Good Day Ladies and Gentlemen.
Welcome back to the next chapter. it has been a bit of a pain to get this chapter started but with what i have now i have a good feeling.
There seems to have been a bit confusion about Will's new hair style so i will make it clear: her hair is still shoulder long and red BUT from the top of her head she has a strand, around two fingers thick when braided, that goes down to her calves. hope that cleared confusion up.
Another thing i have noticed is that people seem to dislike Raven and are happy he is gone. I simply wish to ask for your reason why you are happy he is gone.
Now, a bit in there is a song in Drow speech. placing a translation directly after it would have been ugly so i will tell you the song in the bottom Authors Note as it is easy to find online.
and now enough talk, that is not what you came here for; you came for the sexy violence.
-----Destiny commands All-----
It was the night before the Arcane Thunder that found Will sitting on the city walls in the back of the Ilvaren estate. The moon illuminated her face, revealing a deep scowl present on her soft features.
Since Raven had left a huge rift had been opened between Will and the other five. Will secluded herself from them, even going so far to no longer sleep in one bed with Elyon. She barely spoke with any of them, the only ones regularly getting more than a single word from her were Weira and Zaden and that also only when the girl asked for advice.
The young Drow threw herself into her studies and training, working with a determination of a Lich wanting more power. No one dared to interrupt her sword training, something that had gotten more and more vicious over the days.
At night Will had stopped to actually sleep. She could always be found in the woods of the estate, sitting in the lotus position with her Eldritch and Arcane power circling around her. The sheer power she radiated during the nights was strong enough to keep any wildlife away from her and even Weira felt very uneasy when she approached the girl to call her for breakfast. Weira had only once before felt such a deep and powerful potential and that had been from a legend centuries ago.
The elder Ilvaren had also been unable to stop Will from signing up for the Arcane Thunder. The young Drow had worked so hard that it was clear that she had a good chance of actually winning the competition.
Will's eyes fell into her lap, the red of her eyes glowing slightly as she took in the details of the item that lay in her lap: Raven's first gift to her, her first sword.
'Wherever you are Raven.... I swear to you that your gifts will not go to waste.....' Drawing the shining weapon from its sheath Will studied the runes carved into the metal. Holding the sword in her left hand she used her teeth to remove the glove from her right hand. Slowly she traced the sharp edge with her index and middle finger from hilt to tip. Half way up she cut herself but she barely even flinched, coating the top half of the edge in a very thin layer of her ruby red blood.
Letting the glove drop from her teeth into her lap Will softly suckled on her injured fingers, her tongue tracing the wounds to clean them.
Leaning her head back against the tower behind her, her eyes gazed into the starlit sky. 'Raven.... I wonder where you are...... I wonder if I will ever see you again....'
A lone, crystal tear slid down her left cheek, sparkling in the soft rays of the moon. Blinking away the tears Will forced those depressing thoughts down; she had an upcoming tournament to win... no, not win: utterly dominate. She was well aware of the chances that she could run into Elyon or Taranee but she had sworn herself to be hard and face them with the same ferocity as she would with the rest of the competition. 'Especially Taranee,' thought Will darkly.
Suddenly her eyes widened as she saw a shooting star race over the horizon. She traced the bright light and it brought back memories. New tears slid down her cheeks, the tip of her tongue wetting her lips. Slowly she started to hum to herself, the words of old forming on her lips uncalled.
L' bekea nesst telanth fridj z'hin nindol i'dol
Ulu l' d'issan d'lil ssussun
L' su'aco orn z'hren wund dosst jindurn
'zil l' drasven k'lararl dos a
Nym'uer nindol ssivah dal charnag wu'suul
Ol's l' lar d' dosst xukuth
Veir dosst solen lu' dosst orn ragar
L' i'dol doeb d'lil olath
Ghil Usstan tlun
Orn dos kus uns'aa biu mirshann
Ghil Usstan tlun
Wun l' thac'zil d'lil kre'tan elemmiire
L' bekea nesst telanth fridj ragar dosst k'lar
Wun l' sol d'lil maral
Lac l' crysos reztorm l' i'dol
Fridj sarn d'lil spirolen
Ghil Usstan tlun
Orn dos kus uns'aa biu mirshann
Ghil Usstan tlun
Wun l' thac'zil d'lil kre'tan elemmiire
L' bekea nesst telanth fridj raise dosst rah
Lu' ul'plyr doeb whol l' wlalth
Ragar l' dobor ulu l'elamshin thac'zil
Fridj z'reninth wun dosstan
Nym'uer nindol ssivah dal charnag wu'suul
Ol's l' lar d' dosst xukuth
Veir dosst solen lu' dosst orn ragar
L' i'dol doeb d'lil olath
Ghil Usstan tlun
Orn dos kus uns'aa biu mirshann
Ghil Usstan tlun
Wun l' thac'zil d'lil kre'tan elemmiire
Ghil Usstan tlun
Orn dos kus uns'aa biu mirshann
Ghil Usstan tlun
Wun l' thac'zil d'lil kre'tan elemmiire
One last tear fell from her left eye as she held the last syllable as the shooting star faded into nothing. Unnoticed by her the dark lines that had been carved into her skin months ago started to glow lightly, twisting and turning on her skin, forming even further interwoven patterns.
Brushing away her tears Will stood up, sheathing her sword on her hip before slowly pulling her glove back on; all that while walking down the wall as if she was glued to it.
A new light burned in her eyes, a light of determination brighter than the sun itself.
-----Destiny commands All-----
The city of Metamoora was one of the largest in the lands of the Sword Coast, dwarfed only by Waterdeep in the South, Neverwinter in the North-West and Silverymoon in the North-East. If you managed to get a look at the city from straight above you'd be able to see that the city was actually shaped like a four-leaf clover. But each of the four leafs actually touched the other so it gave the illusion of the city being round like most others.
In the center of the clover was the so called "Heart of Metamoora", the area where the noble council, the merchant council and the Lady of the city would meet to discuss matters of great importance. The Lady's mansion was in the very center of the city, the building itself also shaped like a clover and built on a small hill that raised the highest tower of the mansion above the city walls.
Surrounding the "Heart" was a park in the form of a circle. In this green area many temples were located, the headquarters of the Paladin order as well as several arcane orders.
In each of the four leafs there were several districts, clearly divided by the shape of the buildings. The northern leaf was the residential area, with the higher up living closer to the city walls and the others more towards the center of the city. The whole of the leaf was called "The Elemental Districts" in reference to the many Wizards and other arcane casters having taken up residence there in the early years of the city.
The eastern leaf was the merchants area, both for shops and living quarters. Nearly one third of all souls in Metamoora lived there and the district was always abuzz with life. Even the black market was located there and placed towards the center of the city. This leaf was called "Gold Coin", hinting at the fact that hundreds of gold changed owners every day.
The western leaf was craftsman section of the city and it housed half the souls of the city. Forges, seamstresses, binderies and every other type of craft was present and besides a few nightly hours always open for business. The forges creating weapons and armor were settled in the center, the river Meridian flowing through the leaf from north to south-west. This area was called "Hammer and Anvil", in relation to the first craftsmen who settled in this area.
The southern leaf was the entertainment section. Gambling dens, pubs, inns, small arenas, the large colosseum and even the red light district were located in this part. This was the area that was mostly alive during the night and called "Night Lotus", having grown from the red light part over the years.
This last area was strangely alive today, even during the peak hours of the sun. But an explanation was swiftly found: today was the start of the Arcane Thunder, THE magical tournament for young folks to challenge each other in the northern part of the Sword Coast. Everyone who cold spare the time and silver had made sure to get good seats and just for one day there was no difference in status: nobles sat next to the street rats, Watchmen were drinking with thugs, priests were discussing the upcoming fight with pimps and whores alike.
The massive round stone building was large enough to contain the thousands of spectators and dozens of fighters. Nearly a mile in diameter it was easily the largest building of the city and one of the most prominent features.
The fighters had gathered in the center of the stadium below, waiting for the Lady of the city to announce the start of the Thunder as well as reveal what this years challenge would be.
Elyon was nervously shifting her feet, her silvery eyes always going back and forth between the two people on her left and right: Will and Taranee.
The young Drow had donned her new armor under her purple coat, getting several curious gazes from the contestants from outside of the city and sneers from the people who had heard about her. The focused and determine look on the red head's face was enough to tell people that she was not present to mess around but to kick ass and take names.
The slightly older Elf though was nervous, glancing at Will now and then only to lower her eyes in shame again. Many Metamoorians were wondering about this, as Therese's daughter was well known to be a competent Wizardess.
Suddenly the buzzing in the colosseum died down as a platform made of white marble started to float from the edge of the building towards the center. The platform held several finely carved wooden chairs, one raised above all the others. On said "throne" sat the Lady of Metamoora: Lady Nasheris of Metamoora, formally of Neverwinter. A late descendant of the great ruler Lord Nasher she had long ago left the ocean city behind.
While she was a human she had a strong bloodline running in her veins, a bloodline that had her exceed normal human age long ago. She had been the chosen ruler for nearly a century, yet she didn't look any older than her late twenties. Standing nearly 6'5'' tall she was one of the tallest human females most had seen. Her platinum blond hair was put up in a complicated pattern, her silver and golden robes showing just how high she stood on the ladder even to foreigners.
Standing, the Lady brushed a delicate hand over her throat and soon her voice carried over the whole building.
"We welcome you to our city of Metamoora, to witness with us this years Arcane Thunder. A great many potential masters and mistresses will take the challenges we present them in hopes of proving themselves to themselves, their families and us."
Applause, cheers and whistles filled the air as the audience was getting slightly impatient.
"A hundred and six young people have entered this years Arcane Thunder, making it the biggest competition we have seen since the Arcane Thunder was started nearly fifty years ago. In sight of this number we have decided to present the young people with the greatest challenge we can offer them: the Oktáedron."
Raising her arms the Lady let her arcane magic flow into the sand ground below and the whole area began to shake. A massive seal array carved itself into the sand and caused the contestants to swiftly step back until they all stood with their backs against the walls.
The air started to shimmer as something was called into this plain of existence, blue specks of light flickering inside the stadium. Most eyes were wide with shock, only a few who had studied Arcane Magic intensely knew what was happening before their eyes and smirked.
After several minutes the bright light vanished, revealing what the Lady had called into this plane of existence.
People stared at the enormous octahedron that floated in the air, spinning slowly clockwise on one of the corners. But the object didn't seem solid; more like blue light beams bent in ways to form the enormous object that stood well past the roof of the colosseum. Past the basic hull everyone could see hundreds over hundreds of rooms inside, each room linked to all others around it. Only in the center of the object was a large room with a glowing orb that set in the very center of the structure.
"The Oktáedron is a labyrinth originating from the Astral Plane. While it may seem like it has no substance it does have as soon as your own bodies pass at least partly over into the Astral Plane. When the fighters enter they will see that to them the walls will be solid stone. Each room will pose a challenge to the contestants, some of mental nature, some of physical nature. If you meet another contestant the room will lock down until one of you yields or is no longer able to continue, either by knock out... or death."
Gasps could be heard from many many people and some contestants paled.
"Yes, from this year on the contestants WILL be able to die in the Arcane Thunder. It is our interpretation that the Arcane Thunder has been turned into a sport, a joke of what it used to stand for. This ends this year. The Arcane Thunder is not a sport, it is reality and it is harsh."
Silence filled the colosseum as everyone hang onto the lips of Lady Nasheris.
The sky blue eyes of the Lady roamed over the youngsters below her, taking in the many shocked, the few frightened and the very few ecstatic faces. "The contestants will be provided with food and water every four hours. Should the Arcane Thunder last through the night the rooms will automatically lock down for the night, protecting you from surprise attacks. Sleeping mats will be provided but it is your own charge to be awake and prepared when the rooms open again at sunrise."
"Your goal is to reach the center of the Oktáedron and touch the Orb in the center. It is clear to us that it may be possible for multiple people to reach the central chamber at once so be prepared for a last stand before reaching the Orb." Doing a few arcane gestures in the air platforms of pure energy formed under each fighter, slowly lifting them off the ground. "These platforms will bring you to your starting rooms. These rooms will also prohibit any form of combat inside so they can also be a safe haven for you."
Fixing everyone with a sharp gaze the Lady stared into their eyes, "If you feel that these changes are beyond you, this is your last chance to quit and save face. Enter and your performance shall be watched."
Will couldn't help herself and licked her lips that had twisted into a smirk. She could really cut loose this time. She could see what she truly was capable of by now. If one were to look close you could see her eyes glow slightly, the ancient sign of a Drow giving into her Blood and craving battle.
No one quit and the platforms started to swirl randomly around the Oktáedron as many paths into the structure opened up. Will could feel a shiver go through her as her platform spun around and then launched towards an opening. The world seemed to shimmer for a moment before the formally see through walls became solid stone. Taking in every detail of the outside Will saw that each space was engraved with arcane runes, weathered and old.
'I am about half way up the top on the western side.... I just need to move towards the center and down.....' trying to commit her thoughts to memory Will nearly fell over as the platform below her came to a sudden stop. Standing straight again she looked up and saw an opening in the stone structure. Not wasting time she jumped through the opening, covering the few feet that separated the structure and her platform.
Landing inside the room the opening behind her slid shut with the distinct sound of stone against stone. For a split second Will couldn't see anything before her eyes instinctually switched modes and started to glow in a soft red. [A/N: I know that the term is hardly fitting at all but I don't want to give a long winded explanation each time Will's eyes switch to her night vision; and if someone wants to get on my case of Drow not having real night vision: screw you guys, First Edition supplement rules.]
Scanning the room swiftly Will noticed a total of five doors, one in the floor, one in the ceiling and one in each wall. But.... all of them were open. Wasn't there supposed to be a riddle, some kind of test before they opened?
Will looked through the rather empty stone room, trying to find any trap or something of the like that would explain this clearly unnatural sight before her. And then it hit her like a ton of bricks and she slapped her forehead 'You're so stupid Will. The darkness WAS the riddle. You just never noticed the predicament another one would be in in this darkness.' Shaking her head slightly she walked up to the doorway in the floor, cautious of anything that might happen.
Peering through the opening she only saw a black blanket, nothing hinted at the room below. 'I am not going to jump down into a room that could be dozens of feet deep,' thought the young Drow as she stepped away from the doorway. Looking around she saw that the other doors were blocked by the same black blanket. 'No way of knowing if the next room will be anything dangerous or something too mentally challenging.....'
For a few minutes Will simply stood in the pitch darkness, wondering which path she should take. Finally she decided to do something crazy. Closing her eyes Will started to swiftly spin on the spot, soon loosing all sense of direction. 'When I stop I will open my eyes and take the path that I will be looking at.' Spinning so fast on the spot that she nearly lost her footing Will suddenly stopped. She waited a few seconds to get her footing back before she slowly opened her eyes.
She was looking at the doorway in the ground and it caused her to groan, 'Great, just my luck.' Slowly she walked up to the doorway, wondering how she should do this and if she would be able to figure out a way down without breaking her neck or.... ankle.....
For a second time she slapped her forehead, 'Oh Eilistraee, I am so STUPID!' Her eyelids dropped halfway down, her lips moved in silent incantation while a soft purple hue seeped from under her skin and clothes. In a matter of seconds her hands and feet were coated in a soft purple light. Opening her eyes again Will grinned and simply walked onto the doorway, 'You got to love Spider Walk!'
-----Destiny commands All-----
The same continued for several rooms as Will slowly made her way through the gigantic structure. None of the riddles had been actually challenging, most had been of physical nature but Will admitted that they were very well suited for a normally fragile Arcane Caster. Seeing that she was also physically trained made most riddles rather easy for her. She had yet to come across anyone else but she wouldn't complain just yet. It just meant she could measure her strength.
This room again had been rather easy. In the middle of the room had been a balance with seven trays and a whole lot of weights. The task was easy to decipher: balance everything out to open the door. It had taken Will the better half of an hour to place all weights correctly and it had resulted in a thin layer of sweat coating her ashen skin.
Wiping two drops of sweat from her right brow Will grinned as the doorways opened. 'I have been in here for nearly four hours by now and have gone through around twenty rooms. I think I am around a fourth or a third way to my target.'
Will absentminded approached the doorway downwards and was about to cast her Spider Walk yet again when suddenly the room seemed to glow and the doorway snapped shut in a split second.
She froze in mid-incantation only to stare at the closed doorway her mind going neatly along the line of 'What the Fuck?!'.
"Maskan! Gaend! Oira!" [Elven: "Fire! Burn! Eternal!"]
Will spun around towards the voice behind her and her eyes widened. She stared straight at a massive fireball that swiftly closed in on her.
Her eyes went past the fire to take in the caster as she threw her body left to evade the flames. The fireball flew past her and slammed into the stone wall and vanished in a small explosion.
Will swiftly rolled onto her knees before spring back on her feet. Her eyes scanned the room and swiftly fell on the attacker. Her eyes narrowed, her lips were drawn in a vicious snarl, "YOU!"
Opposite of the young Drow stood one of the few people she could would openly admit to hating: Uriah Black.
The young man smirked darkly at the Drow, a new fireball floating over his right hand. "How I have been waiting for this you little slut," he hissed while his eyes sparked in the light of the flames. With a flick of his wrist he send the Fireball spell flying towards Will.
The young Drow was easily able to sidestep the spell, still seething on the inside. When she had learned her spells she had always made sure that she knew ALL there was to each spell. But the Warmage before her clearly cared little about it, his chopped up incantation and bad elven grammar were a testament to that.
It seemed that the young Black was only a one trick pony as he kept trying to fry Will with one Fireball after the other. 'Oh come on now! I expected a decent fight,' lamented Will in her mind. It was strange how.... weak the other teen seemed to be, even though he had more years of teaching under his belt than her.
'Enough of this! I cannot waste my energy like this!' Dodging yet another Fireball with but a mere step to the side Will went on the offensive. Her eyes fixed Uriah while she pointed her right arm at him, fingers turned into a fist except for her index and middle finger which were aimed at his eyes. "Oloth, Nym'uer ussta lar," she said in a dark voice. [Drow: "Darkness, Hear my call"]
Instantly a black mist surrounded her hand before it disappeared.
"RARGH! YOU BITCH! YOU FILTHY WHORE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?"
Uriah was clutching his hands to is face, covering his eyes. Black mist was slowly flowing from under his hands and Will smirked.
It was a natural ability of all Drow to blind their foe with a small spark of arcane or divine power every Drow possessed. While the chances of success were about a coin toss if it work it would stay in effect for a long time.
Will was silently walking circles around the cursing boy, drawing slightly closer with each step. She observed how Uriah removed his hands from his face, reaching out like a blind. His eyes looked perfectly fine except for the thin black mist that covered them.
"WHERE ARE YOU YOU CURSED BITCH?! COME OUT! COME OUT OR I WILL MAKE THE WHORE OF A BITCH YOU CALL MISTRESS PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!!"
Will's blood froze in her veins before her lips were drawn up into a vicious snarl. 'How DARE that cretin!' She may not be on good terms with her mistress right now but that didn't stop her.
Instinctively her Eldritch power flowed into her hands and coated them in a layer of purple light. Slowly she walked up to the blinded boy and a rather pointed canine tooth sparked from between her red lips. "Say goodnight asshole," hissed the girl before she struck.
With perfect precision the back of her hand impacted with his face, the blow empowered by the Eldritch essence. She could easily hear the snapping of bones and it brought a slight sneer onto her lips.
The boy slammed into one of the walls and let out a second cry of pain. "You Whore! You will pay for this! You filthy little slut!" How he could speak with a broken jaw was beyond Will but she didn't care. All she cared about was hurting the bastard for what he had said.
Slowly she walked up to him, not making a single sound. The predator in her blood had awoken and was in charge of her movements. She stood at arms length before the wheezing boy, her red eyes glowing softly. Raising her left hand high she took careful aim and brought it down.
Again flesh met leather as she backhanded his other face half, launching him into the middle of the room. Again the sound of snapping bones was heard in the room as the other half of his jaw snapped clean. Only howls came from his throat as he tried to keep his jaw in place.
Will stared him down with anger burning in her eyes. Raising her left hand she formed a fist except for her index finger. The glow around her hand detached itself, forming into an only marble-sized orb floating above her nail. With a flick of her wrist she send the orb flying and it hit its target dead center: the punk's temple.
His head snapped around, his eyes widened and a new scream threatened to rip past his vocal cords before his whole body slumped.
Will smirked in satisfaction. 'Worked like a charm.' She had long since assumed that she could give her Eldritch Blasts the same effect as a harsh blow to the temple which would knock most people out in a matter of moments and she had been right. 'If course, if I had been wrong he would be dead.... not that it would matter.'
Suddenly the walls started to glow in a strange orange light that swiftly grew too bright for Will to keep her eyes open. Raising her arm to additionally shield her sensitive eyes she waited until she felt it safe to look up again.
Slowly cracking one eye open she saw that the walls no longer glowed. Looking around she swiftly tried to find any changes and was swift to find the one and only: Uriah's body was gone. 'Guess that is the measure the Oktáedron takes when someone gets knocked out.'
Looking over the floor Will saw that the doorway was open again and she let out a sigh. "Finally," she muttered as she walk to the passage. "Now I ca-" She was cut off as the doorway snapped shut yet again. "Oh COME ON," screamed Will, swiftly spinning around to look for the next one to take down. But she saw no one.
She looked left and right, up and down, front and behind in fear that someone had entered under an Invisibility spell but then suddenly her gaze fell on.... a table and chair. On the table stood a pitcher with what seemed to be water, a plate with a few slices of bread and a bit smoked meat. 'Well, the Lady DID say we would get supplied every four hours.....' Deciding to not take any chances Will sat down, going over replenishing her reserves. 'Wonder what else will happen in here......'
-----Destiny commands All-----
CUT. COPY. ARCHIVE.
first thing first: the tittle of the band and song "Scorpions - Send me an Angel". Google or YouTube it.
Now, the Arcane Thunder has started; a massive maze from another dimension filled with riddles and unfriendly people. Sounds just like what Will needs to let off steam.
if you have trouble imagining the Oktáedron: take two normal, four-sided Pyramids, place the square sides against each other and place the object on a pyramid tip.
Now for the Elven translation: it is a bastardized version of Sindarin and Quenya, the most popular dialects in Fearûn.
Again i ask you for your take on Raven, why you like/dislike him and why/if you are happy to see him gone.
That is it for today. Until next time when we return to Will and her quest to prove herself and her power.
- Nelo Akuma