Alliel

"Most of the weapons are sold via our own vendors in the Common Hall.. the furthest room in the dojo," said Second Gambit. "There, too, you will find food and good company. If you wish to fully attempt commerce, that would be where you should begin."

Sura

Power spewed forth from Sura's mouth..

1. Endless desert stretches across its surface..
2. Completely void of water..
3. The scorching heat was unbearable to those not born of the sand..

Sura breathed slowly. Pacing himself.

Alliel nods carefully then starts tapping her fingers on her thigh reflectively.

"I think that's it right now.  If you have time I might appreciate a discussion of an ethical nature.  I am slightly perplexed right now you see, my very existence is antithetical to the Conclave, I am in many ways the opposite of what they feel to be acceptable.  I have been approached by the Mad to recruit me and demonstrated to them that recruiting me is no easy task - the mad god tried to seduce me to infect me and, well, he failed.  My abilities were a match for him.  I cannot support the conclave and have no real interest in being mad per se but what other paths are open to me?"

Alliel

"Ah," said Second Gambit. "You want power - but you understand how difficult that can be to obtain without help. You were right to decline the Mad. They wish only the death of the World-Tree in the end, and no matter which way you look at that.. it would spell one's demise. The Conclave, too, are at fault, of course. They wish to 'save' the Tree, but in doing so may do more damage than the pathetic Mad, perhaps, ever could.."

He stopped, and thought. Alliel could see that he was trying not to move his mouth or look at his fingers as he counted.

"There are several other factions you may wish to align yourself with," he said. "The main players, of course, struggle even now for Niborkerese - and while most hold quarters elsewhere, they all maintain their presence in this grand city. There is Brotherhood of the Athanor - alchemists, scholars, drug-barons and liars - and yet possessing of their own esoteric wisdom, I suppose. It was once thought that they ruled Niborkerese, and indeed the Realm itself - or one part of it - belonged - belongs - to Lord Marcento the Late, once their leader and now confirmed dead.." He frowned. "There is a colder war brewing in our fair city, Alliel. Forces are gathering. I fear the Athanor may not remain on top after the struggle."

He sighed.

"You have the Architects, the Shrine, the Cult, the True Sons.. and, regrettably, the Mad-taken Monastic Order. Lower players, too - Hydrathapoles Club high among them. If you are new to our city, friend, I can continue talking. This place is a hotbed of shrewd alliances and secret societies."

Sura

Still the power flowed from him..

1. Endless desert stretches across its surface..
2. Completely void of water..
3. The scorching heat was unbearable to those not born of the sand..
4. Amongst the endless sand, there was but one change in geography: A large area of rock, each rock jagged like a thorn..

"Obtaining power is easy if one is heartless in its pursuit.  I am unsure if I have that wish though.  The conclave has little to offer such as me and those who join it are blinkered in their sure knowledge that preventing the death of the world-tree is all that matters.  Agony is not life.  Death is not always evil.  The conclave are evil, true evil, concerned only with their own temporal power and not with the needs or concerns of the world-tree.  They are self-centred and self-conceited without any real understanding of the dangers of their actions.  My nature would be considered evil by many just by my name and powers yet I have little to offer any faction and no clear understanding of my own aims.  I seek direction in truth, focus for my efforts rather than a specific goal.  I think the minor players might be more suited to my needs at the current time.  I need to determine my own place in this mess and divine a purpose for myself."

He persisted.

Alliel

"If you only seek truth and enlightenment," said Second Gambit, speaking slowly. "And a clearer understanding of the universe.. I understand that a group meets every full moon at the House of Pillars, near Jupiter Street, in our very own Niborkerese. I am under oath, however, so cannot speak further. If you do care to join us - the moon, of course - rather conveniently - is full tonight - you will need this."

He reached down and passed Alliel a silver card with a purple eye printed on the face of it. No other symbols or words existed on the card - only silver and purple.

"Knock eleven times, quickly, and pass this card," said the Second Gambit. "You will be met."

Sura


It flowed..

1. Endless desert stretches across its surface..
2. Completely void of water..
3. The scorching heat was unbearable to those not born of the sand..
4. Amongst the endless sand, there was but one change in geography: A large area of rock, each rock jagged like a thorn..
5. It only spread a kilometer in each direction and sits lower than average ground height..

Alliel concentrates for a second and then slips the card under her skin into a specifically grown pouch she just created before giving a nod to Gambit.

"Let us proceed to the lesson then and my thanks for your understanding."

Sura tested his limit and push the process on a little faster.

Alliel

Second Gambit nodded and directed Alliel towards the lesson. He led her to a spacious room in the back of the surprisingly large building. Inside were half a dozen students watching a match between two fighters, each one holding only a silver cord as their weapon. They circled each other slowly, about and about in the center of the room, whilst their instructor watched on. Tall, dark-skinned, broad shouldered bald, the instructor's face was dark, leering, and filled with silver jewelry in the ears, nose, lips, chin and eyebrows.

"Watch," whispered Second Gambit. "Ghadook will accept you as a student after the combat."

Sura
Sura knew that he was going as fast as possible. This was a slow and intensive process..

1. Endless desert stretches across its surface..
2. Completely void of water..
3. The scorching heat was unbearable to those not born of the sand..
4. Amongst the endless sand, there was but one change in geography: A large area of rock, each rock jagged like a thorn..
5. It only spread a kilometer in each direction and sits lower than average ground height..
6. It saw endless summer and endless daylight, save for one night a cycle where an eclipse occurs which is said to induce magical effects..

He felt the world near completion... soo close now.

Hirsu appeared here, and took a moment to ensure that his oathblade was completely hidden beneath his white robes, and looked around.

Alliel nods and then rocks back onto her heels and watches the fight.

Alliel

It was over quickly. Duck, sweep, grapple, remove, duck, strangle, collapse - the fight complete in a minute. The teacher beamed with joy at his students.

"An excellent round," he said, patting the loser on the back. "You should both be proud. You have learned much. Joseph, understand that to enter a grapple with one of the Shage is almost always a bad idea, no matter what the circumstances. If you can, try to strike at a suitable angle and get them down before they can react."

He let the huffing students go for water, and smiled at Alliel.

"New student?" he held out a hand. "I am Ghadook, and I teach Thuggee sacred rope combat."

Sura

Sura begun to breath heavily as his work slowly came to completion.

1. Endless desert stretches upon its surface..
2. Completely void of water..
3. Scorching heat unbearable to those not born of the sand..
4. Amongst the endless sand, there was but one change of geography: a large area of rock, each jagged like a thorn..
5. It only spread a kilometer in each direction and sat lower than above average height..
6. It saw endless summer and endless daylight, save for one night a cycle when an eclipse occurs which is said to induce magical effects..
7. It was not pretty to the outsider..

But it was done. All Sura had to do now was to repeat the name of his World, and it would be formed.

Hirsu

Hirsu was clever to hide the oathblade.

He found himself atop a cobbled, red-slate roof, with a wide variety of buildings around, beneath, and above him - in all the colours, purple to red to black. There were ladders leading down from some of the roofs, but as far as Hirsu could see his little roof had no such thing. It was a thirty foot drop down to alleys below. Around him, he could see much of the sprawling citytop.

There was a bang and Hirsu felt his head slam against the slates, physically smashing some of them. A piercing agony tore through his thigh, and through the tears and the pain he saw that where his right leg should be there only a bloody stump. Gunsmoke in the air.

"Good day, kind sir!" yelled a voice from one of the rooftops. Hirsu couldn't see his attacker. "Tell me, are you the High Lord Ruse of the Valley of Mist?"

Sura took one last breath and spoke clearly: "Azred'Hamul!"

He waited, ensuring his work was done.

Alliel gives a bow.

"New student indeed.  I am Alliel, a shapeshifter and mistress of Alchemy come to learn the arts of combat.  I understand neither of my arts may be used in your class but am eager to learn of ways of defense that do not involve my other skills."

Hirsu would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation, were it not for the pain. A brief thought flashed through his head about the fancy armour he had worn under his robe being well worth the price before it flitted away in a throb of agony. He allowed himself to scream, rather than risk biting off his tongue.

He took a few breaths, and managed to bark out simple words. "No! Visit-ed! A friend! There!"

With every breath, he hoped that his body's healing powers would start to dull the pain. Part of his mind helpfully chimed in that repairing that much damage wasn't likely to be painless. He promptly told it to shut up. The sounds of his thoughts were competing with the rush of agony, and both were starting to drown out the sounds of the outside world. With effort, he focused on his breathing, trying to focus himself on the outside world. One thought, however, asserted itself mightily. And so he gave it voice.

"I am... Hirsu, God of Life."

Alliel

"Understandable and admirable," said Ghadook, smiling. He turned to his other students. "Practice amongst yourselves," he said.

"Alchemy and shapeshifting, you say? It is good that you understand their limited applicability in this class. Neither are particularly welcome in the practice of Thuggee combat. There is to be no supernatural - or Divine - powers at play during practice. For the classes to be effective, you must be limited - and desperate to win."

Sura

The Word had been spoken, the World created. Sura fell into dreamless slumber, exhausted.

Hirsu

There was a shimmering ahead of Hirsu, and through the tears and the agony he saw a thin, well-dressed Earthborn in a high-tech camouflage SUIT. He held a very long, deadly-looking rifle. His eyes were cheery, and a lordly moustache protected his lip from the cold. He was very well-groomed, and beneath the shimmering SUIT Hirsu saw what looked like a suit jacket and pants.

He frowned as he came closer to Hirsu, however, and checked his wrist. He muttered to himself, smiled again, and offered Hirsu a hand.

"I'm so very sorry, old chap," said the man. "You were coming thirteen-wise from the Valley of the Mist, signaled as a Divine, and I just assumed.." His lip stiffened. "Well. I apologise fully for the attack on your person, kind sir. You are not the man I was looking for. Forgive my lack of manners," he added, looking abashed. "I am Lord-Colonel Drake of the Territories."

He looked at Hirsu, oblivious to the fact that the God of Life was bleeding out. Hirsu cried in agony. The pain was intense, even more so as he began to - painstakingly slowly - heal himself.

"And, well, you are?"

Sura staggered back, leaning on a wall. He was breathing heavily. It took a lot out of him, but it was not done yet. He exerted himself further, pushing his last two seeds into the formed Azred'Hamul - time and paradox.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Mon 13 Sept 2010.

Hirsu's eyes were blurring over, but at least he'd stopped screaming. Not exactly the most dignified situation, but at least he might live through this. He forced his hands to unclench. With one hand, he took the proffered hand of his attacker. With the other, he reached down and grabbed his thigh, above the wound. Jostling the stump caused a new wave of agony to flow through him, and his head bounced off the slates again, but he forced himself to hold on.

He took two breaths, and answered the surprisingly polite assassin. "Hirsu. God of Life."

As he spoke the last word, his hand glowed brightly, and healing energy began to flow more rapidly into the leg.

Alliel gives him a wry smile.

"I am desperate both to survive and to win.  my powers while useful are extremely limited and purely mundane alternatives are incredibly valuable for me.  May I learn from you?"

Alliel

"I assume you have sorted out tuition fees with Second Gambit, and are fully ready to dedicate yourself to my class?" asked Ghadook.

Sura

This was a complicated process. Sura was exhausted, and the manipulation of local time fields - while Yggdrasil could pull it off with finesse - was a very difficult process. He was still relatively a very young and inexperienced Geotonomancer, and he had not the skill or the knowledge to make the process an easy one. It was dangerous, especially working with the seeds of sand, and Sura knew at any time that he could lose control and sabotage the entire project with his inability..

He would need to overcome his lack of confidence with raw power, which he had in spades. A sacrifice of power would be needed in order to jam the seed into the Realm and to get it to function in the ways that suited Sura's needs..

(Also, be a pal and define for me exactly how the seed manipulates the time field.)

Hirsu

Hirsu felt several more waves of agony flow through him in quick succession as he healed himself, but it was followed by bursts of relief. He would heal, and the tissue would recover. He would regain his leg. Slowly, but surely.

"I must express my regret at my own misinformation and lack of judgment," said the Lord-Colonel. "My elephant rifle, I am afraid, was designed to destroy my quarry.. and I have erred dreadfully in shooting you. My sincerest apologies, God of Life. How might I repay you? As a man of honour, I am in your debt for the pain I have caused."

Alliel nods.

"I do a course of my own in melding shapeshifting and psionic arts or I may provide disposable fighters for combat practice.  There's nothing like being able to fight to the death of an opponent and i could offer that experience.  From now until the end of the class I am dedicated to learning from you."

Sura accepted the fact that he could not manage this with him holding back. He extended his reserves (My percentage to the next degree D=) to manipulate:

TIME: Moments occur much faster than Desolace's. A mere 6 hours in Desolace is one complete day in Azred'Hamul.

Paradox: Azred'Hamul is a free realm to Sura ONLY, alowing him to be there at all times.

Hirsu gritted his teeth, and brought his other hand down to his leg, to aid in the healing. To better focus him on what was required. "I'll think about it, Lord-Colonel. Right now, though, I really should focus on bringing my leg back. But if you're concerned, I won't try to take your leg or anything like that."

Not since he was being so nice and contrite, anyways. Such a man could prove very useful, perhaps enough that he could make amends for shooting him and trying to assassinate another all in one go. Hirsu returned to focus on his leg, while a single name passed through his mind. Apath.