Shadows in the Sand - A Tale of Ara [1x1 IC]

[Emperor Nat]

Protagonist and RP Partner - Zukien

Name: Adronis Markerrigan
Race: Human/Elf
Alignment: Church of the Four Spirits
Age: 56
Appearance:

Bio:
Adronis is from an order of High Priests and Magi. His father being human and his mother a sand elf, Adronis believes in a more peaceful solution to the warring of the three factions on the Eastern Islands. He is highly intelligent, however his aging has shown since he is more Human than Elf. His age, however, is still young compared to how old he can become. His aging process has ceased, keeping him looking in his mid fifties. As is currently stands, he is attempting to become a conciliate member for the Church to make decisions regarding the land and how to go about things; however he knows the Church of Adonai has far more reasonable approaches to things, the Church of the Four Spirits follows his guidelines of respecting the elements.
Abilities:

• Elemental Manipulation:
  
  1. Fire - Adronis can manipulate flames, making fireballs, flamethrowers, or other fire based attacks.
  2. Earth - Earth element allows armor, fire able boulders, and strong earthquakes.
  3. Air - Allows strong gusts of wind, tornadoes, and waves of air that can cut foes.
  4. Water - Waves, jet-streams, and bubbles that can allow underwater breathing.
  5. Light - Causes blinding light that can stun foes or cast out shadows.
  6. Shadow - Brings indescribable darkness that can black out an area.
  7. Combination - Adronis can combine elements into stronger attacks, however this takes much more focus, time, and energy. (For example, combining Air and Water to make Ice attacks, or Earth and Fire for Lava attacks.)
  
  
• Teleportation
  
  1. Basic - Allows teleporting small distances on battlefields or around a small area. Takes no time and happens spontaneously.
  2. Advanced - Teleportation over a long distance. Takes a couple of hours of concentration and preparation.
  3. Mass - A very advanced technique allowing the Mage to take multiple comrades with him or her in teleportation. Takes the same amount of time as an Advanced teleportation technique, however it uses a much larger amount of energy.
  
  
• Summoning
  
  1. Arcane - Allows summoning of Arcane weapons to defend in melee combat.
  2. Astral - Summoning of Astral beings (wolves, bears, tigers, and other vicious animal spirits).
  3. Elemental - Using the powers of the elements, summons elementals from the void. Strong and resilient, these take a lot of energy to produce.

Weaknesses: Adronis is weak at melee combat and has only a staff to protect him, as well as being lightly armored. He is also susceptible to attack when preparing spells.

-----

A great deal of rumour, superstition and faith surrounds the Holy East. The Holy East is a large continent almost entirely covered in painfully hot desert and is widely thought to be the stage in which a great deal of Adonaic scripture took place. It is therefore sacred to followers of Adonai, who see it as their land to claim on account of its spiritual history; unfortunately for them, according to The Church of the Four Spirits the Holy East is also the place wherein the spirits’ powers first manifest itself into life, and therefore they also claim ownership of the land. This has resulted in a great deal of tension and unease which regularly makes itself known in wide conflicts between the two religions.

There is no formal governmental structure within the Holy East, at least not since the two religions have begun their respective campaigns. The natives, regardless of faith, are generally speaking able to share territory amicably enough; the Churches demand the loyalty of whoever lives within their land, but generally speaking faith is left up to the individual. The exceptions to this are the Sand Elves, a tribe of elves who first moved to the Holy East in the mid-Second Era. The Sand Elves are afforded special sanctions by the two warring Churches to exercise their own culture and faiths unimpeded by the conflict (with the notable exception that the Church of Adonai demands that their missionaries be permitted to preach, regardless of whether anyone listens).

The two faiths have been at odds with one another now for centuries. But the time is right for the line to be drawn. And from this turmoil, a single figure will cast their shadow in the sand; and in so doing decide the fate of the Holy East.

-----

The desert winds ruffle your hair as you stand on the balcony of a large stone fort, looking out across the miles upon miles of the golden sea in front of you. The lavish curtains about you wave gently in the breeze, the bright blue velvet serving to insulate the room a little and keep it ever so slightly cooler than the hot climate outside of the window. The bedroom you stand in is just as lavishly decorated all around, with an impressive four-poster bed sitting in one of the corners. A letter lies on top of a carved oak writing desk. It was your summons to come to this fort - though why you'd been asked here, you're not quite sure.

You hear a knock at the door behind you.

[Zukien]

Adronis stood, looking out into the magnificent desert. Not only was it insanely vast, it was ridiculously hot. Sweat beaded on the forehead of the Mage, who looked around the lavish room. He walked over to his dresser adorned with a large mirror atop. Taking a handkerchief from the wood counter, he wiped his forehead and raised his hand to the window leading to the balcony overlooking the landscape. With a silent Woosh of air, the window shut and locked itself.

Adronis knew he had to make a difference here, as this conflict may get out of control fast, and that was something nobody truly wanted. There has to be a peaceful premise to which all of these factions can agree on.. his mind whirred, as he heard a knock on the large wooden door bolted shut with many chains. Wizards did like their privacy, after all.

Looking at the door, he blinked, and the locks unbound themselves one by one, only responding to magic. "Ah, come in, come in..." he beckoned, waiting for a face to answer the call.

[Emperor Nat]

A young man in the customary robes of a Spiritualist acolyte pops his head around the door, before coming inside and closing it behind him.

"I... I um... I was told to come and collect you. The Bishop wants to see you about an... an incident on one of the frontiers."

The boy fumbles over his words nervously. He's clearly no older than twenty-two; his hair cut short as was befitting his station within the Church, his face still fairly bright and without the many scars that residents of the Holy East so often found themselves with. He looked to his feet, then back up at Adronis, then back down to his feet, before finally deciding that both were equally rude and staring off into the middle-distance about a foot away from Adronis' shoulder.

"I think that's why he asked you here, though I... I'm not sure. If you would come quickly, that would be great... the, er... the Bishop doesn't like to be kept waiting."

He bowed his head slightly, before again looking nervously at Adronis - waiting for some sort of dismissal, presumably.

[Zukien]

The wizard looked at the young man, who was obviously trembling just to speak. Adronis just smiled and looked at the boy, his light blue eyes shining.

"Of course! Of course! Why did I not make the tea? Why?" Adronis stated in a spastic fashion. He motioned to his cupboard against the wall. It opened and a tea kettle already piping hot whistled across the room in front of the Mage. A cup and plate followed after, the tea being poured into the cup in midair. He then waved his hand gently and the full cup of tea on a platter floated slowly in front of the young boy. Another cup was being poured.

"And of course...biscuits!" the odd man called as if he forgot something obvious, and a plate of cookies came out of the cupboard, floating onto a small table in the mid of the room. "Come boy, sit with me and enjoy! The bloody Bishop can wait!"

[Emperor Nat]

"I... I don't know sir, I really ought not to..." The young acolyte said, choosing his words carefully, but his apprehension of the magical man in front of him quickly overcame his apprehension of the spiritual man waiting downstairs. He sat down with Adronis, taking a cup of tea in hand and sipping from it; his hand shaking a little. From the way his eyes are darting around to the cupboard, then to Adronis, it would appear that it's the magic he's particularly uncomfortable with. He tries his best to ignore it however, not wishing to seem impolite.

"S-so... did you have a long journey here, Sir?" he asked, trying his best not to let his voice waver too much as he spoke. "I was told that you'd been on the other side of the Isle when the courier finally got to you."

He was an endearing boy. The training program often bred acolytes like himself; they were all too familiar with the back of their Father-monk's hand should they break one of the tenets. Still, once their training was completed they usually had the timidness stricken out of them - just in time for them to adopt their positions to train the new wave of young minds.

[Zukien]

Adronis kept his smile, sitting across from the boy. He had the look of someone who had been beaten down only to be told to get back up for more. Ah, the ways of this world.

"You are not used to this magic, eh boy? Afraid of it?" Adronis said with a happy tone, completely ignoring the boy's question. "You ought not to be, as long as you don't ruffle this old man's feathers!" he chuckled, drinking his entire cup of tea in one gulp. The kettle poured more into his cup. "You know, magical tea has a totally different taste than normal, a bit minty, if you ask me."

With that, he downed another cup, then stood up, looking at the young man. "You need not be afraid of everything here, we need talented minds like yours! You make all the difference!" he then clapped his hands and the biscuits on the plate disappeared, coming back into view in front of the boy along with cheese and a glass of wine. He then walked over to the boy and bent down, his mouth right next to his ear. "Relax and enjoy. When you are done, then return to your duties." He whispered, then walked out of the room, the door closing shut gently behind him without Adronis laying a finger on it.

He began walking downstairs towards the Bishop's quarters.

[Emperor Nat]

It takes Adronis about five minutes or so to find the Bishop's room. The door is slightly ajar, and the Bishop sees you from inside - he beckons you in, and you oblige. The Bishop is dressed as one might expect a member of the upper echelons of society to dress - his tunic is light and breezy for the climate, but clearly made with skill and precision. Gold jewellery hangs around his neck, and he has an acolyte standing by with a fan in order to keep him cool as he sits, desk facing the door, pouring over vast amounts of legal and spiritual documents.

"I'm glad you're here, Mr. Markerrigan. There's been a slight scuffle and I thought your particular set of skills might come in handy. Seems some of our occupying troops got a tad excited and mistook a Sand Elven trading caravan for one owned by the enemy. Killed the guards, and apparently some of the soldiers took liberties with the accompanying women. And now..." he sighed, looking up at Adronis. "...The Sand Elves are saying that we did it in purpose in order to try and take their land away from them. Their leader said that unless we dealt with it swiftly she'd begin to leak information to the Adonites."

The Bishop frowned at his acolyte, waving him away irritably.

"Advice, Mr. Markerrigan?"

[Zukien]

When Adronis entered the room, he was truly taken aback. Not only did these acolytes work hard to maintain order in this facility, they were treated as slaves. With his trademark smile wiping off of his face, he knew it was time to get serious.

The Bishop began by telling him he was glad that the powerful wizard was here, yet it did not seem so. No sign of friendship was accompanied with the Bishops seemingly permanent scowl. He then gave the situation to Adronis, who grimaced at the news. This was not a good situation.

Asking for advice, the Bishop seemed very impatient. The Mage slowly shook his head, his white combed back hair facing the powerfully appointed man. "May I take a seat? Thank you." He said promptly and without waiting for a response, sat down in front of the Bishop's desk. A very straightforward man the wizard was, maybe a tad crazy, but straightforward nonetheless.

"It seems we have a delicate situation here. Our troops are ravaging and plundering caravans without prior authority or recognition of the fact that we have a reputation to preserve." Adronis sighed, waving his hand through his hair. "Let alone the fact that they took advantage of innocent women. The Sand Elves have every right to be offended and throw accusations our way after this incident. However; we must not lose our troops on the ground, they provide to much protection. So, here is my idea." A long winded man continued his speech. "We have to deal with this in one way and one way alone. Ask the Sand Elves cooperation for one of their own to come to the fortress as a liaison. Bring these criminal troops here and send out a fresh platoon, at the same command, allowing them to take the place of the old troops coming back. Once the troops get back, we punish them accordingly for the liaison to see." Adronis nodded and put his hand on his chin. "That should calm the Elves and show them we have no intentions of harming them."

With that, Adronis awaited a response, the Bishop seeming unmoving.

[Emperor Nat]

The Bishop considers this proposal for a long while, letting out a deep sigh and looking to the roof.

"I see." he says after a few moments' quiet reflection. "You're right. We cannot afford to let their behaviour tarnish the Church, even less so our relations with the elves. Spirits only know that they resent our presence here enough already. I'll send a courier to that... what was her name... that 'Messiata' woman, their chief or somesuch. She was the one who threatened to leak the information, so I'd best deal with her first. We'll bring her here and execute the troops involved for her; doubtless that will prove we're sincere about wanting to keep relations in tact."

The Bishop considered for another moment.

"Actually, I have a better idea. While the troops are being recalled, you ought to go out to her. Your mother was one of their kin, if I've been told right. Maybe you could tug on some of the heartstrings, get them on side. I'm sure that Messiata would much prefer it coming from you than one of the couriers." He chuckles. "Yes, that's a good idea. Will you do this for me, Adronis? I can promise you that you'll be rewarded well if the plan comes together."

[Zukien]

Adronis just listened as the Bishop hashed out his own retort to what had been proposed. Execution was not Adronis' style, however these men did commit heinous crimes.

"Messiata...Yes, I have heard the name. However..." Adronis drifted off, now looking out of the window behind the Bishop in seemingly deep concentration. "My presence may not make a considerable difference, but I know their native tongue and can try my best to make the necessary arrangements. As for a reward, I wish to only resolve this devilish war."

With that, Adronis got up. "I will be taking my leave now. Also," he added "try to take better care of the recruits around here, they are being worked to death. Tu-dooloo!" He finished with a snap, then walked out of the office, going back to his quarters, opening the door. The young boy was gone, and the dishes stacked neatly on the table. Adronis stared for a moment, sighed, then clapped his hands. The dishes vanished, the cupboard shaking slightly.

Shutting the door behind him, Adronis walked to his wardrobe, pulling out his field robes. A light armor variant of his self named "lounging robes", these had more of an armor like appearance, with multiple layers of light cloth, making a thin upper body armor, followed by a flowing robe underneath his waist. He equipped his fingerless gloves, and put his hood up on the back of the robe, grabbing his crooked wooden staff and a bag of reagents. It was time for duty.

Walking back across the room, he made sure to grab a canteen hanging from the side of his door, leaving the dormitory and walking back downstairs, ready to depart the fortress.