A fiery discussion. [Aaron/Gabriel]

[Aaron Winsett]

OoC: This takes place during the same time, and at the same location as "What didn't go down in the books", but as this is an official Support, and that is more for wrapping things up in a different thread, I figured I'd start one.

BiC:

Aaron was waiting to be off. He was beginning to feel the pressure of getting to Laus. Not only was he a messenger, a report of Ostia's fall, but he was expecting more and more that the only place he'd be able to find any true safety was somewhere in civilization.

While he waited, he flipped open his tattered Fire tome, and began performing a simple exercise in control. The mage conjured as many fireballs as he could sustain at once, attempting to move them about in a set pattern, while sustaining them. It wasn't a particularly draining exercise, as all he was doing was the lightest of burns, but the difficulty lay in the control necessary to keep it up. The green-haired mage's record was eight, but that had been pressing it then, and with the recent difficulties, he decided to pull back to five.

Holding them in a circle, he started rotating them like a wheel, directly in front of him. It wasn't a very complete looking circle. One would notice gaps here and there in it, places where more fireballs would reside, but he didn't think he could finish the pattern completely, even at the best of times. Not by himself, at least.

Hearing someone come up behind him, Aaron turned his head and glanced back, only to nearly lose control of one of the fiery globes. He did recognize Gabriel comeing out from the cave though, before he returned his gaze to the fires.

"That was brave last night. Charging one of those creatures is a foolhardy thing to do, even for one equipped traditional battle."

[Gabriel]

Gabriel saw the ring of fireballs as he exited the cave, moving his sight back towards Aaron once the mage talked to him. "I saw the wolf, and I had to save the girl. Besides, my fire would have died out as soon as it made it's way out of the cave" he said, making a small fireball himself, before crushing it within his fist.

"The only thing I could thing of, besides kicking the thing, was smacking it with my tome."

"I heard Yaen say that you and him, along with some others, were separated last time you were attacked by those beasts. Just what are they?"

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron nodded in silence as he listened to Gabriel's comments. If Aaron had been in the younger mage's position, would he have done what needed to be done? ...Yes... but not until it was too late....

Aaron sighed as he allowed his fireballs to dissipate. "Creatures from nightmare... I don't really know. They're tough, and they don't fear fire as much as other creatures do. And I suspect that they're in more places than Ostia. I believe we saw some of their work in the hills of Laus, when I first met up with the group."

Aaron frowned a bit at the trouble the creatures presented. "It seemed like the average fireball simply splashed over it, as if it's skin resisted the flame. It takes a truly intense flame to panic one of those things. How about you? Did I hear that you had some encounters with them earlier?"

[Gabriel]

"Yes, we did" Gabriel said, clutching his left arm. "We were watching Ostia's ruins from the distance, atop a hill when they cornered us. One managed to bite my arm, and things haven't looked bright since then. It's been getting number and number as time passes, and I can't even cast or control magic with it anymore."

"I only managed to get one out of the way with a full power cast of Elfire" he added, getting out his tome and making a fireball similar to back then and soon turning it into air. "Tell me, Aaron, I saw you using magic even in the rain. Just how could you do that? I was planning to get a Thunder tome with my spare cash to avoid that kind of problem again...even if it pains me to use it, it doesn't seem like I have a choice."

And I have to try and get over it. It can't haunt me forever...

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron looked down at the arm Gabriel was holding, his face creasing in concern. A numbed arm from his injuries? And blocking magic? "That's... disquieting." That was troubling news to hear. The green-haired mage reached up and touched his face, where one of the creatures had slobbered it's burning saliva while trying to maul his face. He'd been more fortunate than he'd thought.

Aaron watched the flame that Gabriel called up. Even a mage with only the most basic of training should be able to tell how much more power this fire ball had, than the typical fire tome could use. "Thunder... I've never even touched anything other than some form fire tome. My Grandfather wanted me to master the use of fire first." Aaron filed away Gabriel's apparent dislike for thunder magic. Perhaps he'd find out why at some point.

"My grandfather, Barek, taught me. It's a technique he learned through much experimenting." Aaron grinned at some of the stories of near disaster that he'd heard. "There are a few ways he explained to me. Most of them are based on mimicking actual natural events. For example, have you ever seen an oil fire? It takes massive amounts of water to put out an oil fire of sufficient size. Another. Fire raised to particularly high temperatures burns hotter when water is thrown on. What I did last night though, was try to mimic the attributes of a chemical fire. Some chemicals burn by simply combining them..."

Aaron considered what he'd just said, wondering how many other mages were taught to modify things to such detail. He was a bit embarrassed by his impromptu ramble. Barek had said that with a little practice, Aaron would outstrip the control of even some sages around the region. "It's... not really that useful. They're powerful adaptations, true, but they're so complex. And they take so much energy to fuel... Well, I doubt I could cast more than a few of those in a battle." He gave a weak grin. They were a bit too costly for him to carelessly hurl about.

"So what are we going to do about these creatures? I won't have them spreading far enough to threaten my home. Something's going to need to be done." It wasn't really a problem for just this group to solve, but they might have a better shot at it, with their personal experiences.

[Gabriel]

"I see...perhaps I'll manage to do it one day too" Gabriel said. Perhaps he could carry some real oil with him for the time being. At least he had to try.

"About those things..." he said, thinking back to his last visit to Laus. "The most sensible thing is to warn the Marquess of Laus about it. After all, it is closest to Ostia, which is the only place we have seen them so far. But I don't think I can do it. It would only get me incarcerated. Or killed. Things didn't go so smoothly the last time we were here."

He hurriedly added "N-no, no, don't take it the wrong way. We aren't criminals or anything of the sort. Last time we were here, we found that some of the city's most renown mages were actually allies of Etruria, and tried to get Laus under their control. The fight with them led to the Magic Academy's collapse, and without any of the opposing forces surviving, it'd be impossible for the Marquess to believe our story."

"I was going to try and see if any of you could actually relay the message to the Marquess, or any of the city guards. Not the best of ideas, but it's the safest way to go about it. Other than that, I'll let the Marquess of Pherae know once we make it back there."

[Aaron Winsett]

"Hey, I'll work with you on fire techniques, if you help me with thunder one of these days, eh?" Aaron smiled offhandedly as he offered the bargain.

As Gabriel requested that Aaron or one of his companions deliver the report on Ostia, the green-haired mage's face quirked in... perhaps curiosity, but more intense than usual. It was startling news to him, that this bunch were not on good terms with Laus. Unfortunately, the news that followed was worse. "They had a foot hold in Laus? How far can that maniac reach!" Aaron turned away abrubtly, hands on his hips. Witnessing the ruins of Ostia's destruction had unsettled him. Now, the reminder of delivering the message had evoked a similar response. He stood there for a moment, before his hand crept up to his chin, and started rubbing the stubble growing there. With resignation, he turned again, having mastered himself.

"You know, if he could gather supporters in Laus, there's little else keeping him from doing the same in other provinces.... I'll make sure the report get's delivered. Ostia's destruction will surely alert them to the danger." They deserve to be remembered. "Last I saw, there was a camp built up near the city's ruins, and a stockade built nearby...." Why would someone destroy the city, only to save the people? That was the only reason he could think of to build a prison. He couldn't make sense of it.

[Gabriel]

"I will have to get to terms with thunder magic myself first, though" Gabriel replied, not even looking in Aaron's direction.

"The leader of the mages in the academy said something along the lines of 'Kraft won't make me King of Lycia at this rate' once two of the support pillars of building fell and some of his pupils were defeated. They ambushed us when we went there looking for information on Ostia's welfare". He remembered those in the fight...Mikar and Wyatt had been badly injured that day, and Saffra had to hold the building for them to make it out. Thinking back, his attempt to get out of the building with Wyatt's hammer could have killed him outright. Thankfully, there were skilled clerics and doctors nearby.

"The marquess of Pherae sent us to warn the Lycian countries of the rumors that had been heard and gather information. Ostia was our last stop, and I myself will see to it that the marquess of Pherae knows about possible spies among his close allies."

Gabriel remained silent for almost a minute before opening his mouth again. "We could only see the pseudo-fort the Etrurians made from our position. Those...wolf-like things attacked us before we could investigate further...were there any Ostian survivors?"

[Aaron Winsett]

"King of Lycia? Typical. Power and wealth always seems to be a primary motivator in change."

Aaron nodded, somewhat reassured by Gabriel's remark that he'd make sure that he'd warn the Marquess of Pherae.

"Survivors of Ostia? There have to be some. The outlying villages would likely have been able to flee, and the roads I've crossed seem recently traveled. As to the fortress, I can't imagine what else it would be for, other than prisoners. It didn't look to be set up to withstand a siege, so I don't expect it was for soldiers. They wouldn't have destroyed Ostia so utterly if they intended to stay...." The mage stopped to mull things over for a bit. "Hmm... I ran into Lea and some others outside of Ostia... And that shaman, Morgoth... I think he mentioned in passing that he was there when Ostia fell."

Aaron continued to muse for a minute before something came back to his mind. The fight at the Laus Mage School. "...Did you say pillars fell? Sounds like there was quite the conflict going there.... I wish I'd been there. I'd have given them something to worry about." Aaron was silent for a moment. Perhaps he was one of those "odd ones", but he couldn't abide the thought of traitors anywhere within the Lycian League. He had always tried to foster friendships with students from other territories, when training at his Grandfather's facility.

Aaron stopped to explain his feelings. "I was trained in mage craft by my Grandfather, Barek. He was a self-made Sage. He has an... Arboretum perhaps? To the south. He works on mostly whatever he wants, grows various plants for medicines, even trains those who come to him. I don't know much about his relationship with the Laus school, but I know enough. Apparently, many of the teachers there resented the fact that there was a sage of Granpa Barek's calibur in the area who refused to be associated with them. He always told me that being a mage wasn't about how well one used his tome, but how well you used your head."

[Gabriel]

"I...I see" Gabriel said, commenting on the event of Ostia, and then listened as Aaron explained his relationship with his grandfather.

"A self-trained Sage...must have taken quite a lot of time and dedication. Barek must be an impressive sage, and if you trained under his wing, you'll too one day become as good as he is."

Hopefully, I'll be up to his level by then

"I'm sorry to say that I never heard of him, though. I...I'm not from Lycia myself. I used to be an Etrurian noble, up until..." he stopped to think about it. A lot of time had passed. Most of it was spent cruising the Ilian grounds, and this trip had taken them a month and a half so far, from Pherae to where they stood now. "I haven't seen a calendar in a while, but I believe it was around five months ago that I ran away from Delfia".

[Aaron Winsett]

"He's the best sage I know. I hope I can match him someday...." Truth be told, Aaron's dream was not only to match, but also to continue Barek's work at the school. It would be a while before that would happen though. For one thing, Aaron needed to help Lycia stabilize again.

"You're an Etrurian Noble? Yet you side with us... serving as an envoy to help unify Lycia. Even trusted by Marquess', apparently." Aaron shook his head at the thought of who he'd met here in the wilderness. The two weren't even that far apart in age, but look at what had been achieved. "Gabriel, you truly have an exceptional set of options before you.... Five months on the road. Pardon me. Should I be calling you Lord Gabriel?"

[Gabriel]

"My father has a different opinion on Kraft than I do. Ultimately, that led to him trying to get me into prison for disobeying his orders. I had no choice but to escape Delfia" Gabriel said, taking a peek back into the cavern to see if anyone had woken up yet.

"And no, just Gabriel is fine. I've left the life of a noble, and I don't have any plans to go back to it any time soon" he said, giving a faint smile

"Everyone seems to be getting up now. We should get things ready so we can head to Laus. I bet most of us need some proper resting. And I'd rather get my arm checked as soon as possible."

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron shook his head sadly. Being hunted by his own father?Sounds like this "Prophet" is pretty serious stuff. I don't believe the nobility was so devout under the last rule, but clearly this Kraft has inspired them, or scared them into submission.

"Right, it's time we got on our way then. I've got to deliver that report, and I'm going to check on some things in the library, if I can."