Tragedy Repeated(Tarot Please)

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden’s brow knotted into a frown, his eyes narrowing as his grip around Woodland Wrath tightened. He had no words. No smug comments, no quipping remarks or hate filled words when he saw his master’s visage appear over the Journeyman’s face. He lowered his free hand towards Woodland Wrath, pinching the small stem that bore two long leaves at the middle of it. He then began to pull back on it, as the sound of straining wood faintly echoed out. The stem grew in thickness as several long leaves began to grow out at the end of the stem, forming the fletching. Further still he pulled as a long, strait shaft covered in bark continued to almost grow out of Woodland Wrath.

Jaeden continued to draw, slowly raising Woodland Wrath as a fatiguing sensation began to wash over his body, like the sensation and chills that someone had just stepped over his grave. His heart picked up in slightly as, and his breaths grew slightly heavier as though he had been on a short jog to make up for lost time. The shaft of the arrow was nocked into the vine like string of Woodland Wrath, and despite the sensations that he felt while drawing it, he found himself surprised at the ease of the draw. It was as if there was no resistance, like pulling back one’s arm through the air. By the time he had pulled the string all the way back, his finger resting just below his ear as the long leaves brushed along his cheek, the arrow had broken free of Woodland Wrath itself, growing outward and forward as a wide, tri-bladed arrow head formed at the front, it’s tip as fine as any masterly crafted arrow. It felt almost comical how little effort using one year of his life took

Forming the arrow from Woodland Wrath took close to four seconds, a fair amount of time considering the task itself. He was soon leveling the tip of the barked covered arrow at the Journeyman, a soft breath being exhaled. Olevar’s features stared him blankly in the eyes as Jaeden grit his teeth slightly. Finally, bringing the Journeyman into focus, Jaeden released the arrow from Woodland Wrath as it shot forward from the devine bow in a blurred motion, faster than any arrow that had been shot from a bow previously in the lands. Jaeden kept his aim simple, as the arrow flew for the center of the Journeyman’s chest.

[Tarot]

When the monster took a good look at Woodland Wrath, it became obvious that the time for casual experimenting was over. It already knew the power of such bows from its experience with Olevar, and maybe it could even sense that this weapon had its name written all over. Coiled filaments whipped out at Jaeden the very instant he released the arrow, both traveling at incredible speed towards their target. Jaeden didn't even have enough time to feel the horrendous sensation that shooting the arrow gave him. Indeed, it felt like something grinding his life away from the inside. It was a sharp reminder that power was never created from nothing, and all forces were born from older forces, each transforming into another and continuing the universal motion of things. The arrow was just a tiny bit faster than the filaments. The Journeyman tried to dodge at the very last moment, but the man's eyes were trained on its figure and the dodge wasn't enough - though it still allowed the creature to get hit in the shoulder rather than the chest. The filaments stopped short of cutting Jaeden in half, instead cleaving half a tree's foliage several yards to his left. The arrow tip protruded from the monster's shoulderblade and its momentum sent it flying backwards for at least twenty paces. The Journeyman's fallen figure was turning into ashes, starting from the arm that was hit. The monster wasn't moving. Then it moved, jerking sharply as it tried to get back on its feet. Filaments were pulled back hastily, and maybe to Jaeden's surprise the monster turned its own weapons on itself, cutting off the crumbling arm together with a portion of its torso. Gore sprayed out of the horrible wound. It hoped to stave off its destruction by removing the part gone bad! Flesh bubbled on the monster's chest as it tried to reform the missing arm, but the limb dried up mid-transformation and fell off in a shower of life juices and ash. Again and again, the Journeyman tried to remake itself, but every attempt failed in grotesque ways. The creature was spasming and convulsing on the ground, lying in a pool of its own blood. Would a finishing blow be necessary?

[Jaeden Kincade]

With what Jaeden had seen so far, Jaeden wouldn’t risk leaving the creature for dead. As well, considering its filaments, he wouldn’t draw closer to it either. So, with slight reluctance, Jaeden reached down to the stem along the center of Woodland Wrath once again. Slow tugging brought another arrow to grow from its shaft, that same ill effect of having his own breath being stolen from him as he did so, the fatigue of it showing on his face as his eyes grew a little heavy and a slight sweat begin to pour along his brow. There was a slight moment when he felt his skin grow hot, his vision blurred and his head swam as it would when having his ears boxed and his equilibrium thrown off. The bow was powerful, and the effects on the wielder were subsequent in their effect of that power.

If Jaeden was to use this bow as he would any normal one, he would have to discover the secret to eternal life, otherwise he would be dead after eighty shots, at best. Two of which were now already used up. Still, Jaeden realized that with eternal life, the power of the bow itself would likely be nullified, because the balance from which it worked would then be gone.

Any further thought was soon cast aside as Jaeden leveled the tip of the arrow at the Journeyman now, dropping to one knee as he waited for the effects of his second arrow drawn to subside, his eyes narrowing as the Journeyman’s convulsing form came into focus. Jaeden breathed in slowly. “Nothing personal.” Jaeden then uttered with his exhale, drawing the string to Woodland Wrath back just a slight more before drawing another slow breath and steadying his aim. “I lie, it’s very personal.”

Jaeden then released the tension that his fingers kept on the vine of Woodland Wrath that made up its string. A year of his life rushed towards its target, moving faster than a blink of an eye. In the short time it would take to reach the Journeyman, Jaeden began to contemplate the irony by it. Humans, for as quickly as they got ahead in life, simply did so due to that short life span. In most other races, such as the Akalaks or Konti, such a shot might prove easier to live with, considering how long they lived. Or a Nuit perhaps, since from what Jaeden had learned, they could have shot the bow excessively, so long as they replaced their bodies when the time became nececssary. Human lives were that long, and his second year loosed, he realized that Woodland Wrath wasn’t a bow he was going to carry around everyday. Jaeden knew he would have to figure out what to do with the bow after he was finish with the Journeyman here today.

[Tarot]

And so, Jaeden decided to play it safe. One year was one year, though. How many things could a man do in such a time span? Things he could have seen, people he could have met. But today, he invested his time on ridding the world of a monster whose twisted thirst for understanding would leave only death on its wake. As it reformed its arm for the twentieth time, the Journeyman's gaze crossed Jaeden's for a short instant. It was difficult what kind of emotions, if any, stirred the Journeyman. If the man had learned anything from today, it was that forces moved in the universe that people had little hope of ever understanding in full. These alien creatures sought to understand men, as well, maybe because they were so different. But in the end, all they could do was look at each other through a deforming glass. What one was, and what the other was, would never touch. At the end of the day, all that remained was the rustling of Dira's vest as the reaped the victims. The arrow flew, and the Journeyman did not even try to dodge this time. It pierced its skull through the nose. The creature dropped down, and finally turned into smoldering ashes. The acrid smell of charred flesh was almost unbearable. Even the bones quickly melted, leaving only a black stain and some leftover ashes. The mysterious creature had left the world as mysteriously as it had first entered it. He wasn't feeling very well, and in truth the second shot had taken even more out of him than the first. It was over, though. Olevar had been avenged, for what it may be worth. There was an end to each beginning, and often a beginning to each end. Caiyha's voice echoed through Jaeden's consciousness, praising him for the deed. "Well done, Jaeden. Your victory came at a terrible cost, but that is the nature of the gift. Others have paid the price before you, and others will after you. It may seem a meager reward for your effort, but you can collect the Journeyman's ashes if you wish. They are valuable to magicians as reagents… But whatever you do, keep Woodland Wrath, and do keep it safe. There is something I didn't tell you… it's entirely possible that you will never meet another Journeyman ever again. Even I cannot say what they want or need, but I know there are several more left on Mizahar. And they are all linked somehow… they share, they feed off each other's knowledge. They most likely know about you now." The tone in the goddess' voice implied that she had left the sentence hanging. She finished it after a short pause. "By their standards, the one you killed… was just a pup, Jaeden." And the voice faded away into nothingness. OOCWrapping this up! XP awards in my next post if there's nothing else.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden grunted slightly, his gaze locked with the Journeyman for a moment before the arrow flew. He soon got that feeling as if his breath had been stolen from him. His life feeding the divine bow was more taxing than anything he had encountered. His knee gave out on him as he fell to a three point stance for a moment, his other gripping Woodland Wrath for support as it leaned up against him. He spent the next time just trying to remember how to breath properly as his gaze remained fixed on the degrading form of the Jouneyman, the body smoldering as its flesh became ash.

A small sweat had formed over his brow as Caiyha’s voice began to ring inside of his head. His brow soon rested along shaft of the bow as he sucked in deep breaths as he waited for a moment for the feeling of extreme fatigue began to lessen at a slow pace. It made him wonder if this is what Olevar felt every time Woodland Wrath was damaged under while he possessed it. He wondered if everyone felt this type of drain over a two year span, only so slightly over those two years that they couldn’t even notice.

Finally Jaeden found enough energy to push himself off the ground, standing there still for a moment as he found tried to make sure he had balance enough to walk. With feet that dragged along the ground slightly, Jaeden began to approach, cautiously still, towards the ashes of the Journeyman. He reached into his belt pouch, pulling out a small leather sack. Opening it up, Jaeden dumped the mizas that had rested into the belt pouch proper before slowly lowering himself to the ground. Jaeden soon began collecting the ashes as Caiyha had suggested, grabbing handfuls as carefully as he could and dumping them into the pouch. When he had collected all he could, he sealed it up, once again slipping the sack into his belt pouch. “Do I even sell this?” Jaeden thought to himself as he slowly stood back up.

It had taken him longer than he would have liked to return back to Olevar’s camp. Part of it may have been from effects Woodland Wrath had on him, but most of it was the feeling that it was now over. He had done what he had set out to do when he found Olevar dead, and now that it was over, he had final goodbyes to say to the man who was essentially the only family he had had left in the world. And so, as Jaeden stumbled into the clearing, seeing the still freshly dug up earth that was Olevar’s grave, he found that twinge of emotional pain once again entering him. Jaeden slowly slid Woodland Wrath over his shoulder, letting the shaft of it rest along his back as small vines began growing out from the shaft, wrapping over the front of him and securing the divine bow to his body. “It’s over. It’s done Olevar.” Jaeden said, his voice at the edge of breaking as he lowered his head. “I know it’s unlikely that such isn’t likely what you wanted, but it’s something I had to do.”

Jaeden let out a shaky sigh. “You took me in when everything else had been taken away from me, when everyone else either turned me away or tried to take my very freedom or life.” Jaeden continued, his gaze moving back and forth over the grave. “You taught me everything I know, every lesson I would need to survive in the wilds. You taught me how to track, hunt, build shelter, trap and how to fight. I’m not sure what you saw in a skinny little boy like me, but I’m thankful that you did. I thank you for everything Olevar. My teacher, my mentor, my friend.” There was a long pause then as Jaeden dragged the back of his hand over his eyes, wiping away some tears that had began to well up. “My father. Whatever it is you had seen in me, I only hope I can live up to that expectation in the future to come, but I will need my time first, and like you, I must have no attachments. My family was taken from me and now you were too. People around me die. If I‘ve learned nothing else from today, it is that.”

“So this is goodbye, I hope you find you next life as good, if not better, as the one that was just taken from you.” Jaeden finally said, lowering himself to the ground and placing his hand along the earth. He closed his eyes, finally let out one last silent prayer, closing his eyes. He then paused for a moment, his eyes shooting open as he felt a vibration along the ground. His hand slowly moved back, his print being left behind as he soon saw the loose dirt shaking, felt the ground almost moving beneath his feet. He slowly stood as he began to see the earth of Olevar’s grave breaking apart, causing him to take a few steps back. Jaeden’s eyes widened seeing that first sign of green breaking through the ground. That tiny sprout, however, didn’t end growing there. Loud echoes of straining wood and rumbling earth filled Jaeden’s ears as the plant soon grew into a small tree. Further still it grow as the trunk grew wider, the bark thicker. It grew taller, soon reaching fifteen feet as it continued to reach skyward, branches beginning to grow out in all directions, leaves and flowers growing out to form a thick canopy overhead. Further still it grew, its height seeming to not want to stop, but it eventually did as its top finally reached close to fifty feet in height, the trunk at its base nearly seven feet wide. The ground around it began to form lush grass and wild flowers, giving the area a sense of peace and serenity to it, a calming feature. It grew tall and strong, and in the formations of its bark, Jaeden stared in awe at Olevar’s visage somehow staring back at him.

All Jaeden could manage, now staring at the mighty tree Caiyha had formed from his mentor’s body, was a gasp of awe as he fell to his knees. Looking up to the branches, he saw the flowers begin to form various fruits, nuts and berries along it’s stems, their branches drooping and lowering almost instinctively as animals began to gather around it, eating the fruits it offered. The tree formed from Olevar’s body seemed it was now providing for the forest, after it had provided for him for so many years. Jaeden dropped to his knees, suddenly feeling a need to linger. As this feeling only began to compound, an apple began to grow from a branch Jaeden’s head. Only a second passed before it fell from its stem, heading strait down before bouncing off the top of Jaeden’s head. “Ow.” Jaeden said, flinching for a moment over the pain, his hand instinctively raising to rub at the sting.

He slowly looked down at the red apple than now laid at his feet before he finally gazed up back to the tree, at the image Jaeden saw in the tree’s bark. “Yeah,” Jaeden said finally, giving a nod and looking to the ground, “I get it.”

With a final exhale, Jaeden slowly began to turn, falling silent as he made his away from the tree. There would be times when he would return, but today, with what he had just lost, he would have to move on. As blissful as the tree was, Jaeden would have only fallen into despair staying, more than he already was. So Jaeden did as he had been instructed, Olevar’s influence and guidance still lingering from the tree formed from his very body, and he began to leave. A silent thanks was given to both Caiyha and her children for the final symbol of respect they had paid to the man who had, for so long, lived his life by their grace and philosophy. Jaeden’s life had once again been changed by tragedy, he only wondered whether that tragedy would lead to something more in the end, like it had when he met Olevar for the first time.

[Tarot]

Jaeden +5 Hunting +4 Composite Longbow +2 Tracking +2 Observation +2 Trapping +2 Stealth +1 Interrogation +1 Running +1 Tactics Lores: Losing your mentor, Caiyha, Journeymen, Woodland Wrath, The gifts and curses of the gods, Fast aging, Surviving despite being greatly outmatched, The thin line between justice and revenge Jaeden now possesses Woodland's Wrath and has aged 2 years from its use Journeyman's ashes acquired Olevar's tree approved Comments: I enjoyed this thread very much. Your portrayal of Jaeden's pain at Olevar's death was very well done, and I liked the western-like standoff vs. the Journeyman at the end. I think Jaeden's very human reactions make the Journeyman's alien-ness stand out even more. Personally, I hope I managed to convey the creature as something that, while doing horrific things, is not 'evil' in the traditional sense, but more of an unfathomable alien force driven by instincts outside human understanding.