A Very Odd Man (solo)

[Alric Wilmot]

14th of Spring 512 AV Alric lifted his head at the end of the priest's prayer. He had been praying regularly since his employment in the Womiyu. Jahoma was still technically his Master, but she regularly told him to act as though he was a full fledged member. He was told to never ask for permission, and if he saw a law broken, to take it upon himself to meet out justice. Nowadays he always kept a book of the law on his person. It had been given to him along with his robes when Jahoma took him on. As a member of the Speakers, Alric felt privileged. As though Ionu had given him a second gift. Alric also felt as though he had taken his things for granted, and had even preferred them over his god. More and more he neglected Eyris, and more an more he praised Ionu. It seemed to become clearer every day that no one truly owns anything. That was but an illusion. Those things, were only passing on, as were the people that owned them. The two simply shared the same space at the same time. Despite this, however, old habits were hard to break. Alric kept his rapier under lock and key in his room given to him by the Womiyu. He regularly checked on it as well, making sure it lay undamaged and unstolen. However, on the advice of Jahoma, he kept it on his person while in uniform. She said that it made an attack on his person less likely. Alric was likely to agree. He had been attacked often before the Djed Storm, due to the way he dressed. As he gave one last grateful prayer to the god ( or goddess) of Illusion, Alric patted his rapier that lay sheathed by his side. He drew the attention of several fellow worshipers as he did so. However, it was because of his sword, and more because of his uniform. Alric was currently on duty, waiting for instructions from a higher up. He was originally called to the Temple for that reason, since the Womiyu headquarters was beneath it. "Help! that boy stole my coin purse!" Alric sighed heavily. Really? In the Temple of Ionu, thievery would thrive? Alric thought that even a thief would have enough respect, or at least fear of capture, to stay their hand here. But no, a grizzled old man ran past him, chasing after a young boy who was undoubtedly the thief. Several expectant eyes were drawn to Alric. At that moment he truly wished Jahoma was here. She could deal with it, and leave him be. But alas, she was not. And according to her instructions Alric was to proceed and carry out the law. Even if he happened to be by himself. With a heavy sigh, he dashed after the two, intent on making this quick. Unfortunately, they were both much quicker than him. He ran a good 20 yards behind the old man, who was about that distance from the boy. Due to his uniform, no one got in his way, and they would frequently point to a corner where the man had ran past. Alric was getting tired. They were ridiculously fast. He almost wished that Alvadas would shift them apart, so he wouldn't have to deal with this nonsense. But alas, it was not to be so. Thankfully, he caught up soon enough. He found the old man fuming outside of the strangest building. It was a torn and broken house. Much like the rest of the neighborhood. However, it felt off to Alric. As though it were made to be broken. As though it always had been. He walked up to the old man with a curious look on his face. "So, where did the thief go?" "He went into the house of broken mirrors, Sir." the man said, between gasping breaths. Alric's eyes widened at the revelation. The House of Broken Mirrors? Of all the buildings to remain in the wake of both the Winter Crisis and the Djed Storm, this place survived? What irony, that Ionu would preserve the most tattered building. Still, Alric hadn't much time to get to the boy before he eventually found his way out. "You stand guard, near the exit. If he comes out, grab him, but don't harm him. His punishment is the duty of the Speakers. I'm going in." The man bobbed his head in agreement as Alric went inside. However, as he walked up the stairs to the entrance, he tripped on something and fell face first. Alric yelped as he fell, and landed with an unceremonious thump. The old man did not laugh though, he remained silent, and watchful. As Alric picked himself up, he remembered Jahoma's words. "You'll find Speakers get more respect than they deserve. Use that to your advantage." Alric dusted himself off, and picked up what he had tripped over. It appeared to be the cap the boy had been wearing. He put it into his pocket without thinking and proceeded past the sign that hung above him. It read, Do Not Enter. This would be quite amusing. He hadn't been in the House for years, it had a very sour reputation among the residents. For good reason too. Though Alric thought it rather fun, he could definitely see the point of others. The place was dark, and filled with dust. The mirrors formed a near endless maze, that some people were simply unable to navigate. Alric continued on, listening to the eerie silence that engulfed the place. In the past it used to comfort him. He would sit in the middle of the house, trying to listen to the mirrors, and learn what they had to teach him. But he knew, in the end, that they had never spoken. They were like corpses, really. They existed, yes. But they had lost their life long ago. As Alric walked deeper into the maze, his footsteps echoed louder and louder. If it continued, the boy would have ample warning that Alric was coming. But Alric knew what to do then. He had used it scarcely since it was bestowed, but more an more Alric found uses for it. He used his Gnosis, to silence all sound he was making. It was only a level 1 Mark, but regardless, it was powerful enough. He could only affect one sense at a time, but Alric found that was often enough. Ionu had blessed him greatly despite these recent disasters. It was one of the reasons Alric had stayed so loyal. Alric continued, not bothering to be sneaky, since all sound originating from himself was now gone. There, at the end of the corner, Alric found the boy. He was on the floor, panting heavily, surrounded by doppelgangers, courtesy of the mirrors.Alric let go of the illusion of silence as he spoke up, to get the boy's attention. "You are under arrest, for thievery. Please do not run, the exit is blocked and I know this place as well as my own house. Running would be useless, and fighting more so." Alric gripped his rapier as he said this. "So please, come along quietly and accept your punishment." The boy looked up, tears pooling in his eyes. Alric gasped as he realized that he was not a he at all. The thief was a woman, dirty and ragged. She was young, too. younger than he was, anyway. And she was obviously very frightened by him. She dashed forward, then, a knife in her hands, her intent painfully clear. Alric pulled his rapier out quickly. Almost as soon as he did so she froze, her face awash with fright. Alric cleared his voice and held out his hand, gesturing to the knife. Immediately she understood, and handed the knife to him. This immediately gave relief to Alric, since he had no idea how to fight her off. Still, she sobbed as she slid down to her haunches, hugging her knees. Alric stood over her, his sword in hand, dreadfully uncomfortable. He knew what Jahoma would say, that he shouldn't feel sorry for a thief. That they did what they did knowing the consequences. Yet, as Alric looked at this pitiful creature, he couldn't help but wonder if some of them had no choice. Perhaps he could go light on her? The punishment need not be harsh. Even as Alric thought about her punishment, she spoke up, pleading for the mercy Alric had already decided to give. "Please, please, have mercy! I just got so hungry and I couldn't afford anything! I-I didn't mean to steal all of it! Its just that, when the man turned, I panicked! Please,please have mercy! I'll never do it again I swear!" Alric was about to comfort her, and tell her he would indeed have mercy, but he was interrupted by an odd, watery voice, that seemed to echo throughout the House of Broken Mirrors. One of Alric's reflections had grown dark, and gave off a black smoke. "Mercy? The child dare ask you for mercy? You know suffering as she does. You have no family either, Alric. You have known hunger. Yet you never stooped so low as to become a thief. You made yourself useful. You helped others, while she hurt them. She deserves whatever cruel punishment you can devise. The girl flinched, and grabbed at Alric's legs. Obviously, she could see the odd shadow-Alric too. Alric was confused, he had never had this happen before. He had been in here dozens of times, where had this shadow-Alric been then? " You are quite foolish, shadow. Mercy by definition is not earned. Mercy is the abstaining from a punishment deserved, and I have already made my decision. She will be punished," the girl gasped. "But not harshly. There is no need to be cruel." The shadow-Alric scoffed. "No need to be cruel? There's no need to be merciful either. It is weakness. A weakness you too easily succumb to. Over and over you help the weak and needy, instead of putting them in the proper place. How long did the citizens of Alvadas come to you for mental health? And how many did you make your slave? How easy would it have been, for a hypnotist like you, to make them your puppets? And yet you never did. You speak of Mastery of the world, but you are not even willing to enslave a few broken fools. How will you ever master the world at this rate? You can't show mercy to everyone, you know. Sooner or later they'll take advantage of that. And then they'll be master over you. And there can only be one master." Alric, intrigued,walked up to the mirror that housed his shadow self. "You would make me a slaver? To master another does not mean to enslave them. And what would I do with this woman if I did ensalve her? Nothing. I have no use for slaves, shadow. And while you may be correct in my motivation, there is no need to begin with people. There are many skills I have yet to learn. Many languages, places, and people I know nothing of. To begin my conquest with something so transparent, I would surely draw undue attention." The woman drew in a sharp breath, and the shadow-Alric cocked its head to the side. "So, you're telling me that you would make them puppets, if only it was the opportune time?" "I'm not denying it. I have thought of this before, creature. And mercy is no weakness. It is a tactic. People are far more lenient on the kind and merciful. You don't have to enslave someone with chains. A kind word and a few nice gestures will often times do the same thing. And, in my experience, is often more effective. Trust is an easily manipulated tool." For a long time, there was nothing but silence as the woman stayed still, and the shadow peered back into Alric's eyes. It was as if the creature was having difficulty understanding Alric's words. And then, a screeching laugh pierced the silence. Apparently, Alric's reflection found the response humorous. "Using trust, to gain mastery over others? Quite illusory indeed. A friend who might well be an enemy, and at the same time no less! Oh, Ionu would be proud. Well, then. Prove it to yourself, why don't you? See that girl, the thief, terrified of you?" Alric looked over his shoulder, back to the woman. "Make her love you. See if you can play with emotions as easily as you claim. You have mastery over them, you claim. You can turn kindness and mercy into malicious tools. Why not love? They're all in the same boat. Let us see it then." "I have nothing to prove to you." "Oh, but you aren't proving it to me. You're proving it to yourself." Alric blinked at the sudden shift in the mirror. No longer was his reflection black and smokey, it was him. Just, him. Had it been him the whole time? What on Mizahar just happened? He had been in the House of Broken Mirrors before, and nothing like this had ever happened. Could it have been... all in his head? "Y-you're insane!" Alric turned around, to the thief that still lay on the floor. "Excuse me?" "You've been talking to yourself for ten minutes! Saying how you're going to-to become master of the world? And make me love you? You're a freak!" Alric;s eyes widened at the revelation. He had been talking to himself. If he had been talking to himself the whole time, then did he doubt himself? Was he so insecure in his abilities? "Perhaps I am insane..." Alric walked over to the thief, and hoisted her up to her feet. He then looked into her eye with a blank stare, the meaning of which was unknowable. "...But that means so little here in Alvadas. To be honest, it means little to me as well. Whether my mind is damaged or not is irrelevant. It is just another obstacle to overcome, something to master. As for you, and your punishment, I have decided to give you a choice." "A choice?" "Yes, a choice. You should feel privileged. As far as I know no other Speaker has ever given one. I am allowing you to choose your punishment. The first one, is to dance naked in the streets for the remainder of the day." "W-what!? What kind of choice is this?" "A generous one. My Teacher, Jahoma, would make you run around the city until your feet bled, and then to continue until you were near-death. She's rather cruel that way. Now, here is your second choice. Kiss me, as you would a lover." There was a long pause as the thief comprehended what she had just heard. "So, let me get this straight. You're going to let me go, if I just give you a kiss?" Alric shook his head, "No. The kiss must be as if between lovers. And it will be your punishment if you so choose. You are free to choose the first one. You are under no obligation to choose one over the other. You are completely free to choose." The thief scrunched her face into a confused expression. "I'm free to choose between a kiss and going around naked? What kind of choice is that?" "An unfair one. But it is still a choice. Now choose." The woman looked distraught, not wanting to really do either. But after a few minutes, she let out a sigh and agreed to the kiss. "But before I do, could you answer a question?" Alric gave off a toothy grin, "Of course." "If you wanted me to kiss you, why not make me using hypnosis? That's what you told yourself to do when you looked into the mirror. Why present the option? What's the point?" Alric gave a nod. "An excellent question. But you see, there is more than one way to control someone. Hypnosis is an excellent tool. But it is not the only one. I wanted to prove to myself, that I do not rely on mercy alone; that I don't rely on hypnosis either, really. That I can make someone love me without those things." "You can't make someone love you." "I know. And I didn't. That's why I gave you the choice. My father always said that love was truest when it was chosen. I may have made the alternative worse, but by making you choose, I've succeed in doing what I set out to do." The woman looked disgusted, but presented no further questions. She simply mumbled how he was wrong, confused, and crazy. But Alric really did not care. It made enough sense to him, and that was all that mattered. She was doing what he wanted her to do, and he hadn't had to use hypnotism, or kindness to do it. They kissed, though Alric barely paid attention. It was wetter than he thought it would be, and easier to do than he thought as well. It seemed almost instinctual. He used his hands to hold the thief close, to keep her from pulling away. But she did not. Instead she used her own hands to grab hold of Alric's head, as if drawing him in closer. She began to use her tongue, but Alric pulled away almost as soon as she did. As soon as it had started, it had ended. And Alric was perfectly fine about that. He now had but one more tool to add to his collection, in the art of control. As they parted, Alric remembered something. Slowly, and without much thinking, Alric pulled out the cap that he had tripped over while coming into the House of Broken Mirrors. He presented it to the woman, in a slight bow. She took it, slightly confused. "Thank you. I... thought I'd lost it." "No problem. I'm happy to be of use." She looked even more confused than she had before, and shook her head, unbelieving. "You are a very odd man." Alric gave off another smirk. "Thank you. Now come, let's get going. That man probably wants his money back."

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Alric Wilmot XP Award: Running- 1 Investigation- 2 Observation- 2 Philosophy- 3 Lore: The House of Broken Mirrors Figuring out Illusionism Love is truest when it is chosen Alric's first kiss Notes: Thread Goal- Fall UP a flight of stairs- Complete Thread Goal- Kiss someone passionately in the House of Broken Mirrors- Complete Thread Goal- Get into an argument with your reflection- Complete Thread Goal- Pray at the Temple of Ionu- Complete Rather odd thread indeed, but good nonetheless. I graded this in multiple sitting and so if you feel there is something missing please PM me. Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM