Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 5:40:20 GMT -8
Shelzi grumbled under her breath as she struggled to get the five pound roast out of a pot. The meat was finished, but the vegetables needed at least twenty more minutes. Which made no sense; she'd added them at the same time.
Hadn't she?
The roast hit the platter and she deflated with a huge sigh of relief. If she'd dropped it...
"The bread!"
Fork left impaled in the massive hunk of meat, Shelzi rushed to the oven. The crust was too brown, but not burnt.
She stood there, staring at the steam wafting from the loaf of bread. She'd messed up bread.
Bread.
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 6:20:47 GMT -8
"...bread is done when the crust turns that cinnamon brown."
Shelzi lifted a broad smile up at the young man beside her. She'd spent long hours in the temple kitchen during her childhood. She knew how to bake bread. It was adorable that he wanted to impress her, so she merely smiled and nodded, privately amused. And rapidly falling in love.
Her heart thundered in her chest. He liked her, too. Empathy was often curse as much as gift. This moment was a gift. Her spirits rose right along with his as passion lit up his green eyes and energized his gestures.
It was rare to see him smile. The crease that usually formed in the middle of his brow was absent. His shoulders were relaxed, his step light. As often as he had found himself mired in the grand Tyran affairs, it was on the smaller scale he shined. These tiny slices of life are what he fought for.
He did that little shake with his head that whooshed the too-long bangs in the front out of his eyes and her heart whooshed right along with them.
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Newbie
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Arisalonian Human
Gender: Female
Age: 10
Clan/Family: Kaliba
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Post by Grace Kaliba on Nov 20, 2018 8:00:05 GMT -8
Six year old Grace Kaliba ran into the kitchen, flashed a cheerful smile at her dazed mother, and hurried over to the stove. She added another log to the fire and gave the stew a good stir.
Just a few more minutes.
She hopped up onto a stool, keeping her hand closed around the doll Uncle Trent gave her so it didn't make any noise.
Mommy needed a little longer, too.
Her small, child's voice lifted in a happy hum. She swayed back and forth, swinging her legs and smoothing her dolly's hair.
Tsk. Messy hair. She'd visit Auntie V and learn how to do a proper braid today. Her braids were never too tight and the strands were always even. Auntie V would braid her hair and she'd braid her dolly's and she'd get a bacon, cheese, and banana sandwich for dinner and Granny Rosie's cookies.
Granny Rosie... Grace snickered. That one was almost as good as Kier-bear. Keeping those.
Ope. It was time.
Grace shook the dolly, filling the room with a chiming melody of bells.
She hopped down and ran to her mommy, capturing her legs in a tight squeeze. "You remember, Mommy?"
"Yes."
She tipped her head all the way back and smiled big. "You remember the Important?" Mommy nodded. "Sing it with me!"
The eerie, perfect blend of their combined voices sang to the melody of bells:
"Lilwen, Grace, and Shelzi, Three Then Four, and Five the Three will be Through all trials Five are well Until the First rings Jolly Belle
Five, Four, Three, Two One will know what to do For Three told Two And Five knows too That Four through One Is how it's done."
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 8:21:27 GMT -8
Shelzi gave herself a little shake, snapping herself back to the present. The stew. Confused, she left the loaf of bread to cool and stirred the pot on the stove.
The lingering whiff of recent magic danced across her senses.
Vegetables were done. Huh. That was fast. The meat was cooled enough to slice, too. How odd.
She shook it off, absently slicing the roast while her mind was lured back to the magic residue. Grace. That particular flavor of magic was always left behind after her little spider had played one of her tricks.
Lips curved into a soft, tender grin, she scraped the meat back into the pot. Something about cooking always relaxed her. Just a moment ago she'd been a tightly coiled bundle of nerves, and now her shoulders and back felt loose, her mind calm and emotions at ease. Almost as good as she felt after her and Reign's therapy sessions.
Lilwen would be here soon. She should get the tea started.
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 20, 2018 8:56:47 GMT -8
Lilwen frowned at the cute little turd skipping along the lane in front of her. That damn doll dangling from one hand, swayed back and forth and sang that same damn song over and over and over and over and...
What had Trent been thinking?!
This made the second morning in a row she'd woke up to the noise of those bloody charmed bells. Her mind traveled back to the start of this whole...whatever it was.
Bells. What the...
"Mornin', Wenny!"
Lilwen put a hand over her eyes as she groaned and flopped back down. "Grace. Why?" she whined.
"I'm taking you to Mommy tomorrow."
Her first instinct was to argue with her. Lilwen had no intentions of visiting her grandmother any time soon. Eventually, yes. She needed to learn more about her magical ancestry, given all that had happened leading up to Shattered Tree. When that conversation happened, it would happen on her terms, not her weird, tiny aunt's whim.
Which sounded nice except this was Grace. If she said she was taking her to Shelzi, chances were she already saw it happening. Or she was lying. Grace wore the same impish grin no matter which it was so she could never tell.
"If you're taking me tomorrow, why are you here today?"
"I'll remind you tomorrow."
Then she poofed. Actually poofed, leaving the lingering magical equivalent of flour when it was thrown. It wasn't something you could see, but easily sensed by mages of moderate talent.
And then this morning. Bells. Those gods-be-damned chiming bells. If she got her hands on that thing...
"Good Morning, Wenny!"
"Grace..."
"Get up. Get dressed. It's time to go!" the tot sing-songed.
"Grace," Lilwen sighed, sitting up. She brushed her bedhead out of her face. The little weirdo was crouched like a gargoyle at the end of her bed. "I can't just leave on a whim --"
"Ah-ah-ah," Grace grinned, wagging a finger. "I told you."
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 9:20:31 GMT -8
Shelzi caught sight of the two girls as they came up the lane. Daughter. Granddaughter. They were three generations, only the tiny one went in the middle. Not the standard family picture. Not the way she'd once imagined it would be.
Nothing in her life had gone how she'd imagined. Almost the polar opposite, in fact. As if a part of her had always worked in secret sabotage beneath the surface.
She'd been such a disappointment. It was her greatest regret.
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 9:53:04 GMT -8
Shelzi held a parasol in one hand and her daughter in the other. The sun was high, the sky blue, and they were feeling pretty in new dresses.
"Is Daddy going to love them?"
Shelzi chuckled, smiling down at Elowen's excited brown eyes. "Of course he is. I bet Elias will, too."
Elowen's hard frown was difficult not to laugh at. "He's going to try and get it dirty."
Considering he and Tom had been working on the repairing the fences Elowen was likely right. Still, that happy smile had to last a little longer. Shelzi lifted the basket dangling from her arm. "Maybe our delicious cookies will distract him."
Ah...there it was. Elowen's perfect smile.
They sang about twinkling stars and crawdad fishing, alternating the two songs until Tom and Elias came into view. Elowen let go of her hand and took off running.
"Daddy! 'Li-usss!"
Shelzi grinned as she followed at a slower pace, simply savoring the scene in front of her. There were days when she still privately mourned the strong presence of the Light in her life. But then came moments like this, when Tom and their twins all smiled at once, the love they shared shining off them, and just as bright. In these moments, she had to believe that Tom had been right all along.
The sound of many galloping horses drew her attention to the rise of dust wafting above the trees in the valley below.
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 20, 2018 10:08:34 GMT -8
What was the right word for a stronger level of awkward? Unsettling? Disturbing? Whatever it was, that is how awful this was going.
She watched her grandmother flutter around the kitchen, drifting from counter to cabinet to counter and back as if moving in a straight line would kill her.
This was a former two-time goddess?
"Sorry," Shelzi said...again. "I know I put the sugar cubes somewhere around here..."
Lilwen rubbed her temples. She didn't even want tea. "Why don't you just... Sit down, Shelzi."
The demigoddess winced. "Yes. Of course." She immediately dropped into the nearest chair, only half landing on the seat. Thankfully she caught herself and scooted over, saving herself from toppling to the floor.
Shades.
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 10:40:04 GMT -8
That look on Tom's face.
The riders were close. They'd both sensed the wards fall. The first of the group's riders were coming around the bend.
The rumors of rebels in the capital.
The nightmares.
The looming sense of impending doom they both felt rising now to a feverish pitch.
That look on Tom's face.
He and the kids were closer to the woods.
If they ran now...
If there was a distraction...
She'd never quit sneaking off to the temple to pray. Just to check in. Just to make sure all was as it should be.
He knew. He'd always known. She broke her promise.
The three of them would survive. Tom's precious slice of life...preserved. Replanted. Thriving. Without her.
That look on Tom's face.
Shelzi dropped parasol and basket, lifted the skirt of her brand new dress, and ran. Yelling at the charging riders.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Tom with the twins tucked under his arms, slipping into the woods.
It was the last time she ever saw them.
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 20, 2018 11:25:51 GMT -8
"Excuse me, what did you say?"
Lilwen gawked at the woman across from her. That was her grandmother, and Shelzi appeared maybe five years older, if not the same age. It was weird. Kinda made her skin crawl.
Or maybe that was just Grandmother.
Shelzi wrung her hands in her apron. She didn't seem aware she was doing it. "I said that I am an addict."
"Right. Addicted to magic." Was this demigoddess for real?
"Yes." Shelzi looked away, cheeks red. "To power, really. The two are one in the same to me."
Lilwen scowled. She couldn't figure out what Shelzi's point was. "Alright..."
"Looking back, I think I was always this way. At first it was Empathy, then the Bardic Gift. Then Healing. Next was the Light..."
Her head was pounding. Lil stood up to finish the tea Shelzi had abandoned. "I've heard this story," she reminded Grandmother, freely making her impatience clear. "Everyone in all of bloody Tyran has heard this story."
"Lilwen Elizabeth."
She barked out a laugh, genuinely amused. She slowly shook her head and handed the broken demigoddess a steaming teacup. Lil rounded the table back to her seat. "Are you seriously two-naming me right now?"
Shelzi closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. When she opened them, her voice returned to its calm, soft lilt. "You need to hear these things."
"Why? Why do I need to hear these things?"
"Because you're just like me."
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 11:42:47 GMT -8
"...you're just like me! Like all of us!" she yelled at her sister. Thunder roared, lightning illuminating the scene in rapid, jerky flashes. Rayelina's hair was a slick, tangled veil of darkest purple stuck and framing her pale, trembling form.
This was it. If she failed to convince Raye to care that Camien would be the end of her, there would be no stopping the tragedy that happened next. The bond between their little family of women - Sinead, Adrea, Rayelina, herself - was cracked. Bent. But it wasn't broken. Not yet.
She tried again. "Raye... We love you. We all love you. That man is poison. Look what he has done! Look at what's happened!"
"If you love me..."
Shelzi took a hopeful step forward. "We do, Raye! The family you always wanted, just like me... We already have it. Right here."
"If you love me, leave us alone."
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 20, 2018 12:15:58 GMT -8
"I'm nothing like you!" Lilwen laughed. She leaned back in her chair, cupping her tea in both hands. "You don't know me. You don't know the first thing about me."
Shelzi gently lowered her teacup back to its saucer. She kept her eyes down, but her voice was dangerously soft. The hair stood up on the back of Lil's neck. "The twins never used the Light."
"...what?"
"They should have been demigods. They were born from it."
Lil's fingers and toes were tingling. Shelzi's hair had slid forward, casting her face in shadow. Lilwen very much wanted that hair moved. Fighting the ridiculous chill crawling up her spine, her voice came out strained, nothing close to the emotionless calm she wanted. "They were conceived while you were a host. I know. It's how I got the magic channel for Light."
"No, Lilwen." A hidden smile flavored Shelzi's dreamy words. "Tom so badly wanted children, you see. I was Goddess, and despite him serving as my Guardian, our paths rarely crossed. There was always something out there in the world, desperately needing his help. Meanwhile, there was always something there, in the world, of the Light, that desperately needed mine. Both I and the Light were going to lose him."
The demigoddess paused, then thoughtfully added, "And we did. For a time." She sipped her tea, and did not speak again until the cup softly rattled back to its saucer. "I wanted both. Tom and the Light. I was so good at it..."
Abruptly, Shelzi's dark eyes raised and captured her green ones. The strength of will behind those oddly glowing, lavender flecked eyes... Lilwen could not look away.
"You know exactly what that's like."
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 12:33:39 GMT -8
"...know exactly what that's like," she purred, sauntering up to the Darkness that was Reign Kaliba.
He was trapped in there. A beautiful bird in an obsidian cage that just so happened to taste like sin wrapped in melted chocolate. She wanted him free. The Magic wanted to feed.
Everyone would wind up happy.
The prisoner looked directly at her through the Darkness.
Oh. Oh, she knew Him.
She knew that raw, bitter loneliness. Regret that grew as you chew it, saturated in oily defeat.
He'd been left alone.
She'd left people alone.
Both thought it for the best. Neither of them were happy.
Both she and Magic thought it was time for something to Change.
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 20, 2018 13:07:48 GMT -8
...alright. Fine. She did know what that was like.
It was delicious.
"There's nothing wrong with learning," she countered, about two minutes too late to hold any sort of argumentative worth. Instead, she sounded like a petulant brat. "If one stops learning, they stop growing - "
"- and then they die," Shelzi interrupted, grinning. "That's true. But why are you learning?" She leaned forward, her voice intense but barely above a whisper. "You learn to gain more power. You're a good person. You have the ability, and therefore the obligation to do good things with it. Worthwhile things."
Lil leaned back, unconsciously retreating. "I don't see what's wrong with - "
"You have the ability and the determination to do a thing. A necessary thing, you decide. It benefits others, and you get to feel magnanimous."
"When you do good, you feel good, yes, but - "
"What gives you the right?"
Lilwen frowned. What was the mad woman on about now? "The right for what?" she asked, uncomfortable with the feeling that she was toying with a mentally ill person. Maybe she should go find Reign.
"The right to do the thing you can do." Shelzi waved a hand. "You know, the Big Thing. The selfless act of high power for the benefit of the masses."
Lilwen's mind went straight back to the King's court within the Void. The moment right before she drew in more energy than she ever imagined she could in order to explode that crystal. "You do it because you can," she said, wary about encouraging the conversation at all. "Because you're able."
Shelzi grinned slowly. "So you are saying - If you are able to do it, you have the right to do it."
It felt like a trap. "If it's for the benefit of others, yes," she added.
"I'm going to remind you of that."
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 20, 2018 13:28:17 GMT -8
"...going to remind you of that. Every time."
"Every time?" she asked, that eerie, otherness quality fading from her voice. She could feel him now. Not just his hands on her face, his warmth adding to hers. HIM. He held a literal piece of her within him, power that gave him the ability to draw her back from the brink. The skill and mastery, however, was all His.
It was such a lovely brink. An enthralling, dangerous edge of the highest power, the highest potential, the greatest control over all the Web.
All those shimmery, gossamer strands, crying out for her to play them.
She was a Bard. She was Magic.
She'd only plucked a few. Such beautiful notes... The melody was not done.
"Shelzi."
She could go back. Finish. She was soooo good at it...
"Shelzi."
Reign. She blinked up at him, trembling. He'd been alone. She would not leave him.
His thumbs traced across her cheekbones. "Every. Time."
And then he kissed her.
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 20, 2018 14:18:51 GMT -8
Lil downed the tea like it was liquor. "Clearly you want to tell me something. So just say it already."
Shelzi dipped her head. "Tom wanted children. I wanted our marriage. I used the Light to ensure we both were satisfied. You know the first rule of all Magic."
"Magic always has a price."
Her grandmother smiled at her. "Yes. The Light and Dark is no different. Perhaps even more demanding that the scales be balanced than Magic. I'd made a bargain. The twins were supposed to serve the Light. They should have been demigods."
"But you stepped down..."
Shelzi nodded. "That's right. Tom was adamant. He did not want that life for his children. I abandoned the Light, and robbed it of what was owed. The world ended, was rearranged, and reformed again. All was different - but debts were not erased." She finally reached up and brushed her hair back from her face. Thank goodness. The demigoddess peered into her tea, and was silent.
Silent long enough Lilwen was two seconds away from leaning over the table and waving a hand in front of Shelzi's face. "Maybe you should lay down. We can take this up again later -"
"The twins never used the Light," she said again, meeting Lilwen's eyes. "It was supposed to be a smaller burden, split between the two, you see. But they never..." Shelzi sighed. "The whole burden was passed down to you."
"So now I have to serve the Light?" Lilwen scoffed. "Granny, I hate to tell you this, but that's not going to happen."
"Not the Light. Tyran."
Once again, Lilwen felt like she was following Shelzi down a broken path. They kept having to jump from one thing to another. "I have to serve Tyran?" Her grandmother kept staring at her, until Lil recognized the emotion in her eyes. Pity. She peered at Shelzi. Convinced. "There's more."
Shelzi sighed, and nodded. "You were born the same morning I ascended as Goddess of Magic. At the same instant."
Her stomach dropped. "Grandma..." It was surprising how sad she was at this evidence of Shelzi's illness. "That's not possible," she said gently. "I'd have to be - "
"You are."
"No," Lilwen said, patience strained. "I'm only twenty - "
"Physically, yes. Not counting the years kept in stasis."
"Excuse me?"
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 23, 2018 10:53:59 GMT -8
There it was. The whole of Creation, spread out in the most glorious array of layered and interconnected Webs. From a distance, the whole formed the ultimate Tapestry, with greater patterns easier to discern. Or to her, an ascended Bard, the Universal Opus.
Woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion. Flutes, trumpets, violins, and bells...every great event part of a larger, complex Melody, every life a single instrument with a unique tone.
All of it laid across an eternal sea of Magic.
Innumerable potential Melodies, but one sang louder than all the rest.
As it should, for it was Hers.
In this place, she was more Goddess than Shelzi, more Entity than Host. Never before had Magic been granted its own Voice. Hers was but a brief trill in the Opus, and She would ensure it obtained worth.
She focused on the distinct, haunting notes that belonged to Her thread. With a thought, the Opus faded, the Melody clarified, and the Voice granted prominence that allowed her to follow every note - past, present, and future. Certain sections troubled the Host more than others. Much more.
She could not ensure the specific route Melodies would take. Will ruled all. But She could influence them.
It was so easy.
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 23, 2018 12:17:03 GMT -8
It was too ridiculous to believe.
Lilwen watched Shelzi take a sip of tea as if she just said her slipper was brown instead of the absolute absurdity that spilled out of her mouth. Lil pinched the bridge of her nose. If it was this hard to decide whether someone was crazy or not, then they were either utterly mad, extremely intelligent, or both. "You're telling me that you manipulated the Web so that my father met my mother..."
"Yes."
"...I was born..."
"Yes."
"...and then you kidnapped me - "
"I wouldn't call it kidnapping - "
"You took me without their permission," Lil pointed out, incredulous.
"Well...yes."
"Why my mother?"
Shelzi blinked. "What?"
"Why did you pick my mother specifically?"
"Oh." The demigoddess lowered her tea, her dark eyes distant. "My father was an elf." She looked up with a strange smile. "Did you know?"
"No. What has that got to do with - "
"Tsk," Shelzi childed. "Lilwen. You were trained by Trent Kaliba with full, unrestricted access to New Arisalon libraries. You know the answer to that."
She didn't appreciate the tone. She was a grown woman. Yes, an eternal student - by choice - but an adult with a growing list of independent accomplishments she had every right to be proud of. There was no need to prove herself to this woman.
"Channels," Lilwen bit out. "My mother had an elven heritage." Not hard to deduce from the tidbits of knowledge Shelzi doled out. "Father carried magic and light, mother carried magic."
That odd smile returned to the demigoddess' lips. "Raw, untapped potential."
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Ascended
gender: Female
status: offline
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Post by Shelzi on Nov 26, 2018 16:49:42 GMT -8
Raw, untapped potential.
The Goddess of Magic stood in her gardens, watching the young man as he listened to one of the resident magi give a lecture. She nodded vaguely as greetings were called out to her, and gave absent, benevolent smiles to those who bowed before their chosen Goddess as floating steps carried her further along the cobblestone path.
Ahh... Now she had a better view.
He was a handsome boy, all golden perfection and youthful virility. But it was the magic potential that had the Goddess licking her lips. Mmm... Yummy.
A sample of his magic brought a sultry, satisfied grin to her lips.
She knew that flavor.
The Goddess stalked her prey, purple flecks glinting in her black eyes like stars within a midnight sky. She stopped directly in front of him. "A Kaliba...if I'm not mistaken," she grinned. Of course she wasn't mistaken.
He was perfect.
Here was the solution she'd been waiting for...
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Nov 30, 2018 8:57:57 GMT -8
"What has Trent have to do with anything?" Lilwen's tone was harsh, an attempt to cover up quivering nerves.
"Everything," her grandmother laughed.
It only made Lil madder. "You're laughing?" She stared incredulous at the demigoddess.
The humor faded and Shelzi let out a weary sigh. "Yes. Because laughter serves better than crying over spilled milk."
"Spilled. Milk."
Shelzi's lips pressed into a tight line and her dark eyes sparked. "Get off your high horse, Lilwen. I did not weave the Web. Maybe I had no business messing with the strands, but what I did, I did for the benefit of everything. As talented and intelligent as you are, you still have little concept of the price of Magic."
"All magic comes with a cost," Lilwen sing-songed, waving an airy hand. "Every mage worth their salt knows - "
Shelzi abruptly stood up, effectively cutting off Lil's words. Her grandmother put her hands on the table and leaned forward, magic - raw, wild, untamed - swirled in the small space, battering at the senses and making it difficult to breathe.
"There is a difference between knowing and understanding," Shelzi said, over enunciating every word. "All magic, ALL of it, demands a balancing of the scales, and the fulfillment of gifted potential. Those born with magic potential, are born with a serious debt they may never realize. If that debt is not paid, it is passed on to those fated to come after." Her eyes bore into Lilwen's, driving the point deep into her granddaughter's psyche.
Shelzi abruptly spun away to remove the pot from the fire, the swell of magic reluctantly dissipating with an audible snap and sizzle. Lil could only watch, her heart pounding in her chest while Shelzi calmly dished up three servings.
"Nearly every deitic host suffers an undeniable urge to reproduce, to pass along the magic potential - whatever flavor it may be - and ensure both continuity and growth. I was born to serve both Light and Magic, blessed by both with vast potential, and cursed by both to be dutiful. When I abdicated the Light, I robbed the Entity of not only one, but two guaranteed means of ensuring the Legacy."
Gods be damned, her grandma was a scary bitch. Lilwen tugged at her collar and rolled her shoulders, trying to shake off the intimidation. "You're saying the burden then passed to me."
Shelzi nodded, returning to the table. A bowl was gingerly placed in front of Lil before she took her own back to her seat. The third serving was left steaming on the counter. "Yes. And then I accepted Dreanna's shard for a second time, only finding out as I ascended the truth that all forms of arcane power share a single, common origin - Magic. I re-invoked a contract, with an unpaid debt and an interest that had grown exponentially through the ages."
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Newbie
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Arisalonian Human
Gender: Female
Age: 10
Clan/Family: Kaliba
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Post by Grace Kaliba on Nov 30, 2018 9:16:44 GMT -8
Poof.
Grace appeared at the counter, leaving a powdery magic residue dusting the floor around her. "Have ya got to the good part?" she asked, chipper as can be. She grabbed the bowl waiting for her on the counter and sauntered to the table, taking a seat between the two older women.
Shelzi smiled affectionately at the little scamp. "The part about you?" she grinned. "Yes."
Lilwen looked back and forth between them. "This includes Grace, too?"
"Yep!" Grace answered around a mouthful of beef. Her chubby cheeks bulged like a chipmunk. "The Web waited and waited, and then you slid out your Momma - "
"Grace!" Shelzi blushed.
" - and my Momma was smart. You got three parts 'n I got one."
"Three parts?"
Shelzi shifted in her chair, seemingly still uncomfortable with the girl's choice of words. "Uhm. Yes. Magic essentially doubled my debt." She reluctantly met Lilwen's eyes. "I could not stop your Light potential, but I could split the raw Magic debt between you and Grace."
"You got the oogie-boogie and I gots the Web!" Grace chimed in. At least she'd swallowed the bite before speaking this time.
"Oogie...Boogie?" Lil repeated slowly.
"Mhm." Grace sat down her spoon and wiggled spook fingers at Lil. "Oogie-boogie. Y'know. Magic."
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Dec 2, 2018 6:27:57 GMT -8
It was impossible not to be charmed by Grace. A lot of information had been thrown at her in a short time, and Lilwen's emotions were all over the place. Still, the sight of Grace nomming away with a periodic happy wiggle had Lil fighting back a grin. It didn't dispel all the tension in the room, but it did allow the three of them to eat in an almost companionable silence.
After they finished and Grace poofed to do whatever it was Grace did, Shelzi collected the dishes and moved to the sink. Unable to sit and watch someone else work, Lil joined her Grandmother. Shelzi washed, Lilwen rinsed.
"I need you to tell me what Trent has to do with any of this," Lilwen said, much calmer than she was earlier.
Shelzi nodded, her expression troubled. "You need him. Magic is...seductive. The more powerful you grow, the more Magic sings to you, and it is a siren song. Dangerous, alluring, addictive. I can't..." She paused, looking out the window above the sink for a long moment. She swallowed, then resumed washing...and talking.
"I have very little control, Lilwen. Magic comes to me without conscious intent, so much...," she closed her eyes and shuddered. She continued, voice strangled, "So very much, and I can do almost anything with it, my every whim granted with little more than a passing thought." Shelzi let out a shaky breath, then passed over the bowl she'd been needlessly washing for the last five minutes.
"It was my unending curiosity that led me to the Web. I saw things. I saw what Magic would do to me, what it would do to you, and to Grace who hadn't even been born yet. I saw more than I should, than anyone - even a deity - should. I saw... Ahem. I saw my descendants destroying the world." She dropped everything into the sink and turned fully to Lil, dark eyes imploring.
"I had to do what I could to save us all. So I locked you in stasis moments after your birth. I spelled all of Ithaca to forget Lily's pregnancy, until your release years later. I orchestrated your meeting with Trent, because he's the only one capable of restraining you. And you'll need that, Lilwen." She grabbed Lilwen's hands, squeezing, purple flecks glinting.
"If it wasn't for Reign and the work he's done to piece together my shattered mind and restrain me when Magic rides me, I'd have to be killed. I'm too dangerous. You're mind is strong, though, Lilwen. You're not as dangerous...yet. But once you come fully into your Magic... You're going to need Trent."
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Initiate
gender: Female
status: offline
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
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Post by Lilwen Nickleby on Dec 2, 2018 7:50:10 GMT -8
Later, Lil found herself walking away from Reign and Grandmother's quaint country cottage with a heavy mind. Maybe she'd never fully understand the choices Shelzi had made, but she believed she had a better understanding.
Powerful people did great and terrible things.
Shattered Tree. The final battle with the Void King was named for the destruction she'd caused. Trent had given her a nudge, true. But he hadn't made her do it.
She'd known what would happen if she overloaded that crystal. She didn't hesitate. Collateral damage was inevitable. Void nobility, slaves, and countless numbers on the ground, dead in a moment by her actions. And she'd never hesitated.
Because it was necessary. Because it would save more than it wouldn't. Because it needed to be done, and she had the ability to see it through.
Lilwen had done a great and terrible thing, and felt no guilt over it.
She was too intelligent, too practical, to maintain the comfortable hypocrisy against her grandmother. At least Shelzi felt bad about the necessities she'd done.
And what about Trent? He had to know, or at least suspect, the forces and reasons that placed her into his hands.
Was that the only reason she'd been invited into his and Milhin's inner circle? Did it really matter if it was? Was it fair of her to allow him to shoulder that burden?
They needed to talk.
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welcome
Tyrannights is a free-form play by post RPG with a medieval fantasy setting. It was formed in 1997 by Shawn and Doreen with many different owners and versions over the years. Its current version is Tyran: Tales of Legends owned by Sinead and Laelia.
Tales of Legends is world and character building focused with and original setting. There are no forced character aps or registration, so come stay in Wendy's Tavern for a drink. Have you character serve one of two Tyran gods. Rule a city of your own, or serve Tyran's Queen. There are limitless possibilities for your character's story... so what are you waiting for?
Tyran is PG 13 and LGBT friendly.
site updates (dd/mm/yy)
13/11/18 - THERE ARE NEW GODS! please check out the temple folders for more details!
29/11/18 - Both temples have staff positions open for those interested in joining the temples
29/11/18 - We are currently editing our achievements and adding more! Please be patient as we fix this.
current events
TBA Time: Ongoing Where: TBA Host: TBA
staff
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Amika
x_Tempest_D
SW_Hotaru_SD
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(Username may varry)
Joshua
Shelzi
Storyteller/Trent
Wulv
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credits
Tyrannights/VampPub was originally created by Shawn and Doreen. Tyran: Tales of Legends remake is currently owned by Sinead and Laelia Content is copyrighted to Tyran unless otherwise stated. The skin is created by Wolf of Gangnam Style. The board and thread remodel is by Kagney.
Banner Image was created by Karnage82.
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