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Atroxa & Alenaeon

Atroxa

Star
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Location
USA
Lilura was fairly sure that this part of the desert had not seen human life in some time, in fact, she could almost guarantee it. No records of the stronghold she was visiting existed anymore, the knowledge of it's location in the foothills of the great mountains lost long ago during one of the many tribal wars that kept the area in a constant state of turmoil. It was hard to survive out here, and sometimes, only those with enough warriors to raid from other tribes could survive the harsh environment. Why anyone would even want to live here was beyond her. The tribesmen told her because the king and his 'noble' men (for they used the word with disdain) did not find the land worth their time, they were allowed the freedom to live as they always had, without intervention. The hard lives they lead were the price for the independence. Lilura honestly didn't see it as worth it, but she had grown up very differently from them.

She was noble by blood, something she hid for the most part when dealing with the common folk, it didn't really matter anyway. She'd all but renounced her title, she still held claim to it, but only as a formality, her brother could have it all. Court intrigue, fashion, politics, none of it interested her. She had grown up with her nose in a book and a deep hunger to see the world, something she got from her father. It had been on his journey to other countries that he had met and married her mother, the mix of blood gave Lilura a look that set her a part from her fellow countrymen. She possessed the dark hair and skin, bronzed after so many days in the sun now, but her features were slightly more angular, and bright blue eyes stared out of the gap between the folds of the scarf she had wrapped about her head to protect her face and ears from the sand-ladened wind. Thick bold lines of kohl circled her eyes to provide additional protection from the sun as well. She was beautiful, and young, and would have likely lead a successful life as a noblewoman. As it were though, she was currently riding into this long abandoned section of the desert, where some long ago king had built a fortress in an attempt to exert some sort of control over the tribes. It hadn't worked.

She only knew about it thanks to consorting with the ghost of a certain soldier in a graveyard in the last major town she'd been in. He had been stationed at the fortress before they had had to flee during a very severe drought, forced to leave behind much of the gold and jewels that had belonged to the pompous lord-officer who had overseen them. They'd had to eat most of their horses and camels and so had had no way to transport them. It all now lay forgotten in the ruins, and Lilura would be the one to claim them.

This was what she did, when she wasn't handling some zombie outbreak or haunting, she explored ruins and other abandoned places. And with the aid of the memories of the spirits who had once known of their existence, she found more than enough gold and treasure to sustain herself. Also though she sought out tomes and scrolls and other artifacts of a more intellectual value and sent them to her uncle, who ran the mage's academy in the royal city of Madiar. A brief but violent bout of persecution by a religious zealot of a king and his two successors had resulted in the destruction of the much of the held knowledge on magic, as well as the slaughter of many many mages. So any bit of lore or instruction that Lilura found, she sent to her uncle as he attempted to rebuild the lost knowledge on magic, now that that line of kings was gone and done with.

Lilura was among the most feared of mages, a necromancer, something she hid until it suited her. To look at her, most would never guess. They imagined liches, little more than walking corpses, summoning demons and stealing souls, not a beautiful young woman, and that suited her just fine.

Following the directions of the ghost, she soon found herself at the crumbling gate of the fortress. She had to dismount and lead her horse, Azarra, through the rocks, looping her reins about her neck so she wouldn't trip over them but leaving her unsecured. She didn't know what would happen to her, or if something might come out of the ruins to attack the mare, and she wanted her to be able to escape. The horse was valuable, not only in gold, but sentiment.

Leaving Azarra in the courtyard, Lilura ventured further into the fortress, pulling the scarf off her head and tucking it into her bag, her wavy black hair pulled into a braid that fell down her back. Finding a small room off the main hall, she prepared for a summoning. Any spirit would do, she only needed one to help her in fighting the undead she knew would be waiting. The soldier had told her that many of their men had died from starvation, and with the drought, the final push had come in the form of their dead comrades coming back to life to try and kill them. Zombies were odd creatures. The bodies of the dead could lie, rotting and very much inanimate, for many years. And then one stray soul got stubborn enough to inhabit and it set off a chain reaction, causing other souls to come and inhabit other bodies. They never left on their own, and they brought enough life to a corpse to slow the decay process greatly. Lilura had learned that the best way to defeat zombies was to have a more intact spirit help her to guide the lost spirits that lived within the zombies cross over. There were other ways, but they required time and preparation that she did not have in a place like this.

Laying out the things she needed and using chalk to write the runes and symbols, Lilura muttered the spell and then pricked her finger, letting it a drop fall on each rune, and then onto the candle she had lit, and then waited. The blood that fell onto the runes was potent, infused with the power of the other world thanks to the unique circumstances of her conception.
 
Remwald had spent the past few years trying to breach his prison. The afterlife had made sure that it was secure this time, his soul being bound in chains, locked in a sealed room and then trapped in a perpetually guarded forest. He was one of the souls who was always trying to escape and come back to the world of the living. He had spent centuries out there, in the real world, and then fate had managed to claim him. Some fool managed to destroy his phylactery and then the grim reaper had worked quickly in claiming him.

Her calling was like a light to him, it was the light at the end of his tunnel. His torture was over as he slipped towards it, using her magic to pull him out of his bindings and containment. His guards tried to stop him but her power combined with his meant they never had a chance to stop his present escape. He exited the afterlife and appeared in the real world, his mind taking a few seconds to readjust.

While most souls had a bit of a mix of their normal colors or white, Remwald's soul was much darker. It looked like it was made of pure darkness, lit up by small red lights for eyes. His features were rounded, but long. His eyes seemed sunken in, his lips tightened and dry. He had a suit on his body, noticeable because it was slightly darker then the rest of his body. He gave her a soft smile, realizing he would have to pretend to be a bound ghost although he knew that he could escape THIS prison easily. He bowed his head. "Yes? Whatever is it that you need?"

He was patiently awaiting her response, although his legs tried to stand on the ground. He hated the weakness, he wanted to be solid. He wanted influence over the world again, but he knew that he had to wait. If he pushed himself too far, then she might send him back and that was the last thing he wanted.
 
Lilura watched the spirit coalesce, surprised at how dark he was, making him difficult to see in the low light of the room she was in, considering it had no windows, only the torches she had lit, and the single candle before her. The only feature she could see very clearly were his eyes. He almost looked more like an ethereal demon than a spirit, and in the back of her mind, Lilura wondered if she had maybe gotten herself in over her head again. She brushed the thought aside. Magic was almost purely mental, doubting oneself diminished your power. You could never doubt, it guaranteed failure, though confidence and arrogance did not guarantee success. It was a lesson she still sometimes struggled to remember.

Her crystalline blue eyes stared at him, jumping out of her face a little with the light of the candle, and a little wide in apprehension. His question though broke her silent observation. “I require your assistance against the undead,” She informed him, standing, candle in hand, “I need to go below, and ask that you guide the wayward spirits away.” Lilura knew it was best to be polite with spirits, technically, she commanded them when she summoned them, but having them aid her willingly was much easier than having to force them, or having to send them back and summon another.
 
Remwald almost clapped his hands in delight. That was all she asked of him? This would be easy. He looked down to the circle, then back up to her. He tried to float out of it, since walking was not going to work. No need to irritate her and or reveal his true power. "I shall do as I can. You shall not be plagued by restless spirits."

If he was able to leave the circle, he would attempt to go down below and search for any nearby souls. Feasting on them would certainly give him some of his power back, but it would also draw attention. Attention he didn't need. He would focus and exert as much mental force as he could manage, dissuading any spirits that were in the area from remaining or entering. When he was sure the area had been properly warded, at least for now, he floated back up and bowed to her. "You shall be safe for the moment. I would advise that you hurry lest they return."

He gave her a soft smile as he looked over her form. He couldn't believe that something so fragile, so weak, so living had managed to pull him out of the afterlife, but he figured that would only assist in his escape. Of course, he could also flirt to try and stir her heart to be more sympathetic to his cause, but he figured if she had enough skill to pull him, that she would ignore flirting.
 
Lilura nodded slightly as he agreed to her request and floated away, leaving her to take out some acidic powder and sprinkle it over her blood on the runes. The chances of some one coming here were highly remote, but the power of blood was powerful, and the control one could exact over another by the use of their if they knew how was great, and dangerous. She would not run such a risk, and so ruined any blood that remained, making it useless to whoever might happen upon it that might have the knowledge to even think of using it.

When the spirit returned and informed her that the deed was done she inclined her head, “Thank you, I will ask that you remain with me until I'm done. Then I will return you.” Most spirits were happy to return to the land of the dead, so she was unaware that he did not. Lilura though was indeed easy to underestimate, she was small, the top of her head only just brushing 5'4”, her build slender and graceful, though it was currently garbed in the rough, unflattering garb of the tribes. It was designed to protect her from the sand and sun and wind, not compliment her, so she didn't really care.

Leaving the circle, she took one of the torches from beside the door and slung her bag back across her shoulders before going back out into the hall and proceeding to the lower levels. The soldier had told her of their officer's paranoia about the local tribes wanting to steal his valuables from him, too arrogant to believe that to the people who lived here, gold was worthless, and so he'd hidden it in a small locked chamber below. It took her a moment to locate it, but when she did, she put her hands against the wood, willing power into her hands, small blue iridescent flames spreading from her fingers, soaking into the wood and spreading, devouring it easily, as old and rotted as it was. The door all but disintegrated, and she stepped through the now open doorway.

Inside she found exactly what she'd been hoping for. There was a small pile of gold and jewels, far more than she could take back in one trip, so she filled a bag and searched through the piles of various goods that were also locked away in here. She found nothing of real importance though and sighed, a little disappointed. She had known though that finding anything of real value here would have been unlikely. It was a small, rough outpost in the middle of nowhere, destined to fail. No great trust would have been placed in it's success, and therefor nothing of real importance would have been put here. Standing she turned to return back up to the main level. She would mark this place on her map in case she ever needed to return for more gold, but she thought she would have to be truly desperate indeed to come back here.

Once back outside, the sky a deep blue-purple on one end, fading to a pink-orange on the other side with the setting sun, she looked at the spirit she had summoned. “Thank you for your help, I will return you now,” She took her chalk back out and drew a single glyph on the ground, standing with her hand over it, pricking her finger and watching a single drop fall onto it, hissing softly as it made contact with the glyph.
 
Remwald followed her through the ruins, almost laughing at her as she picked up the gold. No secret lore, no devilish traps, nothing of actual value, just a bit of gold? He thought that this was almost as pathetic as it was funny, the one who summoned him had came here for gold? Well, this might be easier then he thought if she was so attached to physical objects.

As she tried to send him back, he fought, using his willpower to maintain a connection to the plane. He looked at her, and gave her an almost evil glare. "No, I am not returning to that place and you shall not force me." While he was only 5'4" himself, even in ghost form, he was doing his best to be intimidating. When he realized she couldn't force him back, he smiled and calmed down.

"You know, such a beautiful lady could use a bit of jewelry, I could probably help find you some. I'm sure there is something you desire, I can offer much. All I ask is that you cease these pitiful attempts to rebuke me back to the afterlife." He rested his head in his hand as he stared her down while he made his offer. "Of course, if I had a body, I'm sure I could offer you more... physical rewards."
 
Gold was secondary, she honestly had enough to last her some time, and if she truly needed funds all she had to do was write to her family and they would provide it, but unfortunately, money did make the world work and she knew that she needed it to get by. She'd come too far out here to just leave empty handed, so gold had to do. She would have wandered some scroll or tome, this place was very old, but she supposed there'd be no good reason for something like that to be out here.

However, the failure of finding any worthy spoils slipped far from her mind as she felt the spirit resisting her, even when she leaned her energy into the spell. He stayed though, and then glared at her and told her he refused to go back. It was Lilura's turn to glare, her blue eyes narrowing at him and her jaw setting stubbornly, but relented in her attempt to return him. However, when he tried to bribe her with some bauble, and then alluded to a more base payment if he'd had a physical body she gave him a fierce, angry glare, not intimidated by him, and insulted that he tried to bribe her with such paltry wares, and called her attempts 'pitiful'.

“If I wanted a necklace, I could have a hundred,” she growled at him, “What I want is for you to go back to where you belong.” Lilura set her feet and clenched her hands, concentrating all her will into forcing him back into the realm of the dead. She was powerful, but her power was still raw and unrefined, but she was also incredibly stubborn.
 
He fought back with the entirety of his years of knowledge. He directed her power, spreading it out so that way it had less impact on him. He mentally pushed back, impressed at her talent and the fact that she was not as shallow as she seemed on the surface. He stopped using all of his mind, and only most of it so that way he could talk. "Well, I also have knowledge. Years of experience in necromantic arts. You can't hope to best me, so you had better accept my presence within this world."

He was also stubborn, and while he was impressed with her, his desire to not be bested by the apparently not so amateur also helped him fight back. Well, typical manipulation wouldn't work, so he would have to give up on that. She was too dangerous to try and slowly manipulate. He would wait until this fight was over to try being civil though. His mental defenses went up, in case she somehow decided she wanted access to his mind.
 
Lilura glared angrily at the spirit when he still managed to resist her attempts to send him back to the after life. This was ridiculous! But she stopped trying, and frowned deeply. “Why won't you go back? You have no place here! It's not where you belong,” She was obviously frustrated, running a hand over her face in exasperation. This was just her luck. She always seemed to be getting herself into trouble in one way or another. Figured she would summon a spirit strong enough to back up his stubborn refusal to return to the realm of the dead.

Her only comfort was that she had summoned him, which meant that he was bound to her. He could whisk off to go cause trouble or bring anyone harm. He would be prevented from getting too far from her, and if he kept trying, he would merely be drained of energy until he was too weak to keep trying. Maybe he'd do just that and she could send him back. If he really was experienced in the necromantic arts though she doubted he would be so foolish.
 
He smiled at her and leaned back. "Oh, but it is. You see, when someone lives a life as long as mine, we find it a bit difficult to stay in the afterlife. You know, they had to bind me up with so many defenses that it was quite silly!" He floated up a bit, then moved so that he was laying above the ground. He turned his head to resume looking at her. "At least the company I am presently stuck with isn't some airheaded little fool who managed to get a hold of me. If you would be interested, I can be a great boon in the necromantic arts, for learning and for rituals."

He flipped over so his back was up, although he kept his head pointed in her direction. His thoughts were racing about this figure. Should he help her? Should he try to destroy her? How much should he resist? Oh, the questions. The wonderful questions! His grin widened into a chesire grin as he looked at her. "I haven't been much of a teacher but I can certainly try although you'll need to stop the nonsense of trying to force me back." He looked up at the sky, oh, the beautiful sky that he missed so much. It was both a shame and a boon that the sun was disappearing. It represented so many things to him.
 
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