Trial and Error (Miro)

[Fallacy]

The old man sighed and smiled as the kid took the staff, no longer did he have the burden of carrying around such a thing, such a treasure. His hand falling to his side to took a moment and closed his eyes, breathed in once and held his breath only to breathe out. A slight moment of meditation, and he was ready for what was to come. Turning to one of the many doors on the wall, “Are you ready?” He asked the door opening without his touch, though it the door showed an overview of the forest and the land below, even a clearing where the small hut was, the witches prison. Soon it seemed to zoom up and eventually the destination was clear, the door stopped right in front of the witches hut. He man seemed hesitant, but he slowly stepped through. Once the both of them were through the door disappeared and left it with their only escape. Again came a voice, the witches voice, ”Who is there?” her voice seemed panicked as if she knew who was there and why. ”Silence Yagame” the mans voice grew stern and he didn’t seem as happy as he was before, his voice lost the old, kind ways that he talked to Miro with. It was like another person had emerged from the old fart, and that he was in this fully. ”Oh, Yasminy, its only you…” she smirked, ”It seems my hero didn’t bring me the key, but something much better.” The smirk turned to a grin, ”Why don’t you come in here and face me like the man you are?” she taunted. Though the man seemed un-phased by such words, ”What is the matter? You only come to say ‘hi’ after all?” she walked up to the window, ”I can sense your power, I know you are there, answer me old man” she trusted an ugly finger at him, the white stone dress she wore seemed to click a little as she moved. ”I said, silence” he repeated himself as he approached the door, the head once again moving to spout its warning but with a wave of his hand the door all but disappeared. Soon after the door was gone he walked in, and if Miro would follow him in he would see the place was completely different from what it appeared from the outside. They were standing in a field and the girl was smiling, ”So, you come to finally finish what you started. You think imprisoning me would weaken my powers; you were only wasting your time. You grew older while I only stayed the same.” there now would be a devilish smile on her face, ”Miro, my Miro,” she stated, ”Thank you for bringing me him. I will be free today.” ”I said, be silent! with that the ground under then and the field started to disappear and was replaced with a stone floor, the illusion gradually fading in place of the field as it seemed the man was completely concentrated on the task. The once bright field seemed to fade into a dark stone battleground. ”You’re always too serious.” she laughed, ”So, you really want to do this?” taking a stance, one foot positioned slightly out of the shoulder for optimal balance and footing, ”Fine,” a tongue came out and licked her lips, ”Im game, grandpa” With those words a brick materialized above the old mans head and fell with deadly speed only to be turned into water just before it would hit the mans head drenching him instead of killing him, ”You’re always so rash, trying to get things done with one move.” the old man smiled as the water dripped from his robes. Extending a hand the water formed a circle around him and then crawled across the floor the small ripple turning into a huge wave as it traveled towards Yagame. The wave must have been thirty times her size and bearing down on her, but as it would crash and sweep her away it turned into butterflies. The entirety of the water turned to butterflies, and they fluttered around. This truly was a battle of wills, one won buy the mind and not the body, no physical strength could affect the illusions they were throwing at each other. ”You call me rash.” she laughed as if she were just playing a game. ”This would be a rash move.” and with that the butterflies flew towards the old man only to be turned to daggers when they reached a couple feet from him. Miro watching, what kind of power did these two possess? It was like something from a dream, this was the power of Illusionism. ”Of course, this is all so flashy,” she yawned, ”There are much simpler ways to end you.” she said as the daggers still flew towards the old man.

[Miro]

Miro followed the man inside the room, watching the many amazing abilities that the masters of illusions used. Miro ran through the field to keep distance between the two as the ground changed. Miro began emitting res before himself. He held Ionu's Light tightly as he let his res fall as a stream from his hand pointed downward. He kept his eyes fixed, watching the immensely thrilling battle. "I need to stay safe and make an opening." Miro looked down at the pool. It was of decent size, and growing steadily. Once it was of a good size, Miro transmuted it to be a thick sheet of ice. He knelt down, gently placing his staff beside him and placed his hands on the ice. He focused, careful to only melt the parts he wanted. He split the ice into several small shards of ice, floating in a pool of water that seeped out to the sides. He froze the ice again, to change the consistency to be that of a slush. Miro focused yet again to make more res. He used it to absorb up slushy ice as res grew to hold the icy puddle. He then stood, with staff in hand, res beside him. He would wait until Yasminy would direct an illusion at the woman, then he would send an slush forward at her, transmuting the res to a strong wind.

[Fallacy]

The knifes flew towards the old and all he did was smile as right before they were about to hit him faded out of existence. This was the power of the Ionus worshippers. Complete and utter manipulation of reality itself, their illusions no longer justified to be called such, but a more fitting name for it would be reality. The illusions of those thirdly marked becomes reality, they have to power to create an alternant reality both extremely different and very similar to the one that most people were used to. They can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary with only a simple thought and breath. They are truly painters of their imagination. Dangerous foes, but delightful allies. Though the old mans powers were not as strong as he would have liked and more than a couple daggers found their place in him before fading out of reality. Most notably a couple in his left arm and one right below his left shoulder, one could see the grimace of pain in his expression, but luckily the cuts were not deep. It could have much, much worse. ”You have talent and determination Yagame, but I have always been better.” with that he raised his arm again and little orbs of flame started appearing all around her, above her, even below her, she was surrounded, ”Ill turn you to ash, monster.” he said as fire kept on appearing around her. As she was about to retaliate with an illusion of her own, Miro saw his chance and threw his cold, icy slush at her. The attack hit, and she being unprepared for an attack from ‘her Miro’ gasped as it hit her, the water and the wind freezing her to bone breaking her concentration. That one moment was all the old man needed, that one moment when she was drenched and lost complete control of her power, her gnosis, he took advantage of that and a huge pillar of flame rose from Yagame was standing. The little fire orbs were meant to keep her in place and they hatefully floated towards the pillar to add their light to the fire. The illusion was a sure kill as Miro looked on in the epic display of power and concentration. How could anyone survive that? The pillar was kept up, chimes passed and it still was as hot as ever, as big as ever, and it showed no sign of letting up. The look in the mans eyes would be blank, he would be concentrating on the illusion he was casting, the extreme heat from the pillar whipping up winds and causing all kinds of disturbances with the atmosphere. Then just as quickly as it started the fire was gone, the immense light that came from it too was also gone leaving their eyes to adjust to the new ‘darkness’. Was it over? Did they win? Everything seemed quiet and nothing was disturbed. Silence… The man smiled and looked over to Miro, ”Thank you, boy. You have helped me put that monster to rest, finally.” his smile never faded as he laughed and walked up to Miro putting a hand on his shoulder, ”You know the good thing about Illusionism, about the power that Ionu grants his followers?” He asked him, ”It’s a grand ability to warp the perception of those who fall victim to an Illusionist.” he said, his voice as calm as ever. ”You did me a great service.” he said taking a couple steps back and all around Miro it seemed the Illusion that the old man was keeping up was fading back, but… no, this cannot be! This is different; this is all different, but at the same time all too familiar. ”You can keep his staff.” the old man said, but if Miro would look it would not be the old man at all but the girl, Yagame, all around the both of them was the warped white office of old man Yasminy, but the most disturbing thing Miro would see was a charred body, flesh completely burned off, and the bones blacked and cracked from the heat of the fire. ”We can finally leave boy.” she said with a grin as she took a couple steps towards the open office door.

[Miro]

Miro saw the opportunity he had been waiting for, and struck with the attack just as he planned. The res turned to a gale of wind, taking the slushy waters forward onto the woman, chilling her essence. He grinned as he saw the triumphant landing of an attack where the old man had failed. Suddenly, the old man made his move, and it sure was brilliant. A tempest flared around her as she vulnerable from her daze. It was a game ender, and as far as Miro could tell, this battle was just that, a game of pretend gone wrong. He sat in awe watching as the fire engulfed her and stood firm. Nobody could survive that, even an ice covered body would succumb to an inferno of this magnitude.

The flame finally let its grasp on her go, releasing the light that showered over the room and danced on the floor. Miro looked around, trying to adjust his eyes. "Where is the old man at? We finally did it!" He fumbled around towards where he thought the old man was. His eyes adjusted just as his voice crackled through the air. As he comforted him, Miro's heart thudded in his chest. He felt a deep sense of acknowledgement, like he finally had done something to be proud of. He was the hero today. All of Alvadas had been sparred a horrific monster, and he was their savior. The old man continued to talk, though something he said seemed odd. Talk of altering victims perceptions? Did he mean the woman? No, he did not, Miro knew deep down that he meant the naive child who sat before him was the victim.

Miro's mind fell into a panic, unsure of anything. "You can keep his staff..." Miro stood still as 'he' walked away. The scenery changed to the office, the plain boring office. He needed not turn back to watch as they walked away, for he knew what had happened. Miro looked down at the charred remains of what used to be his ally's body. He ran over to the blackened bones and knelt before them. Tears streamed from his eyes and he began to sob loudly. "What have I done? Old man, how could you let this happen? No, it can't be true! This is all an illusion, you were too smart for this. I won't let her get away with this. You..." Miro began to cry harder falling over onto his side and curling up into a ball. He pressed his hands hard across his face, covering his grey eyes. "You were the good guy! You can't die! The good guys always win in the stories!" Miro thrashed around, unable to accept the harsh reality placed before him. His screams echoed through the room as he roared violently in protest.

Miro remained on the floor unable to accept the fact for several more chimes. Finally, his sorrow turned into a sharp pain in his chest. He stood, thinking back on the freshly created bond with this man. His wisdom, the display of power, all of it gone by Miro's hand. Just as he would take credit for the victory, he would take credit for this loss. He looked across the room at Ionu's Light. The act of kindness from the old man, would it make the difference? Could he avenge this loss, the stinging pain in his chest? He walked over and grasped the staff firmly in his hands. "I'll become stronger. I will become so strong that she won't even be able to imagine a power greater than mine. And when she is stuck fumbling through the insanity that rest in her mind, trying to think of how to extinguish the threat before her...I will burn her. Burn her so intensely that not even ashes will be left behind." He looked around the room, unsure of how to exit and let his mind calm. His eyes returned to their purple state and he let out a sigh. A deep headache resonated in his skull, but still he felt things were left unfinished.

[Fallacy]

Yagame would tilt her head slightly as she watched the kids reaction, ”Boy,” she started, ”you have no idea what that man did with his power.” she said watching the display of sympathy, ”Who ever said he was a good guy? What is good? Is good giving you a staff and wearing white?” she asked smiling as she looked down at her own attire of white rock like substances, ”Is being good keeping guard over people imprisoned? Is that it?” she asked, ”Is good making sure peoples freedom is taken away?” she yelled at him shaking with frustration, ”You… Miro you are not supposed to be sad.” she told him, ”You are supposed to be glad that someone held captive by their own brother is free.” she laid the bomb shell on him a single tear streamed down her face and if one looked they could see she was really trying to hold back crying herself. Turning away as the kid cried some more, curled up in a ball; she brought a hand to her face to wipe away that tear. Then steps could be heard. Loud ones, click, click, click as she walked towards the door, but there would be a pause, a slight hesitation, where she would look back at him and give him a big smile. Taking a bracelet off her wrist she placed it on the doorknob and muttered softly, ”I’m sorry…” and turned away; walking out the door without further hesitation. Was what she did right or wrong? Was she a monster? What is good and what is evil? These concepts are so subject sometimes and easily confused and defined based on point of view, based on perspective. Was she just doing what needed to be done? Maybe, who is to know, but when Miro gained the confidence and gained back his moral and fire he would find the door she used marked with the white-beaded bracelet. If one would look closely there would be circles and marks on it just like Griever. Letting that be his guide he took the bracelet off the door, gripped the staff tighter, and opened the door only to see the all too familiar streets of Alvadas welcoming him back from his moral journey. The bracelet would be kept as a reminder, as a promise that he will defeat her one day, as a doorway to new beginning of a new chapter in his life. The old man, if he even existed, would be avenged. That much he set his mind towards. Taking a deep breath in he took a step out exiting the boring white study of the illusionist and into the streets of Alvadas. If the boy would look behind him he would see where he came from as a particular old shop, the mysterious one that was aged and had dirty windows. The same old sign hung above his head and it read: Mables Magic Marvels.

XP Award! Name:Miro XP Award: Climbing- 2 Acrobatics- 2 Reimancy- 3 Cane Sword- 3 Observation- 2 Rhetoric- 3 Investigation- 2 Lore: Alvadas’ Underground Striking a deal Yasminy (Basic) Yagame (Basic) Feeling true fear What power is The pain of loss Swearing revenge Notes: Gain Ionus Light Secret : A plain looking white staff, polished and rather old looking topped with an inverted green triangle. At one point the triangle was Azure, but it was quickly painted green as green was the owners favorite color. The staff has a history of changing colors randomly. It is especially fond of changing the green triangle back to Azure. The staff got its name not only because of it bearing a mark of Illusionism, but because the triangle itself lights on fire in the presence of darkness. Gain one bracelet (maledicted effect unknown) I hope you enjoyed your thread. This was really fun for me as I got to show off a little with what Illusionism can do and how amazingly beautiful it is. Enjoy your new staff; I hope it was worth the hardship that he went through. Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM