War of the Immortals

[Isolde]

Adriana's gaze fell from Cristian's and she murmured,"That is more than anyone has ever offered me before."

"But please do not apologize for what others have done to me," She continued,"I was..am..a threat to them and they had to remove that threat. I always understood why it was done. It was simply a very lonely existance."

She sighed and looked up at him again. A small smile played on her lips.
"May I ask you something, Cristian," She said in a small voice. When he nodded she continued,"Do you really think I am lovely? No one has ever called me that before. I have always been told that my darkness was a sign of my curse."

Adriana's face had a blush from her cheeks to her neck as she asked the question but her eyes held his steadily.

 

[Angelus]

As Cristian looked deep into Adrianna's eyes he said, "I think that you are the most lovely, beautiful woman that I have ever seen. You have a sort of a grace to you that sets you apart from any other woman that I have seen and your dark skin is not part of your curse it is a sign of your originality, of who you are."

He moved closer to her and took one of her hands in his, looked deep into her eyes and said, "If there is anything that you would like me to do, anything at all or you have to do to ask and I will do anything in my power to do it."

 

[Isolde]

Tears threatened to spill down Adriana's face again and she leaned forward to brush her lips across his cheek. Sitting back, she smiled at him.

"Cristian, you have done more for me in that single statement than anyone else has in my entire lifetime."

Placing her other hand over his, she said,"But we must make plans to rid the world of a real curse. Do you wish to continue this discussion in your study?"

 

[poohlive]

"Garret, can you do it again? Like that one time in the forest, please...."
Garret looked up at the afternoon sky. A single leaf started it's decent from one of the trees, being picked up by a slight summer breeze, before finally making it's was to a nearby stream. A beautiful day for two siblings to be playing together.
His sister looked at him with pleading eyes. She wanted him to do it again, to help things grow. He started to shake his head, but thought again. It would hurt him to see his little sister become broken hearted over such a simple demand. She would pout, and cry solemnly, not look at him during supper. He hated when his little sister wasn't nice to him.
"All right," he nodded.
A cry of joy followed by a squeal of laughter came across the warm meadow. Garret nearly jumped back at the sight of her. She ran around in a circle laughing and yelling. He couldn't help but smile for her.
"Ohh... pick this one, Garret. Pick this one," she was pointing to a small flower. He took a closer look, it was a rose. The branches were stubby, and some of the leaves had already wilted, the first sign of fall.
Garret bent before the plant, placing his hands beside it. The soft soil welcomed his embrace. Closing his eyes he concentrated. He pictured rains, and sunny days, then cool warm nights, and mossy leaves covering the ground; all things needed for a plant to grow.
A branch reached out, grabbing for the sky. It was slow at first, barely able to be seen from a human's eye. Garret didn't need sight to know the plant was growing, he could feel it, he could feel all of it.
Rana gasped, as another branch began to ascend to the heavens. Both of them were moving faster now, making their way through the air, higher up into the sky. A small smile came to Garret's lips.
A single bud exposed itself, staring right at his sister. First, nothing more than a pea, it swelled becoming flat and plump. Then a small brilliance came as it opened up, revealing blood red petals to her. Her smile seemed to stretch from ear to ear. Leaning down Rana sniffed the flower.
Garret turned his head slightly.
The petals began to change. They didn't move, except for the constant urge to reach higher, which had now been joined by four other branches. The petals were changing colors, the deep dark red faded away into a purple, and then entirely gone, leaving only a white rose staring back at Rana.
The plant, which had once been nothing more than a runt of a plant, now towered over Garret's sister. He had to lean back as far as he could, making sure his face wouldn't get scratched. On the other side, two more buds blossomed, one red, the other purple.
He let this go for another minute or two. Flowers budding, branches growing, leaves sprouting, until he felt a thron touch his cheek. He knew he had to stop then.
Garret opened his eyes. He took his hands, which were now filthy, out of the dirt . He could see the impression of his hands in the soil. Standing up, he looked at the plant.
It stood taller than him. Two or three branches had shot up almost vertically, leaving the rest behind. He saw as the other branches had twisted and moved around each other. Towards the bottom, it looked as though a wall of branches blocked anyone's path.
Leaves spilled out of every opening. Full luscious leaves sprouted open to the welcoming sun creating a wonderful shaded area right by the stream. An ideal place to sit back and watch the afternoon pass by.
He could see the flowers as well. White, red, purple, even a mix of all three came out of the thorny branches and green leaves. They all looked out over the meadow, sending their own unique dashes of color into the already saturated forest.
"How do you do it Garret?"
Her voice seemed from far away. He could see why, she still stared at it, amazed. Her eyes were as big around as he had ever seen them, he mouth slightly opened. He couldn't help but feel a little happy about his handywork.
"I don't know," was all he could reply. In all truth he didn't know. When he thought about something hard enough, usually it happened, thats about as good as he could explain it.
A bell chimed far off in the distance. Rana looked in the direction of their cottage, and began to run.
"We're late."
Garret cursed softly as he followed his sister back home. Their mother was going to be pissed.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian looked at Adrianna and wished that he could spend some more time with her, he wished that he could stop time but knew that as much as he wanted to he couldn't. The lands and every dimension was counting on the three people in this tower. He slowly began to stand while Adrianna got to hers, "I think that we should. I would like to stay here with you but I know that I can not for if I do then the lands and every dimension I have sworn to protect will be destroyed."

 

[Cryo]

Ether stopped paying close attention to the two quickly, residing himself in the study so they would have a moment to themselves.

The study may not have been as large as some he had seen, but It has a number of books Ether had not read anyway. Pulling down an interesting one, he began to read;

Extraplaner Connections between Mortals and Imortals

Chapter 2;
Once a god decides to lend his power to a mortal, that mortal becoms the god's champion. Skills native to the god become easilly accessible to the mortal....
...A mortal only becomes the god's champion for a specific task or quest, whereas upon completion of the quest or task, the link is severed. (*See Appendix C for unfinished quests).....

*Apendix C
1. Quest length
2. Rules for Quest completion
3. unfinished quests
-----When the guidlines for a quest are not met, and the opportunity to meet any of these guidlines, win or lose, becomes unavailable, a quest becomes Unfinished. In this regards, the god's champion has no specific task to acomplish, but free reign of the god's power. A dangerous combination. On those ends, the God must remove most abilities lent to their champion. The link canot be severed however, because the task is not yet completed. See Appendix M for minnimum link abilities

*Appendix M
1. maximum ability
2. Minnimum ability
-----When a god can limit the power lent to a champion. THe lowest level possible without violating the celestial linking guidlines are as follows. 1. a psychic link is subtily maintained in the mortals Subconcious. Therefor, when in a state of unconciousness, or an altered state of awareness, direct comunique with the god, or access to the god's knowledge becoms available. 2. The mortals "6th" sence is enhanced, adding the the luck and intelligence of the mortal. 3. the mortals natural abilities are enhanced, without adding any new ones...


Ether put the book down, fealing closer to his god than ever. Upon putting the book away though, he noticid another one that might proove usefull.

How to train youths to controll natural abilities...

 

[Isolde]

Adriana nodded and headed towards the door that appeared with Cristian.

As they reached the study, she noticed Ether looking at the mage's books and approached him.
"I apologize for my abrupt exit, Sir," She said,"Please forgive me for that and my emotional outburst earlier."

Looking at both men, she added,"Shall we sit and plan what we must do in order to bring this evil to an end?"

 

[Cryo]

"First of all, I want to try something. With your permissions that is..."

Both of them gave an odd look, but reluctantly nodded. Ether put down the book, and sat Adrianna in his chair. He then lit a candle on the table. "Now, I want you to stare at this flame. Concentrate on it. Focus on describing every little detail to yourself."
"But why...?"
"Just trust me and do it." reluctantly, she agreed and began. Ether pulled christan off to the side, our of her earshot and whispered "I want you to think of a couple of simple cantrips. Something that will create no noise or light or distract her in any way."
Christian thought about it for a minute. "I'll use Minor wilt and color change. But why do you want me to use them?"
"It's an experiment on her curse. When I give you the signal, cast one, then wait for me to tell you to cast the other. Remember to stand behind adrianna about 2 or three feet." Christian nodded, and moved into place.

Now adrianna, listen carefuly, and picture what I am saying. See the candle? Notice as it dwindles. the wax is melted away, the wick becoms smaller, the flame wavers and tempts to go out. Now look at the wall behind the flame, only noticing the fire in the corner of your eyes. There's little there but a glimmer. A minor light easily extinguished. as if it's not really there..."
Ether nodded to christian, who cast Minor Wilt on a small houseplant. The shrub began to wither, brown, and age before his very eyes.
Now adrianna, focus on the flame again. Look deep into it. The fire is a passion. a living creature who's sole purpose is to eat the wax. Watch as it thrived. Feel the fire inside of you, burning your future bright! heating your ambitions, igniting your passions. The candle is a brilliant source of light. You are that candle...
He nodded to Christian again, who attemped to color change a sheet of white paper. Nothing happened. Ether than suddenly pinched the flame away, snapping adrianna out of the trance she was about to fall into.
"So what was that all about?"
"Basically, YOur curse is not a curse, or even a gift. It is a talent. Somehtign you can learn to controll, focus, and direct." Christian smiled in sudden understanding.
"Is that what you were researching when we came in?" Ether nodded. "Well in that case, the first thing we are going to have to do is to teach adrianna to control her gift."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adrian looked up at both men and shook her head.
"So you are saying that I have a 'talent' to hurt people? What made the gods think I want to be able to strip someone's magic and leave them defenseless?"

"That kind of 'talent' is still a curse. Think for a minute. Cristian says he can sense a good heart within me but what if that is not good that he senses but simple innocence."

"What happens if one day, as I explore this world, I decide that I can get more from evil than I can from good. What is to stop me from turning it on those who would oppose me and becoming more of an evil than that which we are facing?"

Adriana looks from one man to the other, waiting for an answer.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian sat back and looked at Adrianna, not wanting to say what he was thinking. If that ever happens then everyone would be in grave danger and she would have to die. He turned and walked to a window, looking out into the forest, not wanting to say anything but inside him something had snapped.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana watched Cristian move to the window and she felt she had said something wrong. But she had to know the answers to her questions before she could even concive of controling this 'talent'.

"I am sorry, but I am so confused. I do not know why the gods have given me such great responsibility and I do not know if I can handle it."

Her voice pleading for them to understand what she was trying to say, she continued,"They have given all this great power to a girl. For I do not choose to lie to myself. I know that I am a woman in body only."

"Had I not met the source of this evil before I had come here, I would now be your enemy and you would be forced to kill me also. Moulded by evil instead of good."

She was shaking with the thoughts that whirled around in her brain and found she could not continue. She once again felt alone and afraid.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian kept his back to Adrianna and found that he could not give her an answer, an answer that would help her in what was ultimately her decision. He let out a loud breath and thought, Why now, what have I done to deserve this torment. I do not want this responsibility. He turned back to Adrianna and was about to say something but when she saw that she was looking straight at him, knowing that she expected an answer from him he said, "I need to be alone."

He then walked from the window and past Adrianna. He knew that he might have made the wrong decision as soon as he left but he did need some time to himself, to think. He walked down the stairs quickly and out of the tower. As soon as he left the tower he walked over to a chair that was sitting there, the sunshine going straight onto it. He sat down on the chair, leaned forward and placed his chin on his right hand, looking into the trees.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana watched the mage leave and looked up at Ether. She did not feel totally at ease with him and wanted to call for Cristian to return.

When the mage had disappeared, she stood up and quietly followed him, her skirts making a swishing noise in the silence of the hall as they moved about her ankles.

She watched Cristian go outside and stood in the shadows of the doorway simply watching and not saying a word. She knew he knew she was there. From the moment they had met she had felt a connection between them-as if the gods had placed two pieces of a puzzle together and she knew that if she was to do this, it would have to be with him or not at all.

Speaking from the shadows, she said,"I am sorry, Cristian. Forgive my outburst. It was very childish of me and I do not mean to put more responsibility upon your shoulders."

 

[Angelus]

Cristian heard Adrianna but continued to look at the trees, wishing that his life was simple. He looked at the doorway and said, "Come out Adrianna. I can forgive you for what you said for you said nothing wrong. I am just scared that what you said is true, if you hadn't have been brought to me then Garath would have found you and I would have to have destroyed you if I could but I fear that it was me that would be destroyed in a battle like that."

He turned and saw Adrianna come out of the shadows but stay near the doorway, unsure whether to come near him or not. Cristian was about to answer her but before he could he suddenly felt an immense about of pain and screamed.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana heard herself scream when Cristian did and she rushed to his side where he had slipped from his seat and fallen to his knees.

Encircling him with her arms to keep him from falling face first to the ground, she held him tight against her.

"No, Cristain, no. It's okay," She sobbed as she buried her face in his shoulder,"We will go and defeat this evil and stop your pain, I promise. I dont want to see you suffer like this."

She continued to sob against him, afraid of losing the only person who had shown her kindness and understanding.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian listened to Adrianna as she continued to sob against him and looked up at the sky, The only thing that you can do to me now is kill her. There is nothing more that you can do to me.

Cristian looked at Adrianna and tried to move but when he did he felt a sharp stab of pain in his side and looked down. What he saw made his eyes go wide for one part of his robes were a deep red. He then called out for Ralthus who came quickly and looked at the wound.

"Quickly Ralthus, get the healing salves and run fast," he said with a voice that was barely above a whisper. He then looked up at Adrianna, "When Ralthus comes back you will have to put the salve on me for I don't think I will be of any use."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana looked at him with eyes still filled with tears.
"No, Cristian," She said to him,"You can heal yourself. Through me you can cast your magic and I can make them stronger and you can heal yourself."

Placing her hands on either side of his face she said,"Please, I want you to let me help you. I will try to concentrate hard enough to add to your powers and you concentrate on your spell."

Closing her eyes she willed herself to concentrate on nothing around her but him. She pictured his kind face and smile. She reached down deep to find the energies that dwell inside her and pool them at a point where he could partake of them.

Soon she knew she was as ready as she would ever be and willed him to take her offering-to use whatever she could give him in order to do what he must.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian felt something that he had never felt before, it was though a dam inside him had burst and had freed all his energy. As he closed his eyes he heard the song of his magic and it sounded more beautiful than ever. He concentrated on the wound in his side and saw it in his minds eye slowly closing. It took him a few seconds but when he opened his eyes he felt that there was now no pain in his side.

He looked up at Adrianna with a deep smile and said, "Thank you, how can I ever repay you?"

She began to say something but before she could he leaned up and kissed her on the lips. As soon as he finished kissing her he looked at her and said, "Oh, I am sorry. I am so sorry, I don't know what came over me."

 

[Isolde]

Adriana was startled as Cristian's lips met hers. She had been concentrating so hard on giving him everything that she could that she had not seen it coming.

Still, she felt a loss when he removed them. Looking down at him she smiled and leaned down to plant a light kiss of her own on him.

Lifting her head, her face framed by her raven hair, he cheeks flushed, she said,"Do not be sorry, Cristian. You have given me the one thing I thought I would never have."

 

[Angelus]

Cristian thought about his next word before he spoke them, "Friendship or love?" he asked.

He then slowly got to his feet and after helping Adrianna to hers he looked at her and said, "If it is friendship I can readily accept it but if it is love then I will have to tread into it very very slowly so as not to hurt you by doing the wrong thing."

He walked over to the chair he had been sitting on earlier, "Would you care to join me?" he asked as another chair appeared beside him.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana sat down beside Cristian and nodded.
"I may be an innocent, Mage," She said,"But do know a few things."

"I know that love and friendship are intertwined. For what is friendship but a form of love. And I am grateful for your friendship, Cristian for it will give me the power to go through with what we must do."

"And now I know what I can and must do. You have helped me find that in myself."

 

[Angelus]

Cristian looked at Adrianna and said, "It is good that we will be friends as I will need your help to destroy this evil."

Cristian then sat back in his chair and thought of his map, which suddenly appeared before him as well as Ether who looked at him with a surprised look on his face.

 

[Morgoth]

Lokken sensed a powerful Elemental presence. He thought a little harder. Ice. No doubt. Ether was on this plane. Lokken had extreme need of his help. Lokken opened a portal in front of him. "take me to Ether", he said and the portal suddenly changed to a background where two mages sat, one reading a map. And Ether standing just a little further. Lokken and the Power Demons walked through the portal. "Hello, Ether. Stop, don't fight. I no longer care about godhood. Let's talk. I have been to Garath's castle. I have found that he heavily relies on a God's help", said Lokken, looking at Ether.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana jumped up from her seat where she sat by Cristian when she saw the portal open and, as the men came through, she backed fearfully into the shadows hoping no one would notice her there.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian stood and looked at the man who had just come throught the portal and said, "Do you know what god is helping him? It might be useful if you could tell us so that we know how to fight him."