The Bastard of the Bastard's Grove

[Aylune]

Ashan 40th, 717, The Bastard's Grove

The Bastard’s Grove. From what North remembered studying a map of the region Seasons ago this was clearly where he’d ended up. The place would have been haunting, if not for the presence of a strong wind that never settled, his Kin, his friend. South, too, kept him company, though the Familiar felt similarly comforted by the strange nature.

A better way to travel, to him, was to Assimilate. His Spark had long hinted at this capability, teasing at the capacity to swallow his clothing, his totems. That morning, he tried something new, holding to himself his feathered, suede-and-fur robe made entirely of very much not-Vegan animal products courtesy of a designer brand from Melrath - his mother made it for him, really, but he’d maintained it in his travels.

As he leaned down and began to transform, he felt out the cloak with his mind, consciously observing it, holding on to the idea that his human form -should- be clothed. To his great surprise, it worked, and the robe was nowhere to be found as the agony of a new form subsided. This would prove useful later on.

The Run could wait. This forest was splendid. Lurking through the trees, he spied the wildlife, far less fearsome than the locales beyond, though he knew better than to underestimate the fauna and flora of a new land. Stalking at a distance, he neared a pair of red-masked deer, their horns covered in a fuzzy velvet. His main concern was the water here, its scent sweet like blood, and though the Element was friendly and did nothing to warn him, he felt weary of it. Seeing that deer sip from the pond, he felt like giving it a try, and trotted forth to sip at the fresh waters.

A myriad of tastes spilled across his tongue as he gently lapped, momentarily arrested by the sensations before remembering to be observant, splitting his mind between the two tasks of remaining alert and drinking water. When he was done, as all the animals did, he backed away into the woods until the shady brush camouflaged his black fur.

The next few Breaks were spent hunting, though he wasn’t hungry anymore. Strange. The water. Did it take my hunger away? Feeling the wind in his fur, he felt like he could live here forever, as if this was home.

Lifting his nose to scent the air, he took in a myriad of possibilities. Downwind, he was graced with the presence of... human. The Yari he’d met until now had tried to kill him, but maybe this encounter could be different, and he could understand the culture better.

Finding himself upon a trail, he observed a small shrine to the Immortal Cassion, rolling his eyes at it and turning the corner to find a grove with a large, twisted tree, a man upon a sheet prostrate in prayer. North drew upon his humanity to Echo forth a voice from those many qualities, growling out a word in a deep, harsh voice only a beast could muster. “A fine day to worship the Immortals, is it?” he asked, but he felt the wind sing to the other man.

“Are you... a Defier? It’s been awhile since I met one who shared the same Spark as I.” Even if this man did worship the Immortals, at least they had something in common. It had to be strange, being talked to by a wolf the size of a man.

[Balthazar Black]

40 Ashan 717

Balthazar had walked out to Bastard’s Grove so that he could try to clear his mind. He figured escaping the city itself would be the best way to do that. Two library visits later to find a map- yeah there are at least two libraries in Yaralon- Balthazar had everything he needed to being his journey. He found a path and stuck to it for the most part until he began to feel an unfamiliar call. It was like a friend speaking through their hand... familiar but muffled. Balthazar followed the feeling off the path and stumbled upon a bloodwater pond.

Balthazar held his hand out to the pond and reached out with his spark to call the water to him. It felt different than the water in Yaralon... it felt heavier and in fairness it was, but the water ultimately obeyed his desire. The fluid stirred and rose from the pond into a ball. Balthazar drew the ball towards his hand and let it hover their for a few moments before a twig snapped behind him and broke his focus. Balthazar turned quickly and raised his fists, causing the bloodwater ball to fall back into the pond.

It was just a deer looking for a drink.

Balthazar chuckled to himself quietly and left the pond for the deer to drink from. He walked through the trees aimlessly for a few moments because he had lost track of the trail he walked into the grove on. He dragged his hands along the trees slowly as he walked passed them. Wood did not fall under any of his powers and so he had come to respect the solidarity of a tree. Water, fire, wind, and earth all spoke different words to Balthazar but trees were silent.

It wasn’t long before Balthazar found himself standing by a shrine to the Immortal Cassion. Balthazar knew some of the Immortal’s story but not all of it. It didn’t matter. He’d come to meditate not to worship. Balthazar stomped his foot and the earth beneath him smoothed out in a five by five area. The ground looked almost like he’d laid a sheet out on it but Balthazar would never divide himself from the earth so trivially. Heck he didn’t wear shoes most of the time because he preferred the way that the earth felt to shoes.

Balthazar sat in his small square and crossed his legs. He closed his eyes and began to focus on his breathing. He filled his lungs, and then he emptied them. As he did, he sought to clear his mind. He began to feel lighter, relaxed, and calm.

Then a human sized wolf showed up.

Balthazar’s eyes widened suddenly and he rose to his feet. He turned and saw the wolf just as it echoed it’s second sentence. ”By the Immortals, you are talking.” Balthazar took a moment to get over the massive talking wolf because in all fairness, that was hardly the weirdest thing in the world. ”The location is more of a coincidence than a choice but yes, I am a defier. Though you appear to be a bit more than that as well.”

[Aylune]

Standing still the Becomer tilted his head, bright orange lupine eyes studying the other mage, the slits on his canine nose widening to take in a puff of air. Ease spread over his body shortly, and he walked forward, speaking as the wind roiled by his feet, damp muddy soil left behind from his every step. "A friend of the Elements is a friend of mine in this place. Allegiances do not matter here. I do not hate the Immortals, so much as scorn them for their part in history." He stopped, several feet away, lifting his head. "Oh yes, a wise observation," he seemed to grin. "I am definitely, you could say, 'a bit' more than a Defier. Within me hums the drumbeat of another Spark, that which Becomes other things. My soul is a man, and my magic is the form. I am called North, and I hail from another land called Melrath. You could say I am on a pilgrimage, to understand the Spirits of other realms and witness the dangers that await my people far from home.”

Drawing nearer still, he paused only a few feet away, calmly speaking. “Tell me your story. Why are you here? Perhaps you noticed as I have that this forest is more peaceful than the surrounding lands, that the water nourishes more than any spring, and that the wind here ripples with boundless energy.” Sitting upon his hind end, he offered a paw to shake, something he considered a near-universal greeting in every culture he’d wandered thus far.

Oddly enough, his black pads were coated in a thin sheen of water. He tracked it everywhere he stepped, and everything he touched received the wet cold. North wasn’t sure why this was the case, but he knew a Defier wouldn’t mind a bit of fluid swapping.

[Balthazar Black]

40 Ashan 717

Balthazar eyes the Becomer cautiously until he said that he was from Melrath. It was hard to be friendly in Yaralon because you had to worry about customs and the general combat-centric mindset of the people. Granted not everyone was looking for a fight, but almost everyone who approached you randomly in the woods was.

”Scorn them if you’d like, everything that has happened has lead us to where we are. Now that we are here it is our job to fix that which we think is broken in the world.” Balthazar responded calmly. He had developed his beliefs over his short life and he clung to them. He did not revere Immortals as anything more that the statistically powerful beings they were. He did not worship them. He respected them. He would never worship something that could be killed. North told Balthazar who he was and so the mage thought it only fair to return equal information.

”I am Balthazar and like you I carry more than one spark. However where you become animals, I rupture the distance between things. I came here because the city is too noisy to meditate... or at least it was to-trial. I’ve found it helps me maintain control over my magic.” Balthazar replied as he reached out his hand and shook North’s paw. When he let go, Balthazar shook the wetness off his hand and looked at North. ”So are you in the middle of the Run? I came to Yaralon in search of knowledge as well. I was interested in the fractured sky. It is an odd place but it certainly has it’s way. ”

[Aylune]

North had his fair share of avoiding ruffians, but a man by his lonesome seemed approachable enough. This one seemed to have some sense to him, too. He already felt a connection from what they had in common. "A good way to put it; fixing what is broken, that is." As Balthazar let go, North bowed his head some and raised his head, leaving his foot on the ground as he sat there, tail gently swaying behind him. "Oh, I've never heard of that Spark before. To Rupture distance? That sounds useful. Apologies for interrupting your quiet, Balthazar." Asked about the run, his head tilted quickly, voice falling quizzically for just a moment. "...I'm afraid I've never heard of the Run before. So, there's a Fracture in the sky around here somewhere? That explains why the wind is so energetic."

Turning his head to what he thought was the direction of the city, North lifted a paw and leaned on one paw, lifting the other to point and jab at the air. "I haven't been to the city walls yet, the mercenaries just raise their spears and swords, even if I approach them as a human. It's been a long journey from Rharne, and to be in such a hostile land now... Maybe you could lend me some advice." North carried no weapons, very little armor, and he spoke with a foreign dialect far removed from even Rharnians. Even kitted up, a mage would be a tough sell anywhere. "I thought that maybe they had a saying, or a phrase. How do they tell the citizenry apart, or do they just kill each other all the time? I regret coming all this way not consulting a library or a mercenary from the place, truthfully." A sigh left his lips, at a loss for what to do next. "At least this journey wasn't a waste. I met another Defier, after all."

[Balthazar Black]

40 Ashan 717

Balthazar listened to the wolf quizzically as he spoke and explained the situation he found himself stuck in. It reminded him of his own Run but he had been more informed when he came searching for Yaralon. Balthazar looked in the direction North pointed but he wasn’t entirely sure that it was the right direction. Balthazar was fairly good at finding his way when he put his mind to it but in passing he could find himself a little bit lost sometimes. Balthazar set about answering North’s questions/ explaining what he knew to the mage.

”Your odds of making it to the gate as a wolf are lower than making it to the gate as a man. They raise their weapons to scare you but if you make it to the gate you are entitled to citizenship. You simply have to be bold enough to advance after they draw their weapons on you. On my run they shot at my feet but not me.” Balthazar paused as his mind trailed back to his Run. They’d almost hit his feet but the archers were better than that. Balthazar shook his head to refocus himself and then continued ”Yari don’t kill each other mindlessly, they actually have a fairly decent dueling system to settle disputes. Though I admit that I generally participate in the combat centric duels. I have yet to meet someone willing to try and out-research me.”

[Aylune]

Mind afflicted by thoughts to his last attempt, the Becomer nodded in agreement as Balthazar explained. “That makes a lot of sense, actually. I always approached them as a man - I’m not that dull of an edge, I promise you.” If he were possessed of thumbs, he would have rubbed his chin in thought just then, but instead his tail swayed, and his head lowered in thought. “Ah, duels, and some that don’t revolve around violence, but rather
academics? Quite sophisticated.”

Pushing forward with his feet, North stretched out his back, straining his voice. “Well, I’d better be going,” he said. “Ahh, it was nice to meet you... Balthazar, was it? A fine name. Until we next meet, friend; next time, it will be man to man.” Rising to his feet, North started to walk away. “The Run. To think; soon I’ll be walking within the walls of Yaralon,” he said as his voice strayed away, a gentle breeze following him through the trees.

Finding a secluded place, North shifted back into a man, rubbing over his clothing to find nothing was damaged or missing. Assimilation, definitely useful. South, what do you think of these mercenaries? he asked the translucent wolf by his side.

I think they do danger to all the rabbits in their burrow, South said ominously.

“Well, you aren’t wrong,” the boy chuckled, pulling the hood of his cloak over his head as it began to rain. He could smell the wet dust in the air as he walked down the trail he’d traversed three times now. Green eyes darted to and fro over the woods, traveling weary but briskly towards the Gates of Yaralon for a third and final attempt.

When he could see the gates in the distance, men on horseback hollered and charged him, but he kept walking even as their arrows hit the ground, head held high, focused on not showing weakness but prepared to defend himself if need be. It was as Balthazar said; they respected a show of strength.

At last, he arrived at the gates. He was questioned, answering honestly where he was from, and then they gave him the Silver Mark of Yaralon with a ripe-smelling paste upon his left shoulder.

[Balthazar Black]

40 Ashan 717

Balthazar nodded to the wolf when it seemed their passing conversation had drawn to a close and he sat down to refocus on his mediation and his magic. He took a deep breath in and as he did he heard the elements cry out in warning. Well not cry out exactly... it was what it always was, a feeling. Never exact and never direct, but it was always a feeling that Balthazar understood. A moment later it began to rain and Balthazar breathed out. He let the rain pour on him and continued breathing in and out. He sought to achieve a truly emptied mind, he could not let the rain stop that. Balthazar closed his eyes and continued his mediation.

After a short time the water began to feel relaxing. It wasn't cold, it just felt cool on his skin and helped him further clear his mind of his troubles. He pushed out thoughts of Morgan and his dead master. He pushed out thoughts of North, his new friend. He pushed out all his thoughts with his breaths and he found himself in a more serene mindset. Eventually the rain stopped and left Balthazar to stew in the mud and wetness already over his body. He didn't mind, it felt like a comforting hug from a friend.

When it came time for Balthazar to leave the grove he stood slowly so that he would not break his calm and spread his legs to about twice his shoulder length apart. He leaned right, bending his knee and stretching his left leg as he drew his hands up into the air, brought them together, and drew them down to his core. As his hands moved, the water soaking his body and clothes was slowly coaxed off of him and into a ball. The ball hovered for a few trills and then Balthazar dispersed it in the trees around himself by moving his joined hands in a slow, circular motion.

Then Balthazar shifted and leaned to the left, stretching his right leg and moving his hands in the same motion again. This time the wind kicked up around him, blowing stiffly against him to dry off what remained of the moisture. He did not fall over or even stumble against the breeze but if he'd been any more abrupt he would have. Next Balthazar brought his feet in and folded forward. He breathed in as he stepped his feet inwards to shoulder distance apart and he breathed out as he bent over at his waist and stretched his lower back and legs.

As he left his forward fold, Balthazar breathed inward and raised his hands slowly, reaching out to each side as best he could as he brought his hands to unity above his head. Then he drew his hands slowly down to the middle of his chest, breathing out the air he had filled his lungs with and reopening his eyes.

Balthazar looked at the shrine to Cassion one last time and gave it a slight nod as if some message had passed between them before he turned and walked back into the trees. He couldn't remember exactly where the path was but he knew the direction the city was in. So he walked and he walked and he walked until he came to the city gates again. The guards at the gate knew he was marked for the same reason he knew they were marked and he was allowed entry. It had been a good trial, but the trial was done.

[Abra]

North Magnus

Rewards

Knowledges:

Skill:
Becoming: Assimilation
Becoming: Assimilating An Outfit
Detection: Seeing How Others Interact With Their Environment
Detection: Noticing a Smell Upwind
Detection: Scent - Human
Discipline: Staying Confident You Won't Be Murdered
Defiance: Interpreting How The Air Feels About Another
Storytelling: Requesting Someone's Story
Rupturing: The Spark That Ruptures The Distance Between Things

Loot:Silver mark of the Yari
Injuries:
Wealth:
Renown: 5 for making the run successfully

EXP:15 (5 useable for defiance and 5 useable for becoming - let's chat if you want more...)

Feedback

Picturing a huge wolf offering a paw to shake gave me the giggles. I liked the exchanges between your characters and felt as though you played out a curious mage well. I would have liked to see more about the run itself but no other complaints here. Enjoy the rewards.

Balthazar Black

Rewards

Knowledges:

Skill:
Defiance - Manipulating Bloodwater
Defiance - Smoothing the earth to sit on
Defiance - Blow drying yourself
Detection - Hearing twigs snap
Meditation - Maintaining a clear mind
Meditation - Stretching to aid meditation
Meditation - Deep breaths in
Meditation - Deep breaths out
Meditation - Slow movement is best

Nonskill:
Knowledge: Balthazar Black

Loot:
Injuries:
Wealth:
Renown:

EXP: 15 can be used with defiance

Feedback

Good on Blathazar for helping out another mage on his journey. You demonstrated your in depth understanding of the lore in this thread and it’s refreshing to read a thread where the writer is immersed in the world. Enjoy the rewards.