Dark Jack

The Prophecy

It was not long before things were packed and preparations were complete, and the time came for the new companions to undertake the next stretch of their journey. Unfortunately the number of animals available to them meant that each of the horses had to carry two riders, and Jaelnec in particular ended up spending some time obsessing over what this meant. Part of the arrangement come naturally, with Iridiel and Domhnall sharing one horse, which left only Angora and the two nightwalkers to share one horse and the donkey. Were it up to the squire either himself or Angora would ride the donkey so that Olan would be sharing the horse with whoever was left over, but as it turned out the donkey was rather adamant about not letting anyone but the explorer extraordinaire mount it. Jaelnec even contemplated going on foot just to avoid being bundled up with the scantily covered murderess, but ultimately found that he could not justify doing so; not only would it slow them down even more if he did that, but he was not entirely confident that his legs would carry him all the way to Zerul City without aggravating the strain he knew persisted – though less noticeably now – from when he had used the slayer-stance.
So it was that they rode northward, Domhnall and Iridiel on Usha’s white beast with their tame wolf in tow, Olan on the donkey and Angora and Jaelnec on Aemoten’s horse. They moved alongside the foreigners’ acquaintance, Claw, for a while, though the creature split from their group along the way. The rain, though heavy, proved true to Domhnall’s expectations and stilled not long after they had set out, leaving them wet and cold, but at least having served to wash away the mud.

Not much happened worth noting on the way aside from passing another several farmsteads which, remarkably, all seemed to still be populated and functional. This close to one of the great cities of Rodoria it seemed that not even the Withering could keep places vacant from the sheer number of people eager to ply their trade or find property to call their own. They passed a handful of farmhands at one point, apparently tending to a field of rye that seemed nearly ready for harvest, but those people seemed to scurry away and hide when they noticed the companions. Apparently the resilience to hardship evident in the farms themselves was not present in the people, who had grown wary of strangers, especially the armed kind. Indeed, had their group been of a malevolent sort, these people could probably have done little to stop even the five of them from looting every place they came across. But even if they did, would these places even have anything of value left?

It was not until they arrived at their destination that something noteworthy happened next, though their arrival in itself was a quite remarkable experience. To see first the spires of Castle Zerul appear in the distance, rising high above the grounded city, and then witness as the wall surrounding the city came into sight, spanning miles and miles to the east and west, encircling a city whose citizens numbered hundreds of thousand. The closer they came to the city, the more tightly spaced were the lesser settlements they came across, to the point where some groupings may even have qualified as villages... though it also became more and more evident that something bad had happened. Even before reaching the city proper groups of refugees could be seen at the more prosperous farmsteads, either taken in by the charitable or squatting in vacant shacks and hovels. It was the worst by the gate, where – though most had filtered into the city by now – crowds were still gathered, waiting their turn for admittance into the city or simply camping at its outskirts.
At the gate, however, someone finally interfered with their journey. A young man – almost a boy, really, likely in his middle-teens – with short hazel hair and a huge runesword on his back seemed to lock his eyes on them as they approached, seeming confused at first, but then more and more excited. Soon he was jogging toward them, his attention apparently primarily being on Jaelnec... specifically, the nightwalker realized once he got closer, on his chest. On the ghiril cuirass.

“Excuse me,” he called out, sounding cautiously hopeful as he moved up to the companions, “but you’re Jaelnec, right? Ghiril is too rare for you not to be... especially with that hat, and those eyes!”
“I am,” the squire confirmed hesitantly, uncertain what exactly was going on. “Do I know you?”
“No, but I’ve been waiting for you all day,” the boy laughed, seeming boundlessly relieved. Then he seemed to catch himself and let his gaze sweep over the rest of the group. “Well, you and your companions, though this doesn’t seem to be the people William said were coming or who the memory sphere said you were with.”
Ah, so this was part of something William had arranged. “A lot has happened since then.”
The other nodded, then quickly turned to face the entire group and offered them as courteous a bow as he could manage with the cumbersome weapon strapped to his back. “My name is Thomas Remdal, and I’m supposed to receive you. Welcome to Zerul City.”

The Prophecy

Oh? But in Ion's CS in the description of the staff, it says

The incredible thing about these runes is that they are usually fueled by the magical power stored in the two full Crystal prisons stored in the weapon.

yoshua171

It's not enchanted, nor did Nimbus think it was enchanted, but if crystal prisons are "full", there's magical energy in them...

The Prophecy

Eh, it probably wouldn't hurt anymore by then, but it'd probably still be bit sore in the area. And even though Angora wasn't in a position to put her entire body behind the kick, Jaelnec was advancing toward her at the time, putting his entire weight into meeting the kick. It still wouldn't be downright painful to ride a horse after a couple of hours, but it wouldn't exactly be pleasant either.

I struggle to imagine Jaelnec being willing to accept sharing a horse with Angora, but... hmm... We'll see.

The Prophecy

Zerul City, I’onriyi’s estate

Nimbus had to catch herself to avoid physically recoiling in surprise at the displeasure he managed to convey, apparently over the simple use of the word “pastime”. She stared at him with wide-eyed confusion, nervously drumming her fingers on the sides of the cup in her hands. What had she said? From what she knew of the penin, both through her own knowledge and that of Male’dai, they should not be adverse to do things just for their own amusement. Was he somehow judgmental towards alchemy or enchanting? She could not see what she could possibly have done to anger Ion’riyi...
I have no idea, Male’dai contributed her own insight, or lack of the same. For once I’m just as stumped as you are.
Her puzzlement was in no way diminished when the little man made to leave and asked – no, ordered – her to follow. Fearing that she may have unwittingly crossed some kind of line and was now being thrown out of his house or otherwise punished, Nimbus quickly crammed as much bread into her mouth as she could fit, desperate to sate her hunger as much as possible before returning to the street. She chewed as she went, bringing her tea with her, and hurriedly followed the master of the estate as cautiously as she could without falling behind.

But rather than head for the exit, Ion’riyi lead her to another room that appeared to serve as a workshop of sorts, presumably for some kind of metalwork if the presence of a forge was any indication. It was clearly a place precious to the penin, though; not only did he take a moment to glance at the contents of the room in appreciation, but the fact that he had used magic to open the door had not escaped her attention, though whether he did so out of convenience – as he had with cooling his tea – or necessity was uncertain. Probably a necessity, given the lack of a handle on the door. A fairly secure room, then, at least to anyone not versed in the arcane.
Apparently the room itself was not his destination, however, as Ion’riyi quickly went to retrieve some kind of artifact mounted on a wall, which he examined before handing it to her, asking whether it was “something made purely as a pastime”, and subsequently urging her to be honest in her appraisal of the item in question.
She accepted the artifact after depositing her beverage on a table, frowning uncertainly as she looked from it to its likely creator, still unsure why he had reacted the way he had and what exactly he was trying to do. Soon enough her attention focused on the item, though, and she let her hands – all three of them, though the penin would only perceive the visible two – roam over it just as her gaze scanned it in search of any comprehension she could possibly gain through it.
The first thing that caught her attention about the artifact was the sensation of magical energy within it, which immediately drew her eyes to the crystals adorning it. Some of the – staff? Scepter? – was composed of magically conductive crystal, but some of those crystals had been further altered into crystal prisons, two of which had been filled. Male’dai silently voiced her wonder at whether he had grown the magical crystals himself or had managed to find them in the right shapes somewhere, and she remarked that making crystal grow so smoothly was rare and extraordinarily difficult. Even more puzzlingly, they noticed that there was a metal core through some of the crystals when Male’dai wondered how durable it was... which probably meant that the crystal would have had to be grown around the core, since magical crystal typically lost its conductive properties when it was severely damaged.
Nimbus obviously also noticed the arcane runes on the object, which momentarily caused her frown to deepen. “United winds, bind the symbol”? The sentence carved there did not make any sense to her before Male’dai pointed out that they were probably made to be used independently of each other rather than as a sequence, as simple rune magic. So “unity”, “wind”, “restrain” and “seal”... The three first were fairly self-explanatory and had well-known magical properties on their own, but “seal”? Neither of the two beings inhabiting the true deigan’s body knew of any magical effects stemming from that arcane word. Maybe it was supposed to be used in conjunction with the others? That would make sense.

“It’s certainly an unusual piece of craftsmanship,” Nimbus commented after a minute or so, inwardly wondering whether the magical energy trapped in the crystal prisons was loosely enough bound for her to siphon it into her second soul. “It must have taken a lot of work and planning to get this to come together. The crystals alone must have taken a very long time and many attempts to get just right.”
She offered the staff back to its owner, looking at him uncertainly. “It isn’t lacking in quality, but... honestly, I’m not sure what you expect me to say. Was it made as a pastime? Did you have a reason for making it or did you make it for your own enjoyment?” She shook her head hopelessly. “How would I be able to tell? All I can say is that if it is the product of a pastime, you seem to dedicate a lot of time and resources to those.”

The Prophecy

Angora and Jaelnec should totally have to share a horse. Make it happen Jack! XD

@Legion X51

Now you're actually trying to kill him. This is a guy that was very recently kicked pretty hard in the groin... I suspect riding - even without sharing a mount with Angora - would be fairly uncomfortable on its own.

Anyway, with the last exam of the semester out of the way I can finally get to do the fast-forward I was supposed to do a week ago. How many horses does the group have by now, though? I think I lost track somewhere along the way...

The Prophecy

Also @Dark Jack, could we get The Viper and his apprentice on the front OOC page with the rest of the characters? It'd be helpful so I don't have to keep going back in the pages to read the character sheet every time I have a question. (For your convenience: Viper's CS)

@Rhaevnn Xeno

Done.

Should probably also have fast-forwarded the scene by the road (which is part of why it took so long to write such a short post), but wanted to make sure everyone agreed that it was time first, and figure out how far ahead I'll be skipping.

The Prophecy

The Duchy of Zerul, by a road in the southwest

“Thanks,” Jaelnec issued a blanket-statement for everything Angora did and said just then as he accepted the hat she was trying to hand him. Rocks in the mud? What a hilariously practical concern, given the absurdity of the situation... but of course, simply getting dressed immediately rather than isolating oneself first was also the practical decision, and evidence in his mind that the practical approach was not always the best one.
He had not even finished brushing the dirt off his hat before it started raining, and the squire closed his eyes, heaving yet another sigh as he wondered whether it was too late to decide to drown in the mud.
“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Spirits, what happened to you? How did you get this bad without even drawing your sword?”
Surprised, Jaelnec quickly looked down and realized that his left hand had seized the opportunity to grab the hilt of his sword while he had been distracted, and that his thumb was once more caressing the pommel.
It’s nothing, he thought, turning his face skyward and closing his eyes to let the rain wash away as much mud as possible and cool his still-hot face. I didn’t mean to let you in.
“I’m sorry, but... are you sure you don’t need me? Last time it was this much of a mess in here was back while you were still traveling with Annabelle. I can barely even make sense of your feelings right now, only... they’re directed at the girl with the sword? Angora.”
I’m fine. He clenched his jaw angrily, contemplating simply letting go of his sword and cutting the connection to Roct instantly.
“So confusing... You’re angry with her, but also don’t care about her... and... oh! You want to mate with –”
His hand abruptly jolted away from the handle of his sword as he made a grimace, suddenly more desperate to remove Roct from his thoughts than ever before.

Zerul City, I’onriyi’s estate

It was an immense relief to Nimbus and Male’dai when Ion’riyi seemed to change the subject rather than dismiss them over their limited abilities, less because of their desire to join him on his – apparently impending – next adventure, and more because neither of them wanted Nimbus to offer the last real ace in her sleeve as an option. The angel did not like keeping secrets from good people and would probably mention it eventually, but she just did not want the penin to base her value or his plans on an ability that she desperately wanted to avoid overusing but technically remained intact even without her own body.
It was fortunate that Ion’riyi was not more familiar with the lore on archangels than he was, or he might have realized that they all possessed the ability to seize a second soul... to absorb magical energy around them and reuse it for themselves. That and her divine hand had been the primary means by which she had been able to hold off True Purity for as long as she had, but she also knew that each time she used that power, there was a chance that she would expend Male’dai – her feeble mote of a soul – as well. That was how she was sustaining her, after all: by keeping her soul inside herself. It was a bizarre situation, really; Male’dai’s body outside Nimbus’ soul, Nimbus’ soul outside Male’dai’s soul. Layers of identity and vulnerability.

She did not know what to comment on his mention of the two “unsavory” characters Ion’riyi was apparently considering the companionship of, but she was sure that if he was willing to accept them, she would have no reason to object. The prospect of allowing Male’dai to sleep, however, was one that brought an expression of concern to the deigan’s face.
“Sleeping isn’t Male’dai’s issue,” Nimbus told him gravely, hesitantly accepting the cup of tea he had just prepared for her. “She knows of at least several sedatives that could probably force her body to fall asleep if I simply refrained from negating them, none of which would be too difficult to obtain the ingredients for. The problem is that even if she slept, immortals can’t enter your Spirit Realm... in other words, she can only enter the Spirit Realm if I release her, and if I release her she will dissipate and become a specter. Even if she, against all odds, managed to find her way to the Spirit Realm, there would be no way of guaranteeing that she would be able to find her way back. She could die or...” She paused, trying to remember what Male’dai had theorized.
The deigan reminded her, and Nimbus nodded grimly. “Or worse, end up trapped in a perpetual nightmare.”

Nimbus did not drink her tea immediately – something she supposed was a wise decision, given how even the comparatively durable penin winced from drinking his magically cooled cupful – but simply held it in her hands for the time being, relishing the warmth of the brew seeping into her hands and enjoyed the fragrance. After a moment she noticed that the cubes of sugar had not completely dissolved yet and casually stuck a finger from her divine hand into the tea and started stirring it. It would be a rather odd sight for Ion’riyi – as Male’dai pointed out – not only that the tea started stirring itself, but that there formed a finger-shaped hole into the liquid where the invisible extremity displaced the tea.
I swear, I’ll never get used to that third hand of yours... it feels really weird.

“Male’dai’s abilities?” Nimbus mused, taking a moment to filter through her host’s thoughts before actually attempting to answer the question. She smiled warmly, her expression speaking of a kindness of such purity that it seemed to contrast with her red eyes and black feathers. “She describes herself as ‘barely adequate’, but she has studied and practiced magic for nearly twenty years, so I suspect that she’s being modest. She could reliably memorize over a dozen spells at once, depending on the complexity of the spells, and had a remarkably steady hand. Her magical reserves were great enough that she could single-handedly summon a greater immortal, which in itself is fairly impressive, I think, even if doing so would have drained her completely. She also has some practice with alchemy and had just started studying enchanting, but she regards both of those fields as little more than pastimes.”
She shrugged. “I suppose that her knowledge and pronunciation of the arcane language was also passable, mostly, though it’s hard for me to judge that fairly given that I’m fluent in it.”

The Prophecy

Ah. Well, not quite; they can all be considered instances of the entire curse - that is, the "curse" is the same in all of them - but with varying levels of potency.

And just because I realized I hadn't actually commented on it, feeding doesn't produce a high as such. It's instinctively soothing to a vampire to do so, but beyond sating their hunger and temporarily dulling the troubles of their minds (and replenish their power) it doesn't particularly do much. It doesn't induce a state of ecstasy or anything. It's more about instinctual and physical need than psychological addiction.
I can imagine Morgan needing to feed more frequently than most vampires, though, what with him opting to be active during the day and such. Even if he's protecting himself from sunlight as much as possible, it's impossible to block it out completely and still be able to see. Given how extremely lethal sunlight is to Prophecy-vampires, the drain of sustaining himself through days like that would probably quicken his hunger.

The Prophecy

And now I'm wondering if eating, say, the hearts of two dozen unrelated twelfth-generation vampires would be somewhat cumulative, and make one closer to eleventh or lower generation vampire, or just comparable to the most powerful one of the two dozen.

@Shienvien

Sadly it would not be cumulative, no. The vampiric curse isn't something tangible wherein adding more curse results in a stronger curse (otherwise two vampires could just sit down and start drinking each others' blood to create infinite reinforcement of the curse). Rather than look at the vampiric curse as many separate entities each existing in different individuals, it would be more correct to view it as a singular entity that manifests in many individuals to a different degree. The curse can't add itself on top of itself, but a more powerful instance of the curse will replace a weaker instance of it.

The Prophecy

Ah, so you've used him before... that's why the name felt mildly familiar. Hmm... can't say that I remember, exactly, but the name does evoke some kind of response in me, so he must have made an impression.

There isn't really a lot about the history of vampires in the Compendium at the moment, mainly (if we're being honest) because there's still a ton of things I haven't written entries on for there, but also because it's just not very well-known. The original vampires and the first several generations of derivatives suffered from a crazy need for blood, but were also ridiculously powerful... although due to the way the curse dilutes, the power diminished quickly. (The dilution of the vampiric curse, to recap, causes a portion of the power of the curse to fail to transfer equal to one divided by the vampire's generation. The originals had the full power of the curse; the second generation lost 1/2 of the originals power; the third generation lost 1/3 of the second generation's power; the fourth generation lost 1/4 of the third generation's power, and so on) The original vampires were insanely powerful, to the point of near-invincibility. Barely anyone remembers because they've been gone for millennia, but in their time there were those among the original vampires that were worshiped as deities.
It may be worth noting, too, that just because someone belongs to one generation of vampires, one doesn't have to stay in that generation. Even if one was turned by someone of the twelfth generation and as such become a thirteenth generation vampire, if that vampire was to obtain the blood of a second generation vampire, they'd become a third generation one instead.
Somewhat more obscurely (and grotesquely), it's possible to avoid the dilution entirely. The dilution happens because the vampiric curse is rooted in the vampire's heart and only a portion of it permeates their blood; thus, eating another vampire's heart would make one the same generation of vampire as the one you ate.