Into the Heart of the Kierra Doma

by **Annalisa Marin** on May 25th, 2014, 6:58 am

Anna listened as the man spoke, carefully measuring his words and her suspicious gaze not wavering for a moment in his presence. He reminded her of both Amaryllis and Maelstrom for some reason, simply offing this girl because it amused him and yet seeming as though he was not telling the whole story for some unknown gain. The sorceress was unsure how she felt about that conclusion, though it was enough reason for her not to trust him entirely. Still, his advice made some modicum of sense. If she could get the girl closer to her then she could do Rhysol’s work, all that was needed now was to think of a credible lie to get the initiate close to her.

The stone man moved out from her path allowing the sorceress to move past him, which she did though a little uncomfortable about keeping her back to the one that had just given her a knife. As she walked she started pondering over her deception, a grand and constructed lie it would need to be. Pondering over Krawlek’s words offered her all the information she needed to construct the lie, now it was just up to her to complete it. Carefully Anna slipped her wizard ring from her finger and placed it into her pocket. She increased the volume of her breathing, making it sound like she was panting from having run.

Grey eyes fell upon her quarry as she entered into the circle of trees, this one filled with jagged rocks of all kinds. The perfect terrain for geomancy, but now was not the time to indulge in such things as her lie would need to be stronger than her magic. Rhysol had marked her for a reason after all; she needed to make this convincing. She panted purposefully loud as though she had been running a great deal of time and fell to her knees just upon entering into the, her loose hair falling about her face as she bowed her head.

“You, ah, are Initiate Natasha yes? I bring dire news from the Bloodhills.” The tall sorceress stated, her tone heavy and a little weakened sounding though possessed a bit of desperation.

The tall woman was hardly the best actor in the world but she was rather tired for this entire journey, which would hopefully aid in deceiving the woman to come closer. It was best to play the downed initiate, tired from so much running and journey through the other parts of the Testing Grounds as well as this one. Her slip about the Bloodhills was due to Krawlek mentioning having once been stationed there, hopefully that would gain her attention quickly enough.

“Warden Brent, the other initiates, gah petch!” The tall woman clutched at her side and groaned as if in pain.

This motion also better placed her to have the blade ready to be brought out to murder this multi armed woman as she would hopefully draw close to investigate or assist her. Anna had actually met another Eypharian before, though he had been male and it had been in Zeltiva. They had shared an interesting discussion over the nature of academia before he had needed to leave, coloring her opinion of the race being at the very least above Kelvic. Though if Krawlek was the be believed then they were none too bright.

by **Mirage** on May 26th, 2014, 4:12 am

The woman flinched, half rolling as she clambered to her feet, two arms folded over her chest, two more grasping daggers at her thighs and two more somehow finding short swords in the short span it took her to come to her feet. Perhaps the only thing which paused the woman's attack was hearing her own name. When she saw Annalisa on her knees she lowered her blades slightly, but did not put them away, "Yes... I am Natasha." She came forward a step, suspicion in her eyes but not so great as to keep at bay her sinking feelings, "What news? From the bloodhills? Is Brent OK?"

She sucked in a breath, sheathing the daggers as she came closer, taking Annalisa by the shoulders, real concern in her features, "Are you alright? What happened?" Two hands held Annalisa at the shoulder, but the Wizard could also feel invisible fingers tracing along her body now as well, checking her for signs of injury as the woman's eyes looked at Annalisa, a mixture of concern and worry written there, but most of it was likely directed elsewhere than toward Anna herself.

by **Annalisa Marin** on May 26th, 2014, 4:48 am

Her quarry was quick to prepare herself, springing into action and looking rather like she was prepared to pounce upon the sorceress in a moment’s notice. The dark haired woman kept to her act and pushed aside the desire to draw her Res, likely by the time it would be drawn the woman would easily cross the distance between them and cut her down. Krawlek was correct that she likely would not have stood a chance in a normal fight in her condition, however with his assistance and the blessing of Rhysol she might very well succeed. There were some things that magic could not solve while a good blade could solve a good deal many more.

The Eypharian was cautious at first; Anna pondered if Krawlek had been lying to her and she would in fact kill first and ask questions later. Fortunately her mention of Warden Eli Brent seemed to get through to her, the other woman abandoning caution when this information was divulged. She made a mental note to give Krawlek something nice for his service to her here, maybe something to blow up this wretched place. If only it were so easy she imagined others would have tried such a thing, no doubt their bones littered the soil.

Anna could feel Natasha moving to assist her, gripping her shoulders and ethereal fingers working across her body to check for injuries. The sorceress had never encountered such a magic, in fact it nearly broke her resolve by the alien nature of it but Anna crushed the distraction. Instead she focused on this very moment in time, this holy and divine moment that came before betrayal and where her faith existed in. Everything seemed so much more defined as adrenaline seized her and rushed through her blood, coursing through her entire body and setting her senses alight.

“Thank you, gah, help me up please. Think I pulled something, but the Bloodhills, it was awful.” The sorceress would say.

Everything was so crystal clear in this moment in time; it was so very perfect in a sickeningly horrific sort of way. Anna did not look upon the other woman, wanting to keep up her tired act for as long as she possibly could to keep the other woman’s guard down. The method was as important as the act, the rocks looked so jagged and in fact she could feel pebbles digging into her skin. It was exceedingly uncomfortable really, figures she would choose such a place to fall to her knees. As she would attempted to stand slowly, hopefully with the Eypharian’s support, that was when she would act.

Her hand gripped the tiny blade from its concealed place in her sleeve and she quickly moved herself forward, the blade aimed to plunge into the side of the Eypharian’s neck. If it made contact then Anna would remove it only to attempt to slash across the other woman’s throat, wanting to make very sure she spilled as much blood as possible with this act. Everything happened with crystal clarity, every drop of vital fluid would be captured in her mind’s eye should she succeed and as part of her recoiled from this and another reveled in the art work.

Her grey eyes would search for the Eypharian’s own gaze; she wanted to see that look in her eyes before she expired. Anna had witnessed it a few times before, the eyes of one betrayed before they died and it was simultaneously the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and the most sickening. It was in moments such as the one that would occur when the blade fell when she felt closer to Rhysol than normal, for it was times like these where she knew that she had pleased him. Of course, that was only if the blade hit home as intended.

by **Mirage** on May 27th, 2014, 3:31 pm

She should have seen it coming. A stranger wandering in the Heartlands, claiming to be from the bloodhills with news? How had she gotten past the spiders? How did she wind up on the path of trials? It made no sense, but retrospect was 20/20 vision. The Eypharian could do nothing but widen her eyes in surprise as the knife slipped into her neck, but her grip tightened on Anna's shoulders as she shoved her back just as the 2nd strike came at her neck, cutting into her esophagus but not so much that she bleed out instantly. One hand gripped her neck, trying to stem the bleeding, but it was no good. The carotid artery was severed and she could already feel her strength leaving her, however, there was one thing she could do before she died.

Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she glared daggers at Annalisa. The Wizard would fill invisible fingers then wrap around her throat, lifting her into the air so that her feet dangled several inches from the ground. There was no weakness in the dying woman's eyes even as blood began to pour down her front, soaking her shirt. Even as she fell to her knees she kept her hold strong on Annlisa, not letting her move, gripping her throat tighter until the air was completely cut off, so that she slowly suffocated. It was a struggle then. Who would outlast the other? If Anna tried to draw res then the invisible force would wrap around her arms, binding them to her sides, and as the darkness began to overcome her vision, only then did relief suddenly come.

The invisible force suddenly released her, letting her body crumble to the ground as oxygen began to flood her lungs once more. The Eypharian was dead, but she died glaring up at Annalisa. One hand still gripped her throat, two more held swords slightly raised and ready as she glared defiantly in the face of her own death.

"Well well, you did it." The statue was standing on the path behind Annalisa, taking in the scene before him, "A larger part of me doubted that you would be able to despite the advantage, but I am glad I took the risky gamble. Congratulations Wizard Annalisa Marin. You are the new Initiate of the Heartlands."

"What mischief have you gotten up to now Krawlek." The familiar voice came from behind the statue and none other than Kierra Doma herself came up beside him, leaning on his shoulder as she paused to look equally surprised at what she saw. She blinked twice, a slight frown turning the corners of her lips down as she looked at Krawlek, "I thought I told you not to interfere."

"And I certainly didn't." He raised his hands in submission, "How was I to know the woman was resourceful enough to carry a concealed weapon? And really it was Natasha's fault for being so gullible. She never was worthy of the title Initiate."

Kierra Doma stared at him a tick longer, "Maybe your right." She then turned her eyes on Annalisa, "Alright a deal is a deal, you are the new Heartland Initiate. Return here in the Summer, the first of the season, and you will begin your training." She waved a hand, dismissing Annalisa in a grand gesture. She seemed to have forgotten about the spiders entirely.

by **Annalisa Marin** on May 27th, 2014, 5:14 pm

The first bow had been unexpected and so the Eypharian had no defense against the blade plunging itself into her neck, warm blood staining the knife as it exited the wound. The woman pushed her back away as she attempted another slash, the cut being rather shallow compared to the first and nowhere near what Anna wanted. The blood dripped down her fingers, warming them in the vital fluids of another as she looked at her handiwork with a cruel smirk starting to move across her features. That was until some invisible force seized her throat, constricting her airway as she was lifted off of the ground.

The Chaon dropped the small knife, grasping at her throat futilely before her arms as well were pinned to her sides and all she could do was soundlessly try to get out a breath. The other woman was doing this, whatever magic she possessed was doing this to her and it was threatening to snatch away her victory. Anna raved in her own mind how stupid she had been, the opening had been there but the other woman would not have been selected for this place if she were a weakling. Now, because of her own stupid hubris she was going to die.

Darkness was beginning to cloud the edges of her vision, her grip on consciousness threatening to slip away as grey eyes were wide and desperate. If this was what dying felt like she would vastly prefer anything, no thoughts were comforting this face of death at this point. She felt rather as though one might go truly mad in the face of this, everything spiraling out of their control as their lungs burned and ached for air. The tall sorceress’ attempted struggles became weaker and weaker before the darkness began to overwhelm the entirety of her sight.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun it ended as her form crumpled to the ground and her lungs took in a long gasping breath. She drank in the air like a man dying of thirst might drink in water, her breaths desperate gasping things. The darkness had left her vision as her breaths became intermixed with slight coughing, her throat certainly more than a little sore after nearly being strangled to death. Absently she massaged at it, wincing as her hand made contact as her other attempted to push herself up to a sitting position at the very least.

Her gaze fell upon the falling initiate; her eyes glaring up at her in defiance even in the shroud of death that had fallen over her. She was dead though, she had expired first to Anna’s good fortune and that was perhaps the sole reason she now drew breath. Even still, whatever invisible grip that had allowed her to be lifted into the air… it was something extremely powerful. Something Anna feared now, how could she know when that magic would be coming for her or not? How could she possibly fight what she could not see?

Anna noted the knife off to the side and plucked it from the ground, blood still coating it, though in the red light of the Heartlands the liquid blended in nicely. The sorceress started wiping the small blade on the initiate’s corpse as she found the strength to walk once again, her breathing returning mostly to normal though there was some faint wheezing here and there. A near death experience, probably her most blunt, had just been averted barely by a quick action. The path of Rhysol was the reason she had survived this, well, Rhysol and a man made entirely of stone.

That same man’s rough voice came from behind her, Anna finishing her cleaning of the knife and standing to face him slowly. A painful chuckle came from her throat at his words, honestly she was a little amazed at this herself. Part of her had expected to die at this attempt, but she had actually managed to kill the other woman. Even more than that she had managed to do it with no magic at all being used on her part. No reimancy, no voiding, and no glyphing as it had just been a knife and a pretty lie that had done the trick.

You see, Mother, no magic. Rhysol does indeed make me strong. Anna thought, knowing that it was doubtful her ghostly mother could respond from Zeltiva.

Kierra then was next to join this little gathering in the Heartlands, that look of utter surprise upon her face so very priceless Anna wished she could immortalize it forever. An exchange between Krawlek and the Warden was noted, some past friction there perhaps? Anna had no idea, nor did she have any idea that Krawlek was in fact a familiar. At the moment just being told that she was now the new initiate of the Heartlands was enough to make all of her suffering seem completely worth it. So much so that she nearly had forgotten about her debt to the spiders, nearly, but fortunately not quite.

“Of course Warden, it shall be as you say. Also, would you mind terribly if I took this corpse off of your hands? The spiders back the way I came were rather adamant about getting some kind of food.” Anna inquired, jerking her head towards the dead Eypharian nearby.

by **Mirage** on May 27th, 2014, 5:29 pm

Kierra shrugged, "Do as you wish. I have no use for the body now." She pointed back the direction she had come, "Just follow the path all the way back. Oh, and don't make any turns. Sometimes the forest likes to play tricks on visitors. Do not follow the old man, do not talk to the fish, and whatever you do, do not fall asleep." She smiled and waved, "Be on your way then. Return here on the very morning of the first of Spring, and we shall begin your initiations."

Krawlek bowed his head, "My deepest condolences." like he was offering his support for a great loss, or one soon to come.

OOCYou can feel free to post once more, ask any questions you need to, and simply have it fade to black. In the grade I will fill in the blanks for you as to what happened and where Anna stands currently

by **Annalisa Marin** on May 27th, 2014, 5:54 pm

Anna felt some relief as being given leave to take the corpse with her, it would add some extra weight to her journey back but it would prevent her from getting eaten alive by giant petching spiders so she’s live with lugging her around. The tall sorceress pried the initiate’s weapons from her fingers, kicking them aside and awkwardly swinging one of her many arms over her shoulder. Eypharians were rather unwieldy it seemed and the arms were probably adding to her weight. It was a pity; the other woman was quite the pretty thing, a waste then that she had stood between Anna and what she wanted.

A set of dark eyebrows rose at Kierra’s words; those all seemed like rather odd things to see though the talking fish bit was probably the oddest. Somehow she got the feeling that after spending however long she needed to here, Anna would likely vastly prefer the Citadel to it. After all living in the Testing Grounds seemed like a rather dirty and dreary affair all things taken into consideration. Especially the Heartlands given everything she had seen thus far in her journey here. Still she nodded wordlessly to the Warden before freezing at the words initiations.

The word registered in her mind but her jumbled memories had difficulty grasping exactly why, fragmented they were to a certain degree. Why did that word resonate in her mind so clearly compared to everything else? Did it have something to do with her magic perhaps? About a chime later the memory returned to her, her initiation to Reimancy was what she had been trying to remember. It irritated her how often the memories would be there, but took so long to come to the surface of her mind. The question was, what initiations was the Warden talking about?

“Initiations, Warden?” Anna asked, unconsciously closing one of her hands in a fist to hide the initiation scar upon it.

Initiation to Reimancy was something Anna regarded as the second most painful, mentally at the very least, event in her life. The first was when the blood of Rhysol had touched her flesh and marked it with his claim upon her. Still, the magic had granted her the power she now possessed as one of the most powerful Reimancers in the modern age. All power had its price however; Reimancy was no different in that respect.

Whether the Warden chose to answer that question or not Anna would slowly start her way down the path, her eyes flicking to Krawlek as he spoke and she felt the pit of her stomach drop. Something was telling her deep down that the corpse she was dragging with her as the more fortunate one, as she did not have to experience whatever Kierra Doma had in store. There could be no other choice however; the power gained from this was too great a possibility to pass up. That and who knew what secrets this place held? Anna had a sneaking suspicion that she would be finding out, just not in a manner that was altogether pleasant.

by **Mirage** on May 27th, 2014, 8:20 pm

Kierra only smiled, "Come the first of summer, you will see."

And so Annalisa made her way from the Heartlands. Battered, bruised, but successful. The Spiders grudgingly accept the offering the Wizard offers them, more than a little disappointed that they could not eat Annalisa herself. Celeste did not return with her, but perhaps it was fate that it was Brom that met Annalisa on the way back. He led her way back to the Citadel, completing the mission she could not.

Amaryllis was genuinely surprised to find that it was Annalisa that survived, and not Celeste, but in the end it did not matter which one did. In the end it was decided that Annalisa would be given the title of Wizard, however, she would not be given her lab until the summer allowing for the spring season to count toward her 'probationary' time during which time she was observed as a substitute for the actual mental evaluation/interrogation. Despite several notices from an unhappy common lab overseer, Annalisa was granted permission to commission her new lab, and its construction would be completed in early summer.

The Embalmer was pleased, Lector Qiao saw a possible advantage, and a distraught Riyanna cursed the day Annalisa walked into Celeste's life. Rhysol be praised for the Chaos this quest brought about.

Grade! :

Quest Into the Heart of the Kierra Doma