Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Dec 29, 2010 21:26:00 GMT -6
A squirrel chittered happily as it jumped from branch to branch. In the middle of one especially long jump, a black ball enveloped it. The ball cut it off from any air, and, within a minute, the squirrel's life force faltered, and finally gave in to the void that called it. A green-robed figure caught it as it fell. The person's face was wrapped in a light blue scarf to ward off the cold. The figure impaled the animal on a stick and brought it to a small cooking fire. The ravenous figure cut into it and ate what little flesh the creature provided. She pulled another squirrel out of a bag, no doubt caught in a similarly horrific manner. As soon as the figure had finished eating, she took off her scarf and laid it on the ground. Lilith's once well-kept hair now hung, unbound, to the small of her back. Her face was covered in grime, almost to a point where one could not tell if she was a boy or girl.
She had been whole once. However, she lacked the necessary training to keep a hold on the elder magics she summoned, and it slowly crept into her soul. She only had a handful of memories, most of which were fairly recent. A mage, a forest.... a battle, and a fire. Lilith did not even remember her own name. Every time she used magic, it took a little more of her. She was slowly become what her teacher had told her about. She would soon be similar to Bramimond, the soulless legend from the Scouring.
Lilith put out the fire and laid down, her head resting on her scarf. She had been wandering from forest to forest, not entering any villages or making any human contact for ages. She had probably wandered over most of Lycia, but for some reason, wound up back near the ruins of Ostia, in a forest not far from the one she remembered.
Soon after sleep took her, a robed woman came to her side. The woman tutted and picked the small girl up. She carried her off, her dark purple cloak billowing in the faint moonlight.
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Dec 30, 2010 13:53:27 GMT -6
The girl woke up with a start to find she was tied to a bed. She was not bound uncomfortably, so she assumed she was in no danger. She observed her surroundings, taking in small details of the house. It was a small, round hut built with a tree as the center. She could not see the other side of the house, for the tree was rather larges and covered it. The small kitchen area was full of food, and that the whole place was rather neat.
"Have you awoken, child?" a voice drifted through the house. A middle aged woman in a dark purple cloak appears from around the tree. She had light brown hair pulled back into a bun, and what few wrinkles she had gave the impression that she smiled a lot. The pupil bared her teeth at the woman, prompting her to shake he head and make disappointing noise. "You tampered with magic you were not yet ready for, did you not?" she woman asked kindly. The pupil made s few guttural sounds. She had almost forgotten how to speak. She finally remembered and said in a hollow tone, "I had no choice. I had to leave my training unfinished. I would have been made to join the fanatical Etrurian army."
"Well, better to be made to fight than live as an animal. You are lucky I saw you wandering around. "I have been following you for a bit, trying to see if your madness was magic, or if you were just a coo-coo!" the woman said, trying to make the pupil laugh. The latter looked at her, her face emotionless.
"Anyhow, I am Liza Kutald, and I am married to a former druid, and I myself used to wield the staff with decent proficiency. I still have a few lying around... When my husband comes back from his errands I will consult him to see if there is anything we can do to help you. But first, I would like to clean you up. May I?" the woman smiled at her.
The pupil thought about taring the woman's face off with a spell, but the stopped. Liza reminded her of someone... Someone she almost remembered. Her mother, perhaps? "I... Yes. I will not stop you." the pupil said to Liza.
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Dec 30, 2010 19:33:59 GMT -6
Liza washed the pupil, then gave her a book to read while she waited. Instead of the usual dark tomes she read, it was a lighthearted book filled with legends and folk tales. As she read about the tales of heroism and love, s rare smile spread across her face. Something inside of her screeched, as though in pain, and she dropped the book. Pain rocked her small frame, and she started thrashing. Liza held her down so she would not hurt herself. Soon after her fit, the pupil fell sleep.
While the girl slept, Liza's mind was full of activity. She went down to the base of the tree and rummaged around in a storage shed. She found one of her old staffs, a very special one. It was ornately decorated, and set with a blue orb. "recover..." she whispered. Perhaps that would work on the poor girl.
By the time she got back, her husband arrived. "Heath," she said, hugging him. "the girl is here. The one I told you about. I think I can heal her." She told her husband how the girl acted, and what had happened with the book.
Heath looked over at the sleeping girl. "You think she had give herself over to her magic? By what you described to me, I think we can help her. She seems like she has not completely lost herself. Come."
They walked over to the girl. Heath took out a piece of chalk and drew a pentacle around the bed. He scribbled down a few runes here and there, completing a spell. He started reciting a spell he remembered from long ago, while Liza held her staff high, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Light from the staff flowing into the pupil's chest. A snakelike tendril of darkness floated up out of her mouth, like something being extracted from her stomach. She writhed a bit, but the tendril came out and she lay limp in the bed. Heath guided the tendril through the air, and threw it out the window. It hit a neighboring tree. The tree decayed, its leaves falling off and its bark turning gray before their eyes.
"I was wrong. That was quite a bit of dark magic that she accepted into her soul. I am surprised that she survived." Heath said. "She will sleep for day or two... And will most likely have a fever. Take care of her my love. I must take that tree down before it falls on our house." Heath said, kissing his wife on the forehead.
"Thank you." Liza said warmly. She pulled a chair and a small table laden with a water jug and various herbs to the side of the bed. The pupil's skin took on a pinkish hue, and was hot to the touch. "Poor child... my dear, dear child." Liza tutted, putting a cold, damp cloth on the pupil's forehead.
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Jan 1, 2011 15:07:32 GMT -6
The pupil woke up. It had been a few days, and she found herself completely changed. No longer did she feel as though something was pulling on her insides, dragging her down. She felt... light. Like she soul was for herself once more. She could still only remember traces of her past. A permanent mental mark of her sickness. The pupil sat up, feeling much better. Liza entered the room, carrying with her a hand mirror. "I heard you stirring, little Griselda." Liza said, "so I brought you this." Liza handed her the mirror. The pupil took it and examined herself. She looked whole... But something was amiss. The two locks of hair that framed her face had turned a dark purple color. She looked up at Liza, confused. "Heath said your hair will be like that from now on, as a mark of your possession. He said It may even spread. But you are yours now." The motherly woman smiled, taking the mirror back. "He has agreed to train you as you missed out in school. He want to make sure something like this will not happen again." "What did you call me?" the pupil asked Liza, referring to how she had greeted her. "Griselda." Liza answered. "It means 'one who battles darkness'. You did not tell me your name, so I thought of something to call you." "It's ugly." the pupil pouted. "But I haven't any memory of what my name really is..." "There are other versions of the name. Riza, Zelda... Well, I suppose there are only two." Liza said, chuckling a bit afterward. "I like Riza. 'one who fights darkness'... I suppose that fits."
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Jan 2, 2011 19:50:28 GMT -6
Liza helped Riza out of bed and into a freshly laundered robe. "There, that's much better. Now, my Heath will meet you outside, He has an offer for you," the healer said cryptically. Riza climbed down the ladder out of the tree house and out into a clearing in the woods. heath stood at the edge of the glade, chopping at a felled tree. "Ah, young Griselda. It is good to see you up and about. Now, I want to make sure nothing like what happened ever does again, so I would be honored to help you complete your training. The first thing a good magician... no, a good shaman, needs, is physical fitness." Heath gave her a chopping axe. "Now, chopping all this wood should take us the next few days. Afterward, I will lead you in various exercises to hone your body. Then we will hone your mind. And with little more talking, the two dark magicians went to work.
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Jan 4, 2011 18:48:18 GMT -6
The sun set over the forest, making the tree look as though on fire. Riza and Heath washed themselves in a stream and headed up to the tree house for dinner. When they got up there, there was a spread of bread and cheese, and various fruits. "I hoped you two worked up an appetite," Liza said, smiling, as they sat down. "Indeed we did, my love. Griselda worked very hard. It is amazing how much wood a small girl can chop." Heath addressed his wife. The triple ate with spattered conversation, and when they were done, Riza cleaned up as Heath put on water for tea. A few minutes later, Heath took his and Riza's tea out on to the pouch. "The key to controlling your magic is controlling your emotions," Heath started, "if you open yourself up to the magic, it will take you. You much close yourself off, for magic is a living thing, and you cannot let it know your weaknesses." He paused to sip his tea, and Riza did the same. "I'd like you to sit here, and try meditating. I know you probably learned how to during your training, but too much practice never hurt." and with that, Heath left Riza to her tea and the sights of twilight. Riza sat down, leaving her tea on the railing. She focused on her breathing, letting all of her fears go. She sat for what felt like hours, breathing in, then out, emptying her mind, until Liza came to fetch her. "Time for bed, Griselda! heath's getting you up early for more chopping." Riza smiled and followed her host inside, eventually falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
day after day, this routine was followed, push ups and running replacing the tree when it was neatly chopped and stacked. Riza was gaining more confidence, and becoming herself once more, with each passing day.
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Jan 4, 2011 21:21:02 GMT -6
Riza woke in the middle of the night. It had been a few weeks since coming to the tree house. She heard Liza and Heath speaking in hushed tones. "She's almost ready... I know she's only been here for a little while, but she has tremendous control. I don't know how she got into this mess in the first place," came Heath's voice "Maybe she needs to leave... They say the best thing in the world is to get out and do what you can. I've heard of groups of young ones roaming around, fighting evil. Maybe she should join one of them," Liza said. "That sounds good. I will give her another lesson tomorrow, then see her off. Where to?" Heath asked. "I heard about a group in Etruria, a group of noble thieves." Liza said. "We'll send her to them. If she will..." And the rest of the conversation faded out, sleep returning to Riza.
When Riza woke up, Heath was by her side. "Come, child. I will teach you another very important lesson!" he said, taking her hand. He lead her outside, where he thrust a spellbook in her hand. "The best way to control magic is with a quick mind. Remember, flux is everything. The world is always in flux! Now, defeat me!" he said. His mouth was now flurry of motion, and a dark tendril expanded from his hand. "Setharu fluxos shelda!" Riza chanted, erecting a shield of blackness. She then bid the energy to rocked towards her teacher. He deflected it with a flick of his hand. The battle continued on like this, spell after spell, neither giving in. When, finally: Riza flicked her wrists quickly, dark purple energy building up around them. She released all the power she dared, and it sailed towards Heath. It spun and wove past his defenses, knocking him to the ground. "You... You are amazing, my child. Now... Go to Delfia. You will find a fire-tressed mage there. Follow him, and help he and his friends. So long, my little Griselda." Heath gave Riza her things, and headed back to the treehouse.
Riza headed toward Etruria, her eyes set with determination.
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