Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Feb 5, 2015 22:52:16 GMT -6
East. It spoke to him like the song of a siren, beckoning him to come ever closer. Pulling him by some unseen string, yanking him across the nation and the world. It wasn't a person, it wasn't a cause, it wasn't a duty, it was none of these things that called to him. It was a thought. A feeling. A direction. A desire. It wasn't rational, in fact it was anything but. He moved without a thought and without a care, the only thought in his mind bounced about like the final nut in a tin, rattling and bouncing off the walls, letting it's sound grow ever louder and more insistent. It wasn't too bad at first, it was just a dream, a bad awful terrible dream, but it didn't grab hold of his mind and refuse to let go. Not like this.
His body was beyond tired, he shuffled his feet forward with a sort of reckless disregard of himself. Moving constantly, and not wasting a moment. He shambled forward, across the earth. The dirt undo his boots, or was it grass? He didn't notice, all he knew was he wasn't there yet. This place wasn't where he was going, he needed to head further east. His cloak was torn, his white boots stained a sludgy brown as they were caked with mud and dirt. His face was covered in filth, sweat and grime clung to him like a shroud, but he didn't seem to notice. Nor did he care. It wasn't important. Not to Elias.
It was slight at first, a small urging. A feeling that appeared in his mind during the blank spaces in between thoughts, a thought that you have that for some reason repeated itself over and over in your mind, until you forcefully stop it. It gave him an idea, to go to Etruria one day, that was his plan. Maybe they had something to do with this monster situation? After all, they seem to be the only place wholly unaffected, and the light magic of the church of Elmine was powerful and fierce saying to dissolve the very flesh from bone of these creatures. He began to do research into the beasts, and he found company and then... it was getting hard to remember.
The thoughts they... they were growing distorted. Out of order, out of place. What had he been doing before this? He couldn't remember, it felt important but no matter how he tried the image wouldn't come. The knowledge hidden from him by his own mind, almost as if it was teasing him. Laughing at him, cursing him. The harder he tried to recall, the further it pushed itself away. The more he tried to cling on to it, the more it twisted and turned in his grip, unwilling to allow the mage to understand even his own thoughts and feelings. What had he been doing before now? What... What was he doing now?
Over time the feelings grew stronger. The thoughts became more bossy, intruding. It forced itself into his thoughts at the most inopportune times. It took attention his mind was to give other, more important topics. He still ignored them, there were more important things to worry about. It filled his mind, but he pushed it away, it refused to leave and simply pretended it did not even exist. It called, and he chose not to answer. It beckoned and he would not follow. Something was telling him that east was where he should go, Etruria was where he should go, but he didn't listen. Why? He can't... there was a reason, he was sure of it. He couldn't recall it for the life of him though. It seemed like such a big deal though, something he couldn't just leave but then what did he do? Did he leave? Or was his mind playing tricks on him again, he never knew if what he thought was real or fake any longer.
His feet were tender and ached with every last step. Each stomp of the foot sent jolts of electric pain through his body as he mindlessly marched forward. Bloodied scabs having grown over the open sores that grew upon his chafed feet, his socks soaked with sweat and never giving him reprieve as every step threatened to reopen the wounds. In his hand was Matrona, a staff that he leaned on for support it only because he would have fallen over long ago without it's help.
Then it stopped asking. It no longer beckoned Elias, it no longer called him, no. It DEMANDED him. Thoughts became feelings, feelings became yearnings, yearnings became lust. A stirring within him, far stronger then anything he has ever-Wait was it a feeling? Maybe it was simply what he wanted? No, no? Why would he want this? He couldn't even tell where his thoughts began and where the call ended. They bled into each other, his mind invaded by it every waking moment. The dreams became more powerful, more vivid, they haunted his days. He could still see those creatures, he could smell them, he could feel them. Lingering over him, looming, watching, staring, their decayed rotten eyes- No, stop.
He felt like time was running out. Like if he didn't get there immediately it'd be too late. That if he didn't move every waking second, he'd miss it. Miss whatever it is he was supposed to see. He could not miss it. It wasn't a matter of wanting to or not, he literally could not miss it. It refused for him to miss it. Maybe... Maybe it would be better if he stopped. No, he couldn't stop, he had to move. Etruria, Eastern Etruria. Something was there, something for him. Involving him, pulling him. It wasn't a feeling anymore, no... It was a song?
Maybe he should just stop fighting it? Whatever this was, whatever wanted him, it wouldn't cease and the more he fought tooth and nail the harder it fought back. He wouldn't win, he couldn't win. He wasn't fighting a battle that could be won by sheer bravado and puffed up pride. Besides isn't this what he wanted after all? Monsters, this undoubtedly had something to do with monsters. Right? He's been searching for answers to his questions when maybe he had them all along? This could be what he's been searching for, a way to help Elibe. Why was he fighting so hard? He couldn't remember, not anymore. It seemed so stupid actually, what could he possibly gain?
Maybe he should just give in to the call? Eastern Etruria...
In that moment he was freed by the compulsion. In that moment he regained his body and all the exhaustion along with it. In that moment he collapsed, his body unable to carry on any longer.
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Feb 12, 2015 21:57:05 GMT -6
Something woke him. Something shook Elias from the land of sleep, but he refused yet to yield and kept his eyes shut even as his mind worked furiously behind them. He thought, something had awaken him but what was it? He couldn't...
It wasn't a sound. No, that wasn't it. There were clearly sounds though, coming from all around. There was the crackling of a flame as it snapped and popped, turning wood into ashes. There was the quiet sound of paper being rubbed against each other, the turning of the page of a book, Elias knew that sound anywhere. There was a faint sound of someone breathing, someone that was not quite him, a steady in and out that silently filled the air. There was the sound of wind as it whistled past a window, a whooshing sort of noise you can never seem to be rid of no matter how tightly the window remained shut. All of these could be heard, but no it wasn't a sound.
It wasn't a smell either, though he could smell much. He could smell the flames and charcoal, the very same flame that danced nearby. He could smell tea, as it wafted through the air, a subtle smell but one that he could pick out from anywhere, if he had been a bit closer maybe he could even make a guess as to what type it was. He could smell soap, a certain smell of cleanliness like that of freshly washed linens, dried by the sun. He could smell wood, no not simply that which burned nearby, but that of a building. You could always tell when a home was made of wood even before seeing it, there was a certain scent it carried. Faint but ever present, a musty smell like that of pine. Then there was a smell of... onions. Odd, but not unheard of. He could smell these things, but it wasn't a smell.
No. It was a feeling. It was a warmth. Not one in his body, it wasn't that simple. Though in truth he felt that as well. His body laying upon a mattress of feathers, a bit rough as he felt slight pricks of the tips of feathers poking at him through the fabric, it was quite soft though and more comfortable then anything he's slept on for a long time. He was wrapped in a thick blanket that he had since grabbed and balled around him like a child, shielding him from the chill of the cool autumn day. There was a warmth in the air, that ebbed and flowed in small pulses, a fire most likely but not nearby. Another room perhaps as if filled this home with a warm air. In all honestly he was wanting to fall back asleep right there. He couldn't though, instead he focused a bit further. He felt a warmth, but it wasn't a physical one. It was one inside, his chest, his mind, whatever that spark of life that animated him. It felt at peace for the moment, that force that possessed him to move across Etruria had been, if not satisfied, abated.
Etruria, that was right. Where was he?
Elias opened his eyes and was greeted with just about what he expected. He was in a room made of wood, with a window set upon the wall across where he laid. Even now he heard the slight whistling of winds as it blew past the frame, but his eyes did not linger. Sitting up, he turned is head around to see where he was. It was a room, not terribly large, about the size of a small bedroom which is what Elias assumed it was. In one corner of the room was he, laying atop a bed of featherdown, but very plain an simple. At the the foot of the bed there was a gap between the end of the bed and the wall across the way. Leaning against it was a bookshelf filled with books and tomes, and next to this shelf was a twin, though that was all there was. He actually chuckled a bit, his father's rooms were absolutely littered with books, more then could possibly fit on all his shelves. Elias' room doubled as a storage for the mass of books his father always seemed to accumulate wherever they went. Despite that every time they move they left more books then they took, somehow it always ended up that way. There was a desk of sorts against the wall where the window lay, scattered papers covering it in a coat of parchment and white, being weighed down by an assortment of inkewells and books.
Carved into the wall wasn't a door, but rather the conspicuous lack of one, leading directly into the room nearby without a barrier between the two. The room was still dark, but soft pillars of light filled where it streamed in from the window, the sun just barely rising beyond it. He could see a small pulsing of light casting it's dance upon the shadows leading into the next room, and he couldn't help but feel like it was quite... homey. From the plains to Lycia to Sacae once more, he hasn't had a chance to be inside a home that wasn't being threatened to be put to the torch. There was a real feeling of life in here, that someone spent their time here, unlike the orderly clean up of inn rooms, there was a certain madness here. Elias never realized just how much he missed that.
Giving a mighty stretch, he heard bones crack that he never heard crack before, and his legs felt weak. He turned to the side of the bed, placing the soles of his bare feet upon the wooden floorboards, not feeling terribly confident in his legs. How long had he been asleep? After a few moment of easing himself onto his legs, he grabbed to the bedpost for support. He bent his legs, stretching them, trying to wake them up. Last thing he wanted was to go tumbling forward when he met whoever had abducted him. Abducted in the most positive way that is. A few clumsy steps here and there as he got used to the feeling of his own feet once more, he passed by the window on his way out. Stopping, he looked outside it, curious as to what he could gleam. Little unfortunately, it was a line of trees with the sun rising in the distance, to the east then. Eastern Etruria... It looked like there was a forest in that direction, and the small bits of his memory he could gather seemed to recalled trees strewn about. Is that where he collapsed?
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Feb 12, 2015 22:48:06 GMT -6
His robe was tattered and torn, his cloak ripped and his hat... His hat! Where was his- It had to be here somewhere. It isn't worthy burning the place down, not yet. Wait. He didn't have his tomes either, or Matrona. All he had was his cloak, stained with mud and what looked like blood. He wasn't even wearing his gloves, for the first time in what felt like years. He reached up and touched the glass of the window, feeling a chill down his spine as the pane was cold to the touch. He made a sort of frown on his face, that he could see in the reflection of his in the window. Distorted and faint, but he could clearly see the red haired man that stared into it. With a mess of red hair matted by sweat and filth, and tired green eyes that had veins of red sneaking into them. Thick circles of what looked purple or black hung below, he had the eyes of a man who did not sleep. Even though he just awoke from what he could only imagine was several days of rest, he felt as though he had spent the entire night awake. It left him hungry. He also really had to use the bathroom.
He drug his hand down his face and let out a small sigh, looking away from his reflection. Not quite the man he thought he was right now. His body ached down into the bones, like he had marched a thousand miles without rest, not too far from the truth was it? He grazed the wall with the tips of his fingers as he explored deeper into the home. The doorless doorway led into what looked like the main room. The first thing Elias noticed was the crackling flame burning in the fireplace against the wall next to the doorway. The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone. Sitting in a chair near the flame was a man with a book in his hands, a small pile of books in a pile next to him, as he slowly turns the page. Far too engrossed in whatever it was he was reading to notice the wandering hobo mage. It was likely fascinating, Elias kind of wanted to see, but he was feeling a touch timid at the moment considering the whole 'falling unconscious and possibly soiling himself' thing.
The man went to turn the page, his eyes darting to the top of his book as it turned, flicking up and lingering up Elias for just a moment before returning to the book. He was at least a few words in until he suddenly broke away and looked at Elias again. "Wh-" He began, surprised, snapping the book shut and fumbling a bit with it. The crimson mage smirked at him, as he watched standing near the wall. "S-so you're awake?" He asked, a mix of surprised and excited. "I was getting worried." He followed it up swiftly with one of the most cliche things in the book. Still it didn't matter a lot to Elias, cliche or not he felt kind of bad making anyone worry about him. Goodness knows he needed people worrying about him, but that didn't mean he wanted it. "Are you-"
"Where's my hat?" Elias interrupted him, looking around the more spacious room. The fire filled the room with a warm light, and a nearby window cast it's light upon the room just like it had in the room before. He was looking for more then just his hat, that was simply the first thing that popped into his mind. Maybe that said something about his priorities.
"Your... hat?" He asked, confused.
"Yeah, red with a white feather. I just had it the other day... shoot." Elias responded with a grumble.
The man laughed at him. "Oh I know what you're talking about. It's in the corner with your other things. I'm just surprised that was the first thing you cared about, and not your expensive magic tomes or magic staff."
"Well yeah, those would be important too I guess." Elias crossed his arms as he took a few cautious steps around, looking in the corners like the man said.
"This one over here." He said, pointing as he snickered. "Are you alright? Loss of hats aside."
Elias craned his head around to look where he pointed, that side of the room was the opposite of where he was and was still dark. It was clearly early in the morning, the light of the fire alone didn't fill the whole room. He walked across the room, speaking as he moved. "I don't know actually. I mean I'm alive, that's worth something. Maybe not a whole lot, since I tend to live through lots of things."
By now Elias had passed the man, but he still spoke from behind the crimson mage as he bent over to what looked like a pile of junk. His junk to be specific, it was very important junk, junk close to his heart. The junk of the Elias. "That doesn't sound very good." He said, falling quiet shortly after. Elias sifted through the things, his hat hiding besides a small pile of tomes. He picked it up and frowned as he saw it, it was rough and worn with tears and gashes in it. The feather was bare and stripped, looking like a decorative fish bone more then a feather in his cap. He tried to dust it off and put it on his head again, but just sighed. "Hey." The man said, breaking the silence he had created a moment ago. "Really now, are you alright? You were in terrible shape when I found you."
Elias removed his hat and just stared at it, his gaze fixated on the gashes and tears. It looked ruined, torn and rough. It wasn't though, even things that looked broken weren't truly. He could mend those tears, get a new feather, it wasn't ruined. It just needed work. He just needed rest. "I'll be fine."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Feb 13, 2015 0:07:30 GMT -6
"Good." The man said, which brought to mind a very important thing, Elias needed something other then 'man' to call him, that was getting dull. Of course he hadn't quite gotten a good look at him yet. The lights were dim, and he's been in a chair this whole time. Not any longer though, as Elias could hear the man standing from his chair as the mage went back to being bent down over the items to look through the things that were tucked away. "What on Elibe were you doing wandering around the woods in your condition? You should probably go back and rest." He tried to... assure? Whatever he was trying, he was trying to do it to Elias. "Are you in trouble?"
Picking up a tome, he absentmindedly flipped through a few of the pages to make sure it was his."Trouble?" Elias repeated, stopping for a moment before chuckling. "Maybe. If you want the truth, I don't know what I was doing. I just sort of... walked. Walked east, until I couldn't anymore, and I collapsed from exhaustion." He made an educated assumption based on everything that had happened, and it seemed reasonable enough to him. What was causing it, that was a mystery, but what happened was fairly straight-forward. "Where am I exactly?" He asked, setting the book down picking up another and repeating the process.
"Ricard, a village in Etruria." He answered Elias' question, but didn't just leave it at that. "What is so important that you had to almost kill yourself to get there? I'm frankly amazed you're up and walking like nothing happened, it's been three days."
Elias laughed. "What's so important? That's a good question, wish I had the answer." Etruria then. But.... no... this wasn't right. Not the right place. Close, perhaps, but not quite right. Even now he felt an urge, but it was weaker then it had been in who knows how long. Maybe it's only been a few days, maybe a few weeks, or maybe even a few months. It was hard to think of the past, of the things that happened. The thoughts filled his mind, and felt ever present, like they had always been. They hadn't, he knew that for a fact, his own memory contradicting itself and becoming a fuzzy blur the more he tried to push it. "I don't know what it is but I intend to find out." Elias tried to explain, but it probably only made things more confusing to people that were him. There were undoubtedly countless questions filling the man's mind, and Elias would try his best to answer them, though in truth there was simply no answer for many. "I've always bounced back quickly, healing, exhaustion, just give me a few days and I'm right as red."
"Right as..." He began, but if that sentence had an end Elias would never know because he dropped it. Despite how little sense it made, he seemed to have dropped the whole 'randomly walking to a place for no reason' thing, since he didn't seem to be questioning it anymore. Which was surprising since he was taking it better then Elias would have. "Your name is Elias right?" Elias stood and turned around, looking at him. He had walked over to an area near the mage, his head slightly to the side as he watched as Elias scrambled around with his things. The red haired man cocked a brow, and it made the man chuckle. "It's sowed on the inside of all your clothes." Ah, that's right.
"Yeah, my name's Elias. Elias Kutald." No longer of the 'crimson mage' fame, well not entirely. He would always be the crimson mage, after all crimson is the best color and mage was the best thing, and he was the best red mage so it only stood to reason he was the crimson mage. What he meant is that he no longer was trying to push a title upon himself, and he was through trying to force his self into fame. He had always wanted to be famous, wanted everyone to love him, pay attention to him, for him to be a name passed down through the generations like Athos. At least that's what he always thought he wanted, it just seemed so unimportant now. Why did he care if everyone loved him or paid attention to him? It didn't matter, as long as the right ones did, he didn't need the rest. "I'm a mage, traveling, I'm studying monsters."
"Well then, that explains the books." He said, Elias had an assortment of books on his person, nothing grotesque but tomes carrying particularly relevant information vital for his research. "My name is Isaac, no fancy surname I'm afraid. It's good to meet you Elias." It was now that Elias finally stopped for a second to actually look at the man he was speaking to. Up until this point his mind was too scattered between a million points to actually focus on such a thing.
He was tall, taller then Elias for sure. Then again that meant little in the life and times of the crimson mage, since everyone and their horse was taller then him. Even Mana was taller then him! It'd hurt his pride if he didn't have so many other incredible qualities that more then made up for it. Still this Isaac man must have been half a foot taller then him, maybe even more. He had broad shoulders, but wasn't particularly built like a warrior. More alike a farmer or a traveler in that sense, built like someone who worked for a living. He had long dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, certainly an average combination, he looked like peasantry in that way. Wearing a drab brown tunic and a pair of slacks, he walked around barefoot and looked like an average person. There was something... off about him though. Something about the way he... smelled?
Elias sniffed the air a few more times. He could smell the flames of the nearby fire, the smell of freshly boiled tea, the scent of wood, and a faint odor of onions. That was it. He looked a bit confused as Elias sniffed the air, but that was quickly cleared up. "Are you a mage? Shaman perhaps?" Elias asked. He's been wrong before, many times, but it never hurt to ask. He felt some kind of something from this man, magic? That old familiar hum, the one he felt like he was born with. It was so natural to him, sometimes it wasn't until he entered a place with no magic at all that he realized just how much was around them all the time.
He looked surprised. "Oh wow, yeah I am actually. That's amazing, how'd you do that?"
"So you can't feel anything from me?" He wondered aloud, but it wasn't important. "I could smell it, elder magic has a distinct smell that sort of clings to those who use it. It's kinda like onions. Like... musty old tomes kept in the basement and rarely read. It feels like... darkness. Like purple. Like a little pinprick on a sleeping foot, a pressure in the numbness. It's like breaking the thinnest layer of ice over a puddle in winter, a film of sorts. Like removing the surface to find what's below. It's kinda like... onions. Do you understand?"
"Nnnnot really. You just sort of said a lot of words." Of course, Elias sort of sighed. Oh well. "Still if you could tell just by my 'smell' that must be useful. You could probably pick out a mage in any line up."
"Nah, it's not that easy. Sometimes an onion is just an onion. Sometimes I'm feeling ambient magic that I think belongs to one person in particular, or sometimes I mistake something for what it isn't" He explained with a simple shrug.
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Oct 19, 2015 20:11:58 GMT -6
Isaac tilted his head at Elias, and he had a confused look on his face. He didn't speak, but just the stare made Elias feel a bit foolish. Which is, considering this is Elias, not a common occurrence. The mage quickly rethought his words, as he turned them over in his mind to make them a shape more recognizable. It was a failure, but he managed to make himself look even crazier with his constant opening and closing of his mouth. It was as if he was trying to say something, but instead of sound it was a strained silence. Elias felt defeated so he simply shrugged, his body heaving in a sigh. "I know it sounds weird, to be honest it kinda is, but just trust me." He tried to put a cap on the conversation with his 'not really an explanation' explanation.
"It's alright, I'm wise enough to know that I know nothing." Isaac said with a small chuckle. "Rarely am I confronted so... energetically, but I try to keep an open mind. If you say you can smell my magic, then I'll believe you. I just wish I knew ahead of time, I would have gotten something gotten something to cover the smell."
"What? No. It's not a bad thing. I actually kind of like it, the smell's nostalgic. Reminds me of my home." Elias' eyes drifted from the shaman's face and instead found themselves staring at some spot on the ceiling. Maybe it was being wistful, or maybe Elias was a touch embarrassed. Probably both. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
"Your home smelled like onions?" Isaac sounded confused, but Elias simply shrugged as an answer. "I'm going to venture a guess that you aren't from Etruria." Silence was the answer to that question. Though the silence did not last as Elias broke it with another sigh. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry." The shaman replied instinctively. Oh nice going Elias.
"What? You're fine. I'm just... I just tired. That's all." Elias didn't lie. He didn't exactly tell the truth either. Just thinking of his home sort of filled him with... exhaustion really. Memories of home were so many things for him. Frankly he couldn't decide if those memories were good or bad. Probably a bit of both as these things tend to be, but that did little to make it easier to understand. Why did it have to be so complicated? In either case Elias was not in the mood to get into it, not now. It would just be easier to answer. "I'm from Lycia. I think. Actually I don't know really, I was sorta adopted. I might be from Nabata for all I know."
He gave the question a bit more thought."Actually... I moved all over when I was younger. I lived in Etruria for a short time, and I think I was in Bern for a few months, but usually it was Lycia. Santuraz and Ostia mostly. My father was a well known academic scholar and the traveled all over in his studies." It wasn't the first time he explained the situation, but it might be the first time he gave it heavy thought. In his mind it was obvious, his dad was smart so he went lots of places to learn things, but now that he was older and more or less doing the same thing himself... he finally understood. It wasn't as simple as he always made it out to be. Crap. He would have preferred it to be simple. He didn't want to relate to his father. That always made things more difficult. "I never really lived in one place too long. Mostly just my mother and my father and me, different people every few months. Life of a scholar I suppose."
"You close with him?" Elias answered his question with a tilted head. "Your father." Isaac clarified.
"No, not really. I was always more of an apprentice then a son growing up." Elias could tell from the look on Isaac's face that he almost pitied the mage.
"What about now?" He asked.
"He's dead."
"Oh."
With two words Elias cast an oppressive din of silence about the room. The mage bent over to continue rifling through his thing as the stunned shaman just sat there. What could be said? He may have never seen his father's corpse, but Elias knew he was dead. It was something he came to terms with a long time ago. When Ostia fell into sea of lava, his mother and father's house was devoured by the ocean of flames. He never heard from them again. You don't need bodies to come to that conclusions. Elias wasn't sure if you could even find bodies after something like that.
Vaguely he remembered the first thing he did after leaving Ostia. It was talking to blindfold, something about... demon babies? Snot? Horses? It was gross whatever it was. Then afterwards he apologized for being such an irritation. Sometimes he wondered if he should have ever stopped apologizing. Such thoughts were not conducive for success, and Elias did his damndest to keep them down and hidden away. It wasn't too difficult either, as getting distracted in his research and work was dreadfully easy. Important work too, studying magic and the connections it had to monsters was perhaps the key to saving this world. At least in his mind, perhaps he was making it overly grandiose for the sake of justification. It was easier to believe that something one does is important then to think it has no meaning.
Now that he was being forced to slow down, it was all beginning to catch up. Goodness knows he was too tired to run from it right now.
Elias scooped up his hat and plopped it right back upon his head where it belonged. "Good, I was afraid it got damaged." He said to his self as he straightened it on his head. What he wouldn't give for a mirror right now. Probably for the best, he undoubtedly looked like death warmed over at this point. He certainly felt that way. His body ached and cried out in pain, every movement no matter how small made him wince in soreness. Not true pain, just aches from not giving his self rest. His feet were covered in small blisters that were sensitive to pressure, but it seemed in his three day long rest they began to shrink. Good for him. He could take care of the rest with Matrona.
"Nice hat." That was the line Isaac broke the silence with. Well it may have been an awkward change of subject, but boy did it work. Elias grinned with his old energetic fashion. The weariness in his face might as well have been a myth.
"Isn't it though?" He took off the hat again and looked it over. He pulled at the feather lightly to be sure it hadn't gotten loose. A little loose actually, he'd have to fix that. "I made it myself. Always been good at tailoring. One of my countless talents I suppose." He bragged. "Made my whole outfit actually. Well except the cloak, that was a gift. Friend of my father's, wonder how he's doing. Live all the way in Sacae, weird guy. Had this big tower that the only way to get around was warp staves. Probably could have trapped me there. Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't have rushed in so blindly. I mean I'm still alive so it turned out alright in the end, plus I got a nifty cape. White and red are my favorite colors." He spoke without giving a moment for Isaac to reply. His speaking being a backdrop for his actions as he dug through the rest of his things. "I can use staves now, so I'd be okay, but at the time I was just a kid who could barely cast fire without burning his eyebrows off. Which I've done. Three times actually. It's a pain and a half waiting for them to grow back, takes weeks. Looks all weird without them too. Fire will get you like that." He continued, getting ready to rev up again.
Isaac however looked a bit taken aback, just a moment ago Elias was reticent and almost hostile, and now here he was all hunky dory. Confusing to say the least. Wasn't he almost dead a few minutes ago? "Woah, wait a second. Gimme a second to understand what you said, you're talking so fast it sound like someone just dropped a wall of words on my head."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Oct 27, 2015 15:30:53 GMT -6
"Hrm?" Elias tilted his head at Isaac like he didn't understand what the shaman was talking about.
"You're talking too fast." The man clarified.
"Am I? Or are you just listening too slowly?" So many people said that to him, quite frankly he's never understood the problem. People always say he's talking too much, really it's just that everyone else talked too little. He's never come across someone who annoyed him by talking too much. Talking too much nonsense they don't know a thing about maybe, specifically those pretentious folk who think a ruffly shirt and some fancy name meant they were all important and junk. Well Elias doesn't care about your impossible to pronounce name, or how many frills you wear around your neck.
"That... doesn't make any sense."
"It doesn't? Here I thought I was being clever." Elias had a cocky grin on his exhausted face. He had been filled with energy as he spoke, but it was short lived. Quickly following it up was the reality of just how tired he was. Isaac noticed Elias was faltering and reached out to help, but Elias shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine." He sighed, not entirely sure if he was lying or telling the truth.
A sudden burst of energy didn't actually fix things, it just sort of pushed them a bit further down the road. Of course Elias was the king of odd energy bursts as a replacement of actually sleeping. He would sleep a few hours a night, three or four if he's feeling lazy. That wasn't really sustainable though, and once every other week he would sleep for the better part of a day almost in a vain attempt to catch up. It was really his own fault though, he just got so interested in everything. Sleep felt like this huge hassle that just existed to keep him away from doing what he wants. The waking world was so much more fascinating then what laid in sleep. He never had dreams anyways, instead he just turned off a light and hours later he awoke. Some mages believe that power lies in dreams. Those mages are crazy. He didn't need to create fascinating new worlds in his mind, he was plenty fascinated in this one as it is.
Still he couldn't deny there was something beyond this world. Just barely hidden. Like a lid that doesn't quite fit a pot, steam oozing from the sides. The darkness. The void. Whatever it was called. Demons, Arum, monsters. Were they a part of this world? Or were they from another? Or... Perhaps both worlds are one and the same. "Agh, crud." Elias winced in pain as he fell to a knee. He hadn't been paying attention, lost in his own little world. He didn't realize how weak he still felt. Now he was just embarrassed.
"Are you okay? You should lie back down and rest." He really probably should.
"Nah. Too many things to do." Elias dismissed him. He should know better, he did know better. Maybe a few years ago he wouldn't have, but by learning healing he's gotten much more in touch with the body. The things it needs, and that included rest. Rest was a good thing, something Elias heartily recommends. The issue here it was Elias who needed to rest. All he could do was focus on what he was giving up by not acting, and not the benefits of resting now. Isaac held out his hand for Elias to take, to help him up. That was the thing though, Elias never needed help. He was the one helping others. Elias turned his head away from the offered hand and forced himself back to his feet. He's never needed help before, why would he need it now? He could do anything as long as he put his mind to it, something he's proven to himself time and time again. He saved Wyatt, he helped Red2 kill Bandit Dude, he's killed monsters or all kinds, he's fought in way, he's been a professional courier, he escaped a burning city of lava and flame, he's face his demons and came out unscathed, he's teleported across the world, he's been deemed the inheritor of Matrona from a zombie, he was a mage who's talent had few equals, he was energetic and happy, forever an optimist. He did not need help. He's never needed it.
"Don't be so stubborn." The shaman responded to Elias' dismissal of his offer. "Even if it's just for a day. Please, rest. I can't in good conscious let a man in your condition walk out that door." Elias stayed silent for a moment. "You said you were a healer, right? Imagine if someone was as banged up as you collapsed at your doorstep. Then the second they woke up they tried to leap right out of bed and out the door. You'd stop them, right?" Elias averted his gaze, grumbling a little bit. "So, if not for you, then for me. Wherever you're going will be there when you're ready to leave." Isaac grinned as he watched Elias shuffle a bit, knowing he was gaining ground. "I don't think you'd get very far in your condition anyways."
Elias sighed. "Fine." He did not admit defeat, but it definitely felt like one to him. Meanwhile Isaac looked like the cat who got the canary. "If I can't go anywhere today, I'll just work on my book. That doesn't involve anything strenuous." He used as an excuse. He had to do something, he'd go mad otherwise.
"You're writing a book?" Isaac said as Elias went to grab his books from his things. Elias' back was to him, but the mage could just feel that little raised eyebrow that had to have been there. Incredulous, that's the word. Same way everyone reacted when he mentioned his book. Of course the people he told amounted to just Isaac and Demon, and demon always looked kind of doubting at everything said. Also at everything in general. Actually Demon was just kind of a jerk.
"Why? Is that surprising? You barely know me." Elias sounded defensive.
"Oh. Uh, no. It's just..." Isaac began, but sort of lost his voice halfway through and stopped talking. Elias turned to look at him, and he looked nervous. "I mean. Well. Um." He almost squirmed, Elias just continued to look at him. Expecting his next words.
"Well?"
"S-so what's the book about?" He quickly changes the subject. So transparent, but fortunately for him transparent ploys to change the topic were very effective on the crimson mage.
To that Elias beamed, answering the question in one word."Monsters."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Oct 28, 2015 12:30:31 GMT -6
"Monsters?" Isaac asked, sounding intrigued. Well at least Elias thought he sounded interested, truth was that he could have vomitted mid-word and Elias would still take that as a sign to keep talking. Even the most token politeness can be misconstrued as genuine interest when it came to certain subjects. Mostly magic or monsters. Oh magic or monsters, woe befall you if you start on magic and monsters. Might as well pack it in at that point, cancel all your plans, because Elias is going to let you escape. Hopefully there was no pets that needed to be fed.
"Yeah, I'm researching them. All about them really. Their habits, their bodies, their composition, their actions, their reasons for being here, their diets of which is usually just flesh, their appearances, their smells, their everything really."
"That's a lot of research. Sure you aren't overextending?"
"Normally I'd say I probably am, but the truth of things is there's very little information on them. Especially up to date and current information. There's been a few published preliminary findings from some Lycian scholars, but they are limited in scope. More along the lines of "oh these exist" then any concrete information about them." Elias explained taking a seat and opening up his research journal. One of them at least, he has several filled up with notes. It was just a problem to carry them all around all the time, so he has them in safe keeping over in Lycia. One of his father's old stronghouses in Santuraz. The same place he picked up this Gaea tome. It doesn't even matter if Santuraz is overrun with monsters or anything, those stronghouses could survive anything. Well, anything short of a volcano eruption drowning the entire area into lava and ash. Still, who knows. Maybe they'll be digging through Ostia's remains and finds his father's notes on magical mutations or something.
"Most of the research on them comes from the point of killing them, effective techniques and such. Did you know silver is an effective substance against them? Almost like it's poison, like the old stories. Silver warding away evil spirits, or slaying men cursed with immortality and the visage of a wolf. Something about the metal disrupts whatever it is holding them together, it slices cleanly through the flesh of revenants and shatters bonewalkers. Like how light magic burns their flesh and stops them from reconstructing. Maybe there's a connection, but I haven't managed to suss it out yet." He's read all the reports, and he went to Ostia and Laus first hand with some others. They combed through the ruins, but didn't quite find anything worth getting excited about. There's the possibility that between then and now more papers could have been published, but he found that unlikely. It just wasn't a priority. He's only met one other researcher specifically studying monsters, Turtle. Actually he was a little bummed out he never got to read her findings. Crud, what was her name again? He'd have to see if he could find her work the next time in Lycia. Eh, there's so few to go through he'd definitely find it sooner or later. Probably without even having to look.
"Of course details about them outside that are a bit more difficult to come across. I mean, hooray we can kill them, but that doesn't stop them. It stops the monster in front of you, not the ones coming. We're better at fighting them then ever before, but then why are they so much more of a problem now? It's almost like the more we fight back the harder they push." Elias sat in the comfy little wooden chair, gesturing wildly with a happy look on his face. Grim subject perhaps, but talking about it made Elias feel important. He was also glad to be off his feet, though he'd never admit that. Though he stopped instead of continuing after that thought. He fell silent, never stopped grinning but even his face didn't change the feelings around it did. "I mean I saw it first hand." He began. "In Sacae. Monsters, monster everywhere. As far as the eye can see. A cloud of black as hundreds of gargoyles flew through the air. A sea of writhing flesh below, the dead revived as monstrous mockeries of themselves. At the center of it all..." He stopped. No, he shouldn't say anything. "I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them."
"Sounds like important work." Isaac said after Elias was done talking. "I've never seen a monster myself, I had no idea they were such a problem. We never hear about those types of things out here." That's right, this was Etruria. "I didn't even know monsters were actually a thing until merchants passed through with some remains to prove it. Mostly just wolves teeth and hides, but sort of... I dunno, wrong looking? A lot of people just thought the merchants were pulling our legs, trying to pull one over on us. I, however, I could feel something. Something magical. Faint, but familiar. Yet sort of alien. It's hard to explain. Sort of... like... I dunno." He rolled his hands in the air, as if the coax the right words from his head. Didn't work. Or maybe it did, since he started to talk again. "It's like... Imagine you have a picture in your house. You walk by it every day, so many times that you don't even really look at it anymore. Then someone changes it with a new picture, same size and same colors. You don't even notice the change until you actually pay attention to it, then you realize that it's a completely different painting."
"I think I get what you're saying." Elias nods. "It certainly has roots in my research. Elder magic is the closest to what animates these creatures, but it isn't quite the same. Similar, but different. I theorize that's why light magic is so effective against these monsters in the first place. Light magic has properties that let it slice through dark magic without issue, it naturally repels the darkness. The spirits that guide the magic almost seem... infuriated by elder magic. Burns brighter, stronger, and whatever it is that causes that reaction might be the same thing that causes light magic to be so effective on these creatures."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 2, 2015 13:27:22 GMT -6
"Can't say I've had much experience with light magic myself." Isaac admitted.
"Odd, considering this is Etruria. Still I can't say I've had much experience myself. My father always had a sort of... distaste for it. Maybe it comes from the vilification of elder arts by those who use divine magic. He was primarily a user of dark arts, anima just sort of followed it afterwards. I've never even experienced trying to use it, unlike elder where I've at least tried some basic spells on my own. Light magic it.... It's sort of different. Well all magic is different, but I mean there's something especially different about light magic." Elias began to go off on a tangent, as he is known to do. Isaac just sort of nodded along with his words. "Actually all types of magic have some big thing that separates them from others. The thing about light magic however is that it's much less... academic? I dunno how to say it." He couldn't think of the right way to say it without going and saying it was 'easier'. Which is wrong, downright wrong. No magic is easier then any other magic. It just takes different skills. What elder, anima, and divine all need is different. Elder asks for complex study and understanding, while anima asks for cooperation with spirits and control, and finally divine asks for faith and willpower. Anima was the best, of course, but they all require different types of skills.
He began to gesture a bit, mostly just making a circle shape with his arms. "Divine is... well it's similar to anima magic that spirits are what guides it, and it's similar to dark magic in that it's the caster themselves feeding it, but at the same time it's completely different from both. Light magic feeds off of faith, faith in anything really." The concept of 'faith' was immaterial and tricky to pin down. It was a bit funny how something so subjective was so powerful. "Faith in religion like Elimine is the most common, but I've heard tales of light magic users believing in other things to power their spells. Friendship, love, justice, revenge, money, honestly all that's required is that the belief is strong enough. Strong enough to beckon the spirits that guide the spell, the stronger the belief the stronger the magic. The perfect example is the divine tome, which has its power directly related to the faith and will of the user against that of the target."
"Light magic doesn't require rigorous study, it doesn't require an understanding of the forces behind it, it doesn't even require the user to know how to read. All that it requires is faith, and perhaps a bit of practice. It's the most intuitive of the three magics, in my opinion. While dark magic is shrouded in enigma and countless mysteries, and anima is mostly understood in its own way, there's very little to understand about light magic." He paused for a moment, thinking a bit harder about his own words. "Believe hard enough and you shoot magic, seems simple right? Yet it's in that simplicity that it remains so confusing. There's also the fact of the matter that those trained by the church of Elimine seemed to have a strange mastery over the magic that seems to punish impure monstrous beings even more harshly. Light magic on its own is effective, but that in the hands of a bishop is exceedingly so." Elias continued on his little diatribe, Isaac listening intently. It was odd to have a captive audience, most people just sort of... tone him out halfway through.
"I can see what you mean. Elder magic is mysterious in it's own way, what with the void and the countless mysteries that surround it. The mystery in elder magic comes from the complexity of the craft, while the mystery of light magic comes from the simplicity of it." Isaac replied, to which Elias simply gestured at him wildly.
"See! See! Someone gets it!" He said, ecstatic. "Oh my goodness, I need more mage friends." He added with a laugh. "I mean I love my other friends to bits, but they couldn't tell the difference between a Thoron and a Bolting tome. Much less magical theory. Even the few mages I do know are far more interested in practical applications then what goes on behind it. They focus on the what it does, and completely ignore the why and how."
"Well it's a bit of a stretch to just assume the average person knows these kinds of things. Outside of Etruria schooling is rare and expensive, and even then most of the focus in Etruria is about using and not understanding. Outside of that masters taking on apprentices are few and far between. Especially since so many of them..." Isaac stopped, falling silent. The jovial conversation ground to a halt and even Elias' grin faded.
"Perished during the war." Elias finished his thought.
"Yeah."
"Is that what happened? To you I mean."
"...Yeah."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
The air grew thick with awkward silence. Nobody was happy. Isaac was the one to break it this time. "She was... Well my teacher. She took me in at a young age. Her own daughter, well, she didn't have any interest in magic. Not much talent either." He explained. "My-" He almost began to talk some more, but caught himself, his words stuck in his throat. "Sorry, it's not important."
"No, go on ahead. You listened to my story, least I could do is listen to yours." Well part of Elias' story, he had a lot more that went unsaid.
He sat there for a moment, thinking. Unsure if he should or not, but it seemed Elias' request won in the end. Elias always won, so it was of little surprise (the times Elias doesn't win don't count). "Alright then. My parents they gave me up, it was too difficult to feed so many children with such meager means, and I was the youngest of five. I... still remember it. They took me into the forest, said we were going to go look for some food. Berries, wild animals, anything. I was just eight or so, so I didn't really understand, but I did enjoy the forest. Clean air felt nice and I always enjoyed listening to the birds. My father was holding my hand, but I can't remember if he was sad or not. I'd like to think he was. Who could toss their child out into the wilderness with no remorse?" Now it was Elias' turn to listen, and honestly he didn't know what to say. His situation wasn't perfect or anything, but at least it wasn't downright depressing.
"So he left me there, saying he'd be right back. Told me to wait, and I did. As far as I know, he never came back. Probably never intended to... Just wait and let nature sort me out." Isaac turned his head away, a pained glare boring a hole into the ground. There was a fury behind his eyes, his jaw rigid and Elias could even hear his breathing become uneven. It was odd, he seemed so calm and even kind before, but there was a sort of... darkness behind those eyes. Anger could do that to a person. "Cowardice. Leaving me like that. Couldn't even have the decency to do it himself. Too hard he'd probably say. It still makes me mad to think about." Isaac took a deep breath, then after closing his eyes, took another. Even longer and deeper this time, calming his self down.
"Anyways, I wondered that forest for quite so time. Tried to find my way back home, but I was totally lost. Turned around thrice over, the harder I tried to get out the deeper in I went. I ended up eating leaves and berries I found in the woods. Unripened hard stones of berries that made me sick to my stomach, perhaps even poisonous."
"What happened? Did you survive?" Oh. Oh Elias, no. He realized what he said a moment too late.
Isaac let out a snort of laughter. "Yes I survived Elias." Elias just felt embarrassed. He must have shown it on his face because Isaac stopped his story. "Oh come on, it was funny."
"J-just continue please. I'm interested."
"Alright." He still chuckled, the dastard.
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 2, 2015 16:45:47 GMT -6
"Where was I?" Isaac muttered to himself. "Ah, that's right. Dying in the woods. Silly me, how could I forget?" He joked. "Well there I was, dying in the woods. Sick to my stomach, dehydrated, probably delirious. It was a mess. Honestly I'm surprised I made it out of that mess. I don't remember it too well, not that surprising I guess. I was young and I was sick. Apparently my master approached me first. She was looking through the woods, said she felt a 'disturbance'. Probably me. Even then I had some measure of talent in magic, maybe that's what she sensed? Or maybe I was making a lot of noise and scared the animals off? I know I couldn't find any for the life of me, I had been looking for some to eat but never managed to catch any. Or maybe it was just good luck? Or it could have been Elimine's will."
"Well I dunno what it is, but some people just have good luck all the time for no reason. I mean I know I do." Elias shrugged. Isaac shrugged in response. This whole conversation was a shrug.
"Maybe. Whatever the reason, she saved my life. She took me into her home and using her staff she helped treat me. Of course as a cleric yourself must be aware, a staff doesn't fix everything. Especially sickness or poison. It helps, but not quite like physical injuries. It expedites the process, for better or for worse." What he said was true. Many people believed healing magic could just fix everything, after all it has the word 'healing' and 'magic' in it. All the parts fit! The truth was a bit more depressing though. Healing staves could fight injuries and colds, but it couldn't eliminate sickness. Disease persisted, problems from birth could no be fixed, decay and stagnation could not be reversed, magic cannot regrow limbs just as it can't heal the terminally ill. It helps for sure, but many people mistake 'helping' for 'fixing' then grow angry when in the end it isn't enough. Even with all the power of Matrona, all his willpower and emotion poured into it, everything he had and his whole heart, it wasn't enough to fully heal Wyatt. He would have that limp for the rest of his life. There were limits to healing magic right now, and they haven't found how to break them just yet. Which they will, one day, of that Elias was certain.
"I managed to pull through. A combination of medicine, magic, and good old fashioned rest pulled me back. Couldn't have been easy, or cheap, but my Master didn't care. Truth be told, she was fairly wealthy. Eccentric as well, her husband was a merchant in good standing. She never wanted for coin, and was free to spend it on whatever distraction currently interested her. He doted on her and their daughter so. A ruthless man in every other regard, but when it came to his family..." He grimaced a bit in distaste. "He never did care for me."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Probably thought I was distracting the two too much. Or maybe he just didn't like me. Thought I presuming too much, some urchin orphaned child who wormed his way into this rich family. Of course he never said anything, his wife, my master adored me." He looked away for a moment. "And after... well... It was just too painful to say anything. When you have no one left you... you kind of cling to what you have. Even if it isn't what you wanted exactly." That set there, hanging in the air for a moment. Elias didn't feel right pressing on it.
"Anyways, she noticed my talent for magic. I don't know how she did it, maybe she was like you. Always did know when magic was going on, even when no one was doing anything. Must of smelled onions on me." Elias didn't bother correcting him. "When I told her about my family, she decided I would stay there with her. I didn't understand at the time, even wanted to escape and go home. I mean my dad said he'd come back, he must be worried sick. Furious with me. Now I realize how stupid I was, but... I was just a kid. How could I understand?" Elias could imagine it, a little shaggy haired boy asking to go home. Just the thought made him feel bad. "I got over it, eventually, I mean there was this cool woman who wanted to teach me magic. Me. I was just some peasant child who never had those kinds of dreams, but even peasant children know about the heros of Etruria's past. The mage-generals, Elimine, Athos, the magisters, mage knights. Something every Etrurian child grows up dreaming about. I had a chance to become one. Of course a little kid like me was going to take it."
"What was her name?" Elias asked, and Isaac looked lost. "Your Master's."
"Oh. Her name was Beatrice. I... didn't call her that often. Always felt wrong. She was like a mother to me." He wiggled a bit while talking about it. "I mean I wasn't her son. I knew it, and Randall made sure I never forgot." He smiled. "Besides, she liked being called master. Said it made her feel like a teacher, something she always wished to be. Of course they don't teach the Elder arts in the official Etrurian academy, it was looked down upon even then. She could perhaps speak as a sort of guest lecturer, but a professor was out of the question." Elias' father actually spoke at Etrurian academies as a guest lecturer, but for similar reasons never took a position as a professor. It was one of the reasons he lived in Lycia actually, they were much more lax about elder magic there.
"Sounds like a good woman."
"She was."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 3, 2015 7:47:55 GMT -6
"She taught me, for years. She took me in when I was merely eight and she continued her lessons right up until... well, y'know. How long ago was that now? Must have been about... nine or ten years. I was only a teenager back then, hormonal and moody. I mean I was probably an ungrateful little- That's one of the things I'm most afraid of. That the last memories of me were bad ones." Isn't that always how it goes? In the end the fears aren't 'I wonder if they suffered' or 'What if it happens to me' but instead 'I wonder if they died hating me'. Elias felt that himself, every time he remembered his parents. His meeting with them just before- it wasn't a pleasant one. Elias unloaded all the feelings he had kept bottled up, along with several he hadn't added in because of his crazy over-dramatic mind. He accused them of never caring for him, called them terrible. Then he... He never saw them again. Your last memory of people so close to you being such a foul one cannot be easy. It hurt to think about, so Elias just never did. It was easier to look happy, even for no reason, then to ever show how you're feeling inside.
"I remember pitching a fit when she told us she was going to join the war effort. It's my last memory of us together. She wanted to join Etruria's war effort and I said- I said she was abandoning us. I yelled at her, pleaded with her not to go, but she just calmly smiled and told me to keep up with my studies. That she had decided her mind, I never learned her reasoning for it. But she said she'd come back. She lied." He shifted his gaze away, but Elias could see the pain in his face. He could see the guilt. Last words are something so few think about while alive, but after death last words are all people think about. "How could I not see that was the last time we'd speak?"
"You couldn't have known."
"Thanks Elias, but I'm not an idiot. I knew she was heading off to war, and I knew war was dangerous. People died, never returned, I saw it all the time. It's just..." He sighed, his words hanging in the air.
"You never thought it would happen to you?"
"Yeah."
"No one likes to think those things."
"Yeah but... I saw the war as a sort of distant problem. So unrelated to me and my life. They weren't fighting in my backyard, so to me the war was never really 'real'. I never saw the fighting, never saw the soldiers get cut down, never saw the dragon burn Bern to the ground, never saw the dead rise and demolish Ostia. Nothing. I lived in a peaceful Etrurian city with noblemen and their families. The war was gossip, the war was an interesting topic of conversation, not a real thing. It could never be real, it never effected me personally. So when Master said she was heading off to join the war effort, it felt fake. Like she was just going on a vacation, to be back in a few weeks with some interesting stories. She was a talented Seer, powerful in both magical force and force of personality. People who died in war, they weren't her. They were foolish, weak, boring, unimportant, names you hear on the tongues of strangers, words you read on an unfamilar gravestone. Here lies a man, a good husband and a good soldier, but never actually knowing the person. They weren't real. Not to me. Not to stupid teenager me." His words, Elias could relate to them. For the longest time he always viewed war as a sort of battle of good and evil. Where the good guys always won, and the bad guys always loft. The people against him were villains and monsters, not real people. Ideas, thoughts, obstacles to overcome. War was a game, not a travesty. The wounded, the casualties, the dead, none of that mattered. For it was good versus evil, and good always won. He would wager that's how many people unaffected by war felt. Patriotism for their country, vilification for the one they were against.
Now however... Now Elias has seen far too much pain. Too much misery. Too many people laying dying in their beds, bleeding out from wounds that never healed. Left forgotten and dead on the field of battle, because there was simply no way to retrieve their corpse. Thrown into giant piles of corpses and lit aflame, burning the remains so that the undead could not spawn from them. War wasn't good versus evil, it wasn't good versus good or evil versus evil either, it was just people. People who fought, and the people caught in the middle. He thought war was exciting a time ago, looking up to legends like Roland and Athos, hoping there'd be a war in which he could prove himself and become a hero like them. Now. Now he realized WHY those men were heroes, because they ended the war. However it was at the cost of almost all the dragons of Elibe. Every war has casualties, some were just more obvious then others.
"I see what you mean." Elias said after a moment of silence. "These ideas, they're far too big for a person to completely understand without having experienced it themselves. To the average man it is just something you hear about happening on the other side of the world. It isn't until it hits home that many give it more then a single thought. Even then it's never really what they think. Many people believe war is horrible and wrong, and just as many believe that it is necessary and required. However I doubt either truly understands war, I definitely don't. I don't think anyone does."
"Maybe that's the way it should be." Isaac said with a weak grin, first time he had one since he started talking. Well minus the part where he was laughing at Elias. "In any case, my last memory wasn't the greatest. I just hope she died remembering me otherwise. Some nights I lay awake wondering that."
"My..." Elias began, but bit his tongue. "I'm sure she remembered the best of you. No one would hold a teenager's tantrum against them, after all it's all just a part of being a teenager. I'm sure she understood. You weren't angry and saying you hated her, you were angry because you cared. You didn't want her to go, and I think that makes all the difference. Sometimes we get mad when we care little, but that's rare. Usually we get mad because we care too much."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 4, 2015 14:53:58 GMT -6
"Ah. I'm not sure it's that easy but thank you all the same. For your kindness." Isaac smiled at Elias, and Elias sort of averted his gaze. He felt a bit warm in the face, caught off guard by the compliment. He was an extraordinary individual with many notable qualities, intelligence and fashion sense come to mind, he was a gourmet chef and pretty much the best tailor in the world. He was powerful as a mage, and his knowledge of magic and monsters was impressive for someone as young as him. A prodigy almost, seeing as most mages as accomplished as he were tottering old men. People told him as much, said he was powerful or impressive. They came to him for advice, they came to him for knowledge of complex magical subjects they just couldn't grasp, they came to him when they needed an injury treated, they came to him when they needed an injury inflicted. He's been called things from arrogant, insane, hero, eccentric, genius, prideful, annoying, and everything in between. However... He's never been called 'kind'. Something about the sincerity of it threw him off guard.
Isaac just smirked at him. "Still..." He face fell a bit into melancholy. "It's been years now, and I still miss her." He let out a long sigh before recovering into a weak smile. "Ah, I'm sorry. I went and just blabbed my whole life story at you randomly. You barely know me, well I guess you know me pretty well because of my blabbing, but I must have made you feel really awkward. I'm sorry."
Elias held up his arms, like he was trying to tell Isaac to slow down. "No no no, it's fine. You're fine. I mean I asked you about it and everything." It was true, he did. He asked for it, literally. "I'm just sorry all that junk happened." Elias dropped his hands back to the sides of the chair. While it was true that the two barely knew each other, but that rarely stopped people from unloading all their problems on each other. Really sometimes the only person you can really tell everything to is a complete stranger.
"Thanks. Feels nice to just tell someone really. Most of the people I speak with these days already know, can't understand, or simply don't care." Elias stayed silent for a moment, thinking about what to say next. Instead Isaac spoke up again. "Not to say you're just some random person though, I just sort of had a feeling you might understand some of the stuff I was saying. Probably for a super shallow reason like 'you're a mage' under the assumption all mages were basically the same person."
"I did. Do? I mean it's not really the same, but I can relate to some things. I'm just surprised you trust me enough to just unload like that."
"Eh, what can I say? You just have one of those faces." Yes. Finally. His goal in life has been met. Someone finally said he had a trustworthy face. "Ah crap. I was talking so long I let the tea get cold." He grumbled as he looked at his cup. "I'm gonna go make some more. You want any? You strike me as a tea person." He asked as he got up to head to the kitchen.
Tea? You mean disgusting leaf water? That putrid and vile straining of water through dirty pungent leaves and mints with little splecks of dirt and gross and blech. Elias hated tea. Even more then he hated chocolate. At least with chocolate you could cook it into fun little things and mask the taste. You can't cook tea. Trust him, hes tried. In fact just mentioning he looked like he likes tea was basically an insult against him. What kind of person 'looks like' they like tea? Someone with no sense of taste? And here Isaac goes, asking Elias if he wants any tea. Blech. "Oh, uh. Yeah, sure. I guess."
Well Elias didn't want to be rude. Elias watched as Isaac left the room, until he was left all alone. Finally having a moment to himself to really let what was happening sink in. He had been mindlessly walking somewhere, and collapsed in the middle of nowhere. He had no idea where he was outside of 'somewhere in Etruria maybe'. He's been in this wooden shack the entire time, and despite it being deceptively cozy, it was also a bit disorienting. His body ached, and his mind was buzzing like a swarm of locusts were flying around up there.
Where had he been going? Why had he been going? He couldn't answer either of these questions, a disturbing realization. Even now, in this light rest where he finally had some company besides a grumpy horse, where he was comfortable and being fed (he assumed he'd be fed) and capable of taking it easy, he still wanted to move. To go. To him the desire to go east never died, it just stopped screaming quite so loud. He could finally hear other thoughts. Like how much his feet hurt. Ugh. He should fix that.
He pushed off the chair to stand up, well he did in his mind. In reality his legs weren't cooperating. He could feel them tense up like they were going to move, but they lacked the all to important actually moving bit. They weren't like jelly, as many people commonly referred to their body, no Elias' legs were more like a refined preservative or marmalade. He grunted a bit in effort as he pushed again, he managed to shift his legs but not really 'get up'. Huh. He was fine a minute ago. Maybe his taking a break just made his legs decide to go 'welp, done for the day. Pack it in folks' Friggen freeloader legs. He should evict them.
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 16, 2015 14:00:53 GMT -6
"So yeah, I can hear you grunting from the other room. What's going on in here. Do I need to leave you alone?" A voice calls through the home, wooden and cozy but not very good at hiding noise. Elias sighed, throwing his head back with a ghastly 'Uggggghhhh' Not exactly the response Isaac had been looking for. "That bad huh?" The exasperation in Elias' groan didn't even bother hiding. How lazy. "Gimme a minute, I'm putting the tea on." Isaac added as Elias resigned to his fate to be permanently paralyzed and stuck in this chair for the rest of eternity. There's worse fates to be sure, at least the chair was comfy, but it wasn't how he planned to spend his youth.
There was a wooden wall that separated whatever this room could be called with whatever that room could be called. Parlor? Maybe? Place didn't seem fancy enough for a parlor. More like a study really. Then again the room Elias woke up was more study-ish then this one. Shoot there's a name for it, a room where you live. Hrm. In either case it wasn't an overly familiar sight. His homes as a child were filled with books and papers and picture and priceless artifacts and all that good stuff. The living rooms were a study, the bedrooms were a study, the washing room was a study, the study was a double study, basically if there were a place to do anything, it was eventually stolen to become a study.
Heath liked to keep his studies separate, so each room was dedicated to a different kind of research. The actual study was the crux of his Heath's research in magic, but the other rooms each had their own little focus. It depended on which home they were in at the time really. His home in Ostia, for instance, had a lot of information on dead forms of magic such as Scrying and Alchemy. The book of scrying was a topic he came across multiple times in the research, Elias kind of regret he never managed to tell Heath that the book wasn't really a book, but a ruin. Also that Elias blew the ruin up. Whoops. Meanwhile in Santuraz he stored many books about the heroes of yore, and the war of the scouring. Athos, Elimine, Roland, and so on. Heath actually believed that Roland's tomb was actually located somewhere in Ostia, but he never even got the permission to look for it from the Marquess.
It's a shame monsters weren't a thing back then, Elias was absolutely certain that Heath would have researched it. Elias learned almost everything he knew from second-hand reading those research books and reports and journals and blah. They were boring, but the information inside was just so interesting! It must be a funny thought, to see Elias sitting there calmly reading a book, but he did it often. He still does actually. It was how he relaxed. Well that and cooking. Cooking carried it's own set of expectations and stress though, so it wasn't always a good thing. Especially if he was cooking for someone else, he would always strive to make it beyond good, beyond great, beyond excellent, no he wanted legendary! Which was fun in it's own way, but sometimes he would get so caught up in his cooking that he would forget to actually relax. Elias was the type of person that didn't do well with downtime, even when he wasn't doing anything he felt compelled to do something, even if it was reading. At least he was learning then.
That reminded him, all those books... He should go through them and return them to the magic academy and libraries they were borrowed from. Undoubtedly some of those books were basically so overdue they were stolen. Actually if he sold all the books his father had he'd probably be sitting on a small fortune, not that he would of course because what if he needed them?
"Alright." Isaac said from the other room, interrupting Elias' thoughts. What was he thinking about again? Hrm... Rooms? Something like that. Whatever, didn't matter. "I hope you like ginger." Isaac added as he came back into the room, a grin on his face. He went over to the fireplace and began to poke at it with one of those metal pokey things. The flame brightened up a bit as the color and heat sort of shimmied around the room. Mostly on Isaac's face. Elias was distracted though, trying to dissect what it was that the shaman said. Ginger? Ginger what? "It's a cold day, and I thought it might help warm us up." What was this guy talking about? "Ginger has always... Elias?" He turned to Elias to talk, but stopped. Looking at Elias and squinting his eyes. "You look confused, what's wrong? You don't want any tea?" Was he talking about tea? Do you put ginger in tea? What? Why? That... Why. Who would do that?
Elias shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing. Just had to work something out in my head." That did not sound appetizing, but then again neither did tea in the first place.
"Alright..." Isaac looked suspiciously at him, but Elias only grinned. "So. What were you working yourself into a froth over in here?" He asked as he sat the pokey metal thing back besides the fireplace, standing straight up again.
"Ah, my legs don't work."
He furrowed his brow. "Were you trying to get up?"
"Kind of." Elias knew no shame.
He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Ugh, I leave for ten seconds and you're already trying to make a break for it."
"What? No. I just needed to get something from my pile of junk sitting neatly in the corner. Only my legs were all like 'no thank you' and died on me."
"Oh, what did you need?" He turned to look at the junk pile that had been Elias' things. Honestly Elias carried far more then what should be possible on his person. Mostly a lot of tomes, there was a knife in there too, oh and his research journal he always needed that. Most of his books where in Demon's saddlebags... Where the heck was Demon anyways?
"My staff. Y'know, the big shiny one... Well it's not so shiny right now actually." Huh, odd. It was always like 'bam I'm blinding you with gaudiness and flair' when he had it. Even when he sat it down it didn't, like, die or anything. It was hard to tell before with the weak fire, but now that it's been poked around the light was better in the room, and Elias could clearly see that the gold had faded into a kinda ugly dull yellowy color. "Huh. Weird."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 17, 2015 9:40:24 GMT -6
"This staff?" Isaac asked as he grabbed it, holding it up a bit and tilting his head as he examined it. Elias couldn't blame him, looks alone implied it was just a gaudy golden stick. Or something like gold, like a dull gross gold mixed with metals and fake. Was the staff even golden in the first place? Maybe he should bite it to see. Or not. That was dumb. Point was that the staff seemed to have lost its luster, literally in this case. Elias has never seen it that way before, it's always been sort of blinding and gloriously gilded like he was just holding a cane made of money. Honestly he was surprised he didn't get mugged more often, well he was surprise people didn't attempt to mug him. Of course they would never succeed. Instead they'd be blown up. With ice? Eh. Ice wasn't as blow-uppy, always bummed him out. "I can't even tell what kind it is, never seen it before. Looks kinda... uh..."
"Junky?" Elias finished for him.
"I was trying to be polite, but yeah." He was right, it did look junky. "I mean when I found you it I tried to see what kind of staff it was, but it wouldn't react. No matter what I tried, the staff didn't do anything. I figured it was just an ornamental walking stick or something like that. Not an actual magic using staff."
"So... it's looked like that since you found me? And it didn't magic stuffs?"
"Uh... no? It didn't 'magic stuffs'." Oh don't you air quote at Elias Isaac, it's a futile effort. s
"Huh. Odd." Elias muttered to himself. It was odd, he's never known it to do that. Well he's never actually stared at it while he was asleep or anything, maybe it just sort of... turned off? Or maybe he was just asleep for so much longer then usual it ran out of Elias juice? The whole 'someone else trying and not working' thing didn't surprise him, Matrona was a picky girl and didn't listen to no one. Not even Elias most of the time. It was like its own entity that Elias asked for help, almost like a spirit. Together they made magic, but it wasn't like other staffs where it all came from one source. There was something more, a will inside the staff. Like a magic weapon, a feeling, and emotion, but not true thoughts, not true sentience. Just as Wyatt's fire axe responded to his passion and determination, Matrona responded to Elias. Elias' what? Well he wasn't sure really. Some quality he had that drove him forward, and only his. Well his and Valorians. What was that kid up to these days? Hopefully he found the rest Elias knew he wanted.
"What's odd?" Isaac's curiosity was piqued.
"Matrona. She doesn't usually look like that." Elias explained, which only prompted more questions.
"Matrona?" Isaac asked, looking at Elias, then the staff, then back to Elias. "It's a matrona staff? Never heard of that spell, kinda esoteric. Most staves are named basically what they do. Heal heals, strength strengthens, war-"
"Oh no, it's not a spell. It's the staff's name." Elias interrupted his misunderstanding before it went to far.
"Its... name. Uh huh." He squinted his eyes. "Maybe you should lay down Elias."
"I don't see how that'd help." The meaning behind the comment went completely over Elias' head. "The staff is named Matrona. She's picky, don't worry if she doesn't listen to you. She doesn't listen to me all the time either."
"She? Did you... name this staff after some girl?"
"Why would I do that? That's dumb." Elias scoffed. "I didn't name it, that's just what she's called."
"You're speaking about the staff like it's a person. I mean look at it." He gestured at the staff in his hand. "It's a stick."
"Wow, way to be narrow minded."
"I just... Okay nevermind. I'll believe you for now. This 'Matrona' who gave it to you?"
"A zombie."
"Elias please."
"I'm being serious, a person brought back to life. His name was... Valorian? Or was it Lumino? Honestly it's all kinda of confusing. He said the staff chose me, he called it 'Holy Maiden' though. He thought it was Elimine's staff." Elias crossed his arms, nodding, recalling.
"Elimi- Elimine's staff?! Are you serious!?" Wow that really caught his attention.
"No, unfortunately. It's not Elimine's staff. Still it's something... powerful. Different. I never read about it in any history books about any heroes. It just sort of showed up, and I have no clue of what it is."
"Oh. I see." He sounded disappointed. Elias was sort of disappointed too when he found out. "If it's not Holy Maiden, and the person who gave it to you said it was, how on earth did you get 'Matrona'?"
"Oh." Elias suddenly thought. "Oh wow." He never thought that before. "Actually... I don't know. Hrm." It's just been Matrona so long he didn't even know when it got that way. "No one ever told me." How did he find out? "I mean... I just sort of knew that was its name one day. Like you remember something and go 'yeah that's right' only this was a memory that wasn't mine in the first place." That was interesting. Could it be... "I think Matrona herself told me."
"Alright, I was with you on the zombies. Now you've lost me. This whole story sounds ridiculous"
"It kinda does, doesn't it?" He never gave it much thought. The nature of his staff seemed to change on its own accord, and it was the least he could do to try and keep up. Of course he always intrinsically knew the limits, but never recalled learning them. He just knew what to do, how to do it, and what would not work. He remembered not knowing these things, but never when he learned them. It just sort of... popped in his head one day. Sort of like this whole trek to Etruri- Wait. Wait. Was... Was Matrona responsible for all of this?
Elias finally sighed, he couldn't explain something he didn't know himself. Well he could try, goodness knows he does that all the time, but it didn't mean anything if the person he's talking to didn't believe him. "Look, I can't make any more sense of it then you. Just hand me the darn thing, I'll show you. Alright?"
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 17, 2015 12:21:18 GMT -6
He seemed suspicious, but it was Elias' staff so he very well couldn't keep it. Well not without being a huge jerk and stealing it, not like Elias could do much to stop him. Maybe he could crawl to his tomes and fling baby spells or maybe just the book, that might be better then whatever spells he could muster up right about now. Hopefully Isaac isn't a jerk, though he didn't seem to be. That was good, most people who help Elias after he collapses from working too hard tend to be nice people. The fact it's happened so often Elias has created a stereotype for it was probably troubling.
Isaac shrugged and brought the dull looking dirty gold staff to Elias, who was still pretty much chairbound at the moment. Hopefully that would be fixed with the staff. "Here." He handed the staff into Elias' hand, and as soon as the metal touched his hand Elias felt something off. Something... wrong. Like... hrm...
"Odd..." Elias muttered.
"What?" Isaac said. "I didn't quite catch that."
"Oh, nothing." Elias brushed it off. Isaac wouldn't understand, Elias wasn't sure he understood himself. It was like Matrona was... not scared. That wasn't right. Hiding though, like the darkness that overcame the staff was a sort of defense. Hiding under the covers like a frightened child. It didn't have that familiar feeling he's grown used. So used to that he didn't even realize it was there until it had changed. What had happened? Was it related to this whole Etruria business? Think Elias, what was the last thing you remember? Before waking up he... He was in the city of heroes. Hargus had... He had been defeated and... Afterwards it was all a blur.
Wait did he still have that skull? He remembered he got it... somehow? Why did he take it? Maybe he just missed skully. Still that was scarcely the point. After the city of heroes he couldn't remember anything. There was feelings lost in that haze, thoughts but not memories. A desire to keep moving, a desire to go to Etruria, but why? When did he start moving? These were questions he didn't understand and had no answers for, and what happened to Matrona, could it be related?
Elias looked at Isaac, who had a 'well?' look on his face. Like he was anticipating something exciting. Though Elias did promise something exciting so really it was the Crimson Mage's fault here. Elias slid his hand up the staff, gripping just below the bejeweled bauble that stood as its top. He brought that near to his chest as he hovered his other hand over it, like he was about to touch it but never did. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath. Breathing in and then slowly breathing out, he let the within him slowly bleed out and into his staff. Not all at once, but gradually. He wasn't forcing anything, but calling to it, it sounded silly but he was sort of just letting Matrona know he's here.
The gem glowed a light but dull blue, like a dirty crystal. There we go. Elias let a bit more of his magic go, and the staff seemed to glow in response. Like someone was dripping water on it from above, a wave overcame the surface of the staff. The dirt, the grime, the darkness slowly chipped away as it was engulfed in magic. The sheen and luster of the staff began to grow as Elias connected with it. The dull gold became glittering once more and the gem that looked more like dirty glass returned to the brilliant sapphire hues. The staff was being sort of 'washed' with magic, filling it and returning it to the stave's original quality. The fear and hiding within vanished, though Elias still felt at edge. Was he the one feeling that? Or was that Matrona? He couldn't tell.
He opened his eyes and took another deep breath. "There we go." He sounded calm. He shifted his hold on the staff, bringing his hand back down, and then rose it in the air. The blue light it shone before paled to the light it bore now. A calm baby blue glow that filled the air around his with the familiar tingling of magic. The sores and pains in his body began to ease, the sores and blisters on his feet healed in moments, and the aches he felt with every moment were dulled. Not removed, but the severity went from a shrieking pain to a dull roar, old and familiar. Like the soreness in an arm broken years ago on a rainy day. He still needed rest, no amount of magic could ever- well not no amount, just no amount that Elias could muster right now. Matrona has never shown a level of healing like it had when he saved Wyatt, and that was fine, Elias would not greedily demand such things of it. He just always knew it was capable of more, more then it freely gave. The staff was a mystery that remained unknown to everyone, especially Elias.
"Uh." Isaac said in awe. Elias turned to look at him and... was he always standing so far away? He looked surprised. "Um..." He muttered when he noticed Elias looking at him. "Alright. I think I might believe you."
"Oh?" Elias said, all smug and coy and crap.
"I've never seen a staff do something like that. That was more like a magic weapon bound to a spirit then a staff." Exactly, see Isaac knew his stuff. "So it having a name, and a gender apparently, along with it sort of putting thoughts in your mind, it makes more sense. I mean I never heard a staff doing something like that, but as I said. I know enough to know I know nothing."
Elias chuckled. "Well don't feel left out, I know just as little as you do. All I got are my theories." He shrugged. He put the bottom of the staff on the wooden floors, and using it like a walking stick he manage to to clamber back to his feet. "Ssssssooooo..." He grunted as he pushed his self up. His feet hurt a whole lot less, but his body still didn't want to listen. "Do you have a mirror anywhere? I'm sure my hair is a mess."
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Nov 17, 2015 16:14:15 GMT -6
"Your hair is fine Elias."
"Oh Isaac, so sweet, lying to me like that." His hair was a mess even on the best of days, permanent hat hair one might say. Messy and wild, for someone who cares so much about his clothing he's never paid much attention to the appearance of the person in it. Speaking of his clothes... "Ugh. these clothes reek." Covered in sweat stains and dirt, his robe was closer to tattered rags then what he was used to. He'd need to sow some new ones later, which was fine he was feeling due for a change of wardrobe anyways. He was thinking... tailcoat. Riding pants too, it chafed something fierce up there on demon. Oh Elias, there you go, basically crippled and already coming up with a new outfit.
"I have some clothes you can borrow if you need to but... ah..." Isaac trailed off. "I'm... um... You're..." Elias looked at him, his head titled and his eyes all big and innocent. "Oh geez how do I put this?"
"Put what?"
"You're kinda short Elias."
"WHAT!?" If Elias wasn't crippled he'd kick Isaac's ass! "If I wasn't crippled I'd kick your ass!"
"I-I don't, I mean, I-I don't mean anything, y'know, by it. It's just I-I dunno if they'll fit." Elias just glared. He knew Isaac was taller. He KNEW. That didn't mean he liked it.
Elias slumped his shoulder with a sigh. He was ready to go waving his staff around and whack him over the head, but... Well it was true. No amount of personal indignation or barely constrained bloodlust and fury changed facts. He was just a bit sore about it is all. "Fine." He groaned. No reason to get bent out of shape. Well more out of shape. He was pretty much barely in a coherent shape at all right now honestly.
"Really Elias, I didn't mean any-" Elias just held up a hand as if to say 'drop it' which Isaac thankfully did. "I'll go and get them, I'm sure I'll find something. There's a mirror in the room you woke up in, if you desperately need to fix your hair that badly. Be careful now, you're still on the mend. I know healing helps, but I also know it by no means fixes everything."
"Yeah... Yeah." Elias gripes, looking at the doorway that led to the other room.
"The tea should be done soon too, I'll bring you the clothes once I find them, alright." He looked at Elias expectantly, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah." Isaac nodded with a grin as he turned and began to walk away. Meanwhile Elias stopped for a moment, silent. "Hey Isaac." Just before the shaman left Elias stopped him.
"What?"
"Thanks." Isaac stopped for a moment, but then smiled. Nodding his head he left for, what Elias assumed, was his room. Two bedrooms, a kitchen, some kind of living room. It seemed Elias' room was more of a study then an actual second bedroom though. After all Isaac didn't seem to live with anyone... Or... or did he? Was there some kind of wife hidden just out of view? Ugh. He hoped not, it was already awkward enough as it is.
Using his staff for support, he walked over to his pile of junk first of all. Once there he swiped that hat sitting on the top before wobbling off.
The room was filled with more light now, it's been at least an hour or two since he's woke up and the sun's raised since then. He had wondered if he woke up in the middle of the night or super early in the morning. Sometimes it was hard to tell, especially when it was the colder months. Seems like it was early, Elias always woke up early even when he woke up super late. Since there was more light he was able to get a better look around. The home was still filled with a homey warmth from the fire in the next room, he could still feel it in here. Still no door, just a doorway. Still twin bookcases filled with books, there was a desk in the corner he missed the first time around too. It was more of a vague dark blob before. It was pushed up against the far wall, and the morning sun coming through the window made it much easier to see.
On the desk was an inkwell, a quill setting besides it, an assortment of parchment neatly assorted in the center. Honestly the room was very tidy. Which was good and all, Elias has cleaned up a billion times before, but when it came to research he was just a mess. His books strewn everywhere, papers half written on then tossed aside for other papers to write on, doodles in the margins, clothes all over the floor, bits of food laying around. Kinda gross really, he just always got so caught up in everything that all other things sort of get forgotten. Probably got that from Heath. When he was ready to take a break, it usually consisted of spending half a day just cleaning up the mess. Point is, this place seemed way too organized for Elias to concentrate. It was too organized, how could you find anything?
Ah, there's a mirror. A hand mirror. Sitting at the edge of the desk, no wonder he missed it first go around. Especially since he didn't know the desk existed in the first place. Nothing fancy, but it would do. He hoped for a tall mirror, but he probably would have noticed that before. Bummer. He picked the thing off the table, and as he stared at it for a moment a whistling noise went off in the background. The tea. Joy. C'mon Elias, focus on trivial unimportant things like this mirror. He could probably come up with, like, a thousand different unfounded theories based off it. Like 'Isaac is secretly super vain' or 'this is a magical artifact' or 'this is made of crystal! Isaac must be loaded.' It wasn't though, it was super standard. Which was fine and all, the mirror bit was the only part that mattered.
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