81st of Spring, 516 AV
Aislyn was an artist, not a fighter.
Not a lover, of course, but she wasn’t exactly big on combat either. She had too many weaknesses- too many easily attackable points. She lacked the foolish hope so many people in the Winter War- as she’d taken to calling it- had died holding onto. She was a stuck stick when it came to self-preservation, and was never one for teamwork. If meant to choose between a teammate and escape, she’d choose escape, every single time.
So why had she heard ‘fighting force’, and immediately wanted to join?
The woman could come up with a few reasons, just to convince herself. First, she needed to not be so weak all the damn time. Having an excuse to train any sort of ability would help that. Second, those fighting in the Winter War had openly used a kind of magic Aislyn had never seen before- the kind hushed over in everyday Alvadas. She had not seen, nor heard any mention of such a magic since. If it was to be used purely for danger and doom and gloom, then the artist was going to have to seek out some danger and doom and gloom to locate it. Lastly, the invitation, from what rumors she could pick up, was extended to all those devoted to the city. Not necessarily martially inclined, but devoted.
And there was no one more devoted than an illusionist with a taste for power.
There was, however, a catch.
Aislyn had been taking walks throughout the now cave-like, icy city. She had, like many others, noticed the particular ‘crack in the wall’ that people tended to stay away from. Or dive right into. The latter of which tended not to be seen all that much anymore. But the woman didn’t deny she was curious, and might have been planning to venture in regardless of any goal a zealous Alvad warrior had set. So it was just one more rather timely reason why the opportunity was so convenient. The only reason Aislyn hadn’t jumped head-first into the mysterious ice cave was because of one small detail that had been fairly prominent- and more importantly, consistent- in the information she had come across. There was something in the cave.
What that something was, that’s another story.
It was a fairly foreboding kind of image; a magical cave only the foolhardy run into, and a rumor about what atrocities lay inside. It was much like the door from the season before, in a way. An entrance to the unknown that no one really seemed to know the origin of, or what was on the other side. But everyone was curious. That was what brought Alvads together, in the end- curiosity. A shared trait between the majority of the population. It was a trait embedded into the very city itself, and the deity that presided it. Curiosity in itself was a very dangerous thing, and had led to the downfall of many an Alvad. Not every illusion was as intangible as it appeared, after all. Whatever was inside the cave was almost definitely an illusion, but was just as definitely dangerous as well.
The only question was what, exactly, it was.
Aislyn had been no exception to the number of Alvads imagining what kind of creature lay amidst the icy cavern. Something akin to the undead from winter. An invisible monster, impossible to trace. Ionu themself, perhaps. No one knew. After all, there had been that one season where quite a few Alvads had disappeared straight into the ground, only to reappear and swear they’d met the deity of illusions in person. Several vigilantes had already disappeared into the crack in the wall- perhaps they were having tea and biscuits with Ionu as well.
Or they were dead.
That was a possibility as well.
Not a lover, of course, but she wasn’t exactly big on combat either. She had too many weaknesses- too many easily attackable points. She lacked the foolish hope so many people in the Winter War- as she’d taken to calling it- had died holding onto. She was a stuck stick when it came to self-preservation, and was never one for teamwork. If meant to choose between a teammate and escape, she’d choose escape, every single time.
So why had she heard ‘fighting force’, and immediately wanted to join?
The woman could come up with a few reasons, just to convince herself. First, she needed to not be so weak all the damn time. Having an excuse to train any sort of ability would help that. Second, those fighting in the Winter War had openly used a kind of magic Aislyn had never seen before- the kind hushed over in everyday Alvadas. She had not seen, nor heard any mention of such a magic since. If it was to be used purely for danger and doom and gloom, then the artist was going to have to seek out some danger and doom and gloom to locate it. Lastly, the invitation, from what rumors she could pick up, was extended to all those devoted to the city. Not necessarily martially inclined, but devoted.
And there was no one more devoted than an illusionist with a taste for power.
There was, however, a catch.
Aislyn had been taking walks throughout the now cave-like, icy city. She had, like many others, noticed the particular ‘crack in the wall’ that people tended to stay away from. Or dive right into. The latter of which tended not to be seen all that much anymore. But the woman didn’t deny she was curious, and might have been planning to venture in regardless of any goal a zealous Alvad warrior had set. So it was just one more rather timely reason why the opportunity was so convenient. The only reason Aislyn hadn’t jumped head-first into the mysterious ice cave was because of one small detail that had been fairly prominent- and more importantly, consistent- in the information she had come across. There was something in the cave.
What that something was, that’s another story.
It was a fairly foreboding kind of image; a magical cave only the foolhardy run into, and a rumor about what atrocities lay inside. It was much like the door from the season before, in a way. An entrance to the unknown that no one really seemed to know the origin of, or what was on the other side. But everyone was curious. That was what brought Alvads together, in the end- curiosity. A shared trait between the majority of the population. It was a trait embedded into the very city itself, and the deity that presided it. Curiosity in itself was a very dangerous thing, and had led to the downfall of many an Alvad. Not every illusion was as intangible as it appeared, after all. Whatever was inside the cave was almost definitely an illusion, but was just as definitely dangerous as well.
The only question was what, exactly, it was.
Aislyn had been no exception to the number of Alvads imagining what kind of creature lay amidst the icy cavern. Something akin to the undead from winter. An invisible monster, impossible to trace. Ionu themself, perhaps. No one knew. After all, there had been that one season where quite a few Alvads had disappeared straight into the ground, only to reappear and swear they’d met the deity of illusions in person. Several vigilantes had already disappeared into the crack in the wall- perhaps they were having tea and biscuits with Ionu as well.
Or they were dead.
That was a possibility as well.
