Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 4, 2014 21:27:15 GMT -6
"Now. Hold the Flux tome like so. Allow it to rest in the hand, with the fingers supporting the spine. The advanced caster need not hold the book, but as you are about as skilled as a slug is fast, we'll need to begin with the basics. Focus on the runes, and allow them to grow in your mind. Watch them as they begin to glow and shimmer. Focus your... Dammit, are you even listening?"
"Wh--Yes, yes! Of course I am! You focus the runes and they make your mind grow. If you glow, you're doing it wrong. Right?"
There was a meaty thud as Sonneillon was hit in the head with a backhanded slap. Verrine stood over him, his orange robes fluttering as he held a Flux tome outward, its pages shimmering with a faint, blackish glow. "I am not teaching you for my health. In fact, I believe you're ruining it. Now. You will demonstrate the proper hold of a Flux tome."
The sixteen-year-old scrambled to his feet again, and held up his own battered book, nestling it awkwardly in his arm. He flipped the book open, and was mortified to find it was upside down. Quickly flipping it, he held it and focused on the runes, watching them as they began to dance. They twisted, turned, contorted, glimmered, shined, wobbled, oscillated, shrunk, grew, expanded, contracted...
"SONNEILLON!"
The whirling runes abruptly stopped as the boy cringed, expecting another blow. Instead, his mentor was beaming, a crazed look in his eyes. "That was superb! Excellent! Beautifully done. Now, we will repeat that drill."
Neil glanced at the page of the Flux tome again. The symbols recommenced their dance, and he was again drawn into their whirlwind of light and color, his mind detaching itself from reality as he touched the edge of the Nether.
The spirits were warm and inviting, but something was calling from far away. Calling him back. He'd come back to them soon... Soon.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 5, 2014 8:53:16 GMT -6
"Now, focus on the runes again, holding your tome in the proper hold, but this time, we will pronounce the spell. Again, experienced casters can do this noiselessly, but in your case, you'd probably rupture your liver or something idiotic like that. We pronounce it like such: Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt. Make sure to place the inflections at the right places. Repeat, please."
"Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt!" Sonneillon repeated the words perfectly, in a rare show of complete concentration. The prospect of creating magic was what had gotten him out of bed that morning, where he'd been watching the symbols in his Flux tome, and now that it was so close, he was determined to make sure Verrine allowed him to.
"Precisely. So you will utter this incantation, and then imagine a black ball solidifying in your hand. It will be the size of an orange. Watch me. Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt!" As Verrine spoke, the haze of the room seemed to condense into a small black lump in his hand, spherical, and hovering quietly above his hand. Sonneillon watched in rapture, until the ball disintegrated. "Now, you try."
"Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt!" Sonneillon held his hand high, watching and concentrating as tiny spots of blackness condensed, forming his own orange, which he stared at in awe and amazement. But with his concentration lost, the spell faded, and the ball too simply faded away. "Was... Was that it? Was that... Magic?"
A contented Verrine chuckled, feeling his goal get one step closer. "Indeed, young Sonneillon. Indeed it was."
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 5, 2014 10:15:04 GMT -6
Sonneillon stood in the empty room that Verrine used to teach him. It was two in the morning, and all was dark and still. The eight torches were extinguished, and the only light filtering in was from the large door that stood slightly ajar. He had gotten out of his bunk, got dressed, and quickly ran past Verrine's room, from which an abominable snoring noise was emanating, to the large space. Verrine called it an atrium. He didn't know what that word meant yet. The stone was cold and clammy on his bare feet, and he shivered slightly as he opened his battered Flux tome and whispered the words that seemed to come naturally to his tongue... "Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt..."
The darkness came. He couldn't see it so much as feel it, and when the orange was hovering above his palm, Neil focused and tried harder. He poured more strength into the dark ball, and it pulsed and grew in response. From an orange, to a grapefruit, to the size of a cantaloupe. Neil gingerly moved his arm, watching the faintly glowing ball move with his arm. He was beginning to feel tired, but he wanted to try to fire the ball. So he aimed downward, focused, and pushed with all his might.
Nothing. The ball didn't budge.
So Neil tried other methods. A hop, skip, and jump. A blow as he pushed. A flick of the wrist. Nothing. Finally, exasperated and getting fatigued, he simply imagined the ball going into the ground, and was shocked as it peeled away from his hand and sank into the stone as if it wasn't even there. In his amazement, he had let go of the magic, which promptly returned to the surface and popped, sending him onto his backside with a thump. The boy sat in awe for a few minutes, before getting up and repeating the process again... and again... and again, until he could send the ball under the surface halfway across the room.
"Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt... Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt... Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt... Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt... Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt..."
It was only when dawn began to break that the young pupil scampered back to his room, curling back in his bed. In his haste, he had forgotten to close the door to the practice room. Exhausted, he immediately sank into a deep and dreamless slumber. The boy slept deeply, not even stirring when Verrine walked into his quarters and smiled paternally at the teenager, shaking his head at the incorrigible child and his rebelliousness.
"Well, at least he's practicing..."
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 5, 2014 13:22:50 GMT -6
A week or two passed. Time did not have rigorous boundaries here on Valor. The isle was quiet and isolated. The ruins stood undisturbed, save the shaman and his pupil. Sonneillon had managed to summon full-sized Flux spells and send them into targets - wood, stone, and animal alike. Control, on the other hand, was a different matter. Some shot like arrows, leaving the teenager panting with exertion. Others meandered their way to the target so slowly that poor Verrine was left to whistle as he waited.
"Neil, you must learn to discipline your mind. Otherwise, you will be a terrible shaman. Observe how I not only focus on the target, but also imagine the speed." Verrine procured and fired a perfect Flux, turning to his pupil and motioning for him to emulate him. The boy concentrated, summoned a rippling ball of darkness, and then abandoned all convention as he tossed the ball upward and then swiped his hand downwards, sending the Flux into the ground. A second passed, as Verrine opened his mouth to berate the pupil's unconventional spell, and then the darkness erupted out of the earth like a mine exploding, chewing the wooden target to splinters.
Sonneillon was left panting, bent over in exhaustion, but with a brimming smile on his face. "How about that for a Flux, huh, Ver?"
"I cannot commend your lack of discipline, but yes, that was an effective cast. Now, please, illustrate the proper technique!"
The boy chuckled, his breath restored, and proceeded to cast a perfect Flux. It was easy to do, now that he'd practiced. There wasn't a lot to casting Flux, to be honest. You just had to let the symbols dance on the page, and know how to talk to them. Then everything worked just fine. Neil proceeded to cast a few more Fluxes, eliciting a smile from his aging mentor. "Exactly. Come, let's eat. You need a break. Your stance is getting sloppy."
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 5, 2014 21:41:29 GMT -6
Sonneillon advanced quietly toward his mentor, who had wakened him during the night, silently looking at Verrine to determine why he'd been roused. "Master, wh--" "Shh, Neil. Look." Verrine pointed skyward, indicating something in the vast black sky.
The boy followed his master's finger, seeing a streak of light dash across the sky. Then another, and another. "Shooting stars, Neil. They are a mysterious airborne object... They leave rocks behind where they land. They are also apparently extremely hot."
Verrine walked a ways away, turning and opening his Flux as he spoke again to his pupil. "Open your tome. We are going to duel."
"Duel? Ver, I can barely cast a Flux. How would I duel you?"
"I will teach you to duel. You will be doing a lot of dodging. And when you get hit, use that to build your resistance to magic. We will begin."
The shaman had already casted, and watched ruthlessly as his pupil was slammed into the earth by the tendrils of darkness. He then fired another ball at his pupil, but the boy had scrambled to his feet. "Ver, that -- Yikes!" Neil dodged sideways, diving and rolling before scrambling to his feet and sending his own ball out toward his master. "Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt!" But Verrine stood firm, and Neil was shocked to see the magic harmlessly explode on his mentor's chest. "How?!"
Verrine laughed, closing his tome. "You will learn, my boy. You will learn. It's called resistance."
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 6, 2014 12:40:06 GMT -6
"Now, Neil. We will begin with a basic exercise. I will shoot Flux spells at you, and you will dodge them. But be careful, don't expend too much energy... I can cast for a long, long time."
The boy grimly watched as his mentor sent a Flux shooting at him. At the last second, he shifted his weight and allowed the ball to go past him. But there was no time for rejoicing. Another came, then another. Sidestepping and ducking, the boy tried to keep his breathing even. Suddenly, tendrils erupted from the ground, and only by sheer luck did he leap aside in time. "Ver, you have to give me more time! I can't keep-- Hey!" The older man continued his relentless barrage of magic, his eyes set as his pupil danced among the bolts. Neil's breath was beginning to become more uneven, and his margin was coming ever closer to being bombarded.
Sonneillon decided to strike back. Opening his tome, he muttered his words softly, ducking under a large Flux as he recited. "Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt!" Suddenly, the boy saw a huge magical attack in front of him, with no time to react. Instinctively, Neil went into a frozen state, and the magic he'd accumulated was let free within him. As the ball of darkness hit him, the boy expected a world of pain and hurt, but was amazed to find he felt only a dull ache. He had involuntarily found a way to resist magic...
"Good job, Neil. I was wondering whether you'd find out that you could use magic to resist magic... But you're not quite good at it yet. Keep dodging, my boy!" The pupil sighed and resumed dancing amidst the balls of darkness. Hopefully, there was a point to all this, because it was tiring...
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 6, 2014 14:45:33 GMT -6
"Ver? Can I ask you something?"
Sonneillon stood with his Flux tome outstretched, his finger marking a page. "What does this mean? ...Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit?" The pupil had been flipping through his tome, watching the symbols spin, when he came across the strange inscription across the top of a page. It seemed important, but Neil didn't want to just mess with anything before he was sure what it did. He didn't want anything to jeopardize his progress.
"That... That is the basis for more advanced Flux casting. It summons tendrils to pull the victim into a wall, the ground, or toward you. It is hard to control them, however, so I would advise not getting your hopes up too soon. These are not like extra-long limbs."
Neil nodded, running out of the room and into the practice hall. Setting up many objects, Neil set to work using the spell.
"Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit. Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit. Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit!"
The pupil had succeeded in summoning the tentacles, but, as Verrine had warned him, they were impossible to control. They simply grabbed and pulled weakly. There wasn't even a slam or a choking grip. Shaking his head, the boy continued his practice, working far into the night until he collapsed of exhaustion.
'Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit. Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit. Aeternis tenebris... circumda tibi nectens... tuum... zzzzz..."
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 6, 2014 15:39:44 GMT -6
Neil sat awake, a lone candle illuminating his room as he sat on the floor with his Flux tome open, watching the runes twirl and dance. They glowed invitingly, and the pupil stared at them as they spun and swirled. Suddenly, a strange feeling swept over him, and he heard voices calling, speaking to him.
"Discipulus auctorem passionem crucis Redemptionem in regnum immergunt Obstinata mente divina vincula Da locum ignis pastor.
Ego superbus, Agens autem et substantiam, Necesse est vexillifer. Et me belli, Is armata in forti Confortat infirmos,
Ira tua ego sum. Ego sum, quam meretur iniquitas tua. Ego sum cupiditas tua. Ego sum, legem autem tuam. Ego sum stella. Et ego te.
Sciatis me nominatim Ego sum, et tenebræ."
Sonneillon found his mouth repeating the words over and over, believing them. Cementing them in his heart as true. He was the Darkness, the Darkness was within him. Power ebbed and flowed, as the young pupil gave himself to the Nether. He floated in the darkness, the warm, inviting darkness, and then slowly, gracefully, and reluctantly returned to his body as the sun rose and Verrine opened the door with a smile, ready to start another day of training.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 7, 2014 10:04:46 GMT -6
After Sonneillon's encounter with the Nether, he focused even harder on his studies. The new determination and discipline he adopted when working with Verrine was confusing to the older shaman, and slightly frightening, even. He didn't expect the lad to become so enthused about the Elder Arts... A shame that he was getting into it for nothing. He'd still be killing the boy. After all, sentimentality couldn't stop one from achieving greatness. Either way... The more power the boy had, the more effective the ritual to steal his life would be.
Verrine stared at the boy, who was busy practicing his Fluxes. His casting was beginning to improve, which was surprising. The shaman didn't think he had any promise at first... Well, at least he would prove a good sacrifice. Hehehehe.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 7, 2014 18:41:39 GMT -6
"Discipulus auctorem passionem crucis Redemptionem in regnum immergunt Obstinata mente divina vincula Da locum ignis pastor."
The young pupil entered the practice hall, his head held high and his hood pulled low. He could still see well through the thin fabric. That was a plus of stealing an expensive cloak for a blanket when you were eleven. You never knew when it would come in handy. Ver had said that once he could handle himself, he could enchant his clothes to make them magic-resistant. Apparently any decent spellcaster had resistant clothing.
Well, he wasn't decent yet.
Still mouthing the words to himself, the pupil faced his mentor, flipping his head and sending his hood flopping off of his head as the pupil suddenly flicked his wrist toward the shaman. "Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit!" "Aeternis tenebris, venit si te capiunt!" The dark magic flowed back and forth, the shaman standing his ground and bombarding, the pupil dodging furiously, wincing when he was hit and trying to bolster his resistance. It would continue for hours, until Neil collapsed or managed to land a lucky hit. Their daily tradition of dueling had become more intense, as the pupil attempted to learn how to better control magic. But his naivete still showed clearly, as the lopsided battles served to prove.
"Ah, damn, Ver. Okay, stop for now. How on earth do you keep going?"
The shaman looked at his pupil, a bit of condescension clear in his patronizing tone. "Neil, I'm fifty-six years old. You'd think I would have built up some stamina, right?"
The pupil blushed. He looked like an idiot.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 8, 2014 11:39:02 GMT -6
Neil held tightly to the protruding stones, slowly and deliberately moving his arms and legs as he climbed the outside of the ruins. His back was sore, and a few scrapes on his knees and elbows bled slowly. Whoever came up with the idea of climbing vines was a bloody idiot. Holding onto stones that didn't rip free was a much more intelligent idea.
Why was he climbing? Simply put, he'd been laying in the sun, relaxing and using his cloak as a blanket, when, suddenly and completely unexpectedly, the wind lifted it and gently deposited it on a low spire of the building.
Finally managing to get onto the roof, the pupil ran across it and then began shimmying up the spire. Closer... Closer... NO!
A gust of wind blew the cloak onto a higher spire. There was no way he was getting there...
So he resorted to spellcasting. Moving back onto the roof, the pupil focused his energy and uttered his prayer. "Discipulus auctorem passionem crucis Redemptionem in regnum immergunt Obstinata mente divina vincula Da locum ignis pastor."
Then, looking at the cloak, he cast with all his might and control. "Aeternis tenebris, circumda tibi nectens tuum sit!"
The tendrils of Flux stretched out, elongating and stretching, as they got ever nearer to the wayward cloak. Closer... Closer... There! The pupil grinned as he brought the cloak back, putting it on and then making his way down again to the ground. He sighed with relief, feeling the familiar weight back on his shoulders. What a freak accident.
Inside, Verrine grinned from the window, closing his tome. He'd not been responsible for the initial wind, but he had moved it to force the lad to use magic. He was quite ingenious, the boy. Shame he had to perish.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 9, 2014 10:49:24 GMT -6
In the week that followed Neil's recovery of his cloak, Verrine trained him harshly, pushing the pupil's limits and encouraging him to push his own boundaries. It was helpful for the young pupil, and he advanced at a respectable pace. There were days of quick progress and days of negligible progress. There were sleepless nights of studying the runes, and nights where he slept like a log. But no matter what happened, Sonneillon kept repeating his mantra, his prayer, his lifeline.
"Discipulus auctorem passionem crucis Redemptionem in regnum immergunt Obstinata mente divina vincula Da locum ignis pastor."
It gave him strength to carry on, to continue to train, to work harder and dream larger. It was his one aspiration. He wanted to become more connected with this powerful force.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 9, 2014 21:48:44 GMT -6
"Come on, Sonneillon! Let's go!"
Verrine had been raving all day about a night excursion, and then a day of rest. Something about how Neil needed a break. It seemed to the boy that it was Ver who needed the break... But whatever. That was beside the point.
"Coming. Where are we going, anyway?"
"We're simply going to walk Valor. With the size of the ruins, it's impossible we'd be unable to find our way back. So we'll wander, spend the night out, and then return so you can recuperate. Maybe we'll duel some."
The pupil groaned at the idea of simply wandering, but nonetheless tucked his Flux tome away and followed his mentor into the woods. It was foggy and damp, and the insects and birds were moving about lazily, languishing in the humid afternoon. The pupil found himself becoming interested in them, despite his initial reluctance, and soon was taking careful note of the appearance and behavior of many species.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 10, 2014 11:40:45 GMT -6
"Interesting. So this species... Can also fly. And this one..."
Despite his initial grumbling, Neil was engrossed int the flora and fauna of Valor. There was everything from deer to millipedes, all of whom had little to no fear of the two humans. There were many beautiful flowers, and some interesting specimens, like a plant that seemed to eat insects. He'd call it... The Verrine ant-trap. It had a nice ring to it.
"Whoa!"
Upon turning around a bend, the pupil found himself face-to-face with a rushing waterfall and a steep drop. It was a gorgeous view... It made him wish he could draw, or paint, or do some sort of art. So he tried to doodle it in, using a small notebook he carried. It wasn't great... but he'd practice.
Sigh. Practice.
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Sonneillon
Shaman
DEAD
"You will pay for what you've done..."
Posts: 142
Profession: Student of the Elder Arts
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Sonneillon on Jul 10, 2014 12:56:18 GMT -6
Staring at the waterfall, the Pupil bent over, grabbed a rock, and tossed it, watching it sail down...down...down. Wow. That was a long way. The pupil saw stretching over the chasm, a little ways away, a bridge. Made of rope and planks. How on earth did that get there?
"Hey, Ver! Let's go investigate that bridge!"
Without waiting for a reply, the pupil dashed off, finally coming to the bridge. Very close by, the waterfall's spray created a fine mist in the air, and the bridge swayed gently in the wind. The pupil looked at the bridge, felt the ropes, and then slowly began making his way across the wooden planks, looking at the landscape with awe and engrossment.
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