Gathering Light against the Dark - SH 28th - Public

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Ashari
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Post by Ashari »

Ashari's brow raised as Ulder turned on Fauna the way a person might snap at a misbehaving dog. The young woman almost expected him to kick her right out of the carriage at that moment, but, he didn't, and the entirety of what he said to her almost made Ash cheer, but, she held her tongue and instead listened quietly as he spoke of this Song.

It was, for lack of a better word, a peculiar thing. She didn't for a flicker think that she knew everything about magick, but for something as huge as a Song that left every person to escape her seemed rather amazing. The idea of a creature meaning to enslave the entirety of the world wasn't that shocking, but it stilled Ashari's breath. She'd almost been a similar tool, and it haunted her, and she expected it would for the rest of her life. It made sense, if something that came from everyone could be corrupted and turned against them, then they would be powerless. Everyone.

Elaine was a very powerful creature. She wasn't sure why, but she hadn't expected that. Though, to have the love of a man like Ulder, she'd have to be. "I.. can try to find it. Maybe I can find Elaine?" The young woman hadn't ever met her, she didn't know anything about her, she wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but there had to be a way. If she could find the poet, then the demon wouldn't be far off, and then it would be up to Ulder what would happen next. The mage glanced over to Fauna as it was mentioned that she attended the University of Magick.

"Maybe a plea to the churches is in order? They'd have the people of the strongest faiths - most willing to help, more-so than perhaps the common man." It wasn't a direct attack on Ulder's previous plan, rather, a suggestion, said with caution, considering his mental state and the way he was snapping at his allies.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
Fauna Winthrope
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Post by Fauna Winthrope »

Fauna sighed and rolled her blue eyes upward. It wasn't that she lacked care for Elaine, it was just she wanted Ulder to think first of his plan. Of course, she wanted Elaine found, of all the people she wanted to see, it was the Blind Bard, there was a power connected to the Song Sorceress and the Dark Sorceress wanted to claim that power for her own self, yet, Elaine explained that it was a power of the Gods, the divine power of the Mother, a power which, Fauna had to admit, she could never claim. How unfair life was.

When Ulder explained the Song of Elaine, how the song was utilized and how it functioned, Fauna turned her blue eyes to him, eyes that were focused and thoughtful, as if gleaming with profound hunger. Noticing the glance of Ashari, she gave her a sheepish smile and then turned her blue eyes back to the Ex-Captain.

"You just described the Aetheric Energies in full details, M'sieur Ulder." Fauna replied, gone was the empty headed woman that sat there a few flickers ago and was replaced by a woman full of control. "That is a classic description of the Aetheric Enegies that Wizards and Sorcerers tap into and it would seem that the Royal Poet is tapping into the central core of that energy." She paused and looked outside the window and at the Duke. "...Perhaps... the central Energy of the Citadel or even... of Tazlure."

That was daunting, if the Nether Prince could change Elaine to be its creature, Tazlure would be doomed. If Elaine's voice could change a single creature to a Nether being, it would mean that the world as they knew it would be obliterated. They had to know what the Nether wanted from Elaine, but, Fauna knew, that nether only wanted one thing... Sole dominion of Tazlure... The Tether World. It was simple, even she aspired that, but then, Fauna was a creature of the shadows and there was a thin line between the Shadow and the Nether.

"No..." Fauna shook her blond head as she replied to Ashari. "The Lord Domus had a Council with the Churches of the Light when the Nether Deamon attacked the Citadel Palace, I know, I was there. It is sad to say that the Churches of the Light are not as..." She paused, looking for the appropriate word. "...What it used to be."

"If I am a Nether Creature, I would seek out the Churches of the Light and bring it down first and perhaps, bring down the Heroes of the Light with it." She off-handedly continued, looking fully at the Duke of Dort and gave him a small smile. "Church and faith will not work now, the Nether is cunning and devious, it will not fall to the same trick as before. It is even using the Power of the Gods right through Lady Bannon and tainting it."

"Finding Elaine is perhaps the first thing to do. But it is sure that the Prince of the Nether is holding her and perhaps hiding her. This should not just be a simple scrying, Gracious Lady." Fauna answered Ashari.

"It is up to you, M'sieur Ulder." The Dark Sorceress concluded as she turned once more back to the young man. She had given her advice and it would be up to the Ex-Captian to heed her it. "I can give you what little aid I can."

"Farewell, Lord Duke. It was a pleasure meeting you." She gave the Furst a very flirtatious, empty-headed smile.
"Cruelty has a Human Heart,
Jealousy a Human Face,
Terror the Human Form Divine,
and Secrecy the Human Dress."

-- William Blake
Grey Wolf
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Post by Grey Wolf »

The Duke paused at the door. "It is not what I wish, my dear Captain." Still he insisted on calling him that. "I merely suggested a course of action. Now, whether it coincides with my own plans or not, does not matter does it. I can be in a good mood and offer a free advice." The elderly man smiled warmly. "Only one problem with me helping you, my dears. I have amassed quite a number of enemies over the years. I fear that might help could be as much a hindrance as it will be aid. But, we shall see. Talk to K'Mith first. I shall be at the Embassy later so we can converse some more." With that he left, leaving the trio in the coach to their own designs.

They were not disturbed, though there was a small shutter near where the driver sat, should they choose to move somewhere, all the needed do was open it and shout the destination.
The diplomacy is the art of saying "Good dog", while you are searching for a big rock.
Ulder
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Post by Ulder »

Ulder watched the man go and paused to consider his options. He was grateful to the Duke for allowing him the use of his carriage as a means of transportation away from the scene near the palace. Now that people were beginning to understand that he was alive, he felt more confident that he could depart unseen by those who would wish him harm. Without the benefit of the Purple Guard around him, he needed to stay cautious and alert. Word would likely travel that he left in the presence of the Duke, which was fine with Ulder. He understood that the Duke has his own protective circle, and the former Captain wished to stay within that circle as long as possible.

In his mind, there was no other destination worth visiting. The Duke had suggested the Embassy of Dort, and that was where he wanted to go, the sooner the better.

"Well ladies. It seems our host has left us to our own devices. Fauna, you have mentioned that you had an appointment at the dress shop. By your leave, you shall be dropped off there in all due haste."

Ulder slid the panel back and spoke to the driver.

"Audrey's Dress Shop." He instructed. He was careful to close off the panel again to avoid any chance at unwanted eavesdropping by the driver.

As they got underway to drop Fauna off, Ulder spoke to the two ladies. He was confident now that they understood he was more than some mindless soldier. That he was aware of how to attack the demon, and perhaps even how to destroy it.

"Now perhaps you see that I know exactly what I'm trying to do here. You both stepped in and ruined my initial plan, but luckily, I'm fairly flexible with my tactics. Being in charge of many men's lives on a day to day basis makes certain that you never stick to one plan from start to finish."

It was a not so subtle reminder that he once carried a great deal of authority and responsibility, and that these ladies should respect him a great deal more than they had thus far. He was no fool, and he was not about to be treated like one for another flicker.

"I've thought long and hard about this. This is no foolish errand I'm on here. I fully understand that in order to destroy these things, we have to change how we have fought them in the past. I understand that we have to change the Song. I was trying to do that out there. I could never presume to tell you what your opinion of me should be, for the better or for the worse, but I will caution you both not to underestimate me again."

"Now, with that out unpleasantness out of the way. I would be remiss if I didn't thank you for your aid and insight. You have my eternal gratitude." The sincerity in his tone and demeanor was obvious. He truly was grateful to them.

"Ashari. I presume you have other things you'll want to attend to, and that you will not be coming to the Embassy with me. The invitation is certainly open, I would welcome your continued presence, but I understand if your other commitments cannot allow that."

He looked at both of them seriously, his face grave. His heart was breaking, and it was obvious to the women he shared the carriage with that he was in great distress.

"I hope that I will be able to call upon you both when the battle is upon us. Finding Elaine means finding these things, and once they are found, the fight will begin in earnest. It is then that I will need your strength, and your talents the most."
[url=https://tazlure.nl/board/viewforum.php?f=404]Ulder's Compendium[/url]


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Fauna Winthrope
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Post by Fauna Winthrope »

Fauna Winthrope listened with interest as Ulder talked, frowning as the Ex-Captain continued. "Ulder, I do not question your capability, just your method in rescuing Lady Bannon. If there is one last advice that I should give you, you must take heed that you are dealing with the Nether here. It must take precedence above all else."

She sighed heavily, leaning her flawless face upon her slim hand. "Be most carefull. I know not what the Nether intends for Lady Bannon, but it must be vile and atrocious beyond imagining, harden your heart Ulder, for we know not what the Deamon is doing to Lady Bannon, perhaps, she might have changed, the Nether altering her." She paused and gazed her blue eyes outside.

"I do not know that much. I do not believe in faith or prayers, but if there is one thing that could get Elaine back from the Deamons, it would be love... Your love. Elaine loves you most dearly, it could be the only thing that Elaine holds fast within that torturous place."

"Call upon me when you need me and I will give you what little aid I can. You can find me at the Citadel Palace, I am Lord Azarin's assistance for Magickal Affairs or... Look for me at the University of Magick. I wish you luck, Ulder. May the gods watch upon you and Elaine." With that, she gave Ashari a farewell nod and gracefully stepped out of the coach.
"Cruelty has a Human Heart,
Jealousy a Human Face,
Terror the Human Form Divine,
and Secrecy the Human Dress."

-- William Blake
Ashari
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Post by Ashari »

Ashari remained quiet during her scolding. He was partially right, she didn't think he could do it, not the way he'd started anyway, but now that she'd heard that it wasn't about barging into wherever it was, but about shutting off it's power source, well, that became another matter entirely. This thing, this demon they spoke of, was feeding off the Citadel itself, it seemed - thriving off it's song. To Ashari, that spoke great volumes about what the city must be going through to produce such a powerfully negative creature from it's idle thoughts and energies.

Where Fauna decided it best to bolster his ego with encouragements about the strength of love, Ash found it more fitting to remain silent. What would such a sentiment mean from her? She who'd lost so much already, especially with him knowing that she'd experienced first hand: love does not end all problems. Infact, for Iorn, love had been his very undoing. The mage mused on whether the Captain might meet a similarly unhappy ending.

When the Dark beast stepped from the door and gave Ashari a nod, she returned it, though it was curt at best, and at worst it could've been percieved as plain rude and dismissive.

Ashari wasn't known for being polite.

"If you think you'd need me to speak with K`Mith, then I'd go, but I doubt that's the case. I'm sure a woman will take kindly to your sentiments without me at your side, perhaps more-so than the Duke." The door shut behind Fauna, leaving her to her dress purchasing. What a poor time to shop. But there was the chance that Audrey and she had some sort of friendly association (how could they not given the time that Fauna spent there?) which the sorceress had to attend to. Ashari felt that way toward Belawen, prior to leaving, prior to her death.

"I will worry for your safety, Captain. Do call on me-" Where? "Via Crane." Crane didn't want to be publicly associated with Ashari, and for good reason, he didn't want to be publicly associated with the Red Rose Guild, and she didn't want to be affiliated with him either. It would create the wrong image. "I'll be at his estate this evening, for dinner, beyond that, I'm not sure. But he's one of few people I know in this town, he'd be the best way to find me." She had been a rogue for so long it didn't even occur to her to really set up a place to recieve letters or a way to get in contact with her.

The coach hadn't started moving again, they'd yet to give a destination. "I suppose I'll get off here as well, I have some thinking to do, and I've always done it best on my feet." She smiled, perhaps the first smile he'd seen on her all day, but it was still lacking the luster and life of her laughter when they'd gone riding. There was an emptiness in her eyes that stole away much of the innocence of it. "I'm sorry I threw a rock at you and ruined your great plan." She paused. "Mostly sorry about the rock, though, that wasn't a fine hello." Her lithe fingers tangled in her cloak and skirt to get a grasp on them so she could jump on out as well.

However, she paused in mid-step before actually leaving, in such a way that she was very close to Ulder, her gray eyes watching him closely. "Did you plan it? -Your death that is. It's been bothering me something fierce ever since I saw you, and that was sort of my first instinct about it." Her hand landed on the door in a hesitant way as she awaited his response. There was no magick in this, just her wanting him to answer her, and if he lied, she'd have to just feel it the way she had before all the mindcrafting. They were supposed to be friends and she had a hard time magicking friends.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
Ulder
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Post by Ulder »

Fauna's word fell on mostly deaf ears. Although he appreciated the sentiment, he knew that such talk coming from the blonde haired enchantress was likely the normal perfume of courtesy, masking the stink of truth.

"It is my love her that will free her." He stated simply and confidently as she stepped from the coach.

Ashari's words were something of a different matter however.

Crane...

He had found out a great deal about the Cranes since he had gone underground and he was somewhat surprised by any association she might have with them. He suppressed any reaction into a look of mere acceptance.

"I'll find you." He said. "I seem to be getting a lot of practice at finding people these days."

Her apology was not wholly unexpected, after all, they had been on friendly terms before, and she just didn't seem the type to carry on that way. He looked directly into her eyes.

"Apology accepted." It seemed he was becoming more and more concise with his words. His outburst earlier had been the extent of his anger at both ladies, and now his customary quiet was returning.

"I had a great many plans Ashari. Most of them have been stripped away now. Much of what I wanted, is simply not possible any longer..."

He paused, contemplative and introspective.

"Would it really matter if I planned it? After all, it worked about as well as pig trying to be a horse."

He smiled weakly.

"No...it was a necessary thing under the circumstances. The world was collapsing around me. It was not what I wanted, but it is what I did. Sometimes living to fight another day means having your enemies believe that you're no longer living. Call it survival..."

"Good day Lady Gywien."
[url=https://tazlure.nl/board/viewforum.php?f=404]Ulder's Compendium[/url]


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Ashari
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Post by Ashari »

She responded with a weak smile of her own at his mild joke. "You're a fine pig, Ulder, no need to parade as a horse." Her smile, and mood, improved a little, perhaps the lessening of seriousness, perhaps it was forgetting for a flicker that there was a demon about snatching up powerful women.

"If it's any help, I'm hardly one to throw stones - in any sense. The only reason I was able to get out of King's Court was under similar circumstances. I'm still dead there." She fulled stepped out of the carriage, then, and gave the soldier a bit of a curtsey. "Good day, Captain." For, she was just as much a lady as he was a Captain, and it made perfect sense in her mind. "Until you find me."

And then she was off. There were things to be done. Things to be thought about... how was she going to find the Changer or Elaine? Miss Bannon was as good as dead (or worse) if not found. The sooner the better.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
Grey Wolf
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Post by Grey Wolf »

~Fin~
Silk says: Ah, dear Captain. We shall have to meet in the dungeons.
The diplomacy is the art of saying "Good dog", while you are searching for a big rock.
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Finley Ward
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Post by Finley Ward »

Skillzed! - Finly
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