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Kiddo Seanchain Vice Captain
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 Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:38 pm
'Then it is a deal. Arise, beloved, and spread your wings.'
The mage faltered. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. The paths of fate had been laid out, yes, and he had seen what was to come... what was most likely... and that which would be of interest to the Baroness. Then it all went away. Something had intruded, something of the magnitude that its very nearness would destroy the strands of the future. He stepped back, finally feeling fear since they brought the ranger in.
That woman...! What was she? How could SHE disrupt this? He stared in horror as the body breathed in. She was dead. She had to be.
And he blinked and in a second caught a glimpse of that realm between life and death and saw the monstrous shadow leaning over Jay, a human heart in its beak. It lowered the organ to its own chest and tendrils, veins, reached out and cocooned it to its chest, mingling it with the feathers.
It started to beat and when he blinked again the apparition was gone.
The ranger's shirt was torn apart. He could see the wound along her breast, where the heart was, and how the hole did not seem to have any impact on the fact that she was breathing.
And by the gods... she had wings.
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:05 pm
The broken body on the floor began to move. Slowly it pulled itself into a kneeling position, seemingly not bothered at all that half of her shirt was torn off the front leaving her exposed. When her face lifted to look up at him, her eyes glowed cold, framed by the wings outstretched behind her - a most wicked grin showing just for the mage and the mage alone. Hardly a breath escaped the mage as he felt a hand at his throat, his back slammed into the wall as her hand trapped him against the stone. "Did you see what you wanted to see, mage?" she asked, her voice almost singing eerily. "Did you see this coming?" She squeezed the man's throat tighter with the hand from her once broken arm as she looked into his face. Before he could even gasp out whatever word that he was sputtering on his lips, the ranger slammed her free hand into one of the mage's arms and the mage screamed. "Doesn't feel so good does it, b*****d," she said, her grin turning into a scowl. "Should have thought about that before now, before you thought to mess with me, Avalene, and any other person you've gotten your hands on here." She began to squeeze her hand tighter. The mage's face began to discolor as he lifted his good hand to try and scratch at her hold. "Say goodbye, mage," the ranger whispered as she leaned in closer to his face so he could hear. And so she could swipe the blade that she had a taken from his hand when she first approached straight across his throat. ........ When the last beat from inside his chest had sounded, she let the form drop to the floor in a careless heap and she looked down at it without pity. Quietly, she sliced a portion of the man's shirt from him and wrapped it around her chest, tying it off so that it would stay up and cover her for now.
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Kiddo Seanchain Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:11 pm
'Excellent' the swan purred from behind her, 'I knew you wouldn't disapoint. There is much we need to talk about now... there are some small terms that come with this arrangement.'
The swan walked over and regarded the dead mage for a moment.
'It seems it won't be a problem though, not with your temperment. Very fine indeed. Now, I'm sure you want to wreck vengeance upon this place but I'm afraid we really must leave. Besides... you have died. Your old life is gone. the sooner you realize this the better. And I can't have you killing people that are critical to the paths of the future - it would attract Sain's attention and you aren't ready to stand up to him. Yet.'
'So come. I'll show you how to fly... and then I can tell you the details of what I demand. Such a little thing, really, for keeping your heart alive.' He brushed a wing across it, his eyes sparkling with cold delight. 'So come beloved... it is time for a new servant of the Black Swan to walk these lands again.'
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:52 pm
The ranger looked over to the Swan who was beside her. She had wanted to retrieve the items that had belonged to her, particularly that of the tabard and of Dulcimer. Neither of them she felt comfortable leaving behind, but with a begrudging nod, she had to agree with the black bird. It wouldn't do for the rest of the castle to know of her right this moment. She had no idea what this... this body of hers could or couldn't take anymore. Too much had changed in barely an instant to be certain of anything now.
Her eyes narrowed momentarily at the mention of Sain though she said nothing. That man had a few answers he had to give yet, and she was certain she would get them. One day. For now, she would wait.
"One moment," Jay said, looking at the Swan's chest where her heart now rested. It was a disturbing thing to see though it didn't feel wrong.
With the knife tucked into her boot, she turned and took a few paces toward a nearby table. Looking over the items that sat a top the planks, she briefly contemplated flipping the whole thing over in one fell swoop. Instead, she reached for one of the chairs that were tucked beneath it and lifted a torch from the wall.
Walking back to the dead mage, she smashed the chair on top the body, lowering the torch to the torn and bloody clothing until it caught aflame, a warm glow beginning to grow from the spot. She didn't know if any of the other residing mages could pull any information from the dead, but this made her feel better about it at least.
Tossing the torch into the pile, she turned back to her unusual savior. "I'm ready now." She strode closer to the Swan, the wings on her back stretching, almost aching to be used, while her hand absentmindedly rubbed against the left side of her chest where the hole was hidden beneath the cloth.
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Kiddo Seanchain Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:32 pm
'Then let us go.'
The swan spread his wings and stretched his head to the sky. It was like the material plane had simply fallen away and when he rose the building of the keep simply fell away before him. There burned lights all around, the brilliant souls of all the people that inhabited the keep. The swan hovered above the keep, waiting for Jay to catch up. The act of flight felt like instinct now.
'Flight I give to you freely,' he said, 'As you grow and learn you will have other powers to access. But for now, I give you only flight.'
'There are two things you need know. First is do not interfere with the Blessed Path. You may know it as prophecy... fate... and that dragon you encountered earlier. It is Sain's domain and you are no match for him. But his pawns - his slaves - are. You will know them when you see them.
Kill them if you can. You know what they are - Sain knew you were going to die and left you anyway, for that is what you were supposed to do in the way he saw things. He will even let his own followers die if the Path demands it. I merely help those like yourself diverge from your intended path and for that he would destroy me if he could. You are still weak right now. Do not do something that would attract his attention.'
There was a glint of dark humor in his voice at that.
'The second is that I require a... sacrifice... each year to sustain your life. I cannot let you draw upon mine for eternity, can I? Bring me a soul, willing or unwilling, once a year on this day - the anniversary of your death and rebirth. I will use their life to sustain yours.'
'Now go. Travel the Borderlands, seek out my worshipers. They can teach you much. Go then, my beloved, and I will certainly see you again...'
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:39 am
She watched as the Black Swan lifted his wings and rose up... and through the ceiling.
The ranger, somewhat daunted, chewed on her cheek a moment as she stared up at the solid stone above her head, her wings twitching in agitation.
Jay paused for a moment to look back at the burning corpse. Knowing someone could come looking for him any minute, she ground her teeth together as she lept from the floor, batting down her dark wings in one swoop, letting instinct take over as she rushed toward the ceiling.
Forcing her eyes open after closing them before she hit the ceiling, she found she was passing through the rest of a stone wall, the sky laid out above her where the Black Swan was waiting for her patiently. Immediately she felt somewhat vulnerable being so out in the open. It didn't help that some part at the back of her mind was waiting for the wings to disappear, letting her drop to a death that would feel just as unpleasant as the last one. She shivered.
Quickly Jay flew up toward the large bird, her eyes traveling across the land all around her from her new outlook. Once at his side again, she listened intently, silent until it mentioned not attracting a particular someone's attention.
"Really now, you sound as if it would be all to easy for me to do," she said, giving the Swan a crooked amused look. "I suppose that means finding Avalene for any reason is out of the question then. At least now as you say. He, Sain, seems... watchful of her."
She had been about to say 'protective' but that was not what it was in her opinion.
"If that's what it takes, then that's what it shall be," she replied after listening to the second requirement, bowing her head slightly. It probably wouldn't be difficult to find some rogue to fill that need, though she couldn't help but feel just a little bit of uncertainty.
Thoughtful, the ranger looked at the Swan and then down at the ground below. She had heard of scattering tales of Black Swan devotees, more than probably most due to her original profession. Now she only wished she had listened to the rumors more closely.
"Then your worshipers I must find. While some people are denied to me, there is one I do not have to wait for. However, facing him now might still be too soon. I need to be more than I was before."
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Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:26 pm
Kiddo the fox-phoenix Tarketh laughed and unfolded, rising from the ground like the blossoming of a flower. He reached down, his clawed hand seizing the man's arm, wrenching it up so that the blood from the palm slid down over his talons. He said something low and gutteral in his own language, almost sounding bored as he did so. He had Bound many many humans in his lifetime. This one would be no different. His will flowed down through the blood, the dragon-magic almost a poison of its own. The dragon's chanting became faster, more liquid, and a sense of pressure grew in the human's mind. Tarketh's will infected him, spreading throughout the blood, raking nerves against sheer power, flaying open the mind and laying every thought and emotion bare. Tarketh skimmed through them, his family, the people he saw die, his hopes, and for a moment the pressure relented, a sense of indifference sweeping between the two. Tarketh didn't care about his past. It was just something to rifle through, to define who was the master. Then Tarketh let go. The aftereffects remained, a shuddering sort of ache, and a growing pain on the shoulderblades. Muscles protested as heat built up. "It will take a couple hours for your wings to grow," Tarketh said, "They will be shaped by magic and despite what you feel, you will not die. Use them to get out of the pit and I'll consider you my Bound." All contact with Tarketh's mind was gone. Its influence remained there as a subtle reminder but Tarketh's own thoughts and emotions were securely locked away. The dragon turned and walked away, taking the light with him as he did, leaving his new Bound to grow his wings alone. ((I have no more plans for the two. If you wish, feel free to make a last post and from here out you now control Tarketh's Bound. Congrats? Let me know if you need Tarketh himself to show up in a roleplay.))
Ashley then froze when he started to feel something slowly creeping down his arm right to his heart where it was spread through his body hitting his mind first. This was painful but more so the not understanding what was going on sent a sharp pain where his veins wanted to reject it all. The words of the dragon became quicker and Ashley's mind started to strain fighting what was now there. Ashley tried to think of something that can dull the pain but it just seemed to get worst where now every muscle tensed and felt like a thousand needles was lightly pricking at them. He couldn't hold his tears back any more and forced himself to welcome the pain as it then yielded and left a phantom feeling if he could describe it.
Ashley was so lost by this he didn't realize that Tarketh let him go till a new pain consumed his body and then a strong focused pain on the shoulder blades almost similar to his pain that he felt earlier but far more worse like some one was slow ripping that area to shreds and waited to let it start thinking it was healing before it was just ripped away again and formed.
Ashley barely heard Tarketh's words as he was curled over hit his head against the dirt yelling with the pain, tears fell unknowingly now.
***
______________________________________
Hours of this Tormented Magic and indeed gave the bound wings.
Ashley looked at the ground steadying his breathing as his body felt strongly alien to him. Feelings of weather he should be pissed right now for the intrusion of things he really didn't understand or be grateful they were twisted in a new path of life. He looked at his wings that were at now his and he lightly touched them and the odd comfortable feeling that they are there. "s**t, this is defiantly not a dream and I am still in a nightmare." He lightly humored himself as he closed and open his eyes to adjust and then slowly stood up and wobbled from the new form of balance he needed to find. "Fly, this is going to take some getting use to."
He thought as how he was going to this objective as he looked up and stretch and folded the wings and got the understanding that they were like arms but higher and limited to movement and he looked around the bottom of this pit that he still stood in and saw the spur and the dagger still laid there. Ashley then walked over and carefully picked up the two and then looked up again stretching his wings and jumped up flapping down ward and repeated barely seeing the edge he had to clear he folded his wings landing running forward from the edge as he tossed the spur to the side letting hit the cave wall. He looked at the dagger and then placed it on what looked like a table and looked around the place to get a full view where he was and the next thought in his mind was. 'Now what do I do? I am out.'(Alright, and I thank you, This should be interesting Though I hope this opens up of different combination of dragon bounds for the others. But if you could provide a task or something for Ashley, and I will be on my way to make some trouble.)
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 8:38 pm
((I hereby declare Aftermath closed.
Jay is free to roam as a servant of the Black Swan.
Ashley is now Tarketh's Bound and not nearly as free. Tarketh is often in need of things from outside his part of the world - alchemical supplies, various herbs and mixtures, and test subjects (human or animal). He would send his Bound in his place.
Let me know if an NPC is needed in a particular rp. Thanks guys.))
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Kiddo Seanchain Vice Captain
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