the metal away as they began to turn once more. The wave of fire she unleashed in his direction was a torrent, and a powerful one at that… and so he allowed his toothy bottom mask to split horizontally, revealing the cracked lips below as he let out an exhale of pure frost that turned the flames into a mere, hot mist.

And so he charged forward still.

But as fast as he was moving, the rate at which recovered was still too fast for the cryomancer to truly have caught her completely off guard. But he tried anyways, his frigid feet clattering against the stonework beneath them as he dead-rushed the pyromancer, not even realizing that in one swift, almost unnoticeable motion, she managed to turn on him with her guns aimed true, firing directly into him.

And all four made their mark.

The first pierced through his right shoulder like it was butter, the burning steel cauterized the large hole left behind as his frost kept the physical heat at bay. It was then that he began to dig his heels into the ground, attempting to skid to a stop. As he did the second bullet sliced through his inner thigh, his knee buckling forward as he stumbled, the third bullet snapping through his elbow as an immense wave of pain coursed through his left arm and filled his body. His eyes blurred, his body lurching forward as he just barely caught himself, frantically blinking as the heat began to pierce through his frost.

And then the fourth bullet approached.

It was as if time slowed, everything almost felt frozen. His right eye's pupil met the point of the golden bullet as it traveled directly towards it, his eye widened as he was forced to make a much too rapid decision. Five sigils of equal size with a design comparable to that of a snowflake would appear before his eye, each one shattering as the bullet passed through it. The cold these magical emblems left behind helped to rid the bullet of both its speed and flame, but even by the time the fifth seal was passed the bullet still carried itself with immense force, charging forward directly towards his iris. Shattering the right side of his mask almost completely, the bullet mere inches from his face as the pieces of the crow-shaped obscurer, it seemed as though he would be facing his maker soon...

And thus came a six seal, the likes of which managed to redirect the bullet in such a way that it sliced through the flesh directly next to his eye, leaving behind a steaming burn as the top right section of his face was revealed. His eye was a frosty blue, his skin a snow-like pale, and small ice crystals could be seen forming against his winter-like visage. But his eye didn't seem cold... no, it seemed very, very hot, practically boiling with rage. Rage that clouded his mind and judgment...

...rage that almost got him killed.

Luckily enough, though, he managed to pull himself back into a more calculative mindset as the second flurry of gunshots filled the air. There were many more this time, about three times as many as the previous, and he feared that if he didn't defend himself he'd be almost definitely killed. But he was in too much pain to run, and so he resorted to revealing yet another of his precarious tricks. And thus his back suddenly bore large wings made of snow and frosty air, the likes of which quickly wrapped around his torso before crystallizing and further freezing into feathers of solid, hard as steel ice.

 And, unfortunately for the pyromancer, the first three bullets where completely absorbed by the wing's impact. Their flames were wiped away without a care, the bullets themselves shattering against the ice as the force of each pushed him back but an inch or two. The forth and fifth bullet left indents though, and the sixth left a crack in the right-wing. Seven, eight, and nine all focused on the left-wing, however, and soon it was riddled with a large series of spiderweb-like cracking that covered its entire surface. Ten pierced the right-wing, completely shattering the apex of the wing as the rest began to crumble...

And he just knew the eleventh would kill him if he didn't move now.

But his legs were burning as the pain in his body locked him still. And so he did what little he could, allowing his wings to fall apart and accumulate in a fantastic ball of frosty misty that he rose his right hand towards it, flicking his wrist as the ball suddenly bursts and propels him backwards. But unlike the woman before him, he had much more control in regards to his aerial momentum, or at least it seemed as if he did. The frost of the propulsion was carried with him, too, culminating into the same ice shield he had used early as he curved his right side towards the ground, allowing the shielded arm to impact if only for a moment. After all, a moment was all he needed~

The ice collided just as he wished, scraping against the stone for but two or three seconds before he pushed off of the ground with the shield, sending his form upward and back as he managed to plant his feet onto the ground, the bullet whizzing by a few inches past his head as he steadied himself, raising his shield as the woman charged directly towards him in the aftermath of her furious torrent of bullets.

 And despite the power behind her punches, he managed to parry the first three completely, the forth only managing to leave a small crack upon its surface. But as each of her hands grew more furious and more flame-scowered, her patterns becoming erratic and unpredictable, the hits the shield took became more and more evident as crack after crack, dent after dent formed. And with what seemed like the fiftieth punch - a particularly hard left hook - she shattered the shield, pushing through the ice as she slammed her fist into his exposed eye, the painful slam forcing him a whole foot back as his neck practically cracked from the intense weight behind her punch. Before he could even react another punch slammed into him too, her right fist slamming directly into his gut as he let out a loud grunt, the air that once filled his lungs escaping entirely as he was forced back even more.

But as she went for another hit with her left, hoping to slam a crucial hit against his jaw, he managed to arch himself back, the punch completely whiffing as the ice she had shattered began to reform into an odd shape along his hand and the beginning of his forearm. The mist and ice and frost came together to form a gauntlet of sorts, with clawed fingers and spiked knuckles. Planting one of his feet behind himself he shifted, his arm striking her at a rather rapid pace as he went to slice directly across her face. His other hand caught her other fist, twisting her arm as he brought his right leg up, a flurry of wind surrounding it as he kicked at her gut.

 And what followed was a boom of thunderous wind that could send even giants flying, small icicles piercing into her as the gust acted as a brief respite for the cryomancer before he suddenly took a more offensive position, charging towards her now as he clawed at her with his gauntlet rather recklessly... though his form held patterns. He seemed to be aiming for her joints - for her elbows and knees and shoulders, even attempting to slice at her neck. All the meanwhile his left arm laid rather limp, seemingly rather affected by the bullet that had pierced his elbow but a minute before.

And as he went for a sly kick to knock her legs out from under her he shouted in anger, his eyes lit up with blood lust. Truly, this had become very personal~

If there was anything-...anything at all that fueled her wrath, it was that devious chortle that she heard from the back of his throat the moment her legs had given out. She remembered it, unable to get it out of her head as it echoed against the walls of her mind~ developing a putrid loathing for the sound. She'd be lying if she claimed to have never tango'd with an ice mage, they weren't rare, she'd killed one before. Even so, she had just as well let another life, this one, however, wouldn't get the chance. Even at the brink of her death, he'd need the grace of Ravenous herself in order to avoid going down with her. She wanted to melt every bone in his body~ in return for freezing her own; and she made it known, quite vividly making the very vow to his face as her fiery orange eyes stared down the same raging heat that burned within the crystal cobalt within his exposed eye. 

Then she charged him, snapping the icy pole like a twig as her blood as hot as lava rushed through her veins once again, and just like the sick trick he played by plaguing her body with his fist, she invaded his own by smashing his shield to bits. Her blood warmed her body to push forward, warmed her rage, her fury, as every blow upon his body left nearly third-degree burns. She wanted him to feel it, wanted the pompous bastard to feel every lick of heat she gave him.

"Laugh..."  She said- smoke beginning to rise from her very fists, and the smell of burning flesh plagued the air around them, soon enough, she'd roast this man alive. "Come on- LAugh!!!" She demanded as her palms clenched, following his grunt due to her abdomen blow, she watched as his whole body lurched forward due to the impact and took no hesitation to send another punch toward his face. However, with a swift side-step, he moved out of the way, yet she was still moving forward with momentum. There was no time to recover, she knew, as the reconfigure of his ice surrounded his arm. However, she could counter, that is, if she was fast enough. 

With her face already going forward, the woman's cheek met the blunt force of his charging fist, the claw's each of his knuckles digging into her flesh before ripping through and coming out on the side. The gunslinger clenched her teeth as she felt his solid and frigid fist crack the base of her right cheekbone, though she only regained herself as she planted her feet where they were. As she was already leaning to her left in consequence of his fist, the click of a gun rang through the quiet streets as her right hand brought out a familiar-looking revolver. Its shade the color of rose gold, outlined in rosey reds, and shadows of dark brown. With The last bullet locking in place, she was already aiming it toward his very skull as she opened her eyes. But once again, her movements slow as his palm wrapped around her wrist and pulled it back. 

A momentary fight of strength then as she attempted to force her weapon back toward the base of his head, however, strength was not needed, he knew this. As with the simple squeeze of the base of her wrist, it forced her hand to open, and to no avail, her fingers lost grip of the firearm as it heavily clanked to the ground. Though given no breath between, she only caught glimpse of his flying knee as it collided with her stomach as quick as the wind itself. A large groan passed through her lips, alongside the plot of air that was within her lungs; she stumbled back several steps as her arm clutched it in pain. Nonetheless was only given the moment to cough out a gagged mouthful of blood that sprayed along the stoned streets, prompting the next phase consisting of a powerful wind that threatened to pick her off her feet. She braced against it, as she leaned forward and raised her armored arm before her. Luckily, it blocked a few dozen of the tiny icicles that were carried by the wind, saving her face, although, with her chest exposed, their slim edges punctured her in all areas, cutting deep into her flesh. 

The woman let out a small pained cry as she raised her hand to the left side of her bosom, clutching it as coughed out a hoarse gag at the tiny icicle that pierced her lung. The gunslinger's eyes wide as raspy- spasmed breaths escaped her throat, her rage momentarily replaced with a brief feeling of panic, especially as his form neared. It wasn't over, and the distance between them closed in nearly an instance; too sluggish to counter or run, her instincts simply allowed her to slide beside two slashes to her, but her luck ran out as he made contact with the base of her left shoulder. She grimaced in tune, and before she knew it, a claw slashed along the exposed part of her elbow underneath the armor upon her right arm. Blood stripping from her flesh as it splattered along the ground. Another slash, but lower- the slim edge slicing through the fold of her knee and causing her to become unbalanced, and only prompting the forthcoming assail to her throat. She managed to angle herself, however, avoiding a lethal gash along her throat, and settling for the next best thing as the edge of his gauntlet sliced across her skin up and across her face. Not even given the chance to backstep, the mage swung his foot underneath her, dispatching the air beneath her feet so quick that her legs swept up toward the sky itself. Leaving the back of her head to make first contact with the unforgiving stone below.

Her vision blurred as each limb lost the nerve of consciousness, becoming stiff as her eyes glazed over. 

The frost was already dragging down her muscles, suffocating them with a foreign cold that invaded her body from the inside. Forcing every breath to be a struggle, every lift of a finger to be a challenge as if to be strangled by a snake. 

Ashes she became as her arms lifelessly hit the ground, utter cinders that followed a mighty inferno- one that no longer stood in the wake of soot. But her heart didn't stop, it beat, and it continued to beat even underneath the layer of ice that covered it, melting it, with each powerful beat that radiated everlasting heat throughout her body and muscles. Blood pumped through the ice, fighting against it as it dared to hold her down by chain. 

By the time her feet met the stone, her arms were already climbing over her head, palms bracing upon the earth as the ember within the ashes sparked with a sudden ignition. The woman's legs folded in before her whole body coiled in like a spring, only to extend out and upward sending a blow toward his chin before her momentum threw her off the ground and back on her feet. Blood dripped from her body as she straightened, eyes narrowed, and her palms clenched, though her stance was off, and her knees threatened to buckle at a moment's notice, yet she stood. 

The woman let the witch come at her once again, and for a moment, her eyes darted to something on the ground, before her feet moved, and she slid past him and slithered an arm underneath his own, only to fold her elbow upon his shoulder and trapped his arm within her grasp. With her movement tipping him off balance and temporarily immobilized, the gunslinger pulled back her fist, a fury of flames ignited her already armored right fist as she smashed it into his exposed ribcage. She brought it back again; slow, but strong as she held him, with the fraction of a second more, she slammed her fist into the same place, hopefully breaking his bones and sending them into his flesh, she'd be lucky if it stabbed his heart. A coarse breath escaped her as she pulled back her final fist, the cold returning to clasp her breath, but she gave through and delivered the devastating blow one time more. Blood leaked down the side of her mouth as she then lifted her own soles to the sky, promptly leaning back as she sent his face into the stone underneath her weight. 

She let go of him once on the ground, rolling to her side as she held no more strength to stand. With an extended reach toward her revolver that laid not too far away, she managed to grab it before snapping back to the ice mage in her wake. Her vision, focusing in and out, and her even dominant left hand shivering as she raised it before her adversary; to fingers nearly frozen stiff as she fought to simply pull the trigger. A frustrated cry came out of her as she raged her final battle cry toward the heart of her foe.

BAM!!

And she felt the vibration of the bullet through her skin as it slid out the muzzle. Spiraling toward the mage before her. She did it...

Did she..?

Exhausted yanked at her limbs, as her vision became a flurry of colors and mist. Not even noticing when her firearm had slid out of her grasp, the world around her drifted out of view. Before the ground below came up to meet the Genasi, a single frosty mist escaped her blood-stained lips, her seemingly last as the gunslinger collapsed. Very seemingly in fact, as her chest was only still for a moment, before it began to rise and fall.