From Fire to Fire (JY 30 ET)

[Ssinith DIllil]

He had a wonderful holiday of discovery... but as his day of research continued, he realized that tomorrow would be spent in catching up with politics. Considering that his trip to Aveas would likely take him into the depths to fight off the crisis in Gulanadur, he knew he would have to have a heart to heart talk with Xandar.

They had spoken before. Though it would not be considered trust, at least an understanding was built between the two. He knew now that a respect for the energy that those wizards wielded was needed. Whether or not they would die learning that lesson or not would be up to the duel itself. Of course, there was a lot of philosophical definitions of dying.

The two stones he had obtained after the melding had been held in certain ceremonial urns which now decorated Molten's sanctuary. The jewel embedded in his hand had allowed him psychic contact with him, and he had often sat down to make futile conversation with the creature.

This night, however, he would bear a little of his own heart to the creature. There was now potentially an opportunity for the two to practice working together as a team and growing as such. The acolyte there had become a spiritual confidant. Though he did not know much about the situation itself, he was the only one who knew about the stones and that they were powerful artifacts which needed to be protected. Ssin would ask to be alone to pray once again.

He would take the stones out of the urn to check on them. He knew that at least the "heartstone" was fragile enough to be crushed by his fist to bring Xandar into the material in full glory. The "corpustone", or the one which dropped from his body, was something he wasn't so sure of, but knew it was important.

Kneeling in front of the Eternal Flame, he brought the jewel embedded into his hand to the brand on his chest as he breathed in deeply in order to reach contact with Xandar through his power in Molten.

"From flame to flame... Molten's power allow us communication."

Xandar... I must speak with you. I respect you thus to not to involve you in anything outside of our pact without talking to you first, but it will give us precious experience.

[Meridiuz]

As Ssinith brought the jewel in his hand closer to his chest, the jewel started to warm up. It always felt slightly warmer than the rest of his body, but now it was really starting to become hot. It reached it's peak when the jewel touched the brand on his chest and the adhiel called upon Molten's power to communicate with the fire elemental.

The Eternal Flame started to burn brighter and the bright yellow and red flames licked higher and higher. Not only did the temperature of he jewel seem to increase, the temperature in the room was increasing as well. What is it that you want, adhiel? There was impatience to be heard in the voice, the elemental didn't seem to be all too happy about being disturbed. Then it immediately came down to business. Have you got news for me about your mission? Are they dead?

[Ssinith DIllil]

S'sinith let out a sigh of frustration to the impatient brat of an elemental. It appeared their communication together was getting stronger since complete sentences were being formed.

"If they were dead, you would have killed me for not letting you watch them..." S'sinith quirked.

He got down to business himself, giving a stern look into the fire.

"We need to get stronger if we have a prayer of facing any of our enemies. I have no idea why the strongest of the strong decided to experiment on you, but if they imprisoned you in the first place, then we both need to learn how to work together on the battlefield before we have a prayer of standing up to them. My country is infested with creatures who are destroying everything. I know you give less of a damn about my country, but it will give us both precious battle experience working against it. It would raise suspicion if I kept carrying the two jewels around..."

He didn't want to experiment any further on the Elemental, but he had to ask the creature about an alternative method of transportation.

"I need a better way to carry you around. Since I already have the jewel embedded in my hand, I was thinking about shaping the other two jewels into a gauntlet on my arm. I would do this through a ritual and not painful experimentation. I am certain you are bored out of your mind sitting in an urn anyway."

The process would be similar to stone shaping. Since the two were linked already, he could combine alchemy with a Moltanic ritual to make a form-fitting gauntlet to hold the stones. He would likely end up being the one hurting since it would require him to shove the jeweled hand into the liquidized obsidian during the ritual and place the dipped forearm on the other two jewels.

[Meridiuz]

The communication had indeed grown stronger, although the exact reason for it remained unclear for the sorcerer. The flames peaked as Ssinith commented on the elemental's questions.

For quite a while, the flames kept silent. It took so long that Ssinith could be wondering if the elemental was still there. It was not a light thing that the sorcerer was asking from the Elemental and he realized that. Apparently it was thinking about the consequences. It had become quite paranoid after the endless experimentations that the beings had put him through. But the sorcerer had a point...Ssinith could actually be right. The flames peaked again. It hated being told something by a lesser being who was right. Pissed him off. But he wanted revenge. He wanted it bad. And it knew that the revenge wouldn't come without risks. Finally the flames lit up again. It's response was short. "Do it."

[Ssinith DIllil]

S'sinith nodded to himself. He would have to make the preparations here in the temple since the spell would require Molten's intervention.

"It will take some time to prepare because this is the first ritual I have prepared."

He paused a moment, recalling the times that he, himself, had been used and experimented on during the time the mindcrafters had to remove the dryad's thrall.

"Listen... Whether or not this brings solace to you or not, know this. I have been on the experimental end on both magical creatures as well as mages. It is horrible being used... and being hurt. Particularly when you know it is for nothing more than another creature's entertainment."

He opened his mind to the memories and scars of that encounter so that the elemental could see.

"No, my dear... not with that energy... you are far too lovely to take me by force... and why do you want to take me by force?"

"Ssinith acolyte of Molten, does your volcanic blood boil when you look upon me? And do not lie to me Ssinith, I come at you by force because you enjoy it, all Dark Adhiel love strong women, Arvin has told me all about your culture."

"To be thralled and believing that something is the greatest thing to ever happen to you, only to find it was all an illusion? To then have your very mind torn to shreds trying to release you from the said illusion? It took the mindcrafters a week of hell, and my own brother beating me senseless to bring me to some semblance of sanity. Since then, every time I look upon something alluring, the memories return to that hurt."

S'sinith sighed, bowing his head and trying not to cry. It was still a gaping wound in his heart which needed to be healed.

"You are using me. This I know. But I understand what cruelties we mortals are capable of ourselves. The problem is that if they die, they can not suffer and learn your pain. You never died, after all. After you kill them, you will have nothing left to do. Once the death happens, then what? They need to learn how to respect energy, as well as understand your pain. I will still duel them, as I would love to see the extent of their powers as well as give you a chance to lay a few scars on them. But killing them will be much harder and not very likely. Perhaps set up the duel to be the focal point of laying a terrible curse on them which you can use to haunt them for the rest of their lives."

[Meridiuz]

There was another long pause before the elemental spoke. "You seem to be misunderstanding our relationship, adhiel. I do not wish to be enlightened by your memories. Nor do I wish to be advised on what I should or shouldn't do." There was no trace of compassion in the fire. It was clear that there was no companionship to be found. The elemental had a purpose, a goal and there was nothing that this lesser creature was going to say that would change it. Nor would he ever trust another being again. His voice sounded cold and hard. "I have listened to your first suggestion and you have my permission to perform the ritual. But do not." Ssinith could feel the jewel in his hand suddenly heating up, sending a surge of pain through his body. "Do not think that you can tell me what to do, or what I should feel."

Another surge of pain followed and then the flame started to weaken, the peaks going less and less high. The elemental's voice lowered as well. "Now go do your preparations. Make sure everything is ready. Call upon me again when you are ready." And then the fire was gone. It was clear what Xandar wanted. It was up to Ssinith to take the next step.

[Ssinith DIllil]

The pain surged harshly through him as he clutched his fist. He was once again being used by a magical being. His own rage began to run rampant through his spirit as the pain peaked. Rarely had S'sinith been so angry in his life as tears of rancor started to flow down his face.

Did the creature think that because it was a being of pure energy that it thought it was better than anyone else? Why did these beings of energy like to play mortals for the whore?

He clenched his burned jeweled hand so hard that his nails began to dig in his flesh. His very spirit began to growl, the back of his mind pressing his anger forward as the memories flowed into his mind about being used.

"Using me... just as they used you..." he quietly murmured.

Making sure the door was slided shut completely behind him, he was about to do something which could potentially kill him. He remembered what he had prayed to Molten previously, so if he was going to die, let it be in the blessed chambers of his god.

"Xandar! You would lower yourself to tactics of your captors?!"

He let his tears hit the heartstone as he spoke, resisting his own temptation to smash the thing to the ground with his foot and beat the creature down with it. He looked to the Eternal Flame and back to the heart before doing so.

"Molten... I ask of you to close this place off with your power. I do not want this to spill out into the rest of the Embassy. I believe in you, and I will give everything I am into this. Let this be my sacrifice of pushing myself to the limit. You alone are my master."

S'sinith stood up, making certain the door to the sanctuary was shut behind him.

"Xandar. We are going to settle the matter of respect between you and I. If you keep seeing me as nothing more than a mortal pawn, then we will will both fail."

*SMASH*

The jewel smashed in his fist which clenched hard enough that S'sinith's own blood was pouring from it.

"I will earn your respect this day, Xandar! You need to see what I can do before you throw your judgment around! I do not see you as mere energy! You will not look upon me as such either! If I must prove to you that I am more than mortal then so be it!"

(Suggested Listening)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDKJX8QCW0s

[Meridiuz]

A strong surge of pain shot through S'sinith's hand as the jewel was smashed. The blood poured from his hands, which he had still clutched in a fist. As the first wave of pain subsided, he felt his fists become warm, really warm, turning into hot before his fists caught fire. Bright yellow orange and red flames licked around his fists. He could feel the pain from the heat, but his hands weren't really burning. His skin remained untouched.

The sorcerer could see small flames drip from the fire on his hands. The drips fell on the ground where the fire quickly spread, It spread all over the floor and where ever it reached a wall or any other obstacle, it spread onto it until the entire room, all around S'sinith had caught fire. He could feel the oxygen quickly dissolve in the room.

Then the voice of Xandar boomed all around him. "Leave Molten out of it, sorcerer. This is between you and me. Remember that it is you who made a pact with me. Remember it well, for you will honor the pact." The flames in his hands lit up higher, now being right in front of S'sinith's face. It was almost like the flames were shaped into a face. "You think you know what my captors did to me? You think you know what I've been through?" The voice became louder and louder with the sound of the fire in the background. "Do you really think that me pushing you to honor the pact that you have willingly made is the same as what my captors did to me? DO YOU?"

[Ssinith DIllil]

"I merely ask him to keep it to ourselves so that the rest of my servants don't rush through the door! This is between you and I! Molten would have it no other way!"

He brought up his fist to the face pf Xandar even as his eyes burned from the light of the fire.

"You don't know mine either, Xandar! I just know that we've both know pain! Shall you continue to draw pain on me even though I am here to assist? You have a problem with controlling mortals and I have a problem with controlling beings of magic. My vow was to help you get revenge in the best way possible! You were the one who limited that revenge to death alone! Why would you kill them when they denied you the mercy of death and instead torture you?"

He couldn't keep his eyelids open completely because of the light. He hurt badly, but the adrenaline of his anger kept him going.

"Answer me! What are you going to do with yourself after they're all dead? Tell me your purpose after the deed is done! Crawl into the Aether and die? You're free! I have no idea what you ancient ones do on the other side, but have you even thought even a few burns past your revenge? Will you honestly be sated knowing that these men will be entering the Aether and returning to their respective gods while you have nothing left to do? Maybe kill me because you're through with me? ... Owwww..."

He left his eyes open too long, turning his face away briefly, keeping his eyelids shut and breathing deeply.

"... I made a promise to you. I am not here to hurt you. Yet you keep hurting me just to get your way. They deserve to be punished, and I'm not going to let you give them less than what they deserve. Until I met you I thought exactly like those idiots. I thought energy was energy and that was it. All things were made of energy... and it is the wizard's duty as an art to control that energy to his will."

He breathed hard as he let out his frustrations at Xandar, the pain in his eyes and hand finally getting the best of him.

"When a mindcrafter enslaves another man's mind, it's considered 'Dark Magic'. When a wizard summons an elemental and traps it against its will, it's called 'summoning'. That... is bullshit!"

He rarely cussed. Tears were now streaming down his eyes as he turned away from Xandar, shaking his head.

"I've spent my entire life ever wanting to be a wizard! I always respected the ethics they swore they upheld, and then I saw you! Even if you had been deceiving me and somehow you were a demon, they were trapping and experimenting on a damnable demon instead of casting it back into the nether! That is against everything I ever upheld to them!"

His eyes were rested slightly as he turned back to Xandar, his own energy welling up inside of him as he began

"Answer me... are you like them? Do you see energy and even us mortals as nothing more than something to be controlled to your will? I may have made a pact with you, but I am capable of feeling pain as much as you are... getting angry as you are... Thus, if your answer is 'yes', I will change your mind."

[Meridiuz]

The flames around S'sinith's hands rose up, the light even brighter than before. "What I would do after I got my revenge? I think I'm just gonna settle down, get married and pop out some kids." There was a silence for a flicker where only the sound of the flames licking around the furniture and the walls could be heard.

Then the voice of the elemental boomed through the sorcerer's head again. "Idiot. Do not try to humanize me. I am an elemental. You cannot begin to understand what our purpose is in this world. And I am in no mood to try to explain it to you."

The brightness slowly faded, reaching a level where S'sinith could open his eyes again, watching the flames still lick around his hands. I will give you the choice once more. But only once. Will you keep to the pact that you have made with me?"

[Ssinith DIllil]

"Do not try to generalize me either, Xandar! We are all made of energy despite what creatures we are. You and I are both sentient!"

That high and mighty attitude...

"I know you have been abused, but you are no better than the ones who capture you. They think you are nothing more than an elemental to be used at their pleasure. You will not think likewise of us mortals."

S'sinith cracked his knuckles, letting a sigh escape his lips.

"The threat of death is nothing to a man who loves his god. I want there to be respect between us before we continue our quest... otherwise the entire purpose will be in vain."

A wind shield this time... he thought long and hard about the starting tactics he would use. Grounding and centering, he would command a wind shield around him to blow away flame, but he knew he would have a problem if he was touched and shifted his feet in position to move.

"You and I do not fully understand what the other is capable of, Xandar. I believe we both need to be educated about that concept before we continue. In front of the Eternal Flame... I will give you everything that I have to show you how capable I am of holding up the vow. For if I can not defeat you... how can you expect the powers who so easily bound you to fall dead at my hand? Molten will secure the area to make sure it doesn't go outside of this temple, and we will give everything we have just short of killing one another. To do that on my end, I will use my favor with Molten without asking for his direct intervention... meaning, my priestly powers. This way, it will cement my doubts on whether or not I am capable of upholding the vow. If I am not... I will at least find a way to teleport you back to the University so you may find a way to extract your revenge... fair enough?"

How did Xandar expect for a mage whose defenses were useless against his power to slay the mages who easily imprisoned him? As of now, he had to see what it really took to take down Xandar and see how well he could do against those who opposed him.

[Meridiuz]

The fire seemed to flare up again as S'sinith tried once more to explain his logic and to appeal to the elemental's reason. But it wasn't listening. The elemental didn't think the way adhiel or humans thought. There were parts of it that thought at a higher level and yet, a lot of it's reasoning was more primal, based on instinct.

But before it made it's next move, realizing that this bond was becoming more difficult and complex than it had realized, S'sinith proposed a training session. "Training. Now you are talking, S'sinith. Let's battle, you and I, so that we will become stronger. We will defeat them together." Finally there was more action, something that pleased the elemental. The flames that had been all around S'sinith retreated, only remaining on the wall right in front of him. The fire in his hands went out and he could feel the cooler air brush against his skin. "Prepare yourself, sorcerer. When you are ready, we shall begin. We shall become strong."

[Ssinith DIllil]

Suggested Battle Music

He really didn't understand this creature. He was a sentient being... however, he was beginning to realize that not all sentient beings were the same. Adhiel surely weren't the same as humans, and everyone had their different cultures and ways. This elemental had ways that he wasn't aware of, and perhaps to understand those ways would help him understand energy as a whole.

Right now, the only language they both understood was violence.

He concentrated to get his shields of wind flowing around his body, breathing deeply before offering his sacrifice to Molten of all of his power used in combat. He hadn't used it for fighting since the war, and there was much rust to knock off his hinges.

S'sinith envisioned what he was going to do in his mind first before putting it to action... taking the air energy away from the area around Xandar and forming an air-tight box of energy from the underground ceiling and floor and seeing how long he'd last with his flames cut.

"Ready when you are."

Making the mental pillar around Xandar, he began to attempt a miniature cyclone around him, taking the air away from the center where he was and forming a pillar of high speed wind as a trap around him, which would hopefully dose his fire quickly. Being at the center would start to smother his flames as the cyclone got faster. Because of his concentration, the outside air energy would come from S'sinith's side of the room and not around the Eternal flame. Knowing the physics of fire, S'sinith could likely hold his breath longer than flame would be doused from lack of air.

[Meridiuz]

The quick action by S'sinith caught Xandar by surprise. The cyclone started to whirl around the elemental as the sorcerer drew in the strands of air energy and guided it to create the pillar of wind. It took a couple of flickers before the wind was actually picking up speed and S'sinith could feel the air around him being sucked towards the cyclone. He could feel the air become thinner, but he was still able to breathe. Xandar looked around him in amazement, The flames licked high up in the air, reaching for the last strands of air that were inside of the pillar.

The air was getting scarce however and the flame became smaller, now burning much less bright than before. As the cyclone continued to twirl faster, the flame diminished until it could fit into a person's hand. "Good try, sorcerer. " Xandar growled. "But not good enough."

The fire elemental was bound to the physics of a normal fire indeed, but it had one advantage. It wasn't a regular fire. It had magical properties and thus it could work with energies as well. The rock of which the embassy was created didn't contain a lot of warmth energy, but it had enough for the elemental to draw upon and to get enough strength to launch itself into the cyclone, getting a sudden burst of air, which enabled it to turn the regular air cyclone, into a twirling pillar of flames. The elemental wasn't attacking just yet, but S'sinith could hear Xandar's laughter. "What are you going to do now? Keep feeding me energy, yes, send it my way!"

Not only was the air getting thin at S'siniths side now, but it was also warming up quickly in the room.

[Ssinith DIllil]

"Guh..."

He was impressed at the metaphysics of this creature. He dismissed his control over the wind, knowing that letting it die down would not let the flames rouse themselves. Knowing it was harder to breathe with the heat, he hoped it would allow for more air in the room. A thought came to him, recalling his time with the Dryad. Emotions were energy as well.

"No... I think I'll take some of it away..."

He shifted himself and took a kneeling position. He had used prayer all of this time and had not used his powers under Molten as a priest before. He had gotten the incantations from his basic training and hand positions of prayer, but his concentration was to actually understand Molten before understanding how to truly manipulate his power.

He was about to do something he had never done before, and silently offered it as a sacrifice.

"As a priest... as a priest..." he kept muttering to himself, remembering to keep Molten's direct intervention out of this.

Recalling that it was not much different than casting as a wizard, he cupped his hands into a circle, envisioning the emblem of Molten at the center of his gesture. He slowly opened his eyes and focused straight on Xandar. He had never attempted to manipulate emotional energy, but he dug deeper into his sight and tried to pinpoint one of Xandar's greatest strengths.

"I will not be harmed by the elements of Molten. Rage belongs to Molten, and I desire to be like him. I... will devour your Rage... and turn it into Power. You may share his power, but you pay him no respect. A being such as you... will not defeat me!"

It was sort of an absorbing spell... taking Xandar's anger and rage and siphoning it into S'sinith's own body as energy to use against him. He imagined the rage being pulled towards his hands where the symbol of Molten was being envisioned in the circle. If he got a lock, he would move his hand position to his brand to start leeching the energy directly into his spiritual power.

Anger brought adrenaline, so to him it was not a far stretch at all to convert it into power for himself.

[Meridiuz]

S'sinith could feel and see some form of emotional energy, but it was completely different from what he had expected. He tried to pull it in, which seemed to be working. Slowly he could see the energy moving towards him. But then he heard Xandar's mocking voice. "Ohh..you want some of my energy? Well. Here it is!"

Whether it was the fact that S'sinith had never really tried to tap into someone's energy through emotions or if it was the fact that he was facing an elemental, who's inner workings were of a complete different nature than that of an adhiel or a human remained unknown to the sorcerer. What was becoming painfully apparent was that he had put himself in a vulnerable position, kneeling in front of the elemental. A sudden huge burst of energy left the elemental and hit S'sinith straight into his cupped hands. The energy wasn't being pulled anymore, it was pushed and it was being pushed over the adhiel's limits.

The feeling of his spiritual power growing was an ecstatic sensation at first, but then he could feel the control over it slipping away. The power kept building and building, overwhelming the capabilities of the sorcerer. Inside he could feel the heat. It was as if the flames were burning him from the inside out. Painful sensations shot up his spine, straight into his brain. He wouldn't be able to hold this up much longer, but the elemental didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

[Ssinith DIllil]

What was this creature?! All the studying he had ever done couldn't prepare him for this energy overload. He was on fire in every sense of the word. Emotion? Was this even emotion? Power? Rage? What was going on? This wasn't human!

It... isn't is it?

His thoughts trailed back to his instance with Ealiu's father. Everything went perfectly on the science side, even better, but he now realized the great error which he had committed. He would have never had realized it if he hadn't become the Ambassador of Gulanadur and understood politics.

Lands had different people, laws, and rules... and the Aether was no different.

Until now, he had never thought of the Aether as another land even though he could see it in conjunction with this world. He had been completely disrespectful to those laws in both instances. Ignorance was no excuse. He saw it nothing more than a science so long as he did not tamper with other sentient beings and hurt them.

"For... give... me..."

To Molten, to Xandar, to Ealiu and her father... The realization hurt him worse than getting pummeled with the energies of Xandar. Despair gripped his heart... he had always tried to work with everything by the book. He was no better than the wizards who tortured him for experiments. He did not view himself as playing with other people, though as he thought about it, that was exactly what he did even if his intentions were pure trying to help them.

And likely, this was the same attitude that the higher wizards who trapped Xandar also felt.

He deserved to be burned... resting his hands before him on the ground as tears started to stream down his face. The pain Xandar was pulsing through him didn't even allow him to speak. He cast his heart into the Aether, not knowing what he did wrong, but now that he had realized he did wrong somewhere, he reached out to whomever he may have offended on the other side.

... I am insolent... Molten... everyone... anyone... if my heart means nothing in this matter... then judge me accordingly. I will atone. I will atone for the idiocy of others as well as my own.

He collapsed completely to the floor, his limits being broken by his own spell. It was a fitting punishment... perhaps even a fitting death. He recalled his prayer to Molten when he first fused with Xandar and what he learned. It was as well, the echoes of Caldera's letter; "Choose the hardest path and walk it".

He knew he wouldn't die from this as the severity of this lesson was much deeper than he thought. What did it truly mean to be a wizard in the laws of the Aether? Was he a criminal?

After a burn or so, he wanted to stay there and writhe as the pain engulfed him, but he reached out his hands and slowly began to crawl to Xandar. Yes, he looked pathetic and his very body trembled in pain. He had to know something... because as a priest he learned a bit about the theology of energy, but something in him pondered.

All things were energy.

If he could get up to Xandar as close as he could without passing out, his own sweat was starting to yield blood from his emotional and physical strain.

"Xandar... is all... energy... sentient? Has it all a life?..."

[Craghley]

OOC: taking over from Meri as your mod... might be a little slow now until I establish the situation with him. As it is he feels he's a bit busy to give you the posting rate you deserve.


The flood of glorious ecstasy paused, leveled, and there was a final lash
of energy which threatened to push Ssinith perhaps a little too far... and then it stopped. Yet attuned as Ssinith was, or had been, to the Aether, he would still be able to feel it battering away hesitantly outside of him. Xandar's attempts hesitated and quickly faded. The elemental's voice rumbled over the prone Adhiel.

"I do not know your limits. But it seems your god does."

The room was quiet now... the fire had gone from the floor and walls, leaving behind a strange acrid smell. What was left was the Eternal Flame and, suspended in the air before Ssinith, a small flicker no larger than a candleflame. It burned a pure, intense white.
From Ssinith's behalf, on the other hand, the occasional splotch of blood patterned the floor. From his palm a small trickle had run and pooled. His palm, where the glimmer of the crushed jewel mirrored the tiny white glow that was the corporeal flame of Xandar.

"Get up."

The elemental had spoken again. Stealing away Ssinith's fatigue and pain was an enroaching numbness. As the flickers passed he would have to concentrate to actually feel the pain that was indeed still there. Ssinith had the energy to move for the time being - if nothing else. He would be able to attain a sitting position readily enough. Standing was also feasible. It was just that Ssinith's sense of balance was equally impaired.

"Tell me all the secrets of your world, and I will tell you mine. I suspect that you cannot. Nor can I. But I do not think so, yet the potential may be there. Much as the potential for life rests in the... earth... of the Tether."

Xandar's light flared up for a flicker, bombarding Ssinith with a wave of heat.

"There will be no more of that... talk," it stated. "I will teach you. You have the strength to wield some of the power I have in mind - I do this not because I am impressed, but because I need you to be stronger than that. At least you have the potential."

Xandar floated down before Ssinith's eyes. It had contracted into a miniscule white orb of painful intensity, around which pale aura danced and the voice turned into a steely growl.

"Then that will be the end of it. We will return to matters as normal. Understand?"

[Ssinith DIllil]

S'sinith didn't want to take orders from this creature, but he knew being an Ambassador required some compromise on both sides. He slowly got up as his body trembled, his heart slightly crushed, but not broken. Tears still stung his face. His legs could barely hold himself up, but he would stand in front of Xandar with a sigh. He trembled from fatigue, his ears low and his eyes bloodshot as blood slightly mixed with his sweat.

"My apologies, Xandar... I kept thinking under the rules of mortal nature. I never dreamed that I stepped into something more... intricate. I will not permit my ignorance to be an excuse. I will find a way... even if you... find no use for me or the world afterward."

He was truly afraid that after the deed was done, the creature would simply run amok. Hopefully Xandar would simply return to the Aether where he came from. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but truly feel sorry for the creature. It was so frustrating not to be able to understand one another when one was so passionately working towards their goals.

"You... you have such a one tracked mind..."

He fell back to his knees, unable to stand. He shook as he tried again to stand, but slightly resigned as his fatigue was starting to win over his will.

"Molten bless you... you know how to stay focused on your goals. I... I will learn so much from you."

He raised his bloodied hand to Xandar, trying to reach out to the spark. His eyes were squinted and he could barely see anything between his state and the brightness of Xandar. The busted up Adhiel knew how to respect power once it was displayed to him and suffice to say he got his ass kicked. He already had learned a lot from this spitfire creature, but he gave up the trials to Molten.

... This was indeed the harder path to take...

"I know you don't care... but... if all things are energy... why can't people respect that energy? ... Will... this bring you peace at all? ... Or is this merely the beginning of your anger? It matters not anymore... but... why will it make things right for you?... I need... to understand. I will not stop you anymore... just... trying to... understand why you need me so much."

What did elementals seek? If they were so different, he had to know what he was fighting for on behalf of this creature. Revenge was obvious, but for what purpose? There were many reasons for revenge.

[Craghley]

The orb flew back a pace and exploded with a white flash.

"Need you?"

It was clear the elemental was a dramatic creature in its' own way. The spot of light was still there after the flash, but now its' aura of dancing flame twirled up towards the ceiling. In a few flickers though... it died away.

"... I find you useful. You are powerful, for your species. You are weak compared to me. But..." the light level of the room intensified and a wave of rage broke against the sorceror, "Those others were stronger, somehow. You mortals are so weak against the entirety of the world you have found ways around it. Trickeries."

Xandar floated along to Ssinith's palm. There was an incredible (if muted) stab of pain as the crystal drew itself together inside of his hand. Fresh blood dripped down to the ground.

I need your peculiar mortal mind. The word 'need' did not sound like it came easily to the elemental. "You must find a way around their power. It is not mere revenge. It is balance: they cannot toy with me like some... plaything! I am Fire. They will BURN!

Ssinith's hand had been wrapped by a harmless fire. This now went out and Xandar calmed somewhat.

You mortals have little enough concern for yourselves. It surprises me not that creatures which treat their own kind so poorly are indifferent to the damage they do to anything else. Why should you care? Well, now I understand. You must understand the why of it. I am willing to show the mortal realm the shortcomings of its ignorance. I do this for my own good, but you will also benefit from the lesson.

Ssinith's weariness was fading. The strength was coming back to his limbs and with it, some pain and aches. There must have been a great deal of energy to shock his body in such a way.

Stand. I pushed your limits, and they seem inadequate. I will try to teach you to hold my power in greater force. Yet be warned. I have small patience.

[Ssinith DIllil]

S'sinith winced at the pain, but stood up slowly. This being was a teacher to him, not a master. It was stronger than he, and he needed to respect that. He started to respect Xandar even more now that he learned the true reason behind why... it wasn't petty revenge.

"My weak limitations are a result of practicing 'trickery' over my arcane arts... however, that action may be the breaking point for your balance. Those who would use that power against their own kind in ways that they experimented on you would be called users of dark magic and outcast from their ranks. No. If all things are energy, then you are in the right."

S'sinith took a deep breath and shook his head at the situation. He stretched his back and cracked it slightly.

"I have others who can help... contacts who can kill. The 'trickery' in it as you put it is that we mortals have laws. If you can show me images of the experiments they did on you, then I can use their own laws against them. By damning them with the law first, they will lack the security of the University. It will also show me what they were trying to achieve... with all those powerful mages doing an experiment, it had to be something big and very secret."

[Craghley]

NO.

The word was forged from steel and burned with the strength of the sun. It wound itself as molten lead through Ssinith's veins up into his head.

I care not for intimacies. I will not tell of what was done to me. Your persistence in your direction shows me you have a willfulness that might someday match mine. I have the power to enforce it. You do not, and it is not what I require of you. I think now you are, perhaps, not suitable for the task. Perform the ritual. I require you to be able to negate whatever magics those magi used... the actual deed shall be done by my own flame. So study. Spy. Whatever; all I will tell you is that what I saw was little enough!

That is what you shall have to work with, and there will be no changes to the things we have discussed. To... satisfy you, I will endevour to impart to you enough of my understanding of the Aether to make it worth the effort. Rest assured it is more than many of your age could dream of attaining.

[Ssinith DIllil]

S'sinith held his head from the resounding 'no' in his head. S'sinith scrunched his nose at the elemental as he held his head and shook it. He was honestly trying to help, but this pretentious spark was shoving his need for balance in both directions.

"Damnit... I was just trying to set up a possible way to do the deed... you said you needed our trickery, well pardon me for misunderstanding! Fine... let us do things your way. Forgive me for making it sound like I was trying to be a prying bastard. Trust me, I really didn't want to know! We could have killed them outside of their damn wards... but I'll shut up and let you tell me how you want them to go down, since you have the power to make it happen. How do you require my 'trickery', then?"

S'sinith crossed his arms and shut up as he said he would, listening to the elemental.

"Help me not to think like a mortal, then... alright?"

[Craghley]

Yes, you misunderstand. Again, for I do not need you to think like an immortal; do you not realise I am apt enough for that task? But I could barely walk to those beasts even if I knew where they were. I... stand out. You, with care, can ask and learn where these magi are and take me to them. When we are ready. When we can resist their magics.

Xandar's voice merely a voice in Ssinith's head now. There was no touch of fire in either his hand or the words.

You should be aware that an integral part of summoning is knowing something unique to the creature you bring forth. It might be the strength of the memories they left behind... or so little as the few syllables which form their name. They know my name, and I believe that is the key of their power over me. When thatis broken, then I can face them with confidence. With my ownjustice, and not yours. I leave the subtleties up to you; it is your job.

And that is all you will get from me, wizard. Are we done for this topic? For there are other things we can do, while I have been distracted here.

[Ssinith DIllil]

It would appear the laws of the Aether were similar to general spirits. Familiarity was important for the ritual with summoning spirits as well... the question was, however, were all the laws the same, even for summoning demons.

S'sinith closed his eyes and continued the conversation mentally since Xandar decided to do so.

"I see... To trap you again, they would need time to set up proper wards. To perform the ritual with Molten to create a focus where you could more easily be summoned on a moment's notice, they would have to take time to react."

S'sinith paused and shook his head at himself.

"And after you are through with me? Shall I meet the same fate in your eyes? Am I just as guilty as they are?"