Alliel

"That is acceptable," nodded Ghadook. "Do you have any experience in Strangulation, or knowledge regarding the Thuggee Earthborn sect of the pre-twentieth century? Would you be willing to enter combat, right now, to prove your worth and show us your style?"

Sura

Sura felt the intricacies of the Seed of Time overwhelm and flow out of him as he added that particular seed to the world. He now needed only to insert the Paradox seed and for now he would be done.

Hirsu

"Ah!" said Lord-Colonel Drake. "If there is anything that I might do for you - anything that does not interfere with my mission - in compensation for my uncouth act of bloody violence, say the word, my friend. If you require serious medical attention I can have you taken to the Lord's Hospital in the Territories. It would be no," he smiled. "No trouble. I am a Colonel, you know."

The smile broadened.

"And a Lord."

"Apart from the obvious that its a stealth based technique centring around restriction of windpipes on humans?  No not really.  I suspect an assassin cult of some sort although the strangulation seems inefficient so perhaps a religious cult."

She gives a short smile.

"If you want me to demonstrate my own style of combat just ask.  I always wish to practice."

Hirsu continued focusing on healing his leg. The Lord-Colonel was beginning to remind him of someone, though he was fairly certain neither would appreciate the comparison.

"Well, my first choice would be something completely out of range with the offence, though I'm certain some would consider a leg a bargain for... Sorry, I'm rambling. One moment."

He channelled more divine healing into his leg, taking a few breaths to pass the pain. When he had the breath to continue, he spoke quietly. "I don't suppose you could get me an accurate map of Apath? I'll be heading there on business soon enough, I think."

He then added the final touch to his masterpiece. The creation was long and exhausting, but it has finally come to fruition. He implemented the final seed - paradox.

Alliel

"Please," said Ghadook. The center of the dojo had cleared - the fights were quick and bloody here. "If you wish to learn, move to the center and face your opponent. Louis, you ready to fight?" He directed the sentence to a skinny, sharp-toothed God who nodded.

"Do not start until my command."

Sura

Sura passed out, and would sleep for many more hours.

It was done.

Hirsu

"Oh, I am pleased that you asked!" said the Lord-Colonel Drake. Hirsu felt the pain in his leg grow more severe as it healed slowly and the links to the Valley were severed. "I do not hesitate in mentioning that after this job is complete I will be traveling to Apath with my own merry band of fighting men," he grinned. The Lord-Colonel's fingers reached up to stroke his own fine mustache. "We plan on finally capturing - and killing - the revered, ancient and deadly Cackling Bird of Apath. It will be a bloody struggle, and a difficult hunt, but if we can achieve such a goal.. I will be able to rest, contented. If you wish, friend Hirsu, you may travel with us," he said. "Though I must warn you - we plan on entering the darkest, treacherous savage jungle-lands of all Apath - for the Cackling Bird only stakes its territory where the mythic witchstone can be obtained, and as such is as rare as the substance as it guards!"

He cackled at that, his eyes alight with the thirst for a challenge.

Alliel nods and walks into the centre of the arena preparing herself mentally for this fight.

Hirsu gritted his teeth, and continued channelling his healing energy into regenerating his leg. "I appreciate the offer, and I'll consider it. I've never heard of the Cackling Bird."

Sura would remain here until he awakens from his slumber. With his goal achieved, he could afford this moment of weakness.

(Wake me up when i'm ready Nat)

Alliel

Lois stepped forward, took the silver cord from his belt, bowed, and passed it to Alliel. He was almost naked, wearing only a loincloth, and sudden blue tattoos covered his entire body. His hands moved quickly, gracefully. He procured another cord from somewhere within his loincloth, and bowed deeply.

Sura

Sura slowly roused, still exhausted but unable to sleep much longer. He had recovered a modicum of energy, however, and could act once more.

Hirsu

"The Cackling Bird is, much like witchstone, at once mythical and held entirely in fact," said the Lord-Colonel Drake. "It has the eyes of the eagle, the span of the roc, the mystical prowess of the phoenix, the beauty of the peacock and the grace of the crane - but do not be persuaded that it is a beast of good intent. It has the laughter of a deathly hyena, the fangs of a viper, the ability to take the shape of those it has recently devoured, powers precognitive and prophetic.. its claws can cut through strongest steel as if it were soft silver, and it flies faster and harder than any dragon. It feeds on the misery of children and the lust of adults. It is the Cackling Bird, and it will be defeated." He nodded, and Hirsu felt his leg finally begin to heal over. "By Jupiter, I will not rest until it is defeated!"

Hirsu considered the man's words, trying to sift through the grandiose myth to seek out kernels of truth. The bird seemed apocalyptic, and would be dangerous prey if even half of what the colonel said was to be believed.  But perhaps that was the point. It wouldn't be the first creature whose existence was falsified. To protect the witchstone, and perhaps something more, it made a certain sense.

And if it was real, even exaggerated... He really didn't want to stumble into its lair blind.

Hirsu, curious about the hunter's motivations, asked what he thought was a fairly simple question. "So, why wait? No offense intended by this, but Ruse seems a pitiful target when you compare him with the Cackling Bird. Why waste your time hunting lesser prey when the height of your career is within your reach?"

Alliel looked at the cord with some surprise.

Then she picked it up and examined it carefully looking for weak spots and trying to gauge its strength.

When she was ready she bowed.

Sura stood uneasily on his feet. He let out a wheeze, which one would assume was the laughter of the God of the Desert. He then left Niborkerese.

Hirsu


"Ah, and astute observation, friend Hirsu," said the Lord-Colonel. "With the sudden bounty on Ruse, and with myself acting as a free gentlemen, I would be a liar if I didn't admit that I knew of his status as Conclave-Lord of Apath. Apath has long been an anarchistic nation that abides by its own laws - and those laws do not pay heed to the legislation of our good Empire. There have long been laws forbidden certain acts of hunting, smuggling, mining and excavation within the jungles - but under the old regime, the Conclave are stretched too thin to properly enforce such laws. It was a veritable paradise for men such as I.. but I have heard of this Ruse, and of his hard-line stance as a conservative member of the Circle. There is much fear that things will change as Ruse takes control of the Kingdom - and, with the money on the bounty being so good, I admit that greed has overcome me."

He frowned softly.

"The money and the opportunity were simply too good too pass," he continued. "I could eliminate the threat to this great game of Apath, take the bounty, and pay for the hunt in full."

Alliel

"Lois," said Ghadook, jovially. "Your opponent, as you might of heard, is using her own fighting style. Understand that she will be dangerous, and that while you will be allowed the use of your tattoos you will be expected to fight using the Thuggee style."

"Of course, master," said Lois.

"Begin the fight," said Ghadook.

Lois nodded and the students stepped back to give the combatants some room. Alliel's opponent raised his right arm, and placed his left down by his hip in a sign of readiness. His blue-black tattoos seemed to shift slightly as he did so, and the student held the silver cord in between both hands. He was ready, and still - waiting for Alliel to make the first move.

Alliel nods to Lois carefully and then begins to sidle to one side, her movements being designed to force Lois into moving.  The short range of the cord suggested that the style required speed and finesse and she needed to use precisely that against him.  She carefully prepared to apply two forces to his leg when he did move, one to the bottom of the leg forwards and the other to the top of the leg backwards which in combination should send him flying as soon as he did move.

She also pulled out one of her darts and palmed it ready to throw.

Hirsu shrugs. "A fair enough set of circumstances. I can completely understand your desire to end the threat Ruse poses before continuing on your mission. Do you by any chance know how many lives Ruse has remaining?"

Hirsu


"My theoelctromagnographometer tells me that the cur has only entered his second life," said the Lord-Colonel. "You people are much hardier than my own race, though we tend to make up for it with valour and courage." He nodded. "A single kill, however, would be enough. A single kill and I'd be able to track him until the day is taken, by God, from this world. I only need - one."

Alliel

Lois grinned, silver cord in hand. The tattoos moved slowly, stirring as if they'd just been woken. He sidled as Alliel sidled, the two moving slowly in a circle..

"This will be good," said Ghadook. "Watch and learn, children."

Alliel carefully squeezes the dart then throws it to her left at right angles to Lois  and dives to her right hitting the ground and rolling through the motion.

Hirsu raised an eyebrow. Now that was an interesting statement. "So, you have some type of device that allows you to track any deity that has been affected by it, even, or especially, beyond the death of the body you targeted. That has some very interesting applications for how the divine form is made, and how it interacts with the rest of the universe.

"I'm also guessing you can now track me, at least in this form, since you likely used a tracer shot or whatever it is when you first attacked, correct?" He forced a smirk. "I guess it's a good thing I'm not one to hold a grudge. At least not for an honest mistake causing no lasting harm."

This colonel was truly an enigma. He spoke of valour and courage, yet hunted others like an assassin, striking from a distance. Yet, he checked his target's identity before the finishing blow. The man even stuck around while Hirsu healed himself, which he no doubt understood was keeping other predators away while Hirsu healed. And here he was, giving him a subtle warning about trying to get revenge through trickery.

The man clearly wasn't exaggerating about his nobility. His education and talent in subtlety and his adherence to his own set of rules were becoming more obvious. This was no mortal to be trifled with. Then again, he should have known that as soon as his leg came off. He would have to learn to watch his arrogance when pain and anger were running high, lest he make the same mistake of superiority in less friendly circumstances.

The tracking system the man spoke of also gave Hirsu more to think about regarding the nature of divinity and its physical reality. He could feel that he'd cut this form off from the others, to limit pain to his other selves. But in the moment of death, such an act was likely impossible. (Or was it? He'd ponder that later.) In the moment when all selves amalgamated, the tracking system must transfer to all selves, allowing the owner of the device to track all aspects of the deity from that point on. A virus or bacterial infection, perhaps, lying dormant, infiltrating the host's body, passing itself off as a part of the host, something that could not be removed.

He took a moment to look down and examine the state of his leg, and nearly bit his tongue as pain reasserted itself prominently in his consciousness. As it was, his face twisted most unpleasantly, and he inhaled deeply through his nose. The distraction the man provided had allowed him to forget the pain for a few moments, but he still had work to do.

He resumed focus on channeling healing energies into his leg, speeding up his regeneration.

Hirsu

"You're correct," said the Lord-Colonel. "That is, what you thought, son, is correct. The tracking device is bacterial in nature. No cure. Highly illegal, at least by Conclave law." He laughed as he placed the stress on that word, as if the laws of the Conclave were entirely optional. Perhaps they were. "Ah, don't fret, friend, I got the good marks from your head as well, the compliments," he smiled. "Thank you kindly. As for a cure, well.. I'm not entirely sure, outside of radical Purity treatment or extreme hypermetabolistic practices, that there is one."

He nodded.

"I apologise for that," he said. "Rest assured, friend, only I will be able to track you from this point on. I apologise again for any pain that I caused you, though I must admit.." He patted Hirsu on the back. "I feel less bad now that I can see what you can do in the healing department of things. Are you some sort of medicine Divine?"

Hirsu's leg had completely recovered.

Alliel

Lois widened his eyes in surprise as the dart was thrown to his left, and he moved swiftly to the right to counter it. It struck, however, against his naked torso, and the blue tattoos ripped and shuddered, as if in anger. Lois fell to the floor, panting, and dropped the silver cord. The blue tattoos deepened, expanded, ripped, and Alliel heard him panting heavily, as if he were undergoing some sort of transformation.

"The Aikenberg technique," commented Ghadook. "Very few bearers of the Inkwyrm have mastered it, let alone psychic generalists - or hypertattooists, for that matter! Class, I'd like you to pay especial attention to what happens now.." As if they wouldn't. The students' eyes were glued to the match.

Alliel looks at the tattoos with interest.  Whatever they were doing she suspected she wouldn't like the outcome.  She focussed her psionic powers on her foe to form a pair of stresses dragging the skin of the tattoo apart in an attempt to rip the tattoo in half.  As she does she dances backwards getting clear of the immediate area and takes up a defensive posture.

Hirsu's eyebrow rose significantly. A telepath? No wonder the man had little respect for the Conclave's laws. Hirsu shook his head, clearing it a little, but he knew the man had had all the time he needed to check what he wanted in Hirsu's mind. Well, at least Hirsu had given up on any plans of useless revenge before this moment. He smirked to himself.

"Yes, I suppose you could call me that. I do what I can for those I can. It's also one of the reasons I wanted to come to this place. Even if there's no witchstone to be had, I can still help some people while I'm here, so long as I don't abuse the privilege of being here too much."

Hirsu

The Lord-Colonel nodded solemnly. "I apologize again for the indecency of my attack," he said. "The nobility of your inward spirit has made this quite difficult for me. It is not common that I strike at the wrong target..." He looked up at the stars above and grinned. "A clear night. Huh. Well, Medicine Divine, I wish you all the best. If you wish for recompense, please, only say the word - I find myself entirely in your debt. I offer you whatever small boon this mortal can."

Alliel

The  Aikenberg technique. Hypertattooing. Inkwyrm.

... Niborkerese, City of a Thousand Surprises...

The creature that leapt at Alliel bore no resemblance to the man called Lois. A single bloodied dart fell clattered across the stone floor of the dojo. Students watched in awe. As Alliel takes her defensive posture, she is aware of her psychic attacks being cast aside, and -

The creature was almost two-dimensional, more ink than anything else, flowing and flat like a grandmaster's sculpture. The ink flowed and slithered like an eel, and shook and hissed like an angry cobra. As the Aikenberg Disciple flung itself at Alliel, it was all she could do to deflect the blows - at once as soft and as comforting as silk, as loud as thunder and as damaging as a lightning strike. The thing is fast. Too fast.

An advanced technique indeed!

Alliel smiles and shifts herself slightly.  If the being was immune to her force other things weren't.

As she deflects one blow with her staff she simply uses her psionic might to give the staff a rapid twist trying to scoop the edge of the thin figure and wrap it around the staff.  She sends the staff into a rapid spin around its own access with a distinct wobble as her mind controls its movement and she withdraws from the fight slightly to allow her foe to fight the staff.

Slime begins to drip from her skin as the form of her body changes.

Alliel

As the Ink hits the staff the sound that it creates as it vibrates is mournful and damaging to the ears. The staff itself seemed only to survive the assault due, in part, to loyalty to its master.

As the staff begins to twist and turn, though, the Aikenberg is forced, by sheer persistence of the application of physics, to be caught about and around it. While there doesn't seem to be any damage done, it's clear - the creature will have a great deal of difficulty escaping from this trap.

Polite applause sounds from the students. But the match is not yet over.

Alliel's slime changes becoming more viscous and sticky before the staff stops twirling and the slime launches itself off her body.  Then the staff yanks back towards her violently as the Ink become covered with flying slime, rapidly drying and hardening slime, extremely difficult to remove slime that settles everywhere and binds anything it touches that isn't Alliel's skin.

Which is the point where Alliel seems to shimmer slightly and suddenly is standing holding a body and a book with an expression of complete surprise on her face.

"That is different.  Most intriguing.  Strange what small changes can do."