Closed The Golden Orb

[Kage]

Fall 25, 124

Kage held the globe of saolite in his hands that he'd purchased earlier in the season. It was expensive, but alkahest wasn't something he coveted very much. In his opinion, the things worth collecting and showing off couldn't be bought. Alas, he needed this expensive orb because it was a necessary tool in ascending.

The old aelf walked through the basin, looking for a particular treant. He knew he needed to seek out Reykr, but the even older aelf wasn't easy to find. It was easiest, for him at least, to go to one of the more static treants and try to get its attention.

Assuming he did find a treant, Kage would walk up to it and wave the orb of saolite at it until he got its attention. "Hello there. I take it you know what I intend to do with this? Let us meet, I need your help."

 

[Vicissitude]

Fall 25, year 124 of the third age​

Alkahest was always in the eye of the beholder– a globe of saolite might appear to some as gold, to others varying shades of green from jade to emerald to chartreuse, with others even seeing it as blindly white. The shared characteristic, however, was that no matter the apparent color, the substance always pulsed with the life it embodied.

The treant Kage approached was an elegant thing mirroring a ginkgo tree– its vibrant leaves varied from ochre to gold, though nothing about it on the surface made it stand out from other, similar trees that grew within this same grove. This was by design, as only those among the ranks of the Vitæ were intended to know its true purpose. Through word of mouth, they often kept track of one another's static treants as a means of guaranteed contact with one another when needed.

There would be several moments of silence after Kage's initial approach and interaction, but then, very suddenly, a voice would emanate from the tree. Likely the thing was a hybrid, with additional plants woven into the branches and hollows of the tree, as a ginkgo alone was incapable of producing sound.

"Thou seeketh to gain a phylactery, hm?" the treant rustled as it 'spoke,' its voice sounding more like a stringed instrument than a person.

Kage would be unable to rightly tell if Reykr were speaking through the tree from a distance or if he'd arrived through some magical means– Plantmeld, Apparation, or any method of teleportation.

"T might be best madeth from m're than mere saolite, but I suppose yond is what thee necessity mine own help with, nay?" the tree made a melodious noise resembling laughter.

"Gath'r f'r me bark of the crystal trees, stygian sap, and magestone– then I shall art one nigh indestructible f'r thee," it would continue.

The three items requested by Reykr would be known as extraordinarily difficult to collect reagents; all three of them came from sources on the large island off the coast of Ælheim, born of twisted Metaphor which made manipulating them with magic all but impossible. And though collecting them was a perilous task, Reykr was correct in that a phylactery composed of these things would be notoriously difficult to destroy– Galsterei would be unable to manipulate them, and through Alchemy, these materials could be given immense durability.

Immediately after this last line was spoken, a portal would open a few feet away from both the tree and Kage. At least the task of traveling to that far off place would be done for him.

꧁══════════• ༺༉ { Reykr } ༉༻•══════════꧂​

​

꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂​

 

[Kage]

Kage listened carefully to the treant as it spoke. The old Reykr could be difficult to understand at times, with his old way of speaking. Not that Kage couldn't understand it, but it always took a little mental adjustment.

"Yes, I think it's about time," he said with a slight smile that he wasn't quite sure would be seen.

"Hmm, that isn't a bad idea at all," he said at the suggestion. He was hesitant, however, because he didn't have a means of transportation. But, as if on cue, a portal opened up.

"Thank you, I will return quickly, I hope. In the meantime, I will leave this here." Kage held out the globe of saolite and wrapped it with wood grown from his own hand to conceal and protect it. He placed the end product on the ground, so that the treant could keep an eye on it.

Then, he stepped through the portal to begin his grand collection adventure.

 

[Vicissitude]

Fall 25, year 124 of the third age​

The island– known as Myrkrifell– was a land the Æld'Norai considered dangerous yet immensely valuable whilst the Fælnir deemed it cursed. The reality (something Kage ought to know) was that the island had been twisted due to experimentation by early Ælven Galsterei into the Aetherium. Such sorcerers had worked to open rifts directly to the Aetherium garnering chaotic results– raw, untapped potential surged throughout the lands of Myrkrifell, infusing earth and animal alike.

When Kage stepped through the portal, it would immediately fade upon his emergence.
Even if he had a decent mental map of Ælheim's lands, it would be rather difficult for him to place exactly where he was on the island simply by looking around. He would, however, see the mountains if he looked north and dark forests to the south; he stood in a clearing not far from a steep cliff. Both directions were each unlike what he might be used to from the mainland– much of the stone and fauna had veins of what appeared to be Aetherite, if not being entirely crystalized. Chunks of stone broken from the mountains and trees appearing as if they had been plucked from the earth hung in the sky and air all around him, while a shimmering, iridescent fog made it difficult to see anything that was too far away.

Given where he was, crystalline bark would be the easiest of the three materials necessary to collect. He should, however, be best served if he were to remain wary– if all this raw magic had warped the land so, then it would follow that the animals, too, ought to be twisted.

꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂​

 

[Kage]

Kage shifted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and pulled his cloak around himself. He stared at the scene for a few moments. The hanging rocks and the glimmer of Aetherite veins lit up the forest in a sickly greenish light. This was as strange a place as ever, which probably made sense because the things he was after were not gathered by the faint of heart.

His mind was already calculating his next move. The crystalline bark he sought was said to grow in those areas, nourishing on the twisted Aetherium infused ground. Without any more delay Kage began to walk. The further into the woods he went the more he paid attention to his surroundings.

He wondered whether he should have brought some treants with him, but he also didn't want to be wandering around with an army of soldiers lest he draw more attention to himself. For now, he wanted to keep a low profile.

 

[Vicissitude]

Fall 25, year 124 of the third age​

'Twas fortunate that Kage did not rely upon any Arcana which required Aether to cast– doing so in a land sundered so by the Aetherium could invoke chaotic results. Granted, he might find himself curious (or perhaps wary?) about weaving life into any of the twisted flora here with Vitæ; one could only wonder what, if any, impact the excess Aether woven into the plant life might have.

Nevertheless, Reykr's instructions regarding the bark were vague, indeed, but Kage would easily be able to assume that any bark from trees on the island would work– provided, that is, that the bark in question was sufficiently Aether-warped. Stygian sap, however, was more specific; it was a void-black substance found only from specific, celestial looking trees. Black as night and with leaves dotted by coruscant stars, such a tree was only found high up in the mountains. Magestone was another rarity— for that one he'd have to go searching within a cavern, as it only manifested deep within the mountains.

Given the difficulty of finding the other two, it would likely serve Kage best to strip some bark off any of the nearby trees and take it with him. And, perhaps, it would serve him well to do this quickly and then find shelter, for there were eerie clouds on the horizon. The sky, kaleidoscopic in color, was slowly warping into hues of a sickly yellowish gray. If he continued to observe, he might even begin to hear thunderclaps in the distance.

Kage could continue to path further into the arcane forest in hopes of finding a structure of sorts as the island was known for its ruins of days past, or, perhaps, if he became truly concerned, he could use his Draoidh to craft something.

꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂​

 

[Kage]

Kage shivered as he walked along. He grabbed some bark by extending some wood from his hand in the shape of a rudimentary chisel. He scraped off about a foot's worth and rolled it up before tucking it into a wooden backpack that he also grew to hold his things for the journey.

As he walked along, he started to feel lonely. There weren't any aelves around here that he knew about, and he didn't exactly feel welcome in this part of aelheim. He'd always been the type to stay safe and send his thralls to do his dirty work. To be out here made him feel vulnerable. Not that he feared death – he often thought it would be fun to spend time as a wisp… but it wasn't something that he actively welcomed.

When he saw a flash of lightning he started to think that it might be better to find someplace to wait out a storm, if one was on the way. He'd look around for a cave because he didn't particularly like the idea of making a house out here. A cave would be much more easy to work with, and his potential risks would be less than hanging around in the middle of a strange forest.

If he couldn't find a cave then he'd seek out some kind of aelheim seqoia or cherry blossom that he could carve into the make a room-sized hideout for a while.


-x1 novice cast
-x1 apprentice cast

 

[Vicissitude]

Fall 25, year 124 of the third age​

It wasn't that the Aether-scarred island was entirely uninhabited– it was more that those who did spend time there were few and far between, on top of their trips always being fleeting. Staying too long often meant exposing oneself to being warped by Aether's raw potential. But with the bark he'd gathered safely stowed away, Kage was able to find a cave after a short chunk of time spent wandering through the ominously enchanted woods. He had been deposited somewhere not far from the base of the sole mountain range on the island– the hvasskálm range– making this task easy enough.

The cavern he'd just stepped into grew dark quickly. From where he stood near its mouth, he'd have trouble gauging how far it extended into the mountain. It was, however, better than being left out in the questionable weather; it'd started to rain in the minutes before he'd found this place, turning into an outright downpour by now. If he were to turn and look at it, even the rain seemed to shimmer with that same strange magic that'd managed to seep into everything here.

Kage could choose to wait here, or he could choose to push forward into the cave before him– though it might be wise to find a light source before doing the latter. Who knows, the magestone he was sent to find might lie somewhere within.

꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂​

 

[Kage]

Rain. He really had chosen a bad day to come out to fetch materials, or maybe this kind of weather was normal. Either way he was in a somewhat sour mood by the time he made it into the cave. He used the back of his hand to wipe away the water in his hair and on his face. He had shelter, that was good. His desire for food or drinking water was near nonexistent as well due to most of his energy coming from sunlight. The only wants he had were warmth and maybe some light.

The thought of rubbing some sticks together to make fire came across his mind, but he wasn't going to tire himself trying while the air got more moist by the minute.

"Stygian sap and magestone are all I need, assuming that the bark I obtained is acceptable. I don't think I'll find any sap until the rain stops… that leaves magestone."

He leaned against the cave wall and thought for a few minutes about a plan, then he kneeled down and slammed his hands into the ground. A tangle of cherry blossom petals and branches formed the rough shape of three man-sized dogs. He simultaneously linked to them and gave them a command.

"Seek out a stygian, obtain its sap, and bring it to me. If you cannot obtain its sap, stay at the tree. Defend each other from danger."

He had next to no expectations, but he planned on checking in on them via deadsight now and then to help him gather information for later. With any luck he would be able to narrow down which directions he ought to look in and which paths were dangerous. If not… well, he'd wasted saol on worse endeavors.

He turned his attention back to the interior of the cave. He couldn't very well see in the dark, and if these caves weren't bioluminescent like the ones he was more accustomed to then he was going to be hard pressed to make productive use of his time.

"Can't be helped," he said with a sigh, releasing another burst of saol from his body and forming another treant, this one much larger than the others. This one was humanoid, ten feet tall with four arms and thick hands that were meant to be torches. He ordered it to rub its hands together to try lighting his hands fire, and if successful he would have it lead the way into the cave. If not, well he'd at least have some company for later.

1121 wc so far

vitae be expensive yo

3x Journeyman druidism to make the dogs
3x novice vitae to raise the dogs
3x novice vitae to tether to the dogs
1x expert vitae command to the dogs
1x expert druidism to make the hulk
1x journeyman vitae to raise the hulk
1x journeyman vitae to tether the hulk
1x novice vitae to command the hulk

Total reserves spent:
Master x 1.36

Reserves left: 1.64