• Mature • 7. The Way [FYW Event Conclusion]

[Strange]

Find Your Way
Melrath Cold Cycle 719 Event

IRP Start: 121 Vhalar 719 | End: 50 Ashan 720

Group Summary

Overview

As the 121st of Vhalar rolled into the 122nd of Vhalar, four unfortunate prisoners of Niflheim known as Praetorum, Victor, Navyri, and Amaris found themselves in a precarious situation.

Confronted by a young woman known as Charlotte, she interrupted the attempted escape led by the Becomer, Ferret, and his allies the twin biqajs, Zourvy and Vy, and the sneaky Ithecal, Sneabru. Though you all tried valiantly, the odds simply were not in your favor...

...the attempt to escape on 121 Vhalar failed.

Each of you have your own consequence that stems from the last actions given, in combination with the attitude that your PC had through-out the entire event since waking up in the cells.

The following is what happened to your characters AFTER the failed escape.

!

Message from: Strange

If anything here doesn't work with something you already had in mind, whether a certain interaction you think would go differently, or if you had some sort of impact you wanted your character to make that got missed, contact me and we can edit it to something more suitable. The point of this summary is so you can know what happened, but also you have the choice to self-mod any parts that might interest you, with similar mod-approval as in the Melrath Plot Request thread. Rather than post in isolated threads, because this is an event that would have kept going anyway, please post any solos here in this thread (minimum totals for a review: 1500 words); and I (or a Melrath mod) will review them from time to time. This thread will close/lock at either the end of Hot Cycle 720 - or when all participating players have decided to be finished. The following will be split between: Summaries of Plot that you are free to self-mod additional details. General Points of Information to freely use, going forward in the future. Any questions, please ask! That said, here is what occurred...

121 - 123 Vhalar

After being captured, the last days of Vhalar were spent with your PC being fed, either by force or by coercion (depending on your PC's circumstances) drinks, soups, and breads. At worst, a feeding tube would have been forced down the PC's throat. At best, a lovely meal would have been expertly crafted for nourishment. On average, you got some extremely unappetizing bread and watery soup.

The group was separated from one another, either voluntarily or by force, and then placed in solitary isolation for ten days (from 123 Vhalar to 10 Zi'da).

During this time, each of you were interrogated by Spellweaver Angud. You may self-mod her in any solos, and she would have asked about any and all circumstances around your PC's life, any magic/marks/oddities they had, and whatever else she could acquire.

10 - 50 Zi'da

You are no longer kept in the cells during this time. For each of you, you find yourselves in very different circumstances at first. Please read your specific PC's accommodations below. Regardless of where you are kept, you are still made to eat (even if by force), and you are each brought into a laboratory. This is not the alchemist laboratory found by Navyri and Ferret, but a huge space for experimentation run by what appears to be the Syns.

This can be described however you like; as long as it is kept within ST fantasy genre - has lots of experiment/surgery tables, medical supplies, arcane oddities, cages/containers that hold prisoners within them. There are chains for holding people in spots, as well. There are almost always six guards present, if not a Spellweaver or similar mage at all times.

As you spend more and more time in the laboratory, many of you (if not all) will realize and/or learn that everything that is going on has nothing to do with the Melrathi government or military. Though Renate Grimnir is discovered to be an Archmage of the Syns, she has been operating unethical experiments without oversight for the last year or so.

During this time, you are interrogated by Grimnir herself. She is a Maven Empath, so this should be extremely strenuous for your PC if you choose to self-mod it. Depending on your PC's attitude, this will have varying effects. Behave and cooperate, you will be treated very well. Resist and cause trouble, you will be treated extremely harsh. It is up to your PC which this ends up being.

Eventually information is further extracted from you and Grimnir learns of your PC's deepest and darkest secrets. What she will use it for, however, remains unknown to your PC.

50 - 93 Zi'da

The rest of Zi'da is spent in the laboratory for all of you, no matter where you were in the previous phase. After this point, most of you are kept in cages/cells, with a front-row seat to the laboratory itself.

Your PCs are kept in a stasis-type of daze for most of these trials, sedated between experiments to be kept easy-to-handle (especially Navyri and Praetorum) and you experience a surreal blur of witnessed horrors and terrors while kept in the laboratory cells. You see monsters, mages flayed to death by other mages, initiations gone wrong (in this, you can choose any domain (or all of them if you wish) and have your character actually witness a failed initiation in that domain), and incredibly unethical issues that are only limited by your own imagination of what you'd like to self-mod (within the lore of the site).

This is also when a great deal of major changes occurs to specific PCs; primarily Victor and Navyri.

During this time: It is revealed that Ferret has been stuck in a mirror the whole time. None of you have seen Ferret since the escape attempt (though you have seen the biqaj twins in the laboratory, often experimented on together, it has been too difficult to communicate with them).

On 87 Zi'da, Ferret is brought forth in order to be experimented on with Victor. He is released from the mirror, during this experiment. The Spellweavers and Archmage use a pyramid-shaped artifact to draw Victor's Tarouz Blessing to cancel Ferret's Tarouz Curse. This causes a great deal of pain for Ferret, which you all may witness, and it is revealed then that he is not only Cursed by Delroth, but also an Adored Blessed of Lisirra. Victor finds himself strained, having to fight off disease. It is uncertain exactly what is happening to him though. (Victor, please check your personal summary for details on this).

Afterward, it seems as if the experiment has worked and Ferret is no longer cursed.

On 88 Zi'da, they try to replicate the procedure with Navyri and Charlotte through Belaera's Blessing and Curse.

This... to put it simply... goes horrifically wrong. The pyramid artifact shatters during the ritual experiment. Charlotte breaks from her restraints, and attempts to kill Navyri while under the state of the Curse - Navyri, however, finds herself also freed due to the Blessing as the two opposing energies wage against each other, tied up in the artifact's released charge. The Spellweavers and Archmage are distracted, however, because it is realized that the pyramid artifact was the main source of the suppression of marks - or so it sounds, as Angud rushes away to "check the sphere".

Navyri must choose here whether to kill Charlotte, to remove the curse, or not - but whichever she chooses, when it is over, she discovers that she has lost Belaera's Blessing entirely.

During this, however, while the artifact breaks and Belaera's Blessing is removed: Navyri finds herself teleported through what can only be described as a massive ether-tornado that jettisons from the pyramid artifact. When it vanishes, so too has Navyri disappeared.

No one knows where Navyri went, but all of the group witnessed this.

On 88 Zi'da 719: Navyri has exited the event.

1 - 30 Cylus

In the aftermath, the laboratory is shut down. Whether it is permanent or temporary, remains to be seen. Additionally, after this time, you all discover that you are able to dream again and the following marks are able to work again:

• Nalos (Xiur)
• Ezere (Ziell)
• Vinyza (Ymiden)
• Xypha (Yvithia)
• Loshova (Ashan)
• Celarion (Qylios)
• Sombran (Chamadarst)
• Vaelus (Vhalar)

The entire prison undergoes a thorough search, as they hunt for Navyri (again). Because of this, there are swaths of time in which groups are placed in the same cafeteria round hall that you all remember when the group was brought together for that first meal.

During this time, Praetorum, Amaris, and Victor can all speak with one another. In addition, any living NPCs still around (this includes Zourvy and Vy) are able to talk as well. The general sentiment is a mixture of traumatic responses, tortured exhaustion, and desperation. Many of the prisoners have reached some sort of (hopefully, temporary) insanity and because of this, it is difficult to find cohesion among the individuals.

Three prisoners vanish in their sleep... dreamwalkers, it's assumed... and for two entire trials, it's all the prison populace (so strong of mage and blessed that talk of emea happens easily) can talk about. How they escaped, and maybe if everyone just could slip into dreams then they could all escape.

Until the three prisoners return, from the ceiling, with a hurried warning - that is cut short by a trio of nightmarish Emean monsters that follow them through. The monsters slaughters a handful of prisoners too weak to fight, and those who can fight and those with working Blessed Marks do what they can. During this incident, the guards join the prisoners in the fight.

After that, the entire dynamic of Niflheim changes. Guards and prisoners bond, deeply, from the horrific tragedy and the terror of having to take down the monsters. One could try to coordinate a plan during this time as the guards have started to not care about such discussion while the Spellweavers are busy with searching the prison. It is the guard sentiment that makes the major difference, here.

And it is also when Spellweavers Angud and Melrathius approach the PCs in very specific ways (see your individual summaries for details).

On 24 Cylus 720: Victor exited the event.

1 - 50 Ashan

After Cylus, Niflheim is in a state of utter disarray and chaos.

A contingent of banded prisoners and guards make another escape attempt. This time, everyone involved is foiled when they reach the outside and find it to be so cold that one cannot survive outside for longer than a handful of bits. Unwilling to risk the group, everyone retreats back into the safe warm confines of the prison.

The confiscated stores are opened up, and a war begins in Niflheim.

On one side, Archmage Grimnir, her elite guard of trained (and empathetically manipulated) soldiers (seen in the first chapter during Grimnir's introduction), and a small army.

On the other side, the Spellweavers (provided Praetorum didn't scorn Melrathius beforehand), the ragtag Melrathi guards who turned to protect the prisoners instead (including Rolf), and nearly all the prisoners (there's always a few exceptional sorts that take the other side anyway).

Praetorum and Amaris soon find themselves in leadership positions, however, as it is well-known they were involved in the first initial escape attempt (and that their companions, Navyri and Victor, seemed to have already escaped). People start to go to them for advice, start to look to them for direction, and place their loyalty and faith in the two.

The issue has not become whether to escape, though, but to take control of the prison until the winter clears up enough to travel or other transportation is figured out.

During this time, it is discovered that without being forcefed and eating from their own supplied rations (taken out of the stores), magic starts to return in full to those who have it... in certain spots in the prison, not all. It quickly is realized that the portions of Niflheim that have wood or wooden furniture is where magic diminishes and fails. Travel through the many levels and halls of Niflheim have many dangers though, including a flesh-eating Mimai that stalks the halls. Amaris will know this to be Charlotte's father and Renate's husband, Anton Grimnir, who must eat of flesh to survive and who Renate feeds when she can. It is not safe to travel the halls alone, and parties of three to four tend to stay together.

Skirmishes are common, things going wrong happen...

...but what exactly happens will depend on the tactical choices made by Praetorum and Amaris during this time.

On some date in Ashan (decided by the players): Praetorum and Amaris will exit the event.

Between 20-40 Ashan 719 (depending on whether Victor speaks to the Skadiri): Outside forces arrive, the Ragnari led by Skadiri agents of a secret "mage-control" military force. If needed, they join efforts with Praetorum and Amaris to subdue Renate Grimnir.
On 50 Ashan 719: All NPCs who remained within, are set free by the Ragnari after the Circle declares a ruling on the future of mages in Melrath.

NAVYRI

Overview

Navyri did her best to comfort Ferret, but it did nothing to keep the Becomer in the room with them. The Tarouz woman refused to hand over the vials, collected the domain bag, and threw a femur bone at Rolf - ready for a fight.

Meanwhile, Navyri was a bit more volatile... Unlike the others, it took three trials for the Spellweavers to hunt her down and find her. While the "concoction" did get out of her system, this made no difference for her marks (and probably, frustrated the poor dear). While she could have found some moss to eat, she began to starve.

During her solitary attempt to escape (provided she just didn't give herself over), in the depths of the maze-like prison without windows, she ran into a horrendous monster of melting flesh that tried to eat her. It got her scent and hunted her for as long as she tried to remain on her own... until Angud found her. After that, she was brought to the confinement of the cells.

10 - 50 Zi'da

THE LABORATORY 10 of Zi'da to 50 Zi'da

Navyri was brought to the laboratory and placed in a special thick-glass cell just for her. The glass is so thick that it is nearly sound-proof and even if Navyri screams, it sounds like a whisper to people outside of it. Runes etch the glass from top to bottom, in wards to keep out magic as well as keep Navyri inside. Everyone in the laboratory can watch Navyri for this entire time, in full view without any privacy, and various light sources (mostly candles) are kept around her cell at all times so there is rarely pure darkness.

From this vantage point, Navyri can watch the others (especially Victor if he assists with the research) but she is not experimented on herself. Instead, Grimnir occasionally visits to simply look at her, doesn't say much, then leaves. The experiment for Navyri seems to be entirely psychological-based, in this sense.

EXPERIMENTS (50 - 93 Zi'da)

THE EXPERIMENTS 50 Zi'da to 93 Zi'da

After the experiment between Ferret and Victor on 87 Zi'da - in which Ferret seems cured of his Tarouz curse, but he remains a Yithnai, and also passed out from the pain of the ordeal.

On 88 Zi'da, they try to replicate the procedure with Navyri and Charlotte through Belaera's Blessing and Curse.

This... to put it simply... goes horrifically wrong. The pyramid artifact shatters during the ritual experiment. Charlotte breaks from her restraints, and attempts to kill Navyri while under the state of the Curse - Navyri, however, finds herself also freed due to the Blessing as the two opposing energies wage against each other, tied up in the artifact's released charge. The Spellweavers and Archmage are distracted, however, because it is realized that the pyramid artifact was the main source of the suppression of marks - or so it sounds, as Angud rushes away to "check the sphere".

Navyri must choose here whether to kill Charlotte, to remove the curse, or not - but whichever she chooses, when it is over, she discovers that she has lost Belaera's Blessing entirely.

During this, however, while the artifact breaks and Belaera's Blessing is removed: Navyri finds herself teleported through what can only be described as a massive ether-tornado that jettisons from the pyramid artifact. When it vanishes, so too has Navyri disappeared.

No one knows where Navyri went, but all of the group witnessed this.

Navyri: It is your choice what happened to Charlotte (whether death or not), you may try to act as you wish as Navyri was free for a short time between the start of the experiment and the teleport. You may also choose where you were teleported to. The teleport must be somewhere within Melrath. It is also up to you when Navyri fully realizes she has lost Belaera's Blessing.

On 88 Zi'da 719, You Officially Exited This Event!

VICTOR

Overview

Victor tried to recover the alchemical potions from Navyri, offered in an expressed attempt to get to Grimnir's private quarters and "finish it", to take the vials for his own purposes. He did not get the vials.

10 - 50 Zi'da

THE LABORATORY 10 of Zi'da to 50 Zi'da

During this time, depending on how Victor spoke with Angud, it is highly likely that Victor was returned to the comfortable room that he spoke to Angud in before. While technically a cell, as it is locked from the outside, it is comfortable, warm, and he is well-fed. He continues to find odd warnings in the books that exist, as well as the painting of what he learns is Angud and her passed-on wife - which seems to watch him at all hours of the day, though he is never quite sure why it feels that way.

Victor is kept in fair respect to the Spellweavers, who treat him well in turn as long as he remains respectful. On the tenth of Zi'da, Archmage Grimnir visits (and informs him that she is an Archmage of the Syns). She offers him a chance to help again, and acquire more good standing with the military organization.

If he accepts, he is granted temporary membership with the Syns as an Acolyte - and he is shown to the Laboratory as a Research Assistant to Angud. Here, he spends the next forty trials experimenting on the other three PC prisoners, and many NPC prisoners. He is made to hold tools, take notes, and help administer things like feeding tubes, bizarre artifacts, and restraints to the prisoners.

If he rejects the offer, he is taken to the Laboratory and tossed in a cell there where he will be experimented on instead.

EXPERIMENTS (50 - 93 Zi'da)

THE EXPERIMENTS 50 Zi'da to 93 Zi'da

Regardless how Victor goes about the Laboratory, whether as a research assistant or as an experiment subject, as soon as 50 Zi'da hits, everything changes. Archmage Grimnir seems to get impatient, and Victor becomes one of the main subjects for constant experiments. He is no longer kept in his other accommodations, and is moved to the laboratory cells. Here, he is fed differently than the others, and almost exclusively fowl meat of various different birds. He is poisoned a few times, to test his resistance and endurance of different types of sicknesses.

Overall, this time passes in a haze for Victor and it is incredibly uncomfortable to say the least. When he looks back on these trials, it'll all seem like a surreal fever dream. His resistance, endurance, and meditation skills are tested but he manages to pull through...

...except on 87 Zi'da, when everything changes.

Victor is strapped to a standing table, and it is then revealed that Ferret - or "Bastian" - has been trapped in a mirror this whole time. None of you have seen him since the escape attempt.

During this grand experiment, Ferret is released from the mirror and brought forth to stand in front of Victor. The Spellweavers and Archmage use an artifact in the shape of a pyramid to draw Victor's Tarouz Blessing in an attempt to cancel Ferret's Tarouz Curse. This causes a great deal of pain for Ferret, and it is revealed then that he is not only Cursed by Delroth, but also a Blessed of Lisirra.

Victor finds himself strained, having to fight off disease. It is uncertain exactly what is happening to him though.

Afterward, it seems as if the experiment has worked and Ferret is no longer cursed.

(Victor, if you would like to get rid of your Tarouz Blessing that is an option, but only if you want. Otherwise, he may keep it).

In aftermath: Victor discovers that he is now diseased. This disease is unknown to you, at first, but you may OOCly choose any disease or develop your own - it should be something that has to be cured, but it is likely not fatal - just annoying and will bring down his quality of life on a daily basis (e.g. a cough that won't go away). The cure doesn't have to be elaborate, just acknowledged.

DARKNESS (1 - 30 Cylus)

DARKNESS 1 Cylus - 30 Cylus

During this time, Victor deals with the after-effects of the experiment. He realizes that he has likely contracted something, but he is not sure what yet.

While kept in the group hall, he is able to speak directly with any prisoner NPCs, as well as Praetorum and Amaris.

After the Emean monsters incident, Spellweaver Angud takes Victor away to the suite that he'd been staying in before. She talks with him some, and admits that she is concerned about the direction Niflheim has gone in. She admits that she does not like how many Syn have died under Grimnir's experiments already (Lyngheid included - and it is revealed that Lyngheid is who occupied Victor's room before him, and who wrote the messages such as help on the books). Angud apologizes though, and it seems sincere, and she makes (another) a deal with Victor.

She will release him, with a teleport that will go into Ashara Citadel. From there, he will be sent to deliver some scrolls to a Skadiri operative. The Skadiri will then in turn relay the scrolls to the Circle, and Victor will be required to serve as witness in a closed hearing about Niflheim and the Syns. What he chooses to say, will be up to him, but Angud reminds him that if she has any say in the matter, she will try to make sure he is recognized for the risk he's taken in doing so.

Whether he agrees to the deal or not, Angud decides to teleport him to Ashara Citadel because she does not believe it to be safe in Niflheim any longer and in the hope that it might bring in the Circle's involvement to Niflheim's operations. She seems sorrowful and concerned about this betrayal of her friend, Renate Grimnir, but considers it something that must be done for the people kept prisoner. Angud does not allow Victor to take anyone along with him, though, as the artifact (a form of portal boots) can only teleport one.

On 24 Cylus 720, You Officially Exited This Event!

PRAETORUM

Overview

Praetorum thought strategically in the fleeting moments, and he instructed Zourvy without hesitation, as well as to the ithecal. Sneabru followed with ease, making after Navyri ,though Zourvy gave a quiet noise of discontent - but followed anyway. The ithecal darted past with a flurry of jabs with his scythe that sent Rolf and charlotte on the defense. This allowed Navyri out and away... for the time, while Praetorum shut the door and locked Rolf, Charlotte, Victor and Zourvy inside (or tried).

Praetorum was caught with no small amount of fight about the matter. He killed four guards in the process, but eventually got shackled by the ithecal abrogant, Melrathius.

10 - 50 Zi'da

THE LABORATORY 10 of Zi'da to 50 Zi'da

Melrathius took a liking to Praetorum during the interrogation phase... and one could even call it a bit of an infatuation. It wasn't long until Angud stepped aside to allow for Melrathius to interrogate Praetorum instead. And not long after that, Melrathius started to bring Praetorum little treats that were clearly not allowed: snacks of seeds and berries from outside, hints as to what time and date it actually was, even mentions that the Melrathi government wasn't completely aware what was going on in Niflheim. That others thought it was just a place to keep safe the vulnerables during the chaotic time while the rest of the Ragnari took care of the cultists. That was what had been approved anyway, not all... this other stuff.

It wasn't long after that Praetorum learned exactly what all that other stuff was, when he was moved to the Laboratory cells. Placed in a cell with a familiar face, Sneabru, they shared the semi-private alcove between experiments that often involved peeling their scales off (and then using the scales in alchemy potions and the like), removing some teeth.

One Syn Research took a great deal of interest in Praetorum's tail, often trying to get Sneabru to mimic the same movements as Praetorum seemed capable of... to varying effect.

Sneabru schemed to escape again, though, and tried to run through various plans with Praetorum during this time. However, the experiments hit Sneabru far harder - whose smaller body and weaker constitution did not have the same endurance as Praetorum did. It became clear that Sneabru was starving and the food they kept giving him seemed to only make him weaker and sicker. But it was necessary, insisted Melrathius upon one visit, who informed that Sneabru was a filthy necromancer after all and they couldn't risk him having his magic returned to him. Sneabru, however, cursed the other ithecal and threatened her for sharing his secrets with Praetorum, who he'd come to consider a friend.

After one force-feeding after an experiment, Sneabru went mad. Praetorum had to handle this, however he could, and either chose to kill Sneabru or to try and save him from what he later would learn was overstepping due to too much of the concoction given to him. (Praetorum: You may Choose which Route you would like. If you chose to save Sneabru, then there is the potential that you might acquire him as a Personal NPC).

EXPERIMENTS (50 - 93 Zi'da)

THE EXPERIMENTS 50 Zi'da to 93 Zi'da

Praetorum gets to have the joy of witnessing all this while restrained/caged up. He is filled with absolute rage at the injustice of it all. Never in his entire life has he ever felt this degree of furious anger before. He has hit his limit at enduring the lack of his magic, marks, and freedom. Yet he caught word about the sphere when the pyramid was destroyed... and he is clever enough to make the link with everything else he has heard, that these artifacts must be the reason why marks (and maybe magic) are unable to work.

He channels his rage and he starts to plan...

DARKNESS (1 - 30 Cylus)

DARKNESS 1 Cylus - 30 Cylus

Praetorum is able to find a great deal of opportunity to discuss matters with fellow prisoners, and even sympathetic guards. Additionally, he is involved with the fight against the Emean interlopers who come through due to the dreamwalkers.

After this, Spellweaver Melrathius approaches Praetorum and tries to offer herself to aid in any escapes or efforts... to one specific request: that Praetorum duels her when everything is done, so she can practice her abrogation with a proficient mage-fighter.

Most details of what occurs with Praetorum during this phase will be up to the player (just PM/ask if you're wondering about something specific!)

FINAL ESCAPE (1 - 50 Ashan)

THE FINAL ESCAPE 1 Ashan - 50 Ashan

Praetorum is able to lead a contingent of about 150 prisoners, and 40 guards, as well as Spellweaver Melrathius (as long as he didn't scorn her). He will still have to be very careful and tactical, otherwise he might lose that amount very quickly. He will find Archmage Grimnir and her smaller army to be far more experienced and strong in almost all regards.

He is able to realize very quickly that the issue has not become whether to escape, though, but to take control of the prison until the winter clears up enough to travel or other transportation is figured out.

Skirmishes are common, things going wrong happen...

...but what exactly happens will depend on the tactical choices made by Praetorum and Amaris during this time.

You may choose the dates in which the major points of the Prison Escape/Take-Over happens, and the level of success it had (if you would like to randomize it, we can roll a dice for impact and go from there).

Upon completion, when Praetorum leaves Niflheim, he has the choice of acquiring any of the following NPCs and converting them to a Personal NPC with skills adjusted (please PSF and tag/notify me when you do):

• Vy & Zourvy (they are a package deal)
• Sneabru

AMARIS

Overview

Amaris tried to wager with words, tried to convince that she was not meant to be here.. to distract Charlotte and about research; to be set free. Amaris tries again and again to make them understand that she is neither mage, nor marked, nor has any reason to be at the prison.

Except she gradually realizes that this doesn't matter. That she is wanted anyway.

10 - 50 Zi'da

THE LABORATORY 10 of Zi'da to 50 Zi'da

Amaris does not stay in the laboratory, though they are brought to it for a handful of hours every trial that passes. Instead, they stay in the secluded hall with Charlotte. They are informed by Archmage Grimnir (and if empathy magic is required, then it will be used) that they are to remain as Charlotte's friend and protector - and that if they do so, then they will be released with great reward.

There is little room to accept or deny this, as they are left in the multi-room quarters with Charlotte regardless. During this time, Amaris learns as much as they'd like to about Charlotte - about her family situation, or her past, but mostly about the curse that she has. Charlotte was cursed by Belaera in the recent arc, and as such, she spends half her trials as the opposite of her natural self. Which one is her true self and which one is the cursed self, however, is difficult to tell and Amaris will have to decide whether the generous, compassionate and caring young woman is the curse or the true one - or if the sadistic, cruel, and violent Charlotte is the curse or true self.

Regardless, during the "good" half of the trial, Charlotte treats Amaris as a friend and makes sure they are well taken care of. On the "bad" trials, however, Charlotte treats Amaris more like a toy and sometimes chases them around the private quarters and tries to stab them with a knife (but she always apologizes for it later - it's not her, it's the curse!)

EXPERIMENTS (50 - 93 Zi'da)

THE EXPERIMENTS 50 Zi'da to 93 Zi'da

Amaris witnesses everything while restrained/caged up as well. Whatever they have come to think about Charlotte, they are unable to stop Navyri from her decision. Amaris descends into complete despair at the profound horrors and possibly madness depending on their Discipline and Endurance skills. However, Amaris now understands that the reason it doesn't matter that they have no magic, marks, or the like is because the spellweavers are using them as a Control Subject to experiment with.

DARKNESS (1 - 30 Cylus)

DARKNESS 1 Cylus - 30 Cylus

During this time, Amaris can choose whether to stay close to Praetorum (and if they do, they will also eventually be seen as a sort of leader/lieutenant to the cause) or whether to distance herself from everything. She witnesses the Emean monsters like anyone else, but it is likely best that she stays back and out of the way if possible.

The details of this are completely open to how Amaris wants to interact, and her choices from the previous sections. If they descended into madness in the previous one, they might find herself talking to invisible friends or similar. It is up to you, but if you need ideas or would like to be provided with specific types of madness, simply PM me! Also, PM me if you have any questions or want to know direction for anything in specific.

FINAL ESCAPE (1 - 50 Ashan)

THE FINAL ESCAPE 1 Ashan - 50 Ashan

Amaris is reunited with Fiver when the animal companions and similar are all released during this time. They are able to lead this task, as well as reclaiming any lost property of the other prisoners. Amaris is able to find out almost any information during this time, and the previous, and they can use it however.

They can choose to escape when Praetorum does, or wait until 50 Ashan when the entire prison is officially released.

Upon completion, when Amaris leaves Niflheim, they have the choice of acquiring any of the following NPCs and converting them to a Personal NPC with skills adjusted (please PSF and tag/notify me when you do):

• Charlotte (if Navyri left her alive)

NPC INFORMATION

Ferret

Ferret, also called Bastian, is a High-Expert Becomer (73/100). His actual age is unknown, though the body he exists in seems to be around the mid-20s.

Cursed: Delroth (despised).
got cursed by Delroth because he was fairly happy being poor and accepting his lot in life and came across a band of Delroth followers, who he gave his possessions willingly too without any fight at all about it or attempt to recover it. Curse progressed when he didn't seem to care that he couldn't own belongings due to the Hatred tier. He does care that he can't look at himself in mirrors, now, and wants to rid himself of Delroth's antagonistic attention if possible.

Blessed: Lisirra (adored).
Ferret is actually a carrier of plagues and is a fully developed Yithanai to the point that he has antenna. He came to Melrath to spread illness and disease, but got picked up by Renate Grimnir soon after due to him being suspected of being the Becomer who force-initiated her husband.


Top skills (Master): Resistance, Endurance, Deception.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Stealth, Chemistry, Unarmed Combat, Pickpocket, Lockpicking, Mathematics, Discipline, Engineering.
Low skills (Competent): Meditation, Alchemy, Acting, Intimidation.

Appearance: Black hair, bright turquoise eyes, Mage's Mark on his left cheek.

Personality: Dangerous.

Weaknesses: Restraint, doesn't have a great deal of empathy/uses other people (prone to betrayal) thus doesn't make strong trusting connections, wild.

Strengths: Stealth, Deception, Chemistry.

Quick Reference:

• Has an accent from the east, either Etzos or Yaralon, or a nomadic blend of both.
• Mage's Mark on left cheek that goes through all his totems.
• The Biqaj totem is not his self-totem but it is the one he is stuck in, and the only one he has left.
• dialogue color: #87d3f8
• the 19th of Cylus, 719 is when he got taken into Niflheim.
• Has a complicated relationship with Charlotte, but they see each other as prison-siblings.
• Charlotte calls him Bastian because he admitted his "original name" to her. He has regretted this ever since.
• His race is Yithanai (thus the brilliant blue eyes and antenna).

Charlotte

Charlotte Grimnir is the only daughter of Renate and Anton Grimnir. She used to be a starry-eyed scout in the Ydalir, but was cursed by Belaera while living in Niflheim with her mother. She is not a mage. She is 21 arcs old and human.

Cursed: Belaera.
Other than having something to do with Niflheim and her mother's role in converting the facility into a prison, the circumstances around this became warped and confused over the last arc.

Top skills (Master): Resistance, Endurance.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Meditation, Hunting, Field Craft.
Low skills (Competent): Medicine.

Appearance: 5' 11". Charlotte Grimnir is a comely young Melrathi woman with dark brunette hair. She takes after her father, though has a fair blend between the features of her mother and him. She has an athletic build, if not a bit gangly due to her height. Her skin is slightly more tan, though it has paled from staying indoors. She has nearly no tattoos to be seen, though she does have the markings of Belaera's curse upon her.

Personality: Poor Charlotte Grimnir is a sweet girlish woman. She is generous, compassionate, and kind to anyone - no matter species, or where they are from, or likewise. She is simply one of the kindest people you could ever meet. But she is also young, gullible, and naive in many things about the world. Charlotte Grimnir would recoil at the thought of hurting or tormenting anyone......

...which is why the Despised Curse of Miirduz creates another Charlotte for half the trial. A Charlotte who seeks to do the opposite; who torments and hates and wishes to murder all that she can. Charlotte is afraid of this side of her, and seeks her mother's help to assure that she doesn't hurt anymore people.

Weaknesses: Her Gullibility, Her lack of discernment, Her Love for her Mother.

Strengths: Her Compassion, Her Endurance, Her Love for Melrath.

Quick Reference:

• Losing her father to a Becoming Initiation caused a great deal of anguish in her.
• Belaera Cursed her roughly 1 arc ago.
• Lives in the "Prison"
• Dual-Personality Flips Between: Honesty / Lies. Compassion / Cruelty. Generous-Abundant / Selfish-Hoarding. Naive / Cynical. Pacifist / Murderer.
• dialogue color: #c84f68

Sneabru

Sneabru, or a name that is something like that, is a sneaky mischief-maker who acts far older than he is considering he's only in his mid-20s. He is a disgraced ex-Skadiri. He is a mid-Expert Umbral Hone mage and a Competent Necromancer. He is Ithecal.

He has no known marks.

Top skills (Master): Combat: Blades (dual daggers), Stealth, Deception, Lockpicking.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Pickpocketing, Endurance, Discipline.
Low skills (Competent): Resistance

Appearance: He's not a pretty ithecal...... short and ugly.

Personality: He's not nice either....

Weaknesses: He looks as sneaky as he is and hasn't figured out disguises, he doesn't understand magic very well and his sparks confuse him (he doesn't have any mentors), he's very sensitive about his privacy.

Strengths: Highly masterful with dual daggers, great at sneaking and stealing when he isn't noticed, can work with a team and actually proves to be fairly loyal (he isn't a snitch).

Quick Reference:

• Sneabru will never snitch on someone he considers part of his team, even under torture.
• Was exiled from the Skadiri for some reason unrelated to his magic. Likely he stole from the skadiri stores themselves.
• Was brought in a short time before 112 Vhalar.
• dialogue color: #a5a545
• He met Ferret early on, and quickly got along with the other sneaky type.

Zourvy & Vy

Vy and Zourvy are not twins, but close together in arcs. They are siblings. Their last name is Vy'Akor, and Vy's actual first name is Quenaj but she keeps that secret. They are not originally from Melrath and are considered Outlanders. Vy has no magic, but she is marked. Zourvy has no magic and is only marked by proxy through Vy.

Vy is an incredibly compassionate soul who only wishes to help when and where she can. She has a hard past, though, of where this wasn't always the case but after devotion to Ymiden resulted in his blessing of her, she has gotten more steady on her path to atonement. Vy is in her late-20s and biqaj.

Blessed: Ymiden (Favored). Qylios (Favored).
Vy has been praying to both these Immortals ever since she decided she didn't want to cause pain to other people. Ymiden granted her forgiveness and his blessing, which changed her life. She came to Melrath to try and strike forward and lessen suffering. Qylios took notice of her afterward, especially how loyal Vy was to those in need - as well as her sibling, Zourvy, and thus blessed her as well.

Top skills (Master): Medicine, Surgery.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Discipline, Meditation, Logistics.
Low skills (Competent): N/A

Appearance: Scarred and stern, has the telltale coloration of hair that is Ymiden.

Personality: Her younger sibling means a lot to her, and she is bonded to Zourvy. She works hard to go away from evil/selfishness and cowardice to choose courage and the like, but struggles with how she used to be - before she met Ymiden after arcs of devotional prayer and was "saved" by his blessing while in a life-and-death situation.

Weaknesses: Would do absolutely anything for Zourvy, Ymiden, or Qylios (sacrificial-minded). Is easily controlled by her bond to Zourvy.

Strengths: Compassionate and highly knowledgeable about injuries and how to treat them.

Quick Reference:

• Cares about her younger sibling, Zourvy, a lot and is Celarion-bonded to them.
• she was brought in with Zourvy shortly before 112 Vhalar.
• dialogue color: #cfbae1

Zourvy, also known as "Sour", is an androgynous biqaj, younger than Vy by a few arcs. They are sadistic, and enjoy killing, but it comes very naturally to them. They like being difficult to read, as well. They are biqaj.

No known marks, nor is Zourvy a mage.

Top skills (Master): Combat: Blades, Intimidation, Lockpicking.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Stealth, Combat: Unarmed.
Low skills (Competent): N/A

Appearance: An androgynous biqaj, the younger sibling to Quenaj. They dye their hair white.

Personality: Unhinged, to put it lightly. Mischievous, to put it favorably. Has been working as an assassin since the age of fourteen and it has taken a toll on their psyche.

Quick Reference:

• Has had a difficult life with a hard upbringing.
• wouldn't let the Ragnari take Quenaj away from them, so got brought along with.
• they were brought in with Quenaj (Vy) shortly before 112 Vhalar.
• Qylios bonded to their sister.
• old dialogue color: #dafeb7 | new dialogue color: #aee17d

Rolf

Rolf Ludwig is a filthy traitor, to both sides. He is a Ragnari Valkyrion Slayer, though he sure doesn't act like it. He is in his late-30s and human as human gets, though one can hardly tell by how he keeps himself bundled up most of the time. He has no magic, no marks, and no oomph. But he is a married man, and his wife is unfortunately a mage.

Top skills (Master): N/A
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Interrogation.
Low skills (Competent): Discipline.

Appearance: Chainmail, longer hair.

Weaknesses: Doesn't always follow orders, has his wife in the prison currently.

Quick Notes:

• doesn't approve of what is going on, but hides that best he can.
• The Valkyrion purposefully put him in place to internally spy on the Syns.
• dialogue color: #eee600
• Met Ferret outside of Niflheim, doesn't like him, but willing to work with him.
• His wife's name is Cyntia, she is a mid-30s Aesir who is a Competent Grafter who works exclusively with plants.
• He is not as amazing as Gary is.

SECRET UNLOCK NPC

Gary is the best NPC of the entire event. He is 150% amazing and you should have made him your best friend. His full name is Garold Nils but everyone calls him Gary, including his mom. He is presumably a Ragnari Valkyrion Knight, but even so he's better than Rolf in every way. No one knows for sure what race he is, no one has ever seen him without his armor.

Top skills (Master): Blades (Longsword), Blades (Short sword), Blades (Dagger), Basketweaving.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): N/A
Low skills (Competent): N/A.

Appearance: No one ever really sees Gary as he wears armor most of the time. It is rumored he has red hair though.

Personality: Blunt, sometimes awkward, often in a perpetual state of boredom.

Weaknesses: N/A

Strengths: Follows his commands to the letter, knows somewhat about magic, proficient fighter who chooses to disarm rather than kill but he could kill if he wanted to.

Quick Notes:

• Dialogue Color: #ffb239
• All of you met him. He was the first guard you met as a group.
• He also punched Victor.

Angud

Angud is a Spellweaver of the Syns. She is also a Broadcast (Revealed Attunement) as well as master in Abrogation (nemesis: Rupturing, Transmutation, Empathy). She is a Loshova and has a very strong relation with spirits/ghosts. She has been Renate's closest friend since they were young Syn recruits. She used to be married to an Aesir woman, but her wife died around 717 and she revealed shortly thereafter. She is most likely to be sympathetic to the prisoners; and has grown wary whether their experimentation will produce results. She is in her mid-to-late 40s and is mixed Qi'ora/Human.

Blessed: Ashan (adored).
Angud has always been close with spirits and she got Blessed by Ashan as a young woman.


Top skills (Master): Meditation, Discipline, Detection, Persuasion, Endurance.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Resistance, Psychology, Torture, Navigation, Leadership, Interrogation.
Low skills (Competent): N/A

Appearance: 5' 9". Eyes are stitched together, she sees through a blend of attunement and her revealed eye in the center of her forehead.

Personality: Calm.

Quick Notes:

• Angud is Renate's best friend and companion.
• Renate and Angud rose up in the ranks of the Syns together in the past 20-25 years.
• They are familiar and comfortable working together.
• Angud has a deep bond to the rhythm of life and the spirits.
• She used to be married to an Aesir woman, but she recently died.
• She revealed shortly after her wife died (est. 717/718)
• Renate has helped her acclimate to revelation. One could question whether it was Renate who encouraged Angud to reveal.
• Loshova always carry a distinct fragrance of wild flowers and pollen that is always noticeable, even through layers of perfume.

Melrathius

Melrathius is one of the the youngest Spellweavers (at 36 years), and is the youngest Spellweaver in Nifleheim. She is a master in Abrogation (nemesis: necromancy, empathy, and becoming); transmutation and rupturing, and expert in attunement.

She is a very straightforward Melrathi ithecal and so far, follows whoever takes charge of the prison without much complaint. She has no marks and is an Paltharnum Ithecal. Her life has been mostly fair and gentle. She came to know Angud because Angud was her mentor, and initiated her into Attunement and facilitated her Abrogation initiation.

Personality: Professional... to a point.

Quick Notes:

• Born in Melrath, Proud Melrathi Ithecal.
• Incredibly Proud Mage/Magister.
• Four Sparks (Abrogation, Transmutation, Rupturing, Attunement).
• low-key female
• scorpion tail mutation (abrogation related)

Renate Grimnir

Overseer Renate Grimnir is in charge of Niflheim. Her ancestors constructed the very structure of what had once been a fortress. She is an Archmage of the Syns (at late-40s, she is the youngest of Three Archmages), and a Maven (revealed Empath); she also is a Master in both Attunement and Abrogation (nemesis: hone, defiance, rupturing). After her Revelation, she was driven to create the current use of Niflheim in an attempt to research ways to save her family (her daughter, Charlotte, and her husband, Anton).

She has no marks.

Top skills (Master): Discipline, Meditation, Research, Intelligence, Endurance, Resistance, Logistics.
Mid skills (Master/Expert): Torture, Detection, Politics, Leadership, Investigation, Rhetoric, Psychology, Etiquette.
Low skills (Competent): Persuasion, Interrogation, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine.

Appearance: 5' 8". Renate Grimnir is a pale Melrathi woman with raven-black hair and a lineage of human bloodlines. She has a thick-set jaw and wide cheekbones, her bones fairly broad though she has the average build of someone who carefully monitors what she eats. She is cold in demeanor, wears a bare amount of makeup, and most of her tattoos are hidden beneath her robes. She wears strictly grays, silvers, and blacks. She has what looks like a thin scar on her cheek, but upon extremely close examination and even touch, one might find out that it's a sliver of string - the strings that make up her flesh and body. For Renate is a Maven, a Revealed Empath, and as such her body is woven tightly together.

Personality: What can be said of her personality is that it is less of Renate, now, and more of her Spark. Ambitious to a fault, Renate revealed in a moment of weakness 2-3 arcs ago when she found out about her husband's Mimai status. Renate both despises and envies the Immortals degree of power in Idalos over mortals. Her Empath Spark has always encouraged this part of her, and thus, she has been led down a path of obsessive and strict control over the research and discovery of handling mystical elements.

Weaknesses: Her Arrogance, Her Ambition, and Her Emotions (especially in regard to her daughter).

Strengths: Her Discipline, Her Magical Knowledge, and Her Courage.

Quick Reference:

• Many in the Syns actually think that Renate is dead, rather than know about the existence of Niflheim.
• At one point, her family name (Grimnir) had been one of the Melrath Houses in the very early founding arcs of the nation.
• She is the youngest of the Three Archmages that exist within the Syns. Many outside of the "prison" believe her to be dead, arcs ago.
• Her research is "approved" by the Syns, and the Ragnari in general.
• The Aesir know very little about her research.
• The Ydalir do not know of her research.
• The Valkyrion and Syns work together, on limited basis.
• The Skadiri do not approve.
• dialogue color: #d500ea

Anton Grimnir will be seen in the laboratory when he is fed flesh by Renate. He used to be a Ydalir preserver who got his start in the Syns (where he met Renate) but then transferred. He has 5 sparks of varying levels: Empathy (novice) hone - lucis (comp), attunement (expert), defiance (expert); and then he failed a forced Becoming initiation.

Appearance: He takes on the appearance of whatever flesh he eats, but as the third day rolls around, the flesh starts to melt and distort until he eats more.

Personality: Once a man of fair mind and polite manners, he met Renate as an Acolyte in the Syns when they were both young adults. They fell in love quick, and remained with each other after Renate gave birth to Charlotte. He helped raise Charlotte.

He is Irrational and Feral due to Mimai Status.

Weaknesses: Feral, Barely capable of Rational Thought, Needs to Devour every 2-3 Trials.

Strengths: Ridiculously strong in physical force, Not easily taken down, Fast and Instinctual.

Quick Reference:

• Father of Charlotte Grimnir
• Husband of Renate Grimnir
• Once a proficient Syn, then transferred to the Ydalir at the age of 35.
• His Initiations went in this order: Defiance at age 22, Hone - Lucis at age 28, Attunement at age 33 (initiated by Renate), Empathy at age 37 (initiated by Renate)
• Becoming at age 42 (initiated by an unknown Becomer who forced it upon him).
• Charlotte found him in Myrkvior's Forest as a Mimai.
• Renate was determined to figure out how to save him.
• Renate feeds him constant supply of forms to devour and has for the past 3 years.

Niflheim

Niflheim is an ancient Melrathi structure, hidden up in the mountains, and impossible to find unless one knows what they are looking for. It is warded by ancient magic, and whatever its original purpose was meant to be, it got lost to time. The first recorded understanding of the place is that it was utilized as a fortress against beasts of the past. Melrathi ancestors saw it as a sanctuary from the threats of the world around them, but there are also many recordings of how the windowless walls and many similar-looking halls can gradually lead people into madness.

Over time, the wards weakened and warped. The fortress got mostly forgotten except for the descendants of the original founders and caretakers of the building: the main of which is the Grimnir family.

The Grimnirs used Niflheim for all sorts of purposes, ranging from a simple home to a storage facility, until Renate Grimnir offered it to the Syns as a sort of private space for practice where the rest of Melrath (and most notably, the Ragnari) wouldn't meddle like they often do with the towers. Her first two offers were denied. When she made her third, Renate Grimnir was a Spellweaver and soon after, became one of the Archmages. With no one left to deny her, she opened Niflheim up for the purpose of magical research.

As such, Niflheim is home to a great many magical artifacts. When the Fall of Emea occurred, many of these artifacts reacted and Renate realized the significance of the moment. She quickly took advantage of it, especially when she heard of the etherstorms to the nearby Etzori territory of the east. Grimnir, with some other researchers, came up with a plan to imprison mages, marked, and the like within Niflheim - the knowledge granted by what was discovered due to the Fall of Emea.

Portions of Niflheim got reconstructed to suppress magic.

Magic Suppression of Niflheim

Variations of the Livlös Tree in construction and food.
This is the wood that was in the shackles.

Touch with bare skin - single tier reduction in 1 bit, additional tier in 5 bits. Sense of something wrong, but uncertain as to what. 25% ether loss toward overstepping in 5 bits. Tiers regained in 5 bits upon loss of contact. Ether loss recharges normally.

Consumption (a teaspoon's worth, disguised as some vegetable in a bowl of soup, perhaps?) - Instant reduction of 1 tier, 2nd tier in 1 bit. Again, the mage will know, but have difficulty dealing with it. At this point, 100% ether loss puts mage on brink of overstepping. Reduction of 3rd and 4th tier in 5 and 10 bits, respectively. At whichever point of tier reduction the mage is able to vomit the consumed wood up, one additional tier will be lost regardless. Effects remain until wood passes from the body. Ether loss recharges normally. The spark will hunger during the time of recharging.

Mark Suppression of Niflheim

Pyramid Artifact (used primarily in the experimentation to do with removing Curses and Blessings). Unique.
Destroyed during the procedure with Navyri and Charlotte.

Dream/Ether (Mark and Magic) Suppression of Niflheim

The Sphere Artifact. Unique.
Meant to go along with the Pyramid for additional control, its power greatly waned after the Pyramid got destroyed.
It is kept in Renate Grimnir's private quarters.

It reverses the flow of Ether, while it rotates, which essentially shuts down the pathways ordinary outside of its reach.
There are nested spheres instead of the larger sphere until one reaches a very tiny marble sphere.
The direction of their rotation can be changed, and doing so influences which ether pathways are closed off.

Renate had been studying this artifact for a long time, as it was passed down between Archmages, but it wasn't until the Fall of Emea that she discovered linked uses to its rotations and the impact different settings had.

What happens to this sphere depends on what happens to Grimnir, and thus is up to Praetorum and Amaris' choices. It is most likely that it will be destroyed or severely damaged, though.

[Praetorum]

Date: 1st of Zi'da, Arc 719

Status: Obstinant

"What was the first spark you received?" 



Praetorum sat back in his chair—actually ithecal sized, thankfully—with his arms crossed, or at least as close as he could get to it with his wrists chained to his neck again. It was a position that looked and felt awkward, but it took some of the strain off of arms that could no longer extend fully. Across from him, in her own appropriately sized chair, sat Spellweaver Angud, her hands folded neatly across her lap, her central eye open and staring straight at him. Spellweaver Melrathius stood a short distance away, her abrogation shackles binding him to the chair. 



Prae vaguely felt like he should be flattered that they'd consider him dangerous enough to assign Melrathius as a guard for this interrogation. Mostly though, Prae was trying his best not to feel anything but meditative calm, as the revealed attuner asked him question after question after question. Prae didn't know just how much information attuning could provide Angud, and truth be told, he wasn't convinced he knew anything that really mattered. But it was a matter of principle to him—and perhaps just a little bit of pettiness—not to reveal anything to an interrogator. So Prae settled into the calm of his own mind, letting the questions wash over him, registering them, but without thinking of the answers, or feeling anything about them.


It wasn't as easy as it sounded. Prae was exhausted, after being starved of food and water after his force feeding some time ago, and being locked back in that dark, dank cell for fates knew how long. Not a word left his muzzle, but he was certain Angud had noted a reaction at some of her questions, and if she could indeed read his thoughts, she would have the answers to a few more. Nothing Prae could do about that, he supposed. 



A thick silence settled between them, dragging on painfully as the pair stared at each other. Eventually, Angud relented, placid as ever as she moved on to the next question.



"What did you do that earned you your Taithir mark?"


A blank stare was all that she recieved from Prae. Behind him, Melrathius huffed softly—in irritation or amusement, Prae wasn't sure which. And the silence stretched on, broken only by the clinking of chain.



This was going to be a very long trial. 

[Praetorum]

Date: 23rd of Zi'da, Arc 719

Status: Enraged and immobile

"Experiment seven on ithecal subjects; researcher Talbot dictating, research assistant Amielle transcribing."


Bound and muzzled, Prae could do nothing but snarl as a voice he was growing to loath sounded at his back. But the lab assistants had learned their lesson about giving him any slack in the chain, and his arms were stretched out above him as far as they could go. Completely immobilized, Prae could move nothing but his head, and even that, only a little. Certainly not enough to see what the researchers were doing behind him. 



"Thus far, we have determined that the unblemished scales of an ithecal marked and with magic have no unusual alchemical properties, as far as any of our experiments have been able to discern." Under his bandages, Prae's wounds throbbed at the memory, and he bit into the muzzle between his jaws, trying to find something else to focus on. 



"Some minute differences can be discerned with Transmutation, but nothing truly conclusive." Craning his to the left, Praetorum could just barely see Sneabru at his side, bound just as tightly. The Wyvarnth wasn't doing well, Prae fretted, sagging in his chains despite the strain it must put on his shoulders. It was a sure way to dislocate them, but Sneabru barely seemed to care, eyes glassy, breathing labored. He'd been like that all night, despite Prae's best efforts to feed him the treats Melrathius had 'dropped' in his cell last night. If things kept going like this..... 



"This trial's experiments will follow the standard methodology, but utilize those scales physically marked by magic." 



And then came the sounds Prae had come to despise the most: the squeal of slightly †rusty metal, and footsteps across the floor. Prae could practically see it now. The opening of the metal cabinet, where all the tools and blades were neatly organized; the traitor lordling, obediently scribbling down every word and holding whatever the researcher handed him like an obedient little puppy; Talbot himself, arrogantly tapping his chin as he considered the scalpels arrayed before him.


"From the wyvarnth, we will take three samples—one from a necromantic witchmark on the left forearm, one from a hone awakening on the upper back, and one from an unidentifiable mutation at the base of the tail."


Prae had thought Sneabru completely insensate, but apparently the smaller ithecal still had enough of his wits about him to shudder in fear. They both knew from experience that the samples Talbot took were large, but not deep. That almost made it hurt worse, in Prae's opinion; the researchers wouldn't bandage them up until all the samples were taken, labeled and organized, leaving a good few bits where their wounds were exposed to the open, seeping blood and pus and agony into the air of the laboratory. 



"From the mixed breed, we will also take three samples—the first from a lightning scar witchmark on the lower back, the second from a hone witchmark at the collarbone, and the last from the mutated tail. A central section will give the most accurate results, I think."


The first cut into Prae's hide was easy, no worse than the injuries ithecal children accumulated playfighting. The next cut was easy as well, and the next, and the next. It wasn't until that wicked scalpel started to slide underneath the skin that the pain truly began. Behind the muzzle, Praetorum groaned as Talbot fell into an clumsy rhythm of pulling and slicing, pulling and slicing, each awful in their own way. 



Prae had quite a lot of experience skinning animals; Talbot clearly did not, and drew the process out far, far too long. Prae might have even thought it on purpose, a truly sadistic form of torture, had he not been forced to endure the man's endless complaints about how tragically tedious the process of skinning a live ithecal was.



After what felt like an eternity, the final cut was made into his hide, and the click of footsteps marked the end of this first collection. One down, two to go, Prae hissed to himself. He knew Talbot hadn't cut all the way to the muscle, had seen for himself that they were only taking the outer layer of his hide. But fates, it was hard to remember that with the cold air of the lab biting at his exposed hide, the slightest breeze sending tremors of hurt through him. 



At his side, Sneabru let out a shrill, pained noise, and Prae winced, desperately wanting to reach his tail out to comfort the smaller ithecal. As a wyvarnth, he had thinner scales rather than the thick, uniform hide that Prae did, which meant that rather than taking a single, large sample, Talbot would peel his scales off in strips and layers. As the cries and yelps intensified, Praetorum craned his neck as far as he could, trying to catch Sneabru's eye, hoping for..... something. Anything. To let him know he wasn't alone, to assure him wordlessly that he would survive this too. 



It was no use. Sneabru's eyes were open, but unseeing, the soul behind them hiding away from the things it could not bear. Prae knew that feeling all too well. At times like these, he wanted to do the same, just curl up into his own mind until he stopped hurting.


He never did. Someone would need to take care of Sneabru once they were thrown back into their joint cell. And he wanted, even needed, to bear witness to all that happened here. Because every cry of pain, every drop of blood, every slice of the blade stoked the flames of rage and hate in Praetorum's heart. And Prae could not let that anger die, not while he was still trapped in here. 



Not while that anger was all that kept despair at bay.

[Praetorum]

Date: 22nd of Cylus, Arc 720


Status: Plotting

It had taken a while for Prae to get used to eating with his hands so tightly restricted. When he'd first arrived here in Niflheim, each hand had been chained to his neck, but otherwise left free. But after the escape attempt, and Prae's defiance in captivity, even that much freedom was evidently too good for him. A chain around his waist kept his tail restrained, and the cuffs around his wrists had been chained together as well, with barely two fingers of space between them. 



Eventually, Prae had found that handling a spoon like this was more or less impossible, and had settled on just picking the entire bowl of stew up to drink instead. It was bothersome, to be certain, but at least it was better than the feeding tube. 



He'd just about finished his stew when a figure plopped down on the other side of the table from him, startling Sneabru out from under the table. "You two heard the news yet?" Zourvy wore a strained grin, as usual, but this trial there was an intensity to their eyes that hadn't been there last time they'd spoken. A few moments later, Vy settled down as well, clutching the Celarion mark at her arm. Unlike her twin, she didn't try to feign cheer, but she did offer a small smile in greeting to Praetorum and Sneabru, perched nervously at the edge of the bench with his tail curled around himself.



"Hard not to." Prae sighed, setting the bowl back down on the table. For over a trial, all anyone had been able to talk about were the three prisoners who'd disappeared from their cells. The guards tried their best to suppress such talk, but even they seemed bone tired now, their scoldings half-hearted at best. Sometimes, Prae thought, it seemed like even they were praying for an escape from this thrice damned fortress. 



"They say it's dreamwalking. You know, slipping into Emea." Zourvy's were almost glassy with desperation now, the biqaj straining so frantically for even the tiniest shred of hope that Prae feared something in them might snap, if it hadn't already. Even Vy's hand settling on their shoulder only eased the tension there by a hair. "If we could figure out how they did it, we could—"



The words died in their mouth, as if they were afraid saying it out loud would ruin the possibility. 



Prae didn't say anything either. He didn't want Zourvy to get their hopes up. 



The truth was, Prae had had the exact same thought, ever since he'd first realized he could dream again. He had a brand on Ricky; if he could just cross over.....


There were two major problems with this escape route. The first was that Praetorum had found his dreamwalking abilities patchy and inconsistent, even just within his own dreamscape. He'd thought at first that it was a symptom of exhaustion and disuse, but no, it didn't seem like that was the case. It had taken a few trials to realize just what had changed: his equipment. 



From the moment he'd started dreamwalking, he had had with him a dreamstone. He'd thought its only purpose had been to awaken him in emea, but it seemed that it had boosted his abilities as well. Without that crutch, Prae was having difficulty managing his dreams, nevermind traveling between them. 



The second problem was that Prae could only, as far as he knew, take himself into Emea. He would have to leave everyone else behind, and that was something Prae knew he couldn't do. It was tempting to try and escape from here and gather a force to assault Niflheim, but it was risky. 


But there was something else that dreamwalking could do, at least according to rumors, that interested Prae very, very much. What he'd heard—both from his mentor in Yaralon and from the other mages imprisoned here—was that a truly talented dreamwalker could not only bring physical things into Emea, but also bring dreamstuff out. It could not create the impossible, or the living, Prae was certain, or else warfare would be utterly dominated by dreamwalkers conjuring immortal armies into existence, but the impossible wouldn't be necessary. If Prae could dream up weapons, or food untainted by these drugs, and bring them back with him.... A second jailbreak might not be impossible.

[Victor Amielle]

Ashan 50, Arc 720

Sometimes, Victor had had doubts. He had had doubts when he had found out that something in the food had kept the other prisoners and him from using their magic, for example. He had wondered why their captors had not given him his magic back when he had agreed to work for them, why they had still insisted on treating him like the rest of the prisoners.

He had had doubts about his decision to work against his fellow prisoners when Archmage Grimnir had ordered that he be moved into one of the laboratory cells in order to be experimented on, just like he had once experimented on Praetorum and the other prisoners.

He had wondered if he had just been a pawn then, a tool.

Victor had wondered if he had made the right decision when he had come down with some sort of disease, shortly after the experiments that they had conducted on him – a disease, a cough, that refused to go away again and that affected his quality of life negatively on a daily basis – and when he had found out that a close friend of his had died in Niflheim.

Those doubts had never lasted longer than a couple of moments at a time though. Most mages were dangerous. They needed to be controlled, and conducting research was absolutely necessary. Some of the people that he had encountered in Niflheim had obviously not been stable. They had been freaks, they had been dirty and deformed. There had even been a couple of cannibals that had feasted on the bodies of their fellow prisoners.

He didn’t owe the other prisoners anything, just because they had ended up in Niflheim in a similar manner as him, just because they were mages and had been blessed as well. He had never had anything in common with them. There had never been any other way.

What he had done, had helped him survive.

Besides, Spellweaver Angud had apologized to him for what had happened to him and proceeded to make a deal with him. He had always trusted her the most out of all the people who had worked in Niflheim. She had released him. She had assured him that he would be recognized for the risk that he had taken - for agreeing to testify in a hearing about Niflheim and the Syns, and in the end, she had stayed true to her word. He had gotten everything that she had promised to him. He had, he decided, done the right thing.

~~~

Shortly after his return from Scalvoris where he had tied up a few loose ends – he felt that he needed to do that before he started his new life in Melrath – and been faced with his dead lover once more, the moment finally arrived. That trial, he rose with the sun so that he would have enough time to prepare himself for the ceremony that lay ahead. As always since he had left Niflheim, he reached for the medicine that stood on his nightstand before he even got dressed. So far, no pills and no potions had made the cough and the occasional soreness in his limbs go away, but the medicine did at least make him feel a little more like a human being.

He had already laid the clothes that he would wear for the ceremony out on a chair the evening before. Instead of an outfit in a Lysorian style – he was Lysorian by birth; his older brother still ruled Lysoria – he had opted for a traditional Melrathi outfit, an indigo robe with a bright blue silken sash, a sign of his loyalty to the nation that he would serve from then on forth. The robe was made of a slightly thicker material than usual; winter was gone now, but one of his mutations made him freeze more easily than most.

He accepted it as the price that he had to pay for his magic quite willingly though, just like the other one that affected his senses so that he could almost taste the sharpness of the adamantite blade in its stand by the door – or the wood of the floor that he walked on. He tried to block those things out as best as he could that morning though, even though some of them stubbornly tried to stay at the forefront of his mind. That morning, he wouldn’t allow himself to get distracted by anything. With that thought in mind, he moved out of the living room into the kitchen, in order to eat a light breakfast, and then he was already on his way to Lyngvi Tower where the ceremony would take place.

~~~

A cough momentarily escaped his lips before he walked up to the door and greeted the two members of the Ragnari that guarded the door, inclining his head politely, before he stepped through. He was excited. A part of him was almost overwhelmed with joy, in fact. Stefan, his brother, had criticized him, he had accused him of abandoning his duties, he had called him an unruly, wayward child – but he had accomplished something, and he would serve someone with everything that he had now.

He had already been granted temporary membership with the Syns while he had been in Niflheim. He already knew some of the people that he passed by on is way to the hall where the ceremony would take place, but there was a sense of novelty, nevertheless. This was different from the underground prison where he had worked as a research assistant, where he had studied the blessings and sparks of his fellow prisoners. This time, he was truly free and would not be locked up in a laboratory, no matter how briefly.

~~~

He walked past the Syns that were gathered there, past Spellweaver Eklund, the father of his friend Lyngheid who had died in Niflheim, and knelt down in front of the one who would lead the ceremony, bowing his head in a sign of deepest respect, as he listened, to the speech about the Syns, who they were, what their duties were and what would be expected from him from now on. His eyes widened in surprise for a moment as he was informed that he would not join as a recruit, but be given the rank of Warlock due to what he had done.

He was grateful for that – and proud, incredibly proud, in fact, and when the time came, he spoke loudly and clearly and with utter conviction, “I swear.” He would fight for his new home and protect it with everything that he had – he would fight Melrath’s enemies and do whatever was asked of him.

With that thought in mind, he rose to his feet again. The ceremony was far from over though. On the contrary, it had just begun. They informed him that he would be given a tattoo, that he would be given the Gleam that would allow him to see the world in a new light.

He followed a member of the Syns to a new room. He walked with confidence. He didn’t want to let anybody know that he was not entirely healthy, that he was still recovering from what had happened in Niflheim, that he might not be back to normal for a while. The procedure – he had decided that the tattoo would be on his neck – was painful, far more painful that he had expected it to be, perhaps due to the magic contained within - but he didn’t complain. He tried to stay calm, to relax, to breathe evenly, to grit his teeth, to bear it.

This was an honor, a great honor, even more so because he was still an Outlander, more or less.

He told himself that the pain was only temporary, anyway, and what he would gain from the procedure would be more than worth it. The design that he chose was simple, a lightning pale blue, with hints of purple, inspired by the ether missiles that he had used to fight his enemies once upon a time, matching the mutations on his arms, glimmering cracks that always seemed to be slightly cool to the touch. What happened afterwards, was almost overwhelming, so much that he closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them again abruptly.

He could see. He could see so much more than he had ever seen before. The world around him suddenly seemed to radiate with energy. There were countless different sources of energy. He could see ether, lifeforce, things that he had barely been aware of until now. He had never experienced anything as beautiful before. It was absolutely breathtaking, so much that it made him smile and nearly brought tears to his eyes at the same time.

His world, he realized, had changed forever.

!	Message from: Pig Boy
	You are now a member of the Syn's, with the rank of Warlock! Congratulations!

[Praetorum]

Date: 22nd of Cylus
, Arc 720

Status: Deeply Alarmed

It was, in Prae's opinion, a good plan. Unfortunately, it was never to be. 



Just as Prae was finishing the last of his bread, the steady hum of chatter between the prisoners in the great hall came to a screeching halt—that was to say, there was an unholy screech of pain that stopped every conversation dead in a heartbeat. 



There was a moment where no one could figure out where the sound had come from; then, a pair of figures landed on one of the tables with a crash and a cry, and chaos erupted as everyone tried to get a look at once. 



The guards started shouting at everyone to sit back down, but two words still managed to cut through the din, screamed in a voice cracking with terror with terror. "They're coming! They—"



The words were lost in another earthshattering crash that sent wood and plates and stew and blood everywhere, and then almost nothing could be heard over the panicked screams of the prisoners at the center of the room. 



Eyes wide, Prae leaped to his feet—nearly overbalancing as he did—and craned his head to see just what had caused such a panic. His eyes landed on the epicenter of the unfolding chaos, and a cry of shock slipped from his throat, even as an armored hand caught his wrist. "Ithecal, sit your tail back—"


Gary's admonition died in his throat as he turned, and saw what Prae saw. 



His eyes were drawn first to a broad shouldered, almost majestic looking creature, something like a lion crossed with an armadillo. A proud, flaming orange mane framed murderous eyes and a muzzle painted in blood; orange plates overlapped over the back, sides, and limbs of the beast, shifting easily as it padded over the floor; wickedly large claws gouging into the stone with every step. 



Behind it was a serpent of tremendous size, metallic scales gleaming in the firelight as it curled tight around an unlucky guard, the man shrieking in pain as blood started to seep from between its coils. When it opened its maw, liquid dripped from iron fangs, a clear fluid that looked like, and was almost certainly not water. This clear fluid leaked onto the floor, mixing into pink as it joined another drip, drip, drip of blood.  



Following that drip of blood upwards led to a bird of some kind, with a wingspan easily the height of a human, a beak like a dagger and talons so sharp it hurt to look at them, clutching a mangled human corpse. It let out a screeching cry that echoed with despair and horror, and let the body drop to the ground below, disappearing entirely from view.



"Wow." Gary said flatly, dropping Prae's wrist. "That's new."




Emeyans

All three Emeyans are Moderate.

Lion Emeyan
Minor Traits - Bestial, Armored, Natural Weapon (Claws), Quadruped
Major Traits - Regeneration, Telepathic

Skills - 50 Intimidation, 50 Unarmed Combat, 50 Acrobatics


Snake Emeyan
Minor Traits - Bestial, Poison, Blindsense, Fast, 

Major Traits - Extreme Biology (Iron), Telepathic, 

Skills - 50 Endurance, 50 Unarmed Combat, 50 Strength


Vulture Emeyan
Minor Traits - Bestial, Winged Flight, Emotional Aura (Despair), Natural Weapon (Talons), 

Major Traits - Invisibility, Telepathic, 

Skills - 50 Detection, 50 Unarmed Combat, 50 Flying


[Praetorum]

Date: 44th of Zi'da, Arc 719

Status: Gleefully Vengeful

"Experiment nineteen on Ithecal subjects; researchers Talbot and Eskelsen dictating, research assistant Amielle transcribing."


Prae was slumped in his restraints, his breathing erratic, his eyes glassy. Whatever it was they had just force fed him, it hit hard, loosening his muscle and clouding his mind—out of the corner of half closed eyes, he could see Sneabru was entirely unconscious. 



"I am of the opinion we have learned all we can from the scales, blood, and flesh of these creatures—our findings have been interesting, but inconclusive." Prae's eyes fluttered shut entirely as he let Talbot's loathsome voice wash over him. "I believe that if we are to gain more information, we must look to other aspects of Ithecal physiology. Among becomers, it is commonly accepted that a body can be separated into three distinct categories: Lifeforce, Visage, and Structure. Thus far, our experiments have only involved the first two—this trial's will be the first to deal with the latter. Unfortunately, the Overseer has expressly forbidden me from taking bones from the subjects, but teeth should work just as well."


"Theoretically." Eskelsen interrupted. Praetorum found Eskelsen tolerable, at least as far as the researchers went. Partially because his experiments on their tails were more or less painless, but mostly because of just how much Talbot seemed to loath him. Their relationship, as far as Prae could gather, was less a rivalry, and more mutual contempt—Eskelsen disliked Talbot's 'slapdash approach to variables and methodology', while Talbot despised Eskelsen's 'cowardly reluctance to push the boundaries of scientific understanding'. 



"Theoretically." Prae could almost hear the sneer in Talbot's voice. "Researcher Eskelsen has proposed that perhaps for Ithecal, teeth, which function as an indicator of strength—" Not for the first time, Prae drowsily wondered what sort of Ithecal lived on the western continent, as certainly nothing they'd ever said rang true for Empire Ithecal—"might fall under the category of Visage, rather than Structure. Perhaps you'd also like to suggest that their hide is enough like an exoskeleton to count as Structure? Or that a Wyvarnth's venom would be Lifeforce?"


Eskelsen scoffed contemptuously, but said nothing. 



"Strike that from the record, up to 'perhaps'." Talbot snapped at the little lordling, obediently scribbling down every word. "We will conduct this experiment under the assumption that teeth are Structure; once we find a becomer of sufficient power and sanity, we will conduct another experiment to confirm this, and reevaluate these results if necessary. Will that satisfy you, Vasili?"


"I would prefer it if you allowed me to set the experimental parameters, but if this is the best you can do, then yes, I am satisfied." Eskelsen said dryly. "It's your name going on the report, after all, so by all means, make as many mistakes as you please."


"Strike that from the record, up to 'Will'." Talbot said. "Sedatives have been administered orally to both subjects, dosage scaled according to weight." There was a pause. "The Wyvarnth has responded as expected, fully unconscious, vitals stable. The mixed breed..."


A hand grabbed Prae's muzzle, turning his head this way and that. Prae tried to feign unconsciousness, but when a hand forced his eyelids open, his eye couldn't help but focus on Talbot's face, far too close to his own. The hand on his jaw dropped to his throat, and squeezed; the force of it was weak enough that Prae couldn't bring himself to care. "The mixed breed shows some signs of alertness, but little to no muscular control."


"One of the subjects is awake? We should increase the dosage before we proceed."


With one eye being forced open, Prae had a perfect view of the infuriated look that flashed across Talbot's face. He hated Eskelsen, Prae noted distantly. Hated him so much that he couldn't think straight. Prae knew the feeling. "Trust you to always find something to whine about." Talbot snarled. "If we increase the dosage, we'll have to wait another break for it to take effect, by which time the other subject will begin awakening. No, we will continue. It doesn't matter if it's awake, as long as it can't move."


Eskelsen looked unconvinced. "It's a risk that—"


"What we stand to learn here in Niflheim is worth any risk." Talbot interrupted loftily. "No researcher worth their salt would squander such an opportunity out of cowardice."


"What you call cowardice, I call caution." Eskelsen grumbled, but said nothing more. Talbot seemed to view that as a win, his face going smug and eminently punchable as he let go of Prae's eyelid. A moment later, Prae felt a hand on the side of the muzzle holding his mouth shut, fiddling with the leather until...


"As Ithecal dentition is none of our areas of expertise, we will take a molar, incisor, and canine from each subject for this first test, to see if there is any significant difference in their structure or usability." The muzzle was pulled away, and then hands were carefully pulling his jaws apart, mindful of his teeth. Confused and exhausted and weak as a kitten, Prae let it happen, seeing no advantage in biting now except to maybe see Talbot piss himself. It would almost be worth whatever they did to him for that. Almost.

There was the clink of metal against one of his canines, and then a block of something was wedged between his back teeth on one side of his mouth. Then, he felt something metal try to grip one of the back teeth on the other side. Somewhat belatedly, he realized that they were trying to pull them out, and his jaw twitched in alarm. He could feel his teeth sinking into the block of something, far less sturdy than he had expected, and a spark of hope lit up in his sedative fogged mind.



"Shit!" Evidently, it was Eskelsen who had been holding the tool, quickly drawn out of his mouth. "I think he just tried to bite down."


"Some sort of reflexive contraction, that's all." Talbot sounded almost like he was gloating now. "Surely you aren't afraid of a sedated subject with its jaws wedged open?"


"We haven't tested this one's bite strength yet. He's a mixed subspecies, we don't know how that might affect—"


"Spellweaver Melrathius was kind enough to confirm an Ithecal's bite strength for us; if you wish to tell her that you believe a half starved prisoner drugged to the gills is stronger than she is, be my guest."


Eskelsen made a frustrated noise. "You're being ridiculous. There's no reason not to sedate him properly, it would only take a few breaks—"


"Breaks which we cannot afford to waste." Talbot barked. "We move to the second phase of experiments in six trials, and I cannot, will not fall behind on these preliminary investigations."


"Don't be so prideful;" Eskelsen snapped back. "Your experiments with these subjects have produced such erratic results, I don't think—"


"Evidently not. Should I take this as you refusing to participate in this experiment."


"All I'm bloody asking you is to think for even a single trill about safety—"


"Amielle." Talbot was almost shouting now. "Let the record show that Researcher Eskelsen has declined to participate further in this experiment."


"That's not—"


There was the sound of a stumble; Eskelsen made an indignant noise, and fell silent. 



"If you don't have the stomach for real science, I suggest you leave." Talbot mocked, and Prae thought for a moment that he could almost hear Eskelsen grinding his teeth. "As I was saying, we will extract three teeth from each subject, starting with a molar."


Again, the feeling of a metal tool scraping against his mouth, sliding towards the back teeth unobstructed by that block of what Prae guessed was wood. The tool shifted again, and then there was the barest brush of something soft against his front teeth.


If his mouth wasn't as wide open as it could go, he would have smiled. He was more than willing to believe that this setup was strong enough to keep Melrathius from closing her mouth. She was a Paltharnum, after all, and Prae's own rounded jaw was certainly shaped far more like hers than the sharp, crocodile like mouth of a Thiussum's. 



But, in the end....


"Talbot, I don't—"


Praetorum was his mother's son. 



His jaws shut with a snap, splintering the wooden block, bending the metal tool, and just as he'd hoped, catching soft flesh between wickedly sharp teeth. 



Praetorum had never thought of himself as a sadistic person, but Talbot shriek of pain and terror was a balm on his ragged soul. There was a jagged pain in the roof of his mouth, metal and wood both cutting into it, and Prae wasn't sure how much of the blood he could taste was his own, but still he kept his mouth firmly shut, teeth embedded deep into bone. 



It was a testament to how effective their sedative was that Prae hadn't taken Talbot's fingers off cleanly, to be honest—he'd once seen his mother bite a human's arm right off, and his own jaw strength wasn't that much inferior to hers. 



"Getitoffgetitoffgetitoffgetitoff—" Talbot's screams were incomprehensible noise to Prae at this point, but he didn't need to understand what the man was saying to take a vengeful pleasure in it. There was a crunch as his jaws flexed once more, and the man fell back onto the laboratory floor, missing the better part of two fingers and a thumb. 



He wouldn't be doing any more research anytime soon, Prae thought to himself with satisfaction, spitting out blood, wood, fingers, and what turned out to be a pair of forceps, the tip now badly bent. 


The lab was a cacophony of noise now: Talbot's screams and sobs, cries of horror from Eskelson and the other researchers, shouts for help, even a few laughs and jeer from the other experimental subjects awake enough to have seen what happened. 



The inside of Prae's mouth was still bleeding from the splintered wood, he was pretty sure he'd chipped a tooth on the metal forceps, and across the lab, a pair of doors swung open, revealing a pack of guards who would no doubt wrestle him back into his muzzle, probably permanently this time. But he ignored all of that, dropping his gaze to the man bleeding on the floor, still shaking like a leaf as he stared up at Prae in horrified denial. 



Prae couldn't help himself, he grinned, snapped his teeth again—


—and laughed when Talbot fainted. 


[Praetorum]

Date: 25th of Cylus, Arc 720

Status: Plotting

There was a change in the air, so thick Praetorum could nearly taste it. Since the slaying of those... creatures that had emerged from Emea, the guards had given up even the pretext of keeping the peace among the prisoners, letting them talk and speculate and plan as they wished, often even joining in. Something about surviving a life and death situation together had bonded the guards to their charges, and now, they seemed to be on the verge of a mutiny.



Over the last three trials, the heat and pace of the conversations spreading through the hall had been rapidly increasing, and the tension in the air was so dense you could swim through it. Everyone was miserable, everyone was angry, everyone just wanted to get out and go back to their lives. This hall of resentful prisoners and angry guards was an oil soaked torch, just waiting for a spark.



The problem was, no one wanted to be that spark. Everyone, guard and prisoner alike, was scared of the Spellweavers and their troops. Even if all the guards and over a hundred weak, starved, magicless prisoners joined hands, Grimnir's personal army would almost certainly be able to cut them down with ease, to say nothing of the syn researchers and the spellweavers themselves. Add to that the rumors of something..... hungry in the depths of Niflheim, any dreams of escape were heavily tempered by terror. 



None of them wanted to return to the labs. 



Prae could understand their hesitation, their reluctance to truly commit to any of the ideas or plans that had been floating around. Because they were right, the prisoners and guards alone had no chance against the full might of Grimnir's forces. 



But Praetorum knew something that they didn't. 




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



"Why?" Prae asked skeptically, arms folding across his chest as he leaned back in his seat. "Grimnir is your commander, is she not?" Across from him, Melrathius sat in a plush armchair, arms resting on her knees as she leaned forwards. It was almost familiar, but a spellweaver's chambers were far more comfortable than the interrogation rooms that Prae was used to. "Do you really expect me to believe that you would betray her, just for a chance to test yourself against me?"



Despite their vastly different positions in Niflheim, Praetorum thought he had a good grasp on what Melrathius was like—she was as Ithecal as they came, proud, honorable, and deeply loyal to Melrath and to her superiors. The only reason Prae even bothered asking was because the idea of her lying was just as ludicrous as the idea of her offering to help him escape. 



"That's not the only reason." Melrathius admitted. "Although that is the reason I'm bringing this offer to you directly." She sighed then, settling back in her chair with a trouble look. "Angud is starting to lose faith in this place, and in Grimnir. She's troubled by how few results we've had, for how many lives lost." Praetorum shot her a deeply unsympathetic look, which she politely ignored. "And Grimnir is growing a little.... erratic. Or obsessive, I suppose. She's been talking about—" 



Melrathius hesitated then, then shook her head. "Well, it doesn't matter. What matters is.... Angud has decided that she needs to stop Grimnir, and I agree. She's already chosen a prisoner to send back to the Circle. Amielle will testify—"


Prae straightened up at that. "The lordling?" He demanded, tail lashing in agitation. 



"Maybe? It was the human Tarouz who helped in the labs. He'll testify to the circle, and if all goes well, they will send someone to deal with it. The experiments here have... not exactly been approved, so they'll take this quite seriously." 



Anger curled in Prae's gut, a familiar heat searing him from the inside out. Angud had set free that cowardly little rat? If that was the case, they wouldn't be able to count on any outside help; the little lordling was as likely to have turned tail and run as he was to follow Angud's directions. Still, Angud seemed to believe in him, and Melrathius seemed to believe in her—if expecting reinforcements was what made her decide to help Prae, he wasn't going to disabuse her of that. 



At this point, he would take any advantage he could get. And Melrathius was a damn good advantage. "So, you're hoping that we can conduct a two pronged attack—the prisoners harassing them from inside, and the Ragnari besieging them from outside, is that right?" 



Melrathius nodded. "It won't be easy, but I know there are a fair few decent fighters among the prisoners. And Grimnir trusts Angud implicitly—she can feed us information with attunement, if I'm with you."


That was a statement that raised more questions from Prae, but what he wanted to know about attunement could wait. "Still, it's going to be rough. Even with all the guards and all the prisoners..." He frowned. "Ferret said.... something about a powder that you put in our food. Said that that was what blocked our magic." Melrathius nodded in confirmation. "Do you know when they add the powder in? Do they add it to the finished food, or are the ingredients treated with this powder before they start cooking with it."


"I'm not sure." Melrathius admitted. "Whatever instructions Grimnir gave the kitchen staff at the beginning, they've been following through diligently enough that none of us have ever had to check in on them." 



Damn. That meant there was no chance Melrathius could go to the kitchen on some pretense and swap the powder out. Ideally, Prae would have liked for all of the prisoners to be back at full strength before they risked any sort of fight with the well trained, well armed soldiers. Still, if they could seize a kitchen or ingredient storeroom.... With the guards, it should be at least possible. And Prae had spotted more than a few domain bags among the confiscated equipment, so they could probably take what they needed and move on before the soldiers found them. 



"Okay." Prae said. "I'll accept your help. But I need something from you right now."




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



Whatever stability Zourvy had found when they'd been reunited with their sister, they had lost again under endless days of torture and experimentation. Now, they veered erratically from manically upbeat to violently angry without notice, only ever calming down when Vy spoke to them, and even then, only temporarily. 



This trial, they were once again at the center of an argument, one that was a hairsbreadth away from turning into a proper fight. 



"What part of your muscle brain doesn't understand?" Zourvy bellowed, this time at a lotharro who was practically vibrating with fury. Vy and Sneabru hovered nearby, trying to calm them down, but Zourvy was having none of it. "If we try to break out again without a plan, we will die! Not all of us get to be reborn, you idiot!"


"And if we don't break out soon, they're going to throw us back into the labs." The lotharro snarled. "This is the only chance we'll ever get to join forces like this. If we don't do it now, they'll separate us all again, and we're going to rot in these fucking cells and that fucking lab until they fucking dissect us! I would rather die, permanently, than live like this."


There were, concerningly, quite a few murmurs of agreement at that. Prae stood then, grateful that after he'd fought alongside and saved quite a few of them, the guards now let him walk around the great hall more or less unrestrained. As he walked towards the arguing pair, Zourvy tried to lunge at the lotharro, only to be caught and dragged back by Vy and Sneabru. 



"Go die if you want to, but don't drag the rest of us into it." They yelled, face almost crimson. 



The lotharro's eyes flashed with rage, and one of the guards laid a hand on his shoulder in warning. "You gods damned coward, do you really—"



"I'm not about to drag my sister into your stupid suicidal—"



Prae pushed his way through the crowd, and stepped between them. "Enough!" He roared, and the hall fell silent.

[Pig Boy]

Victor

Experience: 15 No magic xp

Knowledge:

Politics x 3
Research x 3
Discipline x 3
Intelligence x 3

Renown: 15 for joining the Syns as a former prisoner. Victor is a bit notorious among the Syns to start, but may find they come to accept him in time.

Skill Usage: Appropriate to level

Loot/Losses: All rewards given as a result of this event, prior to this final grade.

Injuries/Conditions: none

Consequences: You joined the Syns.

Praetorum

Experience: 15 no magic xp

Knowledge:

Discipline x 4
Meditation x 4
Leadership x 2
Tactics x 2
Psychology x 2

Renown: 15

Skill Usage: Appropriate to level.

Loot/Losses: All rewards given as a result of this event and prior chapters. Submit any applicable npcs that were awarded as a result of it to the psf. Freedom.

Injuries/Conditions: Trauma.

Consequences: none

Comments: The Emeyan's you described in one of your posts must be submitted as a dev entry to the Create the World forum in order to use them in subsequent threads. Otherwise, everything looks all set here.

If you have any concerns about this review, please PM me about them.