The Spiritual vs The Divine (Emblem)

A large circular structure surrounded by a no-man’s-land was illuminated by a bright sun in the clear blue sky. It was a Colosseum, or so she thought, a structure of a great civilization in earth’s history. The brief period she had spent with the Titans had given her enough time to research this among other subjects. The clear white stone, now crumbling and fractured due to its age, and the circular forms in not just in the entire structure but recurring in the designs everywhere gave it away. Anyone from this world would instantly recognize it, but it took Seren some thought to get to that conclusion. She had walked to the center of the inner arena and gazed around her towards the massive structure’s empty tiered seats. It looked even bigger from the inside and it amazed her yet again how ingenious human beings were. Still, she had no idea what she was doing here.

A voice had spoken to her in her sleep. Whether it was one of her kind that spoke to her, one of Brianna’s spirit friends playing a prank on her or she was simply going mad was something she was still debating on. The message it gave her was just as vague. A man of faith will come to challenge you on sacred sands. When she finally woke up she knew the time and place and quickly got ready to leave. The sands on the Colosseum arena grounds meant something to the Divine. Mixed with the blood of martyrs this sand became a relic in the later stages of religious history. It clearly matched the words that had been spoken to her, but why they had to fight here raised some more questions. Still, it wasn’t as if she had anything more interesting to do.

From her seated position in the center of the arena she patiently waited for a figure to arrive through the massive entrance in front of her. Her clothes didn’t really make the sun bearable, but being able to become translucent certainly had its pro’s there. Hopefully he would arrive soon and they could get this over with.

David Seraph, Faithweaver. His dreams were that which many coveted. Not for the content of such a dream, but for the peace it would bring to regular mortals. As David would sleep, peace would claim the grounds close by and no harm shall ever be done.

David's dreams were the most well-known part of his powers. Yet he could do so much more. He had witnessed Titans who possessed a certain fighting spirit for good. In some way, he coveted and praised them for what they did, but a warrior, he was not. The scriptures had clearly told him that it was ''better a patient man than a warrior, a man who could control his temper than one who takes a city.''

Yet this time, proverbs and guidelines had left him a little short as he was visited in his dreams. David's dreams would often look like an inner sanctuary, green grassy hills with marble and ivory temples and pillars. Some of them had golden statues of Angels, whilst others had silver ornate decorations, more akin to Man. Yet David, who was enjoying the everlasting sun and lsh breeze in the calm of his mind, saw one of those statues...come to life.

Regularly, this meant and intruder had been found in his mind. On such occasions, the angelic statues would come alive and effectively repel such threats with swords and shield and the occasional bow. David's Sanctuary was well-guarded, so even masters of mind-control would have to work to keep their ground. That is, unless their means were peaceful.

Yet this time, the angel slowly and gracefully walked towards David, her face of stone stern yet calming. David sat with his back against a tree in the cool shade, and watched as she neared. The angelic statue extended her hand. David took it and stood up, taking his staff to support his walk that was sure to follow. The angel pointed at the nearest ivory chapel. A small place of prayer, but a serene one nonetheless. David nodded in kind and started to walk that way.

''St. Raphael the Archangel, what would you have me do?''

It was true that David was somewhat surprised. He would not often have a statue in his mind tell him to go to a specific place. But as always, the plans of the Divine would often surprise him and give him a task he needs to fulfill, which he did gladly. As David kneeled down in the small shrine, he prayed, and was rewarded for it. In liquid golden letters, words appeared in front of him, resting on a large block of marble.

''A stray spirit needs clarity of mind. On sacred sands of times long lost, guide her unrelenting into the afterlife.''

David frowned as he read the message. He looked over his shoulder, but the angelic statue had again taken her place on top of the pillar. As he stood up, he muttered openly what it could mean.

''Sacred sands. I recall such connections between that and a time where warriors would get clarity in the midst of battle. Whilst some fought for money and other practical or physical riches, some would find peace of mind in the heart of combat. The story of martyrs, who were sacrificed on the same ground, is not much unlike this. What is my role in such a horrific ordeal? Am I to guide this lost spirit back to the afterlife by fighting it?''

David stood up, and shook his head. Slowly, the dream dissipated, as he woke up to find himself laying down on the small bed, in his temporary apartment. He quickly assembled all the items he wished to take, including his staff and his bottle of holy water. It was clear as crystal where he needed to go. The Coliseum.

Lucky for him, it was not far off. Public transport brought him close enough and the rest was done walking. As he walked on the Colosseum neared, but it was not yet clear what David was supposed to do.

How would it be that St. Raphael would want him to fight? Then again, this was no mortal living being, right? Or it could be...all in all, it was one confusing mess. Yet David would not let down his patron. His faith would withstand all, for it was as strong as stone and as unyielding as steel.

As he arrived at the once so proud and ornate gate, David swallowed and took a deep breath. He pushed away the old large wooden doors, granting him access to the main part of the Colosseum. The sands...and his opponent.

As David's grip on his staff tensed due to the rush of physical stress on the body, and his breathing increased, he remembered his old peers, the monks. A few deep breaths, and he was going to be alright. The sun shone brightly upon his bald head and his tattoo's gleamed brightly, at least, as much as possible for carved black lines on human skin. He spoke out to the spirit, not sure whether or not it could hear him. Lost spirits were always an enigma, some benine some evil, some hardly seeming sentient or not knowing what the yare doing. Whilst some were able to speak or communicate, others were not so able. Yet one thing was true in most cases; They needed to be guided, some bested before that. There was only one way to find out if this one could speak.

''I greet you, wandering spirit. My name is David Seraph Pure. Do not think bad of me for what is about to transpire...''

David held his staff in his right hand and raised his left towards the spirit. Although slightly shaking and hesitant at first, David steeled himself and used his holy powers to smite the spirit. White light pulsed from his hand and shot out to his opponent, lightening her up. If she was evil, she would feel a burning sensation. Deep in his mind, David would hope she was, for it would justify his somewhat shaky reasons that led to this battle.

Eventually someone showed up at the huge wooden gate. A monk judging by his appearance. He wore a loose set of robes, had a shaved head and was literally riddled with various tattoos. The man looked calm and serene yet gripped the handle of his staff tightly. It was hard to get an accurate read on him from this distance but his intent was clear as he steadily walked towards her. He controlled his breathing, took same sized steps and exercised a control of his mind that Seren had never seen before. This all was clear by merely seeing him walking in her direction. Then why did his expression not match the detemination he projected towards her.

Seren didn't understand what was happening and genuinely listened once the man started to speak up. He spoke in a clear gentle tone and mentioned her previous spiritual existance before making up somewhat of an apology for what was about to come. Seren could only stand there looking puzzled while the monk sent a wave of light towards her. Only when it hit her did she come to her senses and understood was he had tried to do. The wave of light sent a tingling sensation through he body and while it didn't hurt, it did make her take one step backwards. The wave passed and, to her surprise, she was left completely unharmed. Seren focused on David again, spread her arms and slowly started to hover above the ground.

"I do no know what you are trying to accomplish, but do not presume I will let you attack me without consequence."

As these words left her lips her hands started to glow in the feint blue colour that was of the Fade. Her existance could have been destroyed a few seconds ago, but she was not about to let that happen a second time. With a swing of her arm followed by the other she sent a flurry of energy bolts straight at the monk. The energy would tear through clothing and burn the flesh, but this first set wouldn't leave any permanent harm. Seren continued to hover in the air a little while, observing the monk's reaction to her retaliation before starting to circle around him while her hands glowed bright for the next serie of bolts.

"I do no know what you are trying to accomplish, but do not presume I will let you attack me without consequence."

David's initial attack had no effect at all. A pity in the young man's eyes. Either this particular spirit did not have any sins to smite..or she was resistant to his gift. Yet one thing was clear, his attack had caused a ripple, a reaction in his opponent. A feint blue color had been displayed, and it could only mean one thing. Retaliation. David firmly grabbed his staff in both hands, for he could not do much more then await his foe. Yet in that moment, he realized he was up for trouble.

For some reason, his opponent was unfazed by his smiting ability. If she was, it was either due to her resistance, or she had no sins to speak of. She was hostile, but David was sure Demonsbane would have no effect on her. He did not sense a demonic presence, not even nearby. Yet if she was hostile, why did his attack have no effect?

As he tried to solve this puzzle, bolts of energy came straight at him as his foe hovered above the ground. Great,.. levitation. David was already outmatched, typically. He was no fighter. As the flurry of energy bolts came straight for David, he decided to face her headstrong. With a swing of his staff, he shunted the first projectile off it's original trajectory. However, as he did so, David exposed his shoulder, which was hit with the following bolt. Multiple bolts followed and David tried his best to parry or evade them. His nimble physique allowed him to dodge a few, but most of these attacks had struck him. Parts of his favorite robe sizzled as burn marks showed themselves on his shoulder, lower left abdomen and his right forearm. Red as fire and burning in a similar way, David knew he had to do something. With a few swiped of his staff, he seemingly swiped the ground, letting the sand rise up in the commotion. This together with the sand shot up due to the first parried projectile, gave him a slight veil, if only for a few moments. David knelt down and mumbled for St. Raphael's strength as he moved his left hand over his right forearm. A gentle white glow emerged from the left palm, and as it moved over the right forearm, the wound seemed to close. However, as he moved to the next wound, his lower left abdomen, the sand was already setting and the light could be perceived by his opponent. Whilst the lower left abdomen would receive a slightly increased healing factor due to the light and is right forearm was already as good as new, David had miscalculated the cover given by the sand.

In any sense, his opponent now also knew of his healing capabilities. It'd be weird if she did not, as his ornate cloth robe was torn but no burn was seen where his flesh was. He had to go back on the offensive now. A bland idea, but he had to. If not, he'd only receive more bolts of that burning light blue energy.

''You know...this was my favorite robe...''

With that and a predetermined chuckle, David shot forward into a run, straight at Seren. He tried to zig-zag a little to avoid any new set of projectiles. It was a desperate strategy to break this stand-off. Whatever it took, he'd keep on going until he was near.

He knew fully well he could not dim the projectiles as a Sleeping Seal for he'd not be awake to act. It'd not solve his problems. His trustworthy staff was what was going to help him. As his tight sandals shot through the sand in the turmoil, he spinned his staff in his right hand and then held it tight in both hands, to swing it at Seren, much like a baseball player would swing his bat at a baseball. As he came close to strike her, David could be heard muttering another phrase from the scriptures.

''Fight the good fight of the...Faith!''

With the last word, his staff, crooked end first, shot out to strike Seren. David could not really witness if he'd hit her or not, caught up in the large swing of his arms.

A trail of smoke dissipated from the monk's robe and revealed a spot bordering on a second degree burn beneath a smoldering hole in the cloth fabric. Fade energy burned like plasma, but it was rarely enough to kill a grown man. The monk demonstrated this by taking several hits without showing signs of any lasting effects apart from the burn spot accompanied by a painful tingle. Seren continued her barrage a little while longer until her opponent threw up a defensive screen of sand through a swing with his staff forcing her to stop. She halted her movements and tried to peer through the shimmering veil of sand. The veil thinned soon after it was thrown up, revealing the white energy that healed the burns and closed up the wounds.

Never had she seen healing magic before, but she was most impressed by the speed at which it worked. It was obvious this would become a prolonged fight if she was to rely on the Fade alone. David set his next move in motion before she had a chance to improvise on the situation. He came straight at her, to which she responded with more Fade energy. In turn charging monk opted for a more defensive set of movements and made it harder to predict where next to throw the energy at. It was clear she was wasting her energy so she halted her barrage when he had crossed about half the distance. With the staff readily in his hands the monk cleared the rest of the distance and swung his weapon at her body.

While the usage of her powers in self-defense came to her naturally, the art of close combat was something she still had zero experience in. There was one thing she had in her favor though, a thing that would surely ruin the monk's plan. As the wooden staff neared her she reacted by partially immersing herself into another plane within this world. Her entire body turned translucent and she dropped back to the ground from her hover while the staff passed right through her. The monk had to recover from the sudden shock of her becoming intangible and compensate for the absence of the resistance he expected to find. Seren wasted no time and passed right through the monk's body, shifted back to this plane and turned around in a slight hover to face his backside.

Faith? She had heard him speak. He was fighting for faith? It was obvious he was a monk of some kind, but what did she have to do with his faith, whatever that may be? More importantly, now that she had the chance, how could she even think of putting this man down? She knew the difference between good and evil, no matter how much gray in between. This man did not seem evil, nor did he seem to intend harm, yet something drove him to attack her. Seren hovered back up some more, now almost a meter up in the air, and tilted her head in curiosity as the distance grew between them.

"You are an intriguing sight Friar Pure. I do not understand what your Divines have in store for me but I will not wait around for you to find a way to show me."

Seren put her whole body into a dive towards David, intending to get close and force him to the ground. It would be hard to go around his defenses without using her power, but should it work out she would have him at the mercy of her meld.

David's eyes flared up as he had a sudden realization. During this, his opponent spoke before coming at him in a rapid dive. Even physical means had failed him. Irony really, as a shepherd staff never was meant to hurt..

''A stray spirit needs clarity of mind. On sacred sands of times long lost, guide her unrelenting into the afterlife.''

As the word came back to him, he wondered. Which of the two was the stray spirit in this battle? For his opponent was unexplainable. For she was a spirit in form, yet she seemed more steadfast then others. She was not like much other spirits, showed intellect and control on various levels, but although he knew he sort of started it, she was fierce in her counterattacks. She was however, untouchable to smite, and a rock in terms of willpower. In the same fight, David had done things he would never, had a hard time keeping up, and even currently, felt lost, out of place.

Yet if his spirit was that which was named in the golden message, then why was it he met this spirit in the Coliseum? Could he have made a wrong interpretation? If things were not as they are supposed to be...then maybe..

At that moment, David snapped back to reality and only barely jumped out of harm's way, using his stick as somewhat of a pole vault. As he got a few feet in between, he held his staff in his hands, spinning it in the hope to create some distance.

''Friar? You possess knowledge of the Divine, spirit? Admirable to say the least, most intriguing. Friar comes from Frater...''brother'' in a language not often spoken in these days. A Friar would do his blessed work in communities, as the Divine will it...''

Understanding he was simply stalling for time as he tried to look for something to do in this peculiar situation, David dropped the staff. His arms spread wide, he started to two feet above the ground.

''It is the will of the Divine, and you shall see their grace wash over you, as water washed over those who were cleansed of their sins. Spirits are always inspected, never trifled with, and dealt with properly. None escape this..''

As he levitated, David seemed to spread his inner light as his eyes lit up and his body radiated pure warm light from his very soul. As he did so, the Demonsbane was activated. It was a hopeless guess, but Seraph had no other options. As the smiting had not hurt, all he could hope for was some sort of a fearful reaction from his opponent. During his levitation, David felt the light of the Divine and hoped it was not the last time he would feel such sacred warmth. Another quote spawned from his mind, but was lost in the moment of the Demonsbane's full execution.

Were he more trained in combat then David would understand that the very goal Seren had, touching his mind, was now closer within her reach. That is, were she to notice the light would not affect her. It was a risky gamble, but all David had. He had to show inpenetrable courage and conviction, hoping this would show him an opening

Seren flew straight at the monk with increasing speed. Just as they were about to collide he put his staff to the ground and forced himself out of the way. Seren made contact with the ground, but thanks to her power managed to pass into it through a phase shift. Phasing through a wall was easy, but the earth always made it feel so claustrophobic. She moved back to the surface and emerged a few tens of feet in front of David, her body regaining colour and composure as she reentered this plane.

The monk tried to make sense of it all. She didn't know his usual duties, but if they involved spirits then it was obvious he was not having a normal day dealing with her. The fact that he knew she was a spirit from the get-go had already amazed her, but whatever she did or said only seemed to bring the monk more doubt. Of course she knew about religious entities and their servants, she resided in a human body and it was only natural to learn about oneself, even if she didn't expect it to last eternally. She was dealing with something that didn't understand her and that feeling was mutual. There was no reason to continue bringing harm to this man and there was only one thing she could do to make him understand.

David spoke more words of faith as he hovered above the ground and soon after an intense light begun to radiate from his chest. The light was blinding at first, as if staring into the sun, but her eyes gradually adjusted as the light enveloped her. It felt warm and tingly like before, even at this distance, and the more she looked the less imposing it was. David seemed to lose himself in it, as if his entire being became the beacon of light that was now his body. It wasn't her first impulse to move towards it, quite the opposite, but after some thought it became clear to her. The light didn't harm her before and it didn't exactly made her feel bad either. The only thing that wasn't clear was the reason for their fight and the answer to that was buried somewhere in that skull of his. She intended to get it out.

Seren started to move forward, slowly at first but gradually moving faster. This light seemed to take a lot of concentration on the monk's part so her path was clear. The light grew larger and brighter the closer she got, as if illuminating her soul if she even had one, but never did it actually impair her in any way. Even when she stood besides him it merely imbued a the tingly sensation she had been feeling for the last minute or two. As she halted only inches away from the monk she lifted her body to hover besides him and placed her hand on his hairless scalp. She hated this part, the part where she was about to extract information for someone's brain against their will. There weren't many other options given, but it never made her feel good about what she did.

Her hand glowed in a feint blue, the colour lost in the brightness radiating from the man's body. Her mind projected the words 'Forgive me' before proceeding any further. On the recipient's side this would be perceived as a voice in the background, as if caried by the wind. Her conscious started to forcefully search for whatever it was that drove this man against her. The stimulation would vary from a slight headache to excruciating pain depending on how well he would try to hide it. The continuation of he search depended on his reaction.