Lord of Azure Flame: Chapter 7: Injury, Exhaustion, Renewal

[Ansem]

Helios went up to Isotov. "We will keep our crimson tomes" Helios said taking out his Elwind tome. "You do have a fire tome other then Proxima do you"?

[Snowy_One]

"Aiya!" exclaimed Esphyr, startled at the other girls presence. "Oh please, help me out! I'm... It's... It's you and Daiman who are meant to be, not Daiman and I. Please, help me out! You know more about love than me. Please... Help me Aiya! You're my only hope!"

OOC: SHOPPING TIME! YAY!

[Phoenix]

Iso took out his normal fire tome, and handed it to Helios

Iso: Don't lose that. It belonged to someone I cared about.

Irina: Don't blast anything, okay?

Stephanie: (Oh goodness! Where will we stay? The incident that Iso caused at the inn! There is no way we could possibly return there. We should begin searching for another place at once!) Ixion!

Ixion: Hm?

Stephanie: Go and find another inn, hotel, or someplace we can lodge for the night.

Ixion: I'll see to that in a little while.

Stephanie: In a little while? :o Urgh

[Ether]

"You care about him a lot,you don't want to hurt him,and because he cares about me,you don't want to hurt me either.Esphyr...you are lying to yourself.You love him,I can see that,you can see that,he can see that...but you would give that up,give yourself up,because you don't think you are worth the effort."

Aiya said,holding Esphyr ever closer,Damian glad she was on his side in this,and he stood next to them.

"I told you the same thing,Esphyr...you are worth a lot more than you think you are." Damian added,hoping not to seem too awkward.

"If you want my advice,Esphyr..." Aiya began again,coming in close to Esphyr's ear; "Give it all you've got,and if you want something that is being openly offered to you,then take it." She told Esphyr,and pulled her back a little,causing both to fall onto the bed.

"I told myself I was going to do something special tonight...looks like I may have found what." Aiya said,looking down at Esphyr,grabbing Damian by the hand and sitting him down next to them.

"So Esphyr,just go with the flow,is my advice,I guess...just let things happen."

[Ansem]

OOC:

Helios handed his Elwind tome to Isotov. "Wind is very easy to cast" Helios said. "It wont go out of control". "It is that crimson tome you need to get a hold of".

Edited June 6, 2010 by Kai-Sama

[Phoenix]

Ixion: Proxima cannot be brought into submission ... not entirely. The fragmented seal in Iso's mind has made certain of that.

[Ansem]

"So it is powered by rage" Helios asked. "I seen him use it twice". "Both times he was enraged". "If that is the case then the weapons must be connected to our souls". "You said not entirely". "Please do explain".

[Phoenix]

Before Ixion said anything else, Iso interjected.

Iso: Proxima ... is being adversely effected by what happened to my mind. It's power is always trying to escape. I've lost my ability to sense myself, so whenever I become ... startled to a certain degree, Proxima overpowers my will to suppress it, and then ... well you've seen what happens.

Ixion: And all because of that thoughtless sage.

Iso: I'd thank you not to mention her ever again ... Ixion.

Iso's anger was near boiling point from Ixion's reference.

[Kanami]

Kamilla had been following Tessa and Morgan around quietly, content on eating her lollies after the headmaster left. She'd seen Kelas on the floor, but figured she was just resting or sleeping and didn't pay her condition much heed. She was about to say something when they joined up with the red haired guy and his friends. Followed by the green haired guy.

These people just keep popping out of nowhere didn't they?

She was watching quietly as Ixion started casting some type of spell, she'd dropped her bag of gummies but no one had time to pay it any heed with the spell transfer and healing Kelas. She squatted down on the ground holding her head mumbling something rapidly. As the spell was complete and the two mages who were apparently the best of friends now exchanged comments Kamilla jumped up screaming in a high pitched tone, turning around to run, but tripping on her toes and flailing around pointlessly on the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A lone figure clad in a red cloak walked up to the gates of Ilyphina, humming to herself happily until she was stopped by two guards. "Good afternoon(or morning)" she said cheerfully. "Wonderful day for a bit of bloodshed don't you think?" The guards looked at her, suddenly alarmed, "No need to be alarmed boys" she said undoing her cloak and letting it drop to the ground. She smiled at the two men and offered them her dagger.

After making sure that the girl wasn't armed they surrounded her and told her she was coming with them for questioning, as two men stood behind her, the figure didn't even flinch as one groped her backside. As they passed through the gate, two arrows suddenly whizzed past the gate embeding the necks of the two men standing behind her.

"Calamity" she said joyously, as twin dagger materialized in her hands. Which was soon followed by the last guards body falling to the ground. Reika smiled as she kicked the head of the man who had groped her. "Hurry up boys, we've got a job to do" she said as a group of men hurried through the gate after her.

[Ansem]

OOC: YAY!!!!!

Sage? "I see" Helios said. "It is getting rather late and you all need your sleep". "I will be taking my leave now".

[Snowy_One]

"Just... go with the flow?" said Esphyr, her voice betrayed her confusion at the notion. She was tense, and she knew it. She could feel the heat of her body, being in such close proximity to both Daiman and Aiya. She squirmed, moving about with uncertain motions, afraid of what was to happen next. "Are... You... Sure?" she asked, slowly sounding out each word to make sure that it held it's impact as she asked the question. "I... Just... You first."

[Snike]

Having finished reading the book, Eric decided to return back to the group, having left them so abruptly. As he went down the hall he saw the others enter, he heard someone screaming. Quickening his pace, the traveler brushed passed the fire mage and his companions, and entered the room from where the sound originated. Inside, he saw Kamilla, seemingly having a fit. Looking around, Eric spotted the shamaness, seemingly ignoring the girl.

"Any idea as to what's with her?" he asked, pointing towards the spasming girl.

Edited June 6, 2010 by Snike

[Ansem]

Helios went outside. Mark and Ian where packing. Helios didnt even have to ask them. "I didnt know you could sink that low, Helios" Ian said. Helios wanted to ask what was going on. "If you didnt have the crimson wind tome i would have killed you" Mark said. "I will come for your head after you kill the demon king". With that Mark and Ian mounted and left never to return again.

[Phoenix]

OOC: @ Kai ... ... ... XD

Also ... since I'm getting bored, I'm going to start posting really detailed posts from now on with way more information than you guys are used to getting from me :)

TIME SKIPAGE

Later on, down in the aerie, Kiev was quietly resting. Not far from him, the purple cat from earlier was snooping about. It made its way closer to the wyvern as it slept. Trying its best to inhale the scent the wyvern gave off, it came ever closer. Suddenly, one of Kiev's eyes opened slightly! The cat didn't notice, and continued its slow approach. Kiev waited until the cat was in biting distance ... and then pounced!

Iso had gotten enough sleep after being rendered unconscious and sleeping in the cage. He stayed up reading through the Elwind tome Helios had given him. He was quite knowledgeable in wind magic now, and he wasn't keen on losing that ability once the spell was reversed. He decided to learn all he could so that at least some of the knowledge could be reserved. Having no way to rescue Katie, he could only hope that Damian would come up with a plan.

He felt awful that he couldn't so much as lift a finger to rescue his friend, and even worse that in his thoughtless obsession with rescuing her, had also forgotten about his other friend. Iso was slowly becoming determined to get rid of the fragments in his mind. That was the only way to give him back at least some of his awareness. Who knew? After all this time, perhaps it wasn't just the fragments, perhaps he really didn't have natural awareness, and his old teacher's seal was simply a convenient excuse.

Regardless, he kept reading.

Irina tossed and turned. Apparently she actually got better sleep atop a saddle than in a cozy bed. After a while, she couldn't take it anymore and finally woke up. Making sure not to alert anyone else in the room, she opened her eyes slightly to see Iso reading through the Elwind tome. His eyes were a lot sadder than usual.

Irina: (Did I miss something? I would talk with him about it, but ... maybe this is just a Katie thing. If it is, then it's probably nothing major )

[Inactive Account]

Kelas thanked Stephanie, gave Morgan what could maybe be interpreted as a curt nod, and shoved herself to her feet. She tottered across the hall, sticking her head into the room where Arrin, Tessa, and some of the others were. "I'm fine now--" she began, but was cut off as Arrin nearly tackled her. "Hey watch it, I just got those ribs fixed," she grumbled, though she wasn't really angry.

She yawned. "I figure we could all sleep for a couple of days. I'm going to find a room and do so; you kids should get some rest as well," she said, slouching back out the door. "Oh, and Arrin? You're not allowed to worry about me. It's my job to protect you."

A few doors down there was another apparently vacant room. Kelas tossed her packs onto a chair and collapsed onto the bed. She was asleep before she could remember to change into clean clothes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelas' words stung a bit. "I'm sorry," Arrin mumbled, not knowing who it was addressed to-- Kelas? Tessa? Himself? "I... I'm really not good at this, am I?" he asked despairingly.

OOC: Oh man so many pages of feedback to read now @_@

[Kanami]

Kamilla suddenly stopped writhing around on the ground, her entire body going limp for a second. Her head had felt like it was splitting apart but the pain had subsided now. She stared blankly at the ceiling for awhile, some man she didn't recognize was offering his hand to her, but she ignored it. She didn't want to get up. If she got up it would start hurting again.

She stood up slowly, ignoring the concerned murmurs she was getting from a few mages who had stopped to take a look. She looked at the group with suspicion. She couldn't remember everything but she was certain that these people weren't her friends. "Kamilla go sleep now" she said quietly but audibly as she turned away and headed away from the group.

[Balcerzak]

Arrin was looking despondent and muttering to himself. Perhaps she'd been too harsh on him, Tessa wondered. After all, his sister had just collapsed, and they'd only recently been reunited.

Sliding over slightly on the bed, she made some room, then gestured to it. "Come on, sit down."

"You don't need to think that way. Everybody has things they're 'not really good' at. I'm... not proud of how I let myself go back in the caves... Compared to that, your little bit of panic here was nothing."

Arrin sat down next to Tessa, making sure to not bump her ankle. "That was... we all were all pretty freaked out in there," he said, floundering: he'd expected some form of agreement with his self-criticism. Not everyone was like his teacher in that regard, he realized. "I guess maybe we can get better at those things, too..." He paused awkwardly. "And... thanks."

Putting an arm around the mage she squeezed him a bit. "We can get better, and we must. I was serious earlier, but there's no gain in berating yourself too much over it. Tying yourself down with past failures is no way to live when the future is yet unwritten."

She then turned away a bit and added, "And, I didn't do anything worth thanking, really. Someone else healed her this time..."

"No, it's that-- well, see, you're the first real friend I've had in a while."

She looked back at him with a bit of surprise showing plainly on her face. "...But you seem so sociable, and likable. Well, at least, I think so. But I guess I'm not exactly sure, as I never really had a lot of contact with people my age before, you know? I mean, I was on good terms with most of the Brothers, but I think that's really sort of different. What's kept you from having friends?"

Arrin stifled a yawn; the panic had properly receded by now, and he realized he was tired. "I... just didn't know that many people, I guess. It was just my teacher and me-- my teacher and I," he corrected himself reflexively, "and I'd deal with merchants and things for her, but there wasn't really anyone to talk to besides her."

The young mage's yawn was contagious, and Tessa found herself following suit. Quick on the heels of the yawn was the full weight of exhaustion that had been piling up since Lady knew when. "Well... if you need someone to talk to, from now on, you can come see me, okay? Except for when I'm sleeping, which..." another yawn caught her by surprise, "...I think I'm going to be doing starting anytime here now." She smiled apologetically.

"Good... afternoon, or whatever it is," Arrin replied, getting up. "See you in the morning, or whichev-ev-ev-er," he said through another yawn, as he left the room. The next room over appeared to be empty, though it had room for multiple people; Arrin simply crashed on the nearest bed.

Tessa watched the mage―no, her friend―leave the room, as she felt her eyelids drooping, and found her head nodding. Laying back down on the bed from the sitting position she'd been in, she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

OOC: And time-skip is a go.

Edited June 6, 2010 by Balcerzak

[-Cynthia-]

OOC: Morgan's actually doing something in the middle of the night, so yeah

As Morgan laid down to sleep, she began to dream. It was not a pleasant dream, it reminded her of her times in the Pocket Plane.

She saw that mercenary archer, what was his name again...Rayton, fighting a 5 armed demon wielding 5 bows. Rayton tried in vain to defeat the creature but fell underneath the onslaught of arrows. Suddenly, an old woman appeared and darkness covered the area. All that could be seen was a bow gleaming crimson. An small imp appeared and appeared to absorb the bow into himself. The old woman smiled and Morgan woke up!

Morgan looked down. The imp was trapped in a small cage. "Hush" said Morgan, as she put the cage under her cloak. She walked over to a sleeping Kelas and pondered for a bit. Could it...no, she would not understand she's not...suitable.. Morgan quietly exited the dormitory and headed out the front gate of TISME.

She walked quietly through the night, her gaze intent upon the large stone building that was easily identified as the prison.

Making her way to the destination, she was stopped by a guard who had just woken up. "Aye! Who goes there?"

"I wish to visit one of the prisoners here, a mister Chase Veshkal? I'm his...defense attorney."

"What's a lawyer doin' here at this hour?" asked the gaurd suspiciously."

"It is an excellent time to discuss legal matters with my client in private. Aren't clients allowed to confer with their legal advocates at whatever hour they choose?"

" I...s'pose so" said the guard, not wanting to deal with any angry lawyers and preferring to get some much needed rest.

Morgan was escorted to Chase's cell and the gaurd posted himself outside.

"Hello." she said, waking him up. She could see some of the bruises and other painful-looking marks on his body.

[Kanami]

Reika smirked knowing full well that tonight was going to be a fun one. "Dalton! Where's Jones's group?" she asked the balding man who had been inspecting an abandoned horse cart, Dalton had been running around taking an interest in everything he came across all day and Reika had only bared with it knowing that fun was awaiting her when the sun went down.

Dalton: "Errr dunno Boss, Jonesy said he'd be here on time this morning" the man replied stupidly.

Reika: "Bloody fool", she said vaguely not making it clear if she was referring to Jones or Dalton, she sighed and looked up at the sky. "A waning crescent huh" she said staring blankly up at the moon "Not a bad night to spill some soldier blood eh Dalton?".

Dalton: "Why are we attacking here again Boss?"

Reika: "None of your business you stupid gorilla, as far as I know some rich guy offered to pay us if we successfully pillaged the capitol"

Dalton: "Rich guy, does that mean he has gold?"

Reika: "Yes, it means he has gold, lots of gold, and for us you idiot, wasn't exactly clear on the details but apparently he paid a good sum up front."

Dalton: "Can I buy a white fluffy bunny if he gives us gold?"

Reika: "...... I have no idea how Jones manages to put up with you"

Looking around she noticed the cloaked man that had followed them since they'd left the border town standing quietly nearby.

Reika: "You there, any idea how the others are doing?" she asked not really expecting a response. The man had been silent ever since he'd offered his assistance back at the border town.

Cloakie: "..... main army... ready... attack main gate.... soon"

Reika: "You mean the group led by that idiot knight who insisted on fighting Elysimma's military head on?" she asked referring to the main body of their army which consisted of various bandits clans that had gathered together in Vaorin. "If he somehow makes it back alive remind me to knife the guy, bloody knights and their honor code."

Cloakie: "......."

Reika: "Right, and the other pillaging groups? They're all in the capitol by now right?"

Cloakie: "......."

Reika: "You're not going to say anything else, are you?"

Cloakie: "......."

Reika: "Argggh >_< Why the hell did I have to be in charge of the stupid group?"

Cloakie: "......."

Reika: "Arggh, just, get out of my sight before I decide to kill you or something"

Cloakie: "......."

Reika: "............." *Sigh*

Edited June 6, 2010 by Kanami

[riariadne]

"What? Huh? Why is someone waking me up... oh... hi." Chase muttered, then flushed when he saw that Morgan was here. "Did I do something important, worthy of attention, or anything similar?"

[Ansem]

OOC: Night post.

Helios was studying the book. Nothing seemed out of place here. The last time he cast fire magic was a while ago he had to assimilate one way or another. He flipped a page and an envelope fell out. Helios opened it. He unfolded the letter and read.

Dear, Tovy

I know you spend most of your time going through other books, but I hope you get this, because I'm too nervous to say it in person, and I can't risk any of the others finding it on one of their snooping runs.

Listen. I'm worried about what might happen to you if the seal is ever broken. I attached it to myself because I'm the strongest in our group. I think I already proved that by zapping Adrian into submission. I'm strong, but I still worry. The people who are after you will come back. They always come back, right? Proxima is the strongest weapon we have against them. I feel like I may be damning us by sealing it. I want you to be safe from those people far more than I want you free from that tome's curse. Will we find a way to destroy it? I believe so, but after all we've been through, I'm not certain I still want to.

I want to get rid of the seal. I know you won't like this, but It's better this way, and ... this isn't what I wanted to go into. What I wanted to tell you is that I'm happy like this. Aside from the fact that we could all die in the end, I'm happy. You outrunning all of us through the fields, outstudying Adrian and the others, you taking out Jack in one punch every single time, you starting those pretty red fires and warming all of us when we camp out at night. Proxima is a part of you. I should have realized that from the beginning, and I'm sorry for what I've done to you.

I just want you to know that I accept you, cursed weapon and all, and no, not just as another student, you modest dolt. Please don't try to destroy it anymore? I'll stick by you, even if that means fighting off assassins for years to come. It's worth it. It is absolutely worth it.

Also, I'm going to start calling you Tovy around the others if you don't come clean soon. That will be your punishment for hiding it.

Sincerely, Miranda

"Assassins"? Then all of the sudden memories started flowing back into his head. That night when the assassin struck Helios slit his throat. The king was very proud of this. "That person in the black mentioned something about a seal" Helios said to himself.

Proxima ... is being adversely effected by what happened to my mind. It's power is always trying to escape. I've lost my ability to sense myself, so whenever I become ... startled to a certain degree, Proxima overpowers my will to suppress it, and then ... well you've seen what happens

"This is rather interesting" He said remembering last night. "There is only one thing out of place though". "I cant put a finger on it but i think that i will come across it again". "If this tome is powered by his emotion then there is a slight possibility that the others are as well". "Damian's father made the weapons". "Maybe i can get a few details out of him". With that Helios folded the letter, put it back in the envelope and dropped it in his pocket

[-Cynthia-]

"In a sense, yes. I contain a vessel for the Crimson Bow, and I have decided you are to be its wielder. Wielding a Crimson Weapon is a great responsibility, but hopefully you are up to the task. Hopefully possessing such a weapon will stay the executioner's hand, at least until our job is complete. Come closer to me."

Chase pondered for a minute, then walked up near the bars of the cage. Morgan let the imp out of the cage and it gave Chase a small bite. He didn't seem to flinch, he had been through enough pain that a little bite didn't hurt much.

"Now comes the matter of your release. I suppose we will need to talk to him regarding that, not to mention his recruitment into our little band."

[Ether]

"Esphyr...just relax,okay?Let the tension melt away." Aiya said softly,trailing her finger down Esphyr's side,stopping to rub her stomach.

"I know you're a bit confused,but just calm down and-"

Damian stopped her.

"She's not ready for that yet,Aiya.I'm glad that you are supportive of this like I thought you would be,but we are taking it too quickly right now,okay?"

"Oh!Right...I'm sorry Esphyr...it looks like I got a little carried away." Aiya said,apologetically,moving away from Esphyr enough so that she could sit up if she chose to.

"It's getting late,the three of us can sleep here tonight,and we'll all get back with the others in the morning." Damian said simply,and began removing his armour.

"Yeah,thats probably for the best." Aiya agreed and also disarmoured.

The trio slept soundly,doubt dissipated greatly about the future.

*****************

"Hmm...looks like it's morning..." Damian said,waking up,he couldn't see any windows,so he had no idea what time of day it was.He attempted to sit up,but was held down.

"Wha...?" Damian looked around,rather confused...

'Why can't I get up?Did something happen?'

"Oh...right..." Aiya and Esphyr were on either side of him,sleeping soundly,and his arms seemed to be held hostage by them.

"Right...it was late,so we slept here..." Damian remembered,and laid back down,knowing it was no use to try to drag the both of them around until they woke up.

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan looked Chase over carefully. "Are you going to be able to use a bow properly with all those wounds? Your current condition is not conducive to traveling or fighting, perhaps I should have Tessa take a look at you."

[riariadne]

"Probably won't be able to do much for a while..." he said. A Crimson weapon... I can feel its power radiating through my, somehow. "Although, seeing where I am now, I don't think I'll be able to go anywhere for a while at all. Unless you have a plan?" he inquired hopefully.