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 Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 1:24 am
Svana's grin spread slowly on her face. "If they don't see us as monsters," she purred, "they will soon."
If they had any brains at all they would. They would run for the hills. That was how she won the first war so long ago during the extermination. Sometimes, appearances matter, and if charging into battle stark naked and covered in mud did the trick, that was what she was willing to do.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 11:59 am
Kira shook her head at Baldur's question. "Magic isn't sentient. There's different types of magic, and it takes a lot of training to learn each one. Once it's mastered, it's available."
She was not explaining this well at all. Maybe she wasn't the right person to ask; school had never been her thing.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 1:33 pm
"Well, elves, from what I'm told, are unable to master magic. Not that I'd want it." Eating hearts to prolong his life didn't even sit well with him. Despite all his parents taught him, he wasn't sure it was quite...natural. He continued the tradition out of fear. Before, he was terrified he was the only elf left. Now that he learned how untrue that really was, he wasn't sure what he would think the next time his time was up.
He shifted uncomfortably.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 1:45 pm
Kira's gaze didn't leave Baldur. She felt kind of bad for him and Svana; eating hearts sounded like a horror story.
"Don't knock magic until you try it," she said brightly. "It's a beautiful thing, and you two would probably win the war a lot faster if you had at least a little magic on your side."
She wasn't entirely confident about that. Despite being more powerful than her enemies, they still existed, and it was hard to eradicate them completely. But he didn't need to know that.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 2:24 pm
"You want to be seen as a monster?" Sherith asks Svana in surprise. "I wouldn't think that anyone would want that." Her fingers twitch slightly and her expression grows intently thoughtful as she mulls something over in her mind.
"Can anyone learn magic?" she asks Kira. "Or is it a talent some people simply aren't born with?" Her tone doesn't carry the eagerness with it associated with someone asking for their own benefit.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 2:33 pm
"Immortals breed Immortals. Magic breeds magic, but sometimes it can go wrong. My hubby to be is one of those that have gone wrong," Kira said. "His body completely rejected magic, and he's got an allergy to it. He's the first case of that. Otherwise, sometimes we bring in humans and make them Immortals, but that's mainly for our own benefit. As long as the old rituals we reworked are performed on humans, they can become Immortal and use magic just as we do."
Kira fell silent, reflecting on the war.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 2:46 pm
Baldur grunted, slightly humored. "You're probably right about that, but everybody knows not to mess with another race's magic. Humans do magic like you do, but who knows what horrors would befall us if we tried to harness it. It is what it is, so we make do."
He glanced toward Svana.
"Although I'm not sure about her."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 3:01 pm
"You look human enough," Sherith says to Kira. "Other than the magic, are you really so different from humans?" she is curious to know. After all, Kira looks closer to human than Svana does. Still, at this point, her interest seems only partial. She keeps glancing at the door. Sometimes it even seems as though she's about to move towards it, but she never does.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 3:01 pm
Kira frowned and said, "Sounds like you've given up."
She was touching the tattoos on her arm, wondering which kind of magic she should use. Keep showing off, Kira told herself. Plus, she really didn't want Claudette to forget she's still here. She was still supervising that little rebel, after all.
To Sherith, she said, "The Immortals started out as humans. If we're becoming something different, it's purely a side effect of magical breeding."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 4:27 pm
"Me?" Baldur grinned. "I'm just along for the ride. And to keep Larus alive. He's got control of the other part of the army Svana's aligned with. If he dies, she'll probably step into his shoes, and then the gods only know what will happen. I fear the day the power tips in her favor," he laughed.
"You know I'm still sitting right here," she said blandly.
"Yeah, and let's not pretend like the strategies me and Larus come up with aren't working and yours are. The day we need ambush and guerrilla tactics, I will gladly hand the leadership over to you."
Svana wasn't dumb, but this kind of warfare was out of her area of expertise. It was better that she resigned to his and Larus's authority on it.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 4:51 pm
Kira forced a smile. "Just along for the ride?" She repeated. "That's no way to fight a war. I, on the other hand, am the person who helped instigate this war. Do you know how many humans I've killed?"
She smiled smugly. She knew they were going to ask why she hasn't put down the leader of SHADOW, who was sitting at another table musing over a firefly with a birdman and a scared, little girl.
Trying to draw attention away from that, she added, "I'm sure Svana would do great as a leader. I could tell she was very passionate about gutting me."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:06 pm
"Finding a new home is their mission." He gestured vaguely toward Svana. "I've only been around for about a week. I got involved because I don't want the elves to die just after I've finally found some. And because I hate dwarves. I'd wager you might have killed about as many humans as I've killed dwarves in my life."
Svana whipped toward them. "Excuse me? I am a good leader! I'm queen, for the gods' sakes! I kept my people alive when everybody else was killed and I kept them going long after. And it doesn't matter how many you kill. It matters who you kill. Killing a swarm of farmers might be satisfying, but unless you cut open the brains behind the operation, it doesn't do you any good."
He grinned. "I'm sure you did very good killing back in the day," he agreed condescendingly.
"Don't forget, you're only here because I vouched for you. Everybody else wanted to kill you."
"And look how useful I've made myself. I doubt Larus wants me to go anywhere."
She scowled. It was true. They had teamed up against her and now there was no shutting either of them up.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:23 pm
Kira's eyes widened. They had the same mission, as well. Svana was looking for a new home, and the Immortals were looking to make the surface their new home.
"I'm sure," Kira said lightly. It was probably true, more or less.
She laughed at the banter between the two elves. "Killing the leader of a rebel group might be smart, but why not turn them into part of your army?"
She was, of course, alluding to Claudette, though she wasn't entirely sure if that's the route she wanted to take with her.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:29 pm
"It seems a grave thing to kill a single person; I'm not sure what that makes killing so many all at once." Sherith sighs. "How many of those people harmed you first, or even had any designs on harming you at all?" The question is asked to all of the individuals: the two elves and the Immortal. "We're not animals or toys; we think and feel just as much as you, even if we don't think or feel the same things at the same time."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:41 pm
Svana nodded. "I can respect that." She also glanced toward Claudette with a grin. "By whatever means necessary, right? Unfortunately for us, we are the rebel group."
"You successfully recruited a force of orcs to work for you, though. Technically they're also your targets, but you use them when you can. Not that any of them would ever say no to Urt. You should see this great bloody orc of hers," Baldur said. "I only just met the man, but gods above he's huge." Being well over six feet himself, when he called somebody else huge, he meant it.
"Urt is my slave and so much more. I bred his line to serve me," Svana clarified. "Before this started, I sent him out to conquer other orcs and recruit them for my army. They submit to power, so it wasn't difficult for Urt. When it comes to physical power, he will always win."
Her attention was brought back to Sherith. Her ideals were quaint. "I agree," she said calmly. "But don't mistake that for caring. This is not about what's right, but it is about what's fair. Millions of my people were killed. Millions. It took years. Decades, even, but we were hunted like animals. I afford my enemy the same luxury they afforded me and mine. I will kill their innocents, as mine were killed, and so much more. If they want to curse anyone they can curse their ancestors for what they did to me and the vengeance I will wreak because of it," she finished in a snarl, teeth bared animalistically.
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