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| Human Divinity; Creating life has become normal | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 8 2009, 06:38 AM (2,020 Views) | |
| Teslyn | Apr 15 2009, 03:01 PM Post #21 |
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a fleeting presence
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There were those - a pair, one who Zeth had originally yelled at and then another who had apparently killed her Fyora, her own partner - that were already finished with creating perfect Creations. Meliil herself still struggled with hers, attention divided between her waning strength and the bout of coughing that was sure to come and the actual Shaping she was attempting at the moment. Her brown furrowed with concentration, she was not nervous- at least, not like she was before - but she was wary. Wary of what would happen if she didn't finish in time, and lost control over her creation. Long moments punctuated by the completion of others passed before she finally dropped her arm with a sigh of relief and took a step back. She studied it critically; it was red-skinned with claws and fangs and resembled the ones in the book, but there was something... meek about it. It certainly didn't look like it would suddenly lash out and breathe fire at anything - friend and foe alike - though the book had described them as guardians and soldiers. Huh. Meliil didn't have much time to ponder why when she broke into more coughs; the Fyora watched her in simple-minded confusion, its head tilted to the side much like a pet dog. It held out an arm. Tentatively, Meliil put weight on it and when she found that it did not give way, she leaned on her Fyora until the coughing subsided and she could stand straight on her own two feet. |
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| Silvermourn | Apr 15 2009, 08:20 PM Post #22 |
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The Redneck, the Cynic, the Nerd, and the Hopeless Romantic
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As he watched his partner's careful construction of a creature which when finished was nearly as perfect as his own had been Bayle realized that he very much wanted to get to know his capable partner. His own creature was well past finished and stood as if ready to receive his orders, but for some reason the creature disgusted him because of it's lack of originality. The thing was exactly as a Fyora should be, and with something that was nearly exactly the same standing on a few feet away from it he could not help but think that it hadn't been worth the time or the portion of himself that had been used to craft it. As he watched the other Fyora died in a sudden and bloody manner, and it died under the stress of powers he had never witnessed before. As he realized that his partner had killed her creation with some strange sort of magic he only wanted to speak to her more. She was unique, not like the other Shapers and not like him either, that in itself endeared her to him somewhat. Whatever she had used he was nearly certain he wouldn't be able to replicate the action. While he felt that he was a skilled Shaper he was completely incapable of wielding any other kind of magic and almost totally unskilled aside from a slight talent with his whip and only basic survival skills. Above that for some reason the act of shaping affected him in a way that it didn't others, for some reason every time he tried to wield his own essence or any essence to shape he was forced to fight an uphill battle against the power. Without doing that he could do nothing with essence that didn't almost instantly cripple him temporarily. As he took momentary satisfaction in his teacher's appraisal and dismissal of his creature Bayle readied himself to unshape the Fyora. Hopefully taking some of his essence back into himself would be enough to get the queasy feeling out from the pit of his stomach. Ever since he had shaped the first he had felt dizzy and less than himself from the use of the essence and the loss of it. Now with a second creature already created and before him he felt even less and twice as queasy. As he moved to untie the binding of essence that was his creation he realized he had not taken the time to master his essence before unshaping the creature. If he had continued to hold his power he was certain that even through the haze of dizziness and nausea he would have been able to shape another creature or unshape this one. Yet as he realized that the essence was going to come untied one way or another he reached out in sudden shock to try and catch the power. Like leaping for a falling object and missing the fall was the worst part. Suddenly as he missed catching the essence and found himself suddenly locked in the fight with it and losing the nausea and dizziness struck so heavily that he nearly came off his feet. Brilliant eyes passed before his vision and suddenly he felt himself falling. Just barely he managed to catch himself on a nearby desk, scattering journals and books across the room as he did. As the essence broke away from his grasp the shock of the thing sent a bolt of pain through his mind and left him with a headache so terrible it was nearly crippling. Nausea coupled with the pain and he nearly spilled his lunch upon the ground in an instant, yet he managed to hold it in, even as he just barely held himself up by the edge of the desk. With his loss to the essence his Fyora came unshaped so suddenly that it burst across the room in a violent spray of viscous essence. While not dangerous the event was humiliating and through the nausea Bayle groaned and slumped to a sitting position before the desk, wiping essence from his face and tossing it to the ground. He wouldn't be able to touch his essence for a while, and he wasn't even sure he would be able to draw it from the pool if asked at that moment. His cold eyes stared sightlessly and dizzily through the double vision of the headache towards the ceiling. Punishment was probably in order but it didn't matter, they would use his whip and if he could he'd find someone to use healing essence eventually. He himself was as incapable as manipulating essence to heal as he was of wielding magic. |
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"I mourn that which may have been but will never be." "Stupidity is a wound that bleeds forever; Intelligence is a blade that stays forever sharp" "An armed man will kill and unarmed man with monotonous regularity" "Nothing adds a little class to a sniper course like a babe in a Ghillie suit." "You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it." "Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets. I may get killed with my own gun, but he's gonna have to beat me to death with it, 'cause it's going to be empty." | |
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| Dark Jack | Apr 16 2009, 04:12 AM Post #23 |
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The Phantom Poster
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Leaving the little Gyl to drag off the corpse of Wintou's Fyora, Zeth continued walking around the Shaper Hall, examining the work of everyone, and he noticed that the overly nervous girl from before, who had been so careful in forming her Creation, had finished Shaping it and was not leaning towards it while coughing violently. Zeth had to admit that he was quite impressed - rarely had he seen a Creation that was so entirely bound to its Shaper's will, so obedient and loyal that it would just stand there while its maker was practically coughing her lungs up. Whether the girl was coughing because of exhaustion, or for the same reason she had coughed during the rest of the lesson - it was starting to trouble Zeth, he had to admit - he did not know, but even if it was out of exhaustion, she still showed a great deal of promise in making such a Fyora. She clearly lacked the massive volume of Essence that Bayle had, but she definitely had a mastery of control that almost bested his. Zeth walked a little closer to examine the beast... fascinating. The Fyora did not seem hostile at all, yet he had no doubt that it would be fully able to rip Zeth apart and leave nothing but his charred bones if the girl told it to. And still, although the Fyora seemed so perfectly loyal, Zeth thought he saw hints of personality in it. This girl had certainly Shaped a masterpiece. "Good work," he told her, padding her back partially because she was coughing so badly, partially to show his approval, "An excellent first Creation." Nearly everyone had managed to Shape a Fyora now, and most had also already absorbed their Creation again, and Zeth was already starting to relax, getting ready to be off duty and perhaps visit the town of Graymarsh and see if he could obtain some items he would need for the next class, when they would work more aimed at Essence-control and less on Shaping. It would not be with these people, though, since they were all going to the Agent, Ferai's class tomorrow to start learning the finesses of 'ordinary' magic... But he relaxed too early, because suddenly, Bayle's Fyora exploded spontaneously, and the shock of the very event, combined with the surprise of getting hit by a glob of steaming Essence in the face, was enough to have Zeth stumble backwards, trip over a bench and fall to the ground, hitting his head severely on the hard stone floor. Specks of light danced before his eyes as he tried to remain conscious, but the damage had already been done. Zeth had lost concentration, and in seconds, his very quickly and basically Shaped Thadd let out a furious roar, swinging its fists around insanely, leaving little doubt that it had gone completely rogue. "Curses!" Zeth muttered, trying to get up, but before he had the chance, the Thadd flew at him, its eyes filled with rage and baring its teeth, and kicked the discipline wand out of his hand. Zeth tried to regain control over the Creation, but it was simply too rogue for even his will to reach it anymore. That was far from ordinary behavior for a Creation... something was wrong. |
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| Teslyn | Apr 16 2009, 09:25 AM Post #24 |
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a fleeting presence
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Meliil nodded her thank-you, unable to gasp out an answer, when Zeth patted her on the back again and complemented her Creation. The Fyora, for its part, continued to stand there stoically, staring at her in a disconcerting fashion with unblinking eyes and something that seemed almost like... concern. Were they supposed to be like that? Concerned? And over something so little, too - sure, coughing was annoying but she had always had a seemingly perpetual problem with it. It wasn't until she was actually sick that Meliil began to worry. This attack just happened to be particularly long; but it, like all the others, eventually stopped and she was able to breathe properly again, only a little worse for wear. The Fyora lowered its arm and Meliil stood by it, hesitantly unwilling to absorb it again (it almost seemed like a sin to do such a thing to something that was so simple-minded it was almost ... cute...) and glad that she hadn't when the man who had created a blue Fyora earlier's new Fyora exploded, Essence flying everywhere. The spontaneous combustion forced Zeth back into a stumble, and Meliil watched wide-eyed with horror as his Creation suddenly went crazy and attacked him. She was suddenly glad that she had hesitated to let her Fyora go- a gasp of fear from her was all it needed before it darted forward, claws out and threateningly sharp, breathing fire in an attempt to intercept the Thadd and hold it off. Meliil, afraid that it would attack both Zeth and the Thadd alike, shouted out a still-raspy, "Careful!" The Fyora gave what seemed to be an almost imperceptible nod before engaging Zeth's uncontrollable Creation. |
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| Oracle | Apr 16 2009, 11:24 AM Post #25 |
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Head of Diplomatic Affairs
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Wintou was a bit regretful that she acted rashly in her decision to destroy her Fyora, but it had also been formed from the essence pool. If she kept a creature she wanted it to be of her own making, from her own essence. She watched as Bayle made another creature. This one more along the lines of what was expected. She could tell from the look on his face that he was disgusted with having to stay within the guidelines of the class and Shaper rules. The effort to create the second one seemed to be too much, he looked as if he might pass out at any given moment. The last thing she expected was an exploding Fyora. She gasped when the entire side of her robe was covered in a mass of steaming essence. Her attention was soon drawn to Zeth when she heard a bench tumble. There were a few chuckles from somewhere in the room, but she wasted no time searching them out. Her expression held only deep concern as she heard the crack of Zeth's head hitting the stone floor. It wasn't until she reached his side that she heard the commotion of the Thadd and Fyora. It took but a moment for her to see Zeth had lost his control of the beast with his fall. Without a thought she stretched her hand toward the Thadd dispatching it as she had her own Fyora. "Zeth are you okay? Do not try to get up yet, your head needs tending." As she placed her hand to the back of his head, almost without thought her palm warmed and the healing was over. She smiled, speaking low, "this was almost an exact reenactment of what made me late to your class. Though the child's injury was nigh unto death, I cannot help myself to leave one in pain. It was worth the risk of a whipping to take the minute to heal the boy." She pulled on Zeth's arm as she stood helping him to rise. At this point her anger at the class came forth. Since she did not know who had thought any of this humorous she merely looked disappointedly at each of them. "There is nothing remotely funny about human injury. Whoever you are that saw any humor here should be shamed. Without Meliil's quick action it is possible you might be lying dead on the floor instead of the Thadd." |
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I Role Play because the people in my head tell me to. TUESDAY AFTERNOON It is God who can transform the lowest into the highest, who humbles the proud, and causes that which is in darkness to become light.~Horace ![]() | |
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| Dark Jack | Apr 17 2009, 01:34 AM Post #26 |
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The Phantom Poster
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With a groan, his hand automatically finding its way to the back of his head, Zeth first sat upright, staring at the dead Thadd for a moment, then the nervous girl's Fyora and finally Wintou. Truly, he wanted to feel grateful for their instant assistance, he wanted to be happy that he had survived the encounter with a rogue Thadd that had caught him off guard, he wanted to be proud that two of his students had been capable enough to defeat the Creation, and one of them even healed him and was enraged when an apprentice in the crowd started laughing. But as much as he wanted them to be, it was not gratefulness, happiness nor pride that were the dominant feelings for him - it was anger, annoyance and wonder. Zeth was an experienced Shaper, a full Shaper, even. He had been born in the capitol and thus trained as a Shaper at the Marple Halls, the best Shaping Academy there was, with Balthazar himself as his Shaping instructor. He had been promoted to a full Shaper in a record early age, and had been commented for his ability to control Creations. So why had Zeth, with just such a minor distraction as nearly losing consciousness, lost control over his Thadd? It could have been a flaw in the design of his rapidly Shaped Thadd, but it was unlikely. Very unlikely, when Zeth had made it. There was something entirely wrong here... perhaps whatever just happened to Zeth's Thadd had something to do with the increased number of rogue Creations in the area? "Thank you," he muttered to the nervous girl and Wintou as he finally stood up, swaying slightly on his feet before he regained a sense of balance, "I... That was unusual. I thought I had a better hold on that Thadd's will than that." "No!" a loud cry echoed through the Shaping Hall as the Servile, Gyl, returned after having dragged off Wintou's dead Fyora. Now the little Creation stood in the door to the Shaping all and stared at the cave-room in disbelief, "Essence everywhere! Dead Thadd! I... I...!" "Just start cleaning, Gyl," Zeth sighed, and with an obedient nod, but a suffering sob, Gyl went to fetch the mop and bucked again to start the work, and Zeth would have sworn he even heard the Servile speak the sentence "How I get it off the ceiling..." "I think that is good for today," Zeth announced to the class, rubbing the back of his head again, "I certainly need some rest to recover from that... event. For those of you who are here for the first time today, there are rooms you can stay and sleep in on the apprentice's hall, in the eastern part of the Academy. You may walk around freely in the area, but stay out of the teacher's hall and the restricted research areas. Class dismissed." |
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| Teslyn | Apr 17 2009, 06:56 AM Post #27 |
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a fleeting presence
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The moment the danger was over with, the Fyora lumbered back to her and Meliil got a sense of... pride from him - it. It came back to her, and she couldn't help but smile at it because she felt like it was going to start wagging its tail. When a student laughed, the Fyora swiveled its head at an alarming speed, staring the person down, fangs bared, as Wintou admonished them sharply, waiting until he had stopped before returning to stand by Meliil and settling back on its haunches. She still hadn't absorbed it when Zeth ended class, and was loathe to do so. Waiting until most of the students had filed out, she approached Zeth hesitantly, the Fyora matching her every step. "Zeth," she began, slowly. "Do -- do I have to destroy it?" It wasn't her Essence the Fyora was made of, but it was still her Creation and she was already beginning to feel attached to it. It must have realized she was talking about it because if shifted closer to her, as if seconding her obvious reluctance. Were they supposed to do that? Edited by Teslyn, Apr 17 2009, 03:22 PM.
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| Oracle | Apr 17 2009, 07:37 PM Post #28 |
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Head of Diplomatic Affairs
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"Thank you Zeth. I hope we have the chance to study with you again." She headed back to Bayle, but after a few steps she turned back to Zeth. "I left a dead Fyora in town this morning, after it nearly killed the boy. It too was rogue. I could not see it's keeper." She paused, swallowing hard, not sure if she was getting herself in more trouble, but Zeth seemed to be concerned about rogue creations, "I unhealed it as well." Not much frightened her, but the fact that the Teacher was concerned about rogues was enough to shake her sensibilities. She resumed her walk to Bayle. Slipping off her robe she handed it to Gyl, "Could you dispose of this as well Gyl? I don't think it is repairable." "Bayle, would you mind exploring a bit with me? I need to find a shop and purchase a new robe." In an undertone she mentioned his cape and the fact that Zeth had told him to get a proper robe. "Though I find the cape rather dashing." She smiled. "It must be very difficult to create from your own essence. I hope I get the chance to try tomorrow." As she was walking away she turned to the nervous girl and her Fyora, "Meliil? Would you like to join us?" |
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I Role Play because the people in my head tell me to. TUESDAY AFTERNOON It is God who can transform the lowest into the highest, who humbles the proud, and causes that which is in darkness to become light.~Horace ![]() | |
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| Silvermourn | Apr 17 2009, 08:45 PM Post #29 |
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The Redneck, the Cynic, the Nerd, and the Hopeless Romantic
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Setting on the floor hands gently massaging his temples as he watched the events before him with the distant attention of one who was still dazed from the pain. Through the haze he watched in horror as his exploding Fyora knocked the instructor to the ground and released the angry Thaad to do as it pleased. Another student, and an exceptionally frail one managed to direct her Fyora to attack the thing in turn. Watching Bayle's only thought was disgust as he realized he had no creation there to aid in destroying the thing. As he watched distancing himself from the essence within him seemed to calm the wild pulsing of his brain inside his skull. By the time his partner approached him his head was calmed to the point where he could focus on a single point before him long enough to focus a clear image, and his mind was stable enough that he could form intelligible words. So as she approached he shakily raised himself to his feet by using the desk to support his weight. Even as he began to stand he regained a measure of the Shaper charisma. Letting his cloak settle around him he ran a hand through his hair and inhaled deeply, slowly exhaling the breath with a shudder. He was stilling feeling sick and weaker then he should, but he was happy with the regained composure, and hopefully the others wouldn't notice his weakness. As for his partner and the idea of robes, well it was a decent one and any robes he had now probably wouldn't fit him. Extending his hand to them woman he smiled a weak smile that only barely touched his cold eyes. Nothing truly seemed to touch his eyes anymore, he wasn't truly cold, but his strange sense of composure seemed to make it that way. When he spoke his voice was warm though, he felt that he could get along with this person, she worked with a measure of skill, and in her own way she was powerfully unique. " I'm sad to hear that you already know my name and I seem to have missed yours." Reluctantly he added to the last in response to her statement about shaping. " They tell me it isn't as difficult for others as it is for me. It's been said that I fight myself, and I think today's incident is proof of that. I'd be happy to explore with you, and I insist that you allow me to at least reimburse you for the robe." |
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"I mourn that which may have been but will never be." "Stupidity is a wound that bleeds forever; Intelligence is a blade that stays forever sharp" "An armed man will kill and unarmed man with monotonous regularity" "Nothing adds a little class to a sniper course like a babe in a Ghillie suit." "You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it." "Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets. I may get killed with my own gun, but he's gonna have to beat me to death with it, 'cause it's going to be empty." | |
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| Dark Jack | Apr 18 2009, 12:52 AM Post #30 |
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The Phantom Poster
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Those three, the most remarkable of the apprentices, Wintou, Bayle and the nervous girl, seemed to be standing around, even as the other apprentices were leaving. Still shaken by the sudden meeting between the floor and the back of his head, not to mention having a rogue Thadd of his own making practically stand on his chest and trying to spread Zeth's brain over as big an area as possible, Zeth was not sure if he could handle any more questions or horrid news today. Nevertheless, when the nervous girl approached him, it was with a question. "No, you don't have to," he told her, "It is your Creation, and it does not violate any of the Shapers' Laws, so it is entirely up to you. But it seems faĆrly intelligent, and fiercely loyal to you. Such a combination is rare. You should keep that in mind when you make your decision." Next Wintou spoke to him, and Zeth could not help it but to chuckle at her first words. She hoped they would have a chance to study with him again? Did she think that they would have only one Shaping class, and then they were ready to be full Shapers? Or did she think that the Academy made a habit of replacing loyal Shapers who acted as instructors, just because of single incidents? Zeth would undoubtedly get an reprimand for having lost control of his Creation, thus putting himself and the apprentices in danger, but the Council would not take away his position. All Shapers had Creations that occasionally went rogue, it was not an uncommon thing. But this was actually the first of Zeth's to do so. And it troubled him... he had a ominous feeling about it. He just hoped that it was because he had been careless that the Thadd had went rogue, and not because of... outside influence. Wintou kept talking, telling him that she had killed a rogue Fyora back in the town of Graymarsh the same way she had killed her own here, and Zeth's Thadd. She referred to it as 'unhealing', a concept Zeth had never heard of before. Healing as a natural talent for a Shaper, since it was mostly far easier to repair what already was than making something new entirely, and it drained less Essence, too. But unhealing? That even sounded odd. Zeth noted to himself that he would have to ask Ferai whether such magic could actually be wielded effectively, and if it could, if it truly could kill apparently anything in an instant. If that was the case, it seemed Wintou had powers beyond what Zeth usually saw, even in Shapers. When Wintou handed Gyl her robes, the Servile obediently accepted them and bowed to her, muttering the phrase "I live to serve," but Zeth noticed the desperate look on the Servile's face. That was odd, too. Gyl usually was as all Serviles were made to be, literally happy to serve their makers and with no higher purpose in life than to work for the Shapers and their human caretakers. But today he seemed... tired? But Zeth did not want to make a big deal out of it, since Gyl disposed of the robe as he had been told to and started cleaning the Shaping Hall again. That would undoubtedly take all day. Meliil - that was what the nervous girl was called, according to Wintou. Good, now Zeth had been wondering about that all day... good to know the name of the ones that had just saved his life. Wintou, Meliil and Bayle. What an odd band... Nevertheless, Zeth was still grateful, and reaching to the table with all the Shaping equipment, he grabbed a fist-sized pod and threw it to Bayle. "Here," Zeth told him, "Drink this, and it should restore your Essence and remove that sense of being less and weaker." To demonstrate, Zeth grabbed a pod himself, removed to cork and took a long draw, instantly feeling as strong as he had been before he had Shaped his Thadd. |
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