Solo [Infirmary] Awakening

[Alric Wilmot]

12th of Summer, 513 AV Alric Wilmot splashed through a pink puddle in the middle of the street with rapturous laughter. He was thoroughly soaked of course, but that hardly bothered him. Nor did it bother his companion. All at once, the same pink puddle exploded in a shower of cold water. Alric shook much of the water off, but it was a futile attempt as the rain continued to pour down at a steady rate. Alric glanced up to the man responsible for his soaking. "No fair Dad! Your bigger than me so of course your going to make a bigger splash! How am I supposed to win if your feet are twice as big as mine?!" A soft chuckling answered the 8 year old lad, as his father put up his hands in an apologizing manner. "Hey now, if that's how you feel than why did you agree in the first place huh? I mean, how else are you going to judge a splashing contest?" Alvin Wilmot beamed at his pouting son through long dripping wet hair. He ignored the strange looks they received. He was quite used to it by now, and so was his son. The Wilmot family name was regarded in only a few places now, hardly the well-respected and lucrative title it used to be. Still, Alvin found he could not care less. He may not have had the wealth that would secure his sons future, but he had the next best thing. He had friends that were willing to help him. Today he was going to Avian Manor to see an old friend of his. And hopefully, she would have the books necessary to continue Alric's education. He had finished the last batch of books much faster than Alvin had expected. "Proportion!" Alvin glanced at his son with eyebrow raised. "What?" "Besides size, what else could you judge a splashing contest! You use proportion! You know, since you are bigger than me, we should judge on according to the proportion of the size between you and the puddle! After all, Dad, that is the only fair way." Alric giggled a bit to himself as he jumped into a purple puddle a few feet away. "And since your twice as big, your puddles are only worth half as much!" Alric called after his father as he scampered about looking for more uniquely colored puddles. "W-wait, I'm not exactly twice as big! H-hey Alric slow down, I won't be able to catch up! Alric! Alric!" And with that, the last blood relative of the famed Amos Wilmot chased after the rambunctious child that he had declared his son. All the while keeping an eye out for the Avian Manor. Alric shifted as his dream began to fade. He had been remembering, remembering a past that seemed much brighter. But it was fading, disappearing. And then it was gone. He heard a slight murmuring in the background, but he couldn't make out the words. All was still blackness, and Alric couldn't make out if he was still dreaming or not. He felt as if he were lying on a bed, but it was hard and firm. Not at all like the bed he'd fallen asleep on in the inn. He heard more muttering, and felt a cool dampness on his forehead. He fluttered his eyes open, and thought he saw someone. But it was blurry, and he fell into blackness once more. His dreams became less euphoric, and became more and more sporadic and odd. He dreamed that he was being watched, observed by a gaggle of young people. He thought he heard the old woman from before, when he had visited Zeltiva's infirmary to see his father's body. His dreams turned to broken images and figures. He saw Alvin, old and tired, walking along a road. He carried little, barely having anything at all. A shadow flew by overhead. Alvin's face turned to terror and he began to ran. But the land itself was against him, and he was trapped in the same spot. Alvin was not far off, but he was ignoring the whole thing. He had his back turned, as if what was happening was none of his concern. Alric fidgeted under something hot and heavy. He kicked it off and squirmed. He felt hands holding him down, keeping him constrained. He turned then to his father, trying to run to him. But the hands were holding him down, and he could do nothing. The shadow came down then, and all at once it began to take shape. A monstrous beast with great bat-like wings. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing but gurgling came out, it was if he was underwater. Everything had an eerie light about it, and was happening in slow motion, as if it wanted him to take in every detail. The bat-like creature opened its mouth wide, and tore a chunk out of Alvin Wilmot. It took another, and another, until their was a cloud of blood in the water. He was back on the Suvan now, heading back to Alvadas on a sea of blood. But then, he waved his hand, and the sea was water again. He smiled, and the sea exploded into a plethora of colors. He was...happy for some reason. He was happy when he should be terrified. But he didn't know why. Why was he happy? Why? Alric bolted out of bed, with a dozen people next to him. Many of them looked alarmed and frightened. But none so much as Alric himself. Where was he? This wasn't the inn. And his clothes, where were they? All he had on was a flimsy robe. He looked about, trying to make out his surroundings. He was in a room, though there weren't any walls. There were just curtains held up by poles. His bed was just a wooden frame with a sack of straw to act as the mattress. His back was sore, and his throat was sore. Where was he? He looked to the strangers all about him, many of them looking terrified. As if he were a man risen from the grave. There were women and men both, all of them at his age or younger. He heard a voice tell them all to move, and recognized the woman he had met last week force her way through them. She seemed plumper, and saggier, since he had last seen her. He didn't know her name, however, so hesitated to say anything. She walked next to his bed and took out a small book and began to write. Alric, not really knowing what was going on let her continue. As he studied the ceiling, the only part of the building visible to him, he recognized it. It belonged to the infirmary at the university. Why on Mizahar was he here? When it appeared the woman was done writing, Alric spoke. "What happened? Why am I in the University? I was asleep in the inn, that is last thing I remember." "Well sleep you did, sir. Sleep you did. before I can answer your questions, I need you to answer some of mine. Nothing of a personal nature. So don't worry about that. We just need to see what caused you to sleep for so long. We've never had anything like it." Alric scrunched up his face in confusion. "You've never had anyone sleep for a week?" The students began to whisper among themselves, some of them giggling. Alric would have none of that. He sent a tendril of djed into their minds and had them all linked to himself. Keep Silent. Do not speak. Stay Solemn. This is not a man to be laughed at. All at once they stopped whispering, not having anymore to say. They looked uncomfortable then, as if being there was like to include some horrible experience. He stopped his observation of the students when the woman cleared her throat. She looked at him, as if she had known what he'd done. "Now Mr. Wilmot, we'll have none of that. You caused enough trouble for yourself. There's no need to rough up my students with that wanton display." Alric's eyes widened, surprised that the woman did in fact seem to know what he had been doing. "And what did I do, exactly? Stare at them wrongly?" "No, you invaded their minds and told them to shut up, I'd wager. Hypnotists, you're all loony I tell you. That's why you lot are in here so often." Alric nearly choked on his own spit. How had this woman known? "How-how do you know I'm a Hypnotist? And for that matter, how did you know who I am?" The woman took her time in responding, instead giving the book she had been writing in to a student and telling them to go on. To what, Alric did not know. Only when the last student left did she turn back to him. There was a hint of sad understanding in her eyes. As if she saw Alric as a small and hurting creature. Alric chose to ignore the look. "I know who you are because you gave your name to the innkeep. He came telling us that you had died in the night, but there was no smell. he thought it might be magic related, so that's why he came to us. You are fortunate that he did so. Otherwise, you might have been buried alive. I realize this must be disorienting, but try not to panic at what I'm about to say. You were asleep far longer than a week, Mr. Wilmot." Alric began to get nervous. "How much longer, exactly? A season?" She actually chuckled a bit there, but it died quickly. She sat on the bed, beside him, apparently tired of being on her feet. "No, longer than that I'm afraid. You put yourself into an enchanted sleep in Spring of the year 512. It's Summer, now, Mr.Wilmot. It's Summer of the year 513." Alric remained silent for a few moments, before groaning and hanging his head. He had been so foolish! Sleep until your soul is mended? That had been reckless. He should have put a time limit on his self-imposed slumber. If he hadn't been in Zeltiva, he'd already be buried. He stood up, and found his knees popping. He found it was slightly harder to stand than he remembered. He grabbed onto the bed for support. The woman moved to help, but Alric shooed her hand away. He could stand by himself. It took him one more try, but he got it. He looked around and cursed. "Where are my belongings?" The woman looked at him dumb-founded. "You aren't leaving yet are you? You need to answer my questions! And don't you have any questions of your own? Don't you want to know what we did to keep you alive?" Alric growled in frustration. "I've been gone from Alvadas for a year! I am a member of the Womiyu, woman! A Speaker! It is a very important position, and I have failed my god by being so far from his city for so long! My god, Ionu, what must she think of me? Abandoning Alvadas for a year of nothingness. I am a fool, I should have known better!" The woman hopped up off the bed then, and to Alric's suprised pushed him back into it. She was much stronger than she looked. Or perhaps he was just weak from lying in bed so long. "Now calm down, Mr. Wilmot. You were under a lot of stress. You had, at the time, just seen your father's remains after what I assume was a long and difficult journey. That will cause lapses in judgment and technique. I've seen it happen before, with far worse result than enchanted sleep. Now, you need to relax and let me ask a few questions. If afterward, you change your mind about wanting to know what happened, ask away." Alric looked at her, cross. "Fine. But make it quick." The woman pulled out another small book from her gown, and shifted into a more comfortable position. "Are you feeling dizzy or nauseous at this moment?" "I am feeling a bit nauseous, yes." "Are you just a normal run of the mill human, or do you have a cultured background?" "I'm not cultured if I'm a run of the mill human?" "I'll take that as a yes." Alric scowled but allowed the woman to continue asking questions. They were all about his past, where he'd learned hypnotism, and his current state of health. He deflected a few questions, not wanting her to know everything about him. But she was persistent. An hour went by, and the questions ran dry. She closed the small book and put it back into the folds of her gown. "Well that was a surprise. I didn't think someone self-taught would be able to get so far. This was a pretty powerful sleep, Mr.Wilmot. Now, I realize you might have thought some of the questions a bit invasive, but its all in the pursuit of knowledge. We here at the University do aout best to learn about the world, and I personally need to know these things so that we can continue to study. After all, you may not be the last fellow to pull this stunt. Next time, we need to be able to fix it." Alric stood then, believing he could leave. But, when he remembered the woman saying he could ask questions, and he had refused... it made him quite worried. Why had he refused to learn something? The moment of passion over with, he decided to ask a few questions. It wasn't like him to not want to know something. "Alright, my turn. I heard voices while I was dreaming. Why was that?" "We used other Hypnotists to try and wake you. But you were beyond their power. You also may have heard me and my students as we reviewed your case." "I felt hands holding me down as well. Was that also your students?" "Most likely. One hypnotist, a professor here, almost got you awake a season ago. It seemed like you were fighting him, however, and your body began to spasm when he pushed any deeper than a surface level hypnosis. We had to hold you down and dismiss him. We couldn't afford you getting injured." "Alright, I have just one more question. How did you...How did you deal with bodily functions?" "Rather simply. Even if it was a bit messy. We got you out of your clothes rather early so you wouldn't soil them. Every night one of the students had to change you, for educational purposes. To get you to eat, all we had to do was hold food and drink up to your mouth. You'd take anything we gave you. I will admit... there were a few pranks pulled by the younger students, but we punished them accordingly." Alric nodded, interested in the answer, but not very invested. "Well, may I have my clothes now? And my other belongings? I need to make sure they're safe. My mask and I had a bit of a falling out." The woman looked confused at that sentence. "What mask? You weren't wearing one when you were brought in. And when we cleared your room we didn't find anything. And...did you say that you had a falling out? With a mask?" Alric turned sharply, though he immediately regretted it, his head still dizzy. "You lost my mask!? What's going to cover my face? I can't use my hand all the time! Blast it, that's the second one! They're all abandoning me, it seems. Is it my face, I wonder? Is it uncomfortable? Or perhaps they just aren't ready to face what I have to face." The woman shook her head, now realizing that Alric wasn't quite as healthy as she had hoped. But there was little she could do for those touched in the head. They had been working on such cases for years, with the University so magically inclined. But it never seemed to pay off. It was best to let him ramble. "Never mind that traitor. Where is the rest of my equipment? I need to get out of here. I've been here to long already." "Sir, you need to rest. We have no idea what your mind has been through. This is completely unprecedented." Alric turned to this woman and gave her a foul look. This was taking far too long. He had already spent an entire year in this place, and she wanted him to continue his stay? No. He was not going to waste his life away in bed. He had learned a very valuable lesson at his father's death and he would not let that knowledge be in vain. Life was short and full of suffering. And he would be damned if he would waste another second of it in this endless dance of questions. "I should tell him where his clothes and possessions are now. It is of the utmost importance that he leave Zeltiva and return to his god. After all I might be just as worried in his position. I need to help him as best I can and not deal with all this questions. After all he must be absolutely incensed that he's been here so long." The woman snapped to attention, and immediately spilled the information, taking the words as her own. Normally Alric was more subtle, using hypnotism to guide him through a conversation rather than skip it, but he was tired of this place. All he could think about was his dream, and the fact that his face was uncovered for the first time since the Winter Crises. Yet, even as he thought of buying a new one, he decided against it. It was time he faced the world himself, rather than by proxy. No more hiding behind a mask. Let the world see him for who he was. Yet, who was he, exactly? A Speaker? A Hypnotist? A scared and frail man with little pull in the big scary world? He had been a fool to botch his self-hypnosis. It had cost him precious time. Time far greater now that he realized how precious it was. The woman spoke, telling him where to find his things, and mentioned a ship leaving on the morrow where a man owed her a favor. He could board that one. But as soon as she mentioned that, she snapped out of her obligations, and returned to normal. "I know things must be hard for you. But I want you to be careful. You've been through a traumatic experience. And, in my professional opinion, wizards handle those more poorly than normal folk." With that, she finally left, and Alric was allowed to do the same. He gathered his robes, an armored set of blue mage robes he had bought shortly before his long sleep. He put it on and adjusted the cape to cover part of his mouth. It would have to be baby steps, as far as walking around maskless was concerned. His other belongings, a rapier and a sack of gold coins, had thankfully not been molested. The final thing was an empty book he had chained to his waist, a book he had meant to fill with all the things he knew and would learn. He snorted, now nearly repulsed by his love of learning. What was the point? He'd forget it all when he reincarnated anyway. He sighed, upset at himself as much as the circumstance. Why was he acting so childish? Life wasn't fair? He knew that already. Some men were slaves, some men were free. Some women could have children, others couldn't. Some children grew to be old, and other died young. He knew life was full of suffering. But once, he had thought it full of joy too. Ionu certainly thought so. At the moment though, he couldn't help but think of Uldr, the god of undeath. As far as Alric knew, he was the only god that thought the reincarnation cycle was unfair. Alric thought the god mistaken when he was younger. After all who wouldn't want a second chance? But now he saw it in a different light. He stepped out of the infirmary and onto Zeltiva's streets. The clouds were grey and heavy, and rumbled with the promise of rain. Alric saw many people heading for shelter, while others lingered, not one bit worried about coming rain. Still others seemed to be forced to endure it, they had nowhere to go. The rain fell, and Alric slowly trudged on. Uldr was right in that reincarnation was unfair. But he was wrong in making people live an eternal hatred. What he offered was suffering and pain. How was that any different than an eternity of reincarnation? No, people deserved to be happy and enjoy their brief existence. If Alric was a god, he'd push to give people what they wanted. But as he walked along the rainy cobbled streets of the port city, he noticed that while some men loved the rain, others detested it. It was obvious that no one place would be considered paradise by all. What one man thought a gift, another thought it a curse. But he supposed that was why Ionu had Alvadas always changing. If you didn't like one day, the next would be better. Every alley was different, every street was dissimilar. Every one could have their own little slice of heaven. Suddenly, Alric stopped. The pitter patter of rain all about him That was a worthy cause. It wasn't selfish, or useless. It had meaning. And although it might be considered childish and foolish by some, It would be considered noble and charitable by others. All men were different, and wanted something that may be completely at odds with his neighbor. But the power of illusion was a strong thing. He had seen things in Alvadas that should be impossible. But that hadn't stopped them from happening. The Winter Crises had been caused by an Illusion. And if it could cause pain and suffering, he knew it must be capable of the opposite. He would gain greater favor with Ionu. And he would find a way to make the world happy. Everyone would get what they wanted, in a world of illusion so grand, none would want to leave it. Even in death, they would stay, as ghosts or other things. But in the world of illusions, they might still live, and laugh, and love. Suddenly, Alric laughed, happy for the first time since awaking. He tapped the blue triangle on his right wrist, and turned a nearby puddle pink. And jumped.

[Eldritch]

Alric :

Skills
Hypnotism +2
Interrogation +3
Persuasion +2

Lores
-Dreaming of father
-Waking in the infirmary over a year later
-Questioned after waking up

Notes :

Nothing to note

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