[The Slag Heap Fire] Burning Impressions (Solo)

[Eryss Waldu]

2nd of Winter, 511AV [No one was left except himself and the Barbarian. Only Cade and Eryss remained. All the others had left for what was likely to be several seasons but the Mage didn’t seem to mind. He still had Cade, which was more than enough, and he still had his wits which would serve him well for all for all that he had seen and done during his time in Sunberth. Now that winter was here it seemed to Eryss that it was the right time to make an impression, what kind exactly he hadn’t considered at the moment, but setting out from the remains of the Crimson Edge encampment he journeyed to the place he knew an impression certainly could be made.] [On his way Eryss erected a peculiar Shield over himself. It was later in the afternoon but the sun was still down due to the late season. Willing the magical energies of his djed through himself the Mage would erect a Shield with all the defensive capabilities he thought necessary such as those against biologics and piercing, slashing and bludgeoning weapons but the last thing he tasked his Shield against was altogether different. He used his Shield to block out the light around himself which meant that as light hit the Shield he had constructed it would be drunk into it and absorbed in a manner of speaking. Instead of seeing Eryss anyone who saw the Mage now would see an area that appeared grey or even static in nature due to the fact that the lack of light had created a zone around his body that appeared almost without characteristics to those who could not pierce. An Aurist might be able to see through the Shield but at the level of expertise that Eryss toted he believed it would take a skilled practitioner to make out any of his features. As the Shield came up it was almost instantaneous, Eryss had only himself to cover and nothing else, only the increased complexity of the weave took him time to establish as he was used to creating only two tiered Shields the majority of the time. He would practice though and become much more astute at his skill with making these advanced Shields.] [The Slag Heap Fire was the destination that the Mage had chosen. On any given night it was occupied by various vagrants from all around Sunberth, winter would be no different especially early on. The smouldering fire was visible from a great distance it’s smoke rising high into the air and Eryss could smell the refuse as he travelled the outskirts of Sunberth towards his destination. As he came upon the local gathering place Eryss could see groups of individuals all around some of which were shooting dice, others who were drinking and yet still others that were into all manner of things while jockeying for a position that would allow them warmth in this colder season. Eryss himself felt a stiff breeze as he moved towards the others though beneath the obstruction of his Shield and the robes he wore as well no one would be able to see the shivered that drove itself across his spine when a chill raced throughout his torso.] [Walking into the midst of those gathered at the slag heap Eryss remained unnoticed for the most part. Most people were to engrossed in their own business to notice him, or anything else for that matter, unless a disturbance drew their attention. The Mage waited quietly before clearing his throat once and then announcing in a loud voice...”Ladies and Gentlemen I have something to say!”...which drew a few eyes towards him though the following screams and shouts when all people saw was the grey area drinking in the light around him drew even more attention to the Mage which no one there appeared able to identify.] [A moment later, letting the eyes draw themselves to him and settle on his features, Eryss would have went on with a small chuckle and added...”You’re all going to burn, rather than fade away.”...how was anyone supposed to take that? It was a threat of course and Eryss wasn’t known to not follow through when he made one of those. It helped his case that after he said that though his hand raised, liquid res forming in its palm and then hovering inches from it, before he hurled it towards a group of dice players and watched them scatter as it ignited into a fireball and erupted in a small explosion when it struck the ground flinging debris in all directions.] [After that there were more screams and people running...]

[Eryss Waldu]

[Taking only that first display to set many of those at the Slag Heap into action there was an assortment of men, women and children running in all directions. Most of them ran for safety but a few who were drunker, or more courageous than the rest, ran towards Eryss hoping to be able to attack him in a frenzy and bring him down. Mages weren’t exactly welcome in Sunberth so a lot of the shouts Eryss heard sounded like either...”Mage!”...or...”Demon!”...depending on what a person thought seeing as how the Shield around him prevented anyone from actually making out his features. As for himself Eryss could only chuckle as he saw the first man rushing him with what seemed like an improvised wooden board as a weapon.] [Lifting his right hand Eryss would gather res in his hand a second time, this time less than the first, and as the man with the board rushed at him he sent a Lightning Bolt twisting from his palm to strike his assailant in the chest and hurl him backwards. Dead, with his torso burned black from where the lightning had struck him, his body was still and lifeless on the ground.] [Despite his having killed one man in obviously spectacular fashion, unless of course being struck by lightning was a common occurrence, it did nothing to detour the others that were attacking. In fact as Eryss felt a small rush of euphoria already accompanied by a feeling of superiority over all these insect like people one such man was able to close the distance on him and strike. Obviously drunk the man had ran towards Eryss in an attempt to bull rush him but his Shield had prevent that as when the man collided with it he was met with what felt like a solid wall and thrown backwards onto the ground while the Shield fluctuated to manage the brief disruption. Now aware of what had occurred Eryss would have turned towards them with a laugh and chided with a...”There is no one in the town and no one in the fields. Only your bodies now is what this land will yield.”...rhetoric or singing at a time like this might seem a bit unconventional but the Mage seemed to be enjoying himself more than just a bit.] [Having seen the man who collided with him thrown backwards the others who had been rushing Eryss stopped briefly, pausing to rethink their strategy, though as they did this the Mage was yet again converting his djed to res. His first two spells had been reasonably small, even a novice could create a fireball after all, but this one required a little bit extra. Spreading his res, in a thin gaseous form, Eryss, facing a trio of men now, would swing his arms open in a grand gesture that went widely unseen and send the gaseous res out towards his attackers as a wave that ignited in fire. The Flash Flame acted as a wave hitting the surf and as it passed over the men it would both burn them, setting their clothing aflame, and hurl them backwards with a bit of concussion force that likely showcased a display of both the Fire and Air spheres of reimancy. Once the men were on the ground, injured but not dead, and rolling to put the small flames that ignited them out the Mage would step back and take another look around himself.] [In the back of his mind he’d started to hear a whispering voice that said...”Again Eryss, Again!”...they were the sweet whispers that the Mage was well accustomed to and that constantly drove him onwards to great acts of magic use though Eryss himself was capable of suppressing them like he did now. “Silence! You do not control me, I control you!”...he’d shout rather ambiguously at the air, screaming at the whisperers themselves as though they were tangible men, before clearing his head by giving it a shake and looking around himself again, this time without the whispers to distract him.] [Right on time too. With his head clear Eryss, turning his eyes from side to side and looking around himself, would notice that he’d been surrounded by a group of men armed with boards, knives and all manner of other things who were slowly closing in on what they saw wearily. Scoffing though the Mage would only shout at them this time and say...”Well? What are you waiting for you worms!?”...and throwing his arms over his head as though anyone could see the gesture, which they could not, the Mage would scowl threateningly before the group ran at him from all sides to overtake him.]

[Eryss Waldu]

[Advancing on him in a frenzy Eryss had nowhere to go when the mob of fell upon him with blades and improvised weapons, even fists, and began to pummel against his Shield. Despite the strength of the Shield and the fact these were just average men, and maybe a few women, their numbers were to great and the Shield itself could not continue to protect the Mage against too many things for too long a time before it broke. Already as it shimmered with each of the blows that fell small cracks were beginning to appear as the magical energies that created the Shield started to buckle. Inevitably they would break, this time, next time the Mage would make them even stronger.] [As his Shields were pummelled from all sides by what must have been a dozen men Eryss sunk down as though he were being beaten. Kneeling down he’d let the mob gather over him, covering him, while raining down more blows and further punishment on his defences. All the while from the moment the very first blow had struck Eryss had begun to emit a gaseous res once again though this time it was thick and he slowly manipulated it until it was covering his entire form. Once he finished the res would have covered him from head to toe leaving nothing uncovered yet hovering maybe an inch from his actually body so as not to touch it. It took some concentration to control the res like this, not as much as a Mage of lesser skill mind you, but the fact he was covered by a Shield and protected from blows did help a great deal and Eryss would block out any further distractions by shutting his eyes, ignoring everything bearing down around him.] [It took only a matter of moments then before an explosions ripped through the men surrounding Eryss and sent them flying backwards, many of them dead or others dying or wounded, onto the ground. The Mage had taken his res and turned it out, away from himself, creating small pieces of stone and rock that resembled nails and other miniature spikes before transmuting the rest of his res and commanding both air and fire to grant all the shrapnel a little extra kick when it exploded outwards away from him and into all the men surrounding him. At such a distance it was almost impossible not to get hit by at least half a dozen small projectiles which hammered through cloth and linen easily driving their way into bodies and organs brutally. Anyone struck in the head was killed before they knew what was happening but most of the men around Eryss weren’t that fortunate. The majority of the attackers were hit in the torso, appendages and other non vital places like that and truly unfortunate men were stabbed in the throat by a piece of the killing rock the Mage had created leaving them with an agonizing death. No one who was hit seemed to have escaped incapacitation though, they were all on the ground writhing and rolling in pain if they could even manage that.] [Eryss himself regained his footing shortly afterwards and stood so that he could survey the bodies arrayed around him as they lay on the ground. He seemed satisfied with his work. No one else was too eager to rush in and attack now. Underneath the magical cover the Shield provided Eryss alone could see the large cracks that had begun to form in his defences and observed them briefly, sidetracking himself, he’d need to take care if more than one or two men still had some fight in them now though it didn’t look like that would be a problem.] [Hearing the moan of a nearby man snapped the Mage back into reality and he turned so that he could find the man who, laying on the ground with wounds riddling his chest, soon succumbed to his injuries and died. Many others were not as fortunate as that man. Eryss stepped around most of the bodies, and over others, aware that people who did not run were now huddling afraid in the darkness and at the outskirts of the Slag Heap and confident that he had a captivated audience he would have said...”Now that I know I have your attention you should all know something.”...but what did he want them to know? Whether it was curiosity, fear or a mixture of both everyone was listening and paying attention now though.]

[Eryss Waldu]

[Underneath the cover of his Shield and his own hood Eryss turned his head, first one way and then the other, ensuring that all eyes that remained and that he could see, other than those of the men on the ground, were on him. He wanted people to talk after he announced this. Nodding his head once then, satisfied that he had the attention he wanted, Eryss would have begun by saying...”I bring you all tidings from Robern Dalagner.”...which was a complete lie but when Eryss set out on this mission of sorts he hadn’t wanted to make an impression for himself.] [Waiting then as those still on the outskirts drunk in what he had said Eryss would have continued addressing them with...”Everyone in Sunberth is bid to know that Robern has proclaimed himself your new ruler! An act that has been well overdue.”...a small chuckle then before the Mage continued...”This is his city after all, Sunberth is owned by the Daggerhands, and all of you need only bend your knee to your master to be accepted into his loving embrace.”...outrageous to be sure. No one ruled Sunberth but these were common folk and not knowing what they were looking at any more they may as well have believed what was being told to them. Anyone speaking out against the gray mass, Eryss disguised be his Shield, would have only been struck down anyways which seemed to punctuate the claim that all of them were now hearing.] [Once he’d made his initial claims though the Mage would continue soon after by saying loudly...”All enemies of Robern Dalagner should prepare themselves for a long winter. You will not be able to run. You will not be able to hide. You will all die. Your families will litter the road to Sunberth like a carpet and their blood shall flow like rivers.”...another pause then after the rest of this proclamation, Eryss himself was quite enjoying the moment seeing as how he didn’t often have the time to perform like this, he watched as another man on the ground succumbed to his wounds and died too. At this time it was about the part for one last proclamation...”This marks the day that Sunberth is either with their new leader or against him. You all know of the fire that ravaged the orphanage. Do not let another crawl into your lives.”...a veiled threat meant to foreshadow other fires that may be started in the future and finger Robern and the Daggerhands as the culprits. All of this a speech seemingly made for the benefit of the Daggerhands and likely to spread quickly after this night.] [Indeed Eryss would blame all of this on the Daggerhands. Proclaiming that Robern openly named himself the ruler of Sunberth was the true kicker though seeing as how Sunberth had a long history of balking at anyone who styled themselves a ruler. The Mage had hoped word of this night might incite riot as a best case scenario or at least give Roberns enemies a reason to openly fight against him, maybe even together, and whittle him down a peg or two. Eryss was concerned only with the idea that he could cause the Daggerhand a reasonable amount of brief.] [Nothing else to do then the Mage was done and he had started to turn and move away when he heard the nagging voice in the back of his head, playing itself across the shell of his ear as though it were a lover whispering something to him, it said...”Not yet Eryss. Not yet. They need to be shown. Let them see your power.”...and the Mage, flinching, would almost stammer before replying through gritted teeth...”No. It is done. Silence yourself.”...but this time those sweet whispers would not be quelled so easily nor would they be ignored. Alas the whispers knew exactly what to say to Eryss to make him act on their behalf...”As your wish. You probably couldn’t have done it anyways.”...they taunted him and conceding the Mage would have stated...”You think not do you? We shall see.”...that seemed the end of their brief conversation as the whispers waited to see just how Eryss would impress them.] [Though he had begun to move away Eryss would have stopped midstep, he was silent and considering, he turned on heel back towards the Slag Heap which was smouldering and muttered to himself...”Well that just won’t do.”...as a wicked glint began to enter the corner of his eyes.]

[Eryss Waldu]

[Eyes had come to rest on the Slag Heap, smouldering and burning just barely, Eryss focused on it now as though it were the only thing important to him and a twisted smile began to curve itself across the corners of his mouth while a plan formed in the recesses of his mind. Despite that he had given in to the desires of the sweet whispers Eryss now saw this as an opportunity to further make an impression and make believers of those who had been here today. Or maybe he his beliefs were not being manipulated by the whispers so that he thought he was doing what he wanted when he was actually not. On the other hand were the Sweet Whispers not just a deep, dark, facet of Eryss himself? Maybe but it didn’t matter.] [With arms lifting over his head Eryss would begin to generate his res once more. Unlike any of the last times he forged the magical energy into a thick gaseous sphere that rose into the air above his head and high above anything else. It would literally come to a halt dozens of feet above him. Building this sphere of res with his will, a creation of his own djed and spirit, Eryss continued to summon more and more so that he could truly exercise his limitation. The Mage was usually quite conservative but now he felt as though he needed to prove a point thanks to the sweet whispers and so he built the sphere large, adding more res to it, and fuelled it unlike anything else he had ever made.] [Gritting his teeth as it built, larger and larger, Eryss felt a pain start to build in his head as well as though he were set upon by a sudden headache but ignoring it he pressed onwards. Fuelling his creation overhead for all those to see and witness it being made. It was made larger and so too was the pain beginning to effect the mind of Eryss would bit down on the inside of his mouth while continuing to add more. Shutting his eyes the Mage allowed no distractions into himself. He focused solely on the creation of the sphere now itself enormous above his head. He shut out the pain building and in the back of his mind he started to hear the applause of the sweet whispers. Good, Good they would tell him.] [Almost enough. Almost done. A trickle of blood began to leak from Eryss nose and as he felt the blood touch his lips, tasted the coppery substance, he seemed to snap back into the now and with a scream of bloodlust he hurled the enormous sphere of gaseous res at the Slag Heap itself. Crying out as he did so Eryss ignited the ball of flame so that it looked like a small meteor smashing into the Slag Heap and rending itself into it, bathing it in a warm amber glow, and causing the fire itself to rise higher than it had been for years. Igniting the fire of the heap would cause it to become visible for miles further then it would have been otherwise. Anyone standing to close would be burnt by the ambient heat likely to be given off soon.] [Vomiting occurred almost immediately afterwards for the Mage, his hand coming to his stomach as he lurched forward and threw up all over the ground, but at least the pain in his head slowly started to lessen even if he now felt as though he had been beaten badly. The Sweet Whispers had been pleased though and were now silent. Eryss no longer felt euphoric but sick to his stomach and malcontent but as he righted himself he would admire the tall flames seething upwards from the Slag Heap that he had created and would likely remain for a time at least.] [Now that it was all over Eryss turned away and sunk back into the night and the outskirts of Sunberth so that he could return to the Crimson Edge encampment. With his Shield concealing his true form no one would ever know that it was Eryss who had done this here today except for the Mage himself which was what he wanted. Anonymity in this action as it could turn sour for him if the truth was known. He might tell Cade because the Barbarian was his closest ally but that was all. No one else would ever know this story.]

[Ink]

And in the Aftermath . . . The Rewards are Revealed. Eryss : Skill: Intimidation 2 Politics 2 Reimancy3 Singing 1 Shielding 1 Tactics 1 Lore: Reimancy: Earth Shrapnel Acceding to the Whispers Over giving Effects: A strong headache lasting twenty days straight. For the first ten days the pain makes it difficult to concentrate. Notes: You should look over your skills list again. Socialization and Intimidation are listed twice. Medium over giving here! One more little step and I could have started the disfigurements, color this octopus disappointed! Oh well, good thread! Keep up the killing! ^^ Written in the ink : If there are any concerns or problems with my grading please feel free to toss me a PM. I am more than happy to explain my reasons or reevaluate them if you feel I've been unfair.