SkieBorne
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- Posted: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:42:11 +0000
.::||{...Anniversary RP - Eamnonn and Malh'reth...}||::.
Anniversary RP - Eamnonn and Malh'reth
**In need of editing to fit proper timeline**
**In need of editing to fit proper timeline**
The Hunt was living up to his name, splattered with gore and bits of formally living deer. He was in the shape of a gigantic green wolf and surrounded by his shadow hunters, the flexing of his magic as well as his muscles helping to clear his head. Rushing after the sound of a prey animal's heart anticipating its end blotted out everything else, and and lying sated on blood-soaked moss was nothing but bliss. He was more glad now that Kaelin had come to stay at his temple than he had when his friend had first appeared, all doubts washed away by giving in to simply being himself. Yeah, it was corny, but it was lovely all the same. Lazily he cracked a thighbone in half with his massive molars, licking up the marrow contained within.
The upcoming forest was a blessed sight for the weary Aurion. He’d hurried his step when the flatness of the plains started to give way to more frequent trees and small rolling hills. Shade was a wonderful thing, he’d come to realize and even though he was fanning himself with a summoned device, the mage still felt as though he were baking under the prairie sun. Thus, when he finally reached the tree line proper and entered the forest he let out a great sigh of relief. It was comfortable… cool… and thrumming with energy. Wandering deeper and deeper, he paused as he pressed the palm of his hand against a tree, wondering if he’d come across another node… a concentration of magic in the landscape that inundated the area with energy. He felt better then before, that was certain. This place didn’t seem so… weak as that from which he’d traveled. It had to mean he was going in the right direction.
Malh’reth had little time to ponder this before the loud snap-crack of a breaking bone echoed in the air. Jumping, the mage slowly scanned the area, looking for the source of the sound. It couldn’t be a good sign… Hoping he hadn’t wandered into the nest of some aggressive creature, the Aurion quickly chose what he thought was the opposite direction from the sound and hurried away. Not a particularly stealthy soul, he kept stepping on sticks and gravel as he tried to find a path through the ancient forest but give the bone-breaking creature a wide enough birth.
His dark hunters never truly sated of their lust for the chase looked at him eagerly in response to the chorus of sounds indicating something moving nearby. It did not smell like local wildlife and its progress had the cadence of a bipedal creature - not a god, and probably not one who would know better. The huge beast-Hunt stretched, nodding to his ephemeral companions and sending them streaming towards the attempted retreater. They slid literally through the trees, quickly surrounding the unknown traveler and tracking its movements with unearthly red eyes set in dark, shapeless forms. Its horn made them snap and growl, eager to smell blood once more: only prey animals wore such adornment.
Eamnonn shook himself back into his usual form, taking to the trees and following the trail to his impatient beasties. His vision showed the colors that theirs could not, and upon catching sight of their quarry had to smother a laugh that bubbled unbidden into his throat. His daughter had a dress about the same color as his eyes.
"You really ought to knock before barging in, you know." He called out from above, feeling more impish than he had in a while.
Heart beat faster as not one but several dark creatures surrounded him, sending him into a run. Melh'reth was a mage, not a warrior! Fishing in his sleeve for his little book of drawings, he stumbled as a voice rang out. Catching a foot on the forest floor as he twisted to look up at the voice's source, he nearly toppled over. "Knooo-agh!" Knocking against a tree, he shook his head as he put his back against it, frowning. Without looking, his fingers were playing through the pages of the book, counting them off mentally as he searched for something that might be useful.
"I-I'm only passing through... I didn't know..." He spoke to the forest at general, nervously flicking gaze towards the glowing, eager eyes he kept seeing.
A snap of his fingers and the shadow beasts vanished, back to his psyche from whence they came. Eamnonn leapt from his perch, landing on the ground with a crash before standing up to his full height. Between the lengthened limbs and the forested wings, he was impressive.
"Fair enough, but do remember it for next time: we're mostly carnivores here. Who are you?"
He blinked as the creatures vanished, wondering if their master was some sort of illusionist. Pushing off from the tree, he brushed his robe free of dirt and burs, looking up just as Eamnonn landed before him. Malh'reth had had his mouth open to reply but now it closed as words died on his lips. It wasn't a fellow mage standing there... or at least he didn't think it was. At length, he snapped out of his surprise and committed the image to memory. Perhaps he'd sketch this out later... might tell his friends of this one.
Swallowing his initial comment, the Aurion nodded as he dipped into a slight bow, "Alright... Call me Malh'reth. A traveling entertainer." He'd stopped riffling through his book, but he hadn't closed it either. While Ea didn't seem... malevolent, experience had taught not to trust that first impression one hundred percent. "How are you?"
"An entrainer, eh? Dare I ask what sort of act you do?" The Hunt grinned, channeling Kae's sense of humor.
"What sort of showman prepares for battle with a book anyway?" He asked with a tilt of his head, nodding to the object in the fellow's very complicated hand. "Do you protect yourself with idioms?"
"I tell stories... well enough that I bring them to life before my audience." He quipped, standing a little taller. His profession was nothing to jest at. Despite himself, he chuckled and shrugged, flipping the book open to the page where he'd kept his finger, "If the situation calls for it suppose I could. Though I prefer to use things more reliable then words - not everyone is willing to listen."
Shuffling, he selected an illustration of a bird in flight and drew his fingers across the image, smiling as he channeled the ambient energy. It was easier here, to call things into existence. "I battle with far more then a book, sir." With a swirl of long-fingered hands, he pulled the ink from the page and tossed the bird into the air where the flapping of wings immediately cut through the air, "For you see, I have imagination at my disposal." Grinning, he winked as he held out a hand that the bird then settled upon, "Even then, that's sometimes not enough."
Sighing, he tilted his head to the side, "Has your land witnessed a degradation as well? My home is fading - the magic slipping away and ah, I'm trying to figure it out."
"We all have our gifts, it seems." The Hunt said, taking the leather glove from his belt and sliding it over his left hand. With a thought his shadow hawk slid out of the air, landing on his arm and sinking its talons into the thick leather. It was huge, dark, and surprisingly well detailed. It eyed the other magically summoned avian with a hungry air.
"We're the source of it here, unfortunately, although if you're home has only been touched by it recently I commend you on being so far flung. Destruction and upheaval are never fun. This forest and its inhabitants live because I do: I am a god and this is my domain."
"Oh..." His concentration flagged and the bird dissolved into nothingness, reappearing on its proper page as he tool a half step back. He couldn't compare to... a god. "A-a a god? I..." He frowned, trying to get his words to come together properly. Melh'reth didn't think they existed... or at least not as incarnations like the one before him. "I... didn't... Ah," He laughed and ran a hand through his hair, clearly unsettled.
"Well, to be honest, it's been happening for a long time now. It's... just slow. The world isn't falling apart or anything, but for someone like me the death of magic isn't particularly appealing." He tapped his horn softly, "Sort of need it to function."
And then the god's words settled on him, "Wait. What? The source of it? I don't understand..."
"Of the Hunt, more specifically, so if you like game meat you'll love me. The name's Eamnonn." And he was freaking out, like mortals tended to do. Good job doofus. You've met enough people who have never seen a god before to know better than that. Some lessons never quite stuck.
He frowned at the description of what exactly was decaying for Mal. "Death of magic? That's a form of Destruction I haven't heard of before. It would make sense though, as he seems to figure out the thing you need the most and then set it on fire-"
"Um, yes." Ea sighed and let his hawk dissolved, fidgeting with his glove before stuffing it back in his belt. "I'll explain it as best I can but I'm not exactly clear on the mechanics of it myself. Basically this is World Zero, and everything that happens here effects all other worlds. The farther out from here you go, the less information from here 'gets through' as it were, and so the more different the worlds are from the epicenter. A World One, for example, probably thinks of the God of the Hunt in very similar terms to what I actually am, while a World Ten Thousand might not even have a concept of deity at all. The worlds in the mid range get the message but it's distorted, and everything that happens here eventually filters out to the rest. So, when the Age of Destruction began here it started to effect the close worlds first and work it's way out, and if it's fixed here the healing will radiate out the same way the dying did."
"...did that make as little sense to you as it did me?"
"Well... There's... potential in your surroundings... an ambient energy. My people rely on that to.. well, sense things and cast our magic...." He started, trying to sound properly respectful but not snivelling either. It was harder then he'd expect and he dropped his gaze, bending into a sort of froze bow. How was one supposed to treat such things? God of the hunt?
"I.... I, ah, I don't eat meat...." He murmured reflexively and then immediately regretted that. It probably made him sound like some sort of prey... An unsure smile tugged at his lips as he glanced up at the Hunt.
"Er...." He frowned at the description and the lack of repercussion, regaining a little confidence, "Like.... this?" Malh'reth lifted a hand, sketching glowing lines in the air. A small circle surrounded by another and another and another that then pulsed out on it's own so that a large bull's eye floated between them. Once done, a wash of grey radiated out, turning more transparent towards the edge. "No... it doesn't make any sense to me - I haven't actually gone anywhere... I'm still in my own world - right?" Confused now, he tried to figure out how the animated diagram before him linked with his own home.
See? This is what happened when he didn't think. Ea reached out a hand and patted the horned man on the shoulder, doing his best to give a friendly smile devoid of fangs. "Hey, don't worry about that bowing stuff. Some gods here stand on ceremony, but I don't. Don't be a jerk and we'll get along fine, okay?"
"Well, I can't really tell you what plants are safe to eat as I don't munch them, but you're welcome to chow down on what you can." He said, waving vaguely at their surroundings. "Just don't deforest the place."
"Sure." The Hunt shrugged, not having any idea how to explain the whole mess any more than he already had. He leaned down, sniffing his companion. "You certainly don't smell like you're from around here, and it is possible to accidentally walk from one world to another without noticing it. Being the center of it all, inter-dimensional doorways seem to be called here more often than not.
"Sorry... I've never met a god before." He offered an apologetic smile, relieved to find the other's touch wasn't like a thunderbolt or something. A soft laugh, "I won't deforest your home, don't worry. I don't eat that much." Arching a brow, he cast a look around and then jumped as Ea sniffed him, gaze instantly flicking to the deity.
"Wouldn't it be a surprise if I said I was from around here, hnn?" He grinned, stepping back away from the Hunt for a little space - he didn't like people getting too close, "So everything really does... radiate from this this place? It's the center of the world sort to speak?" Musing out loud, he crossed his arms and tucked hands into his armpits, "And you said if the problem was fixed here... that the that 'fix' would reach out too.... then how can you fix it? Will I be able to walk out again as I seem to have walked in." He chuckled, amused by his apparent bumbling into the land of gods.
This'd make an unbelievable story. "Hah. When I get home, no one's going to believe me when I say I've had a conversation with the God of the Hunt." Shaking his head, he met the other's gaze once more, as though expecting an answer - Ea was a self-proclaimed god after all.
At Mal's jump Ea leaned back guiltily. "Sorry - as one of my gifts is senses of awesome, I'm a rather physical deity. I didn't mean to loom."
"We're working on it. As for how the fix is going to work... I'll be able to tell you that after it's happened." His tails swished and he shrugged, looking helpless and hopefully endearing. He had no intention of laying out the entire sordid tale for someone he had just met, and in all honesty was probably the least informed of his little party anyway. Big Dumb Hunter Guy was such a useful act.
The Hunt grinned. "You might not want to tell them - around here mortals who say they've met gods are generally thought to be crazy."
"No... it's alright." He shifted, fiddling with his sleeves momentarily, "After it's happened? Even the gods don't know everything?" Malh'reth tilted his head to the said, amused, "Or perhaps beyond a mortal's understanding? Either way," and he waved his hand, "it's fine. I'm sure I'll learn more as I travel on - I followed the lines of power here, they have to converge somewhere right?"
"Crazy?" He laughed then, "It'll just be another far flung story. Nobody believes me when I tell my stories as it is - even with animated images for their benefit. Just entertainment." He shrugged. The mage loved his job anyway, "Doesn't matter though. I make the children laugh or coo in wonder. It's all you can really ask for, besides a long life."
"A little of both. I don't think I have a big enough vocabulary to describe it all properly." The Hunt was apologetic and congenial, right up until Mal indicated he might possibly be heading towards the pantheon. Even accidentally, it was a grade a bad idea.
"Um, yeah, about that... follow the lines to the convergence and you may get pounced upon and end up lingeringly sacrificed so a god can be reborn. I mean, it's not guaranteed, and some are nicer than others, but it happens." He felt vaguely traitorous for saying that, but he needed to know. The lava pits produced their own warnings but jewels looked harmless until they were embedded in your skin.
"Ah... well, that's why I like pictures. Don't need to wards to draw out what you're talking about." He idly drew a stick figure in the air with a spear that then threw it at a herd of some sort of herbivore, "Don't need to tell you what that means." Smiling, trailed his fingers through the lines after a moment, smearing them like smoke that drifted on the breeze.
"Sacrificed?" He quirked a brow, not really understanding, "I don't plan on being sacrificed or joining any sort of cults, thanks. Just want to know what's going on what I can do to address it." Malh'reth pursed his lips as he set a hand on his hip, a thoughtful expression upon his features, "A god reborn? I'm not a cleric, I couldn't possibly do something like that. I can draw a god but it isn't actually the god, but I doubt that counts."
The Hunt shook his head. "Being sacrificed doesn't require consent - my host chose to take on my jewel, but not everyone has. If you are chosen, and a... manifested god is present, you'll probably end up bejeweled whether you to or not. deities can be rather asinine."
And who was he to deny a fellow god rebirth? Hissed some vague sense of species loyalty in the back of his mind. He rolled his eyes and swatted it away, admiring Mal's magical pictures. "It's the god's magic that makes you a host, not yours. The human that I ended up growing from was a mundane historian - if she had any magical powers, it was only drinking her weight in tea."
He frowned, sensing the other was indeed serious, "So... gods grow from mortals? Is that what you're saying?" Mal didn't like the sound of that... especially if he had no choice in the matter. Choice was something precious to the mage. Tilting his head to the side, the Aurion pondered the wisdom of this journey. He wanted to know... and see if there was an answer. Which, obviously, there was but what was it? Would the possibility of being sacrificed be reason enough to turn back?
"But it's just a possibility right? It won't happen for certain." He looked to the other for confirmation, hopeful. Ea didn't know how to describe what was going on... so he couldn't really gain any more information from this god and that meant pushing forward. "If I'm careful, I won't end up a... host. You've been pleasant company," he laughed, "far from asinine. Surely there are more like you - I'll just have make sure those are the ones I contact."
Ea slumped for a moment, giving up. He wasn't saying any of this right, and it was clear his companion was hearing them in his own way. "Yes. Only a possibility. I'm sure you'll be fine."
He plastered on a faint smile and pointed in the direction Mal had been heading before the shadows had stopped him. "Go that way. Walk for a week. You want the building surrounded by ash and fire. If you meet a god named Harmodious be very, very careful." If dissuading would do nothing, smoothing the way was the least he could do - even if it might be to his doom.
Malh'reth frowned slightly, stepping closer as the god slumped, concerned. He seemed... off, thought that wasn't exactly the right word for it. "If I really shouldn't... I-" The mage cut himself off as he got the feeling that the Hunt had just dimissed him.
Fuzzy ears drooped slightly as he turned, "Alright. I'm sorry to have bothered you sir. I'll make sure to knock when next I pass through." He offered a wan smile and a half-wave as he started off in the direction Ea had indicated. "Thank-you for your help."
Eamnonn had left him with a great deal to mull over during his travel. Growing gods, gods themselves existing, a malevolent force spreading out.... it was far different then what he'd been expecting. Perhaps the answer would be just as unlikely.