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Started by Medievarad, December 24, 2016, 11:41:24 AM

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Medievarad

"This is but a figment," Natah answered, reaching her hand out for Rena's. "My hand, remember that touch. It is the only thing that will be real where you will now tread. Focus on it, or you will lose your mind, most likely."

Her natural instincts would be completely on edge, like she was walking towards certain death. Her magic senses would be numbed due to sheer sensory overload.

Wrathwyrm

That being the case, Rena took the woman's hand...and shut her own eyes.  If this was what her magic senses were doing, then her own eyes wouldn't do her much better.  Besides, concentrating on a single source, one familiar touch about all other things, was easier when you shut out other inputs.  That having been said, she was ready to proceed now.

"Let's go."

Medievarad

Natah took Rena's hand and started her slow trek through the... Whatever it was. As they passed through, Rena could feel the sensation of what only could be described as her very being being torn to shreds and rebuilt once again. Whispers and ominous sighs and breaths all around her.

It seemed to go on for eternity. But, after eternity had passed, everything suddenly disappeared. Like it was never there in the first place.

And they stood in the middle of the desolate desert.

Wrathwyrm

Whatever the sensations were, they were most definitely on the outside of her being, in some way, leaving her with only two things of certainty: Her gripping hand and her memories.  More than the whispers, she heard her own thoughts pushing through, things that would not shut up, now that her sense of body had been apparently blasted into oblivion...save for that sensation surrounding her grip.

That said, the oblivion gave rise to thoughts of the field of ash surrounded by her father's sword, both mother and father disintegrated along with the Silver Horde.  It made her remember how positively alone she was, sometimes, that her only family in the world was her grandparents and that the only Goldswith left after them...was her.  By the time they came out of...whatever it was they came out of...Rena was feeling a bit less positive.

"And now, we're in the desert."

All of it.  They were visible to no town or caravan or landmark that she knew.

"Where are we, in relation to all other things?"

Medievarad

"Hmm. The ley line is underground" she murmured as she kneeled down, pressing her hand on the sand. "Ontop of the Morakian ley line," she answered, before standing up again. "Turn around for a moment and cover your ears for a moment?" She requested.

Whether she did as asked or not, Natah took a deep breath, raising her blindfold. So she could see the magical lines properly, before glancing around. "We're close to the Seraj Isa," she stated with a soft sigh. And she lowered the blindfold again.

Wrathwyrm

'Morakian Leyline didn't tell her anything, which is why she obliged the other woman's request.  It occurred to her, though...  If there was a leyline, shouldn't she be able to see it as well?  Perhaps it was too deep to be seen or felt by her own senses.  After all, Natah was something of a specialist.  It'd be more likely for Rena to know if a storm is coming than power deep within the ground.  Still, once she answered, the blade warrior worked it out in her head.

"So, roughly north of Essyrn, but not so close to it as to see the glass yet."

She turned to Natah now, tilting her head slightly.

"Alright then, we made our escape and with very little bloodshed.  What's your pleasure?  Adela?  La'Marri?  All the way through to Serendipity?  I'll consider the job finished once you're somewhere you'd rather be."

Medievarad

She glanced at Rena. "Distance is not a factor. Only the chains around my wrist were," she answered. Her face contorted in a soft frown as she looked down towards the sand. "I would've preferred to walk the Leyline, but alas, it seems I will have to use my own essence."

She glanced at Rena. "And I shall honor your wish. Essryn shall remain. It'll die on it's own and fall to ruin on it's own regardless." She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. "Why were you sent to safe me?"

Wrathwyrm

At the woman's inquiry, Rena smirked.

"Truth be told, the client was a merchant who dealt in mana essence from various sources that found out his sales were dropping due to the Shah putting your essence on the market.  Having learned how it was being done, he hired me to put a stop to it."

She then looked off to the side, back to Essyrn.

"There was never anything altruistic in his intent, but I took the job because the thought of someone being imprisoned to be merely used as a power source was unacceptable to me.  I mean, really, I don't like the country at all.  They enslave, they look down on women, and they're more greedy here than in any other place I know."

She shrugged, turning back to Natah now.

"I just try to balance things the way they should be."

Medievarad

"I expected something like that," she answered with a wry chuckle. "And, such is Essryn. A place where you either grow rich or drown in the gutters," she took a deep breath and turned to Rena.

"But, regardless of your client's wishes. I am in your debt, Rena," she stated, folding her arms infront of her. "And I do not wish to let my debts drag on as such. What do you desire?"

Wrathwyrm

It wasn't uncommon, really, for Rena's motivations to be better than that of the client's.  They knew how she thought, most of the time.  They knew that if it hit her moralities just right, it wouldn't matter how much they benefitted, as long as it happened to coincide with The Right Thing To Do.  Natah seemed to understand the situation, which was good, but then she kind of surprised Rena with her offer.

What was her desire?

The way Natah said it, and the fact that - when unbound - she had a serious amount of power, made Rena pause.  The kind of offer she gave...could potentially exceed all the normal desires a person could have.  Greater than what mere magic could provide, perhaps.  There were so many things that she could put to rights...and some things that she would want that could normally be considered impossible.  She had to know first.

"What can you do?  Just how far do your powers go?  I need to know that much first."

By the look in her eye and the sudden softness of her voice, Natah could probably glean that there were some serious matters on Rena's mind, and that she was determining if Natah could settle them for her.

Medievarad

"I control pure and raw mana, if you seek answers on arcane matters, I can provide," she explained.  "If you seek strength, I can grant that," a soft sigh left her, judging from the tone Rena spoke with, it was a rather serious matter.

"Speak. Know that what you desire, I can grant it. I am more than certain of it." Natah clasped her hands in front of her and waited for Rena to speak her mind.

Wrathwyrm

Judging by her own description of her powers, it sounded as though what she offered might satisfy those who felt that fame, power, and riches were all they needed.  Indeed, that those who sought knowledge could easily be quenched by whatever lay in the hands of the woman before her.  But what Rena wanted was both more and less than those things, smaller than all the riches and all the power in the world...but greater in capacity than all the heights of human desire.  Natah seemed adamant that she could make whatever it was possible, but really...could it be so easy?

Once the blindfolded woman opened the doorway of possibility to her, Rena dared to hope that she might be able to achieve the impossible, but at the same time felt the crushing weight of reality, that the world did not alter itself to suit Rena Goldswith, not even concerning those nearest and dearest to her.  And even so, it was one request.  One cast of the die into the darkness, into one event in her life.  One thing only.  The world was a big place, and yet out of all of it, there were three things that stood out in her mind....

The Last Battle of the Silver Horde.

The Tragedy of the Town of Claris.

Garlock The Destroyer.

Natah had asked her to speak her mind.  The more Rena wanted to, the more her mind said that it was impossible.  The conflict tore at her inside like two snarling beasts, arguing over prey.  Finally, one thought won out.

But if I don't ask NOW, when will I ever get the chance?!

For a moment, Rena shut her eyes to compose herself.  Then, when they were open again, she spoke.

"Before we begin, know that I understand that the things I want are not ordinarily possible by anyone's range.  I know that such things are either beyond the scope of magic or the consequences are too great or that any number of things can go terribly wrong.  I know this.  I've studied this.  There are a few things that I want, more than all the power and the knowledge you could provide.  What I want..."

She steeled herself, as if waiting for a blow.

"...is the life of my parents, who died defeating the Silver Horde.  They gave their lives for me, and for Serendipity.  If there's any chance of getting them back - back from the dead, from the brink of death - alive and well, that is what I desire."

Medievarad

Natah smiled softly. "I-.. I can. But," she shook her head. "Interfering with death and souls is painful." She stepped forward, to grasp Rena's hand, holding them between hers. "I can return their souls, but they would be empty, slowly revert to dementia. For their time has passed," she shook her head. "After a week, they would even forget their own name. It would be painful," she answered.

"But, I can summon them. Right here and now. If you have things that you wish to say to them that you couldn't," she offered, squeezing Rena's hands softly. "I'm sorry, but it would be inhumane to let them remain here forever."

Wrathwyrm

She knew.  She knew that the magic skills involved in performing such an act was an unnatural process that would not yield her desired results.  Rena knew, because while she had not really developed her natural gift in magic, she had studied, and the house had a decent library.  All the books agreed, as did her grandparents and anyone who was versed on the subject.  Bringing back the dead was not something you did without consequence, to either the user or the subject in mind.  Death is a barrier, one which was not easily breached.

Even as Natah took hold of her hands and delivered the 'But' part of her answer, Rena's sight casted downwards, cursing herself for such foolishness, for thinking there was a loophole somewhere.  Well, if there was, it was not here and it was not like this, and it was likely hat even a rare artisan of True Resurrection would tell her that those who passed on without regret would not return.  For Rena's parents had died for her sake, and destroying the small army that wanted them all dead was certainly a high note to go out on.

Rena looked back into-  Okay, she really wasn't looking into Natah's eyes, but she was looking her in the face again.

"What...what will it be like?  How long do I have that is safe?  And is there any...privacy allowed?  You don't want to hear a girl bearing all to her parents.  It's awkard."

She was forcing a smile there, trying to keep up a bit of good humor, inside she knew Natah understood.  And if she had to stand by, Rena would understand.  If nothing else, this woman seemed trustworthy enough.

Medievarad

"I will take you to a place," she answered with a soft sigh. "One that you cannot comprehend, so do not try," she offered with a faint smile. "Your parents will be there. And so will I be," she shook her head. "I need to keep the room open. I'm sorry."

Natah shook her head, squeezing her hands one last time. "Your time entirely depends on my reserves. But I will do everything in my ability to give you as much time as you need."

Wrathwyrm

Though she said that Rena would be taken to a place that she would not be able to comprehend, the immediate thought in her mind was that it was somewhere at the border of life and death, at the fringe of whatever separates the two.  Perhaps she would not appreciate the subtleties of what it actually was, in full, but the notion of it would certainly suffice for the time being.  It isn't as though Natah was being arrogant by stating thus.  It was merely that she literally broke minds., and that that was something she did not wish Rena to suffer.  Upon the answering of Rena's final question, the fighter-for-hire gave her ascent with a nod.

"Do it."

Medievarad

Natah nodded in response, taking a step back. Yet she kept one hand on Rena's still. "Take a deep breath," she advised.

And then, as Rena blinked through natural means, they'd suddenly be in a dark... Nothing. They would stand on nothing, and a pitch black darkness seemed to stretch on for infinity. Yet, it seemed properly lit. All features were properly visible. Yet there was no visible light source.

"Here they are," Natah answered, letting go of Rena's hand and taking a step back. The people Rena desired so much to see were suddenly infront of her.

Wrathwyrm

As instructed, Rena took a deep breath, not questioning why this was important, and on the next blink of her eyes...everything changed.  Well, to say that everything changed was a bit of misconception.  The truth is that while it did, it was more the case that everything went black.  Not as in darkness, the lack of light.  Everything here was plain as day, despite there being no source of light that she could find.  This was not shadow, but void.  Really, she had no idea what she was even standing on, though since this place was being held stable by Natah's mind, the answer was probably that she was literally walking on that very force of will.

It mattered not.

Rena's attention was suddenly drawn forward, away from this mystifying place and towards the voice heard to mutter "What the...?", as the space not five feet in front of her was now occupied by two figures who also found this place perplexing.  Their bodies were in the state Rena last knew them in.  Arden Goldswith was average of height, but well-built for fighting or just about any physical labor you could think of.  He was light-skinned, with black hair that was graying, brown eyes that could light to intense orange when agitated, and minor scarring where his left cheek met jawbone.  He was dressed in his usual ensemble of light shirt, dark leather pants, and harsh weather coat, and his traveler's boots.  Next to him was his wife, Lia Goldswith, formerly of the elven clan, Ka'ri.  While his father remained ruggedly handsome throughout his life, Lia had that eternal elven beauty going for her.  She was slim, but athletically fit, slightly darker in skintone than Arden.  She also had about of inch of height over him.  Her eyes were a calming maroon color, and her long hair carried the same shade as Rena's own, with the points of her ears forcing their way into the open air and all.  She was a ranger, dressed in leather with boots well-suited for hiking and climbing.  At the moment, they were as distracted by this place as Rena had been.

"Oh lords.  We're in a big black nothing.  How did that happen?"

Arden was taking this in stride, in the manner of someone deals with the unusual on a regular basis.  Rena was stunned silent for a moment, which is why when Lia noticed her, she lightly elbowed her husband to get his attention.

"I think the answer's staring us in the face."

You know this moment.  You've seen it many times before, the apprehensive silence between loved ones who are all but shocked to see each other there, surprised by what they see because nothing could have prepared them for that moment.  Rena was just a child, the last time they saw her.  What they saw now was an adult warrior.  Yet...the features were unmistakable.  The face, the eyes, the hair...not to mention that sword on her back.  No one could think otherwise than to know that they stood in the presence of their child.

"Rena...?  Is that you, or are we further along than that?"

"It's me, dad.  It's me..."

Rena was trying very hard to keep her composure, but her voice was breaking here and there, overcome by the impact this reunion was having on them.  Yes, them.  Arden was suddenly overjoyed to see her while Lia retained a certain calm.  He stepped forward now.  As he did, Rena sensed a certain cold about them, the unnatural sensation of their being dead.  However, all of this was ignorable in the face of her father looking pleased as punch.

"Gods, look at you!  A full-fledged warrior of the Goldswith family line!  And with Spark!  I knew you'd make it..."

"I guess Elric must have relented at some point."


"Yes, he did.  He did it because you and mom were killed..."

A repeated argument between father and son: Rena's right to succeed the family.  Tradition denied female heirs, but Arden believed that his daughter was as good as any son he could produce to carry on the Goldswith family line.  It made him proud to no end to find that he was right, but he calmed himself when he heard the pain in Rena's voice.  By instinct, he put his hand on her shoulder, and then realized his mistake when he saw her flinch at the touch.  He pulled the hand back, but said...

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart.  There was nothing we could do."

"They came at us in force, pretty much their entire army, to a man.  We only survived as long as we did because most of them weren't even real soldiers."

"We wanted to go back once we were done, to find you where we hid you and go back home, but by the time they were running out of men, we were too wounded to fight...so we destroyed them, and ourselves."

"We thought only of your life, going out as we did.  You've no idea how happy it makes me to see you as a grown woman, standing on your own."


"Mom, you haven't been able to hide that big smile of yours since you spotted me here."

"True, but that's only a fraction of the true depths in which I experience, of course!"

It was stated so matter-of-factly and over-the-top, as though lampshading all elven behavior, that the other two had to start laughing.

"Heh...  Still got it."

"I've really missed you two.  You have no idea how many times I've looked into studies of life and death in magic, just to see if there was anything I could've done."

"Short of altering reality, I would say no.  How did you even get here?"

Rena took a moment to explain...what frankly little she knew about Natah.

"She's maintaining where we are now, and we don't know exactly how long it can be sustained."

"Then, let's enjoy it while it lasts."

And so, they talked, and they shared, and the bittersweet feeling of it all continued.  Lia and Arden told her things that even her uncle and grandparents hadn't, and Rena told them of her life, growing up.  It was hard, but Arden was liable to pop with all this swelled-up pride he was getting.  His daughter, wielding Spark the lightning sword and having learned from Rattigan Von Krauser, the earth dragon who trained the last of the Alamars!  At no point did the two who had passed on explain what it was like where they were.  Not only were the words inadequate to fully express the state of being, but they literally couldn't.  They swapped techniques and styles, instead, and Rena apologized for not calling on her uncle, Zan Goldswith, as well.  She wasn't sure if that would affect anything, but she hadn't been willing to take the chance.

"What did Uncle Zan say about his death?"

"He said he had no idea what happened.  It was over too quickly for him to figure it out."

"I've been been worried about that.  There's a man out there, someone powerful, calling himself Garlock The Destroyer."

"Garlock?  Wasn't that his cat's name?"

"Yes, it was.  I think it's either someone with a sick mind who had something against Uncle Zan or...or...I don't know what else.  I have to find this guy, whoever he is.  I loved that cat like family.  If he killed my uncle and then got my cat just to spite him, I...!"

"Whoa there, Rena.  Calm down.  I don't think we want Spark going off in here, just in case."

"Sorry.  I just..."

"All the pent-up angers of too much loss in too quick a time."

"Yes...  I-  What?"

You have to be magically sensitive to really appreciate the fullness of what was happening right now.  To those without it, this is just a sort of unstable wavering, a strange tremble of the air.  To those more attuned to the aether, like Rena and Lia, this was a thrum of certain energies.  Ripples and coursing waves of it would be perceivable to them in some manner or another.

"It seems our time grows short."

"Shit.  Already?"


"Looks like."

"Alright.  Rena, whatever it is you have to do in life, know that we believe in you."

"You are everything we'd hoped for in a child.  My only regret is not being there to see you grow up."


Then, despite the unnatural cold that the dead people possessed, Rena hugged the two of them, unable to hold back her tears.

"Dad...  Mom...  I love you..."

"We love you too, sweetheart."

"With all our heart."


She let them go, trying very hard no to shiver from the sensation there, then backed away slowly, towards Natah.  Arden gave the blindfolded woman a nod.

"Thank you for letting us see our daughter like this.  And to you, young lady, no dying 'till you're a ripe old age with kids of your own!"

"Yeah, no earlier than 315!"


Okaaay...  Now, Rena was experiencing embarassment, turning red at the last moment comments by her parents.  The two of them stood side-by-side, fingers interlocked.  They had died for a good cause.  The one who needed closure was Rena, not either of them, maybe not even her uncle.  Feeling a little choked up, she managed...

"Okay, Natah.  We can go back..."

Medievarad

Natah had been silent during the entire encounter and conversation. It was kot her place to speak or argue. Even when she was brought up in the conversation. By no means did she wish to interrupt a moment Rena may have had hopelessly dreamt about for years now. It was not her place to. Certainly not to bother them with an explanation that alone would require the double of her reserves to have enough time.

She shook her head as the soul thanked her. "She saved me. It was my duty," she explained. "This was what she desired most." Rena's words reached her and she nodded. "I will return your souls back to rest. I am deeply sorry for disturbing thee, spirits," she stated, before waving her hand. The summoned souls wisking, away again. Back to their afterlife.

And, as Rena blinked once more, they would be in the middle of the Moraki desert again,.

"I hope you managed to find closure. I apologize for not allowing you more time."

Wrathwyrm

One moment, they were there, and in the next...they were once more among the sands.  Rena let out a deep breath to try and calm herself.  It almost worked.  She wasn't feeling the same emotional pain as before, but Natah could probably understand that that was a very impacting time they shared there.

"It's alright, Natah.  I'm grateful.  I think...I can finally let them rest, myself."

She was a long way from regaining her warrior's composure, but she would be alright.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to be alone for a while.  You said you didn't need me to take you anywhere, and I'll need to get back to Essyrn to report my success, anyway."

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