[Toherro's] A Darkening of Dark Rites (Amber, Private)

[Straylor Leonard]

There was a momentary pause as the apprentices obviously ignored Amber before they assumed their trance-like states. It was Ara who emerged first and looked up with a smile. It was then that Amber realized what they were doing. The exercise was meant to strengthen their minds, broaden them per se, so that they would enter and snap out of Clara with increased fluidity despite their levels.

"Serale", Ara said with a nod, "yes we have been waiting. Please join us."

The other two soon emerged as wel and shifted just a little to provide the fae with ample room to sit or float, whatever.

"You understand the rules then?", the dark elf asked Amber with inquisitive eyes, "if so, we'll begin."

When all four students were ready, they began to close their eyes once again. Amber, who was still in Clara, would see that each apprentice already erected their own Circle before she arrived. Clever kids, for the most part.

[Amber Brightwing]

Dropping out of Meditation and then picking up where you left was impressive indeed. She wouldn’t know if she was capable of it herself, never having tried it before, but she did know that dropping out of Clara and entering it again right away was something different altogether. That was something she had done plenty of times, just like any other mage she assumed. There was very little else to do after all when you wanted to practice and only had a handful of spells available to cast in a whole day.

“There’s one thing I was wondering about. Do both dispelling and hitting someone’s Circle count as a point or only hitting, dispelling being just a defence?” While her question was answered she set up her own Circle of Magic so they could start.

[Straylor Leonard]

"Dispeling is defense only", remarked Ara while maintaining her eyes closed, "no points awarded for a dispeled spell." A smirk crossed her features before the dark elf girl interjected, "don't worry, Adept, we'll take it easy on you."

Within moments, all four students of the Dark Arts produced their personal protective Circles. Given, Amber's created hers first ... but the apprentices were unnaturally speedy despite their obvious disadvantage tier-wise. Perhaps it would be the fae who would learn something from them this brightening?

There were short bursts of giggles and laugher as the Initiates impaled each other's (and Amber's) Circle by evoking Acid Spheres. Those were the simplest, most efficient ways of hitting someone and scoring that they knew. Occasionally, a Circle would erupt in an array of white and blue light -- and the game would be 'paused' while everyone resurrected their Circle of Arcana.

In the midst of the fun, however, just about the time that Amber was leading the game with over twice everyone's points, the group heard a rumbling from the other side of the heavy oak doors that barred the library. They could hear grunts, a series of horrible roars that caused Edward to shrink inside his Circle.

"...what's, what's that?", he asked nervously. His clammy hands grapsed his wand like a swordsman would his weapon.

"I don't know", Ara said immediately and stood up. She maintained her Circle of course but looked as if she was deciding whether to attempt a spell or not.

The dark elf girl stayed silent, her eyes looking at the double doors as if they might shatter any moment.

It was then that Amber ... noticed something. Even outside of Clara, fae could feel, smell, and taste Arcana. In that instance, the journeywoman was within the trance-like state and her senses were piqued to the point that she could see a huge, hulking figure beyond the enchanted walls of the Library. It was obviously of Necromatic nature since she felt familiar with the essences that were linked and merged to allow it outside the Plane of Death.

Then, just as it looked like it was going to pass the library altogether ... it stopped.

Then turned.

And within seconds, it was attempting to ram the doors open with its ... horns.

[Amber Brightwing]

For ‘mere’ apprentices they were fast, she had to give it tot them. If they were equally good at crafting their spell it would no doubt not be long until they’d be promoted too. Still, going two against two, the extra promotion proved to be an unbalance in their game and with dispelling not counting she felt no focus much on defence, instead choosing to simply go all offence and trying to get the most out of her superior speed. And of course, if things would have gotten tight, she could have just dumped some thirty initiate spells on their shields simultaneously. The rule had been initiate spells only, but they hadn’t said anything on making an Journeyman load worth of them at once. She would have had to adapt the Acid Sphere a bit of course to prevent from punching through their circles and melting them away, but that would have been a minor adaptation. Something even these apprentices should be capable off doing.

And then her senses picked something up… and ‘something’ was outside the door. Something from the Plane of Death… with horns. ‘Demon’ was the first thing that popped to her mind, but then it would have to be created by Aribeal, Toherro himself or a master she wasn’t aware existed as Demons were something that required a master to summon – at least, she thought you needed a Master for it, the information she had found in books had been scarce and vague at best. It seemed to make sense though as they seemed similar to Elemental Lords when you thought about it.

“Whatever that is, I’d suggest we stay in our circles until we find out.”

With that said she just readied herself for whatever might come through the door. She hoped her first thoughts were wrong, because whatever it was, it didn’t seem very happy and she’d rather not face things that outclassed her magical prowess.

[Straylor Leonard]

Just as Amber decided that facing things that outclassed her was definately above and beyond her call of duty, the door burst open -- quite literally. Bits and chunks of wood flew everywhere, knocking down nearby tables and chairs while the students' Circles immediately flared into life. Each Circle of Arcana were made of different shades of varying colours depending on its creator. Amber's create a sort of deep crimson colour with shades of orange and gold mixed into the fray.

And before them was indeed a heavily muscled, winged, and double-horned creature that could only be summed by one word: a daemon. It was, in itself, a work of deadly art. The behemoth stood somewhere between eight and nine feet and had a fierce look of a bastard son of a giant orc and a minotaur. The beast growled at the sight of the quartet and immediately unleashed a blast of what appeared to be green flames from his fanged mouth.

The flames quickly engulfed Edward's blue-green Circle, and despite the protection of Amber's own barrier she could literally feel the heat permeate her immediate surroundings. Within moments the flames died out, and with them went whatever was left of Edward's physical manifestation on the Material Plane.

"By Jalat!", cried the dark elf, "EDWARD!"

Ara looked half willing to shout but she didn't seem to be able to pry her eyes from the daemon's nasty grin. Then, she pointed her wand towards the Daemon and shut her eyes.

Seeing this, her dark elf counterpart followed suit -- her arms raised rigidly with her own wand trembling to point at the daemon.

[Amber Brightwing]

Unfortunately, she was right. She seemed to remain stoical, hovering with her arms clasped together behind her back as she faced the Deamon. The bits of wood bounced off her Circle protecting her, but inside the Fea had to do her best to hold herself together and not panic (too much). For a brief moment she had hoped that it was just something Aribeal had send her way to see how she dealt with it, but as the boy was torched, those few sparkles of hope quickly faded away as well. Even though Edward had been the weakest of the three, she couldn’t really imagine that the Mer would go around sacrificing Apprentices just for kicks. Not that she couldn’t imagine him enjoying it, but mages were scarce so she doubted he’d squander precious resources like that.

The beast was truly a sight to behold. Huge, devilish looking and apparently capable of some potent magic. The scary part however was that when you thought about it, the Deamon wasn’t the scary part. After all, someone must have summoned it and most likely a Master Necromancer. Either said Master had bad intentions towards them – not good – or he hadn’t been able to keep the beast in check – also not good. She tried not to think about it.

Not that she would surrender so easily. As soon as the beast made his intentions clear she fired off the spell she thought that would hurt him the most: Dismiss Undead. After all, Deamons were summoned and as such worked much like Undead. She had little hopes of doing more then serious damage to the beast though. Even cast at a Journeyman level spells of a Master should be able to withstand at least one blow. Perhaps she’d be capable of destroying it with a second spell, but for that she’d have to actually survive long enough. Once cast, she’d quickly try to get into Clara again, but with little hopes of getting there before being torched.

[Straylor Leonard]

The trio was left, two females and a fae. Their former companion now lay in a heap of still-glowing ash on the ground next to them, his Circle no more visible than the fear that was growing by the second.

The daemon hissed, looking to each student as if picking out which meal to devour next. Its blood red eyes narrowed on the dark elf, then slowly approached with its taloned feet scratching the cold stone beneath it.

As apprentices, the two were having a hard enough time trying to resist the temptation to flee; but Amber had better plans. With her mind already attuned to the Plane of Death, she produced a powerful version of Dismiss Undead. It was essentially a counter-weave of sorts, one that aimed to unravel the conjuration the produced the daemon's 'shell' allowing it to materialize outside its native Plane.

With her mind focused, the fae produced spike-like appendages that quickly aimed at the possible spots where the daemon's magical flesh was bound together, its seal. Amber knew that summoned creatures were produced just like any other spell -- and if she could somehow undermine the creator's spell, then she would have a chance to live another brightening.

The blast of pure Death essence sent the beast back, stumbling as the impact seemed to cause it a mild degree of discomfort. Roaring, it turned its attention to Amber and quickly fired another burst of emerald flames.

[Amber Brightwing]

OOC: I was thinking of going for breaking the Divination part actually, but going for Conjuration should work just as well. In hindsight, I should have been more specific ^^


Fleeing was nice and against this thing it would have been her first option… hadn’t it been for the fact that the deamon stood in the only exit out of the room. She only fought because it was the better option compared to just waiting for inevitable death.

As her blast of dismissing connected she smiled. It was a grim smile though as what had happened had been pretty much as she had expected. The beast had taken a blow, but still stood strong. As she saw the mouth opening, she only hoped that her Circle of Magic would hold better then her now overly crispy former companion. She could try and flee it, but it would most likely just mean getting caught in the full blast so she rather took her chances this way.

“Distract it!” Given she’d survive, the only way to actually have a chance on beating this monstrosity was to get into Clara again and get off another spell. That however took time, something that was rather limited right now. If she could fall back behind the two apprentices and if they could divert the deamon’s attention just a little bit then she might just have a chance. They’d probably get obliterated in the process, but right now she ranked her own survival higher then the preservation of some other promising students.

Her next spell would be the same as the previous one. If she could brake part of the spell, either destroying the Conjured body or breaking the Divined link that kept the spirit tied to it, then maybe it would fizzle as whole or just become rather pointless. She had started with targeting the Conjured part, trying to get rid of the physical manifestation, so getting rid of the Conjuration it would be again. She reasoned that switching the target of her spell might result in both parts being weakened, but still standing. Instead she hoped that two Journeyman level spells would have a bigger chance to make an end to just one half of the spell. Perhaps she would have had more success with the Divination, but she hadn’t exactly had the time to study the spell up close.

And if that failed? Well, then she would be pretty screwed as she’d most likely have no distraction left anymore and her spell casting batteries would have been emptied. At least she would be able to tell Jalat she had tried.

[Straylor Leonard]

As Amber hoped, green flames licked her Circle causing its magical barrier to ripple, shiver, and scream.

But it didn't cave in.

It did, however, noticably 'shatter' from the outside. Amber could see this, sense it even, and the daemon looked noticably annoyed. It wasn't one who liked challenges, it seemed, and with another growl he stomped forward and clawed at Amber's Circle of Arcana until the barrier faded altogether.

"Distract it!"

Promising or not, the two apprentices were quick to follow the adept's lead. They had no choice in the matter and did not seem overly bent to reach Clara anymore. It was beginning to look hopeless, until Amber decided to attack the beast ... so, their best bet at survival was suddenly their smallest, flutteriest companion. "HEY UGLY!", yelled the vyssichi, "OVER HERE!" The apprentice then tossed a nearby chair, which was only had two legs remaining, hitting the demon on its right wing.

This either gave Amber time to immediately run from the fray or find a suitable spot to meditate.

Ara, on the other hand, darted across the room to find shelter behind a heavy book case. Sitting with her back against the fallen bit of furniture, she closed her eyes and attempted to reach Clarity once again...

[Amber Brightwing]

Her barrier survived didn’t survive the blast, but it did stay up just long enough to let her survive. That was one step stone to survival taken, now for the next. Distraction was taking care off too so all that was left to do was take cover and get off that spell as soon as possible. As she saw Ara going for a bookcase as cover she got a great idea. She remember they had told her that the walls are enchanted by something that Nullifies spells hurled against it. Taking cover close to them might actually be beneficial towards her survival. She quickly flew over to one of the bookcases at the other side of the room from the Deamon.

As soon as she landed on top of it, the race towards Clara would start. Once she got to Clara she could shape her spell as planned. Hopefully the distraction of the two apprentices would keep the beast occupied long enough.

[Straylor Leonard]

And a race to Clara it was.

Upon finding a spot behind the heap of wood and glass that once housed a wide selection of books, Amber saw just a glimpse of Ara's figure crunched up as she attempted to reach Clarity. The behemoth roared now, possibly irrated that a little fae managed to deal so much damage. As he rumbled and crashed through the classroom, Amber could hear his heavy footsteps approach her general location.

Her body froze, instantly reacting to her mental commands to stay still, moderate breathing, and regulate her heartrate. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, but she paused their effects for a while, allowing her mind to dive into a pool of cool stillness that was the gateway to Clara.

Immediately, she felt the rush of Astral Energies greet her like an old friend. And pulling upon the essence plane of Death, she mustered enough Mana to shape into the weave known as Dismiss Undead. It was a lower-level apprentice spell but she knew its potent effects when used accordingly. Choosing to launch a full-scale attack rather than a sneaky disruption of the mental link that was possibly much stronger than she imagined, she aimed once more at the weakening weaves that created the temporary 'shell' of the daemon.

The beast would release another burst of emerald flames ...

... but they would never reach Amber.

Instead, the fae would watch as Ara stepped up from her hiding place and attempted the same spell Amber just released. But her form was quickly overtaken by the flames, and consumed within seconds.

Amber's own spell found its mark, immediately sending the daemon back stumbling and grunting as if a great load was suddenly thrown at his chest. And with his glowing eyes, he looked toward Amber, roared, and suddenly came crumbling apart like a stack of rocks.

The daemon was no more.

[Amber Brightwing]

Amber let herself drop to a crouch on the bookshelf as the Deamon collapsed. Her breathing and heartbeat had become steady, but she still didn’t feel completely relaxed. It seemed she had won the race. It had cost the lives of two Apprentices for her to survive it, but such was the price to pay. She glanced around the room to see if she could find out if number three had also been lost in the battle. Last thing she remembered about him was that he was throwing a chair at the beast. You had to give it to them, they had guts, taking on a Deamon with a chair or placing yourself in the path of its blast was not something many would repeat. And a good thing too that they didn’t just cower away or she’d been a crispy pile of ashes. Aribeal would no doubt be pissed about loosing such excellent students. He couldn’t blame her though, she had given it her best shot at finishing it off before her companions fell to its breath.

It wasn’t over yet. Even though the monstrosity was gone, there was still the problem of the Deamon’s origin. Those things didn’t just pop out of nowhere. She pondered for a moment on whether just to stay here and wait to see if anyone came to check up on them, but her curiosity got the better of her and it wasn’t long before tiny head peeked into the hall to see if anything was there, shortly followed by the rest of the Fae’s body. She tried to recall what way the Deamon had come from and headed in that direction.