[Pumpkin Festival] Nothing shall ever stay the same (Kam)

[Alice]

Fangs snapped with a muffled noise. For a moment the sea serpent was puzzled by the escape of its prey, performing a circular turn and diving away for the time being. Just as Kamalia expected, it attempted to regain energy for the second strike.

Its enormous, scaled body glided through the water like blood through the Konti’s veins, yet it had lost a part of its former speed. The movements were precise and instinctive, yet more thoughtful, hesitant even than before. It blinked. Eyes yellow like acid were observing Kamalia’s preparations, assessing every move she made, judging what she had done before. Of course, acting in vision water made this specific exemplar more intelligent, wittier and more dangerous. Most likely it was the only living sea serpent around the isle.

Although Kamalia was too busy with gathering and shaping res to realize what that stare meant, the serpent’s eyes never left the Konti. That acid yellow, cold stare was washing over her like attention from a higher being, like she was a tiny, insignificant bug in its realm. Those eyes knew what belonged to them, knew what they wanted and what they could achieve. The serpent was waiting, judging … but never backing away.

Kamalia, being still an apprentice in the world of magic, needed a certain amount of time to shape res into the intricate construction of water and air she envisioned. But the serpent wasn’t stupid. Seconds before the moment she was ready it came dashing towards her again, jaws wide open, sharp teeth exposed.

The shimmering ball of res hurled towards the enemy exploded in the middle of that image. Air broke free from its binding water shell and sent burning hot energy into every possible direction. The body of the sea serpent shattered under the massive pressure the elements had unleashed. A column of bubbles filled with hot air raced towards the surface and left the space where the serpent had been located empty.

The creature had disappeared. Neither was the skeletal coral reef speckled with single scales or teeth nor felt Kamalia any scratches or saw remnants of the dangerous body. It made her suspect that the agile serpent had somehow managed to escape into the shadows. But was that even possible for such a big pile of flesh? After a while, however, she would see a pale eel, barely bigger than three feet, as thick as Kamalia’s ankle and of indefinable color, making its way towards her.

And then an inhuman voice reached the mage’s ears. Although it didn’t open its mouth to do so, the eel was speaking to her.

“Why have you entered my territory? Why are you so keen on dying?” To Kamalia, the voice would sound deep and majestic, although it carried a hint of danger. The image of acid yellow eyes crossed her mind. That voice sounded so similar … almost identical to how the sea serpent had acted.

[Kamalia Timandre]

The unearthly voice rung out into the depths of the seer’s mind, echoing a silent fear that had been lingering in her heart since the dive into the lake. She had not expected what she found, and frankly she had wished it to be a mere animal without intellect or will, so that dispatching it would be an easy thing to do. It turned out that this wish had run afoul of the circumstances which faced her now.

Her lips quivered in the dark waters, unsure of what to say. It was as if she had trespassed on its territory, and it had done nothing wrong by the way it talked. A defiant ring bubbled in her throat, but she stifled it with sheer will. It was bad enough that the creature was able to talk. Angering it further would bode ill for her entirely. Kamalia maintained a respectable distance from the eel-like creature, maintaining calm and composure as was of expected of a daughter of Avalis.

“I have not trespassed on your territory without cause,” she said softly in a series of clicks, whistles and sea song. SHe was about to insert a respectful title to address it with, but it seemed quite inappropriate to call it ‘sir’, much less ‘lord’. She was answerable only to the goddess and her representatives. “Mayhap you have attacked a young konti named Shilavi? Why have you come to prey on my sisters, the people of Mura? You are not an unintelligent creature, surely you can give me a fair answer before anything else.”

Her mind was still tingling from the effects of transforming djed into res, and the frantic spellcasting had left her quite exhausted. Usually her first bolt of ice would be enough to liquidate her trials. If the creature were to start attacking again, who knows what she’d be forced to resort to.

[Alice]

The eel looked at her with thoughtful, little eyes. It was hard to say whether it only thought of her as prey without will and hope or truly understood and considered her words. Of course, even for Konti it was difficult to read the body language and facial expressions of such a small and slim creature as an eel. However, it had turned out to be intelligent, so it definitely had feelings about her. Every living being had feelings, right? The more intelligent the exemplar, the more complex the feelings it was able to produce.

After a while the eel started circling her as if it wanted to take a look at her from every possible perspective. Or as if it considered how to attack her next. Its cold, glittering stare reminded her of the eyes of a beast observing its prey. Gromhir’s eyes got that stare when he hunted in his animal form.

Eventually the eel’s mouth released a few bubbles. Apparently it sighed. Then the eerily deep and majestic voice spoke again. “I do not care about names. I have attacked your people, because … All of you share the same appearance. You have done unforgivable things. Punishment for sins is only natural, do you understand?”

Then it suddenly turned away, swam a few feet away and performed seemingly careless loops in the water. During that its gaze never left Kamalia. It was cautious. After all, it knew what she was able to do. It had to be careful, but it still considered its own powers superior to hers. There was no reason why it should vanish. It would definitely not give in, because one of those white women pleaded him to do so. No, it had a mission to fulfill.

Eventually it spoke again and a series of bubbles escaped its mouth. However, they were released with an unusual softness and slowly ascended to the surface. “Telling you does not change anything. Do not disturb me anymore and I shall let you escape.” Then its head jerked upwards as an idea hit it. “Tell everyone else that they have to stop disturbing me. I like this place, so I will stay here. Go and tell them, then I’ll spare you! I know that you are exhausted and cannot defeat me, so it would be best for you to do as I say.”

While it spoke, Kamalia would notice that it stood perfectly still in the water except for the slight movement of its slim body. The eel hadn’t performed any powerful movements since it had changed into its smaller form. And why had it even lost the form of the more dangerous sea serpent? When thinking about it, Kamalia would realize that there was something unusual about the eel. It had something to do with magic. And it wasn’t as powerful as it pretended to be – not anymore, not as long as it was an eel.

[Kamalia Timandre]

The Silver Lake was her home and Kamalia Timandre felt that she was no prey. As a daughter of Laviku, the konti believed that the God of the Sea watched over her in this dreamlike watery realm. She could not afford to abandon her duty to the Konti Isle out of cowardice. The wizard stared down at the small creature with an imperial hauteur, methodically observing the thing with calculating eyes. Now that she came face to face with this “lake monster”, the fears that clung to her heart like shadow seemed to have dissolved… for now at least. The konti wizard held its gaze defiantly as the eel-like monster circled around her, not failing to note the great intelligence in the creature’s eyes.

To her surprise, the creature swam a few yards away from her while Kamalia remained floating in place. A sigh of relief escaped her, sending a ripple of bubbles racing towards the muted halo of the highsun. Could this creature, perhaps, be capable of reasoning? At least it preferred to settle things without further violence. The sorceress remained cautious as it was different from the monstrous beings that she faced before—this one was highly intelligent. She listened to its majestic voice resonating telepathically in her mind. Kamalia’s features softened, and her long hair shrouded her slender form like a silver nimbus.

“For centuries untold, The Konti remained as a race of peace,” Kamalia calmly began in a series of clicks and seasong. “The Silver Lake is our home, as it is yours, for we are daughters of Laviku. A konti would not attack you or your kin for as long as you do not provoke her to do so. You are welcome in this lake, for as long as you are willing to share it. Tell us what unforgivable crimes we have committed to you, and I shall act as your delegate. I will convey your message to my sisters,” she whistled softly.

“We are reasonable creatures,” the konti promised. Should the creature attack her again, the sorceress was ready to release a simple cantrip—one that she learned when she was very young. She would wrap its gills with ice to suffocate and drown it.

[Alice]

Kamalia Timandre Experience: 4 pts Observation, 2 pts Persuasion, 2 pts Glyphing, 1 pt Leadership, 1 pt Investigation, 1 pt Suvai, 2 pts Swimming, 2 pts Reimancy, 2 pts Rhetoric Lores: Having One’s Future Foretold, The Prophecy, Being Instructed To Return Peace To Mura, Reading The Past, Worrying For A Companion, Searching For Clues, Fighting A Sea Serpent, Talking To An Eel Comments I really loved our interaction in the thread and the direction it was taking and, of course, the beautiful way you write Kamalia. It's nice that we fleshed out Shahal through our posts too. I hope you’re okay with the xp and lores I gave you. Kam did a lot of different things in the course of the thread, so it’s very possible that I missed something. Also, if you want to continue the thread moderated by someone else, you’re free to do so!