PM to join Underground [Clyde and Midna]

[Clyde Sullins]

"World's End... Yes... I have heard of that place. At the docks, yes?" Clyde nodded, as indeed that was the place. He supposed it was rather well known, but it was where he was staying. If he stuck around for much longer, he would need to find a new place though. But likely his mission would be completed before long. Razkar looked around for a bit, looking at some landmarks, before speaking again. "This road. It should take us through East Street and to the sea. Once we are there we can turn west and find your lodgings." It took Clyde a moment to figure out he had been using the University as a landmark, and a ways of orienting himself. He would have to do likewise in the future. Though he was a bit annoyed at himself for not thinking of it himself. But then, he was not really one who spent much time in dealing with such things. Clearly this man did, and so had spent more time in thinking of creative ways of locating oneself. "Mmmhmm..." Clyde was not quite sure why he told the man of how he began magic. He did not often tell others. But he supposed battle had a way of connecting people, and making you more willing to talk. Razkar was... The second, maybe third person, who he had told this to. So clearly it was not something he often told others of... Nor something he liked discussing. But... He had asked nicely. And few people even bothered to ask. "The beginning, perhaps, but when you chose to walk a route, you decide your direction." "Yes, but regardless of the direction you chose, you are still walking on the same road that you are upon. And new roads to walk upon are not exactly common. And as you know now, this route is not really one I chose to take. But finding myself upon it well... I decided to follow it with all my might, rather than to fight it. " "Ah... I think that is our destination." Clyde looked up to see the structure Razkar was talking of, which indeed was the place he was seeking. "This is the World's End, correct? I remember someone saying something about a tower of rocks..." "Yes, this is it. Come with me to my room, and I will craft your gift I mentioned before. I think you will find it useful. I have found when I put my mind to it, some of my other magical arts can do some very unique and interesting things. You just have to think of them first. Glyphing... Well alone it does nothing, but really it is one of the most capable of them all in its deepest depth. It does not have the power of many of the other magics, is far humbler by nature, but behind such a meager facade gleams quite a treasure." With that, Clyde would lead Razkar up to his room, assuming he would follow as Clyde had asked. Once in his room he would begin to go through his things, taking out two pieces of parchment, some ink, a quill, and setting it down on a table within his lodgings. "This will only take a moment."

[Razkar]

"Yes, but regardless of the direction you chose, you are still walking on the same road that you are upon. And new roads to walk upon are not exactly common. And as you know now, this route is not really one I chose to take. But finding myself upon it well... I decided to follow it with all my might, rather than to fight it. "

Razkar's eyes glimmered as he sucked on his pipe and heard the words and Goddess, it had been a while since he'd had the chance to wax philosophical. It didn't really come naturally to him - warriors, after all, are seldom introspective or concerned about things outside of war - but Clyde's reply stoked that corner of his mind.

"Those sound like the words of a man defeated, Clyde," he said, and his expression would not waver if the human turned to him with a scowl on his face. The Myrian would only shrug and add: "All a man need do is plant his feet off the road he is on. Voices will whisper he should not: for honor, for coin, for common sense, for loyalties, for a hundred reasons. But ultimately, the loudest and most persuasive is the simplest: because you are afraid to tread a new path. The fearsome blankness of a fresh and unknown road terrifies many... but only by delving into the new can we grow."

The Myrian was silent as they stepped into the reception of the World's End, thoughts marshaling and then frowning as fresh ones bubbled to the surface. Who was he talking about? Clyde? Or himself?

"Yes, this is it. Come with me to my room, and I will craft your gift I mentioned before. I think you will find it useful. I have found when I put my mind to it, some of my other magical arts can do some very unique and interesting things. You just have to think of them first. Glyphing... Well alone it does nothing, but really it is one of the most capable of them all in its deepest depth. It does not have the power of many of the other magics, is far humbler by nature, but behind such a meager facade gleams quite a treasure."

Razkar blinked, shook his head and rid his thoughts of such introspection (for the moment). He frowned as he absorbed the words from Clyde, this strange new djed power called... what was it?

"Gliffing?" He said, then recounted Clyde's little speech through his mind again, and gave a slight smile. "Good wording, my friend, but you didn't really tell me anything, did you?"

Apparently, that was not on the human's schedule for the moment. The Myrian followed him up and to his room, then watched him root around and gather ink and quill and parchment like some starving scribe in his rented room... and all the while Razkar kept his hand near his blades.

Mages still unnerved him. Some of his contact with them had ended badly. Who was to say this Clyde would be any better, just because he offered something for nothing? No, especially because he offered something for nothing. And yet... and yet...

The Myrian watched as the human prepared himself. He sat on the edge of the bed and fixed his wide-eyed gaze on the strange shapes he drew, using the quill more like a brush than a thin-tipped writing device. The concentration on the human's face was something to behold, too. The way his lips were pressed into a hard, focused slash of bloodless flesh... and how his hands did not tremble nor hesitate as black was fashiond in spirals and hieroglyphics across the scroll.

"This will only take a moment."

"What will?" Razkar said in barely above a whisper, as if his very voice could break the spell Clyde was weaving. "What are you concocting there, Clyde...?"

[Clyde Sullins]

"Those sound like the words of a man defeated, Clyde. All a man need do is plant his feet off the road he is on. Voices will whisper he should not: for honor, for coin, for common sense, for loyalties, for a hundred reasons. But ultimately, the loudest and most persuasive is the simplest: because you are afraid to tread a new path. The fearsome blankness of a fresh and unknown road terrifies many... but only by delving into the new can we grow." "Ah, but cannot one find new by going further down the same road? And after going far enough down a single road... Well eventually you find you don't perhaps mind walking it, and simply want more than anything to see what lies at the end of it. Perhaps another road, leading to somewhere better. Or perhaps I have simply forgotten what I was when I started upon the road, and have nothing to go back to." "Gliffing? Good wording, my friend, but you didn't really tell me anything, did you?" Clyde smiled for a moment as he looked at Razkar, and shrugged. "Perhaps not, but then I suppose that is common enough of mages... We do like our secrets, and our crafts are the secrets we like to keep to ourselves more than any other. For if everyone knew what we knew... Well then, how would be be special at all? And not everyone perhaps should know the things we do..." "What will? What are you concocting there, Clyde...?" Clyde began his work, drawing out his Glyphs on the scroll, more or less making a normal spell storage scroll so used by Glyphers. The only difference would be the trigger, similar to when he had made his special interception proof scroll. As he worked, he talked, not looking at Razkar as he did, drawing out the focus on the two sheets, a simple one. It was a circle, with a X overlaying it, And a V branching off from each of the four tips of the X which ran slightly past the edge of the circle. "Something you will like, something interesting, something I have never tried before. Or perhaps no one has tried it before, and this is the first time in the history of Glyphing that someone has tried this. But probably not." He continued on with the barrier around the focus, drawing them identically on both of the parchment's around the focus. At his skill Glyphs were drawn in a blur of motion, finishing them almost as soon as he started. High speed accurate Glyphing was something that took a lot of practice, and for him it had meant years of work. Clyde had been doing Glyphing nearly as long as Reimancy. "But what am I doing... Well, something to help deal with wizards, though not directly. Think of this more like a... Notifier. If someone is doing some magic on you stealthily, trying to control you and affect you mind... Well then, this little thing will go off, and you will know of the threat. Just make sure you keep it on your person." Clyde finished off the triggers, drawing a small triangle sticking out of the top of each of the barriers, so that upon activation it would shut down the barrier and release the spell held within. Well, the spell he would soon be placing in the focus. Now all that was left was the final wording of the trigger, the actual thing that would set it off. "It won't do much good if another... "human match", tosses a fireball at you. But if something a bit more discrete tries to magic you, well then, it will do its job." Finishing up, Clyde worded out the trigger, for the first time pausing in his work, before writing out the words of the trigger, and then copying it down to the second parchment. Activate the trigger and deactivate the barrier connected, releasing the magic held within, upon the following occurring: - Upon the holder of this scroll's mind or reasoning being affected by means arcane, without the express permission of the holder of this scroll for said affect to occur to them, before said effect is enacted. Done with the two identical scrolls, Clyde prepared for the final step, adding some magic to the focus. Holding his hands over each of the focus glyphs, he began to blow out a small amount of gaseous res from his palms, until a ball that fit easily in his hand was floating in between his hand and the focus. Twisting his hands, he moved the res, making it elongate into a small silver glowing spike above each. With one more small motion of his fingers, the spikes both transmuted, a small gust of magical wind blowing into each of the focus, vanishing as it passed through its threshold. It was a very tiny spell, but enough for the scroll to be holding magic, and to do what he wanted. "And done. Anyways, just read the trigger phrase, its in common and spells out plainly what will set it off. When someone tries to magic your mind, the scroll will go off. There will be a small puff of air, the scroll will crumble to dust, and you will know someone is trying to be-spell you." With that said, Clyde would slide one of the scrolls over for Razkar to see, picking up his own and rolling it up, once the ink had dried. "And knowing someone is trying to magic you, is half the battle. Just make sure to keep it on your person."

[Razkar]

Razkar listened to Clyde's melancholy and bleak appraisal, but did not reply further. Clearly the man was so deep on his path that others had all but vanished to him. He felt an inexplicable urge to shake such nihilism from his mind... but now was not the time. Not when such concentration was necessary...

"Something you will like, something interesting, something I have never tried before. Or perhaps no one has tried it before, and this is the first time in the history of Glyphing that someone has tried this. But probably not."

Razkar's eyes shot up to his forehead. History? He was watching history being made? Well... it didn't look like it. Surely history was more... pomp and ceremony, yes? Not just queer symbols and arcane words on a scrap of parchment... and yet... he saw and felt the power oozing from said scrap. The sheer concentration Clyde poured into it was enough, and now Razkar was trying to tap into his own djed with The Flux, Shielding and the ancient art of the Power of Bones, he found himself... a little more appreciative.

"But what am I doing... Well, something to help deal with wizards, though not directly. Think of this more like a... Notifier. If someone is doing some magic on you stealthily, trying to control you and affect you mind... Well then, this little thing will go off, and you will know of the threat. Just make sure you keep it on your person."

That time, Razkar's jaw actually dropped. How... could he possibly have known that?! The Myrian's chief fear was the insidious ability of mages to tap into a man's mind, his very will, turning him into a puppet for their deeds, without his own compass or anima. Such a thing... couldn't be killed with sword or ax. Could not even be seen or sensed... or so he'd always thought.

"You... You mean Hypnotism?" He said, voice suddenly eager, edging forward a little bit and drinking in the details of Clyde's work, as if they'd mean anything to the ignorant savage. "They can tell me or warn me when my mind is violated? But-"

"It won't do much good if another... "human match", tosses a fireball at you. But if something a bit more discrete tries to magic you, well then, it will do its job."

He didn't even think to take offence at the interruption; just nodded like a stunned child, watching and reading with his lips moving silently as the "trigger" began to take shape. He nodded, impressed. The distinction between voluntary and otherwise would be important: Edreina used him for practice, after all, the sole being in the world he trusted that far. But anyone else, well...

The Myrian smiled darkly to himself. Now he was not unarmed, and would be forewarned. Woe to the mind-hunters, now...

Then he watched as Clyde's hands began to glow. Eerie and ethereal and full of magic, gas seemed to seep from them like fog given life and will, seeping and pouring over the parchment. Razkar stared in wonder as the cloud permeated into the parchment, falling in line with the glyphs and finding a home there, vanishing... but not disappearing, if you follow.

Hidden. Waiting. Guarding the words and, in fact, his very mind.

"And done. Anyways, just read the trigger phrase, its in common and spells out plainly what will set it off. When someone tries to magic your mind, the scroll will go off. There will be a small puff of air, the scroll will crumble to dust, and you will know someone is trying to be-spell you."

Razkar took the scroll like a holy relic, reading the simple Common words and looking up with his mouth still agape. Some part of his mind demanded he stop acting so... savage! But what was he expected to do in the face of such charity and, indeed, such ability?

"And knowing someone is trying to magic you, is half the battle. Just make sure to keep it on your person."

"I... I shall... mage." He said, voice a far cry from the impersonal, detached tone he'd first used with the man in that dark alley, merely two bells before. He bowed and nodded and shook his head as he stared at the scroll. "I... I do not know how to repay this service, my friend..."

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde of course had no idea that the Myrian was afraid of having his mind affected by a mage. He had no idea that it was a wish of his to be able to defend from it. Most did not even know of such things, to realize one needed protection. Clyde on the other hand... He had been the recipient of such things quite a few times, including once when he was younger, and had been put under the thrall of a powerful spell. An effect he had only had taken away in recent years. Plus, the idea of a defensive measure to notify one of having their mind controlled by magic, had been brought up by the poisoner back in Ravok. Now, Clyde was simply taking that idea, and making it manifest. Making one for the Myrian had not been a conscious decision, just something he had decided upon offhandedly. He had no idea of how great a gift the man would find it. "You... You mean Hypnotism? They can tell me or warn me when my mind is violated? But-" Having noticed what the man said, Clyde looked up from his work, and suddenly realized the mans prior tone, and the difference between it and his earlier words... And the eagerness on him and his body language. It was a stark difference. "Hmmm... Yes, I suppose so, that would qualify as having ones mind affected by means arcane. Amongst other things. That's why I left that bit a bit broad, so it would also include other such magics. Can't be to careful. And I don't doubt hypnotism is the only thing that has the means to do as such." As Razkar watched his trigger forming, Clyde began speaking once more, focusing more on his work than the warriors reaction. "Tricky little bit of wording that thing. I suppose I have become something of an expert in wording triggers. Its the logic of the words see, you have to come to understand them, the routes they will take, the inherent problems and gaps in their wording, that way you can try to preemptively fill in said gaps. Like the distinction about willing and unwilling spells. Its an art unto itself. But once you are good enough at Glyphing to make a Grand Oath, such tricky wordings of triggers are possible." "I... I shall... mage. I... I do not know how to repay this service, my friend..." "Mmm... Well, maybe you will, maybe you won't. Maybe our paths will never cross again, and maybe they will. Perhaps on that day we will be allies. Or not. I suppose one can't control such things. But its nice to think one can prod a few things in the right direction, to affect how they take shape." Clyde paused for a few moments, and then looked at his own complete scroll, tucking it back away into his things. Then suddenly recalling a fact, looked back up at Razkar. "Oh yes, one last thing, don't forget it will only work once. Glyphing as I said is a deep magic, quite useful once you understand it. But its effects are impermanent, each instance only works for one active usage. So once its been used, its gone. And getting a new one to replace it well... Glyphers of the caliber to make such a scroll are not in high supply." "But don't let me keep you, I suppose our business is done, and you are free to go. It was interesting meeting you. Perhaps if we ever meet again, I can think of another such thing to make... I do have so many little ideas as such rolling around in my head..." Clyde certainly was a bit of an odd fellow, and the way he ended things would not add any doubt to his oddness. He had seemingly given away a powerful gift, for nothing. And he himself was unsure why he had done it, or if there was more to it. He had long since stopped questioning himself when he had the idea to do things, he simply did them, and trusted them to work out for his benefit in the long run, or at least to not negatively affect him. Or perhaps such random giftings were just the effects of chaos slowly rubbing off on his mind, and affecting his actions. It was hard to say, and Clyde more than anyone would be hard pressed to explain it.

[Razkar]

"Mmm... Well, maybe you will, maybe you won't. Maybe our paths will never cross again, and maybe they will. Perhaps on that day we will be allies. Or not. I suppose one can't control such things. But its nice to think one can prod a few things in the right direction, to affect how they take shape."

Razkar supposed there was truth in that, but it didn't really set his mind back at ease. What if he never met the strange and generous human again? There would be a debt unpaid set against his soul forever more... and much as Razkar hated to be in thrall to any man, he hated an outstanding debt even more. Especially when this one had been gifted without regard or payment, just... because Clyde could.

"Oh yes, one last thing, don't forget it will only work once. Glyphing as I said is a deep magic, quite useful once you understand it. But its effects are impermanent, each instance only works for one active usage. So once its been used, its gone. And getting a new one to replace it well... Glyphers of the caliber to make such a scroll are not in high supply."

Razkar rumbled with laughter and shook his head. "Once is more than enough, more so when that once is given without charge, and far more so when it can be the difference between knowing your mind is compromised, and being a slave..."

He bowed again like a juvenile, like some bonded salve, and begrudged himself not a jot. Clyde had earned it.

"But don't let me keep you, I suppose our business is done, and you are free to go. It was interesting meeting you. Perhaps if we ever meet again, I can think of another such thing to make... I do have so many little ideas as such rolling around in my head..."

"Of course, my friend," Razkar said, tucking the precious parchment away in the folds of his cloak, "After your service to me this night, I wouldn't be a male if I couldn't find a way to... oh... you mean making this... gliff, again?"

Razkar pondered this with the usual indulgence of the wonder-struck: glyphs for removing illusions, blocking hypnosis, even deny an enemy the power of djed over him? Perhaps he was wasting his time with The Flux and Shielding. If this "gliffing" was as varied and flexible as Clyde was letting on, the possibilities were endless.

"Yes... I would look forward to that..."

But the man had bid him good eve, and Razkar only just cottoned onto that. He nodded, a little embarrassed, extending his hand to shake it with a broad smile.

"Again, I am in your debt, human. I... I only regret I have little to pass on to you, as befits my..."

The words died in his mouth and his hand dropped, just as Clyde was about to reach for it. Instead both his hands reached up behind his neck, and the necklace around it was released, held between the two men so the human could study it in the lamplight.

A dozen prayer beads were threaded onto it, but far more prominent were the four long, curved claws from some departed creature that Clyde could see had been etched and marked with Myrian runes. Perhaps the djed-sensitive human could feel the magic emanating from the object.

Razkar certainly could. The battle to defeat the Night Lion had been one of the more desperate he'd found in the Sea of Grass. His hunting partner had quailed and failed him; only Razkar's skill and tenacity against a huge, enraged predator of the Drykas' domain had granted him victory. Thus, he had sought to gain some lasting measure of power from the creature, as he would any worthy and defeated enemy.

One night on the Anchorage Flotilla, he'd done just that.

"This pendant," he intoned slowly, as if he held a sacred article, "Has been worked with the Power of Bones. I slew the Night Lion who held these claws, and bound its essence to them. Wear this, and in dire need, the senses and strength of that beast will be yours. But beware: the longer you hold to that state, the longer it holds to you, and a savagery unlike those of men will take you, and you shall become as beast..."

He extended his hands towards Clyde, waiting for him to accept and decline. For a Myrian, this was a true gift. Something hard won through skill and will, against an enemy that could have easily slain him. He had spent care and caution crafting the rune-worked pendant, a distant relative to the superlative ability he had just seen Clyde work.

It seemed a fair trade... and, if nothing else, the string was in fact a garrote wire, capable of choking a man from health to sleep and then unto Dira within ticks.

Razkar was a Myrian, after all: virtually everything he carried could be a weapon.

"Perhaps a mage of your skill would make use of it, Clyde. I do not know whether the gods would judge this a worthy exchange... but recompense is due, and it is what I offer..."

[Eldritch]

Right, so after closer examination and the urging of fellow staffers I have opted to null the previous grade. I am locking this thread as, after closer examination the entire core concept does not fit with the theme of Zeltiva. There are no underground fights in Zeltiva, the occasional bar brawl? Sure. Nothing much more than that and nothing organized on this scale. Not only that but on Razkar's part there is rampant godmodding, creation of NPC's, ect. My apologies to you both, however you will need to subtract the rewards in this thread from your CS's, I can PM you the necessary totals as I have them recorded. Note this Raz, I was unaware that this was a recurring theme in four cities now. I had been willing to let this slide, but not any longer. I will be going through your other Zeltivan threads as well with a fine toothed comb, I suggest you make necessary edits.

-Eldritch