Closed Immortal Tales- Three Rings Interlock (Rayage, Avris)

[Evalin]

54th of Summer, 380 AV

Summer's nights were always still, always calm, and so utterly... dull. Leth gazed down upon his kingdom with an eye that showed neither interest nor care, for surely his thoughts were upon his love so far away now as her domain had been cast aside by his own. It was a old night like so many others. It was a new night so different from all.

Waters lapped against the side of the boat as the vessel pulled close to the wooden planks. The driver stepped offer, securing his craft in place so that its two passengers could exit safely. One stepped out first, a woman dressed in hood and cloak. Her face was hidden, yet in her hand she held a simple walking staff.

"Come again have we to the place where which we first made acquaintance. Remember it as I do my Dear Immortal?" She looked back from beneath her hood, but did not wait for his answer as she walked up the steps to the upper docks. The sound of her staff upon the wooden planks echoed in the still night air. It rang out, like a call to the night for those who would listen to bear witness to the event that would hold place there, though in truth no such event would occur. No such event had occurred for quite some time.

"Scattered now are the ashes of that girl you met. You saw well to that. I would curse you if I did not know better, that it were for the best that all of that wretched life were burned to dust to be forgotten and scattered to the wind." She paused as she reached the center of the open space, and now she pushed back her hood to reveal the face of a young woman, freshly captured with hair the color of autumn chestnuts, "Perhaps that child is truly gone after all."

She seemed to be talking more to herself than to the man, and she did not even bother to look back at him as she continued, "It is gone now, you know. That sense of guilt and regret. It was turned to ash along with the bones of him. Had she come so far not to even acknowledge the man who raised her? Was he nothing more than a sacrifice on the way to achieving the ultimate goal?

A hand reached up to touch over her unbeating heart, and she looked down at it, "This... emptiness at what life I was, at the child I had been. I never believed in it, but your words come true just as they always do my Dear Immortal. Perhaps your black tongue has tainted my heart and soul beyond repair, twisted mine mind to see good where surely there is only ill. If it were so... then I would hope that never a day comes that I discover this truth come true as well."

Evalin looked back, finally speaking directly to the man cloaked in the darkness of the world, "You have never said to me, not even once, what came of the life you once lived. Did you too have a mortal life with mortal feelings? Did you too feel as I do now, enlightens as you stood upon the cusp of grasping the endless void of eternity?" She turned to face him, leaning upon her staff, "Never have I heard of you my dear Immortal. What is the task you wish to achieve...? Fathom I what your greatest wish is?" She blinked and laughed, turning away once more, "Forgive me, I forget my place as I become lost in nostalgia."

[Rayage]

The waters of Lake Ravok had a calming effect on the nuits mind. The small noises it made against the vessel the two undead were on from the movement of the boat to the oar in the water made the immortal smile inside. These sounds, these experiences, the time out of the lab were to be enjoyed and the serenity of this night was perfect. Leth was shining down in all his glory, the bright moon beams easily allowing the oarsman to navigate in the dark. Within the waters however darkness churned and the world was reflected, inverted, surreal. Rayage watched the waters, as there were secrets to everything housing darkness within, and those things can’t easily be trusted.

The undead stayed silent, unmoving as he watched Evalin get off the boat, then, carefully, he disembarked as well. His body was stiffer than usual, harder to command, and so his movements, if not already perceived as jerky, were a little hassled. It was the ordeal of having an older body, one that, even for a nuit, was just about to expire. At least for Rayage’s personal tastes, that is. The immortals usually bright and multi-colored cloak was dulled by the shadows of night. The myriad of colors turned monotone in the darkness. For a being as dark as Rayage the cloak would look rather out of place with all the colors. Grey and black suited him far better, and that is what the night painted him.

The nuit was bald as he took down his hood, nodding, listening to Evalin, and even a bit disturbed by her latest request. She wanted to know more about him, about his human life, about his other life… He hadn’t forgotten his reasons for turning undead, but he wasn’t sure he could share them with the girl. They were deeply personal, as was his goal. More likely than not the creature he created would find a way to use this information against him, but disregarding his better judgment he would comply, ”There is so much I could show you.”

There was a silence, a long contemplative one, after that sentence, ”But I will not bore you with such accounts.” he told her stepping closer, ”You are going to be amused by my own wishes. They are not as deeply profound as yours.” It was unknown if he was teasing her or not about the female nuits own desires, ”My mortal life was wasted. I never did anything really worth noting. I was rather boring.” He remained covert of his past life, ”I became a nuit, I studied Alchemy for over five hundred years, to create life.” he told her plainly, ”Ironic, isn’t it? A creature of darkness wants to create his own specks of light in the world? That is my ultimate goal.” But it goes deeper than that even. Much deeper, but with that he hoped that Evalin would be satisfied as he tried to change the subject.

”However, that is a long ways off.” the means to Rayage’s end was cut off by the Valterrian, ”Let’s stay in the present, and think about the future. Like the ashes you speak so fondly of my past was destroyed, just not as poetically as by fire. Mizahar itself heaved and great waves of lava erupted from the crumbling earth. Obliterated was my nation by the wrath of the gods. Chaos…” he uttered the last word and fell silent thinking it ironic that he is here right now, in the city of Rhysol.

”We do not possess immortality to dwell on the past, do we, dear? We want to strive for the future, for that is where our real goals lie, and it is where our energy should be directed. However, a fool just forgets the past; we learn from it and move on. Time is a silent teacher.”

[Evalin]

Evalin felt a wave of excitement wash over her. Could it be? Would she finally learn of him? Would she finally hear the tale of this man draped with centuries past? But alas her face fell as he stepped closer, and she folded her arms, her expression almost a pout, if she could still conjure such shifts in her appearance.

"Such words are truly jest, for they answer the question but not the desire. Even now, some 60 years past, you treat me as if I were a child." She sighed, not really upset but she felt her curiosity was not yet sated, "Irony is simply what we see it to be. Perhaps to you it is ironic, however, to me I can see no other goal which would suit you so well. You crafted life from something such as I, after all..." She shrugged, turning to follow after Rayage as they began making their way into the city.

Evalin followed close to him, the sounds of her staff on the planks once more filling the stage, but now her voice intermingled with the rap of wood on wood as she ventured for answers, though this time taking a different track, "Such as it is that we must focus upon that which is still to come... but even you have said we cannot ignore the influences of our past. The world that you have known, that which I could never have experienced, what should I say if come a time that such knowledge you could provide becomes of needed value? What shall I say if what you could tell were stand between what I am and what I wish to become?" She caught up to walk beside her teacher, her mentor, her...

Evalin looked at Rayage, a small smile on her lips, "I would be all the better prepared for whatever the future may hold if I hold a firm grasp upon what has surly come and past. What value your experience would hold to me, it measures weightier than even a fortress of gold. Your words sing inspiration, and if what I see in present have shaped me, what you may tell of your past may all the more guide me along the path to mine, and your, desires." She fell silent for a moment, but then said softly, "But if I may not hear of you, of what you were, just yet. Instead... might I hear of the world which you stood in so long ago? That kingdom that has been drenched in fire and blood, buried by the events of the past. My dear immortal, might you tell me of that instead?"

[Rayage]

The nuit walked barely acknowledging his protégé as she talked more, spewing about the past and how his experiences could save her one day. It was utter nonsense and he knew it. At least, at first the argument sounded fine, but when really looking into it he saw no value of sharing himself with her. He had answered her questions and yet she persisted to push more and more. Was she still so thick? Or perhaps it was her curiosity that drove her? Really Rayage did not care what it was, it was annoying, and with that judgment he would frown as he tried to brisk his pace even more so.

”Evalin,” he called her by name, ”the world we inhabit right now is vastly different from the one I came from.” he started, unsure of where exactly to go with this.

”I hailed from Alahea, where there was a Wizard Class, and they stood at the cusp of society. Everyone wanted to be a wizard, magic was a good thing, it was researched and developed. It was constantly advancing. The world I hail from is that of magic, pure and simple. The entire state was practically run by Wizards. There was this mentality that magicians, wizards were meant to and had the right to rule.” he tried to explain this alien world to Evalin, ”Do you understand that, my dear?” he asked.

”However, I was not among the Wizard Class as a mortal long at all,” he said, ”it was near the middle of my life I was introduced to magic, and that was out of desperation. Luckily the one I was with was familiar with magic. We, we turned to it because we found that, as a couple, we could not bring life into this world.” He told her, ”And so began my quest, the long road of frustration and pain. The never ending stream of failures, and then the biggest one of them all: The Valterrian.” He muttered the last word almost a whisper.

”It was so long ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday, my dear. How could one forget when his own research, the results of hundreds of years of knowledge gathering, was all washed away, dream crushed, and having to start from less than nothing!”

”Magic withered away and became a force of fear and stigma. The wizards were losing power before the Valterrian, but now we are powerless. The world is in shambles. Let me tell you, Evalin, that the world shifted and changed, warped… things exist today that never existed in my world. It is like Alahea was just a dream, but it was real. I experienced it.” He fell silent, the duo reaching the spot where Rays hidden lab was. The nuit fumbled with the bricks and started to knock to deactive the animated lock that Reaver made for him. Clicking the door open the undead made his way down the hall and almost lazily into his lab, ”There is so much I can say and show you, but that will take quite some time.” he felt like he was repeating himself.

[Avris]

The city was quiet as Avris wandered aimlessly down the streets of Ravok; his feet silently touched down one after the other as he went. He didn't know why he came back to his home city after all these years.. Perhaps after the recent occurrences and events, he just didn't know where else to go. The thoughts of the young Nuit drifted to his mortal life when he lived there; everything was the same, yet different in some subtle way that he couldn't explain to himself.

Avris continued his slow walk until something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, pulling him from the recesses of his mind. He thought he had seen someone down the alley he was passing walk through a wall.. 'Interesting.. The dark, nothing more than a trick it plays on the mind', Avris told himself silently, the undead taking another step forward, but an itching curiosity grew inside him, quickly becoming of importance. It wasn't as though he had anyplace to be. Besides, all of his work was destroyed and he had nothing to lose. After a moment of rather pointless consideration, he couldn't refuse his desire to investigate the anomaly. Turning towards the alley, he slowly made his way to the wall where he thought he'd seen the phantom walk. Extending his arm, he reached out to touch the bricks with his thin, bony fingers. Nothing out of the ordinary.. 'A closer look, then.'

Concentrating, Arvis focused his Djed to his vision, hoping it would allow him to see something he, alone, could not. After closer inspection, he'd seen it.. One of the many bricks had been tampered with. A thin smirk formed on the Nuits lips. 'Interesting, indeed..'
Relinquishing the Djed from his eyes, he felt a wave of exhaustion. He took a brief moment to regain his mental composure, and then pushed the brick, triggering the the walls mechanisms to reveal the opening before him.

[Evalin]

Alahea... The name running within Eva's mind, colliding with thoughts that conflicted and begged for clarification. A world where magic was accepted, even revered? Surely that never could have been. Surely such a place never existed! Yet... yet here before her was a man who claimed to have come from such a world. This man who took from her breath and life, he spoke words which she could find no connection with in the present, "I... I believe so..." but even as the words were spoken her mind was locked in a struggle between fantasy and reality, for surely Alahea was just a fairy tale.

She followed in silence, rapt attention upon the words of the man who lead her through the darkness of Ravok. She could not quite believe all he said, for surely one such as he was much greater than he claimed even in a world ruled by Wizards. Surely this man cloaked in darkness was speaking such humble words for another reason... Evalin looked at him, a flame of sympathy blossoming within her breast at the tragic tale that spelled the begining of the centuries of life.

So it is that this man... this man so focused upon consuming life found his beginning because he could not create it. Perhaps, if only slightly, I can see as he sees the world. He too held a life of regret just as I did...

Silence was her show of sympathy, and attention was her comfort to this man. She could do nothing to change the past, and she knew that this man cared little to dwell upon the deeds long since done. Instead she smiled as the door closed behind her, coming beside them as they entered the lab to look up into his eyes as she said with the fiery passion that moved her through the years, "That which you speak I hear, that which you know I will learn. Worry yourself not on the span of time it shall take, for learn your lessons I shall."

Letting her staff lean against the wall Evalin set her hands upon her hips, "And eager am I to continue where--" The sound of the hidden mechanism clicking interrupted her words, and Evalin's eyes instantly darkened to furious points. The life energy within her, the djed that made up her being, stirred and came to life, pressing beneath her skin and pouring out from every pore as gaseous res. The air around her body shimmered in heat waves as she passed Rayage, leaving behind a fourth of her creation to cling to his robes. The rest she condensed into round spheres, each the size of her head. One she stretched out to trail behind her and wrap about her shoulders, the other two rested over her outstretched hands. With a hiss of "Hakin!" the res ignighted, draping Evalin in a cloak of fire and two flaming balls that hovered over her palms.

"What fool seeks what they should not know? What man of beast wishes death upon themselves this night? Speak now or forever be silenced as I scatter your ashes to the wind!" Evalin said as she made her way down the corridor toward Avris, her eyes burning coals lit with fury.

OOCI'm so sorry for the wait! I had a lot to do IRL but I am mostly set now ^.^

[Avris]

Avris's grin widened as the wall clicked and slowly swung open, a feeling of triumph washed over him, knowing he had found some secret door to some unknown place where in his youth had lived in. The mystery seemed to resurrect some part of the decaying mortal coil he was letting go of, and for a moment he truly felt alive.

The entrance was dark, but his undead eyes where already adjusted to the inky black of night. Avris could hear a woman's voice inside, though what she was saying was snuffed out before he could make out her words. Footsteps echoed down the dark hallway as a clocked figure made its way down, the next moment it's was licked with flame, the sudden light blinded Avris, forcing him to shield his eyes from the lights attack. "What fool seeks what they should not know? What man of beast wishes death upon themselves this night? Speak now or forever be silenced as I scatter your ashes to the wind!" The figure hissed.

Avris knew he was no match for the sorceress in combat, not to mention that fire was an unwelcoming sight for any undead. Thinking quickly he spoke, conjuring his own Djed and lacing it into his dulcet words as he spoke with a smile "I'm not your enemy, nor am I a child of beasts. I'm simply an old soul, whom it would seem, was destined to cross paths with you tonight" Avris eased his Djed over to the sorceress to trigger a calming emotional response, his eyes slightly adjusted to the fires light " perhaps you'd like to put out that fire, after all, there's no reason for violence.. As I said before Im not your enemy, and I have no intention on making you mine." Avris could feel the signals of over giving, he was chewing on his last bit of reserve now and hoped his enchanted words would hold off her attack for a little bit longer, at least until he was in a better position to defend himself.

[Evalin]

A wave of calm washed over the cold flames of Eva's soul, threatening to dim the light created in the passion of the moment. Her steps slowed ever so slightly, and the intensity of her eyes dimmed ever so slightly... Though quickly they alighted again.

A single word pierced the veil of calm to strike her deep at her core, gouging out old wounds and packing them with salt until her hatred seared through the djed and cast aside the hypnotic enchantment as if it were a ragged cloth being whipped about in a storms swift winds.

"Destined..." She spat, the word leaving a foul taste in her mouth, "Be damned you who serve Fate and his destiny! Be damned all who claim to come on Fate's behalf, who would be foolish enough to stand before ME and claim to be not an enemy! Forfeit you your life this day, for I shall enact my wrath upon all who lay claim to Fate's cruelty!" Evalin twisted her fingers into claws, hissing under her breath. The cloak of flame responded, spinning around Evalin's body to encircle the man instead, blocking his exit with a wall of fire that began to close in on his back, pushing him toward the Witch and her wrath. Whispered curses and twitching fingers Evalin stopped where she was, raising her hands up to eye level even as she commanded the balls of flame in her hands to stretch and thin into long spears instead, each poised to strike down the blasphemer before her, "Greet you Fate when you see him, and tell him that The Immortal Witch Evalin still defies all he has set before her. He shall soon stand before ME to receive judgement."

Growling under her breath, Eva's eyes burned with hate and anger, deep sadness and vengeful thoughts as she prepared to end the fools life.

OOCOK Rayray your turn!

[Rayage]

The nuit master was glad that his apprentice was so willing to listen to his words. They were for not. He was trying to prime Evalins mind to undergo a whole new train of thought. Wizards were not to be feared, and magic was not bad, but instead it is the opposite. Wizards are to be revered, wizards are to be respected, and magic is salvation. Alahea was the perfect example to bring up to introduce this new concept and way of thinking. Wizards were meant to rule. There was no other way about it.

As they entered the lab Evalin continued on eager to hear more, to learn more, and so she solemnly swore that she would take each of his lessons at pace. This made Rayage all the more willing to continue of course, knowing that he was not wasting his time or breath on someone who wouldn’t give thought to his every word. He had trained her correctly. Or maybe she was baiting him to learn his secrets? Whatever the case was it did not matter to the nuit. He needed someone to carry on his legacy, and to spread his own views about the world, someone to teach, someone who would learn and be faithful to him. In truth, he had missed the companionship. It almost made him think of the nuit Reaver. Though it had been quite a while since he had seen or heard of the nuit, but that didn’t matter anyways. He had Evalin, and that did matter.

Though then there was a noise down the hall, and Evalin was quick to respond. It was the clicking sound of the lock mechanism opening the secret door to his lab. Rayage frowned, and his only movement was to turn to the door and look down the hall as Evalin advanced in front of him. His body was slow to react but his mind was spinning. There were only a select few people, which Rayage knew of, that knew of the existence of his lab. The possibility of his secret lab becoming common knowledge disturbed him. The nuit master tensed, preparing himself for what might be an upcoming battle, one that could get a bit messy. If the intruder was skilled enough to find the passageway, or to tail both wizards without them noticing, then the foe would have to be watched carefully.

Evalin had the majority of the offensive ability. In fact, in terms of raw power the nuit found himself willing to admit that the girl surpassed him. The undead cringed as fire flicked to life from the hovering res which the girl produced. He had warned her about using fire in the lab, but now was not the time to be thinking of such things. This place was small, confined, and the intruder was standing in the only exit. If they would need to escape then they would first have to go through the narrow hall and past the intruder. Even then Rayage had no idea if there were other people out there as well, blocking their escape.

Taking a step back the nuit too prepared himself for the possibility that this was a trap in itself, being the paranoid wizard he is, and started to prepare spells of his own. If he could unnerve their attacker then perhaps they would back down. The nuit needed to stand tall and confident, and so he straightened himself, wiped his face of any emotion of worry or the thoughts which he was having. He had spent over five hundred years playing the game; he could play it to the very end. Mentally taking a moment to himself as he idly watched the fire being controlled so majestically by Evalin. It was almost a prideful moment for him. His protégé was going to go far… These thoughts were unusual for him. Where exactly were they coming from? Perhaps it was the little remembrance of his human life that did the trick, and humbled great wizard once more.

The bald undead watched the spectacle and the intruder began to explain himself. Rayage could only sneer from behind as the mention of Destiny came about. It was one of the many things that Evalin hated, perhaps the one thing that she hated most of all. This was going to get messy if he didn’t intervene. Rayage frowned not wanting his lab to be burned down by the firey passion of his nuit apprentice. He had a lot of ideas, observations, and research stored in here, precious ones that were better on paper than in his head.

Pulling from the center of his being he ripped the djed from himself, and with the power of his very presence he locked his eyes on both Evalin and the intruder. From within he focused on thoughts of superiority, molding and mentally projecting his spell at the two of them before he even cast it. The nuit envisioned a burst of power from himself surging forward at the two targets, colliding and washing over the both of them. Building his spell he invoked the power of his own djed and sent the suggestion of superiority forward, the suggestion that the bald one is superior, better. Mixing with that suggestion was a hint of an emotion, that of inferiority. It was a vague emotion of weakness, and it worked to further compliment the nagging suggestion that the bald man was superior. The nuit tried to use his very presence to draw both of their attention, especially when Evalin went off and the fire started to circle the other.

Not helping but wanting to play with intruder a bit, Rayage stepped forward as Evalin ended her rant and put a hand on her shoulder. His eyes looked through the fire and at the one encircled in it and in his minds eye he pictured how the man was going to die by Evalins fire. One brief graphic image of the man lying there, burned to a cinder, a crisp, skin charred and blanked by the witches blind rage. With that image in mind the nuit concentrated and sent it forth to the man, to see his own death before it happened.

This act, however, was taxing for the nuit as the hypnotism drained more of his precious djed. He could feel himself slipping, and the euphoria of casting upon him. He wanted to do another spell, just another spell, and in a moment of weakness, or perhaps wickedness, he allowed another emotional response to slip out: the emotion of profound respect. He not only wanted the other to know he was outclassed, but also to respect the ones here as well. Rayage at this point was toying with him, but he was thoroughly enjoying himself and his magic.

The undead smiled knowing that he had the upper hand, ”Now, now, Evalin is that how you treat all our guests?” he asked laughing, almost insanely, ”You speak of Fate,” he said now addressing the man, ”But you waste your words.” he told him, eyes now locked onto him, attention fully directed at him. There would seem to be an aura of confidence about Rayage, and his words were self-absorbed, selfish, cruel.

”Is that you, Reaver?” Rayage asked, the mans hypnotism of him not being an enemy had sunk into the nuit, and now the alchemist was curious to the person’s identity. If it was indeed Reaver he would have to explain to Evalin who exactly Reaver is and why he knows about this lab. If not, well… things would be interesting.

OOCI wrote this in two parts, one before work and one after. If it’s a little blocky and disordered that is why. I don’t think I got what I wanted out of this post (Its not how I envisioned), but Im too tired to go edit to make it any better… so what you see is what you get.

[Avris]

Avris's charming smile dropped as his enchantment on the sorceress was broken by a single word, that single word only fueled the woman's rage. The fire that shrouded the sorceress whipped through the air, brushing past Avris, blocking his exit and pushing him forward with the threat of death. The fiery orbs that Evelin controlled hissed as they begun to form into menacing spears, and now it would seem he would pay the price for his curiosity and poor choice of words for his enchantment.

Avris wouldn't go down like a whimpering coward, reaching for his dagger as he was slowly forced to move forward, he sensed another presence, an overwhelmingly powerful presence that demanded his immediate attention. Avris started feeling unsure of his abilities, the self doubt only grew as he realized he just wasn't going to make it out of this hallway alive. He could see himself twisted and burned, a husk of charred flesh for the dogs.

Avris watched as the presence manifested from the shadows of the dark hallway, a robed man, but something about him was familiar. His skin was pale and had a strange translucence to it, almost as if he was dead. He couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for the man, where this respect came from was unknown and it gnawed at Avris, for how could he feel this way about a stranger.. His thoughts where interrupted as he spoke

”Now, now, Evalin is that how you treat all our guests?" Turning his attention towards Avris he continued "You speak of Fate, But you waste your words... Is that you, Reaver?"

Part of Avris wanted to say yes in hopes that it would drop there guard long enough for him to run, but then again what if this Reaver was an enemy of there's... He couldn't lie to them though, he doesn't even know this mans name. Arvis's curiosity was peeked at the question though, could he not recognize his own friends?

Avris thought for another moment before replying to the bald mans question "Avris" he spoke in response as he made eye contact with the man "I take it your the better half?" fueling his eyes with the last ounce of Djed he had left, he used his Auristics to in order to see if he could learn something about the two individuals in front of him. His analysis was brief, his head throbbed with pain making him close his eyes and bring up his hand to rub them for a moment "Iv never been in the company of my own kind before.. But if this is indeed how you treat your guests I can't say I blame you." Taking his eyes of the man he turned his attention to the sorceress "Though I wonder why I always seem to find myself in what's soon to be a burning building." Avris hoped the man had some authority over the woman and would keep his civilized approach.