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Rise of Darkness (Alvis & Malicious Lullaby)

There was a bright flash as the meteor hit the ground. Gall hardened his shield, putting an extra layer on it to blot out the sound, and shot a glance over to see Ewyn completely not getting his words. He grit his teeth, and then cast a hadn out. It wasn't much, but it was a small layer of protection. He'd done all he could, and this was going to hurt. Everyone involved. Then the ground heaved up, rippling form the massive impact that sent earth and shattered pieces of the undead skyward. Gall felt his legs give, adn his knees painfully hit the ground. Pure explosive force hammered into his shield, straining it harshly. He grit his teeth as hot debris rained all around him. The wall of dust washed over him. A few moments later Gall dropped his barrier, and summoned a blast of wind to clear the dust awy.

A shimmering blackness faded, and Gall blinked, seeing hte Dark Mage and Vannareth still tanding in the blast crater. Gall looked over to see that The vampire adn his summoned thigns had been tossed about like leaves, and were a good distance away. And what was more, he knew that he'd thrown one of his very best punches. And it wasn't enough.
"That the best you've got Gall?" Vannareth asked. Gall blew out a breath.
"Got one left Vannareth." He called back, adn raised his hand. The whole tower rumbled, shaking as the dome on top the tower. THe Dark Mage looked up as the massive red crystal that had been in the upper most room came into view. The mage widened his eyes as Gall gave a shout, and pointed. Pure contained Banefire poured free, a searing beam of destructive energy. The Mage put his barrier back up, deflecting hte beam, but the power just kept going, the deflected beam digging a trench inthe ground. And Gall knew fromt he look, that he wasn't going to be able to put his foes down. With a wince, he waved his hand, putting up the wards on the tower to keep others out. It wouldn't last long, but likely long enough. He hoped. He dashed to Ewyn, feeling woozy. He'd thrown out a lot of magic today, and it left him feeling drained. He grabbed Ewyn, adn pulled her to her feet.
"Come on Ewyn! We have to get out of here." He told her, starting to get her moving towards the forest.

He left behind the one place he'd ever truly called home.
 
With the help of Master Gall as well as the abjurers from the staff, she was protected as she fell back but her back hit the ground so suddenly that even with the protection of a shield around her, it still knocked the wind out of her lungs however briefly. She looked up at the sky and breathed hard and deep, watching the sky soon turn dark and murky, dust flying all over ahead, trying to penetrate into the shield. Everything she heard around her, the explosions, the screams, all the sounds and even the vibrations felt like a blur in her ears. Like it was all too surreal but so very real.

The shield came down from around her as the debris was pushed away and she pushed herself to sit up slowly, a painful groan coming from her. It felt like someone had stomped down on her body with their heavy hoof of a foot. But it was all turned into a speedy frenzy next moment. Suddenly, there was Master Gall and he was imploring her and she scrambled to her feet and took out in a run with him. She didn’t want to look back at the tower and see what remained of what in a short time had become her new home, what had always been his home. She broke out into a run with him, keeping a tight grip on her staff and never letting it go. She held onto it like her life depended on it and in a way, it did, along with Master Gall’s.

“Where are we going to go?”
 
"Right now, we'll settle on away." Gall said softly. The sound of the banefire beam lasted, drawing on, still trying to burn out the Dark mage. There was always a chance that it migh work, a small one, but it was still there. Gall felt a few of his remaining backup spells on hand, and drew on them. He pushed them forward, a gate appearing that dropped them inside of the previously distant treeline. He stopped there, breathing hard, needing to sit down, and leaning back against a tree. He'd made a good account of himself, they both had, but the enemy had been too numerous, and with assets that he couldn't have anticipated. A Dark mage! There hadn't been a true Dark mage in more than a century! Where Vannareth had dug him up was a mystery. Gall shook his head, and leaned it forward, resting his hands on his forehead.

"I gave it all I had. Gods...they were just too much." He muttered. It was too much for one day as far as he was concerned. Too much pain, too much loss. His home was going to fall to the enemy sooner or later, adn then what had been a bastion of ordre and peace would be turned into a staging ground for a necromancer. And that...that would not do. The solution was simple enough. They would need help. "Well Ewyn, I think it's time that we made a plan. You're as much a part of this as I am, so I want your input. I've got friends in the area, adn any one of them might be able to give us the resources that we need to take the tower back. We can go west, into the mountains. There's a small roost of dragons there that owe me a favour, we could find help there. Or North, to the great Cathedrals of the SHining Order, adn get help from the Paladins and Priests. Or we can keep going South, deeper into the woods. There's druids there that owe me some help. Where do you think we should go?"
 
Ewyn could only nod her head as she went away with him, running away with him into the woods as far as they possibly could considering all the chaos, carnage and wreckage. It was everywhere and even once they were far enough in the forests, deep enough at least for Master Gall to take the breather he needed, she could still smell all the smoke and death in the air, the foul stench it was. She was panting by the time they stopped and she leaned her back against a tree, trying to calm herself down. She still felt a little bit disoriented from that blast but if it hadn’t been for the abjurers in the staff, she wouldn’t have made it.

Looking at him, she frowned, able to feel what he meant. He had given it his al. He went alone up against a vampire and a dark mage and he was still alive. They did lose their home but at least they were alive, enough to be able to get help, to better their defenses. They had to. They couldn’t give up now. No one could. Not even Faryn—
It was the first time since she saw those creepy forms taking his face in a decaying fashion, that she thought of him. Thought of him and the village, wondering about them and hoping if they were alright.
“I agree.” She said softly. They definitely needed a plan. It was clear that the two of them by themselves with some sort of back up but not as strong as the opposing forces, wasn’t going to cut it one bit. They needed more, definitely something more. He listed a bunch of places that they could go but she couldn’t get the village out of her mind. She knew it was in the midst of chaos as well since it wasn’t far from the tower one bit. They had to go though. Somehow. She needed to find Faryn. Make sure he was safe and maybe convince him to come with us. He’d be a special asset. He was a special man.

“I-I know it’s not safe, and I am sure it’s as plagued with darkness as the tower now is and will be. But I need to go to the village. We need to go. There’s someone there who would be a wonderful asset to us and I need to know if he’s still alive. He has to be.” That and the fact she felt quite deeply for him, naturally she wanted to make sure he was okay. But she also truly believed he would be able to help them as well.
 
Yorstan stared at Ewyn, a thousand recriminations roiling through his mind. Faryn. The boy that she had gotten entagled with. She wanted to do to see if he was okay. Ye Gods and little fishes, preserve him from the emotions of the young. This was no time to be moving in accordance to emotional responses. But...the boy had been shown to have a good working relationship with the fae folk of hte region...and there was a chance that might be helpful to have another around that could work with them. So he sighed, and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.
"Ewyn...fine. But we cannot linger. We go in fast. And we get out just as quickly. I think I've a charm that can get us there quickly." He cursed mentally. Of course he could get them in and out. But if they were discovered, the hunt was going to be on. ANd rabidly. All that they would need was a single one in their number to have been well trained in divination magics, adn it'd be a running battle until they either found help, or were killed. This was a bad idea. And he had little doubt it was going to cost them.

He drew a small stone out of his pocket, smooth, sae for the detailed carving works all along it's surface. It had clearly been a work of many hours by hands too precise to have been human. He led Ewyn until they came to a stone, much like the one that had sheltered Ewyn and Faryn from the ghouls. He took her hand in his, and blew out a long sigh. He touched the stones together, and pushed his will into it. It was a bit of a strain, he'd locked wills with several very powerful practioners this day. When he felt them both drifting a moment, the landscape blurred, and in a moment, they were beinhd the main inn. And it was on fire.

Gal pushed Ewyn awy from the waves of blistering heat. Travel back was going to be interesting. The inn had incorporated a waystone into the foundation, but without proper reinforcement, the warding qualities had faded. Gall hadn't the skills to keep it up, else he'd have made it a priority. The smell of spilt blood and death was everywhere. Gall looked at Ewyn.
"Stay low. And stay close. There could still be...things moving around in here." He warned. And with that, began to lead her cautiously to the main street.
 
She knew it had been a step request, probably not at all realistic or even plausible but she wouldn’t be able to go on without always constantly wondering. When Master Gall gave his consent and even spoke of a way for them to get in without having to travel by foot, Ewyn nodded her head and she thanked him mentally, a thousand times over it felt like by how she kept repeating ‘Thank you’ in her head like it was a mantra. Moving to him, she took his hand as he took hers and stared at the sight before her. She needed to know. There was that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and she hoped it was wrong.

The moment they did arrive at the village, right behind the burning building of the Inn, she stepped away immediately and put her arm over her mouth and nose, to steel herself from coughing and so she didn’t inhale poisoned air. Even with his warning, while she nodded, she stepped away and looked at what remained of the town that was basically in flames. She had lowered her arm but brought it back up immediately when she caught the foul stench of blood and death everywhere.

Her eyes scanned deep and detailed, she moving slowly among the hoards of dead bodies until she stopped at one. She recognized his hair and the tattered clothes he wore. His face had been impaled and seemed likely the cause of death and she swallowed hard. “Faryn?” She whispered, carefully kneeling down beside his dead body. She breathed deeply, the information processing quickly. He was dead. Faryn was dead. This amazing guy was…dead. She took in a deep breath and it was so difficult to do so but she had to. It was all she could do to stop herself from crying hysterically. After all, Ewyn didn’t cry. Well, she didn’t let others see her cry. She dearly tried not to.

Standing, she hurried back to Master Gall. “We can go. We need to go.” She wouldn’t look at him though, she was avoiding his eye contact, as if she was scanning for any possible threats but that’s just because she just wanted to go before she did start to cry. At least if they were walking, she could walk in front of him or behind him or something and do it silently.
 
It was about what he'd expected, seeing Ewyn close in on the body of Faryn. Gall came with her, getting closer. Something was wrong here. Something...definitely out of place. He looked at Faryn more closely, and shook his head.
"This...this can't be him Ewyn. It isn't human." He said in a confused tone. He turned the face tot he side, adn looked at the eye. It was a slitted feline looking thing, most certainly not human. The hands were longer than human, much more finely boned. The more he looked at th body, the less human it looked. The skin tone was off, a little to pale to be right, especially for a young man who apparently spent a lot of time outside. THis was entirely wrong. He knew Ewyn might be a little new to inhuman creatures, but there was no chance that she would have missed something like this. And frankly, if he was like this, then there was every chance that someone else would have noticed him, even if he had hidden under a glamour.

"This isn't human at all. This is a pure blood Sidhe. And e can't have been here long. I'd have detected it from the tower if he had, even through the glamour and likely shields he would raise against that sort of thing." He explained. He pushed his senses out, a spell that took almost no effort, but would tell him of any enchantments in the area. He felt a ping, and looked up. Atop one of the building, a massive, hulking monster. Strigoi. "Ewyn. Start back towards teh inn. Quickly." he said quietly. He touched the orb on his belt, adn felt a suge of power rush into him. It was going to be a tight moment. If they could sescape, so much the better. But otherwise, he'd not leave this thing close behind him. Teh blood ont he claws of the monster also indicated the likely casue of death to the Fae on the ground.
 
But Ewyn knew. She knew Faryn. Okay, she didn’t know him all that well to have known that he was somehow related to that of the Fae but she knew enough of him to know if that was his body, regardless if it didn’t look human at all. Her heart told her, only because she knew Faryn intimately. And it was hard enough that he was dead and she was never going to see him ever again. It was even worse that Master Gall didn’t think it was him. “How would you know? Did you spend time with him? Did he show you the brownies? Did you get to watch as he brought a Boulder Troll back to his home?” She snapped. “You didn’t know him, so don’t tell me that it isn’t him. I know it’s him! He was special…The Fae, they…I don’t know how but I know he had something to do with them, more than just knowing—“ She wanted to finish when she turned and saw what he saw.

Perhaps one of the scariest looking creatures she had ever seen. No, that was a lie. It was a tie. Between them and the Ghouls. She hurried away and clutched her staff to herself. She had to swallow away all her emotions at the moment. She wasn’t going to let him do this himself. But then all she could think about was Faryn at the moment. And that was when she realized about the drawing he made her, the only piece and last thing she had of him and his and she’d never see that again. It was like a whirlwind of emotions that suddenly swam through her. She was upset, heartbroken, livid, angry, and worse, homicidal. She wanted to kill. She wanted to do so much damage. She wanted everyone to pay. It’s a bitch if someone pisses off a mage, even a mage in training!
 
Gall was about to become a bit more heated. But t was not the time or place to have an argument like this with Ewyn. Not in the middle of now hostile territory with unknown numbers of enemies around them. But fortunately the Strigoi gave them both something to focus on and worry about. And Ewyn made for the inn with good speed. THe strigoi howled, an ear splitting yowl of fury and hunger, similar to a ghoul call but much more intese. What was wortse to Yoristan was the way seemingly dozens of ghouls took up the call as well. The village was infested. And they were all pouring towardss them. The spell that picked out signatures pinged again, so many ghouls coming in that he didn't even bother trying to count them. The Strigoi leapt off of the building, and hit the street with a resounding thud. It bounded forwards. Gall ran.

He fished the stone out of his pocket. There was a low level spell to resist heat in his ring, adn he cast it quickly at Ewyn and himself, letting them get close to the foundation stone. Teh Strigoi burst through a wall, mouth open showing long fangs, and snarling. Gall knew he'd never get them both out of there before it was on them, so threw most of his remaining power into a spell. It was not subtle, refined, or economical. But it lifted the Strigoi into the air, and then incinerated it with a bright flash. Ash drifted in the air, and the oncoming ghouls all stopped dead. Yoristan caught Ewyn's arm, adn touched the stone to teh foundation, pushing all his will at the effort.

A moment later they were back in the forest, the village far behind them. And Yoristan slowly sank to his knees, leaning on the waystone.
 
Just as Master Gall was there, she watched him send that creature up into the air and incinerate it like it meant nothing. It was one of those amazing things that left her awestruck. It made even the ghouls stop in their tracks which was perfect to let them get away. And then they were gone again, back into the forest and Ewyn was standing on that last strand of sanity. Then she saw him slip down onto his knees and she went to him, setting the staff down beside her. Her hand moved around his back as she knelt beside him. “Is there anything I can do?”

She felt a little bit bad about how she basically blew up in his face about Faryn but that was behind her. They had only each other right now and they had bigger things to worry about, to get to. As much as she wanted to take a breather and give into the boiling emotions that were threatening to push her over, there were far more important things happening instead of the matters of her heart. “Are you okay?” If hardly anything could bring her down to her knees with blood dripping out of her nose, a world of a whole lot just did the same to Master Gall, but that was what was so scary. She’d never seen him like this. He was always so strong and always held his own.
 
Yoristan kept breathing evenly. He felt...stretched. To a huge degree. He had almost completely bottomed out his power reserves. He had a few stored spells on his person for emergencies like this, but by the Gods, he hadn't pushed himself like this in a long time. He could only hope that when he bounced back he'd have even more reserves. And that some of his allies in the area might note his rpesence and send help or an escort. He turned, adn leaned his back into the waystone, letting our a long sigh. His hands shook slightly. That last spell had been too fast, too hard, and all at once. If he'd had a little more time, he could have done it far better, without straining his magical abilities, but there just hadn't been that time.

"Ewyn...do you know the plant Bloodroot? White flowers, grow under trees? Try to find me a few of them. They might be able to...get me moving again." He told her. And it was possible if the flowers were fresh, if thigns were in the right place, and if there was any bleed over from the ley lines in the area. There was a lot of if in this plan. But it was all he had besides a good nights rest.
 
As he relaxed back, she slipped down onto her knees beside him, her hand leaving his shoulder and resting in her lap. She nodded her head before standing again. She left her staff beside him for company and for possibility of strength before leaving his side and going to gather what he needed; Bloodroot. After a few moments, she returned back with a large pile collected in her hands. Sitting down beside him on her knees, she offered them to him. “These are the correct ones, right? These were the only white flowers at the base of the few trees I passed.” She didn’t want to go too far. She didn’t want to leave him on his own again, not while he was in this state.
 
She hadn't been gone for long. And when she worked her way back with a good crop of the plant, Gall smiled. He lifted one of the flowers, adn turned it in his fingers.
"Sanguninaria Canadensis. No time like the present for an herbology lesson. Now. Pay attention, and you might learn something useful." He told her. For a moment his old mannerism was back, that confident, almost cocky man who knew far more than any one person had any business doing. "This only works with fresh flowers unfortunately. But..." He held the flower in his palm, and focused. he made each magical movement overt, adn obvious, the crude web of magic surrounding hte flower, making it so Ewyn could see how he shaped the power of magic with his will into these shapes. Then the flower began to wilt. It crumbled in his hand, falling to ash, and then to powder to blow away in a faint breeze. Gall let out a sigh. Only one flower, and he felt better already.

He worked his way through more of the plants, each time his strength getting more and more back to him. He knew full well that the boost was a temperory one at best, but it would give him the strength he needed to make it for a little time. He'd gone through half the stock she'd broguht back, now able to do three at a time, before he nodded to her.
"You try it. It's a trick that you might want to be able to do in a pinch." He told her, nodding at the flowers she still had.
 
She repeated the name of the flower after him, though not out loud, but more like a whisper, as if in wonder. A fucking big name for such a tiny little thing. But she watched as he held the flower in his hand, molded it and with focus, seemed to extract some sort of energy from it that just from one flower, she was already able to see a huge difference in him. She watched him as he kept doing this, looking like he was regaining so much and just from these little flowers. It stunned and amazed her. So when he said for her to try, Ewyn placed a flower in the palm of her hand and she looked at it, focusing her will and her ability around this one little thing that held so much promise.

It didn’t do exactly the same thing that he had made it do, figuring it was different for everyone else, but soon the flower wilted and she felt a raise in her energy and her ability. Even all of what she used with the staff, it apparently drained more than she realized. Even with the ring. With a soft sigh, she looked from the now little bit of ash that was in her palm of what used to the flower and blew softly, letting it fly away and she looked to Master Gall. “That’s impressive.” She smiled a little bit, but it almost seemed force, like it took more energy and power just to smile. When all she wanted to do was simply have this neutral expression on her face, definitely not one of any kind of happiness. She wasn’t happy, that’s why. “Do you think you can stand now so we can keep moving?”
 
"Dont see as having too much of a choice, now do I?" He asked, heaving himself up. Oh, he was better to be certain, but still nowhere near at his best. "If Vannareth or any of his mages were paying attention, then that spell I threw back in the village will have let them all know that I was there, and still alive. Though at the very least, it should start them looking in the wrong direction." He explained, putting one foot in front of the other, and starting to walk. He stopped after a few paces. "So you never answered my question. Where did you want to seek help from?" He asked.

Vannareth was cursing, loud and constantly. THe scorching wreckage of a golem had provided the surface needed to cauterize the bleeding, but his arm was not damaged, it was simply gone. THe Dark Mage approached him.
"I don't suppose you've the power to regorw this?" Vannareth asked. The other man shook his head.
"Not within my skill set." He said without a trace of regret in his voice.
"Then I suppose I'll have to look to getting a replacement." He looked at one of the fallen acolytes. "His might do I suppose."
"If you wish to think small." Vannareth looked at the Dark Mage.
"What would you suggest?"
"There is a tomb. Within it is buried an artifact of...great power."
"You speak of the hand. Forged of iron. But that has been tried for in the past. SPells thtat can't be unravelled! How would I get to it?" THe Dark mage raised a hand, and a cloud of darkness rose up.
"Those spells have no defense from my power. WHat sya you? Shall we...upgrade your missing limb?"
"By all means." Vannareth and the Dark mage began to walk towards teh tomb, knowing it was a few days distant. But it would be well worth it once they had it.
 
She managed a meek sort of smile, moving to push herself up onto her feet and step back as he made to stand as well. As he fell into a good stride, Ewyn pushed herself to keep up, walking along side of him and glanced his way as he brought up before, that she never did answer his question. That was true. When he asked, her first instinct had been to go to the village to find Faryn. Well, she had found him and he wasn’t anything more than a dead corpse lying rotten and bloody among others. She couldn’t dwell on it. Even if it tugged at her heartstrings something immensely painful and she may not be in the right frame of mind at the moment, she knew her mind had to be put to fruition elsewhere. Their lives depended on that at least. Master Gall seemed determined. Ewyn couldn’t lose sight of her determination and will just because the guy she lost her virginity to and actually had a special bond with was—
“Dragons.” She spoke after pulling herself out of her mental reverie. “I think we should seek help first from the dragons. Besides, I recall how excited I was when I first thought I would be riding to your tower on a dragon. Imagine my disappointment when I was stuck in that carriage for far too long.” She mumbled.
 
Gall nodded. A plan was a good thing.
"West it is then. It's a long way to go, and we'll likely have challenges to overcome on the way. But the sooner we get there, the sooner we can put this behind us." He said blithely. And it was going to be a hard journey. The mountains were wrapped in massive spells of such strength that beggared belief. And so much power was spent in preventing spells that would allow people to magically enter the realm. The only way through with any speed would be through... Gall cocked his head. Risky. Dangerous. It would take them through some risky areas, contested territory, but if they made it to the destination, it would shave weeks, even months off of the travel time. So all in all, it was going to be a better bet. Gall didn't think that they would have the months of travel time to spare. The outer wards on the tower would hold them out for a while. But not forever, not with the Dark Mage. So their course was set, and Gall changed his heading just slightly, and led them farther into the trees.

"When we get to the mountains, I'm going to put out a sending spell. Get a message to my old friend. And if Sycorax is still in any position of power, he can answer the call, and help us out. And if we're very lucky, some of the other members of the roost will come along. And then we'll have resources that our opponents can't match." Yoristan explained to Ewyn as they walked.
 
Well then, he wasn’t sugarcoating any of this. But considering what they just went through, she shouldn’t have expected such a thing. It was going to be long, possibly brute with many challenges along the way. There was no ‘likely’ about the challenges. There was bound to be considering it was as if all hell officially broke loose this day. People were dying, their home was taken, she wondered if her father and the many others well practiced, aged and seasoned mages at the Academy got word. She had half a mind to ask Master Gall but it seemed taxing just to get the words out. Ewyn didn’t have it in her. The most she could do was simply walk and follow his lead. She was abnormally quiet and even as she clutched onto her staff, she could hear Alduin’s voice in her head but she wasn’t in the mood. It was difficult to stow her pain and remorse for everything, specific certain things. But she had to.

Nodding along, Ewyn followed behind her teacher, her eyes turned down onto the ground, watching her own feet with every step she took. She walked quietly and it felt like her mind was empty, like nothing was going on in it. But a lot of things were going on, she just couldn’t hear or feel them. She only snapped out of it all when she heard Master Gall’s voice and looked up, staring at the back of his head. “Do you think the students and mages at the Academy know what’s going on?” It had nothing to do with what he was saying. It was a thought that was bothering her now. She’d like to at least anticipate just how more people she loved were going to die, if at all.
 
Yoristan led the way, still not feeling at his best really. The trick with the flowers was a nice stopgap to give them some distance, but he'd need proper rest before too long. So much danger behind them, and potentially around them. Even without Vannareth and his summoned army, there was danger in these woods. They'd never been fully tamed, not like the forests near the Academy. He heard Ewyn asking a very valid question behind him, and he slowed, turning to look at her. He knew that aid from the Academy was going to be in inconclusive at best. But she could use some information. And what was more, once he had his power shored up a little by some rest, he'd likely have a new spell to teach her.

"That last attack I used? It's a Banefire crustal. And it sends out a beacon of a sort every time I fire it. The Academy might not know exactly what's going on, but they'll know that something is wrong. They'll start working on divination spells, try to suss out what's happening. After we get some rest, then I'll teach you how to cast a Sending. Should let you get a message to your father, let him know you're alive and reasonably safe." He told her. They hadn't slowed their pace, and they broke through the undergrowth into a clearing. Yoristan sighed, and nodded, looking at the area. Grasses that looked tended somehow, and a pool of crystal water in the middle. The area radiated with a faint hum of power, some kind of magical creature was around here, somehwere, but it seemed to be benign in nature. Ad resting in a place with so much ambient magic would let both of them restore their spent powers.

"I think we'll stop here for the night." He observed, and paced to a good space that was reasonably level. he pulled a small token from his belt, setting it on the ground. It looked for all the world like a small glass house. But when he tapped the top, and spoke a word, it began to expand. A moment later, there was a cottage standing int he clearing, made of thick glass. It was thick enough to prevent anyone from seeing within it, and looked comfortable enough. "And if we have to stop somewhere, we might as well be as comfortable as we can."
 
He placated a major worry in her but the question still lingered in her mind; were they, at the Academy, doing okay? She’d hate to think of all the possible scenarios and her mind involuntarily went there which tormented her greatly. She thought of how it was a sneak attack, how they might not have seen it coming and they wiped out the greater mages, the professors, the teachers, the board all at once, her father included. Which would leave the fledglings for themselves. They’d be like little lambs left for slaughter. It made her pipe up quickly. “Would he be able to send something back? Would I know he got the message? I just want to make he is okay. That the Academy is okay. In case there was a chance of a sneak attack and they slaughtered—“ She didn’t want to finish that sentence. The sight of what remained of the village by the tower came unbidden to her mind. Well, there went her ability to sleep.

She was distracted enough in their journey to not realize just how long they journeyed, what a headway they made. It was a beautiful clearing that seemed undisturbed by death, violence and mayhem. A beautiful sight after what felt like a world of tragedy. To be honest, her studies prepared her for how to channel magic. It never prepared her though for the real world. And in the real world, this happened.

Once they stopped, she stood where she was, watching Master Gall as he seemed to find just the right place. Curious, she moved a little closer to watch better and was stunned as a little cottage made of thick glass grew. She stared at it in awe, reaffirming her true love; she loved magic. A small snort came from her and she glanced to him. “Yeah, that’s a supremely large understatement.” It’d been enough to distract her mind finally and she didn’t hesitate one bit to go inside and get a good look around for herself. It was like a palace on the inside, even if it was just a small glass cottage, for a small thing, it was huge!
 
Yoristan nodded as she spoke.
"The Sending works both ways, opening a channel. It's not a lot of time, only a few sentances to be honest. But he'll be able to Send back to you." He explained. "And don't worry about the academy itself. Vannareth might have gathered enough power to challenge me on my home ground, but...there's not a mage alive that can stand up to the Senior Council. He'd need an army that stretched across the horizon, a cadre of High Mages, and an alliance with some of the Greater Powers of this world. He has none of those at this point. I'm not convinced that he and his Dark mage could stand up to the Chief Evoker alone. That man has levelled mountains in minutes, and by himself." He stepped into the cottage with her, adn waved a hand. The fireplace lit, throwing out some warmth, and the lights in the place glowed with light.

The glade shifted, seeming to adjust tot he presence of the cottage, adn the pool of water rippled slightly, as though something within shifted.
"Ewyn?" Yoristan said calmly, setting a small pitcher on the table within. "Could you fill that at the pool while I see what we have in here to eat?"
 
She knew the Academy was great but she might not have known just how great, or that the legends she read in her textbooks, tomes and scrolls were not really legends but real. Some of the names he mentioned, she read about. And if they were apart of the Academy, then holy hell she really did study somewhere great! Not that she was doubting it but she could only test so much of what she learned from her studies in the real world. Otherwise, she was like a fish out of water. She grew up within the walls of the Academy, she hardly left it and her father protected her like she was a rare gem who would get lost and crushed. She understood completely but it might have left her at a bit of a disadvantage. She didn’t know much. And learning everything about the world from reading and not actual life experiences of her own? It’s not the same.

She could only nod to Master Gall as she got herself relatively settled in the cottage, setting down her staff and about to take her boots off. She just got them untied when he made his request and she sighed softly. She didn’t feel like bending to tie them again so she simply kicked them off. It had been a while since she felt the fresh, damp earth on her bare feet, so it seemed at least. It’d be good for her. “Sure.” Taking the pitcher, she left the cottage and basked in the soft breeze that blew past her. Gosh, this place was like heaven. She half wondered if they were really dead and this is what heaven really looked like.

Walking to the pool nearby, she gazed down at the water. She was suddenly incredibly thirsty, more so than she might have realized. Lifting the hem of her skirt up, she carefully stepped in, a soft sigh coming from her as the cool water engulfed around her skin. Letting the hem go, not minding it getting a little wet, she knelt down and brought the pitcher about, letting it swim in the pool to fill up water. Once it was full, she lifted it up to her lips to take a sip. Mm, that hit the spot just beautifully. She drank about half of the contents before feeling like she got her full before dunking the pitcher back in to refill it.
 
The water was...cold. Cold and clear, perfect as water could be. There was no trace of any sediment, purer than any water that Ewyn had experienced. It was as though someone had takent eh very essence of what water was supposed to be, and concentrated it into this place, this one pool of water. But as Ewyn was within it, the waters started to churn and swirl, beginning to gather momentum, the feel of a current trying to draw her towards the middle. Clear as the water had been, Ewyn could see that teh pool got exceptionally deep as it went towards teh middle, the bottom of the pool impossible to see.

The waters churning set off a flare of magical energy, and Yoristan jogged out of the cottage, and saw that the waters were drawing Ewyn forward. With a swift gesture, a hand of magical force gripped the back of her dress, adn pulled her back out of the pool. He readied a banishment spell, preparing to make full use of it if needed, when the water reached a full churn, and erupted in a geyser-like font at the middle. As the waters settled back down, some water remained suspended in the air. As Yoristan knelt beside Ewyn to ensure she was all right, the water finished shifting, changing to a beautiful woman made entirely of water. Yoristan stared. Ye Gods and little fishes. This was not what he had expected to find in this clearing, but it certainly explained the heightened sense of magic in the area.
"Are you all right Ewyn?" He asked his apprentice, not looking away from the water form. THe woman took a step towards them, and Yoristan raised a hand in warning, arcane power brewing. She stopped, adn raised her hands.
"Be at peace Yoristan Gall. You are safe here, as is your apprentice." The voice was like water rolling over stone, rippling but with a sense of surety that left no doubt in Yoristan's mind as to what they were looking at. A Water Weird.
 
It was the purest water she drank and even after she drank it, she could feel the replenishing feeling that water was capable of come through her. But it was even more than just that. It felt like her strength and her ability was being replenished. This was some seriously special water. It got her wondering about what exactly the price would be to pay for it. She learned early on that nothing was free in this world. And even for water like this, there had to be a price. It was too good to be true.

So when the water began to churn, Ewyn noticed immediately but she didn’t make a move quite immediately. Only when it had started to pull her forward, she dropped the pitcher and tried to turn but the current of the water was too strong for her to fight against, to try and go back to the edge. Only when she felt something pulling her back, Ewyn looked back to see it was Master Gall. She fell onto her bottom though from the pull and strength of it, it unhinging her balance and she splashed into the water. Thankfully, he was at her side and it didn’t try to take her again. What was going on?!

It was like a worst nightmare being realized. Being forced to drown…
So when a geyser erupted, her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. The water took the form of a woman and she swallowed hard, unable to take her eyes away from the form. “No, not…quite. The water turned into a woman. Did you see that too?”

She snorted in the most unladylike fashion and crossed her arms over her chest. “If we are safe here why were you trying to pull me into the middle. You realize of course if you succeeded, I would have probably exploded when the geyser did. Does that seem pretty safe? Hmm?!” And Ewyn officially snapped.
 
Yoristan smied. Ewyn still had her temper, and that was a good sign. If she was still able to get annoyed, then she wasn't quite as shattered as he'd been fearing.
"No, no, that happened. She's there. I doubt she could have helped it. And you were standing in her home after all." Gall put in mildly.
"Though I meant no harm Ewyn Conal, I extend my apology to you. I can emerge from my pool no other way." The Water Weird said, drifting along and lifting a hand. The pitcher emerged, whoel adn fine, and she floated the item to rest on the ground near Yoristan and Ewyn. "You both stand within my realm, in the center of my power, and shall know welcome here. All that I have is at your disposal." Yoristan caught the hidden message. It wasn't as vague as he'd expected.

"Your kind are known to be powerful seers. Immensely so. If all you have is at our disposal...then you can answer us questions, can't you?" Yoristan ventured. The Weird nodded.
"I can and I shall. Each of you may ask of me three questions. And I shall answer them to the best of my ability." She looked at Ewyn. "As you are the party most recently wronged, I offer you the first question."
 
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