Cold As Ice

[Silence Sei]

Luckily, there was nobody really visiting Radasanth Park today. The home of Sei's Tomb was all but abandoned in anticipation for what was to come. The mute could hear the sounds of birds chirping, the melody of a frog song, even smell the freshly cut grass below him. The wind blew through the trees with an eagerness for the coming training session. Sei already had to teach Kyla how to be a better fighter, now it was Rehtul's turn.

Sei's nephew was quite adept in ice magic. It was something Rehtul's father, Succed, excelled in. Then again, Succed was a master of magic, adept in nearly everything involving the subject. There had always been stories of Succed's greatness; he passed the Mystic Light Trials at seven, was already leaving home by twelve, and even helped establish the citadel's healing powers by the age of eighteen. Succed could have easily retired his work, but he continued to strive to make Althanas a better place.

Now, he had given his son permission to set out and see the world for himself.

Though Rehtul was nowhere as near as young as Succed, Sei knew that this training session was going to be rough none the less. Sei didn't know if Rehtul was aware of just how dangerous ice magic was. It was easily one of the highest ranking magics on the board, derived from one of the six elements that kept the world spinning. As such, Sei had to make sure that Rehtul could use his abilities properly in combat.

The wind blew across the mystic's form once more, carrying the large cloth that draped his right shoulder with it. Sei smiled as he thought about what was to come. Rehtul had pledged his loyalty to Sei's cause, so he would be here if Sei told him to. All the older mystic had to do was wait...

[Rehtul Orlouge]

The young Mystic had felt his blood turn cold when Sei told him to meet him outside of the Tomb for training. He wasn’t quite sure what his uncle planned for him, but he was almost certain it was not going to be as enjoyable as reading a book. The appointed time came, and he looked through his open door at the grandfather clock in the hallway as it chimed the hour. He closed his eyes and tried to find solace in his mind as he prepared for the trial yet to come. Living under the command of his Uncle wasn’t something he was accustomed to, considering that his life up until that point had been exceedingly structured. Such was the curse of growing up with a father like Succed Orlouge.

Rehtul stood up from his chair and closed his book with a quick snap of his wrist. His eyes darted from right to left, seeking to make sure that nothing was out of place in his room. Satisfied that his room was organized, he gently placed his book down on the oak table in front of him. It would be best not to force his uncle to wait too much longer. He left the room and closed his door behind him. As usual, outside the boundaries of his room, the Tomb of Sei Orlouge was in complete and total disarray. Books, clothing, and other assorted items were left in a state of complete disorganization. The young man shook his head in amazement. Everytime he would devote himself to organizing and cleaning the Tomb, it would inevitably become worse than it was before he cleaned.

After several minutes of carefully treading through the main hall of the Tomb, he finally came to the large wooden door that led to the outside. “I’ll never get used to this mess.” He said solemnly as he opened the door and walked out. When he made it out of the cave’s entrance, he ran his hand nervously through his hair. The park wasn’t crowded today, but he didn’t know whether that would turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing. If this is the kind of training I think it is, this means that Uncle Sei is going to have a lot more freedom to beat me into a bloody mess. Oh well, at least no one will be around to see me get taught this lesson in humility.

The young elementalist decided he had wasted enough time talking to himself and went to go and find his uncle. This was not going to be an enjoyable experience. He was already sure of that.

[Silence Sei]

As Rehtul stepped out of the cave's mouth, Sei cold feel the bite of the wind carry a small chill with it. Even the air itself was completely aware of the untapped potential that Sei's nephew possessed. Sei shuddered when he thought about how easy Rehtul could make people bow to his will with enough proper training. The mute cracked his knuckles, looking to Rehtul with a face of stone.

"Your father was never good in physical combat. It's why he got so well versed in magic. When it came to hand-to-hand, I would always come out the victor. However, the second we pulled out our magic abilities, Rehtul had a complete arsenal in his hands while I only had---" Sei brought his pal outwards, facing the sky. The winds swirled around over his hand in a white light until a ball of physical white light rays was hovering over the mystic's palm. "----this."

The ball fell into Sei's hands, the mystic tossing the basic light magic spell up and down. The tennis ball sized made the magic great for kids to train with. Of course, to the outside world, it would appear that the mystic race was just flaunting what they had over others. While that may have been true for shadow magic users, Sei knew first hand that light magic was much more basic, relying on a perfect combination of hard work and fun to master. Those with dark hearts could never understand the simple joys of a ball.

Sei casually tossed the magic towards Rehtul. His nephew had grown accustomed to Kyla and Anita randomly throwing the things at his head, so catching the object was probably not going to be too hard for someone like Rehtul. "Freeze it before it reaches you!" Sei shouted, as if he were panicked about the ball actually hitting the boy. Perhaps the suddenness of Sei's 'tone' would cause Rehtul to start off the match by showing Sei a little of his power.

A strange take on 'catch' as it were.

[Rehtul Orlouge]

Rehtul wasn’t much shocked by the fact that his father often beat Sei in magic. Of course, he wasn’t surprised that his father often lost in hand to hand, either. Magic was the life of Succed Orlouge. There was nothing else in the man’s mind. Rehtul could often hear him running through magical formulae as he slept. It could often get maddening, but over time it became as much a part of life as anything else, like the morning sun, easily taken for granted.

While Light Magic was learned from a combination of hard work and fun, Ice Magic wasn’t much different, only without an icy will one could not control it. The amazing thing about Succed Orlouge was not that he was particularly well-rounded, but it was the way in which he had mastered every magic he had ever come in contact with. Magic often matched one’s personality, which made the young man’s father all the more mysterious. He, like the magics he’d mastered in his life, was a contradiction to himself. He could be both passionate and detached at the same time. It made him a hard man to figure out, but a great man nonetheless.

As Sei threw the ball at him, he noticed something in his uncle’s gaze. It looked almost as if he were sizing him up. When he heard the yell in his mind, he opened his palm and froze the air around the ball of light. Though he typically used freezing the atmosphere in order to make his ice needles, using it to catch a ball and freeze it mid-flight took considerably less energy. He estimated that he’d expended about half the energy necessary to create one of his flying needle attacks. “I sincerely hope that the exertion of my energy was worth your time, Uncle.” As usual, when nervous, Rehtul fell back into his standard formal tone of voice. To some, it might seem haughty and arrogant, but to those who truly knew the young man, they knew it was his coping mechanism for stressful situations.

He watched the ball fall with little interest and ran his hand through his hair. While this was supposed to be a test, his mastery of the elemental power of Ice was still very rudimentary. He expended far too much energy in order to use his magic, and had to better learn how to control it before he got into anything too serious. With his current skills, his magic would scarcely last him more than a couple of rounds against anyone with more experience. He would have to learn to master his skills, and fast.

[Silence Sei]

Rehtul's words almost had a hint of sarcasm to them. Had Sei not known of the boy's mannerisms, he may have had taken offense to the tone. However, Sei understood the tendencies of the younger Orlouge. His father used to have the same problem in connecting with people on a personal level. If only he could teach Succed's entire dang family to stop viewing people as specimens in some experiment, he might actually be getting somewhere with these kids.

It was nice, however, to see that Rehtul was no slouch in his ice magic. Seeing the ball of light crystallize almost instantaneously was nothing short of impressive. Yet there was still something in Rehtul Sei was worried about. It seemed as though the air he carried around him was that of an inexperienced warrior. Sei had to make sure the boy got some good use out of his ice magic. In order to do that, Sei would have to make sure it was all the Mystic ice mage could rely on.

Sei dashed at his nephew, the Feet of Y'edda carrying him over the gap between them at a rather hastened pace. The mute brought up a fist and almost brought it down upon the youth's features. However, Sei stopped dead in his tracks, a mere foot in front of Rehtul, his fist being considerably closer to the young warrior's face. Bringing three fingers up, Sei placed his middle finger over his thumb and simply attempted to flick Rehtul in the nose. While this may have seemed like a weak attack, something any simpleton could do, Sei knew what he may have just done.

It was an aggressive attack. Unless Rehtul was a fool of a Mystic, Sei had just made his nephew waste his Mystic Protection.

[Rehtul Orlouge]

While it was true that Rehtul had little experience with dealing with people, he didn’t see them so much as subjects to be experimented. Instead, he found people somewhat hard to understand. He’d grown up under his father’s influence, a man unaccustomed to sharing personal information or even emotion, not to those close to him, and especially not to those he considered strangers. His father had many admirers, but very few friends. Those he considered nearest and dearest were in his family.

Sei seemed to be thinking about things. At least, that’s what the younger man deduced from the glazed expression in his uncle’s eyes. The young Mystic clenched his fist slightly, sensing a slight window of opportunity to show what he was truly capable of. However, that window soon slammed shut. The older Orlouge rushed at him with amazing speed, and the young man instinctively threw up his Mystic Protection. He still remembered what his uncle had said about when his father would fight him hand to hand. When Sei merely flicked with his finger against the Protection, Rehtul watched as it slowly cracked before him. The Protection shattered around him. Immediately some of the pieces disappeared, but some, almost half of them, became suspended in midair and pointed directly at Rehtul's uncle. Then, they flew at him.

A feint! I should have known better… Rehtul thought to himself. He had spent his only even remotely useful defense against a mere flick of his uncle's finger. He stepped back slightly, the shock evident in his eyes. His mask was cracking, and this time he couldn’t put the pieces back together. He took a few more, halting steps back. His entire body was shaking as he did. His uncle had shaken his confidence to a point where he instinctively knew this was a no win situation. While his father might have been able to beat his uncle, Rehtul was still almost entirely untrained in his arts.

Rehtul briefly considered running, but knew that his uncle would never really do anything to put him into peril. His uncle was testing him, his resolve, and most importantly, his powers. Though the younger Mystic was still thinking that there was nothing he could do, he figured it was worth a shot to try and at least pull up some kind of resistance.

He reached deep within himself, into the well of power inside of his soul. “I’m not done just yet.” The air around him began to crystallize as the moisture in the air was frozen by Ice Magic. The ice began to coalesce into thin needles, no stronger than iron. His eyes met his uncle’s briefly and he smiled. It was a half-hearted smile, but a smile nonetheless. He extended his right hand in front of him and targeted all of his ice shards at Sei Orlouge. He only had the power for this one attack, so he hoped it would prove a good demonstration of his power.

After all, the boy had a lot to prove, living under the shadow of the great Succed Orlouge.

[Silence Sei]

Sei smiled as he realized he had activated his race's trademark spell in Rehtul. It was only natural that someone so restricted from combat would put up the only defense he knew if one were to come at him. As the glass cracked around the form of the boy, Sei gripped the long wool cloth that draped over his right arm.

The telepath's look of pleasure turned to one of shock as he watched most of the glass simply vanish from in front of Rehtul. The rest of it quickly seemed to hone in on the mute himself. The Mystic had a lump in his throat at the realization that his nephew's MP was not that similar of his father's, which simply absorbed light and launched it into a solar powered laser.

No, this version of Mystic Protection resembled that of Succed's younger brother (and the third youngest Orlouge sibling), Ciato. Sei could feel the chips of glass cut at his legs, feel the pricks at edges of the ice like shards penetrated Jomil's Touch. Yet, this was not the only maneuver Rehtul had up his sleeve.

The younger Mystic launched several ice needles at his elder, Sei taking a deep gulp to try and rid himself of the lump that still resided. He could feel several of the needles puncture his left hand, causing it to resemble a freaky looking porcupine. Sei gritted his teeth in frustration at his own carelessness. He had just lectured the boy about using the extent of his abilities carefully, and here he was charging headlong like a teenager with something to prove.

Sei lowered the cloth, picking out the makeshift acupuncture treatment Rehtul had provided him. His eyes shifted back to the form of his relative, impressed that he could react so quickly to such danger. He moved his fingers around, making a fist occasionally to test that his nerves were fine. Light streams of blue blood dripped onto the soft ground below. The Feet of Y'edda would heal the pain caused by the needles, but it would take a few minutes.

"It seems you know how to use your ice magic quite well, Rehtul," Sei said, a feeling of pride swelling up in his chest, "You can follow up on your counters quite well, but lets see how fast your reflexes are when someone's in the middle of talking to you!" As Sei finished the sentence, his hand was already reaching down and launching one of the mute's trademark chakrams at his family member. He had tried to waste no time lifting the bladed ring up and aiming, literally shooting from the hip instead. Sei simply hoped he had a close enough distance to the son of Succed that his unaimed throw may find a home somewhere on the boy.

[Rehtul Orlouge]

“I've been practicing. I even won a match in Underwood against a spellsinger. Don't underestimate me, Uncle.” Rehtul shot back at Sei. His eyes carefully studied his uncle as the older Mystic picked the ice shards out of his hand. This was only the beginning of what was to come, the younger of the two decided. While he was nearly out of power for his ice skills, he still had the dagger at his side. He was not well versed in knifeplay, but it was the only skill he had left to rely on. He unsheathed the dagger and held it up before him. It was a basic defensive stance, one of the only ones he knew.

When Sei went for his own weapons, Rehtul wasn't much surprised. Having used up most of his magic, he'd have to get close in to cause any more damage, however superficial his last attack had been, he still had something to prove. He shook his head, to clear his mind. He'd made a mistake, wasting all of his energy against a vastly superior opponent. While Sei wasn't going to kill him, he was most likely going to make him pay for using up all of his energy so quickly.

Finally, the chakram was fired. It was a clumsy, half ass shot, almost as if Sei wasn't taking it too seriously. Rehtul took the chance and dodged slightly to the side, his eyes never leaving his Uncle. It proved to be a slightly unrewarding tactic, as the chakram grazed his leg. A sharp intake of breath was all that came from the younger Mystic. He wouldn't give his uncle the satisfaction of hearing him cry out in pain.

I won't lose, not this easily. He decided. He knew it was a huge risk, but he had to try to get in close. If he really pulled hard on his energy, he knew it was likely he could call half the number of ice shards he normally did for one last attack, but he wanted to save that as a surprise attack for later. He charged in on his uncle while holding his dagger close to his chest, edge out. When he made it close enough, he improvised an attack, flipping the dagger backwards in his hand and backslashing at his uncle, hoping to open a wound in his chest.

If this attack worked, he'd have one final surprise waiting for his uncle. If it didn't, the “surprise” would be a last-ditch attempt to impress the Hero of Radasanth.

[Silence Sei]

Sei's eyes shifted to the ground and the mute shook his head all while the dagger came flying at his chest. Rehtul had been doing so well, using that brain of his to strategically defend and counter attack properly. Now, Sei knew where his nephew's weakest area was. Whereas Rehtul could properly defend himself from attackers, the boy had no idea how to build a proper offense.

Case-in-point, Rehtul was now attacking a Mystic who had not yet activated his trademark spell.

The dagger stopped inches before Sei's chest. As it did so, the sound of a shattered glass rang through the forest, making its way into the halls of Sei's Tomb. A few people came out to notice the commotion, standing just outside of the cave's mouth. When they saw Rehtul with his dagger almost embedded in his Uncle's chest, some thought the worst, but the more clever people knew that the best thing to do would be to get back in the Tomb, and take the gawkers with them.

The air seemed to crack around the orange haired Mystic's body. Rehtul's eyes widened as he realized the miscalculation he had made. Sei's relative attempted to move away, but Sei shook his head. He had about a second or two to react before the Mystic Protection exploded outward. While Sei could have touched his nephew, saved him from the glass shards, he decided that the best way to teach the boy would be with pain.

The glass shot outwards towards the boy, and following it up was 'Jomil's Touch'. The long vlince cloth attached to Sei's shoulder was no longer clasped down, and now sought to wrap itself around Rehtul's wrist, and by proxy around his dagger. This would serve two points. The first, it would start rotting away at the dagger that the youth had in his hand. The effect was temporary, but it was enough to get its point across.

The second, was that it would keep Rehtul in place, just long enough for his uncle to hurl a fist straight into the boy's face, provided Jomil's Touch found its mark.

[Rehtul Orlouge]

Rehtul knew that he had made a huge miscalculation when Sei activated his Mystic Protection skill. As his dagger hit the glass wall that had surrounded his uncle, the younger Mystic threw his free arm up to defend his face and torso. He’d seen this skill in action before, and knew he had to protect himself from the brunt of the blow. A searing pain coursed through his body as the glass shards exploded out from Sei’s body. The pain was almost enough to make the young man scream, but he swallowed the pain and tried to remain standing. What he didn’t expect was the follow-up attack from the older man.

Sei grabbed his arm with a strange cloth that immediately clamped down with a painfully tight grip on the boy’s wrist. The dagger in his hand began to lose its shine, and eventually looked as old and rusted as some of the antique armor seen in second-hand shops. His only way of attacking Sei successfully now little more than a rotten carcass of its former self, the younger Mystic felt that the time had come to accept his fate. He looked at his uncle with a sort of sheepish grin as Sei’s fist came in direct contact with his face. The cloth let go as the young man flew back and hit his back on the ground beneat him. His dagger flew out of his hand as he landed.

He gripped consciousness with both hands as he looked up at the Hero of Radasanth. “Well, looks like I lost.” He said, half smiling up at the older man. He scooted up onto his elbows and tried to get up. “I guess I don’t quite live up to my father’s reputation, do I?”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh a little at himself. While he was the son of the genius spell caster Succed Orlouge, he was nowhere near as skilled as his father was.

Rehtul lost his footing with his elbows, and collapsed back down on his back, still laughing sunder his breath. “Uncle, a little help?” He asked, extending his hand, hoping at the very least his dear old uncle Sei would help him stand back up.

[Silence Sei]

Almost before Rehtul could ask for his uncle's help, Sei's hand was holding that of his nephews. Lifting the younger Mystic up, Sei smiled and shared a small laugh with the man. "Don't think your father wouldn't be proud of what you've done here today, Rehtul Orlouge," Sei placed his bloodied hand on Rehtul's shoulder, all of the elder Orlouge's anger fading rather quickly, "You did well out here today. I don't think there is a single Orlouge living in the Tomb that could actually face me head-on in an actual fight. Unless you count your Uncle Steppenwolf of course." Sei let out another mute laugh.

The jovial spirit of the fight's conclusion was soon cut off as Pell; the short round night watchman of the Ixian Knights stumbled his way towards Sei and Rehtul. Sei raised his eyebrow as the now out of breath guard huffed and puffed. Rehtul opened his mouth, but Pell simply raised a hand up to stop him, and seemed to be breathing heavier from the motion. It was almost enough to send both Mystics into laughter once more.

"Lord...Orlouge.....Aislinn needs you....says it's important...." Pell finally managed to get out between a combination of heavy gulps and his own breathing.

"Why did she send you?" Rehtul asked, knowing that his sister wouldn't have normally sent such an out of shape soldier.

"I dunno," Pell replied, "Prolly because Jaime and I were eyeing her chest, and she got tired of it..."

Sei sighed at his chauvinist trooper, and nodded. "Rehtul," Sei said as he entered the Tomb, "Tonight I'll treat you to dinner somewhere. You've deserved it. Now I must attend to this situation your sister has gotten herself into..."

[Rehtul Orlouge]

Rehtul nodded in his uncle’s general direction and smiled slightly. These guys were always bugging his older sister. He turned around and looked at the evaporating ice shards, and the destruction in the field. The park keepers were going to have one hell of a time cleaning this up later. Gashes in the ground were present from the activation of both Mystics’ Mystic Protection spells. All in all, it wasn’t a pretty sight. The young Mystic walked over to where his knife had been dropped and picked it up. It was as good as new. “Huh, the effects must only be temporary. I’ll keep that in mind for next time…” he said to himself.

Rehtul’s hair was beginning to stand on end, though, as if something catastrophic were going to happen to his family soon, but he couldn’t identify the feeling. He shrugged it off. Fortunetelling was not his game. Whatever was coming, he’d have to be ready for it, and he would prepare for the worst. After wiping his blade off on his clothing, he sheathed it in his belt. “This has not been the most fortuitous of battles, but I did my best.”

He cracked his back and began dusting off his clothes as he waited before going inside. If something was important enough to have Aislinn call on their uncle, it had to be something big. His gut was telling him that the time for laughter and merriment had long passed. He didn’t know quite how to describe it, but he had a really bad feeling that something really ill was happening within the family. He didn’t really have a real basis for these fears, but something just told him he was right about this.

It was at that moment that Sei reemerged from inside the cave. “Rehtul, you’re going to need to work harder on your physical skills, a lot faster than we thought.” He disappeared immediately afterward.

Rehtul collapsed, facing the sky, and said, to no one in particular, “This is the beginning of something… I can already tell.” As he spoke, his eyes just watched the clouds rolling by in the sky, unfocused as his mind began to summon unwanted thoughts to the forefront.

Spoils Request
Bonds: When Rehtul and Sei are fighting together, the power of their Mystic Protection is doubled. This ability only works if the two are fighting on the same time, and only if they are within sight of each other (they don't have to be looking at each other, they merely have to be close enough to see each other if they turn around and look).

[Duffy]

Cold As Ice Judgement

Rehtul’s scores to the left, Sei’s to the right. Short, sweet, simple gentlemen, just like the conflict.

Story (17/18)

Continuity – 6/7 – both played on family ties and previous threads, Sei had the upper hand.

Setting – 5/5

Pacing – 6/6

Character (17/16)

Persona – 6/5 – perhaps both of you could’ve plied more emotion into your characters, the familiarity and bond was there, and well portrayed, but there was an ever present lack of danger in both your character’s behaviour and their actions/identity.

Action – 5/6 – Sei is a battle hardened veteran and his writing showed.

Dialogue – 6/5 – repetition of previous mistakes again Sei, but your use of telepathy is improving with time. I’d consider working in personalisation to his ‘speech,’ you’ve everything else shining now.

Writing (16/14)

Technique – 6/5 – Rehtul shone with simple but well placed metaphor and use of evocative speech techniques.

Mechanics – 5/4 – neither excelled here, but Rehtul’s posts were better polished.

Clarity – 5/5

Wild Card (6/5)

A well-deserved victory but a close fought battle all the same. I look forward to seeing where Rehtul’s assumptions lead. Whilst it worked as a quest, the nature of the confrontation and the exchanges between characters lead to the decision to judge this as a ‘battle’ scenario.

Total Score = (56/53)


Spoils:

Rime Bound Channelling: Whenever Rehtul and Sei are in close proximity, a distance of roughly twenty feet at best, the strength and durability of their Mystic Protection is increased, depending on the severity of their dilemma. Each character can use this increased ability once each, once per thread.

Young Progeny (Sei Only): Such is Sei’s pleasure at having his family close at hand, if he teaches any abilities to Rehtul in the future, as a mentor, that ability will be X0.1% improved over its base level. The extent of such an improvement will depend on the thread, judgement and realm of greeting approval.

Experience:

Rehtul gained 3545 experience and 350 gold.

Silence Sei gained 1525 experience and 175 gold.

[Silence Sei]

Exp-GP added.

Rehtul leveled, and will again with just one post ICly....anywhere.