As Yet Untitled RP (closed)

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Postby Raige » Mon Mar 14, 2005 6:52 pm

Raige swung, missed, stumbled, regained his balance, spun, and gave chase to the fair haired boy all in less time than it takes to tell. They were magically enhanced somehow, that much was obvious. Raige hadn't made a sound as he came from the boy from behind, had swung with all haste, and still the boy had dodged away, drawing his own sword as he did so. The boy bounded away a short distance, then spun and leaned on his sword. Apparently, he intended to say something to Raige.

Raige, however, had other plans. Charging ahead like the proverbial bull, he sped towards the boy at top speed, sword poised to plunge through the guardian's chest. The boy frowned as he saw that Raige wasn't stopping, then sidestepped, spun away from Raige altered course, and gave Raige a light nick on the arm for his efforts. Raige came to a stop, glancing down at his arm, then back at the boy.


"Come now, surely that isn't your best? You're a Nightblade! Supposed to be the best at martial combat, a master strategist! Surely, charging ahead like a brainless brute hasn't won countless battles for you?"

Raige gritted his teeth against the taunting. He held his sword low, tip pointed away from his side. The cut in his arm was shallow, a mere graze. That the boy had only grazed him instead of taking his arm off when Raige let himself be so exposed only served to irritate him even further; the boy was starting this battle by toying with him.

Raige brought his sword up, gripped it in both hands, brought it in close to his body, keen edge out.


"It worked for other fools, I figured it would work for you as well."

The boy visibly stiffened from the insult. He brought his own sword about, crouching into his fighter's stance. The two warriors stood there for a moment, trying to judge one another, gauging distances between themselves and (in Raige's case) quickly glancing about to see if there were anything he could use to his advantage; there wasn't, it was a completely flat, empty room, probably for this very reason.

"Well, let's have it, then, the boy said, and leapt at Raige.

The boy was unnaturally fast, and Raige barely had time to roll away from the blow before the boy was coming at him again, sword flashing crimson silver in the torchlight, seemingly waiting for Raige to parry before coming at him from a different angle. Raige was hardpressed to keep the boy's blade from him, being extremely unaccustomed to having to be on the defensive. He soon found himself back against the wall, panting for breath, the boy just out of striking distance, seemingly unfazed by the exchange.


"Look," he said, pointing at Raige with his blade."You're bleeding."

Raige didn't have to look to know he was speaking the truth. The cut on his arm was stinging from his sweat, and he could feel a few other cuts stinging as well, the worst on the side of his neck. Blood was running freely from it, although he wasn't sure how deep the wound was. Had it pierced the great artery that ran through the neck?

Raige grunted, and stood up straight. Obviously, he wasn't going to injure the boy from the distance a longsword requires, so he switched tactics. With his left hand, he pulled both of his shortswords free from their sheaths, his eyes never leaving the boy. The boy looked puzzled for a moment, then he smiled a cruel smile, nodding in satisfaction. Raige sheathed his longsword, and gripped a short sword in each hand. He took a step forward, but stopped when the boy raised his hand, palm out, towards Raige.


"One moment," he said. He closed his eyes, and Raige was about to leap forward when something stopped him in his track. A ripple went through the boy's muscles, spreading from his chest outward to his fingertips and toes, then going back. Raige watched in fascination as the ripples got larger and faster, and was startled when the boy screamed and a loud series of pops could be heard. The boy was changing! His slight form grew larger, bulkier, taller. Soon, he was a head taller than Raige, with a hulking body that radiated nothing less than pure power. The boy opened his eyes, looking at Raige, grinning menacingly. "Impressed? I'm done now...you can try to kill me if you like."

Raige narrowed his eyes, snarled, and rushed the montrosity in front of him. His twin swords flashed, and were parried with almost arm-numbing force. Raige kept going at the boy, and kept being parried aside or dodged all together. Now, the boy wasn't even trying to attack Raige, and when he did connect with Raige's body, it was with the flat of his blade! Each shot landed with an audible thump, and Raige's breath would shoot out in a gasp of pain or surprise.

They went on like this for some time, probably not longer than a few minutes, but to Raige, it seemed an eternity. Finally, Raige lost his temper completely, throwing himself bodily at the boy. The boy wasn't expecting this and was caught off guard. Raige threw his shoulder into the boy's stomach, wrapped his arms about him, and charged him backwards until he slammed the boy into the wall. It was the boy's turn to grunt in pain and surprise. Raige, still clutching his short sword in his hand, drew his fist back and through a wild haymaker straight into the boy's face, putting every bit of force he could behind the blow. The boy's head rocked back, slammed into the wall again, and his body went limp. He fell to the floor and Raige stood over him, swords pointed toward the ground, breathing heavily, aching all over. He was like this for only a moment when the sound of blades whipping through air and occasionally meeting other blades met his ears. He spun and saw Iseide and her opponent engaged in combat, a whirlwind of dodges, swings, missed, parries, thrusts, and curses. He took a step forward when his opponent's hand grasped his ankle. Raige barely had time to look down when his leg was yanked out from under him and he hit the ground, hard.

Raige rolled onto his back, swords held at the ready, but the boy was too fast, too angry. Raige cut him twice, once with each sword, but the boy simply ignored the wounds, grasped Raige by both of his wrists, and with a roar, picked Raige up off the floor and hurled him into the wall. Raige hit, heard several vertebrae crack in protest, and fell to the floor. He was seeing stars, completely dazed, when the boy grabbed him again, picked him up, shook him until he was completely aware of his surroundings, then launched him again, this time completely across the room, and no sooner had the boy let him go than he was chasing after his flying form. Raige twisted in air, hit the wall awkwardly with his feet with wrenched his knee painfully, and was about to launch himself back at the boy when suddenly the boy was there, right in front of him, and Raige's eyes widened in surprise as he could do nothing but wait for the impact. The boy crashed his shoulder into Raige's chest, slamming Raige back into the wall and snapping several ribs audibly and quite painfully.

For the first time in longer than he could remember, Raige screamed in pain. The boy held Raige there with one hand, and grasped Raige's injured knee with the other, slowing applying pressure in a steel-like grip. Raige's vision exploded into stars again.


"You...hurt..me!" the boy snarled viciously. "Before, I was just going to kill you. Now, I'm going to kill you very painfully, very slowly."

Raige couldn't breathe, and knew he'd have to get air into his overworked body soon or he'd pass out. Passing out, with this monster beating on him, was not an option. Raige's eyes darted around, trying to find anything to get the boy off of him. Unfortunately, his vision was blurry, and getting worse by the second. Raige felt the dagger in his wrist sheath. fumbled it out, and almost dropped it. He used his rapidly fading strength to drive the blade into the boy's shoulder, who roared in pain, letting Raige's knee go and dropping him at the same time. Raige landed in a heap, gasping for air, while the boy thrashed in pain.

"Oh, by the gods, woman, if I have to save you I'll kill you myself," he muttered, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees. Then, a booted foot connected with his ribs, which, already broken, plunged into his internal organs before Raige was sent off his feet again and again crashed into the wall. Raige went crosseyed from the pain. A hand wrapped about his neck and lifted him off the wall. This time, there was only one hand holding him. Raige closed his eyes, grimacing in pain, determined not to waste his remaining air with a scream. When he opened them, the boy's hatred-filled, pain-racked face came into focus. His right arm dangled uselessly; apparently, Raige had managed to stick the dagger's blade directly into the shoulder joint, disabling the arm. While Raige quickly assessed his opponent, the boy brought his face close to Raige's.

"Nightblade training aside...tell me, Raige...do you internally bleed much?"

Indeed, Raige had tears of blood streaming from his eyes, his mouth was full of blood, blood drained from one side of his nose. Raige's right hand reached out to the side, groping for anything to use against the boy. He found something he could use, and wrapped his hand about it.

"You know what I'm going to do to your little bitch friend? After I kill you, I'm going to-"

Raige spit out a mouthful of blood directly in the boy's eyes. The boy closed his eyes in pain, roaring in anger, and Raige ripped the torch from its bracket, and stabbed it into the boys closed eyes. Eyelids were instantly burned away by the magic fire, eyeballs burst in a small shower of blood and fluid, and Raige found himself once again dropped to the floor. He dropped the torch, pulled his longsword free again, managed to gain his feet, all while the boy stomped about, screaming in a mixture of pain, hatred, and fear. Raige heard him and grinned evilly. For the first time since this battle had started, he heard in the boy's screams fear. Like a tiger closing in on his prey, Raige slowly circled about the boy, letting the boy writhe in pain before closing in for the kill. His own wounds temporarily forgotten, his entire world focused in on this one strike, this one kill. The boy turned his back to Raige, and he leapt forward, blade tip pointed towards the boy's back. The tip entered the heavily-muscled back like a hot knife through butter, easily slicing through muscles, bones, and organs, protruding through the otherside of the boy, like an awkward metal appendage leaping from the boy's chest. The boy stopped flailing and brought his hands down to the blade, unseeing eyes wide open in shock.

"You're..."Raige grunted, "Dead!" As he spoke his last word, Raige twisted the sword once, ripping the boy's organs into nothing more than meat. Raige let go of the haft, limping back, and watched the boy slowly fall first to his knees, then slumped to his side on the ground. Raige watched the boy for the next few seconds as the boy's body slowly emptied itself of blood, forming a large crimson pool on the ground. Raige leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, coughing, and occassionally spitting blood onto the ground. He held his ribs with his left hand, and finally turned to watch Iseide as she finished her battle.
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Postby Khavi » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:25 pm

They stood watching eachother for what seemed a very long time. Neither moved, both just watched one another, knives up in defensive stances. The sounds of Raige's battle with the fair haired boy echoed around the chamber, but neither Iseide nor her opponent dared a glance at the other fight. A moment's distraction would cost either their lives.

"We can't stand here forever," the by said.

"Sure we can. I've got nothing better to do," Iseide replied. "And I'm sure there's nothing presseing you need to attend to."

"Of course not," he said. "What could possibly be more important than you?"

"Charming."

"I try."

Iseide and the boy moved at exactly the same moment, each lunging for the other's blood. They danced around one another, in a move that could have been carefully coreographed. Steel clashed with steel as they mirrored each other's strikes, niether blade hitting home against flesh. They ducked away from one another again, smiling wickedly to themselves.

"Very good," Iseide said. "Both unscathed... we could earn money at this, you know, preforming on street corners."

"We could... but it's so much more fun when we're out for blood," he replied. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"It's a damned shame one of us has to kill the other," Iseide said. "I think I almost like you. It's only fair you tell me your name, for you know mine."

"You speak truth," he replied. He swooped torwards her with serpentine grace, and Iseide ducked around him, slashing at his spine as he cut at her arm. Both missed.

"I am Ebon," he said. "My brother is Rowan. And we may be stuck here in perpetual battle, if this keeps up."

"There's much worse things to be doing."

"And yet... so much better."

Just then, Raige went flying past, clean through the middle of Iseide and Ebon's fight. Both rogues watched as Raige hit the far wall and a huge, ox-like Rowan tore after him on foot. Ebon laughed, and looked back at Iseide.

"Your friend is getting fair beaten," he said.

"I'm not worried about him," Iseide shrugged, and darted towards Ebon.

Flitting movements, the sound of metal and metal, and two pained snarls later, Ebon and Iseide stood opposite eachother, clutching seperate bleeding wounds. Iseide was struck a shallow wound across the top of her chest, and Ebon bled from a slash across his right thigh.

"You've bled me," he growled.

"I could say the same," replied Iseide. He lunged, his movements losing their grace as they were tainted by anger, and Iseide ducked. She swept her leg out, catching his ankle. He stumbled, but rolled and came up with his back to Iseide.

"Clever," Ebon said, and turned. His eternal smile had faded, and he flew at Iseide. They were no longer playing with one another. Each knew the other's movements, and it was a real battle.

He tried to catch her arm and pin her to the wall, but Iseide twisted free and struck the pommel of her dagger across the back of his head. Ebon shook off the blow, feinted to the left, and managed to shoulder Iseide to the floor.

The wind was kcoked out of her, and his dagger slashed down across her shoulder, but Iseide managed to draw up her knees and shove him off of her. They rolled back and forth on the floor for a while, their battle losing it's fluidity and falling into a brawl. By the end, both had lost their weapons and were striking one another with their fists.

They shoved themselves gracelessly to their feet, swept dirt and blood from their faces, and smiled at eachother.

"Nothing like a little pugilism to make your day, right?"

"Right," agreed Ebon. "But you know as well as I, we've both got other knives. Or at least... I do."

He held up two of Iseide's smaller daggers, which he had lifted from her while they brawled on the ground. Iseide shook her head, laughed, and held up two of his.

"We are of a kind, Ebon," she said.

"That we are, Iseide," he said.

Just then, there was a scream of anguish, and both Iseide and Ebon chanced a look in the direction it had come from. Raige stood over his opponent, sword buried nearly to the hilt in the boy's back. The fair haired youth fell to his knees, then to his side, obviously dead.

"Impossible..." Ebon breathed. "That brute's killed Rowan... Impossible!"

Iseide took his moment of shock to shoot forward, lancing his own knife into his throat. He choked, eyes wide, and when Iseide tore the dagger away from his neck, he turned his gaze towards her. His jaw worked as though he were trying to speak, but no words came. He stumbled forward, and Iseide caught him, lying him gently to the floor.

He gasped for air that wouldn't reach his lungs through his severed throat, and kept wild eyes on Iseide. Her brow furrowed, and she almost felt sorry for him. Then he settled, his eyes losing focus, his body falling limp. Iseide closed his eyes and stood, turning to survey the room.

Raige was slumped against a wall, his sword still protruding from the dead Rowan. Iseide plucked her lost daggers from the floor, sheathed them, and crossed to Raige's resting place. She feared he was dead.

"Raige," she said, touching his face. He turned tired and angry eyes on her. She tore a strip from his tattered shirt, and swept the blood from his face to better see his wounds. "You know you have to stay here, now, right?" she said.

"You're not going anywhere alone," he grunted, pushing her hands away. He shoved himself to his feet, wavered a moment, and sat back down.

"Wait here," she said. Iseide stood up, and looked towards the two large doors. "I'll be back, with the diamond, and we can escape and get you to a doctor. You're in no shape to dodge traps or fight anything else." She started away, not listening to Raige's half-muttered protests.

The door was unlocked, and beyond it was a dimly lit, narrow corridor. There were no torches, no candles, no source of the light... but there was enough to easily see by. As soon as she stepped through the doors, they slammed closed behind her.

Iseide frowned, looking ahead. The seemingly featureless corridor was, undoubtedly, littered with traps. She took one careful step forward, and heard a barely audible clicking. Jumping back, she barely dodged something that launched itself from the wall and clattered against the floor.

Looking down, she saw the stone she had stepped on was subtley different from those around it. It was raised just slightly, and had the magi symbols faintly imprinted it in. Looking forward, she saw there was a second stone several paces in front of it, and another in front of that. Similar marked stones were spread to the left and right, as far down the hall as she could see.

Iseide thought for a moment, then stuck her foot out and pressed a toe gingerly on the stone she had stepped on before, watching to see where, exactly, the deadly implements sprang from.

Nothing happened.

Apparently, once the stones were triggered, they did not reset themselves. This was a handy thing to know... it meant and easier passage down the hallway. If she could trigger the next step before advancing, she could avoid being skewered. Assuming she could trigger the next steps.

After testing, she discovered the stones to the left triggered darts that flew at eye level, and the stones to the left launched at the calves, making it impossible to creep by on her stomach.

"There's one way to do this," she said to herself. She took a deep breath, readied herself, and began a mad dash forward.

She sprinted as fast as she could down the corridor, listening to the darts clatter and shoot behind her, missing her by a hair's breadth. It was impossible to know how far the corridor stretched, and she was starting to feel out of breath.

Finally she simply took a diving roll forward, flying over the next several marked stones, and thankfully hit the end of the corridor. The final darts shot past her, barely missing her shoulders. She crouched on the floor for a while, catching her breath, and trying to see the next series of evils.

It felt like hours she neogtiated similar traps. She dodged random pitfalls, falling stones, spiked floors, moving walls, and oil-slicked slopes. By the time she reached the doors at what she hoped was the end of the torture, she was bleeding, filthy, and tired. For a moment she leaned against the doors, eyes closed, trying to slow her breath.

After maybe ten minutes just breathing, she steeled herself to push through the doors. They were identical to the ones at the beginning, huge and wooden, the Magi symbols carved in flourishing relief against the otherwise smooth wood. They creaked slowly open, and Iseide found herself staring at the object of her mission.

Opposite her, against the far wall, shining on a gold-inlaid altar, sat a diamond the size of her fist. It reflected light that wasn't there, shone in a rainbow of colours Iseide had never seen before. It was enthralling, and she felt drawn to it, like she was destined to take it from it's resting place.

She stepped forward, and when her boot was suddeny wet she realized she had just sunk her foot into six inches of water. It had been so smooth and calm she hadn't realized the floor had been liquid. The splash brought her back to reality, and she focused on the room around her. Anything could be hidden in the shallow lake around the diamond. She took very slow and small steps forward, unsure whether or not something would pull her under, or if it would suddenly drop into deep water.

As she moved closer, she kept her ears sharp for any noise in the otherwise silent room. There was nothing, save for the quiet splashing of her boots in the water.

Then suddenly the floor dissappeared beneath her, and she was falling into nothingness. Water pressed into her nose and mouth with almost sentient force, and pulled her ever downward. She strugged, trying to pull herself to the surface. Something held her ankles, swirled around her abdomen, figthing to keep her under.

Just as she was about to pass out, something grabbed the back of her shirt. She felt herself being pulled through the water, drawn upwards, and soon she broke the surface. She was hauled backwards, onto solid stone, gasping for air.

Sopping wet, she looked around. What had just been all water was stone, and ssimply a shallow pond before her. Raige, knelt next to her, looking concered.

"What the hell?"
I was so mad, I could have chewed up nails and spit out paper clips.
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Postby Raige » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:23 pm

Raige had entered the room with the pool just in time to see Iseide go under. He dashed forward, kneeling at the edge of the water, peering down into its depths trying to see some sign of her. He had just decided to strip down and dive in after her when he saw a glimpse of light below the surface of the water. Quick as a viper, his hand shot into the water and grasped the collar of her shirt. He strained against whatever was holding her under, pulled until it felt as though his arm would come off with the strain, and finally her head broke the surface of the water. He continued pulling her back, until she was next to him. He had his arms protectively about her, looking at her with not just a little concern. He watched her look around, somewhat confused.

"What the hell?"

Raige relaxed his protective embrace, and grunted. The movements, although slight, caused him a great deal of pain.

"Couldn't even let me rest for a minute," he said jokingly, his voice far less than normal strength. He looked around himself, studying the pond. "Obviously magic...has to be someway through it..."

The sound of bells being rung reached Raige's ears. He turned and looked at the hallway behind him, where the sound seemed to have come from.

"Find a way across....now."

Raige stood and ran as quickly as he could in his injured state to the huge wooden doors. He pushed them closed, and used his axe as a temporary barrier to keep them from opening. He walked backwards, drawing his two recovered short swords from their sheaths and holding them in his left hand, pulling several throwing axes free from their baldric with his right, careful to not back up too far lest he himself fall into the water. Booted footsteps could be heard coming from the room beyond the trap-filled hallway.

"Now would be a good time to get that diamond and get out of here..." he whispered.

The running footsteps were in the hallway now. Raige chanced a glance behind him, saw Iseide moving around the pool, examining it closely for a way across. The first sounds of soldiers battering the wooden door echoed in the room. Raige sheathed his short swords, rushed to where Iseide was, dropping his throwing axes along the way. He gauged the distance between her and the edge of the pool to be about three feet, with gave him roughly five feet once he reached her to make his move.

He ran up behind her and, without breaking stride, wrapped his left arm about her chest and grabbed the back of her pants with his right hand.


"Forgive me, m'lady," he said without stopping, ran two feet into the water and, putting every ounce of strength and using all the momentum he had built, not to mention praying for all he was worth, threw Iseide across the water. As he let go, the door was broken into, and he had no time to watch and see if she cleared the water. He leapt and rolled to his axes, then picked them up and threw them in one swift motion. Three soldiers died from the blades that hurled into their bodies. He drew his short swords quick as a flash, and the battle was on. Two soldiers he cut down quickly, leaving him a spare moment's time to take in the rush of soldiers coming at him. He crouched down, ready to spin into what was rapidly turning into his final battle.

"Five down, thousands to go..."
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Postby Khavi » Tue Mar 15, 2005 4:26 pm

Iseide, before she knew what was happening, was flying through the air. The ground around the diamond was rapidly approaching, and she had just enough time to tuck herself into such a position as to roll in the least damaging fashiong when she landed.

Her shoulder and left arm took the brunt of the blow, and she managed to roll and miss striking the altar on which the diamond was balanced. Behind her, she could hear the door being broken down. And indefiniate amount of soldiers were behind the nearly shattered door, and only the badly beaten Raige stood between them and Iseide.

"Gods keep me," she whispered, slowly standing up. She reached to take the diamond, squinting against it's internal light. A battle began to rage behind her, but as he hands closed around the diamond everything fell silent.

The gem was smooth and warm beneath her palms, and as she lifted it, she found it was surprisingly light for it's size. She held it carefully in one hand as she drew an empty pouch from her belt, and began to slip the diamond into it.

When she turned around, she realized that what seemed like a few brief seconds had been, in reality, close to ten minutes. Raige was snarling like a trapped animal, close to two dozen bodies strewn around him. He bled freely from new and old wounds, and Iseide knew he stood only by strong willpower. The remaining soldiers, what looked like eight of them, were preparing to mob him, to take him down by sheer force of numbers.

The first soldiers charged him, and Iseide felt as though she was watching in slow motion as the first struck, the Kuelosti soldier's sword sinking deep into the Nightblade's ribcage. The second blade slammed home through Raige's right shoulder. She didn't see where the third hit.

"No..." whispered Iseide, starting forward. She broke into a run, wailing like a banshee, wild eyed, not even noticing that she was running across the surface of the deep water. She was so focused on the fallen Nightblade that she didn't realize the the very force of her cries had blown the remaining soldiers back into the wall, leaving all unconsious.

"Stop!" she shrieked, throwing herself to the floor near Raige. He had collapsed, barely breathing, and Iseide gathered him into her arms. She held him to her, eyes screwed tightly shut, waiting for the soldiers to strike...

But the blows never came, and when she opened her eyes she saw the fallen soldiers. Iseide sat in shock for a few moments, and then felt Raige taking rasping breath in her arms. She looked down, and saw he was looking up at her with bleary eyes.

"You killed them with your voice," he choked, and smiled almost enviously. "What do you need a bodyguard for... when you can do that?"

Iseide smiled, and felt tears stinging her eyes. "I don't know what you mean," she said softly. "I think you're losing it in your old age."

"I'm not old," he said, and coughed twice. He lay back, his head resting in the crook of Iseide's arm, eyes closed almost serenely. He drew in a few shuddering breaths, and seemed on the very verge of death. Iseide closed her eyes again, unable to keep smiling.

"Don't leave me here," she whispered."I can't get back without you, I can't face Kalgar alone."

Just then the gem, which was nestled in the pouch on Iseide's belt, began to radiate with an intense light and heat. She opened her eyes and looked to where the diamond rested at her hip, and noticed her palms were growing steadily warmer as the diamond did. She rested Raige gently on the floor, and looked down at her hands.

The marks of the Magi were imprinted into her palms, one glowing on each hand. Her eyes went wide, wondering if it was simply that she had taken the gem, or if it was something more...

A tiny voice nagged at the back of her skull, telling her it was more than her earlier theft, that this was hers by birth, that she had some greater thing to accomplish. This was what Hadar spoke of... the things he had Seen, the greater destinies she and Raige shared.

She looked at Raige, who lay barely breathing and bleeding on the floor. Iseide closed her eyes again, and placed her hands palm-down on Raige's tattered chest. She felt unfamilar power coursing through her veins, down her arms and out her fingertips, and after what seemed an eternity she reopened her eyes. Raige was still unconcious, but his wounds had healed themselves and the colour had come back into his face.

Iseide sat back, looking down at her hands. The lighth ad faded, but the marks were still there, as though they had been branded onto her skin. She sighed, looked down at the sleeping Nightblade before her, and then looked again around the room.

"We can't go back through," she muttered to herself. "There's more soldiers coming, I'm sure... but there's no other doors. How do we get out of here?"

Behind her there was the grinding of stone, and she whipped around, knife in hand. But there was no one there, simply a newly opened door. There was a set of well-lit stairs beyond. Iseide frowned, put her knife away, and figured it was a better exit than the way they had come. She stood up, dragged Raige to his feet, and with his arms over her shoulders managed to drag him to the stairs.

She stood at the foot of the stone steps, looking up the corridor as far as she could see, and began to haul herself and Raige up them, praying as she went that they would come out well outside the castle walls, and that she would be able to make it without collapsing.
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Postby Raige » Tue Mar 15, 2005 6:45 pm

Raige's eyes snapped open, unfocusing. There was light everywhere, but it was dim, as though filtered. He blinked a few times, but the light wouldn't change. Moving to sit up, his body suddenly screamed at him in protest, and pain came from almost every part on him. He flopped back down, groaning.

"Ohhh....hells...."

A smaller hand snaked across his chest, up the side of his neck, to the side of his face, and turned his head to the left. There, in perfect focus, was Iseide, laying beside him, looking at him. Raige frowned.

"...You died, too?"

She started laughing and shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. Raige was completely baffled.

"Well...if I died and you didn't...how is it I can feel your hand and see you, but nothing else?"

"You didn't die you idiot man. We're in a tent, in the middle of Kuelost's forests. We made it here last night, and I set up camp. Don't you remember any of it?"

Raige frowned, thinking hard. "I remember...fighting...and then more fighting...and hurting...and fighting some more...pain like I've never felt...then nothing."

Iseide's eyes were mysteriously watery again as she responded. "We got the diamond..." She paused, trying to decide whether or not to tell him the rest. About him falling in battle, being mortally wounded; with one foot in death's door, she had brought him back. She didn't know if she had the strength to put into voice that which she had been thinking about all night. In the end, she decided not to. "You defended me while I got the gem...we found a different way out than the way we came in...we walked for hours into the night, until you decided we were a safe enough distance from Gilden to make camp. Well, that much was a lie. Last night he had been in no condition to make any tactical decisions, so she had simply gone until she could go no further, and made camp there. No need to let him know that, though.

Raige grunted.
"Strange, I don't remember any of this..." He was silent for a time, then shrugged as if dismissing whatever he had been thinking of. He stretched his arms wide, cracked his neck, and settled more comfortably into the sleeping bag. "Gods...I'm so tired..." he murmured, rapidly falling back into a deep sleep.

"Rest, my lord, Iseide whispered, watching Raige as his eyes closed and his breathing slowed. "You've earned it."

When Iseide awoke, she found that Raige was gone. She sat up, panicking slightly, fearing something had gotten him while she slept while at the same time calling herself a fool, reasoning that nothing could've taken him without waking her as well, for they were sharing a sleeping bag. She got up and quickly clothed herself the rest of the way, and stepped out of the tent. It was night, and although there was no moon, the stars shone brightly enough to provide enough light for her elven eyes to see clearly by. She looked around, but could spot no tracks, no signs of a fight, nothing to suggest where Raige could've gone. Suddenly, one of the trees off to her right rustled. Iseide crouched, daggers in her hands, heart pounding wildly. The stories Raige had told her of Kuelost's magic creatures were making her imagination dream up wild abominations, terrible beings that couldn't possibly have been real. The tree rustled again, causing snow to fall to the ground, and Raige dropped from a branch into sight. Iseide relaxed, rolling her eyes.

Raige saw her resheathing her daggers, smiled reassuringly, and walked over to her. He gently gripped one of her arms in his right hand, turning her back towards the tent. As they walked, he leaned over and spoke to her in a calm whisper.


"We have to go, right now. Kuelosti search parties are all around us to the west and south, cutting off a direct route home. They are heading this way, and are probably less than two or three hours away. We have to hurry."

Iseide wondered how he could be so calm, but didn't say anything, merely nodded her head. Together, they went into the tent, packed up the sleepings bags, Iseide gathered the rest of her weapons, and Raige pushed the surprisingly compact sleeping bags into a pack. They returned to the outside of the tent and quickly went about taking down the tent, also stowing it in the same pack. Raige shouldered it, and as Iseide was about to break a branch off of a nearby tree to try to erase the signs of their camp in the snow, Raige caught her eye and shook his head.

"Don't worry about that, we don't have enough time to effectively sweep the area clean. Their trackers will certainly find where we've camped, even if we try to cover it up. We must go now. Hurry."

Raige took the lead, and together, holding hands, they moved off into the forest. Once in the deep cover of the trees, no light shone at all, and it would be easy for the elven woman and half-elven man to lose one another. They moved efficiently, quickly but not so fast that their trail would be easy to spot. Whenever he could, Raige led them down frozen streams and smaller rivers, using the simple logic that the ice would leave no tracks. They travelled that way for the next few days, never setting up a real camp, catching slip in bits and pieces. They steadily headed east, pushing to the south as much as Raige dared. Every morning Raige would scramble up a tree, using the added height to judge the distance between them and their pursuers, trying to guess how far they had to go before they could slip around the southern flank and make their way into Zandir. He was careful not to stay exposed for too long, for there was no doubt in his mind that the Magi were using their special sight to scour the treetops, looking for any sign of the two fugitives.

Considering the peril they were in, and the certain death they would face should they be captured, Raige had to admit to himself that things were going fairly smoothly. They had evaded their pursuers so far, Iseide had kept up with him easily and without complaint, and couldn't be more than another day or two from at least reaching the great Varanesh river, which seperated Kuelost from its neighbor to the east, Solhaven. While Solhaven was no friend of Doranth, neither were they a friend of Kuelost, or even Zandir for that matter. Thinking about it, Raige almost grinned when he realized that Solhaven's people were a wild bunch, whom attacked anyone and everyone at any given time. They had no organized leadership, and the only thing that kept them from being conquered was the fact that Zandir had no desire to go to war for any reason, and Kuelost had learned its lesson the last time it had tried to conquer Solhaven and been thoroughly and brutally defeated.

Raige guessed that if they could make it into Solhaven, Kuelosti trackers would be loathe to follow them. They wouldn't be able to go directly into Zandir from Solhaven, for Zandir had its northern border heavily defended against the Solhaven savages; they'd have to cross back into Kuelost, but exactly when and where they had no way of knowing. Raige had a good guess where they could do so, but wasn't going to put it into words until he was sure.

Then, although Iseide's and his luck had lasted this long, things were about to take a rapid turn for the worse. As they travelled, Raige was so concerned with the tracking parties that he paid little attention to the nature surrounding them. To his shame, he never even heard the three dark kappas. Kappas are large creatures, ogre-like, but much smarter than ogres, with tails and wings. Kappas aren't easy to kill when they are alive. Dark kappas were impossible to kill unless you were a holy man, with sanctified weapons and a lot of prayerspells.

Raige was moving along when suddenly his arm pulled taut and he realized Iseide had stopped. He looked back to her and saw her looking off the the north, wide-eyed. He furrowed his brow and followed her gaze. Silently, he cursed. The three dark kappas watched them, their evil eyes narrowed with hatred, and suddenly launched themselves into the air.


"Run!" Raige shouted, pulling Iseide into motion again, moving as quickly as their legs would take them.
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Postby Khavi » Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:13 am

Iseide flew over the snow, Raige hot on her heels. She could hear the flapping of great scaly wings gorwing ever closer, and she pushed herself to run faster. Her feet hardly touched the drifts as she threw herself forward, never daring to look back at the rapidly aproaching monsters.

Every muscle in her body was screaming in protest. Her legs ached from constant travel, her shoulders from hauling Raige for close to a mile away from the city, and she knew she couldn't carry on for much longer without collapsing from the sheer exhaustion of it.

Finally she stumbled, pitching forwards into the snow. Raige stopped and turned to help her, but she motioned him to keep going.

"Go!" Iseide snarled. She tore the diamond pouch from her belt and hurled it at Raige, who caught it easily. "Don't wait for me!"

"I'm not leaving you!" he cried, and hurried back towards her. He was nearly to her when the first kappa struck, swooping down and knocking Raige into the snow. It swept away to circle above, calculating its next strike. Iseide saw the gem fly from Raige's hand as he fell.

Before she could react, she heard a second sweeping down towards her, and she rolled onto her back, throwing her arms up to protect herself. Just then the symbols on her hands, which had begun to fade, flared to life once again.

With a shriek the kappa arced away, nearly knocking into one of it's fellows. Iseide didn't even flinch, having learned to take such strange things in stride. The three kappas swooped to the ground before her, and moved towards her. They were much more awkward on the ground, loping along on ill-formed limbs like bats.

"Magi!" hissed the one in front. Red eyes glowed in a hideous face as it crept closer. It seemed almost to be bowing to her, and Iseide was momentarily puzzled by this. Iseide stood up, doing her best to slow her breathing, ignoring the hair that hung in her face. "Magi!"

"Yes! Magi!" she replied somewhat harshly. The three slid closer, still bowing and scraping. They circled around her, growing ever closer, regarding her with respect and reverence.

"Magi-mother," it crooned, and it's slick blad head slid against the palm of her hand. Iseide fought the urge to recoil in disgust, afraid she would anger the creature.

"Magi mother, what of man?" hissed a second kappa's voice. Iseide looked behind her, and saw it standing over Raige, who was still lying in the snow, growling up at the monster.

"Leave him," said Iseide. She wasn't sure why, but obviously she had some sort of power over these creatures. "He is my friend. Do not touch him."

It let out a rasping hiss and backed away, falling in with its fellow monsters again. The first still crouched at her right side, head under her palm. It seemed to be letting out a grotesque, rumbling sound almost like a freakish purr. The other two took positions near her, one crouching low across her feet, the other sitting at her left side. They were almost like giant, disgusting, man-like winged cats.

Raige had pushed himself to his feet and moved slowly around to stand in front of Iseide, watching in horrified puzzlement as the kappas twisted and nuzzled at her legs. Iseide met his gaze, and gave him a look suggesting she was as confused as he was. She noticed, also, that he clutched the diamond tightly in one hand.

"Stay with Magi-mother," said one, looking up at her. "Protect Magi-mother."

Iseide swallowed, looking down at the creatures with an expression that she hoped looked like fondness, but likely read as fear and loathing. "Magi-mother needs no protecting here... You can go."

"Stay," insisted the kappa, nuzzling at her hand. She hesitated a moment, then stroked the high dome of it's skull, trailing her fingers down the back of it's neck. It closed it's eyes and rumbled again.

"Go," she said. Then an idea struck her, a way to use these oddly affectionate monsters to her advantage. "Go, and make sure none follow us. No soldiers, no other Magi. But you do not follow us either, or our enemies will know where we are. Stay here."

The kappas lingered a few moments more, begging for attention, and she favoured them with strokes of their scaly wings and smooth brows. Finally, satisfied, they dashed away, and took off into the air. They swooped away, and disappeared into the trees.

Once they were gone, Iseide sat down hard in the snow. She exhaled slowly, and looked down at her hands. The marks were burned fresh again, and she curled her fingers into fists. Raige moved slowly closer.

"What were those things?" she asked, looking up. Raige was watching her, a very strange mix of emotions on his face. She couldn't read him, couldn't know what he was thinking. "Why did they not attack me?"
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Postby Raige » Wed Mar 16, 2005 2:19 am

Raige watched the unbelievable exchange between Iseide and the dark kappas, jaw dropped in surprise. Once the beasts were gone, he moved closer to Iseide, unsure what to say or think. He knelt down in front of her.

"What were those things? Why did they not attack me?"

Raige looked at her face then, into her eyes. He held her beautiful grey eyes with his own blue eyes, as though he might unravel the mystery he had just witnessed by trying to look into her soul.

"Those 'things' were dark kappas...horrible creatures that have no masters. I've fought them and could not kill them...I've personally witnessed them destroy a mage who tried to tame one. And yet...they responded to you. They spoke to you...and you to them." Raige's expression darkened. "In a language I do not understand, but have heard enough to know what it is. You spoke to them in the language of magi." For some reason, Raige glanced down at Iseide's hands. When he saw them, his eyes grew narrow. She had magic runes covering her hands. Raige shot one of his own hands out, grasping her left hand and bringing it up between them. When he spoke, his words came out barely more than an infuriated hiss. "You...are magi. YOU ARE MAGI!" he roared, flinging her hand back to her lap. He stood up and turned his back to her, blood roaring in his ears, the diamond clenched in his right hand. She had been magi all along! Raige drew his head back and let out a howl, an incredible mixture of fury and anguish. His howl died, and he let his head fall forward, his body shaking. Then, as if becoming aware of it for the first time, he felt the diamond that he clenched his fist so tightly about. He opened his hand and looked at it before closing his eyes, drawing in a deep breath, and closing his hand. He slowly exhaled, using his own steel will to keep from lashing out.

Finally, after what seemed both a small eternity and a scant few seconds, Raige turned back to Iseide, holding the diamond out for her to see.


"We have to get this back to Kalgar," he said quietly, almost weakly. "Come on...let's go."

They continued their journey, but Raige changed course. He headed them directly south, on a reckless route that would plunge them straight into the tracking parties. Raige knew all about the Kuelost tracking groups and how they worked, how many men and women generally constituted each group, where they would hide. He had escaped from them many times. Now, for the first time, he was actively looking to be found by them. His reasons for doing so were very simple, primitive, and barbaric:

He needed to kill someone.

It wasn't long before they ran into the first of the trackers. Raige had not placed the diamond in a pouch, merely kept his fist clenched about it. The scout spotted Raige and Iseide, gave a long shrill whistle, and drew her bow. Raige and Iseide immediately split and ducked behind seperate trees as the first arrow went by. Raige resumed walking towards the scout, unsure and uncaring if Iseide was behind him. Right now, the only thing he cared about was reaching the scout and destroying her. Everytime she pulled her bowstring back, Raige would duck or dodge behind a tree and an arrow would go whistling by, then Raige would resume stalking towards the woman. She began to backstep as he got closer, and he waited for her to let loose with one more arrow before he broke into a full run. The woman dropped her bow and went for her sword, but it was too late. Raige was on her like a rabid dog, tackling her to the ground, bringing his fist back and letting it fly. He beat her face until her skull cracked under his blows. He stood, gore dripping from his fist, and began moving forward again. Iseide crept along behind him, silent as death, unsure or unable to speak to him. She passed the scout's body, glanced at its destroyed face and head, visibly turned paler, and hurried forward again.

So it went. Raige would be spotted, the scout would be destroyed. Every time was the same, Raige simply beat his opponent to death. Finally, they stumbled into the main part of this tracking party, a group of eight men and women. The scouts, for their part, did the best they could. However, no man or woman, nor even eight men and women, stand a chance against a Nightblade that was rapidly losing his grip on his sanity. Raige disabled them all, breaking arms, and a single leg on each of them to ensure they couldn't run. Then, very coldly, very systematically, he went to each scout, knelt on his or her chest, and beat his or her face in. When Raige killed the last scout, he just kept hitting, bashing in the skull long after the man was dead. He continued swinging his fist into the gorey mess, now screaming unintelligibly as he did so. He knuckles were split and each blow sent small shocks of pain up his arm, but he continued pounding until he was gasping for breath, and to his great surprise, tears were streaming down his face. Without looking back, he stood up, wiped his face with his clean hand, and moved on.

They travelled halfway into the night before Raige decided it was time to set up camp. He set his pack down, pulled the tent and sleeping bags out, and threw the diamond into the pack. He went about setting up camp silently, and soon found himself laying in the dark. The silence was tense, almost unbearable. Although they shared a sleeping bag to keep warm, it seemed as though an impenetrable wall of ice had erected between them and Raige lay there cursing himself, knowing it was he who had constructed it.

Raige lay there for awhile, thinking of what he had done today. Those deaths had been unnecessary. They could have easily avoided those trackers. Raige had never lost his head so completely as he had done today. Again, most curiously, Raige found tears rolling down his face. Suddenly, he rolled onto his side, but lay silent as he discovered that Iseide was watching him. Her face was unreadable in the dim light, and his hand searched for hers, found it, and grasped it.


"Tell me I haven't been killing people that I haven't needed to," he whispered. Though today's events raced through his mind, he knew in his heart that today was not was he was talking about, and hoped Iseide did to. "I was raised to believe that the magi are terrible...even the ones that want to live in peace are evil because they have power...tell me I haven't been killing..." he choked a little bit on his own heartache. "Innocents?"
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Postby Khavi » Wed Mar 16, 2005 3:49 am

Iseide lay wide awake, unable to sleep even though she was exhausted. The symbols on her palms burned in her mind, and a silent fear tugged at the back of brain. A fear of what the symbols meant, of what other creatues may be drawn to her, of what search parties they might meet.

Of Raige.

He lay quietly beside her, but she knew he was not asleep. She shifted so she could keep an eye on him, unsure of what to expect. He despised the Magi, and now she was one of them. After the way he had reacted to the news, she wasn't sure what to expect.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was for him to face her, to take her hand and speak earnestly, voice quavering as though he were an inch from weeping. Iseide kept her face carefully emotionless, unsure of what to do.

"Tell me I haven't been killing innocents," he whispered. Iseide was silent for a long while, unsure of what to say. She had no comforting words, no gentle croonings with which to soothe him.

"I cannot," she said quietly, sadly. "I cannot tell you that, I cannot tell you whether what you've done before is wrong. I cannot tell you whether the Magi are good or evil, whether they should be slain or honoured..."

"But you... You are of their kind, how can you not know?" he asked. He squeezed her hand, eyes searching her face for truth.

"I didn't know that," she replied. "I didn't know I was Magi, that I could bring you from the edge of death, that I could tame feral monsters or fell soldiers with but a word... They called me Magi-mother, Raige, I don't even know what that means."

She sat up, drawing her hand away from his. The symbols on her hands had a very, very faint glow to them, which was almost imperceptible even in the darkness. She frowned, and curled her hands into fists. Raige sat up as well, and Iseide looked away from him.

"I may be Magi now, but I feel no more wicked than I did before," she said. She felt Raige's hand slip into hers again, and when she looked down she could see the bruises and scrapes left on his knuckles. Iseide traced the fingers of her free hand down the tiny injuries, and they closed as her fingertips touched them. He tensed at the tiny, unintended show of magic.

"Maybe some of those in your past were vile, and some were not... But you've broken your emotionless training. You can see clearly through what you have been taught." She touched his face, and managed a smile. "You are not so lost to the wars as many of your brethren."


It took them nearly a month on foot to reach Doranth. The journey was slow, for they did their best to elude discovery by any potential enemies. Only a few minor magic beasts tried to follow Iseide, but she managed to send them away. The closer they got to the Doranthian borders, the fewer the mystic creatures were. It was easy to guess when they were close to home, for nothing abnormal appeared in the trees.

By the time they reached the walls of the capitol city, Raige and Iseide were so exhausted they felt near death. They were barely on their feet when they reached the castle, and they hardly heard the guards heralding their arrival.

Kalgar greeted them on the steps of the castle, smiling broadly. He draped his arms about their shoulders and swept them graciously through the castle doors. They were escorted by the king into a small chamber just off the throne room, where he faced them nervously.

"I see you lived... did you find it?" he said, looking eagerly between Raige and Iseide. He looked like a child about to receive a special gift.

"We have it," said Iseide. She reached into her belt pouch and withdrew it, extending her arm to Kalgar with no particular reverence. "I expect good payment for this, Kalgar, you have no idea what I... we have been through. At the least, larger chambers."

"Already done, Iseide my dear. Larger chambers, official title, a large salary," he said, unable to take his eyes from the shining gem. He made to take it, and Iseide pulled it out of his reach.

"And Raige Nightblade, what of his payment?" she asked. Kalgar's eyes narrowed. Iseide smiled cunningly, if tiredly.

"Whatever he wishes, Iseide, now please! The gem!" he said. Iseide held it out to him, and he grasped it in his own hands, staring at in in awe. "The Kuelosti power... in my hands!"

"That's wonderful, Kalgar. Good night," she said. "I'm off to sleep in my new, much larger, bed."

Iseide turned on her heel and stalked out, pausing at the door to ask one of the attendants lurking around where her newly claimed quarters were. She recieved general directions, and started away.

Raige walked with her as far as the main hall. She turned to face him, and smiled wanly.

"So this is where we part ways," she said simply. "It's been a pleasure, Raige Nightblade. An interesting journey, to say the least." He nodded, but said nothing.

"I'm sure we'll run into each other in the future," she said lamely. There were six thousand other things she wished to say, but none would escape her lips. "But for now, my bed calls to me and I have to answer it. I've been sleeping on the ground and in the snow for too long... You bushmen can take it, but I cannot. Good night."

With that, she turned and started up the large staircase that led to the second floor and resident's chambers. She didn't look back as she ascended, didn't stop to think about anything, merely found her way to her room and collapsed into bed.
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Postby Raige » Wed Mar 16, 2005 4:56 am

Raige watched her climb the stairs in silence. When she disappeared at the top, only then did he allow a small sigh escape his lips, followed by the whisper, "It was an honor to die for you, my lady." Raige bowed his head, turned and trudged out of the castle and into the courtyard, headed towards the general barracks. It had been a long time since he had slept in the barracks, and he wasn't entirely comfortabe with it, but for tonight, if only for tonight, he would gladly sleep wherever he fell.

During the next week, emissaries were sent to Kuelost, and both sides agreed to officially end the war for good. Not a truce, but a complete and total cease-fire. Raige was in the marketplace replacing the supplies he had lost when word came of the agreement, and the populace exploded with cheers. Raige only closed his eyes for a moment, the concept of peace being almost utterly foreign to him. He finished buying his supplies, as well as a new mount, and carried his gear back to the barracks, leading his new paint stallion by the mane. The stallion was surprisingly well-behaved, and almost as though it knew something was weighing Raige down, would nudge him every so often, as though reminding Raige that he had a new friend.

Word was given to the armies to withdraw from their maneuvers and return to their posts where they normally lived, where their families were. All Nightblades were recalled to the capitol city, something that was unprecedented in anyone living's memory. All troops except for the very minimum needed to do routine patrols and such were given two weeks of leave to be with their families. Basically, it was like another holiday. A royal banquet was set for the end of the next week, which is when all the Nightblades and army leaders were expected to be back at the capitol.

For the next week, Raige had nothing to do except sharpen his blades, whittled several blocks of wood into different figurines, and finally, by the fourth day of the first week, he moved out of the barracks and out of the city itself. He set up a small camp right outside the city's walls. For the returning generals and average travellers, it was comical seeing a medium-sized tent set up right outside the huge stone walls that surrounded the capitol city; but Raige was much more at ease outside the walls than within, so he simply ignored the laughing and the stares.

Raige received notice from a very annoyed messenger (who had spent the better part of the day looking for him, word not having travelled to the castle that Raige was living outside the walls) that he was officially requested (meaning, he was ordered) to attend the royal banquet, and would he please be in his best, most appropriate atire? Raige grumbled at the messenger, who took leave of the seeming barbarian without further comment. Raige had no banquet-appropriate atire, so the next day he went into the marketplace again and bought himself new clothes. It was interesting finding clothing big enough to fit him, and he found to his surprise that when he asked for a bill, every single merchant refused his money, bowing graciously and saying it would be their honor to serve him. Apparently, word had gotten out that he was a key player in ending the war. A little rattled at the attention, Raige quickly departed with his packages and returned to his small solitary camp.

It wasn't long before Raige's tent wasn't the only one outside the castle walls. Soon, there were about thirty tents dotting the hills around the city; very few of the Nightblades stayed within the city once they returned. Raige spent quite a bit of his time talking with his comrades, some of the only people in the world that Raige believed understood him. The Nightblades ate breakfast together, talking and laughing for hours, then would spend a greater portion of the day in silence, sparring and studying historical scrolls on tactics and combat and anything else that would improve their fighting skills.

Then, the day came that Raige was dreading more than he dreaded the task of stealing the diamond. The morning of the banquet, Raige didn't bother to leave his tent. He honed his weapons to razor sharp edges, all of them. He fixed rents in his worn battle clothes; packed, unpacked, then repacked his saddle bags; everything he could do to keep his mind off what he felt was his impending doom, he did. But, time continued to go by, and soon Raige found that it was evening and he had to get cleaned up and go to the castle. He bathed in one of the tubs that the Nightblades had set up in their "common area", shaving his face clean of the beard he had worn for so long. He cut his hair so that it was no longer uneven and washed it thoroughly. He found to his surprise that he had rather soft hair. He grunted and brushed it back out of his face. Then, properly cleaned, he got dressed. All of the Nightblades wore their traditional colors, although they didn't have any specific matching uniforms. Raige donned his midnight black silk pants, then pulled on his soft black leather boots. He pulled his cloud-white soft cotton shirt on over his head, tucking it into his pants, before pulling on the slightly thicker long-sleeved jade green, white-trimmed tunic on. The tunic had a picture of a pure white moon with a red serrated longknife running through it on the center of the upper back. It ended just below his knees, and was cut in a "v" shape so that the bottom of the v was on level with his calves. It was a handsome piece to be sure, but the entire getup felt rather alien to Raige. He wrapped his new wide black leather belt about his waist, rubbing the gleaming silver belt buckle a little and snorting.
"Utterly ridiculous," he murmured as he attached the ceremonial Nightblade knife and sheath to his right thigh. Grumbling, he stepped out of his tent and made his way towards the castle with a group of Nightblades, most of which look as uncomfortable as he did.

The banquet was light-hearted, laughter ringing throughout the air. The food was plentiful, wine flowing, music playing, and everyone showed up looking their absolute best. Raige merely made his way through the crowds, chatting nervously only with those people who started talking to him. He had no idea what he was even doing in here, with all of these fancy people in their fancy clothes with the fancy food and fancy music. He had tasted some of the food, oh yes. Tasted it, and promptly spit it back out. The server who saw him do it nearly fainted from shock. Raige moved away from the food tables and onto the wine tables. He found only thin wines, nothing like the mead he was accustomed too. After a time of wandering around, talking to people he had no idea who were, seeing most of his fellow Nightblades already with women, Raige simply wandered back to the wine table and began drinking glass after glass. It was thin stuff, and he probably wouldn't even get buzzed from it, much less drunk. So he continued to simply drink and drink and drink, watching people dance and laugh and simply have a good time.

He was absolutely miserable, and had just made up his mind to leave, when a familiar feminine hand touched his arm.
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Postby Khavi » Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:12 am

Iseide spent her first two days at home sleeping. She woke up just long enough to eat a small lunch halfway through the first day, and then returned to her bed. She found, though, that she had to sleep with her window open. It wasn't the same, without the cold air blowing through. Just over two months in the woods, and she had gotten all too used to the outdoors.

Life in the castle had not changed since she had left. Courtiers and nobles strolled the halls and congregated in varous laces about the castle, gossping and whispering behind their hands. Iseide felt distinctly out of place, and ended up spending much of her time locked away in her quarters, reading or figuring out by way of trial and error what exactly her newfound Magi powers allowed her to do.

Not long after she arrived home, news came of the war's end. It was no surprise, without the source of their infinite magic power, Kuelost stood no chance but to surrender or call a cease fire. Both armies withdrew into their respective kingdoms, which ment a sudden influx of soldiers in the city. She heard the Nightblades had take residence outside the city, in a slew of tents just beyond the walls.

There was to be a banquet at the end of the second week, once all the army's commanding officers were back. Iseide was expected to attend, as was made very clear to her by Kalgar. Everyone who was instrumental in the ending of the war was going to be there.

Iseide didn't spectacularly want to attend. She hadn't meshed totally with the nobility before, and it had only gotten worse since she had returned. If nothing else, it was fine food and drink at no cost to her. And maybe Raige would be there, she hadn't realized that she had gotten so accustomed to his presence.

When the day of the banquet finally came, Iseide spent no more than an hour getting ready. She bathed quickly, and plaited her hair so it fell in a loose braid down her spine. Then sheslipped into a white cotton shift and a simple green dress, which was finely made, trimmed in silver and laced up the back, but nothing extravagant. She would not stand out amongst the ladies of the court.

She pulled tightly laced, fingerless black gloves onto her hands, to hide the marks seared into her palms. Doranth was decidedly against the Magi, and it wouldn't do to have the king's favourite rogue be one of the enemy.

The banquet itself was no different than any of the many others Iseide had attended in the past. The only devience from the normal procedure was the gaggle of Nightblades lurking in the back. Iseide couldn't see through the crowd well enough to spot Raige among them, if he was even in attendance.

She spent most of her night chattling airily with old acquaintences and several who were interested in her line of work. Iseide didn't pay much attention to what she was saying, simply smiled and nodded and convinced them she was interested.

It was as she was talking to the king's sister that Iseide spotted him, lurking unhappily at the wine table. Raige was pulling back glasses of wine as though they were water, and looking very displeased with his current surroundings. Iseide couldn't help but smile at how much he looked like a little boy in uncomfortable new clothes. A very large, imposing little boy, but a little boy none the less.

Iseide excused herself from the lady, and crossed slowly to the wine table. Raige was glaring into his wine glass, and Iseide touched his hand gently. He looked up, apparently startled, and seemed surprised to see her.

"You look about miserable as I feel," she said, smiling. He shrugged, looking back into the glass. He downed it's contents, and set it back on the table, then turned to face Iseide.

"I don't like people," he said simply. He smiled broadly, and she had reason to think he was just a little drunk. Iseide laughed, and looked out at the room. Nobles mingled and laughed and spoke as though nothing were really happening outside the city walls.

"Two months as a bushman with you, and I'm inclined to leave myself. If I didn't hate sleeping in the snow, anyway," she said. She looked back at Raige, surprised at how glad she was to see him. "I say we've made our appearance, now we're free to disappear. Come on, we can kick off our boots and catch up a little in my chambers."

Iseide led the way through the crowd and out of the ballroom, into the relative quiet of the hallway. They walked in silence through the castle, neither saying a word until they reached Iseide's room.

"Make yourself at home," she said, immediately stepping out of her boots. Iseide pulled off her gloves and tossed them onto the desk, smiling back at Raige. "It's no tent in the trees, but I think it'll do for now."

Raige laughed heartily, nodding. "For now. But nothing beats a tent in the trees."

"Give me your coat, it's warm in here," she said. "And take off your boots, disarm, sit down, relax a little. No harm will come to you, I promise. It's safe up here."

He shrugged out of his coat and Iseide took it, draping it neatly over the back of a chair. She heard, behind her, several weapons being lain out on the desk. When she turned around again, Raige had untucked his shirt and looked somewhat more relaxed.

"Better?"

"...Still no tent in the trees," he said. Iseide rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of the bed, sighing and slumping. She patted the area next to her, and Raige sat down.

"I'm glad I found you down there," she said. "I thought I was going to be stuck with them all night. And, of course, it's good to see you again. How have you been since we got back? Been keeping busy?"

He shrugged. "Busy enough," he said, "Though it's hard to follow stealing the source of a kingdom's power." Iseide smiled faintly, and then bit her lip. She was itching to say so much more, but for some reason couldn't get up the nerve. There was an awkward silence for a while, and finally Iseide steeled herself to speak more than trivialities.

"I missed you these past weeks," she said, turning to him. "For all the hardships we had to go through... I liked having you around, even if I was sleeping on the ground and consorting with demons."

Raige smiled. "You're sitting here with me, I think you're not done demon consorting yet, 'Seide. I think you call the demons yourself, though, so maybe it's your own fault."

"It's not the demons I'm worried about anymore," Iseide chuckled. "It's the Nightblade sitting here I'm concerned with. Not sure what I'm going to do with him."

She looked at him, and next thing she knew she was kissing him. His arms were about her waist, and she wrapped hers about his neck. He drew away after what felt like glorious forever, and smiled at her. "I think that's what you're going to do with him."

"Something tells me," she replied, "That you're quite right."
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Postby Raige » Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:04 am

Raige awoke in unfamiliar surrounding. He was in a chamber of some sort, in a real bed. He blinked a few times, and heard deep breathing beside him. He glanced over and saw a woman's curving shoulder and ebony hair. He frowned, not remember exactly what he had done last night besides get very, very drunk. Very cautiously, as though he were crawling into an enemy's tent to slit his throat, Raige moved closer to the sleeping woman and peered over her shoulder. To Raige, time froze. He had slept in a real bed in a real chamber with Iseide!

Time sped up again, and he panicked, throwing himself backwards out of the bed, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. This, of course, caused Iseide to wake up, who rolled over quickly to see what the commotion was about, saw him, and her eyes softened as a smile played about her lips.


"Morning," she said.

Raige scooted back from the bed, realized he was completely and utterly naked, then scrambled back into the bed, merely to cover his nudity.


"You...I...we...here..."

Iseide laughed, and even through Raige's confused, panciked state of mind the sound resembled very closely the sound of nature's music.

"Mmhmm. You know, you said you'd never...been with a woman last night. I didn't believe you until this morning," she said grinning playfully. Raige blushed crimson to his earlobes. She reached out her hand and took one of his. "It's ok. You were very...thoughtful. Creative, energetic, enthusiastic...and thoughtful."

Raige blushed so hard his skin burned. When he heard her laugh again, he glanced sideways at her. Seeing her smiling the way she was, his embarassment vanished. "You're teasing me." She merely nodded. He grinned shyly. He slowly leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

It seemed as though things might take a turn for the more interesting again when there came a great banging at the door. Raige fairly leaped out of bed, the sound surprised him so. Slipping out of the bed, glancing at Iseide as he did so, he moved around the room, looking for his pants. Their clothes were a chaotic mess about the floor, and it took him a frantic moment to locate his pants. He quickly pulled them on and went to the door, opening it and protectively, almost jealously, placed himself between the opening in the door and Iseide's bed, blocking the messenger's view of Iseide.


"What is it?" Raige asked, less than politely. He was informed that he was required to attend a meeting of the Nightblades, in one hours' time, at the orders of Kalgar. Raige nodded and closed the door in the messenger's face, leaning back against it and sighing.

"What is it?" Iseide asked. Raige crossed the room and sat on the bed. Iseide sat up, pulling the covers up about her, then pulled Raige so he laid back, his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"Kalgar is calling a meeting for the Nightblades," Raige answered finally. "All of us."

"So?"

"He might be sending us off on another mission of some sort."

"Isn't that what you want?"

Raige looked up at Iseide and realized that, without even knowing it, he had fallen madly in love with her. He frowned up at her beautiful face. "I...don't know."

Far sooner than Raige would have liked, he had to leave Iseide. He dressed, donning the same clothes he had worn last night, grabbing his knife and sheath, and went down the hall and down the stairs. They were supposed to meet in Kalgar's "war room," a ridiculously decorated room filled with coats of armor, swords, shields, spears, axes. Central in the room was a huge map of the known world, with figurines meant to symbolize armies and castles strewn about it. Raige hated the room, and he had only been in it once.

As Raige neared the war room, he spotted several other Nightblades also dressed in their garments from the previous night, looking far more rumpled than he. He grinned at them and they returned the silent greeting, and they filed into the room, standing in ranks before the king. Kalgar waited until every Nightblade was accounted for, and then began his speech.


"My loyal warriors, I thank you all for your vital role in winning this war. Your efforts were unmatched by any other of my army's troops. You are all heroes, and as much will be recorded in the history books for generations to read. He paused then, as if expecting a round of applause. The Nightblades merely stood still, and Raige was rapidly growing impatient. His thoughts kept returning to the woman he had left upstairs.

"It is my greatest pleasure to relieve you all of duty. Now that we have finally won this war against Kuelost, your special skills and talents will be best put to use in other means of service." A stunned silence met this announcement. Kalgar cleared his throat awkwardly, then continued. "You will all be paid excellent retirement salaries, and will always be guests in my castle. I will grant each of you one thing that you desire upon your departure, and any of you wishing to stay here and work in the regular military ranks will make the transition as officers and be afforded the most comfortable barracks we have. Your country owes you its deepest thanks, and I again offer you my own."

Raige realized his draw had dropped open, so stunned was he by this announcement. He closed his mouth. Kalgar quickly exited the room before anyone could snap out of their stupor and raise a question. Raige dazedly walked out of the room with the rest of the disbanded Nightblades. He didn't know where his feet carried him, not much caring either. The Nightblades were no more. What would he do? He didn't know how to do anything but fight. He could join the regular army as an officer, sure. How long would it take before his nerves were frayed just a bit too much and he ended up killing someone? No, that simply wasn't an option for him.

Raige made his way out of the castle and was even back in his tent before he realized where he was. He sat in his tent, staring out at the snow-covered fields, not thinking, not feeling, just staring. Finally, he gave a start when his horse peaked its head into his tent and whinnied at him. He looked up at the paint stallion's roan and white head, then nodded.


"Aye...we'll just go on a trip...go where the winds take us. Sounds as good a plan as any. I've nothing else to do."

With that, Raige changed clothes, armed himself, broke down his camp, saddled up the stallion, and road off, never looking back.

"Maybe we'll go see old Hadar...I've never been able to just sit and talk with the old man. Maybe he'd be happy to have some company for awhile..."
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Postby Khavi » Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:16 am

Iseide watched Raige leave, smiling to herself. She fell back into the pillows, her smile broadening. She felt like a giddy schoolgirl, and found herself very eagerly awaiting the moment she could see him again. For all the trouble they had lived through, for all the arguments and the strife... being with him just felt right.

She lay in bed for a while, half asleep, half dreaming, before finally pushing herself up to her feet. She dressed, in a relatively simple blue dress and grey smock as she usually did while at home, and pulled on the fingerless gloves that had become costumary for her. When anyone asked, she said simply that she was trying to protect her hands from callouses.

The morning and early afternoon was spent visiting the local smithsand tailors, arranging to have her knives sharpened and mended, her torn and battered working clothes patched and in some cases remade. With the most recent payment from the king in hand, Iseide could afford fine services.

It was late in the afternoon when she decided to venture outside the city, where Raige had taken residence. Iseide knew he preferred sleeping out in the snow, but figured she would make sure he was comfortable in his tent. And, much to her surprise, she found she almost missed sleeping outdoors herself, so maybe she would do so again. For old time's sake.

From her window, she could see a smattering of the Nightblade's tents. Curiously, it looked as though several were taking down their small homes and packing up, as though getting ready to leave. She threw on a heavy cloak and winter boots, and made her way through the city to the gates, wondering all the way if they had been given a new assignment.

Raige had said his tent was just outside the walls, a few hundred paces to the left of the gate, but Iseide couldn't seem to find it. Several of the other Nightblades were watching her curiously, sitting outside their tents and packing or sharpening weapons or whatever else it was Nightblades did. After a few moments and searching, Iseide decided to ask someone.

"Excuse me, do you know Raige?" she asked, approaching the friendliest looking one. He nodded, standing and crossing his arms over his chest. "Could you tell me where his tent is, please?"

"Sorry m'lady, but he left this morning. Packed everything in and saddled up, disappeared off down the road without so much as a word," he replied. "Why would a lady such as yourself be looking for him?"

Iseide said nothing, merely stared at the Nightblade in shock. Raige had left that morning? That didn't make sense, he wouldn't just take off without telling her. Something was amiss.

"I just... He... Why did he leave? Is there any reason he wouldn't walked off like that? I know there was a meeting this morning... A new mission?" she asked, finally stammering out her words.

The man shook his head sadly. "He probably left for the same reason those others are," he said, motioning out at the camp. Several others were getting ready to leave. "The Nightblades were officially disbanded this morning, Miss. There won't be any more missions."

Though she thought it was impossible, Iseide felt her jaw drop even farther. Kalgar had disbanded the Nightblades? The only men that had kept him from losing the war outright? The only men who realy, truely knew what they were doing?

"If Raige comes back," she said, turning at starting to walk away, "Tell him I was looking for him." With that, she stalked away through the gates.

Not long later, she burst through the throne room doors, much to the dissapproval of the herald and magistrate outside. They followed her into the room, begging she be quiet and reconsider, but Iseide had none of it. She stalked down the center of the room, startling those gathered for court at the king's feet.

"Kalgar!" she snarled, and the king looked immediately nervous. "Kalgar, we have business."

"I was going to send for you shortly, Iseide, I have business with you as well..." he said, standing and striding towards her in weakly portrayed confidance. "Perhaps we could discuss this in my chambers..."

"No, Kalgar, we are discussing this right here. A little bird just told me you dsbanded the Nightblades this morning," she said, looking him sternly in the eye. The room fell silent. "Is this true?"

"Yes, but you see-"

"Fool!" exploded Iseide. There was a collective gasp from the gathered courtiers. "Why would yo do something that stupid, Kalgar? The Nightblades have been around for as long as anyone can remember, for well over a century! Why disband them now?"

"Because they are not needed!" he replied, looked for all the world like a trapped rat. "The war is over, they are unnecessary now!"

"This war is over, Kalgar, but there will be more. Kuelost may be tamed for the moment, but what of our other enemies? What happens with Kuelost gets their nerve back? What then? I tell you know, half the Nightblades have left or will be leaving shortly, and they will not come back. You've doomed yourself," hissed Iseide.

"Kuelost is not a threat. Their diamond is ours, their Magi are powerless," said Kalgar. "And the Magi dare not come here, we will see them and have them executed."

"You wouldn't know a Magi if it slapped you in the face," said Iseide acidly.

"And you're only worried about your own pet Nightblade, Raife or Race or whatever his name was. He's left, hasn't he?" said Kalgar, lashing out.

Iseide promptly slapped him. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed out, fists clenched tightly. She knew Kalgar would do nothing to her, he was far too cowardly. Iseide had bullied him into changing his mind before, she could could do it again.

Her anger faded rapidly as she walked to her room, and realized that if Raige had taken everything with him, he would likely not be returning soon. When she reached her chambers she sat on her bed, unsure whether she should weep or chase after him.

But she had no way of knowing where to look.
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Postby Raige » Mon Mar 28, 2005 2:20 am

Raige continued on his journey for days on end, avoiding human company like the plague. He circled wide around villages and farms, not feeling at all up to the task of communicating. He was completely alone, and felt wonderfully at ease in his self-imposed isolation. His mind, free to wander, began to wonder about the beauty of the nature surrounding him, or about things he had done, people he had known, anything but the future. He would think about the future when he got to his destination, but definately not before then. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he was completely, utterly, and totally relaxed.

The days were spent sleeping, for he much preferred travelling at night after having done so for ten years. There was a certain softness that was able to be seen at night, the sun light's harsh light no longer being able to make things be seen so clearly that they appeared almost ugly to his eyes. The moon's gentle light caressed everything, and made the peace in the lands that much sweeter.

Weeks passed, slow going because he was in no hurry. He arrived at Hadar's cabin in the woods by the end of the third week. He led his horse into Hadar's small stable, hung the saddle up, brushed him down, made sure he had oats enough to eat, water to drink, and hay to lay upon, then Raige went back outside and to Hadar's door. He knocked thrice and stepped back, waiting. Things being jostled out of the way could be heard as Hadar made his way to the door, then opened it. Seeing Raige, he seemed to not be surprised in the least.


"Ah, Raige Nightblade. I should have known," he said, his eyes twinkling as though he had indeed known. "Come in, come in."

Raige followed him inside, and they sat down for tea. The afternoon passed along as Raige recounted the tale of their mission. When he finished, Kadar shook his head sadly.

"That was a mistake...and you will have to fix it. But, let's not speak of it now."

Raige pressed Hadar about what he meant, but Hadar, as usual, stubbornly refused to talk about it anymore. So, Raige stayed with Hadar over the ensuing weeks, trying to pry what he thought the mistake was from him, and each time Hadar would suddenly grow deaf, or change the subject, or otherwise simply ignore Raige.

It was one such evening of verbal sparring that Raige ask Hadar a question that had been bothering him since he had found out Iseide was magi.


"Hadar...when did the Nightblades start fighting the Magi?"
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Postby Khavi » Mon Mar 28, 2005 3:18 am

Iseide spent close to a week locked in her room, seeing no one other than the little serving girl who brought her food several times a day. After the first few days she had given up on missing or worrying about Raige. She had settled into a quiet anger towards him, her general opinion being, "Good riddance."

She found she wasn't sure if she wished to stay, or strike out on her own. There was little for her still in the castle. She would never make a better steal than she had with the diamond, and couldn't hide her apparent Magi heritage forever. But there wasn't much for her outside, either, and she found that as long as she did not do any magic, purposefully or accidentally, the marks on her palms faded to almost nothing within several days.

Finally she left her room. Iseide had to centure into the town to visit the weaponsmiths, to have her daggers sharpened and mended where they had been scuffed and damaged.

It was still winter, but in the month or so since she had returned it had warmed a bit, as it got closer to springtime. Iseide donned her long coat and walked to the smith's, even though a carriage was offered. She preferred not to be escorted everywhere as though she were a noble.

"Hello, Soren," she said to the smith at the forge as she entered. "How have you been lately?" she inquired.

The smith, a stock man of around fifty, with greying hair and smiling eyes, looked up as Iseide entered and smiled broadly at her. He set aside his tools, swept his hands on his apron, and started towards the counter where Iseide waited.

"I'm doing wonderfully, Iseide, business has been very strong with all these soldiers in town, especially those Nightblades. Though with the war off I figure it'll go down again soon enough, I'll have to go back to horseshoes and chains," he said, laughing. Iseide smiled. "So what do you have for me today?"

"The usual," she said. She placed a bundle on the counter, and unrolled it to display her blades. "I need a sharpening, a few scuffs repaired. Thankfully nothing outwright broken this time."

"Of course, of course," he said, and pulled one of the knives from it's resting place. His powerful hands held the blade delicately. "I just need a few days as always."

"Thank you, Soren. I'll just-"

Iseide was interrupted by a sudden commotion outside. There were screams of terror, and when she turned around Iseide saw people fleeing past the shop windows. Immediately she grabbed her two longest daggers and ran for the door.

What she saw shocked her to the core. A monster was prowling down the street, snarling and snapping at people as they fled. It was unmistakably magical, and looked like a hideously malformed lion.

It was over-large, with fire-coloured scales down its back and yellow-gold fur everywhere else. It's tail was long and scaley, barbed like a dragon's. Spines protruded from it's shoulders, and a forked tongue lolled and flicked from it's gaping, toothy maw.

Iseide stood shocked in the road for a few moments, staring at the creature. The monster looked up and noticed her, and started towards her. It was just like the three kappas in the forest, it was drawn to her.

The lion-lizard was upon her in an instant, circling her, and soon nuzzling at her. Iseide backed away in disgust, slashing at it with one of her knives. The edge cut across it's snout, and dark blood splashed across the snow and cobbles. It looked confused, hurt, and then roared in anger and pain.

It coiled back, and sprange forward. Iseide rolled under it, came up crouching. The monster slid to a stop, turning as it did so, and slunk forward, circling again. Iseide vaguely heard the sound of horse hooves on stone, but ignored it, focusing instead on the creature she had successfully angered. Why hadn't she talked it away as she had the others?

Because I'm impossibly stupid, she thought. She was ready to hurl herself forward, but before she could the monster let out a shriek, and a man on a horse blew past her. The lizard-lion shuddered and fell onto its stomach, moaning and growling. Iseide saw a sword protruding from it's thick neck.

The hooves were approaching her from behind, and she looked back. A hooded man sat in the saddle, and it trotted past her. The man unsaddled next to the monster, and pulled his sword from it's neck. The monster growled and tried to snap at him, but he stabbed downwards again, through it's eye, and the creature fell limp. He pulled his sword free again, swept in clean on the fur, and sheathed it again.

Iseide lowered her daggers and stood up, and started cautiously forward towards the man and the now-dead beast. He looked towards her, and drew back his hood. His marks revealed him to be a former Nightblade.

"You were very brave, or very stupid, to face this thing," he said. "Do you know what that is?"

"Some Magi-made monster," she said. "But you killed it awfully easily. From what I understand these things are nigh impossible to kill."

'Depends what it is, depends where you hit it. This is simply a mutated form of a real animal, therefore simpler to kill. I got it under it's scales, in a soft spot, and then through the eye pierced it's brain, killing it," he said. Iseide looked from the fallen monster to the Nightblade who had, essentially, saved her. He had olive skin and long blue-black hair tied at the nape of his neck, eyes so dark they swallowed the light. There was a point to his ears that suggested he was part elven.

"Well, thank you, Nightblade. You saved me a fight I didn't particularly wish for," she said, inclining her head to him. He shrugged vaguely.

"It was nothing, though I wonder how this thing got into the city. They never cross into Doranth," he said. Iseide was silent, she knew why they were coming. Kalgar had the diamond, and Iseide herself drew them to her. "I heard Kalgar had something of importance to the Magi, I wonder if it attracts these attrocities."

"That probably has something to do with it," she said. "I'm Iseide Voeskil," she added, switching both knives to one hand and extending her free one.

"Damien Crow," he said, taking her hand into his own. "It was Nightblade, but we've been disbanded."

"I heard. Not Kalgar's most intelligent move," she said. "If this keeps up I'm sure he'll realize that."

"Half of them are gone already, and half of those who remain wouldn't want to serve with him again. Kalgar is not... the kindest to his military, nor does he always use them for the best purposes," Damien said with a shrug.

"So I have learned. I'm his theif, I get the worst of the jobs," she said with a little laugh. "Thank you, again, for riding to the rescue like that. I have other things I need to attend to, though, so I should be on my way... I'm sure guards are on their way already, they can take care of the mess."

Iseide turned to walked back to the smith's as Damien took his horse's reins and then caught up to her.

"Does this business," he said, "Perhaps include dining with a former Nightblade?" Iseide smiled down at the cobbles, and looked to the fighter.

"It could," she said. He smiled for the first time since she had met him, and Iseide found him quite attractive. "Just let me finish what I started to do before that thing came along, and we'll see about that."
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Postby Raige » Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:25 am

The hours turned into a day, then two. Hadar talked, and Raige simply sat there, listening. Hadar's tale shocked Raige to the core of his being. The Nightblades had originally been formed to protect Magi! Great contests were held for the best fighters for both men and women, and then the victors were forced into wedlock. Their offspring were bred only to other combatant offspring, producing a race of people that were physically superior to all others. The children began training in the arts of war as the tender age of five, taken from their parents and trained by other Nightblades. The process took many years to take root, and many more to bear fruit. However, once the fifth generation of Nightblades were born, it was obvious the grand experiment had indeed worked. This new generation was faster, more agile, stronger than any normal person had a right to be. They were smarter, too. To keep the Nightblades from becoming too powerful, it was absolutely forbidden for Magi to bed with Nightblades. This law was absolute, and punishable by death for both the Magi and the Nightblade. Each Magi had a single Nightblade assigned to them for the Nightblade's life (for they were, in the beginning of their creation, notoriously short lived). Throughout the course of a Magi's life, he or she might have two, three, sometimes even four Nightblades to protect them. This was necessary because, in those days, Magi were forbidden from using their talents to kill. Some Magi did, of course, and were sent to death for their crimes. The Magi did not rule then, either. It wasn't until later, when the Nightblade program had become completely successful, that the Magi took power. It was also then that the problems between Nightblades and Magi began to take root.

The Nightblades were unruly with their newfound responsibilities, as it seemed that everyone had turned against the Magi's rule. The Nightblades were being used to eliminate possible assassins, instead of simply protecting the people they had been born to protect. And, as often happens when two people live together for so long, people of the two races began to fall in love with one another. It was the growing number of executions combined with the dishonorable assignments being given them that caused the Nightblades to rise up from their life of servitude and leave Kuelost all together. They travelled in a huge band, receiving welcome nowhere, until an ambitious young king of Doranth welcomed them. He made them a part of his army, allowing them to command themselves answerable only to him and him alone. He used them to spearhead his expansion campaigns, and was highly successful. Within a handful of years, Doranth grew to twice its size in landmass. This was also when the first wars between Doranth and Kuelost began, for the king set his eyes on the rich lands of the Magi and hungered for them.

It was close to four in the afternoon of the second day when Hadar finally brought the tale to a close. The two men sat their in silence, Raige staring with unseen eyes at the low burning fire. Hadar bid Raige goodnight and, yawning, made his way to his room. After a small eternity, Raige also stood, but did not head for his bed. He left the cottage, went out to the small barn, and readied his horse for travel. He set off immediately, heading for Kuelost. He travelled through most of the night before exhaustion finally pulled him into oblivion, and he slept sitting saddle.

He awoke the next morning, feeling not a bit rested, and urged his tired horse onward, ever onward, heading towards Gilden. If Hadar was telling the truth (which Raige had no doubt whatsoever he was), then Raige needed to speak to the oldest and wisest (consequently, most powerful) Magi in Kuelost. Hadar didn't know about the gem they had stolen, and Raige wanted to know exactly what it was and what it's use was.

It was toward midday when the first trouble began. Raige was riding along a road, when suddenly something came rushing from the woods and launched itself at his horse. The creature hit the horse hard, latching on with long claws, jaws sinking into the stallion's throat, and the horse almost immediately went down. Raige barely had time to free his foot from the stirrup and roll free before the horse hit the ground, whinnying with insane pain. Raige immediately drew his blades and dispatched the creature, an impish thing but the size of a man in his teenage years. It had a row of spines going down its back, its eyes were blood red, teeth pointed and jagged. Raige stood there inspecting it for a moment, for it was a creature he had not seen in his entire time in Kuelost, when he heard the sounds of more creatures coming at him. The spoke to one another in high pitched squeals and shrieks, and Raige knew from the sounds he would be outnumbered. He turned and ran as fast as he could, hoping the prospect of a fresh meal would be more enticing than the prospect of a chase. He was right, for the most part. None of the imps came after him, but he found himself being pursued by dark kappas. As he flew through the woods, trying to avoid the kappas and any other creatures he didn't know would be waiting for him, his mind was racing faster than his legs. It was like the entire country had gone mad! The monsters of Kuelost seemed to have multiplied and grown much bolder since last he had been here. It didn't make any sense at all. He noticed a strange pattern though. While he was headed towards Gilden, almost all of them (except the ones that spotted him and gave chase) were heading away from Gilden. Some were headed east, most south. Was this some trick of the Magi's doing? Raige intended to find out.

A terrible week later, exhausted and slightly delirious, Raige finally reached the gates of Gilden. The guards, upon spotting him, immediately bared steel and levelled crossbows at him. Raige raised his hands in the sign of giving up, and called out,
"I am Raige Nightblade. Capture me if you will, but let me in! I have business with your Magi."

Quite a short time later, disarmed and securely shackled, Raige found himself in a cell. Whether they would actually let him speak to a Magi, or just let him stay in here and rot, he hadn't a clue. If it was the former, the sooner the better. If it was the latter...well, he had tried.
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Postby Khavi » Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:28 pm

"Another? That's two just today, and at least nine others in the past week and a half, not including the one you killed."

"They're turning up in droves, and not all of them are easy kills anymore. The big ones are starting to turn up, and Kalgar's going to have to recall the Nightblades if he wants any chance of controlling the problem."

Iseide and Damien stood on the balcony of her chambers, overlooking the city as night fell. Damien had just recently arrived, bearing news of yet another monster attack within the city limits. Since Iseide had encounted the lizard-lion two weeks previously, magic monsters had become appearing in the city and attacking citizens.

Until then, the military had had a simple enough time of capturing at killing the creatures, but if Damien's words were correct, the more powerful of the monsters were beginning to turn up. Those that had to be killed two or three times before they finally fell, those that were impossible to kill without use of magic or holy weapon.

"This is ridiculous," Iseide said, looking down at the city as it slowly lit up for the night. "Does Kalgar know what he's done to the city? Does he understand that he's probably ruined himself?"

"If he doesn't understand now, he will soon enough. Those things aren't going to just go away," Damien replied. He had found out about the diamond, that Iseide and Raige had stolen it, though Iseide had not been the one to tell him. "The stone's more magic than he could comprehend, it draws those things to it."

"I know," Iseide said flatly. Since the creatures had begun to appear, she had to go back to wearing her gloves everywhere. The symbols burned bright on her palms again, seared into her skin as if with a branding iron.

"This can, however, be just as easily discussed over dinner," Damien said, smiling and turning from the rail. Iseide turned to follow him into the room, but something dark and small shot past her and collided with Damien.

He and the thing rolled acros the floor. When they came to a stop, Iseide saw it was a miniature kappa, about the size of a small dog, pinning him to the floor, hissing at him. Iseide stared in awe for a moment, until the creature looked up and snarled at her.

He flew at her, batwings spreading, and instinctively Iseide tore off one of her gloves and threw her hand up, palm out to face the winged monter. It narrowly missed her, swooping in a circle around her and landing at her feet again.

"Magi-mother!" it cooed, siding agaisnt her legs as would a cat. Damien, as soon as the monster was off of him, had hurled himself to his feet. His sword was out, and he watched the thing as it tried to endear itself to Iseide.

"Leave here," Iseide said to the Kappa, pulling off her other glove and pointing towards the balcony. She knelt and and the thing rubbed against her hands. "You cannot stay here, you must go. You will be killed."

"Magi-mother here," it said. "Stay here. Magi-mother stopp killing."

"No," she said firmly. "Magi-mother will not stop the killing unless you do." She stood up, and the little kappa watched her, cat's eyes sad.

Suddenly, with a sickening noise, Damien's sword slammed downwards, striking into the minature monster's spine. It screamed and writhed, working it's way backwards up Damien's blade. He drew it back, then stabbed downwards again, just as it flipped over to face him. Another horrible shreik, and it fell still.

Damien pulled his sword free, and looked up at Iseide, a strange mix of emotions in his eyes. It was just like when Raige had found out she was Magi, all trust erased in mere moments. She bit her lip, and closed her hands into fists.

"Magi-mother?" he asked.

"You understood that?"

"I know the language of the Magi, all the better to understand the enemy. Why did that thing call you mother?" he asked, not yet re-sheathing his sword.

"I don't know. They all do, all those that speak. It's always Magi-mother, it's never just Magi. I didn't even know I was Magi until I... until we took the diamond. I brought Raige back from near death and incapacitated eight soldiers with a word and a gesture," she said. "I don't even know what I can do yet, other than talk to these things."

Just then three guards burst into the room, bristling with weapons. The one at the front took in the scene, eyes falling immediately onto the dead kappa. His eyes went wide.

"We heard a great commotion, m'lady, we had to be sure... be sure you were all right," he said, never tearing his eyes from the dead monster. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," she said simply, absently motioning them away.

"Magi!" cried one of the three. Iseide and the guard captain looked up, and Iseide knew immediately what had happened. She had shown them her hands without her gloves, with the marks glowing afresh. "Iseide is Magi!"


"Show me your hands."

Iseide stood before Kalgar, glowering at him. The three guards had dragged her from her quarters to the throne room, where Kalgar had been discussing some unimportant matter with his advisors.

"I said show me your hands!" he snarled. When Iseide refused to comply, he grabebd her wrist and pulled it to him, looking down at the mark on her palm. "You are Magi, Iseide."

"Only recently, Kalgar."

"Do you call the monsters here?"

"Why in hell would I do that, Kalgar? I repel them, if I can. They listen to me, they leave if I say. It's that diamond that's attracting them. These are the monsters that lived in the forset at Kuelost. They're here now because the diamond is, the source of their magic is."

"How do you know this? Were you aware this would happen?"

"It's logic, Kalgar. They lived in Kuelost when the stone was in Kuelost, they come to Doranth since the diamond is in Doranth. I didn't know it would happen, but now that is I can't say I'm surprised."

Kalgar was quiet, still looking down at Iseide's hand. Finally he released it, and turned away. He seemed pensive, thoughtful. Then he turned back to her, a wicked glint in his eye.

"You truely speak with them, these creatures? Control them?" he asked. Iseide nodded. "You know I could have you executed for being Magi, have you thrown into the dungeons never to be seen again..."

"Go ahead, I've escaped worse than you could ever give me," she said idignantly. "You woudn't, anyway."

"Oh, I would... unless you help me, Iseide. I can't have these monsters roaming my streets, killing people... but if you can control them as you say you can, you can keep them off the streets, keep them tame..." he said, a smile broadening across his face. "I'll give you a title. You can be the first Doranthian Beastmaster, the first officially sanctioned Magi. I'll even let you keep your new little Nightblade."

"Do I get an official title too?" asked Damien. He had followed the guards as they brought Iseide. Kalgar frowned at him.

"Taming only," Iseide said. "I will keep them in line, but I will not used them to attack anyone or advance any person agenda of yours. I'll do it to keep the population safe."

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of anything else."
I was so mad, I could have chewed up nails and spit out paper clips.
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Postby Khavi » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:33 am

Double, oops.
I was so mad, I could have chewed up nails and spit out paper clips.
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Postby Khavi » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:34 am

The winter sky lightened gradually as the sun rose behind heavy grey clouds, slowly illuminating a city recently covered in a fresh layer of snow. There was little movement in the streets below, though this was not entirely uncommon during the cold midwinter. Most stayed huddled in their beds until late in the morning, until the sun had a chance to warm the streets.

A chill wind rolled over the city, a blew through the open window of a room in the Doranthi king's castle. The breeze ruffled the canopy of the bed, blowing between the drawn bed curtains. There was a stirring within, and soon a woman pulled the canopy aside and set a bare foot on the stone floor. Faintly glowing runes traced over the tops of her feet and spiraled up her calves. Similar markings covered her palms and wound up the inside of her wrists, twined around her forearms just below the elbow.

Clutching her bedshirt about her she wet to the window, making to draw the shutters on the window. She paused, though, closing her eyes and letting the frigid breeze caress her cheeks and lift her dark hair fron her face.

The door door adjoining her room to the next opened softly, but she didn't bother turning. She knew without looking who had entered.

"My lady, why do you insist on standing in the window? You'll catch your death that way, in nothing but your nightshirt."

"I find it refreshing," she replied quietly. She opened her eyes and saw the man had come to stand next to her at the window. "It reminds me of..."

"It reminds you of him," the man said darkly. He lowered he gaze to look at his hands, which rested on the windowsill. "Ise... it's been a year. He didn't return for the recall of the Nightblades, he won't return now."

"Most of the Nightblades still in the city didn't even returned for that, Damien. Not a quarter of all the Nightblades returned when Kalgar called for them. You didn't even respond."

"I've got a much more important job now, Iseide. I protect the city's lovliest Magi."

"You protect the city's only Magi, Damien. So technically I would be the lovliest Magi even if I had a humped back and three eyes."

Damien rolled his eyes. "You speak truth, though I think I might still find you lovely even if you did have a humped back and three eyes." He slipped his arm about her waist drew her close, kissing her temple. "Not to say I don't prefer you as you are not."

Iseide rested her head against his shoulder for a moment, until there was a knock at the door. She sighed and slipped out of Damien's grasp, crossing to find the reason for the disturbance. She pulled the door open, not caring that she was still in nothing other than her night shirt, and leveled a steady gaze on the boy on the other side. He met her eyes for the barest moment before dropped his gaze to the level of her bare knees.

"My lady Magi, Kalgar sent me to find you quickly, he said there was someone you must see, someone who insisted they see you right away, and who he says you will be... uhm... someone you would be pleased to see."

His message delivered, the boy turned and scurried away. Iseide sighed again, and closed the door.

Damien had drawn the shutters while her back was turned, and Iseide crossed to the little alcove with a wash basin, pulling her nightshirt over her head as she went. The basin was already full, but the water was frigid. The marks on her right glowed faintly orange and she dipped her fingers into the cold water, which steamed beneath her touch. Iseide sank into the basin, greatful for the warmth now seeping into her bones. She hadn't realized how cold she really had been.

"The little luxuries of the Magi," Damien laughed, crossing the room to sit on a little stool next to the basin. "I almost envy you that little trick."

"I would take a cold bath every morning if it saved me all the troubles that came with the little luxuries," she replied. She sank completely beneath the water for a moment, letting the water soak into her dark hair. Then she rose again, and motioned for Damien to hand her soap to wash her hair with.

"I don't know, a warm bath on a morning like this would almsot be worth the trouble," he replied, watching her soap her hair and body. It was not an entirely unwelcome sight. As she again dipped below the surface again to rinse, he murmured, "Too bad you don't have a basin built for two."

"What was that?" Iseide asked as she stood, ringing water out of her hair. She shuddered once as the cold air enveloped her again. With a toss of her head, Iseide shook the remaining water from her hair, leaving it in dry waves. As she stepped onto the floor, water ran quickly down her legs to be left in the basin, so she tracked none across the room to the wardrobe. Another small benefit of the magic that plagued her.

"Just clearing my throat," he replied, and promptly . "If you can just dry yourself like that, just shake off the water, couldn't you just... shake off the dirt?"

"I'm not sure it works that way. I think I need to have something to remove the dirt with. Also, a hot bath in the morning is not something to be scoffed at." She drew a shift from the wardrobe and pulled it over her head, followed closely by a woolen green dress. Runes similar to those on her hands and feet were embroidered into the hem and the cuffs of the sleeves.

"I see."

"You'd better go dress if Kalger wants to speak with us."

"He wants to speak with you. He just knows you won't speak to him without... a witness. But point taken, I'll go clothe myself."

Iseide watched from the corner of her eye as Damien left, smiling. She was fond of him, and he was about the only real friend she had left in Doranth. Most mistrusted and feared her, no matter her actions or words to convince them otherwise. No Magi had ever lived in the city before, and certainly no Magi had ever been born in the city in the past.

It was a year since her return from a mission into Keulost, a year since her first contact with real magic, her own or otherwise. A year since the magic of Keulost began to seep into Doranth after she had stolen the source of Keulost's magic, bringing with it magical creatures both ferocious and benign. A year since she met Damien and a year since she had been named the Doranthi Beastmaster and tasked with catching or killing all magical creatures that found their way into the city. A year she had become Doranth's first true Magi, more than just the tamer and caller of wild magics.

A year since Raige had left.

That had been the hardest for her. Raige, a Nightblade, an elite soldier in the service of Doranth, had been sent with her as a protector in the quest to steal the gem that held the magic of Keulost. On their journey he had become more than just a protector, he had become her friend and, shortly after their return to Doranth, her lover. He had seen her as Magi and not let it cloud his vision of her.

But then Kalgar, in his infinite foolishness, disbanded the Nightblades in light of the end of the war with Keulost. The war was over, and so why keep so many highly trained, and highly paid, men in his service? Cheaper, easier, to disband them and let them find new jobs. Nost Nightblades simply left Doranth, most never to return.

Raige was one of those who left. The same morning he had spoken his love and devotion to her, he packed all of his belongings and left Doranth, though where he had gone Iseide did not know. He had not told he was leaving nor where he was going, simply left.

It had hurt at first, his leaving. She had wept the night he left, first in sadness, but then in anger. How could he have gone with not a goodbye, or so much as a note? How could he just run, why hadn't he come to her for comfort? Why did he not trust her?

Then, with time, the anger and sadness settled into a kind of acceptance. Raige had left Doranth, and there was little she could do. Wicked creatures were creeping into the city daily, and she was the only one who could stop them easily. She couldn't waste time worrying over whether he would come home or not.

The gentle rap at the door told her Damien was ready, and she lifted herself from her reverie and stood to leave. No sense worrying about the past when she had pressing things to worry about in the present. She joined Damien in the hall, and took his offered arm.

"Let's go see who it is Kalgar thinks it's so important that we meet."
I was so mad, I could have chewed up nails and spit out paper clips.
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