The Lands of Terrawin :: View topic

Lurking in the shadows beneath a tree knelt a strange, cloaked man. It wasn't that Elhadron enjoyed being a strange, cloaked man. It was just something he ended up doing with a dismaying degree of frequency. He reached under his hood to scratch his scalp. His short-cropped hair, crushed under the heavy fabric, was going to be an absolute nightmare.

He noted this with a grin as he leaned back against the tree. He must look absolutely frightful after a few days out here. He tucked his hands into his sleeves to protect them from the sun. Despite their color, they did burn as easily as anyone else's. He'd only taken them out for a moment, to feel the warmth of the sun soaking into his pitch-black skin. His dislike of the midday sun had more to do with physical discomfort than any psychological aversion to leaving his shadowy hideout.

His head twitched as he caught the sound of a footstep in the heavy grass. Turning, he laid one hand on the ground to lean on as he peered around the tree trunk from under his cloak. It was a man, and a young one. He was glancing apprehensively over the open field. For him the coming sunset was not a thing to be anticipated with relief as it was for Elhadron. It signalled the approaching darkness, a time when beasts and demons, evil men and dark elves, predator and victim alike met in blood and death.

Poor old chap, Elhadron thought. I wonder if he's lost.

Elhadron nudged his bag back behind the tree and took a step out into the open where the stranger could see him. He saw Elhadron and started, wondering at the sudden appearance of a potential threat. Elhadron saw in his eyes when he noticed the color of his skin. He bore the polished ebony tones that only drow were cursed to wear. Old stories and fears flickered across the man's face, stories of hooded mages waiting to tear apart the fabric of creation or spread the blood of the innocent over altars both sinister and profane.

The dark elf squinted one eye at the sun. Out in the open like this, even the cloak didn't help much.

Oh, no. I'm going to-- am I? He could feel it. He thought. Maybe. A deep breath came involuntarily and Elhadron knew that he was helpless to stop himself.

His hands flew to cover his face and he sneezed.

His hood flew back and the sudden movement caused the poor human stranger to jolt several inches. Elhadron shook his head, hoping desperately that the allergy attack would pass. Something about the sun. The difficulty seeing he could handle. The sunburns he could handle. The migraines he could handle, but there was just something undignified about a sun-induced sneezing fit.

He reached back and pulled the hood back where it was supposed to be, and when his new acquaintance realized he'd been frightened out of his wits by a sneeze he couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry about that," Elhadron offered. "I think I'm not built for the daytime. Are you lost?"

"I... uh, actually. Kind of. I'm trying to get to Adrian."

"Oh!" Elhadron exclaimed. "Oh, yeah. You've really gotten turned around because you came in sideways. You want to head that way," he said, pointing off in a new direction. "You'll be able to find your way back from there."

"...You're... sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. I got here the first time by being lost, and the second. But this is my third trip and I promise I got here under my own power and entirely intentionally." He tucked his hands back into his sleeves and gave a deep, formal bow.

Somewhat more at ease, the stranger nodded. "Thank you, then. I didn't... expect to find anybody around to give me a hand."

"You know dark elves. Sneaky things, we are. Never know when I'll spring out at you and give you directions."

The stranger gave a dry little laugh. "Maybe. But thanks. Have a good one," he said with a brief bow.

"You as well," Elhadron returned. As the man left he turned to find his seat again. The sun was beginning to pour rich evening tones over the blue flowers of the field. Elhadron pulled a novel from his bag. It was a trashy old thing, some sort of romantic historical fiction. But, it was better than nothing at all.

Elhadron read until the sun was nearly touching the horizon. Tossing his book back into his pack, he pulled out a small folding easel and set upon it a canvas he'd stretched and tacked the night before. Yesterday he'd gotten the first half of his project finished.

Any artist would find it easy to be fascinated by this place, but for Elhadron it held special meaning. From all the bloodshed, of all the people who had breathed their last, tormented breaths after being slain by the weapons of fellow sentient creatures... yes, it held sorrow. But there was no denying that it was beauty who held sway here and not sadness.

Elhadron himself had no way to verify whether the cursed souls of the slaughtered soldiers still walked this field. For all he knew he was surrounded with specters peering curiously over his shoulder. Many people came to this field to mourn or to meditate, but Elhadron wondered how many had really thought to capture the brilliant glory of this field as he saw it.

His first task had been the most taxing. Painting the field in full sunlight had taken days, and at least one full night had been spent curled up on the ground with a crushing migraine. He kept at it, though. His first piece had been a mist of sprawling blue shot through with greenery backed by a brilliant azure sky Elhadron rarely could stand to gaze upon.

This one, though. Now was the time for him to relax and enjoy himself. He lit a candle and set it next to the easel and grabbed his paints. He would need very different colors this time. As the sun faded, he nudged the candle back behind him. Elhadron needed it to illuminate his canvas, but the heat of the flame could easily drown out half the field of Elhadron's vision.

He needed to see the night properly. He needed to see the beauty this field held and only showed to people like him. It was a lonely gift, and a difficult one to share. On the other hand, a little loneliness went a long way toward understanding and growing to love a place like this.

As the darkness deepened, the greens and blues slowly faded and the sky became a hard, black void against which every living thing in Elhadron's vision blazed with light. The trees were balls of veined golden fire raised against the darkness. They were anchored in tiny licks of red flame, and the earth turned to a deep purple velvet beneath the roots of the tree.

Elhadron set to work, his brush slowly and deliberately sliding across the canvas, blending color to color. Lively grey eyes flicked from the canvas to the field, trying desperately to merge what he saw with his drow vision with the expression on his canvas.

By morning he was so tired he could barely see, and his paint thinner had turned a deep and intense shade of orange. Wiping out the mug he'd used for his paint thinner, he wiped it out and laid it inside his bag. Somewhat less delicately he tossed in tubes of paint, a small wooden case of brushes, and the palette he'd been using to mix his pigments.

He pulled his hood back up and sat back in the rising sun to examine his work. It would take a few hours to dry, and he might as well rest his eyes a little bit while he waited.

With his canvas leaning on its easel only inches from his hand, Elhadron ducked his head and fell asleep. He'd been working for nearly seven hours and the last thing he wanted to do was face the gaudy brilliance of the day. Not yet. Maybe in an hour. Or two...
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 5:37 am Post subject: Description:

Slow footsteps guided a meandering wanderer through the enormous field. Narrowed against the bright sun, dual grey-green eyes surveyed the vast expanse of blue as he walked. For a moment those orbs were devoid of all emotion, feeling lost as the weight of tragedy struck. All too quickly, however, melancholy swirled in them, returning them to their usual state: despondent and pained. Shaking his head, he briefly cocked it so that he could look skyward before he returned to staring at the vibrant flowers that coated the field.

He had no reason to be here. He had not lost an ancestor in the great battle that had taken place here, nor had he a loved one who was still mourning a fallen soldier. One might have thought he would avoid the field given it only furthered his depression, but its tranquil nature soothed him in its own strange way. Had he wanted to he could have scryed to see what had taken place in the past, but he knew that would be a grave mistake. His connection to Life - however severed it might have appeared at that particular moment - accentuated every death, whether it was far into the past or very much in the present. It was trying enough to listen to the wailing screams of the dying as their souls were torn from their bodies and dragged into the afterlife - he didn't need to add more as he tormented himself by witnessing the deaths of thousands while they fought on the soil underfoot to gain an advantage.

The knight moved soundlessly through the dark sapphire flowers. As his eyes continued to scan them he noticed one that was on the verge of withering. Pausing, he kneeled beside it and plucked it from the fertile earth, his digits delicately supporting it between them. The flower seemed to perk at his touch, sensing the faint tendrils of Life that continued to flow through his veins. Had he still been in full command of his power the flower would certainly have sprouted into full bloom and would have appeared as though it had never been on the verge of death. Twirling it between his fingers, he stood and resumed his aimless wanderings.

He had intended to return to Adrian after having met the strange shapeshifting woman, but he had instead chosen to linger - for what reason he could not say. The warm sunlight scattered its rays across his ebon head, the dark locks quickly heating as it framed and shaded his pale face. The sole white streak that protruded from the black mass was a stark contrast both in shade and absorbed warmth. Lifting his free hand to his face, the knight drew aside his unruly hair. At the very least he was thankful for his choice in clothing. Garbed almost from head to toe in white (save his black boots and the gloves he wore) he was relatively cool. Even so, as the day continued to warm and the great orb in the sky continued its ascent to the centre of the sky, he would eventually find the heat tiresome - it was bound to happen, reflective clothing or no.

Eventually the youth's wanderings led him to a tree. It was one of the few that he had seen throughout the battlefield and as he noticed it, he was surprised to find a body lying at its base. Beside the body was an easel, an image painted onto the canvas. Wet paint glimmered in the waxing light. Glancing towards the one sprawled across the ground, Sinadryn's footsteps became slow and cautious - not because he was particularly afraid of the stranger, but rather that he didn't want to wake him. Circumnavigating the figure, Sinadryn paused only when he was standing just off to the side of the painting.

Odd eyes observed the masterpiece, awe temporarily replacing his melancholy as it welled in his chest. He had never been particularly creative - had, in fact, really only ever found an interest in nature and its natural beauty - though he had often been impressed with portraits that had been done by some of his fellow knights. The ability to put paint to canvas and create a wonderful piece of work was well beyond him. Instead the only form of art he had ever been able to master was that of combat. It was the one form of art that he did not particularly enjoy as it meant that one person would be gravely wounded and perhaps die while the other boasted his truimph with arrogant cries. Death, even before he had ascended, had never agreed with him and the thought of his place in its schemes did little to ease his restless mind.

Sinadryn's eyes remained focused on the drying painting, his fingers idly twirling the withering flower betwixt them. As he stood there transfixed by the nature of the image he was temporarily lost within himself, his emotions falling away into nothingness as a sense of placidness replaced them. In those moments he felt almost liberated from himself, as though all of the fears, pain, anger, and anguish that had taken residence in his chest had simply ceased to exist. As he stood there, entranced, he forgot that the one he assumed to have done the piece was there, that there was a field filled with melancholy flowers that brought melancholy thoughts; he forgot that, somewhere beyond that strange painting that had captivated him, there was life.
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Sinadryn Arsydian - Minor Updates
† Human
† 19
† Knight//Noble//Lord Life
† Neutral Good
† Grey-green orbs; unruly ebony locks with a sole white streak; somewhat pale
† Gentle, kind, chivalrous; melancholy, withdrawn, quiet; blissfully depressed
† Spring-loaded katars

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:56 pm Post subject: Description:

Something in the wind changed, or perhaps it was simply an extra stretch of shade. A scrape of a boot across the dirt. A breath caught and held by a man in white. Something in Elhadron's environment told him that he wasn't alone.

Still, he was tired and had a tendency to wake slowly. The daylight mildly painful to a drow who'd just been napping, he covered his eyes with one hand as he turned to sit up.

He was right. There had been someone there. A brief wave of panic swept through him as he turned to find a stranger standing over him. It was seldom a good omen and often as not it ended in being kicked in the stomach and told to clear out.

Elhadron's apprehension subsided when it became obvious that if this man were really all that hostile he'd have acted already. Looking up past black boots to white, and white, and white up to the man's face, Elhadron followed his gaze to note with surprise that... this man was staring at his painting.

Well that's gratifying, Elhadron thought. I mean, I like it too but... I hadn't anticipated that it would have the power to hypnotize passersby.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen a man so determined to stand and watch paint dry," he said with a grin. Lifting his fingers to his cloak to ensure that it stayed over his face, he stood to lean against the tree. "My name's Elhadron. You should have a seat. I think you'll find I'm much better company when I'm awake, at any rate."
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:38 am Post subject: Description:

Sinadryn flinched when he heard a voice from behind him. Head quickly craning to the side so that he could eye the one who had spoken, a sheepish if not weak grin caused the corners of his lips to rise slightly. Retreating a few steps so that he could see the other without looking over his shoulder, he hefted a shrug. He hadn't expected to linger long enough for the one who he assumed to have painted the picture to awaken.

"It's a beautiful painting. I was just mesmorized by it... I hadn't expected to tarry more than a moment at most." From time to time his grey-green gaze drifted back towards the painting and the familiar feeling of becoming lost to himself returned. That feeling brought him a deep sense of comfort. Turning his back completely to the painting, the knight trained his gaze on the stranger.

The first thing he noticed was the cloak covering his body despite the sweltering heat caused by the absolute warmth of the sun. He could hardly see the other's face and for that reason alone he was slightly guarded. He seemed friendly enough but appearances were deceiving and it would not do good to see the Deity of Life slain because he had made one stupid mistake. Nodding his head, Sinadryn gave the man - Elhadron - the benefit of the doubt. Walking forward, he seated himself two feet away. Drawing one knee up, he rested his elbow against it and his head in his hand, his melancholy gaze sweeping the sapphire field.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elhadron. My name is Sinadryn Arsydian." He seemed distant as he spoke, his eyes not quite falling on one single thing, but rather wandering aimlessly, following one flower to the next. What exactly he was thinking about was not discernable but if one looked into his eyes they would see the emotion that he pushed from his expression; they would see the despondency and the pain, the simmering anger and the beginnings of obvious worry. While he could purge his feelings from twitching on his lips, he could not press them from his eyes. They were, as the saying went, the true windows into his soul.

He did not look at the painting again. Perhaps it was because he was embarassed, or, as was more probable, he had simply found something else to amuse himself with. When he tired of watching the field around him his eyes fell to the flower he still held betwixt his digits. A gentle zephyr drifted through the burial ground of thousands, tugging at the small petals of the flower. Releasing it, he watched as the wind caught it in an updraft and carried it away. He watched it until it had completely blended with its cousins and fallen, lost among the masses. The warm breeze caught the knight's hair then, blowing stray black strands across his pale visage, obscuring his vision. He pushed them aside as he closed his eyes for a moment. He felt himself fall, tumble backwards into a world that he knew all too well. He watched memories pass him by of times of old and times of new, saw his beloved cut his face, stab his chest, break his ribs, and slash his back; he saw himself recovering from the emotional and physical wounds, both leaving eternal scars; he remembered the nightmares, the absolute agony he had been thrown into. He saw Iris then, screaming, and Issinrah smirking in his mind. Fury welled in his chest as he continued to relieve that memory. And then... Nothing.

His eyes flew open.

Blinking as the sunlight filtered into his eyes, he squinted for a few seconds before his pupils readjusted. He knew the only goal he had in his mind and he knew it well: Find Iris. Above all else he had to find Iris. The lost connection meant nothing to him at this stage and if he had had a choice he would have quickly given immortality to know that Iris was safe and well. I could never live with myself knowing that I had... He swallowed. She was well. She had to be. If not... He pushed it from his mind.

"How long have you been painting for?" he asked suddenly, glancing towards the other. His expression was one of inquiry and genuine interest. Talent was beyond him - unless it included the uncanny ability to avoid and escape from death, even when it was not wanted. That, he admitted, had to amount to something. How many others had endured innumerable stab wounds, a gash across the face, the back, and every single rib broken?
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Sinadryn Arsydian - Minor Updates
† Human
† 19
† Knight//Noble//Lord Life
† Neutral Good
† Grey-green orbs; unruly ebony locks with a sole white streak; somewhat pale
† Gentle, kind, chivalrous; melancholy, withdrawn, quiet; blissfully depressed
† Spring-loaded katars

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject: Description:

"Sinadryn Arsydian," Elhadron repeated. "Well, it's good to meet you."

It was plain to anyone with eyes that this Sinadryn had a lot on his mind. Elhadron watched from the protective darkness of his cloak, studying his new acquaintance. Elhadron watched as he closed his eyes, and with his drow sight he saw Sinadryn's skin flush as he responded to a life happening only inside his mind.

Not much for talk, is he? Elhadron thought. He sat still, examining Sinadryn.

"How long have you been painting for?"

His companion wasn't happy, he knew that much. And from the way that he gazed out across the flowers only to distract himself with conversation, with companionship, with anything, Elhadron could sense that Sinadryn wasn't merely travelling alone. The difference between travelling and wandering had always, for Elhadron, been loneliness. The sense that no place was right, that every pace of road and every mile of forest was missing something vital and that maybe if he just walked long enough he would find a place that wasn't lacking, he would find some peace.

It was a feeling the dark elf knew well.

Respectful of his companion's melancholy, Elhadron took a while to respond. "Since I was a child, really. If you can count fingerpainting." He smiled and the expression carried into his voice. "I used to steal my mother's makeup and draw on the walls."

He stopped, watching Sinadryn for a reaction. If the man wanted companionship, wanted a distraction, Elhadron could oblige. In something of a philosophical mood himself, he figured he could sit and talk a while.

"But you know, no matter how I was scolded I kept doing it until they bought me paints of my own. ...I was so happy. Do you know why?" Elhadron reached with one hand the color of obsidian and pulled the canvas around, the lurid oranges and blazing whites of the battlefield at night seeming jarringly out of place against its daytime blues and greens. "It was because the other elves couldn't see what I could see. The other children were afraid of the dark and the creatures it hid... they just didn't understand how much beauty they were missing."

"I wanted them to know," he said, his voice urgent and passionate, as if begging for Sinadryn to understand him. "There's nothing in the world as important as this." He took a breath, the intensity cooling. "There are people who say that the world is all suffering, that failures, disappointments and broken hopes of mortals mean nothing in the great cosmic machine." His hand clenched on his knee. "But they're wrong. And I can prove it. Look!"

He stood, holding one hand out in the shade of the tree toward the sweeping waves of blue flowers. "Look at it. This is the whole world, right here." He strode out into the sun to the edge of the flowers, wading in to the ankles. He turned to face Sinadryn under the tree. "All of this suffering! All of this death! But this..." He reached down, pinching a flower from its stem just as Sinadryn had done. "This is an extra."

He carried it back and sat down. "Forgive me for waxing poetic at the drop of a hat. But a friend once told me that people die, people strive and fail or succeed and maybe you can attribute it to some cold and impersonal destiny. But this," He held the flower at eye level between them. "This is extra. The bones under the dirt here may never be recovered or returned to their kin but above that tragedy there are flowers."

He handed the flower held between his fingers to Sinadryn. "And that's enough for me. It's enough to remind me that despite the greatest and most crushing horrors there is no power in the world that can prevent beauty from growing over and devouring the ugliness."

"So?" he said, his voice soft and quiet, his passion spent for now. "That's why I'm here. What brings you wandering?"
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:49 am Post subject: Description:

Sinadryn maintained silence as the other spoke, listening with his full attention while his eyes roved. From time to time his eyes returned to the other, observing him curiously before they returned to their aimless wandering. When Elhadron's hand reached out and turned the canvas the knight caught sight of how dark it was. Suddenly he realized why Elhadron hid beneath the cloak and would not dare remove it: he was a drow. Thoughts of Saito and his sadistic nature immediately came to Sinadryn's mind. Yet, he reasoned, this drow had not made to harm him. Nay, indeed, he spoke with as much untainted passion and fierce love as the poets and writers of their time. It seemed almost improbable that he could or would ever pain another creature, although Sinadryn was certain he had. He could not imagine the drow being wholly innocent.

"Destiny is only what you make of it," the deity murmured quietly. He took the flower from Elhadron with a brief glance towards him. Staring down at the deep blue that so brilliantly reflected his melancholy, he continued, "If you wish your destiny to be a failure, then you will make it so. In a sense I believe we choose our destinies, although some would certainly disagree with me. If I believed my destiny to be set in stone then I believe that I would not be here now. Destiny is malleable just as hot gold is. With some skill and knowledge, one can mold their destiny in the likeness of what they want. It may not be perfect, but I believe it's possible." He paused.

"So you paint to show the world your feelings. You struggle to show them your beliefs and your ideas but you enjoy it. You see the same beauty in nature that I do - that ethereal quality that it holds. You can see the calm within a storm, the beauty in a barren field with one sole wilting rose. You see that because that is what your mind is attuned to - not to the horrors of the world." And yet I am attuned to both. It was the natural beauty of nature that counteracted what he saw. Being a knight he had bore witness to murder, to destruction and death, to slaughter that had been unnecessary. He remembered watching his fellow knights kill a child, remembered seeing them destroy the lives of women and men alike, both genders defenceless, both praying that their end would come quickly or that their lives would somehow be spared. If one had said watching those horrors had traumatized him in some small way they would have been absolutely correct. They had. Although he did not show it now, they had.

Sinadryn's gaze still held the flower in his hand. Death and Life ran rampant here, crossing over, falling into one another. For all its beauty it was a lonely place. Few who came here seemed to speak and those that did spoke in hushed tones, afraid to disturb the dead. The sapphire flowers were adequate for the long-dead battlefield. Despondency was prominent.

To say that Sinadryn was lonely was not entirely true. To say that he was a lost soul was more appropriate. He had left behind all of the things he had ever loved - his mother, his father, his older sibling, his best friend, and the healer who had treated him for virtually all of his life - in order to escape the pain that had followed him while he walked among the streets of the city or the corridors of the palace. The only creatures that he loved and that had left with him from home country were his wolf and his warhorse. In being washed up on Terrawin's shores he had begun to forge a new life but, regardless of where he went, the memory of his fiancé still haunted him. Even with Iris now slowly replacing her he could not shake it. In his heart he knew that he probably never would. It was as much an integral part of him as his personality was.

The knight considered the question. He knew the answer, yes, but he wasn't sure he wanted to divulge it. Certainly there would be no harm in doing so. When he settled on a decision he did not look up but rather kept his gaze to the flower. "I am... looking for someone. Not here, necessarily, but around here. I've been here before and I thought maybe it would clear my thoughts. I think that might just be wishful thinking." A small, sad smile moved fleetingly across his lips as he saw both the irony and the humour in his words.
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Sinadryn Arsydian - Minor Updates
† Human
† 19
† Knight//Noble//Lord Life
† Neutral Good
† Grey-green orbs; unruly ebony locks with a sole white streak; somewhat pale
† Gentle, kind, chivalrous; melancholy, withdrawn, quiet; blissfully depressed
† Spring-loaded katars

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:06 pm Post subject: Description:

"You can see the calm within a storm, the beauty in a barren field with one sole wilting rose. You see that because that is what your mind is attuned to - not to the horrors of the world."

A trace of a small, private smile touched the corner of Elhadron's lips. He might guess that, Elhadron thought. It was still more proof that the man was unhappy. People accustomed to their own sorrow, particularly young people, could seldom see anyone else's.

In the last few decades Elhadron had forced himself to stop dwelling on house Zau'anien and the long months he spent with them. Even when the memory of a woman's laughter and the softness of a lover's embrace intruded on his thoughts, it was no longer with anger or despair. Even when the happy children of any city reminded him of the generation he'd helped sire for his house, he couldn't curse the world for its injustice and cruelty.

Sinadryn was right about one thing: a man's destiny belonged to him to decide. Elhadron wasn't destined for betrayal and loneliness, whether it came his way or not. He wondered if this young man had really learned that yet.

It's possible he won't have the time, though humans can be surprising. What took me decades to learn may take him years or months if he's lucky. I hope for his sake that's the case, or he'll be trapped in his own narrow despair to the end of his days.

The grim reality of it was that young members of younger races often allowed themselves to sink into their own emotions, leaving the wisdom and lessons of long decades of life to fall before those wandering deaf and blind through their short lives.

Elhadron did his best not to think of younger races as essentially immature due to their brief years, but sometimes it was hard for him to deny that he would be a very different person without the benefit of two and a half centuries of life. At any rate, it wasn't Sinadryn's fault he was so young, and perhaps he'd make good use of the time available to him.

"Well," Elhadron offered. "These last few days the only traveler who's passed by, aside from you or me, has been a gentleman on his way to Adrian." Drawing up his knees, he rested his arm on them and chewed one thumbnail thoughtfully. "I would assist you if I could, but unfortunately I don't think I have any information that can help you."
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:33 pm Post subject: Description:

He hadn't always been so withdrawn. There had been a time when he had been very forward, when he had had social skills. Arrogance had also been present in those days, but with the onset of adolescence and his teenage years, it had been shed as he had gained a more mature mindset. It wasn't until his fiancé had almost killed him and then committed suicide that he had fallen into himself. Following that incident a blissful depression - known by his fellow knights as 'Melancholy Madness' - had gripped him and, consequently, suppressed his normal disposition. In the beginning he had not been able to see beyond his own feelings but, as the initial shock had worn off, he had come to see the world in a different light.

Although it may not have appeared that way, Sinadryn was observant. He did not cut himself off from the world as completely as one might have thought. He could see the sorrow that people experienced - a child's distraught appearance at losing a favourite toy, a mother's horror and distress when she discovers her husband is sleeping with another woman, a man's state of awareness as he realizes his entire family was lost to a raid - and could identify with it, though he never spoke to them. He saw, too, the pleasure and joy that others found in life and that he himself had lost. Emotions, if they were apparent, were noted. Things that might not have been by others were oft noticed by him. In Elhadron he could see no obvious feelings of grief, but then, if he had, what would he have said? Nothing.

The Deity of Life glanced up towards the tree. It knew no sorrow, no melancholy or grief or hate, anger, love, or passion. It would never know how to feel, think, and exist as those that walked the earth on two legs did. But it was alive. In every sense of the word, it was alive. It breathed, lived, existed in perfect harmony with the world that which surrounded it - in perfect tandem with life itself. Staring up at the tree, Sinadryn watched the leaves rustle gently in the breeze. On occasion he had wondered what it would have been like to be thoughtless and emotionless - a walking shell, if you will - without feeling at all. He saw his present self as a shell of his former self, the ravaged remains of someone who had once been very different. But that was all in the past now. He would rather retain his emotion, anyway. It was what made him human.

The silence continued to stretch. Sinadryn briefly wondered if what he had said had had an impact or not. He half expected some form of disagreement but it never came. Finally the other spoke.

The knight shook his head. "No, I'm not looking for a man... It's a woman. A relatively young blonde with green eyes and a fighter's general appearance. She's several inches taller than I am." At that thought a brief smile passed across his lips. He'd never met a woman who had been taller than he was. Many of his male peers had been, yes, but never a woman. On one hand it was awkward to have to look up instead of down but, on the other, it was a pleasant change.

"I doubted she was going to be in Celendri anyway," Sinadryn continued, hefting his shoulders in a shrug. "I'm not staying here long - just long enough to see if there might be some trace of her. If not... I suppose I'll be finding a ship that will take me across the Bay of Celendri towards Emér." Why he wanted to go there he couldn't say, but it was a last resort. If he did not find her there... He knew what it would mean. If he returned to Stagger and made one final scan of her hometown and still could not find her, he would know. And knowing that would certainly destroy him.
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Sinadryn Arsydian - Minor Updates
† Human
† 19
† Knight//Noble//Lord Life
† Neutral Good
† Grey-green orbs; unruly ebony locks with a sole white streak; somewhat pale
† Gentle, kind, chivalrous; melancholy, withdrawn, quiet; blissfully depressed
† Spring-loaded katars

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:42 am Post subject: Description:

((OOC: Apologies for the delay. I was out of town for several days and there were indescribable shenanigans preventing me from posting. But I'm here now! I am so here. To the max.))

"Aha," Elhadron said. It would be a woman. He had to wonder what sort of woman went for a boy like this. Hard to judge now whether he was really completely absorbed in his own mind, or whether he was totally absorbed in her. Either way, Sinadryn wasn't entirely present in the conversation. Elhadron refused to be annoyed, though. It wasn't Sinadryn's fault, and it certainly was no sign of discourtesy that the concerns weighing on his mind came first.

"Well," the dark elf continued. "My best wishes go with you, friend." Pale grey eyes gazed out into the field and he nodded to himself. "It's a hard thing to be separated from the people you love."

There was something contagious about this young man's melancholy. Elhadron spent as little time as possible wondering what sort of life his children had, and whether searching for them would only make things harder for them. Whether they might be better off without him, without knowing what they'd been denied. Hard, unyielding pragmatic choices like that didn't suit Elhadron, but he knew that it was better he wonder about them all his life than to show them a life they could never have.

"But that's the way things work out sometimes. All we can do is bend our limited willpower on the world and make the best of what we're given." He turned to watch Sinadryn for a moment. He couldn't tell this young man... this boy, really... that he knew he'd find this woman. Elhadron didn't know for sure, and even if he did know such assurances held little meaning and did little to solve problems.

"I hope you find her," he said sincerely. "And I think you will, if she's there to be found."
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 10:32 pm Post subject: Description:

Meleanna was angry.

No, she wasn't just angry. She was angry, and intoxicated. Heavily so.

Intoxication of the heaviest sort was extrememly rare for her, and it was rare for two good reasons. The first was that she simply didn't have a taste for alcohol. She never had. Wine tasted like sweat and vomit. Ale tasted like a fat man's beard. And, rum tasted like sugared up, watered down urine. And, you could quote her on that. The second was that, when she was intoxicated, she became nigh on uncontrollably violent and rude.

Seeing as she'd exhausted her share of rudeness, she had only ruthless violence to excercise now, and the first fight she could pick, she was going to damn well pick the Hell out of. Once she was done vomitting her stomach up, of course. Luckily, she was in one of Celendri's less favorable districts (every city has one), and sick, irate drunks were not a foreign sight to most eyes in her vicinity, even at nearly two hours past noon.

Unfolding her body, she straightened up, wiping the vomit from her lips with a grimy, green-black sleeve. She folded it back, her fingers clumsily pushing the sleeve of her grundge-colored tunic up her pale, bony arm.

She was dressed in what most would think to be a man's clothes- a long sleeved, olive-y green tunic, baggy pants of the same pigment that hung of her bony hips, and sandals made of some smooth, soft wood Not that she cared. The clothes were comfortable, and they fit properly. Besides, she couldn't see them, so why would it matter to her anyways? Her long, messy white hair stuck up every which way around her aged face (she was in her Manifested Form, and had taken on the persona of a crone, so as to fool the citizens who'd been haunted by her in her True Form), and the white blindfold that shielded her white, seemingly cataracted eyes was bloodstained. As there was not a scratch on her, obviously it was someone else's.

She smiled as some small child yelled "witch!" when she passed, probing the ground before her with her all too precious walking stick. Stopping, her shoulders hunched, she didn't bother to turn, but just held out a hand at her side.

"So I'm a witch, am I, child?"

Her bony, wrinkled hand became stark white, like polar ice, and hissed as the air around it chilled. She touched the ground beside her, coughing out a hoarse laugh as her aged joints creaked. She pulled her hand away to reveal a gouge in the earth the size of the child's body, and threw her head back, laughing.

"Oh, no. I do think I'm much more than a witch."

xxx

Twenty minutes passed, and she found herself on the edge of the Sapphire Battlefield. Two voices caught her ears, and immediately, she cast a spell of invisibility over herself, a smile foul enough to curdle milk crossing her wrinkled and many times creased lips. Silently, she teleported herself from her position at the Battlefield's lip to the source of the two voices, standing behind them malignant and unseen.

"How long have you been painting for?"

xxx

With ever minute that passed, she began to hate the two many even more. One was wishy-washy and melancholic. Sickeningly so. Depressed people always made her stomach churn, and in this drunken state where it was churning anyways, she felt like vomitting every other sentence. Come to me when you've been blinded, had yourself expelled from your home plane, and banished from ever returning, because the society you once trusted believes that you've killed your best friend, and not even your brother was brave enough to step up and save you. Then come whine at me. Ah, bitterness knows no mercy for the weak and sad.

Now, the other, he was just the opposite. Not to say he was sunshine and happiness, but he was goody-goody enough to drive her mad. Not so badly as the other man, but perhaps enough to make her want to injure him. However, she could sense some irritation or annoyance arising in him towards his companion, and that made them comrades so to speak, so perhaps she'd hold back at him.

What was intriguing, though, and what'd kept her there against her boredom, was that Mr. SadCakes was exuding such a powerful magical aura, that it was almost enough to shock her into sobriety. That, and she's been without drink for two hours now, and had devoured so many healing spells that she figured she'd be free of any sort of illness for the next five years. And, beyond the intensity of his aura, was the sheer purity of it. It was as if he was carved from the concept of "good". That pissed her off. Aren't good aligned gits supposed to be optimistic?

S***, what in Hell am I still here for? I've no reason to stand around. Gods, my head...

Whoa, wait..."Gods"...'S Mr. Wishy-Washy-Tears-Of-Blood a God?

Her eyes widened.

Wouldn't he have found me? He's off his gaurd...Wait, I thought Gods were supposed to sit around rotting in temples all day...But, wasn't there one that decided to prance off for some reason? Besides that Xeluna one...Hear he's a funny sort of lad...Sinadryn.

By the skies, that can't be him, can it?

She held her hands over her mouth to keep from exploding with laughter.

Oh my...Time to show this git that he's got to pull himself up by his own damn bootstraps if he wants to get anywhere. Goodness knows what'll happen if we loose another God. Pity that the celestials put him in charge.

Closing her eyes, she shifted her body out of invisibility and into its younger, True Form. She staggered forward, still more than a little drunk, and then took off running a few yards at where she'd located Sinadryn, pinning him to the ground with one hand, and holding another that was clamped around a bone knife above his throat. Her dark, grimy clothes had not disappeared, but she now appeared to be somewhere in her twenties, a stark contrast from the hag she'd been not but a minute ago. In addition, her white hair had tarnished, becoming black, as had her eyes. She smiled a tooth, twisted smile, and cackled," Oh, why does he cry? Why does the God cry?"
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.:The One Handed Wonder!:.

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 4:30 am Post subject: Description:

Sinadryn's thoughts were parallel to that of Elhadron's. Why had she chosen him? He knew Iris to be a little more crazy than he ever wanted to admit that she was, but it seemed to him that only insanity could drive a person to take him as he was. He'd walled himself off and shut out most of the world in a vain endeavour to contain his melancholy only to himself. To add to that he had lost most of the confidence he had felt in his youth. Gone were the days where he knew that if he simply spoke to a woman they might consider him a potential lover, if not temporarily. Now he could hardly even begin to think of asking a woman to dinner, let alone to be more than just an acquaintance or a friend. Any confidence he had once felt had all but left him.

The slightest flicker of a smile lit across his lips. The all-knowing 'Aha' said volumes about the situation - more than an entire paragraph could say, even. Women were difficult to understand - he knew that. Iris, especially, was a challenge. Any quarrel they had ever had had been sparked either by a misunderstanding on her part, or her own emotion morphing to become unwarranted anger. What he said only infuriated her more and drove her to the point where she caused herself bodily harm. At times there seemed to be no way to please her. Perhaps that was why they were so well-matched: He was Night and she was Day. To counterbalance her fierce, violent, bloodshed-happy nature he was calm, complacent, and disagreed with warfare; to counterbalance her often seemingly random moods, his were relatively mellow and almost predictable. She was often joyous - he was not. He was quiet and almost shy - she was not. She was outspoken - he was withdrawn. Their personalities clashed in every sense of the word yet together everything seemed to interlock. Perhaps the most conflicting part about their relationship was that there was an absolute certainty about her. He lacked that certainty. He hesitated at every fork in the path now. In a time long bygone he had once chosen a path immediately and walked it without fear of what it might lead to. He could no longer do that now.

"Agreed," Sinadryn murmured in reply to Elhadron's comment regarding separation. He missed his family back home. He would never return there again if it wasn't absolutely necessary. He'd left there to get away from the memories that tormented him. Some of them had left him once he had left his homeland but most of them had stayed. Even with his internal struggle to rid himself of all the despondency that had taken residence within his chest, he still could not shake it. It was like a parasite eating away at the insides of his soul until it finally collapsed and he was no more.

"Indeed..." he mused softly. At Elhadron's words of well-wishing Sinadryn opened his mouth to speak, but was not given the opportunity. A figure flew at him, throwing him backwards. His shoulder grazed the tree as his back struck the flora-covered earth beneath. One hand held him firmly to the ground as a knife flashed under his chin. Surprise lingered in the knight's grey-green eyes for but a moment. Slowly they shifted to the woman that held him down as she spoke in a mocking tone.

Her hand was pressed against his chest. He still had some freedom with his arms. Moving quickly, his fingers deftly caught the buttons on both of his katars as he re-positioned his arms. Ka-shing. Thrusting the more mobile of his arms forward, the long blade glittered in the sunlight. The tip was pressed against her abdomen, the other prepared to deflect a blow if she attempted to slash or stab him elsewhere. While being on one's back was often very vulnerable in a fight, he had escaped mortal or otherwise severe wounds before.

"Why does she hold a knife to his throat? No tears come from his eyes." There was an edge to the deity's voice. His expression had become one that was apathetic tinged with anger. He was calm, however. His chest rose and fell rhythmically as though he weren't lying on his back with a crazed woman above him holding him at knife-point. The hand attached to the arm that was not poised to run her through clenched beneath the silver above it. Coal black eyes as dark as his hair stared down at him while wisps of hair a similar shade framed her face in perfectly straight lengths. He met them with his grey-green orbs. All of the emotion had drained from them.

Inwardly he cursed himself. He had felt her presence - as he felt all living presences within a certain radius of himself - and had ignored it, leaving it to be another mortal soul randomly wandering the field. But he could only partially blame himself. The powers of Life did not allow him to identify whose soul it was that he was feeling. He simply knew where they were and no more. If there was a way to somehow identify who it belonged to before he met them then he had not yet explored that option. The alignment, too, he could not identify without first concentrating on it. But he had felt her presence.

He just hadn't known her intentions.
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Banner and Avatar by Uzuri <3

Sinadryn Arsydian - Minor Updates
† Human
† 19
† Knight//Noble//Lord Life
† Neutral Good
† Grey-green orbs; unruly ebony locks with a sole white streak; somewhat pale
† Gentle, kind, chivalrous; melancholy, withdrawn, quiet; blissfully depressed
† Spring-loaded katars

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 5:47 pm Post subject: Description:

What had been a subdued and sedate conversation had abruptly become potentially lethal, not just for Sinadryn but for Elhadron himself. The young man pinned on the ground was clearly more used to combat than the dark elf at his side, but yet... here he was. Even as his hands moved to pull his bow from under his bag, he wondered, What did she mean, why does the god cry?

There would be time to sort that out later. The implications of it were profoundly relevant, but this was not the time to figure out particulars. Right now Elhadron was watching a man be attacked by a stranger, and no matter what was going on, the dark elf couldn't watch someone be killed in front of him without at least trying to help.

Eyes grey as rain watched the two from the shade of Elhadron's hooded cloak. He drew back the string of his bow, an unsent arrow waiting between tensed fingers. He may have had reason to protect an acquaintance, but he still didn't know enough about this woman to consider killing her until it was clear there was no other way.

"Stop this," he whispered. "Explain yourself."
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:46 pm Post subject: Description:

((Gah, sorry for my late-ness and shortness. My muse has been in my cupboard eating Fruit Roll Ups, and I couldn't get it out. It loves those things.))

Meleanna let out a sharp giggle, as the other man ordered her to cease. She turned to face him, wiggling against the tickle that came from Sinadryn's blade being pressed against her abdomen. With a smirk, she replied, "Explain myself? And why should I explain myself to you, let alone anyone?"

She turned back to Sinadryn, fawning over him with mock affection as she lifted a pinky off her bone knife, and grazed one of his ears with it. She clicked her tongue with scorn, and softly whispered," But, perhaps it's only fair to give you some sort of explaination, before I knockl some sense into you. Afterall, what's a lesson without knowing what you're learning, hm?"

Her fingers left his chest, and curled around the wrist that had held one of his katars to her stomach, pressing his arm to his side. As gracefully as she could manage, she pulled herself from him, and stood on her feet (albeit slightly unsteadily, as the alcohol content in her veins was rather high, still). She crossed her arms over her chest, levitating a few inches off the ground, as she scratched her chin, thinking of a decent way to detail her intentions.

"Well, it starts off with a keg of ale, I believe," she mused," And, it ends with me being irritated that a certain God of Life has gone all wishy washy over a certain lady friend. So, these factors all led to this event, wherein I knock the melancholy out of our good friend, Sinadryn, here, and then go back to doing whatever I was doing before...Which, I'm almost certain was scaring small children.

So, anyhow, why don't I let one of you take the first go at me, and then we'll get on with this, and I'll show Sinny here that not all's lost.

I'm a good samaritan, aren't I?"

She giggled, and rose a good twenty feet into the air, her hair flowing about her in a Medusa-esque manner that made her whip-thin figure actually look imposing. Not to mention that the storm clouds that'd gathered overhead were quite a bit of help. She sniffed the air, and said quietly to herself, "Oooh, smells like rain!"

The anticipation of Sinadryn's reaction to her blatant disregard for respect spread a smile across her face. Oh, how she lived for awkward moments and discomfort. Her hands on her hips, she yelled to the two men below, "Well? Are we going to get this show on the road? I don't have all day, y'know."
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.:The One Handed Wonder!:.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:46 pm Post subject: Description:

The other grabbed his bow, notching it with an arrow. Sinadryn glanced at him from the corner of his eye. He seems shaky... Does he even know how to fight? The woman above him squirmed as he kept his katar level with her abdomen. When she had turned her attention away from Elhadron his eyes locked with hers briefly as she feigned affection towards him. Her blade shifted from his throat to his ear as she nicked it. He didn't flinch or wince when she did it. Blood welled to the surface of the wound but never spilt over its lip. She spoke to him quietly, gripping his arm and pushing it aside as she clambered off him. The moment she was off, the deity was also standing, his blades at the ready, his visage devoid of emotion.

Sinadryn was silent as she levitated and explained her purpose. "And how would these feelings affect you in any way? You don't strike me as the type to worship Life. In fact, beyond the slight disturbances felt across Terrawin, I can't imagine that this would affect you at all." He could have smiled at her then, albeit sarcastically. And you believe that you could 'knock' the melancholy out of me? You'd be surprised how many have tried. Both in my past and present, and none have succeeded. "How do you propose to 'knock' the melancholy from me, Lady? By force? By kind words? By some other method, perhaps more magical in nature? I'd like to see you try: countless others have and it's all been in vain."

The strange woman levitated higher, drifting towards the gathering black clouds. He didn't need to hear her voice to tell it was going to rain. He could smell it too. Reaching down, he buckled each belt set down the front of his jacket, mindful of his katars. He didn't have his cloak with him and the last thing he wanted was to return to the inn drenched from some small drizzle. Although, judging by the cloud cover, it was not going to be just some small drizzle.

The strange woman's glee at the thought of the deity's reaction to her outward disrespect was to be shortlived. Sinadryn's expression hadn't changed as he stared up at her, following her with his eyes. He was used to the disrespect, the open disobedience towards those who were assumed to be higher in status. Perhaps that, coupled with the words of his father and mother, was why he chose to treat everyone as being of equal status. Every woman and man he met was given the title 'lady' or 'lord', regardless of their placement in society. His knighthood did attribute to that, but not nearly as much as his own morals did. As he'd grown up people had shown slightly more respect towards him, but not near what they had shown his older sibling. He had become accustomed to it and thus, as a deity, did not demand it like others of the pantheon did.

He tore his eyes from the woman to glance at Elhadron. If he didn't know who I was before he'll certainly know now... He wanted to tell the drow to put aside his weapon but he knew better than that. Any damage, he believed, that the strange woman could possibly have done - rather, any death she had wanted to cause - she would already have either attempted, or succeeded in doing. It didn't hurt to be wary, though. For that reason alone he left his katars exposed. The distance would be the only thing that saved his life. Her reflexes, he knew, were much faster than his.
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Banner and Avatar by Uzuri <3

Sinadryn Arsydian - Minor Updates
† Human
† 19
† Knight//Noble//Lord Life
† Neutral Good
† Grey-green orbs; unruly ebony locks with a sole white streak; somewhat pale
† Gentle, kind, chivalrous; melancholy, withdrawn, quiet; blissfully depressed
† Spring-loaded katars

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:56 pm Post subject: Description:

As the strange woman lifted herself into the air, Elhadron had to squint his eyes and eventually look away from her. Being out in the day was one thing, but turning his gaze up to that glaring sky itself was too much. He blinked a few times as she gathered cloud cover over them and the harsh blazing whiteness around her dimmed a bit to a bearable intensity.

What have I gotten myself into? Elhadron wondered. In the middle of the day against an opponent who might move faster than he could fire, the drow wasn't sure how much help he could be to Sinadryn.

Sinadryn, he thought as the young deity glanced over and met his eyes. Could he really have been speaking with a god? Sinadryn had acted like so many human boys do, and Elhadron had not even thought to question it. It had never occurred to him from speaking to Sinadryn that he could be anything more. But perhaps he is... and does it matter?

The truth was, Sinadryn had approached him as one mortal man to another. He'd spoken to Elhadron as an equal, and if the god of life had wanted to be treated like a god, he would travel as one.

No, he'd come as an individual and stayed as a friend. If that's what Sinadryn wanted, then that's how he deserved to be treated. Instead of dropping his weapon and falling to his knees before the god, Elhadron held his gaze steadily on a girl who'd declared herself Sinadryn's enemy.

"Your annoyance aside, miss. Your explanation is not enough. My friend's melancholy is his business alone. I'm sure you would feel similarly if someone tried to knock the wildness out of you." He drew the string of his bow back and aimed an arrow he prayed he wouldn't have to fire. "I asked you to stop this. Your lessons aren't wanted here, and if you're so short on time perhaps you should spend your efforts where they'll do you more good."
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:01 pm Post subject: Description:

Twitching her nose, Meleanna replied to Sinadryn, "Just because I appear dark and chaotic in nature to you, do not think that I am unaffected by the movement of the Gods. What do you think I am? I am no mortal. I am not of this plane. I am a drop of water in the lake. With every movement you and your kin make, there is a ripple that accompanies it, and so I feel it."

She continued with a giggle, "And, as for my methods, well...You'll see about that, I assure you."

"Your annoyance aside, miss. Your explanation is not enough. My friend's melancholy is his business alone. I'm sure you would feel similarly if someone tried to knock the wildness out of you.

I asked you to stop this. Your lessons aren't wanted here, and if you're so short on time perhaps you should spend your efforts where they'll do you more good."

She whined, as if the drow's words had hurt her. One hand over her heart, and the other still firmly gripped around her bone knife, she said in a mock sob, "Oh, I'm not wanted? Oh, woe is I! Rejected when all I do is try to aid others!"

She backflipped in the air with a ghost's grace, cackling merrily. With a toothy grin, she said, "Just you try to knock the wildness out of me. That'd be one hell of a punch you'd have to hit me with."

Suddenly, she was right in front of the drow's nose, and then behind him, and all at once right by his ear. Whispering, she inquired, "But, can you catch the wind, in the first place?"

Giggling like the mad woman she was, she rocketed upwards, twisting and turning through the air. With a light heart filled with glee, she swooped downwards, her knife aimed directly at Sinadryn. However, she didn't catch him with her blade, as she wasn't one hundred percent sure where he was, but instead called out a spell, and sent forth a sphere of darkness. The large globule sped towards the God of Life, causing the plantlife to wilt in its wake.

Before she could know the outcome of her spell, she corkscrewed through the air, putting distance between herself and the ground. She held her arms out to either side, magic swelling on her tongue, and clapped her hands together, using her ability to manipulate air to send a brutally strong gust, riddled with a dark spell akin to the one she'd used to send the dark sphere towards Sinadryn, straight at the two men.

She laughed, and spun around, electricity crackling all around her. Strands of lightning curled around her body, collecting at her hands, as she summoned strength from the storm clouds overhead that had seemingly followed her and concentrated themselves around her thin figure. Grinning, she said, her voice echoing with the power she had managed to consolidate within her body into one strong mass of pure energy, "Are we learning anything yet? Or, has it not sunk in? Pull yourself up, or you'll never find anything or anyone, little boy!"
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.:The One Handed Wonder!:.

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 6:34 pm Post subject: Description:

He'd been trying so hard to keep this situation from spinning out of control, and there simply wasn't any way Elhadron could possibly succeed. There was little Elhadron could do if the woman wouldn't listen to reason, and since he and Sinadryn both seemed reluctant to harm Meleanna despite her strangeness and inexplicable hostility... the situation was unlikely to be resolved in their favor.

Meleanna replied to Elhadron with mockery and he sighed. At least she's having fun, Elhadron thought. That makes one of us. In that sense it's not an utterly worthless encounter.

Then she'd disappeared from her place above them and Elhadron gasped at the sudden nearness of her. Meleanna had mentioned that she was no mortal, and Elhadron believed her. It also meant that the drow was the only mortal creature involved, and most assuredly far out of his league.

But, these are the risks mortals take. Not all mortals were great warriors, because many mortals didn't care to be. Elhadron was no exception.

"Sinadryn, tell me what you want t--" His words were cut off by a blast of profane energy from Meleanna. In the instant before it hit him, the elf in Elhadron watched in horror as the orb ate through the plantlife between Meleanna and the two men. Elhadron threw his arms up defensively as the blast hit.

The sickening corrupting energy of Meleanna's attack sank through his skin into his bones, blasting his hood back away from his face. When the second spell hit Elhadron was driven backward into the tree he'd been sleeping under not long ago.

Without the protection of his cloak, the only thing between Elhadron and the searing light of day was the shade of the tree. It also meant that this was the first clear view of Elhadron that either friend or foe had received. The drow blinked, squeezing pale grey eyes shut hard against the light and the pain crawling in his joints.

He didn't feel it in his knees when they hit the ground, and Elhadron coughed harshly into one black-skinned hand. It occurred to him that he didn't have any way to combat this woman, and that it was possible she would kill him right here within arms length of the god of life himself.

Ah, there was no end to Life's little ironies.

With some effort Elhadron recovered his breath. "Stop it," he said firmly. He felt like he was talking to a half-mad toddler, and while he couldn't hide the beginnings of frustration in his voice, he was still more confused than anything else! "This is pointless. I'm not going to fight you."
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Elhadron|Inventory

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:49 am Post subject: Description:

"If you feel the ripples that we all create, then why single me out? The damage that I have unintentionally caused is gradually healing. There are a number of deities - including those that have fallen - that have done far more damage than I have." I was told that Life would heal if I gave it time. I was told not to interfere. "I am not the only one who has in some way caused harm. Life is generally uninterrupted by my thoughts and my feelings and my hand is fairly steady when governing it. This is the one time - the only time - since I have ascended where there have been... problems."

It seemed that the drow would be receiving more than he had ever bargained for. Staring up at her, Sinadryn knew that her intentions were not wholly beneficial to others. She was malelovent by nature and something of a mischief maker; some part of her may have wanted to right the world - some small, shrivelled piece of her wicked heart - but at the same time, it only made sense that she would want to cause more harm than good for those that either didn't deserve it, or didn't need it. Sinadryn had already received what he deserved - a loss of connection to the element that which he guarded and a severe reprimand from a stranger. He certainly didn't need her 'lesson' to have the concept drilled for a second time into his head.

The strange woman vanished for a moment in between her woeful cries before reappearing near the drow. The knight twisted to face the two of them, the muscles in his arms tense. If she hurt him he wouldn't hesitate to turn offensive against her. His fingers twitched, the length of each blade gleaming in the waxing sunlight. He just caught what she whispered to Elhadron before she darted towards the sky. As she twisted almost gracefully through the rain-scented air, she targeted him, her knife still gripped in her slender hand. He dropped into a defensive crouch as she launched herself towards him. Prepared for the worst, Sinadryn waited with baited breath for her strike. When he thought the timing was right, he bolted towards the right.

It soon became apparent that she had never intended to stab him.

The feeling of mana erupted in the beginnings of a potentially violent gale. Sinadryn felt it surge through the air, whipping towards him. He couldn't identify the nature of it as he was no mage and less experienced with magical power than most others were. Before his ascension he had lacked any magical capabilities whatsoever. Any dream of ever having power beyond physical strength and speed - not that he had ever had them, but if he had - had been beyond him. Sinadryn had not been among the gifted few in his homeland and for that he had been grateful. Now, after having become a deity, however, he had been endowed with healing power and a number of other spells to aid him both inside and outside of combat. To date he hadn't actually used his offensive spells in combat. It appeared that that was soon to change.

Sinadryn threw himself to the side as the sphere shot towards him. He rolled across the ground, feeling it whizz by. Internally he sensed the wilting of each and every flower, though it was minute in comparison to the loss of the souls of the living. He was immediately on his feet following the assault, his eyes scanning the sky, darting furiously back and forth. He could just see her figure hurtling through the air. All too suddenly the air surrounding them became the gale that he had come to expect. Lifting one arm, Sinadryn pushed forward, towards the tree. Towards his comrade in arms.

Words were spoken and demolished in a single instant. Sinadryn's eyes flew open as he watched Elhadron slam into the tree. The fact that the hood had fallen away to reveal a face meant nothing to the knight. He was more concerned for the drow's well-being. He was fighting the wind as much as he was the woman as he felt for her spells and pressed onward towards the tree. When he reached it he almost gasped with relief. "Elhadron? Are you alright? Is there anything I can heal?" Mana welled at the tips of his fingers as a soothing cream glow began to illuminate from them. A rogue shot of dark power grazed his ear and he flinched.

His eyes rose to her as she spoke directly to him. Briefly defiance echoed in those grey-green irises, his expression hard. Absolute. "I've learned everything I need to!" he shouted over the violent winds. As the lightning flashed overhead he felt spots rise before his eyes but he didn't look away. Nay, his gaze was trained on her, his fists clenched as the healing mana continued to build, searing the tips of his digits with the potency of its power. "I have found someone. Of all the things, I have found a woman who loves me more than she should. This lesson you are trying to 'teach' has already been taught and has already been acknowledged. Your ignorance misleads you." Her insults fell on deaf ears. She would never taunt him into obliging her. Never.

"She won't stop," Sinadryn said, his eyes still following her. There were traces of fear in his eyes, but not because she herself frightened him. Her power was dangerous and he wasn't sure how to combat it. Sure, he'd been taught methods for dealing with magic users, but when he'd rode into battle it had always been melee fighters versus melee fighters and the gifted magic-users versus other gifted magic-users. Very rarely had a knight been pitted against a foe that he or she couldn't effectively combat. "Not until she is satisfied. She believes there is something I must learn here."

Spells ran through his mind. Healing incantations came first. No good. Defensive spells came next. Still no good. And then it hit him.

Psionic.

Although he wasn't near as skilled as some of the psionics he had crossed paths with, he still had some hope. His thoughts were largely contained, his mind more or less blank of anything that would interfere with the task at hand. Targeting her, he didn't need to speak. Lending his faith to his own abilities, the Deity of Life put all of his focus into one spell.

He wanted to hold her in place using only his mind.

Can the wind escape capture if it is held in place?
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Sinadryn Arsydian - Minor Updates
† Human
† 19
† Knight//Noble//Lord Life
† Neutral Good
† Grey-green orbs; unruly ebony locks with a sole white streak; somewhat pale
† Gentle, kind, chivalrous; melancholy, withdrawn, quiet; blissfully depressed
† Spring-loaded katars

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:17 pm Post subject: Description:

Meleanna had gone deep into full force insanity, now. Any word that might have begged entrance into her brain was denied. The only sound that she recognized was the sound of her own blood pumping in her ears. Spittle dripping from the corner of her moth that was curved into a lusty grin, she corkscrewed through the air again while the helpless drow and god below her tottered about. She knew Sinadryn didn't have a clue as to how to respond to her assaults. In her drunken madness, she had somehow managed to calculate and remember the fact that he was the God of Life, and, therefore, probably knew only a handful of healing spells. Cackles, loud, incessant cackles, spilled from her lips like the lightning that poured from the belly of the growling clouds.

Could she possibly be in love with this situation any more than she was?

The answer was simple: No. Nothing could make this any better-

Can the wind escape capture if it is held in place?

Her charcoal eyes widened, and her hair that twisted in a serpentine fashion with the wind halted, falling around her face. For a moment, the gusts ended, but just as they slowed, they picked back up, becoming more intense. A dark, grave look contorted her face.
He'd gotten into her mind. That was a place where no one was allowed to tread, except herself. How dare he trespass in such a manner? What a foul, foolish sort of idiot. And they had granted him godhood? She could hear a dam breaking in the middle of her body, releasing a torrent of fury.

"How dare you?!" she screamed, ripples of dark energy exuding from her body, as she held her frame in a furious stance above them. Again, she cried, "HOW DARE YOU?"

Her alcohol-saturated blood boiled, as she shouted out every dark incantation she knew, black energy streaming from her mouth like some shadow-vomit. There was no joy left in this battle anymore; he’d drained it all out of her. Bastard.

But, something more than anger had been unleashed by Sinadryn's invasion. A silent, white phoenix stirred in its ashes. Meleanna, the real, pure Meleanna, began to stir. The shadows began to dissipate around her thin figure, and a solitary tear dripped from her blind eye.

In the voice of a frightened child, she froze in the air, and whispered softly, "Who...What is going on? I...Where...?"

The reprieve was temporary. Her body twisted, and contorted, as though some war was raging inside of her. Moments passed, and she settled, her resolve regained. The good ol', evil Mel was back. And, she was furious. All she could think about was the smell of a god's blood, mixing with a hapless drow's. She desired to hear their skulls crack and grind against bark, and listen to the sweet, sweet music of their screams. She yearned for their flesh to splash against the ground, and become a part of the earth. Without a sound, she through a dark glob of all the focused energy she could muster at Sinadryn and Elhadron, flashing a toothy grin.

"The wind can escape anything."

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.:The One Handed Wonder!:.