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Post by malyssa on Jan 20, 2012 13:59:39 GMT -5
Maliss shivered by the firepit in the middle of her camp. No matter what she tried, the wood was just too damp to stay lit. She had already pulled on every bit of clothing she had, even though wearing her black confessor's dress over the top of her traveling clothes looked ridiculous, it was warmer than not having it.
Once more she stuck steel to flint and got a small spark to take hold in the pile of tinder, and once more after burning a few moments, it sputtered and died. "I knew this was a bad idea." she muttered before pulling the blanket up around her shoulders. "Another cold lonely night in the woods..." she sighed and settled back against the wood pile. If she ever found her way out of these woods, she'd probably go back to Aydindril. As unhappy as she'd been cooped up in the palace, at least it had been warm there.
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Post by sariah on Jan 25, 2012 3:04:39 GMT -5
Sariah moved silently up to the edge of the clearing so she could see the lone figure more clearly. It was but a single woman, young, shorter than herself. Most would probably not consider her any kind of threat. Sariah however, viewed everyone, and everything as a possible threat and took in every detail she could. The woman was obviously having a hard time getting a fire going, and was not used to sleeping in the cold, or at least she wasn't prepared for it. The dress she had on was the most alarming thing Sariah could see however, she'd been warned to watch out for women in that cut of dress, for no normal woman would dare to put on the dress of a Confessor.
Deciding that she could learn no more from afar, Sariah stepped out of the shadows toward the woman, her twin agiels dangling at the end of their chains in easy reach if she needed them. She also kept a firm grasp on her magic, ready to call upon it in an instant. "You seem to be having trouble with fire, so unless freezing to death is your greatest desire, you should take a step back and allow me to help, 'else I'll leave you to deal with it yourself." she said in what she hoped was a gentle tone. She hadn't planned on scaring the girl too much from the start, but subtlety wasn't one of her strong points.
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Post by malyssa on Jan 28, 2012 14:52:18 GMT -5
In the first instant the Mord Sith entered the clearing, Maliss had a firm grip on her dagger beneath the blanket. Though one person would never be a threat to a confessor at close range, there was always a chance that there were more. As the strange woman spoke, Maliss found herself relaxing a little. It wasn't likely that an attacker, especially one who obviously knew what she was, would offer to help first.
Still, there was something more than a little off about her. Finding another lone woman traveler was not a very common occurrence. "If you can help.. Then please do so." she said, her voice as steady as she could manage it as she slipped the dagger back into its hidden sheath and rose to her feet. "After which, you are welcome to stay if you'd like." the invitation was perhaps a bit bold, but this was the first person she had seen in quite awhile.
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Post by sariah on Jan 29, 2012 4:10:40 GMT -5
Sariah nodded and turned her attention toward the firepit. There was plenty of fuel, and she could easily ignite all of it at once, but it would not last long that way, and when it came to magic, she's always preferred a skillful approach rather than brute force. She reached deep into the tinder pile in the center with her Han, and ever so carefully began vibrating the tiny particles together to create friction. In moments the pile was smoldering, and shortly after the flames would appear. In less than a minute, flames had sprung from the tinder to the smallest of the logs. It would burn slowly as the moisture had to evaporate first, but it wouldn't die out again.
"I accept your invitation confessor, on the condition that we exchange names first." she said once she was certain the fire was strong enough that it didn't need her help any longer. "I am Sariah, Mistress to some in the past, but none currently." She offered a brief, but pleasant smile to the confessor, and awaited her response.
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Post by malyssa on Jan 31, 2012 14:29:30 GMT -5
Maliss stared at the growing flames in disbelief. This woman was a lot more dangerous than she appeared to be. With the thrill of excitement coursing through her body, Maliss turned toward the Mord Sith. "Well met Sariah.. I am Maliss.." she said in a calm tone, though anything else she may have said was lost as another group walked into camp. With the implied threat of the two wizard's raised hands, Maliss' instincts took over, and she analyzed each of them in turn. If they made any more aggressive move, she would be ready. Though she hoped it wouldn't come to that.
With a slight smirk on her face she turned toward Deneric, her brief analysis suggested that he was most likely the one in charge. "It seems my troubles have attracted more uninvited guests. I hope for all of our sakes, yours included, that you do not come as enemies." she said in the same calm tone she had used moments before.
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Post by Lord Rahl on Feb 2, 2012 13:50:50 GMT -5
Rahl stood, hand outstretched.
Suddenly he wondered if it was such a good idea for three wizards and a Mord-Sith to ambush a second Mord-Sith and a Confessor.
Arya was behind the Confessor, fortunately out of arm's reach. She glared at the Mord-Sith, attempting to place her face, seemingly having forgotten that Rahl said she was definitely not one of theirs.
Eris too had an arm outstretched to the Confessor, but he was standing farther back.
Deneric spoke,
"We do not come as enemies. We are only wary. This place,"— he gestured with his other arm to the dark, towering forest around them —"is not exactly a place where one meets many friends."
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Post by quelin on Feb 3, 2012 9:05:40 GMT -5
Having run for many days on end, Quelin was even more tired than he was before. Having been in Fajin province for almost a day now, he was dissatisfied that he hadn't found Lord Rahl yet. Wandering about the forsaken place, he saw light. That much was unusual as it was the middle of the night. He moved silently towards the light. He came to the edge of a clearing, where a woman sat and what looked like a Mord Sith stood.
"What's going on here...?" he mumbled under his breath. With a flash of his gift, he removed all light from around his body. He sat comfortably in darkness, invisible to others. He looked around, he could make out the silhouette of other men and women around the clearing. Something was going to happen. Quelin wasn't sure if he wanted to participate if something did. He knew all too well the powers of a Mord Sith.
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Post by sariah on Feb 4, 2012 4:22:39 GMT -5
At the first hint of sound from the other group's entry into the clearing, Sariah's agiels spun up into her fists, the familiar shock of pain from each brought all of her senses to full alert as she surveyed the area. She held each of them in her gaze briefly, she could almost taste the magic in the air between the three wizards, but the one that caught her eye the most was the other Mord Sith. Seeing one of her own order for the first time immediately reminded her of the one who had raised her. She'd been told many times that no true Mord Sith would serve one other than the Lord Rahl.
With that in mind, she looked over each of them again. her eyes lighting up with recognition as she turned to Deneric, those features could only belong to one of the Rahl bloodline, though she had never seen him before, and couldn't feel the Bond to confirm his identity, there was no doubt in her mind who this was. "after all of this time..." she said softly, for a very brief moment torn between tears of relief, and laughter at how strange the day had been. Without even the slightest hesitation, she dropped her agiels to hang from their chains, and took a cautious step forward. "It is an honor, and a priviledge to meet you.. Lord Rahl. I would kneel for devotion as is proper... but I believe there is someone else outside the clearing. And I doubt very much that they are friendly." she said in her usual cold tone. She had felt the brief tingle of the stranger's magic before he'd gone dark, but it was more than enough for her to think that someone was there.
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Post by quelin on Feb 4, 2012 22:42:58 GMT -5
After hearing that he was known, Quelin became very still. One wrong move and he was toast. Mord Sith were deadly to any who dared use magic against them. He knew it all too well. He had seen it happen to a man he once loved, and was not able to save him. He wouldn't make the same mistake. He kept his cool, waiting for the right opportunity. Surveying the area he noticed many Mord Sith, a woman who was very clearly not Mord Sith, and his target: Lord Rahl. There was no way he was going to take Lord Rahl in this situation. He had to bide his time.
It was time to make a move. With another sudden flicker of his gift, all the light vanished from the clearing. And he dashed in. It was going to be a long night.
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Post by quelin on Feb 5, 2012 23:55:57 GMT -5
Screams and cries echoed through his ears, but that couldn't break Quelin's concentration. The clearing had erupted into what seemed like a mass panic. It was a mass panic to protect the Lord Rahl, and take Quelin out, but that wouldn't happen so easily. Unlike all others in the clearing, he could see in the dark. In fact he preferred it. His gift had manifested to allow him to be such an assassin. Removing light from his surroundings was just one small portion of his many talents of manipulating his surroundings. While his blood red eyes threw most people off, it was those special eyes which allowed him to see where others could not. With a swift strike he punched the Mord Sith who had noted he was in the surroundings across the face. Although his tried hard, he could not find the Lord Rahl. Using just his physical swiftness and his sword would only be enough for so long. He was running out of time. If he said anything, or made the wrong move he would be given away, and all would be lost. He had to find Lord Rahl and kill him before the light returned to the clearing, however unlikely it was to happen.
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Post by Lord Rahl on Feb 6, 2012 13:46:27 GMT -5
Arya's grip on Deneric's wrist was tight as she attempted to drag him away from the dark battlefield ahead. With his gift he was able to discern the rough area where the attacker resided. But this area changed frequently as he fluidly navigated the clearing.
With his free, right hand, and for the first time in a long time, he drew his sword. He dug his feet into the ground, putting a stop to Arya's continuous pull away from the battle. He slowly took a step forward, pulling her now.
She cried out in what was somehow barely more than a whisper, "No, Lord Rahl! I must get you away from the assassin."
Assassin.
He hadn't really considered that. He saw the threat and it was obvious that this was no friend of his. But could it be a direct, purposeful attempt on his life?
Now he was angry. But he was also thinking more cautiously. He reversed Arya's grip on his wrist and caught hold of hers, dragging her along to the side of the battle. He sent a spark of his gift to the other side, and created a ball of expanding flame. The combatants appeared as silhouettes.
Deneric pondered what he would do, and tried to discern which figure belonged to Aleister.
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Post by unpopularprophet on Feb 6, 2012 15:57:29 GMT -5
FOOL. The assassin was a fool to seek protection from the darkness, for the darkness was Aleister's bailiwick, his dominion... and no living creature could challenge him in it. The assassin thought them all blinded. Even before Rahl lit a flame, the assassin was wrong. Dead wrong... almost literally. Aleister could see the man's life force and Gift clear as a noon-day sun. He could see them all. He could see things that weren't visible where there was light.
Aleister's outline wavered, and he would have been hard to pick out among shadows had not all the light been extinguished anyway. He focused on maintaining a spirit trance: now was not a time for all out barrages of dark energy. Yet. Time seemed to slow... stop... and proceed slowly in several directions at once. Aleister was picking out skeins of Death from the webbing of the veil, the very possibility of Death providing him the means to see possible outcomes, if only in blurred impressions of potential slaughter.
Aleister's body coated itself in diamond-like ice, his eyes glossed over by an impenetrable and perfect black. Had he been visible in the light, he might have been mistakable for a resplendantly reflective statue, or a spirit, but not for a living creature. The veil rippled about his form, space bending... pulling his tumbling body via a force indistinguishable in acceleration and nature from gravity except for direction, towards the assassin in the dark. Just before Rahl lit his flame, a diamond-hard hand flew for the assassin's temple with all the force of a sledgehammer smashing a boulder.
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Post by quelin on Feb 6, 2012 16:40:34 GMT -5
Dashing through and aroudn the clearing had given Quelin good advantage. Clearly not as much as he had planned. The force, which had come out of nowhere hit him like a freight train, and send him flying into just outside the clearing. Clearly something or someone could see him. He rolled over, head throbbing. His decision to remove all light in the clearing was obviously not a perfect choice. He needed to refine his plan: Get Lord Rahl, and then get the hell of out there. He needed to not let his anger get the better of him this time. He gathered his wits and waited for the ball of flame to past. With blitzing speed, he dashed into the clearing, dead set on his target. With some luck he made it right across the clearing and landed a solid punch to the chest of Lord Rahl. With the Lord Rahl laying on the ground at his feet.
"Now good sir, enough of this foolishness. We must have a talk." With this he smiled and prepared to drag Lord Rahl out of the clearing.
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Post by unpopularprophet on Feb 6, 2012 17:19:10 GMT -5
Aleister was not happy about this. Not. At all.
Loosing a wave of veil-momentum, he tried to send Quelin falling parallel to the ground, so as to distance him from Lord Rahl. Not long after, Aleister himself charged into the space, the ice on his hands forming lengthy claws, and nimbus es of tangible Darkness flowing in his wake.
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Post by Lord Rahl on Feb 6, 2012 17:24:12 GMT -5
Rahl lay on the ground, confused and disoriented. In the darkness he saw a red figure lunging at the second, darker figure standing over him. He noted distantly that his sword was some five feet away, with the tip facing toward him.
He heard a cry, which seemed both near and far. The voice of a woman. Which woman? It didn't matter. More pressing was the pain on his chest. He attempted to catch his breath.
As his wits slowly returned to him, he thought,
Dear spirits, this man is strong
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