Dirt's Etchings (Solo)

[Aello]

Timestamp: Fall 5, 512 AV Location: Somewhere between Ravok and Syliras It was early morning. The sky still streaked with the sun's rising colors. A plethora of deep oranges which mirrored the first shifting leaves, a few streaks of crimson, akin to shed animal's blood, with a rise in the world's ceiling's typical blue, now that Syna was rising higher and higher. Her rays extended, bathing the world in her delicate light. Her warmth. The golden tints dancing over the uneven bed of terrain, the forest floor carpeted by shriveled pine needles and the first fallen of the leaves. The huntress sat atop a small pile, staring out at her sleeping companions. Four other assassins in all, each of them hated for their own reasons- from temper, to the skills they possessed. She got along with not a single one, it would seem, and few of them seemed to get along well with one another as well. But perhaps that was merely a game they played with her. Even so, she felt it would be a good idea to make use of her time whilst they rested, like the lazy bums she felt they were. Delicately, she folded her legs beneath her form, and wondered how in the world she was going to get them to accomplish the task at hand. Seeing as she saw herself as their natural leader, being as she was the only woman in the group, the one entrusted with a special task by the druvin Silvas, and the most talented, naturally. Despite this, Aello knew little of each of her supposed underlings. How they interacted, where they grew up, the minor details, although, with her magic working as spy, she had discovered much of their individual skill sets. Who employed the likes of magic, and who was merely a man as plain as he appeared to the naked eye. She knew she could not find a way to get along with any, and that may make them difficult to lead. Unwilling to defend her in the heat of battle, as much as she was unwilling to truly defend them. Allowing each to fall into the supple curve of Dira's silver scythe, her opened arms, if only the fight looked as though it were about to go that way. She imagined some of them at least, felt the same way about each other, if not in a stronger fashion than she felt herself and wondered which would be safe to pair with one another. She supposed if she tried to guide the auras, she could find which were linked to one another, and guess about it that way, but that in and of itself did not seem a sure fire art to her, seeing as they were now all connected to one another, even if they didn't want to be. They were a band of Rhysol's assassins. Some loyal to his claim and his cause, and others not. They were a family. A feuding one, yes. But a family nonetheless. Uneasily, as she took a deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth, the aurist swept the last of the needles that stood before her away with a single broad movement of her hand, before reaching for a long, twisted stick. One of its ends a jagged strip of bleached wood, while the other was a rounded knob. Bulbous, blistering bark of a deep brown shade. Her fingers furled around the far end easily. As though each were a serpent winding about a tree. Firmly, her palm pressed into it. Drawing the sap off the broken flesh, as her muddied irises danced over the blank slate she had created. Once again, she took a deep cleansing breath in through the nose and out through the mouth before she lowered her hand, pressing the stick's point into the parched earth. The soil raised, as the end sank into the earth. Dark brown grains falling around it as she took another deep breath and sighed, unsure as where else to begin but with the place described to her. The place they were attacking, and had to secure for the army of Rhysol, which was marching on Syliras soon enough. If they hadn't left the city already. Slowly, the girl drew her stick to the right, etching a thin line in the earth, beside which the displaced soil piled. After about an inch, she lowered it half of one, and then brought it to the left the same distance, before moving it back up to connect each of the lines, forming a sloppy rectangle. "This is the army's future base," she whispered, before adding a circle of trees all about it a fair distance away. Groupings of three triangles, for she knew they'd be there, but not how far from the building that had been described to each of them. When that was done, she lifted her makeshift quill a moment, and stared at the crude depiction. Triangles and a rectangle, which needed people. Slowly, she lowered the stick again, pressing the end into the soil. Where it fell, a few inches to the top right corner of the rectangle, she etched a simple "X," and in her mind, said that it would signify her presence. Right beside her, she made an "R," to symbolize one of the other for. The one that always bore red clothing. Diagonally across from them, she etched two symbols, and A1 and an A2, for another of the four who were meant to accompany her. Slowly, she lifted the stick, lowered it a few inches, towards the line of trees she had created. There she wrote the final symbol, to speak for them all. A3. When they were all accounted for, Aello pulled her stick back and surveyed. Now all you have to do is account for their movements, she thought to herself, as her free hand settled onto her lap. The fingers cascading down the length of her folded knee as her eyes scrutinized the lines. Wondering how she should place each one. For as of now, she didn't truly trust any of them to linger by her side for long. Key : Triangle groupings-trees A1- Assassin 1 A2- Assassin 2 A3- Assassin 3 R- Red X- Aello L- Lily, (when not on Aello's form) Rectangle- Future base I think she is going to get so confused with this. Ehhh.....

[Aello]

Thus, the huntress pressed the point of her stick into the ground once more, and drew a lightly arced line from her marking, to the upper left hand corner of the rectangle, before lifting her writing implement. The ground glared at her angrily as she drew the stick downwards, drawing lines from A1 and A2 into their corner of the rectangle, before moving down to A3, and having him do the same. When finished, she eyed the final piece of her puzzle, Red, and mentally had him run towards the corner of the building she had left him guarding. But that would leave the lower right open for an escape, unless those three useless petchers can manage to man the south all on their own. Her thoughts halted a moment as she considered each of their skills. One a ranger, the other close combat specialists, as far as she could tell, and not a smidgen of magic coursing through their veins between them. That will never do. One ranger can't off all the escapees on his own. One will get loose, or bring him down before the other two can fall upon their flanks, and cut them down. She grit her teeth and sighed through them, marveling in the passage of the cool, dampened air. Another moment, she remained seated, her eyes poised on her make shift map, before she reached for a needled branch with her free hand, and wiped her work away. Again, her mind reminded, as she etched the rectangle into the center of the cleared ground. Dropped the sweeping stick as she added in the line of trees, and put everyone back where they belonged: she and Red in the upper right hand corner. A1 and A2 diagonal of them, and A3 lurking in the underbrush just behind them. Now, how can we make this sticky situation work? Not knowing yet what it is we are facing? the girl wondered, as muddied irises danced over the lightly raised earth. The anthills she had formed besides shaky streaks. The hand of an unskilled artist. Idly, her free thumb and pointer stroked an imaginary beard, as she settled into deepened thought. The gears and cogs in her mind turning. Grinding against each other's grooves rather disharmoniously for a time, until they managed to find a succinct tune between them all. She smiled weakly, as she created two lines for A1 and A2, the same as before. Each running into the lower left, although, she had them fan a bit, so the corner was hit from each side. When the first move had been struck in the dirt, Aello pulled the stick away, and guided it over to her own corner. Same as before, she drew a delicately sloping line from her corner to the one that rested at its left. From there, she turned back to the lower side of her figure, and etched aline from A3, hiding in his trees, to the corner diagonal of her own. When she had finished manipulating everyone's marking, she pulled her stick away, and surveyed her work once more. Her brow furrowing as her chest rose and fell evenly, and she fell back into a deep thought process, only to find that there were flaws with her second plan as well. The first being rather obvious, her ranks were stretched too thin. If there were too many of the enemy, they could all be easily overpowered. Or even, if they faced a small number with skills similar to their own, in level at least. If they had more rangers than them... damn, they would all be easy pickings for whatever lurked within the building they had to secure. If anything rested there, which judging by how Silvas spoke of the place, something did. Aello supposed it was something in the glimmer of his whitened eyes that gave it away, if such a thing could be said of a druvin. We can't leave any of the close range combatants without someone who can fight from afar. They need to be paired, or we won't last long in the field, the huntress thought to herself. But if we do that, we leave some of the building's edges unattended, she thought. And that would not be a good thing. We cannot allow anyone who is inside, or anything to escape that place and find help elsewhere. We are not enough to defend it on our own, and an army of the size they are sending after us will not be able to travel quickly. They should not be able to reach us for quite some time, so we must not count on their coming to our aid. Aello sighed, she hated trying to think up of things before finding herself in the situation. She hated tactics but then again, she saw the necessity of having them on her side. Uneasy, she sighed, as she stared at the markings she had made. It may be possible to flank the building's sides. The shorter ones made here, but if they have another way out... another door, another damned window they could climb through or something, it may not work. But alas, it is worth a try, is it not? There is nothing left to lose, her mind added, as she decided to get back to work. She had nothing better to do until the lazies woke up. Not that she was rushing. Not that she wanted them to or anything.

[Aello]

For the second time, Aello raised her needled stick from its place beside her on the ground. Her palm furled around it, aside her narrowed fingers, as she moved it over her drawing, and snuffed it out. Scattering the dirt in a solid sweep, which reminded her of the rise and fall of the waves before they crashed into the shore. Smiling weakly when she finished, the huntress put her cleansing stick back down beside her, and looked over the refreshed canvas. For a moment she sat, staring, doing nothing, before she began anew. Her fingers bent at their middles, arching over the supple sweep of her writing stick. Holding it as she would a quill, or other stylus, as she pressed the point into the center of her canvas. Causing the dirt to rise as she pushed a little harder, and then drew a straight line down, then to the right, back up, and to the left, closing the shape. Forming her rectangle, the symbol of that she needed to capture with her companions. When she was finished, she lifted the writing stick from the ground, and began to draw a series of triangular groupings all around, to represent the line of trees. When she finished those, Aello lifted the stick once more and stared at the crude marks. Maybe I am oversimplifying this, she thought to herself, or making it a tad harder than I should be, her mind added with a small shrug, more to herself than any of the forest critters that may be watching. The beady black eyes she could feel boring into the back of her neck. She looked up warily, wondering where all hid from her intense gaze a moment, before turning back to her word. Considering, always considering, as she drew the first person in. Herself, to the east of the building, lingering in the line of trees. Next to her form, she etched in A3, before turning to the opposite end of the building, where she drew in the symbol for Red, as well as the first and second assassins in their company. When she was done, she pulled her stick away, and followed the lines of each of the forms. The rectangle, the triangles, the various letters and numbers, wondering how she should shift everything about so that her team could accomplish the task they set out several days beforehand to accomplish. If it could be managed of course, which she hoped it was. Sighing, the aurist drew the first line in, one leading from her "X" to the central area between her line of trees, and the wall of her end of the building. When she was finished, she drew a line from the assassin accompanying her, towards the building, signifying his taking the lead while she hung back. When she was done, she turned to the opposite end of the building, and etched in a pattern which mirrored her own. This time, Red was the one who remained a little further back however, as the other two assassins advanced on the building. Finishing her lines in one fluid sweep, Aello quickly raised her writing stick, and surveyed her work. This seems a bit better, she thought to herself. For now Red and I can cover everyone's backs, while they all swoop in and claim the unsuspecting, perhaps any rangers which would seek to end the ones who walk by them. She paused a moment, as her eyes darted over to the portions of the building they left unmanned. But it is likely that some way out rests on the other side of these walls. The empty spaces, and if not, something could always be forged in a hurry. It only takes a simple void, a fire. A stone throw if the man behind it is strong enough. And we cannot allow anyone or anything to escape. We can't give them the chance to regroup and take us down when we least expect it, Aello sighed. Not only that but look at these pairings. The third assassin and I get along worse than any of the others. We are as unlikely to make a cohesive team as a cat and a canary. Inwardly, she groaned. I would be as damned likely to send an arrow into his back as one of our enemy's. The girl shook her head uneasily, tousling her long mane of chestnut colored hair. Causing the frayed edges to circle her neck hungrily, tickle her pale skin. After a time, a few ticks, perhaps even a chime, she forced it to come to a halt, and her eyes to settle on the drawing once more. No, this will never do, there has to be another way, a pairing that will not lead us to turn against each other before the task is done. If it can ever be done, she thought to herself as she reached for the cleansing stick and stripped the earth of her work. Sighing, she set the implement down once more and simply glared at the canvas before her. There has to be a way to do this, the huntress thought. I am just not thinking hard enough. Yet...

[Aello]

Without giving it a second thought, Aello etched in the stable variables- the future base at the center of her canvas, the trees surrounding it. When she finished, she paused a moment as she nibbled on her lower lip. Listening to the cawing of several birds flying overheard, presumably flying to warmer climes for now. To return as the warmth did. The snoring of one of the assassins, coupled with the heavy breathing of some of the others, and the whistling of the wind, the rustling of leaves, and the grate of bark against bark, as tree's limbs were sent into fits of trembling which led them to meet. Her ears prickled as the wind began to howl before temporarily dying down, leading her to go back to work. Same as before, she placed her mark to the east of the building, before putting Red to the west, hidden by a small grouping of assumed trees. With him she paired A3, a few inches closer to the building, before switching the other two. Leaving both A1 and A2 at her side, hidden in a small group of tress as well. Maybe this will work, Aello thought as she began to draw in the lines of movement. First, she etched a line from the "X" to the space between the forest's line and the defensive fortress. And then another two from the assassins assigned to her, to the building. Being as she was the ranger, she'd fall back and let them deal with most people, as she finished off everyone else from afar. The opposite occurred on the other side of the building. A3 ran forward to meet attackers, whilst Red toasted them from afar. This seems better, Aello thought to herself. At least, we have likely curbed the issue of friendly fire, her mind said, although it was hardly set at ease. But we still have the issue of the open faces. A possible escape. She sighed. But what are we to do? We are so few, and we cannot risk stretching our numbers so thin that we are left more than vulnerable. We have to group ourselves together, or we would be too easily overcome. But that would run the risk of what? Some fool telling their masters we are there? Aello grunted. One of us could always go after them. The others do not hunt. But... I did once. I made a good living by it. I could always track them down. Hunt them down. Finish them off as everyone who remains alive after the initial fight holds down the fort. Again, the huntress shook her head lightly as she allowed another sigh to escape her lips. For some reason, she found something wrong with each of her many plans. She failed to like any of them. But there had to be a way. There must be a way for her to feel secure enough to implement one of them. Again, she sighed as she raised the broom, and cleared her canvas off, before setting the needled stick back down. She took a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth to quiet her racing thoughts as she set the stage once more. A building, surrounded by an endless sea of trees of various ages, shapes and sizes. Various forms, with different leaves, some fallen and some not. Maybe if we used Lily to scout the place out, this wouldn't be so difficult on any of us. She is small enough to move about the forest largely undetected. To slip through any cracks in the building's foundation, Aello thought, although her heart panged with the thought that she would be putting her friend at risk. After all, the pycon was no fighter. She was a healer, decent at escaping things. Mending things, and identifying plants, but little else. Of course, she possessed the heart of adventure, loved it really, but was it enough to serve as a spy? A good spy. To count their numbers, perhaps befriend them before betraying them all. Rhysol be proud, smile spread to your accursed lips. The huntress grit her teeth. But she is so easy to kill too... even with all the benefit of being small, of being able to slip into things larger beings are not, she is too damned easy to kill. One misstep would be enough to end her. And then we would have nothing. No healer, no set of eyes. No information other than what could be garnered by my magic. And who is to say the others would listen? They never bloody listen to anything or anyone. It is a wonder then, that they could ever serve the dark lord Rhysol. With heads as dense as they, and with snouts so elongated... mulish. Her thoughts came to a grinding halt as her gaze narrowed. Her pupils turning to two smoldering coals as her irises darkened. She was seething inside. Confused, frustrated, and perhaps a little scared, although she would never admit it. We have to use her though, she may be small, but they will listen to what she says because of that relentless gaze. Those unblinking eyes. And if I back her with what my magic exonerates? she paused, that may work well, but still, it will put her at a great risk, and would it be worth it in the end? Will they really listen to two women they hardly know, and certainly don't respect? the huntress wondered, although she did not give herself long. I'm just kidding myself. Another tick, and she was returning to work. Endless work. Aello swept the markings away with the stick, and sighed as she dropped it to her left. Always... work... OOCIn case it isn't clear, the needled branch is a stick with lots of pine needles on it. To clear off the ground.

[Aello]

Aello began anew, placing the rectangle in the middle, surrounded by triangles for trees. When she was done, she set A1 and A2, as well as herself and Lily in the east. Whilst A3 and Red remained opposite of them all. When all of the markings had been etched into the dirt, she drew a line from the 'L' for Lily, to the building. Circling it a few times. When that was done, she drew a line back, having Lily join with her once more, before everyone rushed in, in the same fashion as they had before. This hardly seems better, it's almost too reckless, the huntress thought to herself as she studied the lines after having pulled her writing stick away. But it's better than the others. Without a scout, without eyes, without information, an army is nothing. Even a small, pitiful band of one, which can't be bothered to so much as try and get along. The huntress sighed as she looked down at her work. And there's still that blasted variable, of whether or not they will bother to listen. To reason or anything of the like. Perhaps it would simply be best to send one of the men scouting ahead, although they are like to lack the talent. Her thoughts paused a moment. They are more likely to listen to one of their own than an outsider? Aren't they? the aurist wondered as her eyes danced over the earth. Than someone they hardly know. Again, her thoughts came to a grinding halt, as she looked at the lines she had drawn. The divides, it would seem, that rested between the girls and the boys. Either way, at least Lily would not be at a greater risk, seeing as she would have my own protection still. But the scout... he would. But at least, he has more of a chance of defending himself, although, he is more likely to be seen. She sighed. It seems there is at least a single draw back to every tactic, everything we may attempt. She breathed deeply in through the nose, and out through the mouth as her gaze was pulled away from the drawings. "Morning Aello," Lily called as she rubbed her eyes. Aello smiled. "Morning." "The others should be getting up soon," the pycon added, leaving the huntress to nod, quickly get to her feet, gather her things, and kick dirt over her drawn maps. Until only the X remained. OOCMention/use of the assassin NPCs granted by V. A fuller write up and such is impending.

[Chevalier]

Aello

LORE

• Battlefield Positioning
• Tactically Pairing Abilities
• Team Cohesion

EXPERIENCE

Skill	XP Earned
Tactics	5
Drawing	4

Storyteller Notes

Secret :

I’m ok with some drawing experience here, mainly because you’re starting from 0 and hey, everyone has to start somewhere.