Closed The Legend

[Engill]

September 1, 124

Engill could feel the pulsation of her heart as she flew through the air with her back arched and her feet placed on the metal branch that she had made from ætumetal. The feeling of flying was the most exciting feeling, it was the best of the best. The branch below her shone and as she swayed it from side to side and in circles with the least of effort. She was able to learn it without any difficulty and could control it as she pleased when it was flying through the sky at a very high speed.

For the first time in what appeared to be a long time, she felt alive. The speed, the rush, the liberation it was all so wonderful. In her veins there was a new power, and for a second the hatred and the tiredness of the recent change were gone. This was the real happiness without any chemical compounds added to it.

The ground was getting closer to her and the trees and the hills below her were just green and brown silhouettes. She laughed, her pulse was synchronizing to the branch that was dancing to the rhythm of the music in her head. Every twist and turn was as if they were in harmony with the wind and she was the director of the play, her wantonness that was shaping the metal.

But oh no, the rollercoaster that had been the past season was beginning to slow down. She was going to a house, a small, old and very silent house which was located in the outskirts of a forest. She recognized it at once and her heart began to pound as she guided the branch down and slowed it down outside the house. The ætemetal crumbled as she alighted, but she could still sense the vibes of the trip.

This was Kage's home.

The legendary spy.

She had never laid her eyes on him but she knew who he was because he had been famous before she was born. Kage, the shadow who could move through any territory unseen, whose tales were whispered among the people who still remembered him. He was more of a myth than a elf, they said, who went off for years at a time on stints that spanned generations.

And now, here she was, standing just outside his home. She knew that he had just returned from a mission, one that, by conventional reckoning, started before she was born.

Engill hesitated. She could not comprehend as to why she had come here. It was possible that the enthusiasm of the ride had distracted her or…there was something within her that led her this way. The wind blew through the branches above her and in front of her the house was still and quiet.

What would he be like? What did a man, who spent his entire life in the darkness of obscurity look like? What would he have to tell after all these years?

She exhaled and her hands formed fists.

 

[Kage]

​

Kage was standing with his back turned to Engill as he held out a hand out in front of his chest and twisted it. In sync with his motions, a large chunk of wood tore from the tree that his house was attached to. The wood shifted and grew to an impressive size – larger than an average adult dragon. The task was always a straining one, both physically and mentally, but it helped that he was in his grove. Being one with the surrounding plants made it a lot easier to use glamour, after all.

The wood he worked was lined with cherry blossoms that were white and pink. Kage thought it was pretty, but he could see how some might thing it a little effeminate. No matter – by the time he was done with it, it'd be scary to anyone he used it against.

He let out a grunt and loosened his control of the wood for a moment, setting down the two legged chunk of wood onto the ground. Rebuilding an army was always difficult. It was a task that could take years, even decades and he'd started from scratch more times than he could count. It was a therapeutic ritual that made him feel at home, as he usually had to do this sort of thing after long missions.

His last mission had been spent with Cor'Norai. He'd spent so much time under the ocean that he didn't think he ever wanted to go back. During that time he hadn't been able to use his tethers lest they find out he was a necromancer. The mystics could, of course, see that he was full of saol but for all they knew, he was only a druid. He pushed the thoughts from his mind when he got the feeling that someone unexpected was in his grove.

He turned to see Engill standing there with the remains of what looked like aetumetal trailing down from the surrounding forest. It didn't take a genius to guess that she had likely used grown the metal and used that as a means to push herself through the air. It was a neat idea and keyed Kage into how skilled Engill must be as a druid.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to tell whether he ought to recognize the girl. He hadn't been home in hundreds of years – was this someone new? A baby? Or perhaps someone he'd known for thousands of years but with a modified look?

"Hello," he'd say with a wave and a nod before turning his attention back to the mass of wood. He held his hand back out and started twisting his hand, slowly morphing the two legged mass into one with four legs. Creating the general shape of a dragon was easy – it was the fine details that took time.

473

 

[Engill]

Engill just stood there with her mouth open for a moment. She watched as the large piece of wood started spinning and spiraling around. She was a fairly good druid as well, but the finesse was something she did not have yet. His work was quite interesting to observe, how much one can manage at once. She could never have thought that wood could be carved to such a grandeur, the cherry blossoms on the creation were delicate but large like the elf in front of her.

She stopped for a moment shifting her weight from one foot to the other and observing Kage as he continued with the work. This made her feel so small and young each time she saw him moving the wood with a lot of ease. But there was also something comforting in him, some sort of a force that she thought she required in her life.

Mustering the courage to step forward she did so, albeit slowly and cautiously, her desire to know overcoming her fear. "H-Hi," she said her voice was almost lost by the wind that was blowing through the trees.

She blushed hard as she saw Kage look at her for a moment before he looked away and went back to the wood. She squirmed in her seat and felt as though she didn't fit the environment but she could not contain the words. "I ~ I'm Engill. "

She felt her heart beat as she came closer, her eyes still on the huge figure of the wood dragon that he was carving She could not help but look at him and she was amazed "Are you Kage?" she asked, her voice was softer this time, she sounded like she was almost shy to ask.

She was standing there blushing and feeling somewhat ridiculous. That was a very strange question that you posed there. Of course, this had to be Kage. But now, when she found herself in the same spot with a man she had heard so much about, it seemed more like a dream. He had a certain air of command that she could have only gotten from millennia of being alive, a weight she could feel even if he did not speak.

 

[Kage]

​

[Sorry, I got the chance to describe his home and NPCs and I wanted to take the chance lol. This helped me iron out the sequence of events in my history]

Kage nodded at Engill's question and let her words hang in the air for a while as his face contorted with obvious effort. He had the basic shape of the dragon down, and now he simply willed it to increase in size. An adult dragon wasn't, truly, that impressive of a feat. Engill probably could have worked that much at once if she really wanted to, all it took was the desire to do so. Someone so young and inexperienced in combat likely wouldn't have needed to throw that much weight around. There was little reason to when there were so many more efficient ways of dealing with a threat that young aelves ought to be taught.

No, this dragon was excessive. Not just in size, but how ferocious it looked. As Kage worked it would be clear just how much detail he was capable of replicating. Every scale on the dragon's body looked like it could have come right off of a real dragon. The only indication that the scales were fake were the wooden color and texture that couldn't be corrected without some careful sanding. That was best left for finishing touches.

He let the mostly formed dragon rest and then let out a sigh. He wiped some sweat from his brow. It was late in the night, a few hours before sunrise and he really wanted to get this dragon done before bed. Still, he couldn't ignore his guest forever. He settled for the unrefined appearance and tethered to it, though he allowed it to remain dormant for now.

While he'd worked he'd thought about what to say to the girl. Was she just curious about him? He had expected her to be on her way but she'd stayed.

"Is there something you need, child?" he asked. He assumed based on how nervous she'd sounded that they'd never met. "I am Kage, though you should call me Fadir. Come with me, we can talk inside."

He liked being addressed by his surname by the extremely young, especially those who he hadn't developed a relationship with yet. He felt it was a good compromise instead of asking people address him by his titles. That would have been most preferred, alas he was no stickler for that sort of thing in a casual environment.

He motioned for Engill to follow him to his home so he could properly host her. It was nothing special, really. He had entrusted most of his belongings to friends and family while he was away. Giving away his collections before a big mission was another tradition he had. His home was mostly empty and due for some new things.

The inside was spacious, due to the aforementioned lack of belongings. There was some old fashioned furniture here and there. One might have thought such an ancient and neglected place would be full of dust, but the interior was spotless. An aelf, White, with almost unnaturally white skin was dusting in the corner when the door opened – she would kneel when Kage entered.

A fox eared inari, Fluffy, who appeared like a human aside form her ears and tails, popped her head out from another room and saw him enter as well. She started singing one of his favorite, more relaxing tunes. She danced as an entertainer might even as Kage walked past her towards the dining area.

It would likely become clear that Kage collected more than treasures – he liked to collect pets as well. He had more, but these two were his main ones. There was a third favorite of his on the roof of his home in a glass enclosure. Droplet was a Cor'Norai that he'd captured on his way back from his mission, but she had yet to be broken in, so to speak. She spent most of her time in her fish tank wishing for freedom that she would probably never have.

Kage would sit on one end of his large dining table and motion for Engill to sit as well, wherever she chose. White hurried to her feet and went to go fetch some food without so much as needing an order. He'd taken her as a child and hadn't spent much time with her. He'd gotten her just before his last mission started so she'd been raised almost entirely by one of his friends who had, apparently, done a fairly good job.

1188

 

[Engill]

Engill had always respected the kind of elves like Kage who sacrificed their lives for their country, their people. It was not his fame that made her interested in him but the fact that he lived and could die for a purpose. Kage had been on a mission longer than she had lived and the idea of such dedication made her breathless. She could sense that in him, the kind of experience and reputation that one day she wanted to possess.

Engill followed him inside without saying a word, she was still a little scared but her curiosity got the better of her. She could not help but look around the house, trying to focus on his face and not on the rest of the interior. There were not many pieces of furniture in the house, but every item was as clean as if it had just been polished, and the whole place had a slightly sterile look to it. The first thing that she noticed was a elf cleaning the corner, she was a white skinned aelf with snow white skin and a perfect posture. This was the first time Engill had ever met someone like her and the pale skin that was stretched over her face made Engill do a double-take. The skin of the aelf was so under the dim light. When Kage came in she kneeled and the respect she paid to him only enhanced the aura of the unknown that was around him.

Next, there was another character, an inari, who was dancing and singing, her ears and tails of the fox were moving to the tune of the song. The music was beautiful and for a short while Engill was able to relax and observe the ballet of the inari. The song played and accompanied the silence of the night, and Engill had to smile. The music had a certain effect on her she felt calm and content like she was in the right place at the right time.

She followed Kage further into the house, walking steadily and deliberately. What it is like to be existing under a man like Kage, to be in his domain? When they reached the eating area Kage sat at the end of the long table and Engill after a moment of confusion sat next to Kage. As she sat, she attempted to calm herself down as her hands fiddled on her lap. The aelf, White, immediately left to get food showing that everything this home's operations were well lubricated.

"I'm um… I'm Engill," she said, trying to introduce herself again, but she was not sure whether he had heard it the first time. The blush returned to her face and she turned to look at Kage before returning her gaze back to the table. It might even seem like she had a crush on him.

"Well, uh, I, uh… I wanted to meet you," she said, twirling the cuff of her shirt nervously. It was quite awkward to say it out loud but she could not deny the fact. "You have helped our country a lot. I... I wish to be like you someday. "

"That dragon… what were you doing with it?" She asked her voice was soft but there was interest in her question. "Is it for decoration or did you have some other purpose for it?"

 

[Kage]

Kage looked Engill over, examining her closely for the first time. She was such a tiny thing for an aelf. Pretty, then again a lot of aelves had youthful appearances. On top of that, all of them could modify their appearance with the work of a maltrician. There was no reason to look conventionally ugly in aelven society.

He considered her words, immediately wondering if she was someone sent here to spy on him. Sending a pretty young woman to soften someone up was espionage 101. He could think of a dozen reasons why someone would want to get some information from him, but he wasn't gullible enough to divulge any secrets. He dismissed the thought from his mind for the moment and decided to humor her.

"Well met, Engill," he said with a slight smile. "So long as there are those like you who are inspired by my actions, that makes it all worth it. However, if you wish to sacrifice for your country, there are many opportunities to do so without partaking in my particular line of work." He was being humble, but he enjoyed being recognized. White came over and set some food on the table – fruit and some bread. They would be able to smell something cooking in another room, probably some sort of meat but it'd take time to be ready.

"Decoration?" he asked with a light chuckle. "No, that is a treant. A big one, but a treant all the same. I'm sure you are familiar with vitae, no? I will put that dragon to use, either to do battle or serve in my alkahest mine. I had to give up my tethers for my last mission, you see, so I must rebuild what I once had."

He cleared his throat then continued, "but enough about me. What about you? I assume you were born during my absence. What are your interests? What has your life been like? Tell me, are there any interesting faelnir you've come across? It's always a bit of an adjustment when I return home. A lot can change over three hundred years." As usual his line of question was multi purposed. He did care about what she had to say, but mostly because he would use her answers to gauge whether something was amiss in aelheim that he might not have picked up on his own.

1585

 

[Engill]

Engill nodded slowly, her attention being drawn as Kage started to explain about vitae. It was grand to conceive a dragon made from a treant and it was magnificent. She smiled gently, the conversation gave her an opportunity to demonstrate her knowledge. "I do know about vitae," she said, her voice was very calm, but Kage could probably sense a little excitement in it. "I have always found it fascinating to make plants come alive and use them as guards of the forests, and even scouts…."

She was very expressive when she spoke. She had to fight to stop herself from explaining to him all the lessons she had attended and how the elders brought life into the very soil that they tread on. But for all her interest, she had not gone into it as deep as she would have wished to. "I have not wanted to learn vitae however, Most of my learning has been on flora magic, the nature of the plants, how they grow, how they can be used for healing or causing harm."

She looked down and focused on the bread that White had provided for her and poking at the edge of the bread with her fingers. She then ate some. "Well, maybe, it is logical to know the plants first before worrying about their mobility. I never thought treants could be so beautiful. All the scales you have made are wonderful. I have always looked at treants as guards, the immovable ones, but I never thought that they could be works of art."

The next question that Kage asked her made her stop for a while. She was not accustomed to discussing herself and not like this. She looked at him and thought why is he so eager to know but she replied in affirmative. "I had a normal childhood" was all she could say. "Perhaps, I have not had much of a life so far," she said rather shyly. "Not like you anyway," she looked around the room and felt intimidated by the experience of the man in front of her.

When Kage asked about faelnir, her mind went straight to the one name that she had been interested in lately. "I know only one faelnir, and that is Abraia, a crested crafter. They say that she was a dragon's servant, but now she is on her own. I thought to visit her once to see if her skill was truly as impressive as the rumors but I decided against it."

"Why do you ask about faelnir?" she asked.

 

[Kage]

Kage was glad to hear that the quality of aelven education seemed to be as strong as ever, though it was clear that Engill didn't want to go into too much detail. Perhaps she thought she would bore him, or was not so confident in what she knew. He could relate, but he was ancient and a couple hours spent discussing such topics would not be a great waste of his time.

He smiled at her compliment and said, "I try to make my treants look somewhat appealing, if I have the time. I find them much easier to put to work when I use familiar anatomies."

"If flora magic interests you, there's no shame in dedicating yourself to it," he continued, "there's no shame in being young. And I ask about faelnir because I like to keep tabs on the interesting ones. I'm sure others do as well, to make sure they don't become problems. Crested slaves are particularly difficult."

He thought about why nobody had dealt with Abraia yet. He supposed there was no real need to step in unless she first stepped out of line. Had she wriggled herself free of her bonds with the dragon? That was a very Crest-like thing to do.

"Thank you for bringing this woman to my attention. I think the two of us should pay this Abraia a visit. Have you ever owned a faelnir?" Kage got to his feet and motioned for Fluffy to stop singing and dancing, then waved her over.

"Engill, where does this faelnir live?"


1843

 

[Engill]

Engill slowly shook her head and looked Kage in the eyes. "No," she replied. "I've never owned a human." She said it flatly, but there was something in her voice that told me she didn't like the idea of owning anyone. The idea did not go down well with her even though she understood it was part of the world she was living in. She had always been aware that faelnir was adopted by aelves but she had never thought that she would become one.

Her thoughts then went back to Abraia as Kage said that he would pay her a visit. Engill had never seen the faelnir, he only heard about her and how she was slowly becoming one of the best crafter out there. Græntún was close by, but the thought of going there with someone like Kage excited her, but also made her feel uncomfortable. She did not know what he wanted to do, but she could not help herself to ask him.

"Abraia lives in Græntún," Engill said, her voice was calm even though she was a little confused about where the conversation was leading to. She took a pause and then asked the question that was in her mind since Kage mentioned the faelnir. I asked him, "What do you intend to do to her?"

 

[Kage]

Fluffy went to go fetch Sylvia, filled her in, etc. Sylvia moved to start creating a portal, but Kage held up a hand to make her wait. He turned to Engill and said, "I intend to meet her. If this faelnir is gaining a reputation then it's only a matter of time before she is sundered or someone else claims her. If I believe she is up to par, I may bring her under my wing. Or, perhaps, she could be your first faelnir."

Kage was ever interested in adding a new pet to his collection. He only had four at the moment, and one of those was more of an assistant. He missed the days where he had dozens upon dozens of unique specimens. He particularly liked breaking in new pets. He liked punishing them, and seeing the rebellious light die from their eyes. It was a guilty pleasure of his. A crested faelnir sounded like a challenge. That being said, he saw an opportunity for Engill to learn from owning Abraia.

He ran his hand along Fluffy's tail as he thought more deeply about his idea. The inari had to suppress a wince as her tails were quite sensitive, not that Kage cared. Then, he turned to Engill and said, "actually, I ought to get back to finishing my dragon. Getting my mine up and running should take priority. Would you mind fetching this faelnir for me? I will send some treants with you and Fluffy here can provide transportation, though she may not be able to hold the portal long enough for you to return."

He held out a hand and produced four wooden copies of himself that stood like statues until he animated them with vitae. He mentally commanded them to follow Engill and that their purpose was to protect her at all costs. It was a semi-draining order, but it was still better than having to do the work himself. Plus, he would be keeping an eye on them and could always issue updated commands if necessary.

Sylvia would wave her hands to open the portal, assuming Engill agreed to the task. If she didn't, then Kage would tell her that he needed to get back to his work.

Casts so far:
1 master cast to create the mass for the dragon (actual cost is ¼ due to his grove)
Took an unnecessary break to converse with Engill so…
1 master cast to finish shaping the dragon (actual cost is ¼ due to his grove)
4 journeyman casts to create x4 regular treants (actual cost is ¼ due to his grove)
1 master cast to tether the colossus treant
4 novice casts to tether the x4 regular treants
1 expert cast to command his regular treants (I'm assuming one command can be applied to any number of thralls)

He should be pretty low on saol at this point, maybe an expert cast or so before going into mageburn


2207 wc

 

[Engill]

Engill was thrilled at the opportunity to be given an errand. What better way was there to garuntee that she could meet him again later? She rose from the chair almost immediately and her eyes moved between him and Fluffy.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "I will get Abraia for you and would be happy to take ownership of her."

As Fluffy started to open the portal, Engill looked at Kage one more time before she felt her heart racing with excitement. With a smile on her lips and a brief glance at the treants that followed her, she moved through the portal, determined to make a good impression.

 

[Kage]

Thread Title: The Legend

Thread Summary: Engill and Kage meet, they talk about magic a little, then come to the decision to go fetch Abraia.

Expected Rewards:
Engill: 22 xp for 2160 wc
Kage: 22 xp for 2200 wc, +1 Colossal Treant + 4 Treants

Thread Link: https://antarok.net/threads/the-legend.384/#post-2068
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[Vicissitude]

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❀ Rewards ❀
Requested rewards granted!

❀ Comments ❀

This is technically fine as is, but because this was written before the conversations about granting Vitæ constructs senses, if Kage wants to utilize these specific crafts with life-like perception he will need to go back and modify them accordingly. Keep in mind, once Kage meets any Maltrician, say, Velho, he could use Malediction to resize organic parts. For example, Kage wouldn't need a dragon's body parts to work with the Colossal Treant; he could use the pieces of a man or animal that have been grown to fit in the construct's wooden skull by Velho.

Also, how was Engill flying? I might just be dumb but I'm not sure how that worked mechanically. Was she thrown by a branch? How'd she modulate her speed? Depending on how that worked, that part might need to be modified; normally to fly, you need the "Flying" skill, too. Let me know how that worked, but everything else in the thread is fine.

I did have laugh at the conspiring to capture Abraia; poor Abraia...

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