#fcseraphim

That velvet voice had been oh so compelling. The Viera had never encountered something quite like this before. His little combat experience on the First and the bit he'd done with the Augury were no help to him here, or wouldn't have been even if he'd known what he was in for. Unbeknownst to him, the Greater Voidsent had been able to whisper into his mind so sweetly, getting into his head and coaxing him into relaxing his vigilance. Telling the man there was no need to have his weapon drawn or charged anymore, though a charge could not be removed so easily once infused into the ore. That the threat was over now and he could breath easy. Faelan's normal diligence was shattered by the sway of this being, and he found himself letting out a huff and settling comfortably onto the ground to rest and await orders. His colleagues were nearby, calling orders to one another and working on containing the Voidsent they had been sent to find, so he might still be needed eventually. Though the threat did seem to be over, didn't it?

Those would have been the thoughts in his head, had he realized the voice soothing him had ill intent and was not of his own thoughts. Had he time to wonder if he'd made the right choice to let down his guard. There wasn't any. No time for him to consider his actions. No time to call for aid. Several lesser Voidsent, minions of the Speaker, had crept up behind him while he was under the Speaker's 'spell', and were on him in a flash while he sat. The flapping of wings might have been a warning, but for some reason the sound had not reached his ears. He didn't know he was in danger until they gripped and began tearing at him with their claws. The pain was what brought him back to reality. The Viera was still on the ground and in no position to draw the large bow on his back in close combat, and so he attempted to draw on the stores of aether he could usually depend on to cast a spell, only to find them not available to him.

Weakness hit him, made him unable to fully push himself from the ground or hold himself up, and so he collapsed onto his knees in the dirt, his face no doubt reflecting his shock. Once more, Faelan tried to draw on the strength of his magic, only to feel nothing respond to him. He cycled between emotion after emotion as he had trained himself to, to no avail. He attempted to open his mouth to call out to his comrades, or lift his hand to activate his linkpearl, but he found his eyelids growing heavy and the weakness continuing to compound itself. It was only in this moment that he could feel the almost painful pull of his aether leaving his body, as if someone was drinking it all up and denying him of it as the very air he needed to breath. The Viera collapsed face first onto the ground, blacking out without so much as a sound, his colleagues none the wiser.

Just as the creatures were intent on finishing their feast, their actions were brought to an abrupt and unexpected halt. The claws were stilled as if the beasts had been encapsulated in ice, frozen stiff. The floating islands near them ceased to move. Even the trees and the grass were still. For the briefest of moments, time had ceased to pass. A shimmer of light appeared, rippling in the air itself, revealing a figure as it passed from within the opened time portal. The dark skinned Elezen who approached made no attempt to strike the minions around their quarry, merely shoving them aside as nothing of consequence as he made his way towards the unconscious body of the Viera.