Patrick
*With her hand taken in his own, her brow raised as she'd stop in her tracks. His concerns were oddly amusing and charming, the demigod knew which strings to pull to reach someone's heart. Yet she'd even believe his concerns for a moment before giving him a firm nod, unsure of what connection these two had. Just like that, she'd quickly make her way outside and away from his field of view. Distant growls and hyena grunts were accompanied with the sounds of metal clashing, the winds began to pick up as rainfall began to slow down momentarily. The flames rising and growing as it devoured the fine fabric.*

*Once the tiefling toddler was secured in the makeshift holster, she began to whine loudly as the little one seemed to prefer being held or a pillow. But as she huddled the baby with his soothing humming, her whines began to quiet down. Resting her head against him as a loud burp escaped her, the sounds of the baby were luckily drowned by the fires and chaos outside. Distant war horns could be heard, such items were normal used to call for more reinforcements. Two horns could be heard from the North and the South. Luckily the demigod and the child were not found, the sounds of movement rushing past the tent could be heard.*

*Upon waiting for the flames to grow, grow it did. The gnolls were caught in a panic as they'd assume the sacrifice died in the flames, or the kitsune held her somewhere. Some gnolls began to focus their attack on the swift and agile kitsune, others began to attempt to control the flames as others searched for the general. Any soldier knew that confusion and mass panic were valuable advantages in any battle.*

*Noctis quickly and quietly ambushed a on looking gnoll, only letting out a whimper as its voice faded as the life in its eyes did. Dropping a rusty sword, far from his beloved loss but it was a sweet reminder in a bitter time. Smoke began fo fill the air as it caused difficulty in breathing and seeing, the rains clearly lost the battle.*

*The tiefling toddler was quiet as she'd began chewing on the fabric of the holster, only her breathing and coughing echoed from his chest. The wet fabric did a good job at filtering the dark smoke that plagued the air so quickly.*

*Upon arriving to the center, the demigod turned to view a lot of caged prisoners and sacrifices coughing from the smoke that the winds cruelly brought to the center. Not many gnolls could be seen as a gnoll adorned with runes, bones and magical charms began to order them to secure the chosen sacrifice. Pointing his claw finger at the growing flames, the on going chaos that Akira brought was painful to ignore as panic began fo arose. Yet the leader could not simply leave and flee yet, all he needed was the sacrifice to be here and now...*

*The leader slowly turned to Noctis as he looked with narrow eyes, as if not believing what he saw. The smoke made it impossible to see but a simple cough of the toddler only confirmed his suspensions. The gnoll stood in front of a dozen cages with 15 prisoners that were clearly overfed in them. The gnoll began to chant a prayer as it swang its staff wildly in the air, a smile on his maw.*

```"Ahhhh! Good! Gooooood! You brought the chosen sacrifice to the ritual site, may your meat feed our savage lord. May he tear through the vassal and rip himself a door to this fruitful realm! Mati Aku! Mati MAKAN MATI KAMU!"```
.

*The leader began to chant a powerful ritual as the toddler in his chest began to cough violently, blood staining the fabric. The baby seemed to be in pain as the chanting continued, two undead gnolls stood in front of the leader. They were linked with the leader's magic, the caged prisoners looked in horror. The toddler was at the first stage of the ritual, as she'd begin to cry in confusion over crushing pain that began to form around her body.*
Gary
The world seemed to come to a screeching halt as he realized what was happening to the baby, as the cruel and horrific words of the Gnoll resonated out and around his skull. If he had his powers he could crush every Gnolls skull within moments, his sword a silvered blur that ended them before they could chant, he could, he could- but he wouldn't because he couldn't. He had a sword and... A little bit of magic. The child was going to die and become a dark vessel, he couldnt take that, couldn't survive that. 

A rage like hellfire burned within his chest as he let out a scream of defiance and rage. He'd never once been powerless before and now he was entirely abandoned by his father, by his own strength. He had to do something, something... He didn't have superhuman strength to cleave its head free with one blow, it could use magic which meant it might be able to reinforce itself with magic and not die even if he pierced its heart. He had to stop the spell, had to... He grimaced and dropped the sword, then he slipped the baby off as quickly as possible with a kiss on the head. 

"I'll protect you.." He whispered, and in a blink he was gone. Using his teleportation, he'd appear in front of the Gnoll that was chanting and instead of stabbing or fighting standardly, he went for a spellcasters real weakness. 

He thrust his fucking arm into its mouth as far he could, gagging it so it couldn't chant anymore, tearing at its vocal cords with his nails, ripping at his throat with every ounce of strength he had, his legs wrapping around its torso and his other hand whipped out the dagger and slammed it over and over into its throat, even if he pierced his own arm within its throat he continued to stab and stab. He knew the toddler would be hurting and suffering now, but the Gnolls wouldn't hurt it- they were simply creatures and would obey their orders. It was small and low to the ground, the smoke wouldn't affect them like it was him. 

Noctis knew that his arm was forefiet, the p

Owerful jaws of a Gnoll could easily rip man flesh- but maybe, MAYBE, he could do enough damage to its throat to stop it from casting. He'd die, he was sure of that now, but Akira at least had agreed to help.

"Father... Please help me do *One* Right thing." He prayed, and suddenly there was a flair of divine energy around his body. It shot up like a beacon only visible to Akira, alerting her of the danger and peril and location of one of the leaders. The beacon seemed to contain all the information Akira needed to know, whether or not she could come was a different story. 

If and inevitably when the Gnoll ripped his arm off, Noctis would roll backwards and grab the dagger to slice at the leader if it lived or it's staff if he could break it, or he'd fight the other two Gnolls with one arm and a dagger if he had to.
Patrick
*The dark sky began to be filled with the embers of the growing flame, smoke causing blindness and difficulty breathing to all that stood down wind. The rain was weak and pathetic as if it had been defeated, the war camp echoed with the sounds of death and pain. Screams, howls and the sounds of the ever growing flames filled the smoky air. Some gnolls began to panic and even ran away, as the war camp become a bloody graveyard. Akira continued to slaughter and create mass panic by appearing in unpredictable places, seemingly losing herself the the bloodied dance as the melody of howls and growls echoed.*

*Noctis began to hear the toddler's suffering with a each passing moment fueling his rage, the baby loudly cried out as she'd be placed on the dirt floor. The kiss adding some comfort to the child's pain. The gnoll leader seemed very focused on the man, chanting the cursed tongue as if his life depended on it. The two undead gnolls began to take a step forward to the baby. The leader thought the human man was admitting defeat, surrendering to them. A smile could be seen on its maw before confusion grew, before being face to face with Noctis. Attempting to step back as he'd continue his chant until his maw was choking on his arm, gagging and choking which caused his chanting to stop. The undead gnolls making their way towards the toddler, seemingly unaware of their master's safety being threatened. Simple undead creatures.*

```"IUAH- AAIY- MAA-"```

*The leader was confused and surprised by this tactic, trying to chant the ritual but failing. A painful growl that screamed suffering and panic vibrated his arm, the gnoll biting down on his arm while it's claws began to swipe wildly. Dropping its staff, struggling to remove the demigod off it, before the dagger wildly stabbed its throat. A bloodied scream of pain and rage howled from its maw, muffled by the man's arm. It was then that the undead gnolls began to turn around to assist their master.*

*Seeing nothing else to be done, the leader began to fall back into feral rage. Sinking its sharp teeth into the man's arm, his throat critically damaged. His sharp claws began to swipe at the man's legs and body, yet each swipe began to grow weaker.*

*The beacon shot true, his prayer answered and a clear alert for help that could not be ignored by Akira was felt. She'd immediately snap out of her bloodthirst and began to turn towards the center, covered in warm blood and light wounds. Rushing and jumping shadows to quickly make her way to the center.*

*Meanwhile, with its remaining strength and rage the leader made a final effort of spite by ripping off the arm of Noctis. The final slice that he made as he back rolled landed its cut onto the leader's eyes, spitting out the arm and struggling to even stand. The creature was bleeding heavily and attempted to weakly chant before it was its final words, falling to the dirt.*

*The two undead gnolls turned their attention to the one armed demigod, attacking at the same time as they swung their bone maces at him. One missed while one landed a brutal hit on his dagger wielding arm, the spiked bone mace sent the man to fly back from the impact. Akira appeared behind them, slicing ones head yet it continued to fight. Attempted to blindly swing at the fox, but instead it would hit its undead ally. Smashing it info pieces, Akira would be hit by the crashed bones and was almost hit by another wild swing. She'd create two clones that quickly overpowered the final undead gnoll. The fox was blooded and wounded on an average scale, although it was difficult to see it with the smoke.*

```"Come, the three heads are gone. Leave now, or death is our fate."```
.

*The kitsune first turned to tielfing toddler before bring it to the wounded Noctis, she turned her furry ears to hear pleads and cries of the caged prisoners that still remained in the center. She'd hold the child carefully, the little one was still crying but was no longer in deep pain. Suddenly, another war horn could be heard coming from cliffs that lead to the forest. Gnolls turned to look up as torches began to be seen racing towards them.*

*The gnolls were now on a complete retreat, seemly afraid of the chaos created. Some didn't even waste time, simply running away from the hopeless situation. Gnolls that arrived in the center came to see their dead leader, the beasts were smart enough to understand a loss. Now, it was every gnoll for itself. Through the thick smoke, an small number of figures could be seen approaching the war camp. Akira wasn't sure if they were friend or foe, she'd reach out to Noctis with the little one on her shoulder.*

```"Now Noctis, the two must leave now. This is no place to die. Get up now, don't die on this one."```
Gary
Noctis only dimly heard the voice of Akira, his entire world was dark with only the slightest glimmers of color and bright light and painful noise. The pain was so great that stars exploded in his vision and he hyperventilated, one arm ripped off and the other entirely shattered from the force of the blow, bleeding from the pronged head of the bone spiked mace. He hissed air between his teeth, blood and spit dribbling from his lips as he buried his head against the earth and screamed to try and fight against the pain, against all odds rolling to his knees as his arm hung uselessly by his side. 

He raised his head, his grey eyes bloodshot from the exertion of staying conscious and his vision swam, the sting of the smoke minimal in comparison to the pain his body felt- and he dimly made out Akira holding the child. Both were alive, and amazingly, shockingly- he smiled. His eyes shut and his pearly teeth bloodstained but glinting in the firelight, his smile was pure and relieved and... Beautiful. A trained warrior, a seasoned assassin, a perfect lover, a monster, a million dark things but at the end of the day, Noctis had been born to be a beautiful addition to the world. When he smiled, it was as if he was truly showing his power. 

A power that surpassed the greatest feats of his strength, a power that blazed brighter than any fire spell, that was more wondrous than his wind and his illusions- no, his smile showed just how full of love for the world of Aeterna and its people his heart really was. Despite all the death and pain and betrayal he'd experienced, he still somehow managed to love the world with all the sincerity he'd had when he was a child. 

"Thank goodness, you're alright." He said, beaming at them even as blood poured from his stump of an arm and his other mangled one steadily draining too. His gaze followed hers to the cages and he became aware of their screams of fear. 

*"I want to save them all."* He thought numbly. *"Im so tired... Scipio, I'm sorry,

I don't want to kill anymore. Forgive me, you trained me to be better, but..."* 

He ignored her warnings and staggered to his feet. The demigod swayed and then began to walk- walk **Towards** The danger. Each step carried him closer to the cages, closer. 

*"Eliza, I don't know why I think of you so much, but I think I'm going to die. I feel like somehow though, I've gotten to know you. Perhaps I'm crazy, but I wanted to meet you again, there's something I want to tell you."* He thought, taking a few more staggering steps towards the cages as the horde of torches grew closer and the smoke choked the air hatefully. 

*"Pride, I'm sorry I stopped getting stronger and got left behind. If I'd been as strong as you, perhaps you could have lived. Leks... I should have fought for you harder than I fought for the empire."* He mumbled out loud now as he reached the gates. What was he going to do here? His arms were useless, pathetic additions to his torso- but he was lost in delusions now.

*"Was it enough, Mom? Did I fight hard enough"* He thought dimly, feeling grateful that on deaths door he was no longer feeling pain. In fact, he felt great. He imagined that his arm was twisting back into place, the bones resetting and the wounds closing, he imagined his missing arm was regrowing itself, bone extending and muscle wrapping, flesh folding itself into existence, nails forming on the end of slender fingers. 

Noctis imagined a hundred lives, a life spent with Alekhya, a life spent laughing with Pride over their adventures, a life where Sylvar got to return to the ocean without fear, a life with Eliza on his lap, a life where he got to see just how much there was to Akira, the beautiful creation of his father that was as beautiful as she was terrible. 

"I don't even know the babies name." He said with a laugh, unaware that for just a minute his superhuman strength had returned. On autopilot he bent back the bars on each cage to let the plump sacrifices out, and

When they were free, he turned and walked over to Akira. 

Once he reached her, he blinked and came out of his dream. In shock he realized that it *Wasnt* A dream, his strength had faded but his arms were returned to normal, MORE all of his wounds were gone. He was however exhausted beyond belief. His mind raced to understand, but now was not the time. 

"Let's move, Akira." He said, putting his arm around the Fox and kissing her cheek. Too tired to speak more, it was all he could do to give his thanks as he leaned on her and began to move with her to try and escape the camp- though he'd delayed much. 

"Leave.. Me... If you must."