Chapter 98 Bloodlust (2) A Spectral missive burned in front of Elias Tiberius, and he held a hand up to stop be the charge of the Runethors. Reading the message on the missive, he gestured to the Corporal by his side, and gave him a quiet message, the soldier nodded, and the horde was split into two. Elias Tiberius went towards the left circling the mountain away from the lake, while the rest stopped just outside the town, and they galloped towards the dense forest. The Corporal whose name was Alec Rhine led the rest of the horde, and he was suddenly startled by a weird feeling from the moonlight above, his uneasiness passed as he laughed when his Runethor screamed at the moon. The Runethor below him must have sensed his uneasiness directed towards the moon, and it had challenged the moon for him, he pressed his hands against her neck as be felt the sheer powers in her muscles as the ground rumbled at their passage, and he felt calm in his spirit. It was moments like these that gave him a profound love of his calling. The heat from the Runethor he rode fused into his blood, it was deeply comforting and made him feel guilty of his laughter over his partner's attempt to ease his distress, he ran his hand gently over her flowing mane—A feature she was very proud of. Most Runethors lost their mane after a few decades. A Runethor lifespan was measured in the centuries, and after the mane had fallen off, it would not regrow, making it a source of pride for those that kept their mane. He bent and whispered into her ears, "Almond, it's all good." Whilst he used his legendary Ability – Strengthening. Using his Legendary Ability on the Runethor made her visibly grow a few inches and poured Aether into her blood. He would have been severely reprimanded for wasting his powers before any oncoming engagement, but his Ability was able to last for an extended duration, and so he expected a light punishment, but Almond was his partner in battle, it was a little price to pay. Strengthening was a Legendary Ability that falls under body modification type in regard to legendary abilities. He was a legendary state Dominator, so he could not control Aether, but that did not mean that he was unable to utilize it. In the legendary state, his body could passively collect and store small pockets of Aether in his spine. Depending on your Pathway, you could have as little as three pockets of Aether storage or up to seven, with Pathways that focused on Spirit have more pockets of Aether and those that focused on either Strength, Agility, or Constitution having less pockets. His Path was a lesser pathway under the Domain of the Tiberius family, which should peak at the Rift state, called Bone Army Pathway. This pathway focused on the group rather than the individual. Like the Runethors they rode, the Pathway strengthened their cooperation, and they could share their collective strength and Abilities among themselves, even injuries in a limited manner can be shared and borne by the group, enhancing their lethality and survivability in the fields of battle. Alec pulled back his hand sharply, Almond had bitten him, he swore aloud, drawing stares from his battle brothers, who after assessing the situation burst into laughter. Almond was a little too proud, he almost always forgot that fact. "Keep your head straight, Alec." The cherry voice of his battle sister spoke beside him, "That place might look peaceful, but you know we could be facing hell at any single moment." Sophia appeared beside him, fierce and regal inside her armor, a trick only she could pull off. Or maybe it might just be because her Bone Armour was blue, while the rest of them were black, all except for the Captain Elias, whose Armour was pale white. It was a result of their collective Pathway —The Bone Army Pathway. For their Armour was not made, but grown from their bones. "Where is that hell?ha ha… Give 'em to me, from here I see only a sleepy village." The large voice of the resident Berserker of the battle brothers rang out, Orlando was a mini giant that wielded a Heavy Hammer the size of his torso, he was a blood lusted maniac, but a dependable buddy in a fight. "Ignore his rantings, Sophia, that is the only thing he is good at." Alec smiled at his battle sister. "Ugh, brothers look at the little Pushkin, making kissing faces." Orlando burst out laughing, while Sophia rolled her eyes. "Zip it, before I grow a spike inside your head." Sophia gestured with a zipping motion. The big oaf–Orlando laughed, "Try it little witch, you won't hit anything." "Why am I not surprised." Sophia muttered, "You are dumber than two rocks rubbing together. No spark up there. It would be a waste of good bone." The jeers and small conversations followed the soldiers as they finally entered the forest. Alec felt the muscles under Almond skin tighten the moment they crossed into the shades of the trees. Even with the threat of losing his digits, he began stroking her mane, unaware of the deep frown that covered his face underneath his bony helm. "Do you feel that." Orlando said, "That odd feeling when you are pissing inside a thunderstorm, and the lightning about to hit, but you know it just coming after your weiner." "Wait…what?" "Oh, you know, they get jealous… . The clouds." Seeing the confused and amused faces around him, Orlando tried to make his point, "They got no weiner, so they spray everything everywhere with no rhyme or direction, you get me?" "It's like… A hose without a pipe, just spraying…" "That doesn't make any sense, big guy." Sophia frowned. "Yes, that my point exactly, it makes no sense. It's the same thing I am getting here. There is no weiner and sh*t is spraying everywhere. It's just…. just." Orlando began snapping his fingers, apparently looking for the correct words. "Chaos?" Alec said. "Exactly… chaos. Ooohhh, this trip is gonna be sweet, I just know it." "The last time you said that, we lost half the company, and you lost your right leg." A worried soldier called out. "Yeah… I know. Sweet right? The way I figure it, the scales have fallen far from my side, right? So, I just have to balance it a little." "Yeah, you do need the balance, cripple, you're stumbling every morning for your prosthetics is pathetic, a legendary Dominator should have more grace than a bull." "Yeah? Just you wait until I become a Rift, I shall not regrow only my leg, but increase my weiner size another ten inch, and I'm coming to your home Velcuis. I heard you hid a pretty little thing from the coast. Give her a taste of a real Dominator, I would." Their words were sometimes cruel and the humor was dark, but these men and women used this strategy to pull their mental state out of the quagmire of fear that had begun to settle on their spirit. It worked to an extent, nevertheless these were all hardened warriors, and they had fought under severe conditions before. The fog that appeared around them was a surprise, but with their training, they organized themselves easily enough, and soon the screaming arose from the town. Men, women, and children, even the animals, were all screaming in terror. They all gathered and watched in apprehension as a piece of hell covered the entire town. "By the gods, I did not sign up for this." Corporal Alec Rhine whispered. The surrounding forest began rustling as Abominations began appearing around them. ® Elias Tiberius was swallowed by the fog, and he released his Aether in a series of short bursts, his white Bone Armor shimmered, and his body merged with the fog, he quietly passed howling Abominations and screaming villagers as the dance of violence and madness happened around him. He reached the house where the weapon was supposed to lie, and found it empty of any occupants except for the destroyed body of an Abomination Spawn. He tore through the house and could not find the Axe. A pair of Spectral Eyes appeared above the ground, and it burned with fury, it released a series of fluctuations and the face of Elias Tiberius went white, he stiffly nodded and closed the doors and the windows of the house. It was a simple affair to create a barrier around the house to deter any Abominations from entering inside the house, and he began to clear the ground until he had a sizable space free from any clutter.