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Post by Jalid Al-Qabbad on May 15, 2017 19:39:31 GMT -6
"It is a harsh world that exposes children to such conflict. That would set neighbors upon themselves in such a way, and with such wrath. However I can say this. These Misfortune's you claim to bring may very well seem daunting however... If my life has taught me anything it is that those who matter will find these misfortunes trifling. Loss is inevitable. No matter how immortal one may seem...all things must eventually die. Do not blame yourself for a death you did not directly strike down, and do not fear for it."
Jalid slowly rose the brigand up. Lifting him as the man struggled and though a large hand covered his mouth, grunted with muffled protest. Jalid took a few steps forwards, his large body obscuring Althea's sight of the his next action as he swiftly crashed the right side of his palm back into the man's skull. Hitting the temple and with a fleshy thud, knocking him out once more. His left hand kept the body aloft though and he turned to lay the man upon the bed Jalid himself had occupied the night prior. Unlike him though, this man could actually occupy it without the discomfort of it being too small. He placed a sheet over the mans body before turning to face her once more while speaking in a stronger tone.
"I have rendered him unconscious. If he awakens, and can survive his wound, perhaps this encounter will have helped him change his ways. Perhaps he will return to his master. Either way a knowing choice will have been made. He will go back knowing what he might face and can make an informed decision if he would knowingly cast his life aside from there."
He folded his arms over his broad chest once more, speaking upon her earlier words with a bit of un-asked opinion being inserted.
"Power and the ability to kill do not determine ones use on their own. Nor their survivability. Many die prematurely, but countless also live full lives. Not all of these are powerful individuals. My own father is a scholar. A philosopher. He does not brandish the power you mages do and is probably worse with a blade of any kind than you might imagine yourself to be. Yet he has lived a long and healthy life without disaster claiming him. Not...for lack of trying, as mother tells it. The lengths some go through to obtain a simple answer... AH!"
He clapped his palm to his side with a booming laugh before grinning a bit.
"Bahaha! Perhaps that is simply what you need. Scholars, if my father's life is any indication seem to have the greatest luck when it comes to survival! He'd spin it as misfortune or bad luck like you, to have bad events transpire in his presence. But I would argue it is good luck to yet be breathing eh? HAHAHA!"
He slapped his palm to his knee meatily before grinning down at her. Shadowy thoughts of genocide chased from his mind.
"You will find your place. Others no doubt will become a part of that place with you."
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Post by Althea on May 15, 2017 20:27:38 GMT -6
The idea of... trial bringing forth strength... was something that the Althea might have laughed to Jalid's face in reaction to. Rude and ill considered as it may have been. If not outwardly, then certainly she would have belittled him in her mind. By accepting that, one accepted that struggle was necessary, in turn becoming part of the problem; by perpetuating the eternal struggle you only created more of it. At least... that was what she had believed. At the time, it had seemed self evident. Now, she wasn't so sure. Her trials and tribulations HAD strengthened her. As a mage, and as a human. She was not necessarily a better person than she had been then. But she had saved lives. Not exactly made many friends, granted. THAT was a work in progress to put it lightly. But she had helped aid in the continued existence of others, some of them agreeable. And in turn, she had ended lives. Deservedly, Althea believed. She could not brook any other answer. But she had taken them nonetheless, and in the search for meaning she could but hope that doing so had saved others in turn.
Jalid's surprisingly soft actions surprised her. In truth Althea had assumed that his death was already a foregone conclusion. She could but nod initially to Jalid's commentary, not sure how to react to it. A more... cold part of her noted that he could be used, unknowingly or otherwise, to carry the message back to his captain that further interference would be unwise. Though it was best to allow him to do as he pleased, the unwitting option. It would be his decision, his life, to do with as he pleased. Whether for better or for worse. Freedom to use or waste as desired. "Yes, that seems best."
She wasn't exactly sure what to make of Jalid's story of his parents. Apparently the mother wore the pants so to speak going by how Jalid spoke of it, but her interest was more in the note of his seemingly helpless father apparently living quite a long and happy life in spite of his lack of fighting ability. She wasn't sure if that would work for her. In fact she was fairly certain it wouldn't. Althea's desire was... she wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but it was not to be completely dependent on anyone else, no matter how mutual an agreement it was. But Jalid did make a strong argument for the usefulness of companions... friends... nonetheless. And what she was unwilling to do alone, Althea was not as adverse to the doing with an equal.Relying on another in the heat of battle, both contributing, was not the same as being complete deadweight. At least not as far as she was concerned.
"Yes. You are right. Power is not all that exists, nor the final word in value. But I for one would like to at least contribute in my own way rather than relying entirely on others. In part yes. But without the ability to decide my own destiny, I am... less." The shaman looked down, staring at her hands for a moment in contemplative silence. When had she become someone who would actually pursue power, even for a goal? The nobility mattered not, only that she had such desires at all. Was that good? Bad? Growth or failure? She simply did not know. "Not to say I resent your aid in the least. I am not fool enough to think that I can handle everything myself. But I have had enough of being deadweight." Althea looked up, smiling lightly. "Though I do not think I can go through everything in my path as you do, it is nonetheless something I will endeavor to learn from in my own way."
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Post by Jalid Al-Qabbad on May 15, 2017 20:58:05 GMT -6
Though he could merely nod in acceptance of her words initially, he found himself grinning none the less. Everyone had their own path to walk and their own way to find and light the path. That she took to her own and did not conform to another purely because he suggested it was a good sign. Jalid paused before stroking the stubble and beard along his chin. Words thoughtful despite the boom that carried them.
"This is good though, that you would not attempt to walk the path that I do. I do not think you are suited for it. Not to mention the difference in talents. Just remember though. It is what you do with the power you have that matters most. No, you are not meant I think to crash through every wall before you. However I've no doubt you will move that wall none the less when the time comes. Or perhaps remove it entirely! Humanity has always held a respectable tenacity. One that is essential as a race, and can never be discounted. The spirit to never give up. Though that might seem something to scoff at, you'll no doubt be glad for it when the odds weigh so heavily on your shoulders that each step is a strain. Ever breath a struggle. Yet the drive to go on will somehow surface. Trust me. You might've even experienced this for your own!"
A few backwards steps found broad shoulders pressed to the wall behind him and him leaning more comfortably while folding his arms. Of-course it was absolutely normal to him to hold a conversation in a room with an unconscious potentially dying man. Normal simply meaning something that did not disturb him and that he could easily accept. Though Jalid's gaze fixed mostly on Althea, his thoughts were still partially elsewhere.
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Post by Althea on May 15, 2017 21:41:32 GMT -6
Ha ha. Not suited. Yeah, that was the nice way of putting it. The more accurate way of putting it would be to say that Althea would most likely break long before any walls in her path if she attempted to... push her way through as he did. But hey, whatever worked for the big lug, right? Apparently it gave him superpowers. Or maybe he just didn't know that getting hit with an axe was supposed to kill people. Should... should she tell him? Hm. It felt like telling a child that Satan Claws wasn't real, or that the easter bael didn't bring its brood to - wait was she remembering the wrong legends again? Ehhh no biggie. Point was, if it worked for him, she wouldn't question his lifestyle choices. Or apparel choices. She would prefer more of a shirt, but, well, to each their own.
Oh wait what if she just exploded the wall? A-doy, Althea, think with your magic and not with your skinny little noodle arms. There we go. Solved in a properly Jalid-esque wa-oh god no brain STOP. Hm. Humans? Something about how he worded that seemed a little awkward for some reason, but in fairness a lot of what he said was worded differently from, say, normal people talk, so probably best not to look too far into it. "Something like that I suppose," she agreed a little hesitantly, "though more commonly just, er, a frustrated desire to get things working right again. Surprisingly often the application of a little force serves to knock the internal mechanics of ancient devices back into place" Okay maybe that was a little bit too much honesty? But was there even such a thing as too much - nevermind change the subject ABORT ABORT ABORT "So. Jalid! What is it that you do for a... living?" Breaking through walls, and doors, and people on a regular basis had to get expensive. She wanted to ask if it was mercenary work, but people tended to get offended by that for some reason. "I - I research magical artifacts and ancient archeotech primarily, arcane construction techniques, and a few side ventures when the fancy strikes me. And, um, magic in general I guess."
Real smooth, Althea. Best friend of the year material right there. 'Hey I'm a huge nerd do you want to be friends.'
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Post by Jalid Al-Qabbad on May 16, 2017 14:56:05 GMT -6
Ancient devises eh? Like old ruins? That'd make sense given her obvious emphasis as an intellectual type. He didn't have to try very hard to imagine her doing any form of study or research, that was certain.
Him?
A living?
Jalid started laughing in his booming tone. Chest shaking, shoulders jostling and head thrown back with zero restrain as his muscled figure shook with laughter. Perhaps he was simply used to being able to live a free open life style, but the idea of him bound to a singular occupation gave him even more reason to smile and laugh. He was far to mobile in present times. But at the same time, it wouldn't do to ignore her question. Even he knew that was rude. So after a moment he settled his laughter and spoke with a smile upon his lips.
"I...wander. A-lot. The currency I do acquire is often from assisting others with little things. Moving crates or anvils or wares. Sometimes I am paid for defending others if I wander upon them in dire need. Other times I am simply compensated for small tasks with food and bedding. This aspect at-least is not new to me, and it is nice to see some things never change."
As she confirmed his thoughts as to her academic life-style he couldn't help but widen his beaming grin again with another laugh brewing on the horizon.
"So you go on wonderful spelunking adventures then eh? Wonderful! Observing the past is the best way to see the future, my father always said. Though he also spends about every waking minute in the past. Though I suppose I don't blame him too much. So you like to delve into ruins eh? I imagine you've had a few good fights then?"
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Post by Althea on May 16, 2017 15:54:02 GMT -6
Wandering. Heh. THAT did sound somewhat familiar if not in the same way he spoke of it. Her work, her studies, certainly kept Althea quite mobile. In spurts at least. Often it would be a few weeks or months spent sedentary, compiling and coalescing her data before returning to travel. Jalid apparently took the wandering thing a lot more seriously than her, for its own sake. She wasn't sure she could do that herself, but it certainly sounded almost - noble? Was that the word? Something akin to that at any rate. "Interesting... the journey is its own destination, then? I travel a great deal, but generally only to move from one site of interest to another. Though of late it seems that there are so very many to investigate and so little time to spend at each." She smiled sadly at the thought, unenthused with the idea of losing her in depth examinations but admittedly not entirely against this strange new world.
Because after all. Even if she had lost some things. She had gained a great deal more. This new life was almost... exciting, if she dared say it, despite the constant danger. To be able to rely on herself rather than entire expeditions completely revamped the very concept of availability timeframes. It was no longer necessary to try to get into an expedition to a certain set of ruins in four months; she could simply travel there on her own, clear out whatever monsters happened to be there, and then study it at her leisure. The fallen ruins, the tantalizing development of hints to Nan Madol - all spoke to newfound opportunities. Opportunities that many of her contemporaries would kill to have. Possibly literally.
She wasn't totally sold on the fighting bits, though. Something she and Jalid apparently varied a bit on. "I have had to fight for knowledge a number of times yes. One of the most interesting encounters was in Nabata, alongside another shaman. We entered ruins that I had identified as being related to Nan Madol, if you've heard of it. Well, we did not find the fallen city within, but certainly an array of animate statues and magic coalescence towers, and a strange... orb of darkness within. More importantly, clues to follow in hopes of continuing that search!"
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Post by Jalid Al-Qabbad on May 16, 2017 18:45:37 GMT -6
"Oh, my journey has a destination. It is not a where though that you can find on a map..but a who. People to find. Family. So I wander until I've found them. Your traveling likely has more plotted points along it. Looking to a map and hearing of some location after researching it. Mine...goes similarly but differently at the same time. I ask about individuals and have to merely go where the information takes me. Though...it has run dry lately. This town was a dead end and the trail goes cold."
Jalid slowly pushed his left hand, curled as it was into his right palm. Each large digit popped at each connecting joint while he tightened his fist before he repeated this gesture but in mirrored palms. Jalid's left shoulder lifted. Despite his wound he flexed the muscles and rolled his neck slightly while pivoting his chin. Another series of rippling cracks and pops rumbled audible before he alternated sides and did the same. Though there was some frustration to be released from that gesture he primarily did it to relax his body and its wounded section while asserting a universal sense of comfort over his large frame. He listened to Althea speak further. Ahhh. A name he recognized?
"Nan Madol. Now that is a name I've not heard in what feels like lifetimes. I do not know that you'd find it within Nabata but if ever a place were to remain hidden so well to elude even the greatest scholars...it would likely be beneath the endless sands. Countless civilizations no doubt have some presence beneath the great dunes. Though I am not surprised the ruins you did find were guarded I can say I am impressed! Surviving the desert is no easy feat for one so young. Let alone the dangers within it! You posses a strength many others within humanities expanse would not. If you can find clues there, all of Elibe will no doubt be bare for you to search should you figure out where to look."
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Post by Althea on May 16, 2017 21:10:22 GMT -6
"Family..." A myriad spectrum of emotions flickered through the mask Althea always wore, positive and negative alike, as she forced herself to remain in control, intellectually and emotionally. Would that her only issue was how to find her family. No, she could find them just fine. It might have been nearly a decade, but locating the area would be child's play; she still remembered it as though it were yesterday. She just didn't have any reason to do so. To be reminded of what she already knew would be cruelty most certain. But rather than despondent sorrow, she could not help but feel a bit of happiness in how Jalid spoke at least. He was simply concerned with the where. "...I hope you find them soon, Jalid. That you are all reunited as if nothing had changed." There was no reason to hope for anything of the sort herself. To be reunited with HER family would involve either suicide or necromancy, neither of them exactly appealing prospects, and if Eliminism was on to something - well - Althea didn't think she was going to the same place as good people.
That was all she could manage on the subject. Not out of vindictiveness, but the simple fact that the dark mage COULDN'T think of anything else to say. She had no interest or intent in sharing her situation, only in hoping that his went better than hers had. On the bright side, he DID offer a very... VERY easy ticket out of ruminating on that. There wasn't much that could grab the studious shaman's attention faster than recognizing the name Nan Madol - her magnum opus so to speak. Or at least a testament to her incredibly single minded stubbornness. Little of both. "Well now. You ARE well read." The shaman nodded approvingly, almost preening in the spotlight as the subject turned to her interests; she hadn't exactly thought poorly of Jalid before this, but with that revelation he jumped up several notches to be sure. "It is well hidden. But I believe that I have gathered enough clues to move to the next phase. It was a city legendary for its magic and that magic is what hides it still. But I will break through that veil. There is little that can hide from an orderly mind with sufficient determination!"
...Ok maybe she was talking mad crap but the difference was that Althea actually did believe what she was saying. The magic inherent to that orb suggested several... unlikely explanations - but as a wise man once said, when you removed the impossible, whatever remained, no matter how unlikely, must be the answer. And she had several explanations worth testing. Even if, er, planar shifting, time dilation, city-scale dimensional gating, and grand scale geomancy all seemed unlikely. At least by modern standards. But they would all explain why it had been gone so long, that no one had found it. Someone did NOT want to be found. And if the legends were true, they might still not want to be found. Of course that only made it all the more imperative that she ripped away their shell. For knowledge!
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Post by Jalid Al-Qabbad on May 16, 2017 21:42:26 GMT -6
"...I hope you find them soon, Jalid. That you are all reunited as if nothing had changed."
Jalid smiled down at her. Able to enhance his calm for a moment as the mighty dragon let out his booming laugh while meatily clapping a previously closed fist against his hip. His gaze lightning up somewhat as he nodded towards her confidently. He might've not felt that same confidence within at that precise moment but he was never one to shy from an obstacle. At-least...
No. He didn't shy away. Jalid couldn't help but appreciate her well wishes though, no matter her knowledge on the truth of the event.
"I thank you for your kind words. I am sure I will soon enough. It has only been a year since I left Nabata to find them."
Right. So he could say Nabata but he had to make sure he didn't accidentally blurt out Arcadia. For a human she was far smarter than average. Albeit he hadn't exactly met a fair number of humans to the level he had and was now interacting with Althea at but he could tell from the interactions that they had shared thus far. So the chance of her recognizing it was high one, and two, she could clearly navigate the desert safely. Which meant she was highly likely to at-least manage some kind of results.
Jalid widened his grin a bit when she praised him. Though he cared little for praise, her excitement was a tad contagious.
Hah! Him? Excited? Perish the thought.
Jalid nodded as she began to speak though, while imaging her within the caves and ruins she no doubt had to plumb for secrets. He did agree with her on that end though. Her determination was marvelous to see. It was something he could appreciate, truly.
"That's the spirit! Right you are! If you've the passion and the mind, nothing can escape your grasp, bahahaha!"
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Post by Althea on May 17, 2017 1:23:19 GMT -6
A year could be a very long time to wait, or not that long, depending on one's perspective. Of course Althea had no concept of just HOW different her and Jalid's ah, understanding of time could be, so she simply took the statement at face value. "It still shows an admirable level of patience and dedication. Something that far too many individuals do not see the value in. Even if it is but one in the sixty to eighty years of an average human lifespan, that three hundred and sixty-five days spent on a singular task require a great deal of focus nonetheless. The strength to persevere despite hardship. To accept temporary uncertain outcomes in the certain belief of greater success." It was something she was quite familiar with and believed in very strongly, so there was neither flattery nor need to force herself in those honest words.
Thankfully he seemed rather accepting of her little rambling rant about Nan Madol, which was more than most could say about her 'obsession' as the simple minded fools liked to call it. Where was your Arcadia NOW, bitches? Just as god damn fake as it always was! Err... right anyways. "If nothing else, blind stubbornness tends to solve a great deal of problems. You can't fail if you never admit defeat after all!" Was... was she joking or being absolutely serious? Althea couldn't tell anymore and that was a touch worrying. The moment in which satire became truth.
....And now she had no idea what else to talk about. Wow. Hello autism my old friend I've come to look awkwardly around the room again.
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Post by Jalid Al-Qabbad on May 27, 2017 18:11:36 GMT -6
Right, right. Humans had exceptionally short life-spans. Not a fact he forget per-say, but simply not one he thought of. He could not quite comprehend what a perception of time might be like for those with shorter lives. He would've died tens of times over were he bound to the life-cycle of a human. How little he would have accomplished! It was an astonishing facet to contemplate and explore, and one he very well might have to further delve into if only to appreciate the more immediate fragility of how things were. Something to meditate on if nothing else. Jalid's head nodded slightly as he agreed to her statement. If he did not audibly affirm anything concerning the life-span he could not be telling a lie. To this end he did not dare speak such purely out of respect for this human mage, Althea. Her second statement brought a great laugh from him. Though his shoulders shook and his head drifted upwards as the booming laughter shook the foundation of the reality itself, Jalid flashed a wide grin while clasping his palm to his closed fist before nodding abruptly.
"This is true! The unstoppable force is all the more terrifying behind the immovable object! Gahahaha! Ahh, but I..believe I should take a moment to receive my bearings. I know not where I must go next but must learn of this destination before I prepare for my departure. I am sure my shoulder will mend in do time, and I thank you for the patch-work you administered! Gahaha, It would be hard to reach it on my own! My arms do not quite bend that way. Well, one does not."
He gazed squarely towards Althea with a wide grin.
"Have you learned where you shall go next? Where your next place of study is?"
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Post by Althea on May 27, 2017 19:14:34 GMT -6
Unstoppable forces and immovable objects. Hm. Althea noted that in the legend those two things tended to end up meeting and destroying each other, rather than synergizing. But that said little of her and Jalid, and there was no law that required them to follow the examples of myth. Simply a dour thought to ruin everything as usual. Nothing new there. Outwardly though, she simply smiled wryly at Jalid's boisterously good-natured commentary about direction. That was the problem with being the unstoppable force, she supposed. "Power is meaningless without purpose," she agreed, "and force useless without direction... and resistance." As for whether or not that was actually wisdom incarnate or some bullshit fancy talk for simple concepts, eh, she'd let Jalid decide that much on his own. There was little she could do to help him find his family just yet after all.
"...I simply wish that I had been able to aid you further," Althea continued apologetically and honestly, regretting for a moment that they did not have a true healer on the premises but recognizing the fact that they had simply done what must be done to keep Jalid in as good a condition as possible. Something to keep in mind for another time, perhaps. She was so very... busy of late. In the meantime, she DID have some solidly constructed plans. "Yes, Badon was simply a pit stop. Tomorrow morn I set out to a dig in Caelin amidst a larger expedition to investigate recent reports of wild magic amidst First Age ruins." Bowing slightly to Jalid, she continued. "-Something I likely would not have lived to see without your aid, Jalid. So I thank you again for your timely intervention, and perhaps one day we shall meet again. For now though, I must excuse myself to finish preparations..."
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