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Character: Raemos
Stage: Oblivionite Adept Mage
Level: 39
Luck: 54 (including Luk from long running apprentice hunts)
Creature:
6x Rock Mara (25 Exp)
2x Mage Mara (35 exp each)
2x Metal Mara (30 exp each)

Success Rate:
Rock: 11-100
Mage: 21-100
Metal: 21-100

Rock Win x 6
Mage win x 2
Metal win x 2
Total:
10 Mara tokens
280 exp

Shattered Granite x 90
45 iron bars
15 Copper Bars

4 Plain cloth

(Two Metal)

(One more stone)

(And two more stone because I'm playing it safe ~~~)

It felt as though they had barely gone to sleep when Raemos awoke in the dark of morning, regular like clockwork. He was exhausted from the work of the night before, but it had been good work, and he was pleased with what he had done. Though the work itself had been basically drudgery with some magic, it would help many people. That alone was enough to compensate for the dull, groggy agony he felt on waking up, and the aching head and sore senses that came as he, mumbling, rolled out of his bed.

Vona still slept in her own bed, fast asleep and undignified as ever. Raemos resisted laughing – she had never been a graceful sleeper. He began to set things up for leaving as quietly as he could, so as not to wake her - She had worked hard, too, and deserved a few minutes more sleep. He wished he could give her hours.

But they needed to be on the metaphorical road – for there was no road in the desert that lasted - homewards, and they had dallied in Taliuma enough.

Raemos fed and watered Betty the kargoth, checked her out, and set up her harness. She snuffled him affectionately with her trunk. She was a good old girl, and she knew him. She liked him. Ultimately, though, she was his mother's, and was devoted to her and her alone.

"You'll get us home, won't you old girl." he said, stroking her face, "Won't you?" She huffed, as if to say 'of course she would', and he laughed, his crisp voice ringing like a bell in the thick Taliuma morning. "Not afraid of rock monsters?" he gave her a kiss on the hairy cheek – Betty was a large female kargoth, and wasn't afraid of much. "Thank you..." he murmured to the Kargoth. It felt odd, thanking an animal, but she was no ordinary animal - he'd practically grown up with her. She was as old as he was, or, even, older. He was grateful for her assistance and to his mother for sending her over with her information tags - without her, they would have a tougher time of traversing the desert. Plus, he felt a lot safer with several tons of beast by his side.

He brought out their belongings and, quietly, on tiptoe, began to load Betty up with them. He'd wondered, briefly, if Vona might be opposed to him packing away her things. He didn't think so, though - she was wearing the clothes of the night before, which would be suitable for travel, and he knew she understood - as well as he did - the urgency of the situation.

He was surprised at how little there was, even with the supplies they had both bought. He remembered his sister as not being one to travel light, but he supposed it was to do with having a proper home and a proper job – that is, someplace she could return to. She was so much older than him, and much more settled. He almost envied her – almost.

As for him, he didn't have much that he needed to carry. Betty, of course, did not mind either way. She was capable – more than capable - of much larger loads. He finished setting up her packs, and patted her thick hide. He wouldn't have to worry about overburdening the beast - that was never good to do, and it meant that they would make good time.

The Innkeepers knew his mother and had been kind enough to leave out a small breakfast for him and his sister. It hadn't been a part of the deal, but he was grateful nonetheless and wasn't about to wake them up and refuse their generosity. Not at this hour.

Instead, he brought the small pastries and covered glasses of milk back to his room, set them down, and gently nudged his sister. "Vona..." he called quietly, "Vona..." He felt bad for waking her up, but he'd let her sleep as long as he could. "Its time to wake up..."

"Mmmmph." she grumbled sleepily, slapped at his hand, flipped over and snuggled into her pillow.

Raemos, despite the situation, smiled. "Vona..." he shook her again, a little stronger now. "Vona... its time to wake up." he said again, “Come on...”

She waved at him clumsily and pulled the sheet over her face, clearly determined to keep her eyes closed.

"Vona..." he shook her again, "Don't ignore me." no response. He drew back, smiling as a mischevious thought came to him. He dismissed it at once. No he thought guiltily, that would be too cruel. "Vona, come on."

"Five more minutes..." she mumbled, turning again. Raemos nodded. This was promising.

"We don't have five more minutes, Vona. We need to leave now, so we can get home by nightfall." or after nightfall, but within the same day. That would be preferable, and also just plain nice. He wanted to see their parents as soon as possible. Vona grumbled noncommittally in response, and Raemos started to think more seriously about his mischievous idea. He drew a glass of water and brought it over. "Vona, if you don't get up, I'm going to pour this water on you."

"Mmmph."

"I'm not kidding, Vona." he said, dipping his fingers in the water, and flicking it at the sheet, "You need to get up."

As the droplets hit the sheet over her face, he saw her flinch and move the sheet back to glare at him. "What the hell Raemos?" she exclaimed at him, crawling into an upright position. She looked like she'd been chewed up and spat out: her hair was mussed, her eyes were bleary, with dark circles underneath them, and she generally looked a mess. Raemos let out an unintended chuckle. She grabbed the glass and threw the contents on him. "There. See how you like it."

He laughed, soaking wet now. "Well, it got you up!" he didn't mind being wet - it would keep the desert heat off of him - for a while anyway. "Have some breakfast.” he said, lightly, “Then we go."

"Fine." she said, stumbling out of bed and giving him a shove, "What about washing up..." she looked around the room, "Where are my things, Raemos?!"

"You can wash up, sure." he said, smiling at her, "And I already packed them away and put them on Betty."

"You already... But..." she gave him a look of hurt horror, "But my clothes Raemos! What about my clothes?!"

"Just wear that?" he said, puzzled at her reaction, "I think its just fine."

"But Raemos!" she said, indignant, "I wore it yesterday!"

"Its fine." he said, crossing his arms, "I think its just fine for travelling in." and it was: it was comfortable, light, and it was already dirty so it wouldn't be a problem if it got a littler dirtier.

"That's because you're a man!" she snapped, stalking off to the washbasin. He shook his head, amused, and left her to it, listening to the splashing water as he ate his own breakfast portion. He didn't understand what her problem was. It was probably just the mornings, and their late night.

He was done with his breakfast by the time she got back, her face freshly washed and her hair brushed to its usual silkiness. She ate her portion in grumpy silence as he watched and waited. Finally, she finished. "Well?!" she said to him, snippily, standing up and putting her hands on her hips, "Lets go already!" he smirked as she stalked out to the Kargoth, deciding not to mention that she was the one who had delayed.

Of course, being in the mood she was, she insisted on sitting on the Kargoth while Raemos led it from below, and that was fine with Raemos. If the desert had become more dangerous, he'd rather his non-warrior sister sit on top of something large that could defend her.

It wasn't long after they left Taliuma that dawn broke free of night's clutches. Morning, blooming over the vast desert, was really a sight to see, and usually Raemos would be praying to the dawn and enjoying the spectacle. However, home called him with such urgency that he didn't want to stop just yet, even for that. He was sure Seren would understand his brief lapse. Family did matter, after all.

For all of Vona's spunk and irate awakened energy, he could see, as he checked on her perch on the Kargoth, that his sister was beginning to doze off again. That was fine by him: after all, they were on the road, and well on their way.

Things were uneventful. Taliuma faded into the distant haze as morning rays gilded the desert and heated the sands. Even before mid morning had arrived, it was horribly hot and dry. Noon began to approach amid the flat, sandy monotony, and Raemos began to think about stopping for lunch, water, and a rest.

In fact, he had just begun to look for a good spot to do just that when Betty snuffled uneasily. He stroked her trunk as it reached gently for his comfort and attention. "Whats the matter, girl?" he asked, scanning the desert.

And then he saw them. They loomed not far away, gliding, footless and made of gleaming stone and metal. They were roughly humanoid, as far as he could see of them from afar, and they made him uneasy.

He halted and drew out his sword and wand, loosely keeping hold of the reigns with his elbow.

The strange figures were approaching, he determined, and this unsettled him more. Were they coming to them? Were they going to attack? He watched them warily as they moved in eerie silence over the sands.

What were they? They were like nothing he had ever seen before.

Were these the Mara?

Were these the monsters of rock and magic that plagued his homeland - Who had hurt his father and so many other poor souls? Betty pawed at the ground, anxious and he stroked her again. He couldn't have her running off or panicking, not now – he would need her help.

Vona stirred, clutching at the Kargoth's thick fur and at the straps of the saddle she rode on. "Raemos? Whats going on?" she asked - He could hear the sleep in her voice, and imagined her yawning and rubbing her dry eyes in the heat. She had slept the whole way, and he couldn't blame her.

He could only imagine it though, because his gaze was firmly locked on the figures as they kicked up a could of fine sand in their wake. "Company." he said quietly.

"Company? What?" she asked confused. He imagined her squinting around them, searching. "Raemos..." she asked. He heard the sleep drop from her voice, replaced with wariness. Ah, she'd seen them. "What are those?"

"I think they're Mara, Vona." he said, gathering his magic to him, the air around him darkening nebulously, "And, I think they saw us too."

"Mara... What?!" He knew she was fully awake now.

"Vona, you're in charge of Betty." he said, letting go of the reigns to free his other hand. There were % of the Mara, and he could swear that they were charging now, though they were so silent that they seemed merely a wave of statued figures. He shaped his magic with his free hand, "I'll deal with this."

"Rae, what are you...?" she began as the Mara came into range.

Raemos made a grand gesture.


The charging Mara were suddenly slammed in the side by a nearly physical shadow, pushed and tumbled like a rockslide into each other. As the shape stopped moving, it became clear that it was magic in the rough shape of a huge, translucent, dark feathered wing, before it dissolved in the sunlight. Raemos smiled - he'd been practicing his magic, shaping it into something all of his own, and was happy to see his efforts put into practice sucessfully - and followed up with a downward sweeping gesture with his sword and wand, sending the magic of both out in a strangely shimmering, arcing shadow at one of the more metallic shapes approaching. The metallic one split in two - a lucky strike to a weak point in the floating armor - and a glowing essence flew from it and blended into the bright sky as the spell dissipated.

Raemos prepared another as the tumbled ones stood - if standing was the right thing to call it - and charged forward, seemingly unphased by the blows he had caused. He heard a rumble and squinted at their rapidly moving forms.

They were, he realized belatedly, being carried by a wave of earth and sand. Magic Raemos realized, canceling the beginnings of his offensive spell to prepare a defensive counter. As the wave threatened to break its stony surf upon the motley group, Raemos threw out the counterspell, dispelling it. The ground settled in the wake of the spell with a shifting whisper of sand, and he gasped at how close they had come to a terrible fate.

The wave may have failed, but it had done enough - the abominations of metal and stone were upon them. Betty trumpeted as she was attacked, stomping and rearing around herself as Vona struggled to hold on. Raemos wanted to help her, with all his heart, but his focus was occupied as he parried the sword of a Metal Mara.

It fought like a swordsman of the greatest skill, with all the grace and poise he wished for in himself, and he found himself hard pressed to keep up.

He heard a shattering behind him, and felt a rain of hard stone. A glance back showed him that one of Betty's enraged stomps had met its mark, shattering a stone Mara into pieces. Even as he looked, he saw her shatter another one, grabbing it and slamming it against the other with a mighty swing of her trunk.

He was distracted for too long.

Even as he returned his attention to his fight, he felt metal sear into his side and, as he shoved it away with his own sword, saw the Metal Mara's blade come away bloody.

He gasped in pain as he parried its next strike. He knew he would weaken soon, and that each strike it made, whether hitting him or not, would bring it closer to killing him. And, as always, he did not want to die. He always wanted to live. And, he decided, he would live.

He tried attacking it, hoping to end it quickly with a lucky strike, but it only parried or, otherwise, let his sword strike in harmless, blazingly bright sparks against it's metallic armor. It was unkillable, it seemed, but he needed it to die, so that he could live. He would have to find another way.

He blocked another of its strikes, feeling his side scream and bleed warm liquid blood, and then he had an idea that was both brilliant and desperate: They were creatures of rock, metal, and magic. If they were magic, could he not... dispel them? He blocked again, hope bringing energy to his tiring limbs. He decided to try.

He ducked and rolled, putting himself behind the mara before, reaching out with his magic, he touched its own and, praying to Seren with all of his heart that it would work, wrapped darkness around it and snuffed it out.

He could hardly believe it as the lights went out of the metal mara's eyes and its form clattered to the ground, becoming a useless pile of armor.

As Betty roared and smashed nearby, producing a shattering rain of stone shards, he allowed himself a single, brief moment of victory. And then, clutching his agonizing side, he remembered the other two mara. He turned to face them, having lost track of them in the fight. They had approached and his hair tingled with the magic that lashed around them, beating the sand around them into a whirling, furious...

Sandstorm.

Raemos gasped, realizing their intent, and dove to the ground as sand began to whip around the whole group, obscuring the light of the sun in a haze of choking amber sand. He coughed, feeling it sting his side, and reached out with his magic, snuffing out the spell with a half-spat word of dissolution.

The sand, no longer propelled, fell to the ground and he felt it cover him with a rough blanket of silicate grains. He reached out with his magic again, shaking off the sand as he stood to face his opponents.

Then they began to duel, their magic twisting in the air, earthen stone twisting and battling with shadow. The mara mages worked together, and Raemos – though he wanted to repeat the kill of before - could not find a way through their guard to the magic of their cores.

Suddenly, Betty trumpeted and a mage was slammed with one of its stone fellows, propelled by her trunk. It was all Raemos needed to make his way through the mage's teamwork and quench whatever unnatural force animated it. Vona yelped above him as the kargoth stomped the stone beast into the sand, and Raemos faced the other mage, pain making him cold in more ways than one.

"This is for our father." he said, raising his sword and wand and, with a flick of his wrist, sending a magical bolt at it. The mage made a gutteral, ringing sound and the bolt was dispelled in a scattering of sand...

But there had been two.

The mage shattered before the resonating bolt of magic and crumpled to a heap on the ground. Silence reigned, broken by breathing - his own, and the labored huffing of the kargoth. Raemos looked around for more of the Mara, but he could see nothing but flat sand.

He relaxed, like a puppet with cut strings, and leaned on his sword, gasping.

So. Those were Mara.