A study of the mind

[Slayden]

((i demand celerity 6!))

((Then diabolize your way down to the 7th generation cuz that's the only way for you to get it. However, not even Celerity 10 could give you Matrix speed, not even the Antediluvians, not even Caine himself could outrun a bullet.))

I slice open my right middle finger with my sharp thumb nail and a very thin, almost invisible stream of blood shot out of the open wound. The stream, however, remained cohered with itself and didn't break apart, forming a sharp whip. When I released my whip, the stream shot forward into Lutainius just below his rib cage under his heart and pierced through the other side. I immediately pulled up and the stream cut from the center-left part of his chest up past his clavicle and free of his body.

His shoulder dropped to the side, revealing half of his heart, his lungs, and his intestines, a few of which spilled out. However, the tendrils worked quickly to pull him back together and he was merely slowed down.

While my whip was still above his shoulder (this happened very quickly), I flicked my wrist and sent a loop down the line in an attempt to take his head. As the loop neared him, he quickly and smoothly cut the loop in half, splitting my whip into three pieces. As Azrael repositioned himself for another attack, he watches in Celerity as the Blood Whip threads spin slowly toward the ground, then slowly boomerang back up to the main body of the whip and reconnect into another attack.

Without hesitation or surprise, I simply use the new position my whip was currently in as another opportunity for an attack. I shorten the cord, then lengthen and twist it to take off bits of flesh. I use Movement of the Mind to power a jump over him and pull off three attacks, ripping him open with five new wounds. I stopped my attack and stoically said:

"Lutainius. You know no fear. You feel no pain. You will keep attacking until someone utterly destroys you. Not simply kill. Destroy."

Lutainius charged at me and I spun around and did a full 360, whipping my sword around and tying the end around his foot, then pulled, sending his foot flying in another direction only to be sideswiped by the wounded Gargoyle while he was still falling. That unnerving sound of cracking bones could be heard from the action. The Gargoyle tackled him and slammed him against the wall, breaking more bones. A blade pierced through his back and the Gargoyle grabbed Lutainius and threw him in the air to be caught by the other Gargoyle who shot out of the wall and grabbed him, pummeling him as the Gargoyle flew higher. The Gargoyle on the ground grabbed his stomach as there was a glowing red hole through his torso.

The Gargoyle in the air released Lutainius when he tried to attack her. As he fell, he whipped the Wraith's Bane upward and grazed the Gargoyle across her side. She flew to the stone wall and grabbed ahold, her right hand and foot became part of the wall and she looked down to watch the rest of the fight while holding her side with her left arm.

As Lutainius fell, I shot my Blood Whip up at him and pierced through his back, then pulled him down at least five times as fast toward myself. At the last moment, I spun and kicked back and straight up. His whole body seemed to wrap around my leg in an unnatural position as I broke his spine in two locations, one on either side of my foot. I shove him back and he rolls away while I pull and rip out my whip.

I waste no time and immediately whip again while he is on the ground.

*SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP*

These are not little cuts, they are deep gashes comparable to what any sword could do. "His skin is pale. And he has long since stopped breathing." I thought. He tried to get up, but his skeletal structure could not support him and he floundered, but still gripping the sword literally with a death grip. He managed to get on his hands and knees and pointed the sword straight upward. Lightning, a kind of dark lightning, shot in all directions and hit everyone, including the Gargoyle high up on the wall.

As we all scramble to our feet, Lutainius began to cough up water as two Glabros literally appeared out of thin air.

"Why didn't you call us?" one of the Abominations said facing Lutainius and standing by me.

"You were not needed. I could do this myself. Besides, I'm the one that is responsible for this." I replied.

"It is an unnecessary risk. The Wraith's Bane is powerful enough to challenge even you."

He turns to me.

"He is already dead. You do not have to finish this by yourself."

I don't reply. I feel responsible for what happened to Lutainius and reflect on all those years of his faithful loyalty. He was a favored servant, a friend.

I curl my arm then straighten it out pointing up, the three-meter whip also pointing straight up and floating in the air, slightly undulating.

[Azrael of the Rose]

I slice open my right middle finger with my sharp thumb nail and a very thin, almost invisible stream of blood shot out of the open wound. The stream, however, remained cohered with itself and didn't break apart, forming a sharp whip. When I released my whip, the stream shot forward into Lutainius just below his rib cage under his heart and pierced through the other side. I immediately pulled up and the stream cut from the center-left part of his chest up past his clavicle and free of his body.

((oh right yeah, NO1 can outrun a bullet, but you can cut yourself and turn the blood coming out into a whip. MUCH more plausible.))

[Slayden]

((It's book rules. Your Celerity is fast, but not so fast that it can outrun a bullet. Dodge, yes. Outrun, no. This is a cannon thread.))

((My Blood Whip is actually just an alteration of Theft of Vitae, only it is using my own blood and I keep it cohesive like with Neptune’s Might. You see this is the advantage you have with a vast amount of WoD lore at your disposal. ))

[Azrael of the Rose]

((NOW i know what they mean when they say that tremere ruin balance in these things. was it javokis that said of your char that it looks like you just designed someone who could never be defeated?))

[Slayden]

((I left it open for the other characters to attack. In fact, even though my character wants to finish this himself, I would rather either you or Bloodywolf finish it. HINT: the sword sustains him.))

[Slayden]

((Also, the only reason I brought in the Abominations is I mentioned them on page 1 of this thread but have yet to present them. It would be unusual that such creatures roam these halls but don't come when there is an attack even though they are guards. I don't actually plan on using them.))

[Azrael of the Rose]

((oh sure let me just run back to my new york haven and get my rapier! NOBODY MOVE! i will be right back! just...hang out or something. the problem with being an expert fencer is you cant just carry a sword of that variety around in most public places. toreador arent really warriors anyway....let the crazy guy do it.))

[Slayden]

((*annoyed* Just shoot off his fingers. ))

[Azrael of the Rose]

((yeah ill get right on that.))

Azrael, in a hurry, simotaneously activates auspex and celrity and, taking excruiatingly careful aim, shoots off the fingers of the ghouls sword hand one after the other. the sword drops to the ground with a disproportionatly heavy think, and Azrael deactivates his diciplines.

*to scipotens startled expression* "Can we be off now? That took forever."

[Slayden]

*gasping*

*CLUNK*

I am very disappointed with this turn. I wanted to finish this myself, but Azrael did it instead.

"Thanks. Azrael."

Lutainius' body toppled over after dropping the sword. The black tendrils were still attached to the body, but without direct contact, the sword could do little more than make Lutainius' corpse twitch. I use Movement of the Mind to bring the Wraith's Bane to myself. The tendrils retract from Lutainius and try to attack me.

"Such an impudent sword."

Once again, I use Artomipsyce to slowly and forcefully push the tendrils back into the blade itself, then retract it.

*looks at Bloodywolf*
"He couldn't wield the sword simply because he didn't have the familiarity with the substance of spirits and souls that I do. A resurrected Wraith, a Cappadocian, a Giovanni, or a Nagaraja might be able to wield it, but this would happen to any others who even touch the sword."

*looks at Lutainius*
Interestingly though, his body is warped and the black veins still cover his body. I also sensed no soul depart. This would require further analysis.

*turns to the Abominations*
"You know what happened here. Use Movement of the Mind to take my sword back to... I'm not sure which Chantry it should go in. Ward it until I get back. Also, freeze Lutainius' body. I want to analyze it later.  DON'T touch either. Oh, and *grunts* this. I can use it in another experiment."

I cut off my charred hand just above where the Aggravated wound began and begin to heal. This would take some time.

The Abominations did as I instructed. One carried the sword with his mind, and the other carried my hand, Lutainius' corpse, and the other severed body parts with his mind.

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

The Gargoyle picked up his wing and left the Defense Room to another part of the Chantry while the other melded with the wall. I turn to Azrael.

"Take us to where you were last. This had BETTER be worth it."

((Characters Scipoten, Azrael of the Rose, and Bloodywolf moving to PV club scene.))