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| Fell Powers [Complete]; [GRP] Open (1 person only, please!) | |
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| Topic Started: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:19 am (286 Views) | |
| Priscilla | Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:19 am Post #1 |
 
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Priscilla Vermillion stared across the clearing warily, eying the clear boundary between the natural flora of the Norwood Forest and the encroaching ironwood trees that marked the expansion of the Calmonah Woods. Despite the fact that she had been born in the norther Istani scrublands and spent the majority of her life living in the capitol of the desert nation, she could still tell the difference between the two patches of woodlands. The arcane researcher sighed and removed her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose. According to the map she had purchased at a rather inflated price from a local farmer, this area should be over a mile from the border of the Calmonah Woods. Either he had cheated her or the unnatural growth of the forest had sped up in the two weeks since she left the Academy of Magic. Priscilla folded her glasses closed and shoved them into their case on her belt, taking a few tentative steps off the trail and towards the ironwood trees. The woman was obviously out of her element in the lush, forested environment. Her hair was a vivid shade of red that stuck out garishly, and she had been forced to tie it pack in a tight ponytail to avoid it getting caught on low-hanging branches or thorny vines. Priscilla was shorter than average, her diminutive stature and soft features making her seem much younger than her actual age. She was wearing a dark maroon leather jerking underneath a dark blue vest, with leggings cut from the same fabric. Over this ensemble she wore a thick woolen cloak that had an assortment of small pockets on the interior that could hide virtually anything. Resting on her breast was a plain silver amulet, the sign of an accredited researcher that had graduated from the Academy of Magic. She had come here to investigate reports of a druid with strange powers, powers that had supposedly been lost almost a century before. He could control the farmers with his fell abilities, turning them against each other and manipulating their every move. Even more worrisome were the reports of him causing a person's blood to boil or freeze on command, usually killing the target instantly. Such skills were eerily similar to those of the haemomancers of legend, twisted magicians who had used blood magic to wreak havoc across all of Chaon and inspire terror in the general populace. Every now and then rumors would spring up about a new haemomancer that had come into power, but thankfully it was rarely true. Priscilla had a particular interest in the whisperings due to her own unique abilities. She had been born into a family with the genetic ability to freely manipulate their own blood. Her haemokinesis had inspired her to travel to the Academy campus in Istan City as a youth and enroll there to learn more not only about her own skills, but also the history and myths surrounding the blood-bending arcanists of lore. Her thesis had been a historical evaluation of the extinct brand of magic, and she had led several expeditions in search of modern day haemomancers. Unfortunately, Julian had been unable to procure funding for another search most arcanists considered a mad goose chase, so instead he had 'volunteered' her services to the Norwood militia. Prisicilla had not been looking forward to trouncing through the forest with a legion of hired help and farmers-turned-soldiers, so she had set off on her own as soon as she arrived in Norwood Village. The last reports of the druid with blood-related powers was several miles north of here, but with the spread of the Calmonah Forest she had no idea how to find it. "Oh well. Time to put that education to use." The woman crumpled up the map and threw it aside as she strode forward, heading straight for the ironwood trees with a confident bearing. The druids were used to fighting farmers and whatever desperate mercenaries had accepted their coin; it was time to see how they would fare against a trained arcanist. |
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| Akala | Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:13 pm Post #2 |
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Akala was wedged in a tree, her nose and inch away from an interesting species of mistletoe. Whatever darkness that was infesting the forest had clearly mutated it - it's berries were turning from white to black and its leaves were starting to warp and twist. Normally, this would be an indication of a dying plant, but this mistletoe was flourishing happily. She was making notes of this anomaly in her journal, along with some rough sketches. That's what she was in Calmonah Forest for - to study the affects that local hostile magic had on the area's flora. She was also there to, if necessary, try to stop it. However, though the plants were changing, they didn't seem to be in any danger. Akala wanted more to collect more information on them before she decided this for certain though. She shifted her weight to get a better look at part of the plant and her foot slipped, causing her journal to fall off her knee. She scrabbled for it, but it slid from her grasp and tumbled down to the ground, hitting several branches on the way down. Akala flinched every time it hit, hoping that it didn't damage it. It was hard to repair. It landed on the ground with a thump near something bright red. Bright red - much too bright for something local. Akala quickly climbed down after her book. As she neared the bright red thing, it turned into a person - a woman with brilliant red hair. Akala hesitated on the last branch. She had already learned the natives here were pretty hostile - between the farmers and the druids, she had made very few friends here. The farmers assumed she was something warped from the forest, the druids that she was just an unnatural invader. But...that journal was her most precious possession. And there was only person. Surely she could take on one person. She swung herself down from the last branch. "Um...hello," she said, dropping to the ground in front of the woman, "I'm just here for my book, so....don't panic and do anything rash, alright?" |
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| Priscilla | Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:31 pm Post #3 |
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Priscilla drew up short when something fell out of the canopy, dropping to the grass in front of her. She peered down at the object quizzically, pursing her lips. She would have expecting any number of things, but she was fairly certain that books did not grow on trees. The researcher bent down, picking up the book and flipping it open. She was about to start reading it when the owner of the tome nimbly swung down from the trees, landing a few feet away. She tensed slightly at her sudden appearance, taking a quick step away and reaching down to touch the dagger sheathed on her left hip. She wasn't very skilled with the blade, but it was much easier to pretend to be a knife-fighter than to reveal her haemokinesis on a whim. Most uneducated individuals were uncomfortable with her gift. "Oh, I'm sorry! Here you go!" She shut the book, flipping it over in her hand so she held it by the binding. She lightly tossed the journal back to the woman, smiling cautiously. "No need to act so timid. I'm not a threat." The arcanist quickly took in the woman's unusual appearance with her dark eyes. Her skin was an unnatural shade of light green that blended perfectly with the surrounding foliage. She had a strange protrusion on her forehead, a scaly mass that stretched from her scalp to her nose. She was wearing dark leather clothes that were well-suited for their location. "Actually..." Priscilla brushed a strand of crimson hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear and placing her hands on her hips. She knew she had to be cautious. This woman was clearly a local, and there was a chance that she was either allied with the druids or agreed with their cause. "I'm looking for an area called the... Leafy Glen, I believe. Not the most original name, I must admit, but it's where I need to go." The glen she had mentioned was the site of the most recent battle between the druids and farmers and the last place she had heard about the blood-bending druid. "However, with recent events... Well, I fear my map is useless. I don't suppose you could help me out? |
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| Akala | Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:49 am Post #4 |
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Akala gave the woman a mental weighing. Clearly not a local and clearly not from the forest - an outsider and one looking into the nastiness that was going on in Calmonah. Competent - possibly. She'd seen people do strange and vicious things with a dagger in combat, even against someone armed with a longsword. But something told her that a dagger was not this woman's primary fighting style. But the real question was: was she here to trying and help, or just to make a name for herself? Akala had had her fill of the latter adventurer years ago. As for the former...well, she was the former, when it came down to it. "I don't know this Leafy Glen, specifically," she admitted. "I'm a stranger here myself - just doing a little study on the area plant life and trying to avoid the local politics. But if you tell me what you're looking for, maybe I can help. I have done a lot of wandering in the past few days." As an afterthought she added, "My name is Akala, by the way." |
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| Priscilla | Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:24 pm Post #5 |
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The researcher fought to keep her disappointment from her face. Clearly, she had badly misinterpreted the situation. This woman was not a resident of the area, but rather an interloper lie herself. That meant that Akala would be far less useful than she had hoped. In fact, unless the woman had some hidden talent for hunting down and killing druids she would probably be dead weight. Priscilla was a capable combatant, but her style was specifically tailored for her haemokinetic abilities. She could not protect anyone else with her skills. She covered her hesitation by introducing herself, the only sign of her disappointment in a slight furrow to her brow. My name is Priscilla Vermillion. Mystical Researcher, First Order." She had gotten in the habit of introducing herself by rank while living in the politically treacherous metropolis of IStan City, where offending the nobility by withholding information could literally be punished by whipping. Although individuals in more rural areas of Imythess tended to distrust arcanists, she did not want to insult Akala if the green-skinned female was knowledgeable enough to recognize her amulet as proof of her membership in the Academy of Magic. "To tell the truth, I'm here for a variety of reasons... One of them being my forced enlistment in the Norwood Militia." She withdrew the thick copper disc she had been given from one of the pouches in her cloak, flipping the coin deftly and catching it. It was a modern version of the king's coin that soldiers had been given for joining the army in historical tines, a small reward for pledging their life to their monarch. In the present day the coins were virtually worthless, but it still marked her as a temporary militiaman. "But that's not the main reason I'm here. We heard rumors of a dangerous individual in these parts... A druid who uses powers that are best not mentioned. The Academy is responsible for investigating such claims." She did not mention her personal interest in the matter. Haemomancers were still reviled in every corner of Chaon, and she did not want to make an enemy of this woman. Priscilla smiled as warmly as possible, although the expression did not reach her eyes. In the shadows they appeared to be a dark, muddy brown, but the sunlight filtering through the trees revealed her irises were actually a deep shade of red. "I won't lie, it'll be dangerous. But any help you can provide would be welcome. If things turn nasty I wouldn't expect you to stay." The truth was far less virtuous: Akala's body was a weapon for the druid. Every milliliter of blood in the female's body could be turned against her, probably at the cost of the woman's life. Priscilla was not so cold-hearted that she would accept civilian casualties in the conflict that had already claimed so many innocent lives. |
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| Akala | Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:20 am Post #6 |
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Akala gave a derisive snort when Priscilla was done. "It's funny, people are always asking me if I want to back out when things get dangerous - or expecting me to, I can't tell." She tucked her journal into it's pouch. "Well, I don't. I've only turned tail and run from one thing in these woods and, after him, druids aren't scary...even ones with powers 'best not mentioned'." She felt unreasonably angry about that phrase. In her opinion, you didn't ask for help and then not give your volunteers all of the information. That was a quick way to get them killed. "Easy girl," she told herself. It didn't help. She gave the woman a pointed, carnivorous smile that wasn't particularly nice, but it stretched her patience a bit further. "You're not making friends here." Firmly tightening her hold on her temper, she reined in the smile and added, "I know where one of the druidic camps were yesterday, but they tend to be pretty temporary. And the camps aren't the only thing in the forest that moves around." As if to punctuate this, there was a distant, barky-sounding scream. If wood could scream, that was the noise it would make - sort of a hybrid between a cracking timber and a human howl of madness. When the echo died away, Akala said, "Treant. Something is driving the ones inside the forest mad. The healthy ones at the edges of Calmonah are trying to push them back, but it's not easy." Quietly, she added, "The farmers aren't the only one who want to see the forest stop spreading." Deep inside her, something clicked and she made her decision. It may not be apparent on the surface, but if the treants were plants too, then whatever was here was hurting them, and hurting them badly. She'd put in her part trying to stop it, even if that part was very small. Anger redirected and satisfied for the moment, she said, "I'll take you to where the camp was - in exchange for you telling me exactly what we're up against." As a gesture of goodwill, she half-turned and extended a taloned hand down the dimly lit deer trail that lead deeper into Calmonah forest. "We can walk and talk, if you're willing." |
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| Priscilla | Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:25 pm Post #7 |
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Priscilla's eyebrows rose slightly at the vehemence in the woman's tone, then laughed softly. It was a surprised and relieved chuckle, the kind that rang with true emotion. She smiled at Akala warmly. "I'm sorry, I forgot how annoying it is to be patronized. I'd break someone's nose for talking to me like that." She shook her head, wiping a tear of mirth out of one eye. She did not seem upset or offended by Akala's rough tone. If anything, she seemed to respect the female more for her openness. "Let's get started. I'll explain on the way... I don't like being stationary so close to the edge of Calmonag..." The roar of the treant served as perfect punctuation for her statement, and the researcher feel a twinge of unease at the unearthly noise. She had never met one of the woodland spirits before, but from the sound of things that would end today. She began to move forwards again, passing the boundary between the normal forest and the encroaching ironwoods. The change was almost immediate and was not restrained to the physical appearance of the plants. As soon as she stepped into the Calmonah Forest it felt as if the world had been muted, the rustling of leaves and the chirping of animals greatly reduced in volume. Priscilla frowned slightly at that and pinched the bridge of her nose to see if her ears had merely adjusted to a change in pressure, but the normal sounds of the woods did not reappear. Clearly there was some sort of magic at work here that draped over the forest like a wet blanket. She almost imagined that she could feel the arcane power in the air, prickling at the edge of her awareness. She spoke as she walked, succinctly outlining her reasons for traveling to the area. "This might sound like a history lesson, but bear with me for a moment. Haemomancers were incredibly dangerous arcanists and magicians that almost uniformly used their powers for evil purposes. They could manipulate blood in a variety of nasty ways. There was actually an entire society of them for several centuries, operating in secrecy and generally giving arcanists a bad name." Priscilla pushed a fern aside, staring around wildly when she heard another roar from a treant. Although she couldn't be sure, the scholar swore that the sound was closer this time. "A century ago a bunch of people formed an army to wipe the haemomancers out of existence, and they were successful. However, we got reports that a druid here can tap into dark arts that are better off forgotten. I was sent to investigate because I'm resilient against blood magic. It's one of my innumerable char-" Her sentence was cut off by a sharp, staccato crack from the woods to their left. Priscilla's immediately turned to face the threat, raised both arms up into an unarmed stance, her reactions far better than one would expect from a researcher. A limb whipped out at her, slamming into her ribs underneath her crossed arms. It looked more like a tree branch than an arm, with thick bark-like shin with thorns protruding from its surface. Its fingers were long and spindly, the digits tapering off into wickedly sharp talons. However, a strange thing happened as soon as the claws struck Priscilla's body. They clanged as if they had struck metal, blood blossoming outward from the points of impact. The liquid almost immediately crystallized, forming a makeshift piece of armor that completely protected the woman's torso. She was still thrown tumbling through the underbrush, but at least she hadn't been torn in two by the attack. The haemokinetic snarled as she rolled to a halt, spitting out a mouthful of leaves and rising to her feet. The treant emerged from the trees like an apparition from a nightmare. Its body was deformed and twisted, with stunted legs that seemed far too short for its bulk. Its arms were unnaturally long by comparison, stretching from its shoulders all the way to the ground. The most alarming facet of its appearance were its small, beady eyes. They stared at the two trespassers with open hostility, its mouth twisted into a furious scowl. "Although haemomancers aren't our only concern, clearly..." She rested a hand on her bruised ribcage, wincing at the flash of pain. The hardened blood continued to slowly inch over her body, starting to creep down her arms and legs to protect her entirely. The matrix structure of the manipulated blood made her incredibly resilient against physical attacks. Priscilla charged forward at the treant, her eyes narrowed dangerously aqs she approached the malignant forest spirit. |
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| Akala | Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:47 am Post #8 |
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Akala fell into step next to Priscilla as the headed into the forest. She felt a little uncomfortable being in such close proximity, but the trail was too narrow to be any further apart and she didn't trust the woman enough to walk in front of her, but it seemed impolite to walk behind her. No doubt she did not trust Akala that much either. She relaxed a little bit as Priscilla began her lecture. Despite spending most of her time out-of-doors and in the wild, she enjoyed arcane studies and history. She promised herself (as she had promised before) that one of these days she was going to make it to the Academy of Magic and take a few classes. There was another roar from the treant, making her jump. It sounded very close. She drew her sword, trying to get a fix on the direction it might have come from, only giving the other woman half of her attention. There was a sharp crack and reflexive reaction drove Akala to the ground. The treant's clawed limb arched over her head and caught the researcher full in the chest, sending the woman flying. Akala surged to her feet as the treant stepped into view. It wasn't not a big creature, for a treant, and it was clearly unhealthy. While most of their bodies were twisted to some degree or another, this one's was warped beyond most. Moss and parasitic plants clung to it, and mud and dirt were caked to it. In its expression was madness. Inside her head, she heard her foster-father's words, "If you have to pick a fight with a treant, try to get inside their reach. Their elbows don't work very well." She tilted herself forward and charged. As she was nearing it's legs, Priscilla, covered in rusty red armor, passed her. "Well, she's tougher than she looks," she thought with admiration. Then she focused her full attention on the treant. She started hacking at it's legs, making deep gouges in the wood and mud. This seemed to annoy it, but it's attention was on whatever the spellcaster was doing. Good. She grabbed a green vine that was attached to a clump of dirt near the monster's foot. "Up," she told it, with the full forced of her will behind the words. The vine uncoiled languidly, pulling her up the treant's side, stopping just at where its hip would be, if it had any. Then the monster lurched violently and Akala nearly lost her grip. "Steady on," she thought, shoving her foot in a convenient crevice. She risked a glance at the monster's face. Some lovage, bright red and clinging desperately to the side of the creature's eyes, gave her an idea. She didn't know if she was close enough though... She focused her will on it. "Grow," she murmured. The treant lurched again and her foot slipped, breaking her concentration. Angry now, she pulled herself back to the monster and, with great difficultly, jammed her sword down into the mass of vines before her. Then she hung on for dear life and refocused her will. "Grow, damnnit," she muttered again, undulating her fingers. "Grow." Slowly, painfully slowly, the lovage began to twist it's way across the creature's eyes. It began to thicken as it went, blinding the monster. The thing flailed at its face, but, in its madness, didn't have the ability to tear the creeping parasitic plant away and stave off whatever Priscilla was inflicting on it. It howled in frustration and thrashed pointlessly, tearing at it's sides, its front, its head, whatever it could reach. A clawed hand wrapped around Akala's torso and she was flung to the side like a rag doll. She hit a tree midway up it and fell to the ground, hitting three branches on the way down and landing in a clump of bushes, which were, in accordance with some strange law, thorny. She was dazed, breathless, and in pain. Edited by Akala, Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:48 am.
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| Priscilla | Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:43 pm Post #9 |
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Thankfully, it appeared as if Akala had been telling the truth when she claimed she could be useful in this expedition. Her sword flashed through the air, tearing chunks out of the creature's legs. She started to climb up the creature's side with the help of a rapidly growing vine. Priscilla focused her own attention on the treant, hoping that her companion could take care of herself. The researcher drew her dagger and pressed it into the meat of her right palm, slicing through the skin. She quickly used the blade to open an identical cut on her left hand, both of the wounds bright and red against her flesh. Blood boiled out of the wounds, wrapping around her hands as she called them into tight fists. The blood formed a perfect sphere around both hands, crystallizing and forming a perfect matrix formation that was almost as strong as diamonds. Priscilla slammed both fists into the treant's lower limb, its bark-like skin splintering from the force of the blow. The creature growled, but the majority of its attention was focused on Akala, who had managed to somehow block its vision. It threw the woman across the woods in retaliation, her figure slamming into the trunk of a tree with a worrying crack. The woman grimaced, lashing out with one foot at the treant's opposite knee. The blow was not nearly strong enough to knock over such a large creature, but it momentarily staggered it. Priscilla landed another of flurry of blows against its legs as it attempted to recover its balance, each blow sending cracks spreading across is wood-like body. Although the majority of her blood-based abilities would be useless against a beast that had sap in its veins, but she could still pummel it to death if necessary. The treant growled and slashed down blindly with its cruel claws, too fast for her to possibly dodge. The talons scratched across her face, leaving three cuts along one cheek. Blood poured out of the lacerations almost immediately, forming a helmet-like structure that spread over her skull. She ignored the flash of pain from the injury, hooking one leg around the treant's as she fell to pull it off balance once more. The researcher rapidly rolled forward between its limbs, springing to her feet behind the creature. She knocked the globes of blood around her fists together with a hollow clanking noise before punching forward with all of her strength, further throwing the treant off balance. Priscilla grinned as the blood finally crept all the way across her features, hiding her visage behind a smooth, expressionless mask. "Akala! You okay?" She darted backwards to avoid another blind blow from the creature, watching for an opportunity to slip past its flailing limbs. |
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| Akala | Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:25 pm Post #10 |
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Akala managed to get to her knees, but it took her a moment of gasping before she could call out: "I'm fine," in reply. She finally got to her feet to see Priscilla, completely covered now in rusty red armor, pummeling the treant's leg for all she was worth. And, judging by the massive splintering of its bark in that area, doing a pretty good job of it. "Right," she muttered, swaying unsteadily. Her head hurt. Trying to focus her will made it worse. Her sword was still lodged in the creatures side. She searched her mind for something that she could do to keep fighting. Nothing. Nothing until she could focus again, at any rate. Well, she still knew a thing or two about treants. "Go for the face," she shouted, "that's where all of it's vital organs are!" "Very helpful, Akala," she thought dryly, "Now all she needs to do is climb to the top of a thrashing, angry, sickened, fifteen foot tall treant." She looked at it's cracking, splintering legs again. "Maybe not." She picked up a nearby stick. It looked tough enough. She only hoped she was strong enough to pull it off. She climbed out of the bushes and started to run toward the treant again, mindful of it's arms. It couldn't see her, so that was helpful. She ran through its legs and around to the back of the more damaged one. Finding the biggest crack in the wood, she wedged the stick deeply into it. The monster howled in pain and tried to reach around and grab her, but she ran around its leg to the front. As it was groping about for her, she ran back around and hurled her body against the stick. She was rewarded with a CRACK. A huge chunk of wood came loose from the back of the treant's leg, sap pouring from it. It screamed in anguish. Akala barely had time to get away before it collapsed, crippled. "Now we can get to the face." |
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| Priscilla | Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:14 pm Post #11 |
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Priscilla laughed shortly, her eyes wide and wild through the narrow slits in her improvised mask. "It's face?!? I can't reach it's face!" The woman hated being reminded of how short she was, and the treant's head was so far above her it might as well been unreachable. She almost immediately regretted the outburst, as the sound gave the woodland creature a sound to triangulate her position. The haemokinetic grimaced as the treant's claws skittered over her armor, leaving three shallow furrows in the crystallized blood. She responded by trying to catch its branch-like arm in a simple grapple maneuver, but it proved far too strong; instead of holding its limb the treant simply tossed her away with a victorious screech. Priscilla tucked her knees up to her chest as she fell through the air, strengthening the bloody armor along her spine and neck to prevent any permanent injury. It was still incredibly painful to be sent rolling and bouncing through the underbrush, but no permanent damage was done. She unsteadily rose back to her feet, shaking her head to clear it. Akala had reentered the fray in her absence, impaling the treant's injured leg with what appeared to be a sturdy branch. The researcher's muddled mind took several long moments to realize what her companion planned, but once she did a small smile grew across her face. She ran back towards the treant as Akala slammed into the limb, wrenching a huge chunk of wood out of the creature's leg and sending it toppling to the ground. Its inhuman roar was almost deafening, but a mere thought was all it took for blood to cover her ears and harden to block out the unpleasant sound. By the time it had struck the ground Priscilla was there, lunging at its face. She slammed her right fist straight into its mouth, cutting off the creature's screams and shattering its gnarled jaw. The next blow struck its right eye socket, crunching the organ within with a sickening crunch. The woman straddled its trunk-like neck, punching the treant's face with all of her strength. It was almost a full minute before she stopped striking the creature, breathing heavily. The scent of sap was heavy in the air, filling her mouth and nose with its sweet, cloying odor. Its face had been reduced to a mess of broken bark and pulverized organs. She couldn't even recognize the function of most of the internal structures, but apparently she had done enough damage to them that the treant could no longer function. With a heavy sigh she stood up, stretching her head to either side to crack her neck. The blood that had spread across her torso, limbs, and head began to recede, sucked back into the various lacerations across her body. She picked at the hole in her leather jerkin dejectedly as the blood retreated, leaving the injuries looking almost unnaturally clean. Due to her abilities, she could stop herself from bleeding entirely, which was far more efficient than any number of bandages. "Well, that was exciting." She turned to look at Akala, hoping that the woman wouldn't hear the hesitation in her voice. They wouldn't be able to fight an army of such creatures on their own. "Are you okay?" |
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| Akala | Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:57 am Post #12 |
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Akala's back was to Priscilla, so she didn't notice when the woman's armor drew back into her wounds. Her ears were still ringing from the creature's scream, so she barely heard her question. "Huh?" She straightened. "Oh, yes. I'm fine," she said, though her aching head and ribs said otherwise. She put a hand to her ribs, testing them. No broken bones - though definitely some bruised ones. Her tough skin had protected her against the thorns, but she still had some minor scratches. She picked a burr off her tunic. "Let's not pick any more fights with treants, alright?" As she made her way over to where her sword was lodged, she said, "So...the haemomancers were destroyed by an army, but one of them might be running around with the druids, yes?" She jerked the sword free, much to the objections of her rib cage. Unconsciously, she pressed a hand to her side again, giving a soft grunt of pain. She shook it off and wiped her sword on the edge of her tunic, leaving a smudge of sap. She sheathed the weapon. Her headache was steadily fading, becoming just a background ache to her ribs. "What are they likely to be doing? Vampiric draining, blood manipulation, human sacrifice - that kind of thing?" |
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| Priscilla | Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:55 pm Post #13 |
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The haemokinetic stretched her arms out to the side as her blood flow returned to normal, her body reaching homeostatic conditions. One of the negative side effects of her powers was the weakness that usually accompanied it. Unless she literally manipulated every drop of blood in her veins she usually suffered from acute anemia, which gave her an excruciated headache and muscle fatigue. Thankfully, if she managed to hold onto the majority of her blood she could combat those symptoms as soon as she stopped fighting. "Agreed. They're rather annoying beasties." She kicked the treant's corpse to accent her point, grimacing with distaste. She hated fighting enemies that had emphasized her short stature, and fighting a living tree that had a week spot a dozen feet of the ground wasn't exactly pleasant. She shrugged offhandedly at Akala's question, curling her hands into fists and wincing at the stinging cuts. "Well, that batch was wiped out. Haemomancy is like any other school of magic: some people just have a proclivity for it. There are always people who are born with a gift for golemancy or alchemy. It's simply much harder to learn blood magic in this 'civilized age.'" She ran a rand through her hair, pulling the crimson strands back into a tight ponytail near the nape of her neck. She curled her fingers around the hair, commanding a tendril of blood to ooze out of her palm and form a improvised hair band. "Chances are that this druid found an ancient book or scroll and figured out a few hameomancy abilities himself. Either that or they passed the secrets down through the generations. Either way, he's using spells that the Academy would rather have the world forget." It had been ages since they received reports of an arcanist being burned at the stake out of fear, but the threat always seemed more likely when some idiot started using powers that had no good purpose. Priscilla pursed her lips, considering the woman's next query. Her research and experiences over the years had revealed an entire collection of spells haemomancers could cast, most of them unpleasant. Her own skills were limited because she was required to maintain contact with the blood in order to keep it in a crystallized state. Furthermore, it was very difficult for her to consciously manipulate the blood of others without magical assistance. She wondered if Akala would notice the similarity of her hameokinetic abilities to haemomancy. It was why she never used her skills openly. "Human sacrifice is more of a personal flair, although some blood mages drain victims to give themselves more ammunition. Blood manipulation can be done in a variety of ways. The most common abilities of a haemomancer are increased speed, strength, and regeneration. They can usually control others like puppets. More powerful ones can make your blood boil or freeze in your veins, or jut stop your heart entirely. The most dangerous can summon a being known as a vlos athiyk. A blood elemental. I don't know much about those things, but they're... they're deadly. Incredibly so." Priscilla smiled reassuringly at Akala. "I don't think we'll need to deal with one of those. Just the bodily control and instant death." |
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| Akala | Thu Feb 2, 2012 5:42 pm Post #14 |
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Akala's lips twisted into a slight smile. "Just instant death, huh?" she said dryly. "Well, if it's just that, I suppose it's no trouble at all." She climbed on top of the fallen treant to try and get her bearings. It had destroyed quite a bit of the forest - more evidence that it had been sick - but she soon found the direction she was looking for. Probably. "Come on," she said, getting down off the monster. "We have a goodly distance ahead of us yet." Her last hop off the monster jarred her ribs again and she hissed in pain. She should bandage them - if she had any bandages. She glanced at Priscilla. Maybe she would be carrying...she finally saw the bloody wounds across the woman's body - bloody wounds that seemed no to be dripping blood - and decided that she probably wasn't. But it got her thinking. Where had that red armor come from, anyway? Akala had assumed it was a spell, but...what had it used? And how did she know so much about haemomancers? "I'll get to those questions," she thought. "Let's finished with the important ones first." She waited for Priscilla to catch up before starting down the narrow path again, stepping over debris from the treant's actions. "If we don't run into any more trouble, we should make the druids' camp by sunset." She really didn't think anyone would be there though. "Do you have a plan for coming up against this fellow? Or do we just kill him as quickly as possible?" |
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| Priscilla | Thu Feb 2, 2012 9:15 pm Post #15 |
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Priscilla allowed her companion to take the lead, knowing it would be outright idiotic to attempt and lead them through the forest with next to no knowledge of woodcraft. An intelligent leader used all of the tools at their disposal to complete their task. ”Instant death is preferable to a boring life, I’ve always said.” She tucked the silver talisman back underneath her tunic so that it rested comfortably on her sternum. The metal felt warm to the touch, although if anyone else tried to take it from her it would feel as cold as ice. She wished, for probably the thousandth time, that Julian had been allowed to accompany her into the woods. She could put up with his eccentricities and haphazard decisions if it meant having the formidable powers of an Academy High Sage available, but she would have to make do with Akala. She was pushing a branch out of the path so that it wouldn’t lash her across the face when Akala spoke again, asking a rather pointed question about her plans for the encounter. She chuckled, shaking her head slightly. ”If only it was as easy as that. I wish killing him quickly was an option, but it’s incredibly difficult to sneak up on a trained haemomancer. They can usually detect heartbeats once they get close enough. To be honest, I’m hoping the rumors are fake and we’re just up against a clever druid who decided to pump up his own reputation.” Priscilla’s smile seemed to grow forced as she realized that the only way to continue this conversation was to reveal her own bond with their prey. Not informing Akala of the situation could get the green-skinned woman killed. ”Even if they’re true, I do have another trick up my sleeve. Haemomancers can’t use their spells on me.” She stopped walking, asking Akala to turn around look at her. Full disclosure was the only way to do this. Priscilla held one hand up in front of her, revealing the deep cut on her palm. A tendril of blood snaked out of the injury, writhing above her fingers like a leaving creature. ”There’s a reason the Academy chose to send me on this assignment. The technical term for people like me is ‘haemokinetic.’ Statistically, it’s an even rarer skill than blood magic and is passed on genetically. It’s not technically an arcane ability, although its influenced by many of the same rules and shortcomings. I can freely manipulate the blood in my body and crystallize it into a super-condensed lattice matrix.” She tightened her fingers into a fist, the blood instantly hardening into a sharp, dirk-like protrusion. ”I can’t meddle with the blood of others, but outside forces can’t manipulate my circulatory system. The haemomancer won’t be able to touch me… But you’ll be in more trouble. I honestly have no idea how to keep you safe. I don’t suppose you can fight well at a distance or hide yourself? Blood mages tend to have difficulty with targets that they can’t see…” |
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