Closed Res-ilience [Annalisa]

[Tsaba]

5th Fall, 513 Tsaba didn't head out immediately. There were preparations to make first. She put away her carefully stacked noted in her dresser, beyond the immediate line of sight of any vandals, and stacked her few books on the sadly almost empty bookshelf. Then she pulled out a piece of fresh parchment, and wrote. Castor, I'm sorry to bother you once more with my personal problems. This is unlikely to be important; disregard this letter if you see me within the next few days. I'm heading out into the wildlands for a brief magical experiment with Dr Marin. My research suggests some inherent danger, and I'm leaving this in case I don't come back. If I am gone for a few days, do not panic. But if I do not come back, I want you to take my notes on Auristics. Many of them are unannotated, but they may still be of some use to you in our (your) future research. My glyphing notes may help as well; they're mixed in there somewhere. I will enclose a sparse map to my new address. The notes are in my dresser. I suppose you should keep the house too, if I don't return, assuming local law will let you. An abandoned home is not as sad as an abandoned body, but it is sad all the same. Again, there is no reason to panic, and I will probably see you quite soon. But if not, good luck with your research. Also, if I haven't returned by the end of the season, please send the letter on top of my notes to Sahova. Don't do this unless you are reasonably sure I am dead, though. And thanks for helping me understand Zeltiva and magic. Sorry to inconvenience you, Tsaba She laid out the letter to dry, and started on the second. Craun, I have arranged matters such that this is sent to you in the event of my death. She paused. There was more to say, she knew it. But what? 'Sorry for dying'? 'You were actually a pretty good father'? 'Zeltiva is pretty nice when it's not too hot, you should holiday there'? Her relationship with Craun was generally very good. She cared for him. She knew for a fact that he cared for her. But neither of them spoke about feelings, not to each other. She'd never told him that she was grateful to have him as a father figure, nor had she ever called him 'father'. He'd never given any verbal indication that he loved her, and almost never used her name, human or nuit. Those were just things that they both knew. It took a lot of thought to get the letter right. She was glad she'd started early. When laying it out to dry, she gave it one last read, and nodded her approval. Craun, I have arranged matters such that this is sent to you in the event of my death. Thank you for the 99 years. Tsaba It hadn't been easy to write. She'd almost written 87 years, but had decided against it at the last minute. He would know what she meant. Craun's letter, she appropriately labelled and placed in her dresser atop her notes. On Castor's, she drew a map to her house, then folded it and wrote his name on the back. Making sure that her knife was nestled in her pack along with some basic writing materials, she took the letter and headed for the Memorial Library. She didn't linger. It wouldn't do to be late for her meeting with Dr Marin. She just slipped Castor's letter inside the cover of the book she knew him to be copying from the library at that time, then headed away from the building. Skirting some kind of skirmish in the street, she headed out of the city. Into the wildlands. If she hurried, she could make it to their meeting point on time.

[Annalisa Marin]

Leaving the city had not been exactly easy for Anna, thoughts that her home might be looted or damaged were of course there. Her mother was watching over it though, and considering her abilities in possession perhaps the worries were needless. Sneaking around any skirmishes was also no easy task, the urge to simply go crazy and start blasting the fools in her path had been very strong. However, the wizard had waited and was patient in order to make it out without incident. Hopefully Tsaba would arrive much the same.

The day was cold, early fall always managed to be somewhat chilly. Anna's cloak was wrapped closely around her as she sat in the sand and waited for her protégé to arrive. Her mind was filled with thoughts detailing her own initiation to reimancy, the vivid time still very much fresh in her mind. Tsaba's survival depended on her keeping absolute control of her res, no simple task considering her condition at the moment. The chaos of the city was affecting her mentally to a high degree, her urges to cause seemingly random acts of violence or fan the flames of conflict were extremely difficult to resist.

Tsaba could very well die if the urge consumed her, which would be something unfortunate as she showed quite a bit of potential. The Nuit had proved worthy of her favor, no easy task, and thus she had offered to grant her the ability to manipulate the elements. It was certainly not a gift offered lightly, nor without personal motivation. Tsaba already looked up to her as a superior, doing this would like cement the position for future use. Anna would not be in Zeltiva long, soon she would need to leave for Sahova. However, having Tsaba floating around as a resource outside of the island would be most useful. Perhaps keeping correspondence with her would be worth considering.

The wizard took in a deep breath to clear her thoughts of distractions, trying instead to focus on the task at hand. Her own initiation was what she had to go on, its process hardly pleasant but it allowed her to access such wonderful power. Cuts had been applied to her palms and then gaseous res had been shoved into her body, forced into her. The experience had been intimate beyond description, going beyond carnal pleasures of the flesh and delving into the bonds of the spirit. Her Djed had been... altered in someway, the way it flowed and functioned.

Taking no chances Anna had supplies ready for glyphing, intending on placing focus and pathway runes upon Tsaba's body to make the process a little more safe. It would still likely be unpleasant, but it would reduce the risk a great deal that Tsaba would suffer irreparable damage. Really, Anna could logically see why worrying was unnecessary here. She was far more powerful of a reimancer than the man who had initiated her had been, her control was easy and natural. Still, precautions were always a good thing to take when delving into an unknown part of her art. She'd never initiated anyone before, so this would be a learning experience for both of them.

The tall woman stared down towards the direction of the city, wondering what was taking Tsaba so long. Perhaps things in the city were more than the Nuit could handle. Anna hoped that was not the case, it would be unfortunate and it would mean that she had wasted her time coming out her.

[Tsaba]

As always, Tsaba carried her sling at the ready while she moved outside the city. Her skill wth it wasn't great enough to reliably hit anything, but it made her feel sevure just the same.

Dr Marin was already waiting for Tsaba when she arrived at the beach. She didn't seem engaged in any task though, so Tsaba strode over, ignoring the expanse of glass left from the searing heat of their previous encounter. Dr Marin was powerful, and demonstrated more power with every meeting. Tsaba trusted her, but meeting any such person alone in a dangerous place would make anyone nervous. Especially for such a dangerous task.

But Dr Marin's power made them both safe, didn't it?

She drew her knife from her bag as she approached, but carried it handle-first, nonconfrontationally, as she headed for her teacher.

"Dr Marin. How are you today?"

x

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna heard Tsaba approach before she was addressed, however Anna chose not to react until the Nuit addressed her. The wizard had picked their previous spot for a reason of course, the marks of her power still fresh upon the earth. She wondered if it was fear or admiration the Nuit felt when she looked upon the marks, in reality admiration would be more lasting but fear was certainly a good substitute. As long as the Nuit remembered who was the more superior of the two of them, they wouldn't have any problems.

She'd used her old title, the one that tied her to the University. That was... problematic as she did not want to be associated with the institution any longer. A simple thing, easily corrected.

The wizard stood and turned, flashing the Nuit a radiant grin. Her expression was as welcoming as possible in an effort to make Tsaba feel more at ease. It was unnerving to notice her childlike form again, but the tall woman pushed the feeling aside. It was no different that her wearing a different coat or cloak.

"Tsaba, a pleasure to see you made it out here in one piece. I'm just lovely, a bit cold but otherwise fine. Also, its not 'Dr.' anymore seeing as how I've left the University." She offered, gesturing for Tsaba to come closer.

Anna's eyes flicked to the knife the Nuit carried, good, she had come with what was needed. All that was really required next was to mentally prepare her for the initiation and then glyph her body to an acceptable degree. The glyphing would take a little while, but it would both be excellent practice and gain the Nuit's trust a little more. In normal circumstances, Anna wouldn't care less if the undead child experienced some discomfort. However, Tsaba was actually useful to her and likely would be for some time to come.

The wizard sat and motioned for Tsaba to do the same before her, still looking rather warm and friendly.

"Now then, you have arrived, meaning that this is indeed something you really want. In that event, I feel it is fair to warn you that this experience will be more intimate than anything you will likely ever experience. In order to initiate you I will need to invade your very body with my res in a gaseous form, placing a part of me inside of you. It will... alter your Djed to allow it to form res." The wizard explained at length.

"It will be a lengthy process and you will need to stay completely still throughout, otherwise your life might be endangered. I'll need to ask you to strip so that I can place glyphs on your body, while it won't eliminate the feelings nor is it required for initiation, it will make the process smoother and safer. I'll need to cut your palms as well, so I'll need the knife." Anna said, holding out her hand for Tsaba to give her the sharp instrument.

"Now then, first off do you have any further questions? Secondly, what other magic do you practice? I need to know in case it might interfere with the process." She asked.

The question regarding magic actually had nothing to do with initiation, rather it was to get a more proper feel on just how very useful the Nuit could really be to her. Tsaba was a capable researcher and student, but just how useful or accomplished was she as a wizard? It was important to know if she intended to use her in the long term.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba frowned slightly at Dr Marin's request of a title change. Not because her position with the university was any of Tsaba's concern, but because it left her with no knowledge of the correct address protocol. She had previously objected to being called Master, but was that a personal dislike or merely because she had a more appropriate university title at the time? Should she use her full name? A different honorific? Well, there was one way to find out.

"How would you prefer that I address you?" Tsaba asked as she approached, knife in hand. She didn't need to check its sharpness; its only use since the last time it had been sharpened had been to slice open the very body she was inhabiting, and a little linen. She accepted Dr Marin's explanation of the procedure without comment, until she mentioned cutting Tsaba's palms.

"Must the injury be on the palms?" she asked. "Would the wrists suffice?" To the unhealing, palm injuries were... complicated. They were difficult to close without reducing hand dexterity and even more difficult to keep closed. For a scribe, that was a serious problem. She handed over the knife without waiting for an answer; even if it did cost her mobility, it was only in one body. It was a heavy price, but not too heavy to pay. Of course, the concept of body transfer raised other questions -- would the initiation still 'count' if she switched bodies? Would she still be able to use reimancy? She really should have done more research to begin with. Ah well, they'd find out.

Tsaba's own focus glyphs drawn in her homemade green paint still adorned her wrists, feet and chest; she used a little sand to brush them away as she revealed them. She wore them more for the ritual of painting them than for their actual use, and they'd only be in Dr Marin's way.

The question about her magic was easy to answer. She only really used one discipline, apart from glyphing.

"I'm an Aurist," she explained. "I perceive and read auras. My speciality... actually, no, I don't think I really have a speciality any more. But if I did, I guess you could say it would be reading life signs in auras. I'm... I'm no expert at it, truly good aurists can see a lot more than I can, but it is something that I use on a regular basis. I also have a little experience with Animation, not very much but a little, but I haven't used it for..." she paused, thinking. "Probably sixty-five years? And Glyphing, of course." She let her dress fall to the sand next to her backpack and looked expectantly to her teacher. "What do I need to do next?"

x

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna considered honorifics for a moment, briefly wondering why Tsaba even cared to worry about them. Since she wasn't with the University any longer it wasn't really required for her to stick to such addesses, Anna was just a powerful wizard outside of organizations. Then again, technically she was taking the Nuit under her wing as it were. She was teaching her powerful arts to flourish in her own right as a wizard, much as one would an apprentice. Anna had never thought to possess an apprentice, never considered that she would teach outside of the University. Though, she had also not expected to be marked by a powerful god and place her faith solely in him.

"I suppose Master Marin will do just fine. Is it not a customary thing for the apprentice to refer to their mentor as?" The wizard asked rhetorically.

The tall woman gave some thought to Tsaba's question as she took the knife, musing over the possibilities. Technically the cuts might be able to be placed on her arms or wrists, at least there was no logical reason that they shouldn't. It was a deviation to how she was initiated, but again she was much more powerful that the person who had initiated her. As long as they res was forced inside of Tsaba's body the entry locations seemed trivial by comparison.

"I suppose the cuts can be placed higher on your arms, I see no reason why that couldn't work." She nodded to herself as much as Tsaba.

Anna noted some rather crudely drawn glyphs already adorning Tsaba's body with some amusement, she was driven and quick to pick something up. Useful traits in an apprentice. The glyphs were a far cry better than they had been some time ago when Tsaba had first started glyphing, before long Anna had no doubt she would reach the stage where scrolls were possible. Of course, by that time Anna intended to continue and further her research into runic designs to possible ward off hostile magic or unwanted presences. It was important to stay a couple of steps ahead of those under you, always furthering your knowledge in new ways to pass on scraps to those you taught. Dominance was a delicate dance.

"An Aurist? Interesting, I've read a bit on the discipline, but how exactly to initiate myself into it has escaped me thus far. In any event, I'd recommend you refrain from using it during or after initiation for some time. A precaution." She said, heading over to her pack to gather the needed inks and brushes.

"Lay down on your back. I need to place focus glyphs over openings where my res will invade your body, notably your eyes, mouth, ears, nose, and womanhood. I'll then draw paths connecting these to one another and to key points where the res can be carried." The woman stated, standing and walking over to the undead child with supplies in hand.

The wizard felt a little... awkward despite herself at the thought of glyphing Tsaba's current body. Despite being dead it was still a child and Anna still had some standards she held herself to. They weren't high but they were still there, lines that shouldn't be crossed. Ruebia and that little escapade in the forest had been different, the Kelvic had the body of a grown woman, had intruded on her practice session, and kelvics weren't people as far as she was concerned. They were useful test subjects, slaves, and underlings, but were ultimately inferior compared to most other races. If she had wanted to take the kelvic, that was well within her rights.

Anna shook her head to dispel her rather twisted rationalizations. Tsaba was in all likelihood far older than her, despite her body she was no child. That in mind the awkward feeling lessened by a slight degree. She waited for Tsaba to follow her instructions before beginning.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba laid down as instructed and kept herself still. It occurred to her, briefly, that Master Marin could kill her in that state and she wouldn't notice in time to defend herself, but the thought was an idle one rather than an actual fear; she had no reason not to trust the wizard, and even if she did, she'd hardly need Tsaba to be helpless to accomplish that. She could just use her lava at any time. Remaining still was a skill that came easily to her kind, what with the lack of a need for breath and naturally sluggish reactions. She couldn't willingly summon torpor, but she could remain motionless nonetheless.

Which raised an interesting question. So far, the ritual had been very passive. Would it be possible to enforce it on a nuit who was recovering ichor without their knowledge or consent? The thought was... scary. Of course, the ritual hadn't properly started yet; it was possible that a more active role would be required of her once Master Marin began using res.

As for not using Auristics after the initiation... well, that wasn't something she looked forward to. She didn't use the art every day, or for very much beyond research really, but to not have the option was like being blindfolded as opposed to briefly closing one's eyes. Perceiving auras had become something that she simply thought of as a normal sense now; one that must be used with caution, of course, one that was draining and somewhat dangerous to rely on, but something that she simply assumed access to. But she was being ridiculous, of course. She'd not learned Auristics of her own accord, and she'd barely used it on Sahova unless she had to. It was only in the past season or so that she'd started really investigating magic. One season wasn't important. She'd done fine before then and she'd do fine without Auristics now.

Tsaba closed her eyes, made sure she wasn't breathing, and laid motionless, awaiting further instruction.

x

[Annalisa Marin]

"Excellent, now just stay like that until I order otherwise. Close your eyes as well, it will make glyphs on the eyes much easier." The wizard said as she strode back over to Tsaba.

Anna quickly fell to her knees beside the Nuit and wasted no time at all getting to work. Her larger brush dripped with black ink as she first set to work on the undead woman's face, tracing the outlines of a Focus glyph around the Nuit's right eye. The inverted triangle design flowed naturally from her hand as her brush worked the ink into Tsaba's flesh. This was her first time initiating someone, all she had to go on for reference was her own initiation and theories.

The Nuit's body was immediately thought of as no more sacred than any piece of parchment she might write upon. Any embarrassing thoughts from before completely thrown to the wind, as she became caught up in designing a web work of black runes on her apprentice. The image of what it was supposed to look like in the end was well within her mind, it was not overly complex as it was merely a series of Focus and Path Runes. The scale of the project was going to take a little longer than the average scroll however, to put it mildly.

Anna filled in the first focus with utmost concentration, moving on to Tsaba's other eye as soon as she was certain there were no errors inherent in it. Her brush work was ceaseless and non stop for the most part, with only a pause here or there for a tick as she dipped her brush in ink. Idly, she wondered what it would be like for Tsaba to feel as someone glyphed her body in such a way. Perhaps, when Anna discovered how to properly initiate herself into Auristics she'd try to glyph her eyes. Would be an interesting experiment to try.

Once the eyes were finished Anna moved on to her nose, her brush work becoming a bit more unsure as she was faced with the facial protrusion. She carefully repeated the same design here, making very certain to tease her nose more gently with the end of the brush so as to prevent the possibility for excess smudging. The glyphs needed to be absolutely perfect, a single flaw was unacceptable to Anna's high standards.

It took a moment to figure out the proper form, getting used to glyphing the foreign part, but eventually she got it down and finished the Focus. These glyphs would form highways all along Tsaba's body, no, perhaps tunnels were a better term to use here. The Focus would provide entrance and exit and the paths would be the areas in which res would flow to and from. In order to work properly and still allow for the needed invasion for Tsaba's Djed to understand what res was and how to form it, the layout needed to be extensive but simple.

Anna wordlessly moved on to Tsaba's mouth, her brush moving over the undead's lips as if applying a layer of black lipstick. The inverted triangle came much more easily after the past three products, her hand repeating the motions in a much more uniform fashion. Her work was not spectacular to behold but it was functional and efficient which was all Anna needed for this to be a success.

From the Nuit's mouth she decided to avoid redundancy and skip over her ears. It would eat up far too much time and add needless complexity to the overall design. For now she'd apply Focus' to her wrists and womanhood, only then would the interconnections of the paths come into play. Nodding at the plan the wizard firmly gasped the Nuit's right arm and turned it so that her wrist was facing up.

Dipping her brush in ink the wizard applied the Focus easily enough, albeit a little more awkwardly as she was much more used to applying Focus' to the palms. After finishing with the first arm Anna moved on to the other wrist, pausing only to brush an errant strand of hair from her eyes. The brush flowed with ease across the Nuit's pale and cold flesh, truly touching her was like touching a corpse.

At this discovery part of the wizard, the darker and much more insatiably curious part of her wanted to strap the creature to a table and experiment with her. What was different about her other than the dead feeling? Could she indeed feel anything? What kind of pain threshold could a creature like her have? What was the most effective method of killing a Nuit? Did they beg for mercy the same way a normal human did...

She dispelled that line of thinking very quickly, casting it aside for possible future study but nothing else other than that. When she arrived on the shores of Sahova an managed to gain some clout maybe she's answer those questions for herself. Tsaba probably would have been more than happy to tell her freely what she knew, but sometimes hands on study was more satisfying. Especially if it involved a sterile room, with just her and some poor fool who crossed her in some way.

As Anna put the finishing touches on the other wrist she moved on to Tsaba's womanhood, treating it with no more difference than she had other parts of her body. The ink slid easily over the flesh, providing very little problems in terms of disruptions, the design easily working with the location. Her grey eyes looked over the product with mild approval, pleased by the finished result.

As she reached for her smaller brush an odd thought occurred to her, staying her hands for a moment. The paths would make tunnels... meaning that the area of invasion would be much lower, possibly ruining the chances of initiation all together. A much more dangerous proposition was if the paths were draw over sensitive parts of the body, possibly causing lasting internal damages at best or possible convulsions at worst. Nuits might not need their organs, but pain was likely to come from incorrectly placed runes. If things got too bad it might even be necessary to kill the Nuit, one never knew what lengths pain could send then to.

Anna mused over the actual use of paths now, giving it further thought as to the consequences and the possibilities of it causing more disruptions that necessary. After a moments deliberation she shook her head and place her brush down, picking up the knife. The Focus glyphs would have to be enough, there was too much at stake to risk killing Tsaba for an experiment. Things would already be risky enough without adding unneeded complications to the mix.

The wizard sighed as she stood, feeling slightly disappointed but knowing that she could always experiment later down the line if need be.

"I'm finished Tsaba, after a bit of thought it seems that Paths would only needlessly complicate the process. I'll need to run some further tests later to discover the fatalities that might arise from using them... In an event the Focus Glyphs should be enough for easy entry. The time to take will be longer for it, but such is trial and error." Anna said at length, half to the Nuit and half to herself.

"In any event, kneel in front of me and offer your wrists out. Once you do, we can begin." She commanded.

Res was already escaping her body with every breath, floating colorlessly and harmlessly in the air before her. A dull throb was felt in the back of her skull and her wrists felt rather sore from the generation, the product of slight overexertion a little while back. As it formed a rather bad cough escaped her lips as well, causing her to double over for a moment and cease res generation. It was the price she paid from foolish casting last season, such was the way of things of course.

"Don't concern yourself with that little fit, stood too close to a fire for too long. Just do as I command and all will be well." She assured the undead, forestalling any potential concerns with a raised hand.

[Tsaba]

It was fortunate that Tsaba had taken care to make sure she wasn't breathing while the wizard glyphed her body, because if she had've been, she probably would have laughed. It only occurred to her as the brush ran over her eye that the situation was almost an exact inversion of the normal course of events. Normally it was Tsaba glyphing some motionless Pulser's body, not the other way around -- of course, her subject was normally motionless because they were dead instead of cooperating, but the symmetry was still amusing. The human body she was inhabiting had undergone a very similar ritual not long ago -- Tsaba had cut it, then painted glyphs on it, then forced her own life force inside. And now another human was painting glyphs on her, then cutting her, then forcing part of themself inside. She banished the thought and concentrated on remaining still.

Tsaba didn't entirely understand Master Marin's explanation of her glyphing choices, but the wizard obviously did, so she mentally filed the words away without protest. When instructed, she opened her eyes and gracefully rolled to her knees, at least as gracefully as a largely inactive bookworm possessing a corpse could on soft sand, which wasn't really all that gracefully at all. She did frown in concern at Master Marin's coughing fit, but said nothing.

She wasn't concerned about the wizard's health any more -- Master Marin had assured her enough that her condition (whatever it was) was her own problem and she could handle it. But Tsaba had been warned that the initiation process was dangerous. What if Master Marin had an attack in the middle of it, and lost control? Would the initiation merely fail, or could one of both of them be hurt? Killed? Her Master seemed to know what she was doing, waving aside or forestalling any protest any time Tsaba raised concerns on such matters, and she could already see that there would be no point protesting this time. She knew the risks and how to assess them better than Tsaba did.

But...

But so had her previous Master, hadn't he? Craun had raised Tsaba and her sister. He'd known what he was doing when he laid her sister out on a slab and called the spirit from her body into another. And despite his assurances, his certainty, it had been the earlier warnings that Tsaba should've taken note of. And she hadn't known that until she was looking at the body of her own dead sister, blood still dripping from the blade in Tsaba's own hand. Anna had never woken up, because Craun had been wrong. Because Anna had trusted his self-assurance. Because Tsaba had gone along with it.

Just because somebody seemed to know what they were doing, even an accomplished wizard, didn't make them foolproof. It didn't make their estimates perfect.

"Dominic. Anna. I have something very important to ask you."

Tsaba looked up at the reimancer who had offered to change her, to open up more of the world than she could access on her own.

"Do you want to live forever?"

Anna had wanted to live through the Daek-Nuit, and had died. Tsaba had intended it as suicide, and had lived. Two failures. And here she was again; different Master, same type of decision. It was now or never. She didn't think that Master Marin would stop her from leaving if she tried to do so, but she knew with certainty that if she did, the reimancer would never make the offer again. She had one moment, that single moment, to become a reimancer or not. To take the risk or not.

Tsaba was a good book learner, but she had never learned well from experience.

Without voicing any protest, Tsaba sat back on her heels and raised her wrists.

x

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna took a feel calming breaths, steeling her nerves for the rest of the ritual and what drain it would demand of her. Initiating someone took a great amount of control, accidental transmutations could be very deadly. Compound that upon the already existing trauma and one had a recipe for extreme disaster. That wasn't going to happen today though, today she would deal with any potential pain suffered on her part and keep utmost focus and control. Tsaba's life depended upon it, though, admittedly if the Nuit wasn't of use to her she wouldn't have considered it too high a price to pay.

The wizard smiled in a somewhat sinister way as Tsaba offered her wrists up without complaint, it was time. The Nuit was hers now, it just came down to reaching out and claiming the prize. She gripped one wrist firmly and slowly sliced the sharp knife across the dead flesh, noting the ichor bled from the wound rather than blood. Interesting, perhaps worthy of further study. She shook it off and moved on to the other wrist, the blade moving torturously slow. That curious feeling was returning as she sliced the flesh as needed, a dangerous glint in her eyes that spoke of madness barely held in check. A maelstrom of chaotic thoughts and destructive desires played in her mind, the desire to cut just a little bit more nearly overwhelming.

She came back to reality, realizing she had sliced a little more deeply than the first cut, the white ichor spilling on her fingers. Anna clutched the knife and pulled it away, her knuckles shaking and clenched so tightly they were turning white. Looking down at Tsaba and the ichor on her fingers she slid back and back.

Cold and unfeeling eyes were locked upon her own, orbs filled with calculating cunning. The man loomed over her, hand gripping a blade that dripped crimson with her own blood. The vital fluid spilled down her palms and flowed in tiny streams down her arms. It was painful, but pain that she knew was worth suffering.

"Are you certain this is what you wish?"

The question was fair, the man had indicated the threat to her own life and the change it would bring about. It was her last chance, her one opportunity to return to a normal life and cast aside thoughts of magic. A flicker of insecurity was found in her eyes, but it was crushed by her curiosity and desire to be something greater. Her legacy had been stepped in normalcy, the fates of her ancestors decided and dictated by mere mortal men. That was a cycle she intended to break. Her eyes met his again, steely resolve the only thing within.

"Yes."

Her answer rang with the tone of finality, a seal on her fate from this moment onward. The man smiled a strange grin, one that possessed both parts approval and bitterness. He said nothing more, indeed there was not a sound in the forest for a long time. At least until the screams started.

Anna shook her head, dropping the knife and refocusing her attention to the current situation. The chaos and overgiving was playing with her mind still, testing the fragile seams that kept her sanity in place. It was choosing the worst possible time to do so as well, now of all times when she held a life in the palm of her hands. These were distractions she could ill afford, not now.

She steeled herself and breathed out yet more res, the colorless gas beginning to fill the air between the two. Her grey eyes locked to Tsaba's dead ones, exposing the depths of near insanity and chaos to the undead wizard. With no warning or words, Anna split the res off into tendrils and snaked them closer to the Nuit. Then she slowly forced the gas into the Nuit's body, starting with the wounds, then focusing on every other opening she could find.

Anna fancied one could liken unwanted res invasion to rape, in fact it was actually much worse. It was so much more intimate that mere sexual rape, it was the rape of both the body and the mind. Still Anna pushed the res deeper into Tsaba's body, a rush of sheer and utter power mad pleasure flooding her mind. She maintained control only by focusing on both the goal at hand and the pain in her wrists and the back of her skull. This was, unfortunately for Tsaba only the beginning. Likely these next few chimes would seem like bells. For Anna, the time wasn't going to ever be enough for her to fully enjoy it.