War of the Immortals

[Angelus]

Cristian then turned to Ether, "Come, we must take a walk and I know the perfect place."
Without another word Cristian said the chant to one of his basic spells and disappeard in a blue-white flash, appearing in the middle of a great forest. As soon as they appeared though he felt his magic leave him and fell to his knees. Ether helped him to his feet and looked at the mage.
"I guess that my magic has not been restored to me yet. It seems that Adrianna has something to do with it coming back. But, seeming as we don't have to go back yet we should discuss things in greater depth- like what do you know about Torin and Lokken."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana whirled around so fast that she knocked herself off her feet. Then she laughed. It was only a rabbit crawling out from under a berry bush.

"A berry bush?," She thought scrambling to her feet. All of a sudden her stomache was grumbling and telling her how hungry she was. The rabbit was startled away as she approached and she proceeded to pick several of the huge berries and sat down on the grass to eat.

As she ate, she looked around at her surroundings. She was in a clearing in the middle of a large, beautiful forest. She had often dreamed of being here-out in the open with no walls to confine her but she had never thought that it would come true.

She listened to the songs of the birds in the trees and thought how perfect this setting would be if she didnt know that a mage had sent her here.

"Is this the plans for me?," She wondered,"To be abandoned in this place and maybe die at the hands of a wild beast or highwayman?"

She did not know what was to come next or what to do except sit here and eat her berries. All the time in the tower had left her with one flaw-total innocence. Though learned in the way of books, she had no practical experience of the world and that left her feeling very scared.

 

[Cryo]

Ether

Ether smiled, as he remembered a time many years ago when he was called to restore the balance again. An archCleric of the god Misal-Lasim had incited such good thoughts in so many people that the good greatly outweighed the evil. He had assasinated that Arch-cleric with little remorse because he knew that his mission is to restore the balance, and not the good. But for now it's better that christian believes that he's a good guy.

As they walked through the forest, Ether told Christan what he knew about Torin. "I know little about that mage. At one point he was one of the most powerfull. I was following a lead to Lokken when word got out that Lokken had defeated Torin, and then dissapeared again himself."
"and how does Lokken and you fit into the web of history?"
Ether remembered his unfinished destiny "There are somethings Even I must keep to myself. Though you may learn it yet in time."

They stepped into a clearing, much to the relief of a scared woman. Adrianna was more relieved than scared because CHristian had somehow managed to cast a spell on her. Then she looked at Ether and said "You, I thought I lost you!"
"Yes, you are an extremely fast runner for having been trapped in a small room all your life, but I was still able to track you easily enough."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana looked up at the sound of the approaching men. Quickly she jumped to her feet, the rest of the berries spilling from her lap. She backed up until the berry bush prevented her from going any farther.

"Why have you sent me to this place?," She asked after Ether makes his comments,"I dont understand what you want from me. I am just a girl who is cursed to harm others though she does not mean to. Am I to be further pursicuted at the hands of mages? Just kill me and get it over with."

 

[Angelus]

Cristian was taken aback by what Adrianna had just said, "I am not going to kill you. You may be a great help to me as it seems that your curse has a different affect on me, I can use my magic."

As if to prove his point he made a bunch of pure white roses appear in his hand and then put them down on the ground. He walked closer to Adrianna, "I have to tell you this. There is a war of mages going on and you will be a great help to me so I am asking you, will you help me?"

 

[Isolde]

Adriana was stunned. Never had anyone, much less a mage, asked her to do anything before. She had been ordered around and told what she would do but never asked.

She looked up at Cristian with puzzlement in her eyes. Not even noticing that he was coming near her. When he came very close to her, she looked up and into his eyes.

"Not going to kill me? But then why am I here. I dont understand. Please, I dont know how I can help you but...I..I will try just tell me how."

Looking over at the Ether she said,"Why am I so important that everyone either wants to get rid of me or use me?"

 

[Cryo]

Ether summoned an Icicle and started munching on it. the "magic" that christan used was mo more than a parlor trick. but the isolated girl didn't know that, so it did the trick. "Now young Lady, I and my friend have no intention of using you. Though still a girl and possessing extremely usefull abilities" (he intentionally used the word ability instead of curse) "you are still your own person and free to make your own decision"

"I must agree with my blue skinned friend. I am not a black mage. I ujnderstand things such as compasion, understanding, and free-will."

Ether was only half telling the truth though. If necesary, he would use her to achieve his goal. The god of Ice preaches that goals should be met the most effective way possible, not the fastest. His mother used to say that someone who follows in chains will run at first light. Someone who follows without is loyal to the death. you get his reasoning....

 

[Isolde]

Adriana laughed. They had told her she was free to do as she wished but, now that she had gained the freedom she had been so desiring, she did not know what she wanted.

"Well, to be honest," She said,"I dont have any idea what to do or how I could help you but I will try. I have never ment anyone like you two before. Most people fear me or wish to use me."

Sitting down again and picking some of the berries from the bush, she began to eat again.

"So, what do we do first? I must warn you. I have little knowledge of what is out there in the world so I am afraid I can be quite stupid at times. If you can put up with that I will go where you need me to."

 

[Angelus]

Cristian walked over to a log and sat down on, looked at Adrianna as she was eating her berries and said, "For the moment, we do nothing. I want to learn more about your ability and why my magic only comes to me when you are near."

He looked at Ether as he moved closer and said in a voice that was low enough for just the two of them to hear, "We can not use Adrianna as a weapon. She is a person and has a free will of her own, just because she has the ability to dispel magic I will not, no can not throw her into the middle of a battle where in all likely hood she might be injured or even worse killed. I can not have her death on my hands."

Cristian rose to his feet, "Adrianna, we are going back to the tower."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana watched the two as Cristian leaned over and whispered to Ether. Something was going on here. She may be niave but she was not stupid.

When Cristian announced that they were going back to the tower she shook her head no.
"Not until I get some answers on how I can help stop the evil that is spreading over the land," She said and wondered at how good it felt to let someone know how she felt.

When Cristian would have argued with her she turned from him and said,"You said I was free to make my own choice yet you keep things from me. Information that would help me make up my own mind."

"Either tell me what I wish to know, or I shall sit here until you do." Giving a hard look at Cristian, she added,"And dont try any of that magic of yours or I shall simply leave and take your magic powers with me."

Giving both men a smirk, she continued eating.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian looked at Adrianna with puzzlement, okay so she does not trust me but I must gain that.

"What I was talking about is that I am not going to use you as a weapon in this war. I don't care if you have the ability to dispel magic but I don't want you to get injured or killed, I can not have that on my hands or conscience. What I told you was the absolute truth, I won't lie to you."

Cristian backed away from Adrianna and hoped that she would make the right choice, the entire fate of every dimension rested on it.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana stopped eating and thought for a long time. Her brow furrowed and her eyes slitted as she examined every possibility.

"How many shall die if I do not do this?," She asked Cristian. "Many," Was his reply.

"And how many will be saved if I do do this," She asked again. He looked surprised at her questions but answered,"Yes, many lives may be saved if you choose that way."

She sat a while longer looking into herself for the answer to her predicament. Meeting Cristian's eyes she says,"I have long wanted a chance to prove to those around me that I am not a bad person. I have desired to put people's minds at rest and, maybe, one day be a hero instead of a disgrace."

"Should I succeed in this, my family's name may yet be restored to it's original status and my father again hold his head high in the company of his peers."

Standing and jutting her chin in resolve she stated,"When do we go?"

 

[Angelus]

Cristian clicked his fingers and as the door appeared said, "As soon as we put a plan together."

He put one hand out, "If you would join us then we would like to discuss where we should go and how we are going to go about things."

Adrianna just looked up at him then his hand, unsure whether to take hold of it.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana bit her lip as she looked at his hand. She still was not sure about the men but, she had to admit that Cristian was the first person to treat her like she was something besides bad news.

Taking a deep breath, she slipped her small, shaking hand into his larger one. Her hand was immediately enveloped in his strong grip and she had one moment of panic where she almost pulled her hand from his.

Getting ahold of her emotions she told herself that she had to do this. For some reason destiny had thrown the three of them together and now she needed to play this out.

With her hand in his, they walked through the door.

 

[Angelus]

When they walked through the door all three were surprised to see that they had never left the tower. Cristian looked at Adrianna who was standing beside him and said, "The room is a gift from me to you, I read about how you were keep in a tower for most of you life and I don't want you to feel the same way here so anytime that you feel like you want to get out go into your room and if you wish to be left alone all you have to do is tell me and I will make it so no one can enter the room."

He saw Adrianna smile at him and then was suddenly aware that he was still hold her hand in his.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana stared at him for the longest time, a smile frozen on her face and her hand in his. Finally she found her voice.

"Thank you," She said in a voice hardly above a whisper,"No one has ever given me anything beyond that which I needed to survive."

Looking down at their hands, she slowly slipped hers from his so as not to insult him and then asked,"What do we do now? You said something about a plan?"

 

[Angelus]

"Yes, we have to come up with a plan on how to destroy Garath and his new friend Torin. I know that it is not going to be easy but we have to. And we have to gather up the other people that we might or will need, Ether seems to know who they are so he can be our guide."

Cristian walked over to one of his bookcases and grabbed a map from it, unrolled it then placed it onto the table in the room. He studied it in length and was about to say something but before he could he stepped back as if he had been hit with an unimaginable force. Damn you gods, damn you he thought.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana saw him stumble back and, before she could think what she was doing, she had rushed to his side with a cry and slipped her arm around his waist to guide him to a chair.

Helping him sit down, she knelt at his feet and looked up at him with a concern in her dark eyes. "What is wrong," She said to him,"What can I do?"

 

[Angelus]

As he sat back he looked at Adrianna and said, "There is nothing that you can do to help me. The gods gave me a little gift, every time a white mage dies I feel it. I wish that didn't have it, no- I don't want this gift. I curse gods everytime that this happens as one of them said that I would. There are only two ways that you can stop this from happening to me, one is by killing me and the other is by helping me to stop this war."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana felt tears slide down her face for this man and she held out her hand, almost touching his.

"I am sorry," She said quietly,"I did not realize that you were in as much pain as I...even more. Please forgive my unfeeling attitude."

"I promise I shall do my best to help you end this evil and put your mind at ease. I feel I must for some reason."

She sat back on her heels and took a good look at the man sitting there. "I never thought I would meet another who carried a curse such as I. I do not know how to feel about it. Relieved that I am not alone or sad that someone else must suffer as I."

 

[Angelus]

Cristian leaned forward and looked at Adrianna, "You do not have a curse Adrianna, you have an ability. A very powerful one. You have the ability to dispel magic, granted it is a bad thing to have in a world that is controlled my magic but it is also a good thing for nobody that has the ability to control magic can harm you. I wish that you could see it for what it is, I also wish that if had the ability then I would turn back time itself and rescue you so that you wouldn't have to suffer what you have. For all mages I hope that you can take my apology and learn to forgive mages."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana sat back and wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged herself tight. Tears fell faster now, but this time for herself and she found herself uttering thoughts that she had never uttered to another soul.

Looking down from his probing eyes, she said,"But you are wrong-it is a curse for it prevents me from being....loved."

She did not know why she felt she could tell this mage what was buried deep inside. Maybe it was due to his kindness. But once she had started, she could not stop.

"In all my life, the one thing I have never known is true love. My mother did what she could for me but, even in her I sensed the fear when she was around me."

"I have not been mistreated. My every need has been provided for-except for one. And now I fear that no matter what I do that is a dream that will never be fulfilled."

Standing suddenly she exclaimed. "Look at me, Mage. Do you not see it? The color of my skin, my hair, my eyes. I am alone in this world. Alone and feared and never will I find one like me. It is better that I go with you and die than I live one more day without that which I crave so badly."

Fearing she had said too much, she turned and ran into the bedroom she had slept in the night before and, throwing herself on the bed, let loose a torent of tears and with it feelings that she had never dared expose before.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian looked at the door and knew that he had said too much. But the same was true for him- the only difference between Adrianna and himself was that his was a self imposed prison, he had locked himself away from the world so that he could become the most powerful mage in the world. He knew that he had to say something to her, to help ease her pain but he didn't know what.

Without even thinking he got up out of his chair and walked to the door, knocking on it lightly.
"Adrianna, can you let me in please. We need to talk."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana heard his knock on the door and was about to tell him to go away but reconsidered. He had been nothing but kind to her and now she was being rude to him.

Sniffling and trying to dry her reddened eyes, she called in a tearfilled voice,"Come in."

Cristian opened the door and came into the room. She noticed that he did not approach her just yet and she wondered if it was out of respect to her feelings.

Indicating that she did not mind him sitting by her, she moved over on the bed and allowed him to sit by her. Stopping him from saying anything, she said,"Before we begin our talk I would like to be back in the forest beneath the trees, please."

Nodding Christian gestured and they were in her clearing again. A sweet breeze was blowing through the trees and the stream sang nearby. She closed her eyes and let the wind soothe her tear streaked face and lift her raven locks from her shoulders. Somewhere in the background, she heard the mage speak.

 

[Angelus]

"Adrianna, you are not alone in this world. Ether and I are here to help you and be your friends. And if you want someone to talk to, about anything then I am most definitely here. I know that you don't trust any mage for what they have done to you and if I could then I would teach them the error of their ways. You are a beautiful, kind and very lovely woman and should never have been treated like you were."

He placed his right hand under his chin and turned her head so that he could look into her eyes, "You have nothing to be afraid of anymore. I will not let anyone or anything hurt you and that is a solemn promise on my honor as a white mage. I know that that is not much but it is all that I have."