A Villain In A World Of Heroes

[Dark Ness]

You will apprentice to Mannkev, you easily decide. It isn't even much of a choice. You need power to defeat the Hero, and he can give it to you. Your base magical power is already much greater then average, giving you an advantage over any other applicants, and you aren't going to turn down a chance to learn from one of the best. No matter what his trial is, you will pass it. Your new found resolve firmly in mind, you ask the innkeeper if he knows where you can find Mannkev.

He requires a bit of metal to loosen his tongue, but it is no big deal, only a few coppers. He gives you directions to Mannkev's house, and you set off. It is in one of the nicer districts of the city, but nowhere near one benfiting his status. The house is huge, at least five times the size of any of the other houses nextt to it, and surrounded by an iron gate. You can also tell that it is warded, the glowing runes are a dead give away. A little nervous, and unsure, you raise your fist and knock on the gate, hard.

You aren't sure if anyone inside the house would be able to hear it, but a man comes out anyways. He is old, with pure white hair and wrinklea. Yet, he has piercing gray eyes, a stern, hard, expression on his face, and he walks with surity and confidence, like he owns the ground, like he is telling you that age did not make him weak.

He walks about you, and asks, in a gruff voice "Who are and what do you want?" You tell him your name is Cedra and you want a-"Let me guess, an apprenticeship? Well, I certainly didn't receive any letters from your family, so tell me, why should I take you, girl?" He says in an accusatory tone, interupting you.

[]

OOC: Sorry for the shortness, but this is an important vote. First impressions, and all.

 

[Dark Ness]

"Because I don't want fame or false praise. Because I am here to become a better mage. Because I can pass your trial." You say with confidence you aren't sure you feel.

He snorts and tells you "We will see." Then, he opens the iron gate, the wards briefly turning off as you walk through, before blazing full force again. The house, no, it isn't really a house, the building is made of lightly colored wooden panels, with a triangular roof that peeks in the center of the building. It looks like it is only a single floor high on the outside, but it is very, very wide. You think it may even be as wide as the ruler's palace from home, although you have never seen it up close.

He lets you inside the house through a strange door that slides out of the way instead of opening or closing, and leads you through a maze of hallways until you reach a set of stairs leading down into a section of the building made stone. He then takes to a room with an oaken door, which is almost completely empty.

The ceiling, the floor, the walls, they are all made of stone, and the only light is a lamp hanging from the ceiling. There is no furnishings or anything, there is only a few items on the floor. Two straight retangular pieces of wood, one nail, and what looks like half of a square wood piece with a rough and jagged edge. Mannkev tells you to "Make a chair to start with, girl" then closes the door and leaves.

[]

OOC: The more detail, the better (unless you are wrong, of course).

 

[Dark Ness]

You start by using the Earth Moving Spell, levoterra, to pull out a big hunk of stone out of the ground. Then, you set the block horizontally on the floor and get to work. You take chunks out of the block until you have a back and a seat. Then, you push the chair up so that it is "standing" and pull out two long pieces to form the legs.
The Voice of the Divine: 4
Then, you finish it. Details just seem to flow from your head to the chair, intricate swirling designs being engraved into the legs of the chair with barely any effort. Yes, anything more then a light touch ruin the process, but mantaining the right amount of power seems just so easy to you. You smooth away all the rough edges within a second, continuing to to carve out weekly meaningless, yet entrancing designs onto the chair. You finish it in under a minute, although something seems to be missing.

For some reason, your thoughts drift to Garm. A dwarven god, he is the God of the Mountain, Stone, and Crafts, those built to last, mostly made of stone or iron. Maybe other things as well, you don't know much about him. However, your home city doesn't fellow him, instead they follow a different God of Crafts, Adstut, a god that is almost exclusively human, and represents the "softer" crafts. Those made for beauty or music, such as instruments, although all crafts can fall under his perview. Many went to his temples, although your own family was not very devout, and just gave offering during festivals and the like. Which is why it is so strange you are thinking of him now...

[X] Continue to Plan Ice Chair. Mannkev just said a chair, not two chairs, but why not make another one?
[X] You finished, call for Mannkev.
-[X] If he doesn't answer, you will look for him
-[X] If he doesn't answer, you will just wait
-[X] If he doesn't answer, you will make the Ice Chair
[X] Maybe you should offer up a prayer to Garm?
-[X] Or you could go further, and engrave his symbol on the chair
--[X] Then what?
--[X] You could do even better, and offer a sacrifice
---[X] Your Blood
---[X] Your Cloak
---[X] Your Gold (How much?)
---[X] Write In

 

[Dark Ness]

A prayer, you should definitely start with that. Ignoring a god that just helped you does not sound like a good idea. You get on your knees and muble "O great and mighty Garm, thank you for granting me this wonderful boon." Then, you engrave a symbol into the chair, your hands guided by an unseen forces, creating something you have never seen before.

And with that, the chair feels complete. The runes on it glow, and the chair becomes better. The general shape or size doesn't change, but it becomes grander, more like a real chair. It doesn't look like some stone slabs stuck together and engraved anymore. And you get this feeling that making things will be easier for you in the future.

Just to check, you sit in the chair. It feels strangely comfortable, unlike the stone it was made from. Definitely time to call for Mannkev. You head to the door and timidly call out "Hello? I have finished." You don't get any response, and soon turn away, but about a minute later he enters. Mannkev looks at you, and then the chair, even sitting it, before he says anything.

"Hmmm. I will not tell you that you can not worship, I have no quarrel with the gods. This is a very fine stone chair, and you obviously have at least some arcane knowledge. However, I am a mage, not a priest, so you will learn to be a mage. You will work hard if you become my apprentice, girl. Do not think that you can just rely upon the gods to get out of work." A rumble of disapproval at very thought puts that to rest.

"Follow me, girl." He leads you through the confusing mess of passages once more, to another room, although this one has a bronze door, covered in runes. Before you enter he orders you to "Do not leave until I tell you to." The room is retangular, and massive, more like a hall then a room. Strangely, it seems to be completely empty, and you head towards the center of the room to see if you missed something. And then it happens.
Panic Roll: 5
Fire, fire everywhere. Except where you are standing, and a small path towards the exit, the entire room is filled with fire. And the flames are getting higher and closer, you can feel the heat licking your skin, the flames advancing in front of your eyes, and the pain, the pain of the burns.You are going to die, burned alive in this damned place! You have to do something, anything, NOW!

[X] Run for the entrance! This stupid test isn't worth it!
[X] Dirt is supposed to put out fires, right? Move the earth, block the flames!
[X] Ice Bolts, Ice Bolts everywhere!
[X] Use the Wind, blow the flames back!
[X] Call down a Blizzard inside the room! You haven't cast it before, but there is no way it can't put the flames out!

OOC: Feel free to write in here, there are several options I didn't make default. Also, barring any player/dice weirdness, I don't see this arc lasting more then 5 more updates or so, don't worry, we are in the home stretch!

 

[Dark Ness]

The fire, it is trapping you! You are closed in, unable to escape without failing. You are powerless, unable to stop it. Just like, just like when your father died. No! You won't die, you can't die! You have to do something, anything, it won't happen again!

And then, your panic-adled mind gets an idea. Touch the ground, use your ice spell, keep the flames away! So, you start frantically calling out frigidus tactus and hitting the ground as fast as you can. Unfortunately, you didn't realize that, while the ice may keep away the flames, you aren't immune, and your own leather shoes freeze to the ground. Not only that, but in your frantic attempts to freeze the ground, you hit yourself as well, causing ice to spread across your legs. You can't move, you are trully trapped now!

And while your idea worked, somewhat, the flames advance has only slowed, your newly made ice already beginning to melt. You have to keep going, keep freezing! You slap the ground again, and again, and again, your panic giving you speed, and causing your and move ice to build up on your own body. But, it works, the flames aren't getting any closer. You don't know how long you can keep this up, however, you are already starting to flag...

Then it stops. The fires disappear, the ice holding you in place cracks and shatters, and Mannkev strides into the room. "I have seen enough, the test is over. Come, girl." And then he leads you through the basement again, but this time, he actually leads you back up the wooden stairs, through a few hallways, to a sitting room. You both sit down on some surprisingly cushy chairs, and then he starts asking you questions.

"Before I decide to take as my apprentice or not, there are some things I must know, girl. I am will not ask you if you will obey me, or if you want to learn, or how much you want to be a mage, because I know what you will say, whether it is true of not."

First, why do you want to become a mage? Assuming I make you my apprentice and you succeed, what do you plan to do after?

[]

Why did you chose to me seek me out? Most go to one of the other mages in the city.

[]

I can tell that you have faced death before, it is obvious. But you do not have the instincts of a trained fighter. What happened?

[]

After you are finished, Mannkev just grunts. "Come back later tonight, I will give you my decision." He then leads you out the door and into the city. You got the rest of the day to yourself, what now?

[] You could try to find a temple to Garm, or, failing that, a dwarf. Gods are best kept appeased as often as possible.
[] You could try checking your magic book, and maybe buying a few spellbooks. From what you have heard, Mannkev isn't going to teach you many.
-[] What books?
[] You never did test those summoning spells. Maybe you should find somewhere deserted and do so?
[] Maybe you should buy some other stuff?
-[] What?
[] Write in

 

[Dark Ness]

Spoiler: Responses

First, why do you want to become a mage? Assuming I make you my apprentice and you succeed, what do you plan to do after?

To right wrongs that no other will.

Why did you chose to me seek me out? Most go to one of the other mages in the city.

The path I have chosen to travel requires I gain a great degree of magical skill, and whilst I will search out rare and unusual spells, as well as learn as many as I can, when the time comes, I will require true skill and ability to have the best chances of succeeding.

I can tell that you have faced death before, it is obvious. But you do not have the instincts of a trained fighter. What happened?

I lost my father to a fire, and after escaping the fire I ended up encountering dangerous wild animals, though I came out of the encounters with my life, it was closer than I wished some times.

After you leave Mannkev's mansion, you head to the market. It is huge, entire streets devoted simply to stalls and merchants. You can barely hear over outpour of sound, of hawkers attempting to entice people. And there is so much to see, so much to look at. From shiny jewels to delicious-smelling food to fake charms (a protective charm for a few coppers? Really?) to the people themselves. They come in all shapes and sizes, from the people from the cold southern lands with skin to match the snow, to the dark-skinned northern desert walkers, to even stranger people. You think you even see someone who is green!

Still, you don't let yourself get too distracted, you have a purpose for coming here, to find some books on magic, specifically, fire and ice. You look around for a while, checking several stalls, before you find one. You don't think the women running the stall knew what she had, or could read, because you bought it for only five slivers.

You then take some to read through the book. It contained two spells, arma ignis and arma glaciem. The first generated a aura of fire around you, and also made you immune to the effects. Unfortunately, it is not selective on what it burns, so you will light anything flammable around you on fire, such as the building you are in. The second spell, however, maybe a bit more useful. It does the same thing as the other spell, but it generates an aura of cold, which is much less destructive. It isn't as powerful as your touch-based spell, but it affects your whole body.
Dwarf Search: 6
Then, you look for a dwarf. When a god blesses you, appearing ungrateful is the last thing you want. And since you know very little about said god, you need help. Luckily, you find one fairly quickly. A stout helmeted fellow with a long brown bread, you wait for him to finish haggling with a merchant over the price of some bronze ingots.

When you talk to him, he tells you that he doesn't know of any temples in the city, but he can show you how to make your own. Garm appreciates when put work into your worship However, he warns you that it may take a long time to do.

[] Create the shrine, Mannkev didn't say when today to come back.
[] Best not to risk it, you can probably make the shrine later.
-[] Head straight to Mannkev
-[] Do something real quick
--[] What?

 

[Dark Ness]

You apologize to the dwarf, and thank him for his time. Unfortunately, you must get back to Mannkev, risking being late doesn't sound like a good idea. You quickly hurry to his mansion and knock upon the gate. After a few minutes, he comes out and let's you in.

"A bit earlier then I was expecting." He mutters as he leads you inside the house. You take a seat on a plush and comfortable chair inside a siting room, while he begins to speak with you.

"In the first test I gave you, you called upon a deity to help you, instead of doing it all on your own merits. In the second test I gave you, you panicked, and even froze yourself in the process of trying to stop the flames. And finally, you were both cryptic and stupidly idealistic when answering me." As he goes on, your face starts to fall, and you begin to get up to leave.

"I will take you." You sit back down, shocked.

"In the first test, although you did get divine assistance, you proved you had at least the basics of arcane skill. In the next, even though you panicked, you still listened and did not flee, even manging to protect yourself. And finally, you showed at least a modicum of intelligence in your response. I don't have high hopes for you, girl, but I will as teach you."

"But before we begin, there are few things. First, I assume you have the payment?" You quickly hand him 18 gold. "Good. While you are here, your room and board will be taken care of. Simple fare only, you want something fancy, you need to buy it yourself. Secondly, what spells do you know?"

[] Tell him all of them
[] Tell him all of them except your summoning spells
[] Tell him about only the ones he already knows about
[] Some other combination? (Wrote In)

In your training, what do you focus on?

[] Improving your base power
[] Improving your skill with your spells

In your (litte) free time, what do you do? (Choose One)

[] Build that Shrine.
[] Study your Spellbook
[] Buy things
-[] What?
[] Train more
-[] Power
-[] Spells
[] Just explore the town, get more familiar with it.

 

[Dark Ness]

You tell him your spells. Well, all of them expect your summoning spells and time slowing spell (or does it speed you up?). It is best to have an ace in the hole, after all, and the spells are quite valuable. Anyways, Mannkev listens quietly as you list your spells, until you mention the Blizzard spell. Then he reacts, asking if you had ever cast it before. When you answer in the negative, he immediately forbids you from casting it. You quickly promise you won't, and he calms down.

Thus, your new time as an apprentice began.

You were not given a grand room, or an extravagant wardrobe. No, everything was quite simple. Your room remanded you of your old one at the inn, except a little bigger. The food, was stew and bread, for breakfast, lunch, and supper. It wasn't much different from how you used to live.

Magic training, however, was not the same. It took up almost all of your time, and you started with training your base magical power. This mostly involved lifting rocks and moving them in the ways he directed until you were exhausted, and you think he was surprised that you could lift a whole six of them, but your growth rate was unremarkable besides that. You are slowly, but surely, getting better.

However, your training to modify spells was different. As soon as you started, something just seemed to click within you. You only worked with your fireball and ice spike spells, but by the end of the week you could do so much with them. Split them into pieces, shoot them into different directions, change the size and shape, from needles of flame to a wall of ice. Hell, you could probably make a fireball the size of a house if you had enough base power! No wonder Mannkev puts so much emphasis on it. On that note, while he didn't say anything, you could tell he was surprised by how quickly you got it.

On Saturday Mannkev gives you leave to do whatever you want that day, which you use to finally get started on that shrine. There wasn't any time during the rest of the week, but fortunately for you, the dwarven merchant from before was still in town. He explains to you how to make a shrine (it needs to be made of stone, and the bottom must be uncarved), after showing you his on, along with the many symbols and runes that should be put on it. He even makes a long list for you, because there is so many!

When you actually start building the shrine in your room, however, you don't even need the list. The earth rises from the floor at your command, and you fall into a trance-like state, unaware of what you are doing, as if you are in a dream. Moving, shaping, crafting, you don't even notice when you start adding symbols that aren't even on the list, when you start crafting a throne and the being siting on it. Far bigger then the small shrine that the merchant had, this one dominates the room, taking a full quarter of it, blending fluidly from hard, craggy, mountain stone, to delicate, intricate runework and sculpting. When you finish adding the final touches, a wave of power washes out of the shrine, knocking you out of the trance.

And then you hear a voice. A loud, booming, awe-inspiring voice, that practically screams power. A divine voice, one that you do not hear with your ears, but with your mind. It stuns you into silence. There is no doubtime who it is.

"I HAVE BLESSED YOU FOR A REASON. FATE DOESN'T CARE FOR THE GODS NOR THOSE UNRELATED TO ITS CHOSEN, WHOLE HOLDS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED SIMPLY TO ENTRAIN THRM. FATE IS UNDEFEATABLE BUT ITS MORTAL SERVANTS AND CHOSEN ONES ARE NOT. NOT EVEN I CAN FIGHT FATE, BUT THROUGH YOU, I CAN STOP SOME OF ITS DESIGNS. I WOULD NEVER ORDER MY FOLLOWERS TO BRING THE CURSE UPON THEMSELVES, BUT YOU ARE ALREADY CURSED. I CAN NOT HELP YOU TOO MUCH, EVEN I AM NOT UNRESTRICTED. STILL, I AM NOT CRUEL, I WILL REWARD YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE."

"YOU HAVE CRAFTED AN IMPRESSIVE SHRINE, AND CONSECRATED THE WHOLE AREA, YOU WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD PRIESTESS HAD YOU NOT GAINED THE CURSE. TODAY, I WILL GRANT YOU YOUR FIRST REWARD. YOU WILL BE CLOSER TO THE EARTH AND ITS STRENGTH."

And with that, you suddenly feel more connected to the ground beneath you, and the shrine in front of you. A sense of infinite patience, unimaginable strength, and slow power briefly fills you, before fading away, leaving you at peace.

But your peace doesn't last long, because Mannkev rushes into your room, breathing heavily from, presumably, exertion. "What... happened... here? What did you do?" He asks angrily.

How do you respond?

[] Write In

[Trait Gained: Stonekin]

OCC: This update just didn't want to come out.

 

[Dark Ness]

"I tried to make a little shrine, but things sort of got out of hand. You can't ignore a god when it helps you, you know? Not that I was trying to cheat or anything, not at all." You say nervously.

"...Fine. I will allow you to stay as my apprentice, but don't do anything like this again." He orders you, with a sigh.

You nod. It would be best not to antagonize your teacher, although at least he would have some time to cool off any anger. Normally, you would begin your lessons after lunch, but today was not a normal day, and not just because it was your day off.

Every morning for the past week you have gone out into the market to see if he was finally here. They assumed you were just one of those Hero obsessed folk, that act like they are practically gods in their foolish idiocy. So, they pity you, but it is worth it, because they still give information.

Atelut had been taking contracts in Taras for two years, although there are usually large gaps between contracts, up to six months. Up until the dragon, he never returned injured even when he fought a hydra or exterminated a killer gaint bee hive. Unlike many other heroes, he doesn't currently have any companions, although there was tales of a women traveling with him when he first cane to Taras. Unfortunately, nobody seems to know anything about his fighting style.

Anyways, when you go to talk Arda, a cheerful southern blond that runs a sweet stall, she finally tells you what you have been both dreading and anticipating. "Hey, Cedra! I heard the Hero was in town."

And with that, you freeze. You realize you never actually figured out what you where going to do when he got here, you have been too focused on what he did.

You could confront him over what he has done, attempt to talk. You could try attacking, although you are smart enough to realize that your chance of victory is very small. You could try tracking him down and following, seeing if you could find out something that will help you, and at least get some kind of information, assuming you aren't caught.

Or you could do nothing. Let him go, wait until you are stronger. Although, you could have a very long wait until another opportunity comes around. Or perhaps there is something else, some action you are missing.

[] Confront him
-[] How?
[] Follow him
[] Do nothing, avoid him
-[] Put in some extra training
-[] Do something else for the rest of the day?
[] Write in

OCC: Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I had another conference right after the first, and was really busy, while my muse seemed to desert me until now.