Solo Twin Troubles

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

71st of Spring, 515AV

Several weeks had passed since Kamilla had been placed under the ghostly twin terrors, Masters Erikur and Erikus and nothing had changed, not at all. The two spirits still bickered like children any chance they got, even more so when their apprentice was involved. To be honest, the only reason Kamilla's sanity had even made it thus far was because of the 'system' she'd developed, which wasn't so much of a system as it was just alternating between ghosts.

Since the twins were indeed like children, any sort of perceived favoritism spelt trouble for Kamilla, something made even more true by the final moments of their former apprentice, Felius, who's memories now lived in her head. How had he died? By picking a side. So, not being the type not to learn from another's fatal mistake, Kamilla had made it clear that she would do one task for each brother, one at a time. Did they still argue? Yes... but at least their anger was hardly ever aimed at her.

Unfortunately, the one downside to her little 'system' was that she'd underestimated the pettiness of the twin terrors that she worked for. Now that gaining favoritism in the quantity of tasks done by her was no longer an option, the brothers had taken to competing over the quality of their turns with the apprentice and by quality she meant duration. Each ghost seemed determined to make their task more exhausting and time consuming than the previous one's and it had reached a point where Kamilla wholly expected a task to last several bells.

Today had been one the sorceress had been dreading from the get go, having spent several bells working under Master Erikur in his lab the previous day, though by working she meant being possessed, Kamilla knew that her task for Master Erikus today would take the entire day. She had been right, despite wishing to the gods that she could be wrong just once.

And so, with a strenuous and time consuming task assigned to her by Erikus upon arrival at the lab that morning, Kamilla found herself unenthusiastically traveling in the direction of The Testing Grounds... The Prarie to be precise, entirely unsure of how she'd complete her instructions.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

"Apprentice I am in need of new resources for my work. Go to The Prairie and bring me back the remains of something impressive. The fresher the remains the better... If you are unable to retrieve the remains in their entirety, bring the parts related to its most impressive quality. Do not return till you have what I ask."

A loud groan could be heard coming from the large plains of The Prairie as Kamilla recalled her master's words. She was to find the 'fresh' remains of something 'impressive' in the barren lands, as if there was anything at all in the are, let alone something recently deceased. Another groan.

The dark haired sorceress wore her usual black dress and knee high boots, the long lace tail of the dress dancing behind her in the spring breeze as she gazed across the large expanse of the area and draped over her shoulders, was the large black sheet of cloth golem she'd named Sil which she'd taken to wearing as a shawl. On her face she wore naught but her usual dark eyeliner and red painted lips. Her pack contained a water skin, a borrowed serrated knife, some food and a large folded sack along with some inscribing ink for glyphing.

"How in Hai am I going to find anything around here?" Deep brown eyes danced over the landscape, surveying the area but to no avail, The Prairie was far too massive to find anything by standing in one spot. So, with unenthusiastic steps, Kamilla made her way deeper into The Prairie.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Over a bell passed without even the smallest sign of life as before Kamilla came across anything living that wasn't an insect. She had been wondering nearer to the edge of The Prairie, assuming that any creatures would be more likely to be found within The Forest of Thorns and since she had no intention of entering the accurately named area, a few meters was as close as she got.

It was there, while searching the ground for anything that had been unfortunate enough not to make it into the bushes before meeting its end, that Kamilla had nearly jumped out of her skin as something emerged only a few feet away from her. Having spun on the spot to send her warm brown gaze in the direction of the sudden sound it was then that the young sorceress spotted an odd creature. At first glance she'd assumed it to be a hare, the creature's long ears leading her to that initial assumption, but upon further inspection it appeared to be far more dog like in appearance. The dog-rabbit hybrid hopped around a few times before focusing its gaze on her, ears perking up as if on alert.

Not feeling that the creature was an immediate threat, Kamilla was content to just examine it quietly at first, her own curiosity peaked due to its odd combination of physical traits, the most notable being it's two sets of foggy blue eyes. Aside from the body, ears and eyes, its only other notable feature was the bright red of its tail which by now was waving happily. Her final conclusion on the unidentified creature was that it was cute, though the former Sunberthian had always liked non-threatening wildlife in all their forms.

Allowing herself a chime more to appreciate the adorable animal as well as commit its appearance to memory, inwardly scolding herself for not bringing her drawing supplies along, Kamilla finally chased the creature back into the bushes with a few waving hand gestures. It had seemed both intelligent and quite domesticated and the sorceress could not stomach the idea of killing such an innocent creature so that it could be turned into a trinket for Master Erikus. So, with the oddity gone and a task to complete, Kamilla ventured on in search of the remains of anything she could deliver to the insistent ghost.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

A few more bells passed without even a single moment of interest to the young sorceress who had long since decided that field work was definitely not for her, numerous groans of annoyance emphasizing her discovery as she wandered on, beginning to feel more like a nomad than an apprentice of magic. "Why am I even assigned to that psychotic apparition? To both of them in fact! Magecrafting and malediction, neither of them are my field."

Another groan escaped her red painted lips as Kamilla pulled off her pack in search of her waterskin, it's refreshing contents bringing a sigh of satisfaction out of her for the fourth time that day. A few shakes of the container revealed that it did not contain much more of the crucial fluid, she'd been out there for at least half of the day now as was evident by Syna's position directly above her. In the forefront of her mind the sorceress knew she could not remain much longer, once her water supply ran out she would be at risk of dehydration and she was not willing to compromise her health for the request of a ghost, no matter who that ghost was.

As she returned her waterskin to its place in her pack, Kamilla's attention was drawn to the inscribing paint she'd brought along, only now realizing that if she had come across something that needed to be killed earlier she would not have been at her best. Having brought the paint for the precise reason of bolstering her res production in case she was in need of it, the young mage pulled the container from her bag to begin her delayed preparation.

Dipping the tip of her left index finger into the deep black fluid, Kamilla began drawing her personalized focus glyph on her right palm. The glyph itself had changed some over the past season as she grew more confident with the magic, going from a very basic and plain symbol to one that more closely represented Kamilla herself. No longer did her focus glyph contain any sharp corners or right angles but instead it was made up of swooping curves that when complete gave off a very flowing and floral aesthetic, a change which, in her mind, allowed the magic to travel along the pathways more freely and uninhibited.

Having taken a chime or two to complete the first, Kamilla set to drawing the same focus glyph on her left palm, an act the sorceress knew would take at least double the time as she was not nearly as skilled in the use of her right hand. Once complete she allowed herself a moment to admire her creations before packing her things and setting off once more.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

More time had passed since her glyphing break with the same uneventful result, a droplet of sweat ran down the young mage's neck as she ran her hands through her mane of deep brown hair, lifting the mass and tying it into a messy bun. Clearly her plan to search near the edge of the forest was not working, a conclusion she should have come to bells ago but Kamilla's mind was not focused on what had passed, instead her deep brown eyes examined the plains in search of a solution.

Although there was no definite answer to her question of where to find what she was looking for, her obvious lack of success near the forest's edge told her it was time to make her way deeper into the barren landscape of The Prairie instead, that and continue to hope she would happen across something worthwhile.

Kamilla hadn't taken even a dozen steps away from the forest when her attention was grabbed by loud rustling in the brush a fair distance behind her. Eyes focused in the direction the sound had come from with a mixture of hopefulness and anxiety, honestly if it happened to be the dog-rabbit creature from earlier she wouldn't allow it to leave a second time, she was far too grumpy and desperate and it would be a necessary sacrifice to get her back into The Citadel.

Fortunately, the creature that emerged from the thorny thicket was not the adorable animal from before, it appeared to be an oversized insect like crab or scorpion. The mere sight of the creature scuttling rapidly towards her sent shivers down her spine as she instinctively hissed and took a step back, hands raised ready to begin producing res.

To Kamilla's relief, she did not seem to be the disgusting cat sized creature's target as it moved only a few feet further from the forest's edge before it began frantically burrowing into the dead earth. A brief moment of reprieve passed before the mage realized that her chance to complete her task was quite literally running itself into the ground. She began to advance on the insect, taking a few determined steps towards it before freezing dead in her tracks as yet another creature burst from the bushes, this one far larger and more threatening.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

The giant bird-like creature closed the gap between itself and the escaping insect in mere ticks with the use of its long powerful legs before it too began burrowing with its large shimmering beak. Kamilla had long since started cautiously back peddling in hopes of not being noticed as she watched the vibrantly pink feathered monster successfully reach its prey, crushing and devouring it, the insect's legs still frantically moving as it disappeared.

The moment the bird creature had finished its meal Kamilla had frozen, she was not sure whether she hoped her lack of movement would leave her unnoticed or if she was just held in place by the sudden panic that encompassed her but regardless of her motives, it failed. The monster, which she estimated to be at least her height if not slightly taller, glanced from side to side for a few moments, it's serpentine neck supporting a far larger head which to Kamilla's dismay ended up focused on her.

Slowly the monster began taking steps towards its new prey, Kamilla matching its steps with retreating steps of her own while keeping her fearful gaze focused on the large bird, glistening lavender res beginning to pour from her hands aided by the focus glyphs drawn on each palm.

Deciding to strike first, as soon as she'd produced two fist size balls of the magical substance Kamilla's hands rose, willing the first of the balls to follow before she slowly pulled her hands away from each other as if unsheathing a sword above her head. The lavender ball of res followed the instruction of her hands and thinned and elongated itself into a spear shape, though it more resembled a one meter long needle.

The moment her spell was complete, with a downward swing of her hands, Kamilla sent the spike of res flying at the oversized bird, transmuting it to solid stone as it neared its target. She had not accounted for the weight of the stone in contrast to the distance it needed to travel and instead of embedding itself in the creature, her makeshift spear instead buried its head in the ground between the birds two long legs. There was a brief moment of awkward silence as the glistening beaked bird glanced at the failed projectile before turning its sight back on Kamilla with a loud screeching squawk filled with hostility.

"Shyke."

That was all the young mage had time to utter before the monster began running straight at her, a quick panicked repeat of her actions allowing Kamilla to fire off yet another stone spear which, this time, would have hit its much nearer mark, had the bird not quite literally side stepped her attack, narrowly but completely avoiding it. Although there had been a fair amount of distance between them when the first spear was flung, now there remained only a dozen of quick steps from its powerful legs before Kamilla would become bird meat.

Eyes wide with fear, Kamilla did not have much time to think before the creature was upon her, having been producing more res from the moment her first attack had missed its mark, albeit more slowly due to her divided attention, she had only enough ready for one quick spell before it was too late. Barely a tick passed and she felt as if the bird was far too close for her to accomplish any sort of shaped casting, so as a last resort she sent the ball of res to the ground in front of her and ripped it upwards willing it to attract the earth while simultaneously transmuting it to stone.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

The result of her instinctive casting was a thin curved makeshift stone barrier made up of both transmuted and attracted stone, though it barely stood for a second before the large bird's momentum caused the creature to barrel straight through the flimsy construct in a loud crash of stone and debri. Kamilla herself had foreseen the outcome and thrown herself out of the way to avoid being hit by the monster or her short lived barrier. The bird itself seemed to have come out of the collision relatively unscathed as it fell to the ground for a brief moment before staggering back to its feet, dazed for only a tick as it shook itself off and refocused on the now helpless sorceress on the ground in front of it.

If at any point during her life, someone had asked Kamilla how she thought she would meet her end, she was certain her answer would never have been 'in the middle of a barren plain eaten by giant poultry' yet here she was, or at least so she thought. Just as soon as darkness of defeat had settled within her it was filled with a spark of hope as a shadow passed over her, it's owner landing between herself and the bird. Had she been in anything but the current life threatening situation she currently found herself in, Kamilla's expression would have been one of utter confusion, but instead she found herself simply watching in shock as a gazelle landed on the ground and with a graceful twirl on its front legs, delivered a powerful double hind legged kick to the bird's head before darting off, the monster's attention officially off of the downed sorceress.

Dozens of questions regarding the out of place heroic mammal filled her mind though it was neither the time or place for them as Kamilla quickly got to her feet, gaze still focused on the gazelle as it effortlessly dodged the bird monster's attempts at attack. "Damn it." the words were uttered to herself alone as she cursed her own helplessness. If there was one feeling the sorceress despised it was being helpless and what made it worse was that it had been her own doing. Kamilla had had plenty of opportunities to take control of the situation but instead her actions had been ineffective she knew she was capable of far more but it seemed the pressure had gotten to her, rendering her spells a sloppy representation of her true skill.

Pausing for a moment to glance down at her palms, the focus glyphs had already faded away, Kamilla instead balled them into fists as her brown eyes rose in search of the gazelle and bird creature's battle. Finding them with ease, once again she found herself shocked to find that what once had been a regular seeming gazelle was now a gazelle with a bare man's upper body where the mammal's head had been only moments earlier.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

The result of her instinctive casting was a thin curved makeshift stone barrier made up of both transmuted and attracted stone, though it barely stood for a second before the large bird's momentum caused the creature to barrel straight through the flimsy construct in a loud crash of stone and debri. Kamilla herself had foreseen the outcome and thrown herself out of the way to avoid being hit by the monster or her short lived barrier. The bird itself seemed to have come out of the collision relatively unscathed as it fell to the ground for a brief moment before staggering back to its feet, dazed for only a tick as it shook itself off and refocused on the now helpless sorceress on the ground in front of it.

If at any point during her life, someone had asked Kamilla how she thought she would meet her end, she was certain her answer would never have been 'in the middle of a barren plain, eaten by giant poultry' yet here she was, or at least so she thought. Just as soon as the darkness of defeat had settled within her it was filled with a spark of hope as a shadow passed over her, it's owner landing between herself and the bird. Had she been in anything but the current life threatening situation she currently found herself in, Kamilla's expression would have been one of utter confusion, but instead she found herself simply watching in shock as a gazelle landed on the ground and with a graceful twirl on its front legs, delivered a powerful double hind legged kick to the bird's head before darting off, the monster's attention officially off of the downed sorceress.

Dozens of questions regarding the out of place heroic mammal filled her mind though it was neither the time or place for them as Kamilla quickly got to her feet, gaze still focused on the gazelle as it effortlessly dodged the bird monster's attempts at attack. "Damn it." the words were uttered to herself alone as she cursed her own helplessness. If there was one feeling the sorceress despised it was being helpless and what made it worse was that it had been her own doing. Kamilla had had plenty of opportunities to take control of the situation but instead her actions had been ineffective she knew she was capable of far more but it seemed the pressure had gotten to her, rendering her spells a sloppy representation of her true skill.

Pausing for a moment to glance down at her palms, the focus glyphs had already faded away, Kamilla instead balled them into fists as her brown eyes rose in search of the gazelle and bird creature's battle. Finding them with ease, once again she found herself shocked to see that what once had been a gazelle was now a sleek black furred cat like creature, excitement which she knew to belong to Felius, sparking through her at the mere sight of the feline as it gracefully weaved between the bird creature's long legs, delivering powerful claw swipes every so often, but despite having received several deep and bloody lacerations, the monster did not seem to lose much of its strength, determined to win in its fight against the elusive feline as it continued to screech, snap and chase after it, narrowly missing its mark over and over again.

The large black feline seemed to be winning the battle of attrition, but Kamilla was not content to sit idly by and remain useless nor was she happy to have been made the damsel in the situation and the only solution to both problems was action. With that in mind, the young mage advanced on the duo of animals, her own fists clenched in determination as she produced a growing handful or res in each.

Although she hadn't expended too much of her djed during her first bout of spells, Kamilla did not intend to risk getting much closer to the ever shifting line of overgiving and planned on doing her best to make this her final move. The bird creature was slowly bleeding to death and losing its strength but the reason it remained a threat to herself and the feline was it's mobility, so instead of attempting to end it she would simply aim to topple or restrain it.

With a plan in mind as she neared the preoccupied beasts before her, the young mage threw her hands forth sending one of her orbs of res carefully towards the creatures, her focus entirely on making contact with the moving target. Once she and her target were within the effective range of her res control, Kamilla balled her right hand into a tight fist, willing her res to attract air as powerfully as she could, a sharp hiss audible as air rushed towards the small melon sized ball of glistening magic, gathering and compacting itself around it and then once she was sure it was near enough to her target she swung it in a powerful sideward motion indicated by her arms, simultaneously transmuting the res to air as well.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

A loud bursting sound echoed where the spell had been cast as the tightly compressed air was released along with the newly transmuted air, the pressure of the combination being thrown into the bird creature's side proved more powerful than its caster had expected. The spell had slammed into the tall bird's side sending a dust wave outward as the air rushed for freedom, though not before knocking the already weakened creature off of its feet and onto its side.

In the dust cloud Kamilla was certain she'd seen the large cat dash in the opposite direction, though she was even more certain that her spell hadn't injured it, or at least she hoped so. The two priorities she had held for the spell were to topple the bird creature and to not hurt her species-changing savior, it was the reason she'd chosen air as the element for her spell as it was unlikely to cause damage to anything it didn't directly hit as well as because the feline was far closer to the ground than the tall bird.

Assessment aside, she wasn't exactly out of the woods just yet as the bird creature, bleeding from multiple deep scratches as it writhed on its side, was still very much alive, though clearly nearing its limits. It continued to squawk and struggle in desperation before once again trying to slowly get to its feet, an attempt halted by Kamilla's remaining ball of res in another far less explosive downward gust of wind which sent the beast back to the ground before it had the chance to get upright.

There was a brief moment of silence before Kamilla fell to her knees in a fit of coughing, her head feeling both light and heavy at the same time. The sorceress sat there for a moment, dry heaving as if she had an excess of air trapped in her belly before she was alerted to the sound of galloping and turned to see neither the gazelle nor the large black feline creature, but a creature with the bare upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse holding what she recognized as one of her makeshift stone spears. Having finally caught her breath, Kamilla shakily got to her feet, deep brown eyes never leaving the human-horse hybrid as it approached the dying bird and without a moments delay, thrust the stone spear into the creature which gave one last desperate screech before falling limp and lifeless.

"Petching summoners..."

The words had come from her gazelle turned feline turned man-horse rescuer and did not lack a clear hatred for the aforementioned 'summoners' though the voice itself had been oddly enticing, musical with a hint of masculinity laced within. Kamilla, who was now blatantly staring, was at a loss for words, deep brown eyes watching as the lower animal-half of the man's body bubbled and shrunk in on itself before finally settling as a pair of perfectly human, perfectly naked, legs.

Kamilla recognized the transformation as Felius' magic, morphing, though the deceased mage who's memories had been unwillingly forced upon her revealed that he had never come close to the unnamed man's proficiency. This was the magic that Felius had hoped would enable him to fulfill his life long dream of becoming a cat, one that she had originally cast aside but was now deeply intrigued by, having seen its true potential.

Her gaze was still fixed on the man's naked form, perfectly smooth skin hiding lean muscles throughout, arms crossed and his head, with short jet black hair, turned in the opposite direction... she wanted to see his face. "Summoners?" she asked, finally registering that she'd been entirely silent up till now.

"Yes summoners, they pull these glassbeaks and other abominations from who-knows-where and leave them for us to clean up because they aren't strong enough to do so themselves."

Once again she noted the sweet sound of his voice as well as the loathing within it, though the man did not turn to look at her, apparently more interested in the barren plains that stretched as far as she could see. She noted this new magic called 'summoning' and that the bird creature had been called a 'glassbeak' before speaking once more. "At any rate, I'd like to thank you, but where did you come from?" The question seemed a good one to ask, before the bird creature had burst from the forest Kamilla was sure she'd been utterly alone, but the man finally turned his gaze on her, keen hawk eyes resting in a handsome face which seemed the perfect blend of soft and angular. She felt her mouth open slightly and against her will before pursing her lips in a failed attempt at hiding her reaction.

"I've been watching you since the gibbat dog, reimancer... Don't flatter yourself, it is my duty as a warden initiate."

Kamilla had not even thought to be flattered, especially since most of her focus was divided between the man's clearly annoyed tone, his negative emphasis on the word reimancer and despite her best efforts... his distracting beauty. She frowned slightly at his overall response before running a hand through her long mane of dark brown her, which had fallen loose at some point during the event. "Well thank you anyway... she started, not sure of how to address him.

"Kinapak... Next time, remain in your master's lab apprentice. The Testing Grounds is no place for weaklings."

The man, Kinapak, left no gap for a retort, not that she had any, before turning and running off as if their brisk exchange of words had been concluded, which she supposed in his mind it had been. Although she had not appreciated his condescending tone throughout their 'conversation', Kamilla could not deny that she'd already decided she liked the man, even though she knew it only extended to his wonderful exterior. It was hard to come across handsome men on the undead island and Kinapak's beauty seemed almost supernatural.

Having watched the warden initiate slowly turn into a gazelle once more as he darted away from her, Kamilla finally returned her attention to the shyke task that had almost gotten her killed. Turning her to the dead glassbeak with a look of disgust, she retrieved the serrated knife and sack from her pack and decided she would sever the creatures large clawed feet as its head looked far too heavy to carry, despite seeming more valuable. Petch if she cared, Master Erikus would just have to be happy with what he got.

[Languish]

Your grades have been summoned
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Kamilla

■ Land Navigation +2
■ Wilderness Survival +2
■ Tracking +1
■ Glyphing +1
■ Observation +2
■ Reimancy +3
■ Tactics +1
■ Endurance +2

Lores

Lore of Sahova: The Prairie
Lore of Reimancy: Creating a Protective Barrier
Lore of Glassbeaks: Predatory Bird
Lore of Kinapak: Gorgeous Morpher
Lore of Morphing: The Potential to Change
Lore of Testing Grounds: No Place for Weaklings
Lore of Gibbat Dogs: Part-Rabbit, Part-Dog

Additional Information

INone.

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Comments:

Your seventh and eighth posts were partial repeats of each other. It was still possible to understand; just watch out in the future.

Don't forget to delete your post in the grading queue. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me about your grade.

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