What to do about Magik?
Author's note: I've always liked the works of Steven Brust involving Vlad Taltos, especially the author's earlier writings. As such, from time to time, I try to imagine an Illyana story involving that universe (gee who would have guessed). And I finally came up with one, surprisingly I've never searched for any fan fiction involving Vlad Taltos until now. I was surprised to find that there is only a small set of stories out there, well, here is one more.
() denotes mental communication. And a shoutout to en dot wikipedia dot org /wiki /Dragaera and / pmwiki / / Characters / Dragaera for various details.
Oh, and if you have not read his books then I strongly recommend his first book Jhereg, if you like that book then read all the rest in the correct order. I will try to keep any spoilers out of this work. Part 1 of what I believe will be two chapters. I put it here as it really is a kind of what to do about Magik kind of plot.
Part 66a: In which our protagonist is inadvertently early for the apocalypse
Or perhaps she is the antagonist. Such things do depend on one's perspective. And if more then two parties are involved… why… one can be both at the same time, to the determent of some, and the betterment of others.
"Phoo" Stated Magik looking at her watch, in this case a pocket watch with what were clearly not numerical symbols on the face, plus there were at least eight arrow hands and a plethora of tiny glowing dials in the watch face indicating gods knows what. Apparently she was in the know as she frowned in annoyance at the watch. She was early, in fact… seventeen hours, seventeen minutes and seventeen seconds (mark) early to be precise, which was a bit of an odd number, even for one such as she. Well, she was eager so better to be early then late in this case. Then a bit of a shrug, well… no use complaining, she'd just have to find something to occupy her time until the big event.
Hmmmm, wow… lots of magic here was her thought as she reached out with her arcane senses. She could sense one… no… two major sources of raw undistilled chaos quite some distance away, several localities that seethed with power and… an artifact of chaos manipulation not that far from her. A glance up at the red clouds that hid the sky and the sun, either a severe case of magical pollution or perhaps folks here did not like direct sunlight. Her musings were interrupted as a voice behind her announced with a sneer of irritation.
"Out of my way Easterner."
A quick turn and she confronted what appeared to be a male elf, a very tall male elf (here they called themselves humans, also known as Dragaerans) in that he was over seven and a half feet in height, with a pale complexion and brown hair. He was of the house of Dzur, not that she knew that, nor would she care if the particulars had been explained to her.
"Come again?" Was her reply as she was trying to be polite, Stephen was always going on about how she was not sufficiently polite when meeting strangers. She tended to disagree with his observations as those of demonic inclination were not known to be welcomed regardless politeness or good intentions, but why not try it his way for once.
The Dzur, not accustomed to engaging in conversations with Easterners, or to be questioned by such, simply swept his left hand over his shoulder and backhanded her into the street and out of his way. Which he felt was being quite kind, why… he could have simply struck her down with his sword (there was a very large broadsword was on his back).
Or so he tried.
Instead she moved with the strike while blocking and redirecting it with the palms of both hands before her left hand ended up gripping his thumb as she spun behind him grasping his arm, resulting in a complete lack of leverage for the Dragaeran as she forced him to his knees as the twisting grip upon his appendage was quite the motivation.
"That was rude." Was her simple response. "Apologize."
A painful gasp from the Dzur. "To an Easterner? Never!"
Which left Illyana in a bit of a quandary as what to do, so she settled on a kick to his rump that sent the elf sprawling into the dirt as she turned to go. "Mind your manners next time Elrond."
This… This was simply not done! Especially to a Dzur, and not by some Easterner wench at that! The Dzur picked himself off the ground, drew his broad sword, and lunged at back of the impertinent Easterner with a most lethal intent.
It did not go well, for him that is. She didn't even bother to manifest her soul sword as she proceeded to disarm him, while her blows rendered him senseless. Meaning she left him sprawled unconscious upon the ground with his sword shoved into the earth between his legs as a warning. Now, what to do… That's when she smelled the coffee shop, or Klava as it known in the Dragaeran empire. Illyana had recently converted to a love of coffee due to her enjoyment of a special brew of coffee from the island Krakoa.
She followed her noise into the shop, and did not pay any attention to the stares and anger on the expressions of the other elves in the street.
Part 66b: Interruptions (some time later)
(Vlad, might you and Cawti come to Dzur Mountain?) Was the sudden telepathic thought from Morrolan.
(Um… sure? When?) Was my reply, I'm Vlad by the way. Vlad Taltos of the house of Jhereg even though I'm an Easterner. Cawtil, my wife by the way and also an Easterner, and I were in my office engaging in… well… that's none of your business.
(Now would be most opportune.) Was his reply. Great… that meant it was important. Sigh… I checked with my wife and we delayed our ongoing activities for a later time.
(Okay… we'll be there in…) I gave it a thought, and our state of undress, (five minutes.)
(It should suffice. Please do hurry as there is a situation.)
Yeah… something bad was happening. (What?)
(Sethra informs me that a demon has gained access to our world.)
Part 66c: Klava (some time before)
Illyana had manifested in one of the richer districts of the city Adrilankha, the Dragaeran empire's capital. Easterners were not very common in that district, other then as servants and laborers. So, Illyana did not receive a warm welcome in the Klava shop as that district was almost exclusively Dragaeran, apart from some isolated and ever more rare rich Easterners who lived in Dragaeran districts and who, of course, knew their place.
This… reception was not well received by Illyana as she had recently developed a rather hash attitude when dealing with people who tried to take her coffee, or those who tried to deny it to her. Dani claimed that she was very cranky in the morning and that excessive caffeine was perhaps making her a tad paranoid but Illyana was never really a morning person anyway so she was firmly convinced that Dani was overreacting. I mean… she was kidding when she'd threatened to cut Roberto when he tried to take the pitcher of coffee away from her. Okay… kind of kidding in that I'm really not kidding kind of way as I really am going to cut you so back off this coffee is MINE!
Note that the staff had been adequately receptive in that they just wanted to sell, and they were just employees anyway, it was the customers in this case who has been upset at the gall of an Easterner attempting to frequent their environment. All of whom were now either unconscious, groaning, fled, or were carefully occupying the rear of the establishment in a very non threatening manner.
"So… yes I would like some Klava as you call it." Was her response to the polite enquiry from the Dragaeran version of a Barista.
What is Klava you ask? It is made from coffee beans, but is more like an espresso. As the author/gourmet Steve Brust explains: You press coffee through a filter made of eggshells and wood chips (hickory and cherrywood being the most common, with a vanilla bean, then reheat it so it almost boils, then the pass it through a cloth to remove any oils brought out by the heating. Some people add cinnamon, but most don't as you can just add it later. Serve with cream, whipped or liquid, and honey (this dimension does not have refined sugar).
Illyana had just refilled her cup (third helping) when the Phoenix Guards arrived, one of which was skilled in the use of sorcery. They were likewise not very welcoming and had announced with authority that there was a teleportation block around the establishment and that she was now under arrest and the failure to comply would result in her bodily harm. A statement she paid next to no attention to as she tossed a few gold coins on her table to cover the prior damages, which really was not her fault, smiled, and vanished as one of her teleportation disks took her away. Vanished with her cup that had a nice head of whipped cream with a dash of coco, and a tastily orange zest scone (her second). Leaving a very nonplussed guard commander as to the particulars involving how she accomplished that little act as he made his report via telepathic communication with his superior (Vanished in a disk of light sir. No sir, the block is still up and is not ruptured.).
Part 66d: A brief digression for details
After a quick few minutes, Cawtil and I were reasonable presentable. As I checked that various concealed weapons were properly placed upon my person I noticed my wife doing the same. As I said before, my name is Vald Taltos. Easterner, member of the House of Jhereg, assassin, minor crime boss, witch and, or so I like to think, a swell guy. My wife is likewise an assassin, mostly retired, and also an Easterner and Jhereg. We met when she failed to kill me during a prolonged gang war when… well, that's another story (See the book Yendi).
I suppose a few details will help. There are seventeen houses in the Dragaeran. They are associated with animals as they actually have some anima DNA mixed in, other then the House of Jhereg which just originally consisted of the rejects of the other houses. They are:
Phoenix—Decadence and Rebirth, smallest of the houses, current membership of one.
Dragon—War and Conquest.
Lyorn—Tradition and Duty.
Tiassa—Catalyst and Inspiration.
Hawk—Observation and Perception.
Dzur—Heroism and Honor.
Issola—Courtliness and Surprise.
Tsalmoth—Unpredictability and Tenacity.
Vallista—Creation and Destruction.
Jhereg—Greed and Opportunism. My house, my father bought his way in. The only one that allows Easterners in, for a price that is.
Iorich—Justice and Retribution.
Chreotha—Forethought and Ensnarement.
Yendi—Subtlety and Misdirection.
Orca—Brutality and Mercantilism.
Teckla—Cowardice and Fertility. Think rabbits.
Jhegaala—Metamorphosis and Endurance.
Athyra—Magic and Philosophy.
I'm an Easterner, meaning human. To confuse things the Dragaerans also call themselves human and call us Easterners because most our population is in the eastern part of the continent and outside of the empire. We just call them elves or Dragaerans, also referred to as the fey. Each house takes turns on being emperor as the cycle changes. The above list is the order in which the houses take turns as the cycle turns. Supposedly the shortest term is seventeen times seventeen years (289), and the longest is seventeen times seventeen times seventeen (4913). Yes the fey are long lived, most will have died of old age by around three thousand years. Us lucky Easterners are happy if we get fifty or sixty years.
As I said I am a witch, which means I practice witchcraft and a bit of sorcery as I do have a link to the Orb. The Orb orbits the head of the Emperor or the Empress, depending who the ruler is, the source of power for sorcery. Currently the House of Phoenix rules and the Empress Zerika IV is the current ruler.
Sorcery: Sorcery involves gathering power from physical manifestations of chaos, shaping it into spells, and releasing it. Citizens of the Dragaeran Empire can use the Imperial Orb as a conduit to access chaos safely. The Imperial Orb itself is linked to the Great Sea of Chaos, a body of liquid chaos called amorphia. Sorcery that does not use the Imperial Orb as a conduit is called Elder Sorcery or Pre-Empire Sorcery. It is performed by converting amorphia (a name for liquid chaos) into small stones and accessing their power directly, or even direct manipulation of amorphia. Elder Sorcery is much more difficult, powerful, and dangerous than standard sorcery, and it has been outlawed by the Empire for very good reasons. That reason being the cataclysm resulting from a mishap with Elder Sorcery, called Adron's Disaster, which destroyed the former capital Dragaera City (creating a new sea of chaos in its former location known as the lesser sea) and caused an interregnum in the Great Cycle and temporary collapse of the Empire. And for once the Easterners got a chance to play the invasion game, hence their presence now in the west. While the lower classes such as Teckla and Easterners rarely learn any, all nobles of the Empire learn to perform at least a few basic spells. Exceptional skill takes a great deal of effort and study. Experts in many aspects of sorcery are distinguished as "wizards".
Witchcraft: Used primarily by Easterners, witchcraft is a subtler form of magic that uses complex rituals to focus psychic energy. Witchcraft, being powered by the individual, lacks the raw power of sorcery, but can produce some unique effects that sorcery cannot replicate. Witchcraft spells grow in difficulty the more they change reality, whereas sorcery grows in difficulty as it becomes more complex, or needs to last longer. One unique ability of witchcraft is the acquisition of a familiar. Also, witchcraft can be performed with a group to enhance the power of the spell cast. Practitioners of both sexes are called "witches". Easterner witches tend to live longer than normal, and (supposedly) some rituals can preserve a witch's youth for hundreds of years (I rather want to learn these rituals).
A few words on the Empire: The Dragaeran Empire is the largest civilization on the planet. It is a massive empire, covering more than half of the only known continent in the world, and has, existed for about 250,000 years. It is a feudal society ruled by an Emperor or Empress from its capital city of Adrilankha, a bustling metropolis. The sky over the Empire is permanently overcast with reddish clouds supposedly due to millennia of magic usage. Despite the Empire's vast age, its culture has been remarkably stable, evolving only slowly. This is due in part to the very long lives of Dragaerans, in part to an ingrained respect for tradition, and in part to the meddling of the Dragaeran gods.
The Empire is frequently at war with neighboring Dragaeran kingdoms as well as the Eastern Kingdoms. Due to the almost complete lack of gender role differentiation in Dragaeran society, women are just as likely to be found in the military as any other profession.
The Cycle: The Cycle is a magically-spinning wheel in the Halls of Judgment (where the gods are and yes I've seen it) that controls the reign of the Emperor and the political fate of the Houses. Each of the seventeen Houses are represented along the wheel. When a House reaches the top of the wheel, it chooses one of its members to reign as Emperor. When the wheel turns enough to bring the next House to the top, the former Emperor relinquishes the throne, willingly or not, and a new one reigns. The House of a former Emperor becomes "descending" and loses power until it reaches the bottom of the Cycle. After a House rounds the bottom, it becomes "rising", gaining power until it reaches the top and reigns again. The order is structured so that each Emperor is naturally suited to fix the mistakes of the previous Emperor, thus keeping the Cycle constantly spinning. A notable exception is the peasant House of the Teckla, which always institutes a short-lived republic during their reign.
Oh, one more tidbit, my familiar is a Jhereg, which is a small poisonous winged lizard about the size of a large cat, goes by the name of Loiosh whom I raised from an egg. His mate is named Rocza. She's not a familiar, just his mate. I share a telepathic link with the two and only I can hear them talk, which is a blessing for everybody else as Loiosh's sense of humor is defiantly lowbrow. Of course he always points out who he learned it from.
With that we left my office and collected Loiosh and Rocza, who flew from the book shelves they had been napping on, to land on my shoulders, one on each side. I informed my secretary to got get Aklin so he could teleport us to Dzur mountain.
(Problems boss?) Asked Loiosh as I gave him a scratch under his chin, and then Rocza.
(Yeah chum, Morrolan says a demon has entered our world).
(Which means what boss?)
(You got me… time to go find out.)
Aklin then showed up and teleported Cawti and I to Druz mountain, the home of Sethra Lavode, also known as the Enchantress.
Part 66e: Our protagonist/antagonist takes in some sights
That, is a big mountain thought Illyana as she took a sip of her Klava after first nibbling on her scone. Off in the distance, said mountain was also noticeably shaped like a crouching panther. Wonder if Wakanda would be upset was another idle thought. After all, the whole panther thing is kind of their trademark.
Then a grin. Maybe… they should sue. Hmm, lots of power coming off that critter.
That critter being the mountain. The shape of the mountain reminded Illyana of…
BEGIN REFLECTION
It was shortly after the X of swords event (In the comics), where ten swords welded by the Swordbearers of Krakoa fought to save the world from annihilation from a demon invasion. Storm had wielded the blade Skybreaker, an ancient Vibranium blade forged in Wakanda and held by the Wakandan Royal Family. Storm had visited Wakanda and asked for an audience to borrow the weapon, but had been told to wait for the return of T'Challa so that he may grant permission because only the King is allowed to touch it, otherwise it is considered sacrilege. After two days of waiting and time running out for the world, Ororo stole the sword from a heavily guarded temple in the heart of Wakanda. And of course T'Challa had shown up immediately after the theft, why… one might almost infer that he had been waiting. He had allowed Storm to borrow the sword, but had destroyed that gateway between Wakanda and Krakoa after Storm had departed.
That was the past, this was the present. The present being a broody T'Challa, alone, dressed in casual robes, looking over the main city of Wakandan from a large balcony that was high in a tower. It was just after sunset, the shadows growing darker as the city lights came alive. Then a sound behind him as words were spoken.
"That was poorly done."
He twirled, surprised, then realized how somebody had managed to sneak up upon him. The method was obviously magical as Magik was leaning against the tower wall, dressed in her usual black getup.
"Your presence is unwelcomed in this land." Those were the first words T'Challa had ever spoken to Illyana.
"Yeah, I get that a lot, but Ororo deserved better from you."
A narrowing of T'Challa eyes was all the response she received.
Illyana continued as she pushed herself away from the wall and walked over to the rim of the balcony and likewise took in the view of the city. "Rather obvious, and don't think Ororo didn't see what you were doing."
A grudging reply from T'Challa. "We had to know."
A slight snort of distain from Illyana. "Nothing to know, Ororo always strives to do the right thing. You wanted to know what mattered more to her, you or the world. Which was really the wrong question."
T'Challa returned to viewing the city as both visually ignored each other. "And the correct question would have been?"
"That's between you and your ex-wife King T'Challa." Replied Illyana. "But making her decide amongst false choices, that was poorly done. She'll remember that, we all will. Such trite power games should have been beneath you. She came, she asked, she waited, you and yours did nothing while the world hung in the balance."
In truth T'Challa was conflicted about the recent choices had had done in regards to Ororo, hence his somewhat hasty words. "What would you know of ruling?"
Just a sideways sarcastic look from her to him, a reminder that she too ruled as he reflected upon just what she ruled and what she was. Then a flash of light as she teleported away.
END REFLECTION
One could infer that Illyana was not really a fan of Wakanda.
Another sip, then a flash of light as she departed. It might be fun to investigate this mountain more, but she really was on the clock as it were, best to not engage in any major distractions before the apocalypse.
Part 66f: In which a new character is introduced to the story and set upon a path
(Aliera, I, and the Empire, have need of you). Was the thought received by Aliera from Sethra. (More specifically your sword).
Aliera was currently in residence in the bedroom suite she maintained at her cousin Morrolan's floating castle. She was reclining and playing with her cat, which like all felines, felt that was but its due.
(What) was Aliera's response. With a somewhat eager tone as she was bored. Why… she hadn't fought a dual in over a week and there were currently no wars ongoing to go have fun with.
(A demon has gained access to our world. It is somewhere in Adrilankha, but it could be anywhere by now).
Tones of delight (A quest then. Alive or dead?)
(Preferable alive as I would know of why it has intruded, and how it gained access. But I suppose we could always interrogate its soul if you must slay it).
(Should take but a few moments, I do hope it resists.)
With that Aliera stood, much to her cat's annoyance, dawned her sword and teleported to the capital.
Part 66g: Vlad digressions for you oh reader
We see Vlad sitting at a small table having a drink of Easterner brandy, which is a delicacy as the Dragaerans do not make good brandy. Even odder is that most Dragaeran's insist on calling it wine as the formulation and concentration particulars of making brandy do not appear to register (i.e. brandy is just stronger then average wine, and wine is fermented fruit so brandy is wine). He is drinking Fenarian peach brandy to be specific, at Ferenk's, an establishment that specialized in serving a multitude of Easterner brandies. The place was in a rather seedy part of the Easterner district in the capital city.
Loiosh is with him and is dining on a fresh Teckla. He has very polite eating manner as he nibbles the kill.
"I suppose some brief descriptions of some of the other characters would help, so here are my completely unbiased and insightful observations, although I have been accused, from time to time, of smart-assery."
Aliera E'Kioron: She's Morrolan's cousin (more on him later). Aliera is beautiful, an amazing fighter, a powerful mage, the daughter of a goddess, has color-changing eyes (normally green but bad times a coming when they turn blue), blonde hair (blonde is very rare with Dragaerans) ...and has a tendency to be… well… She's a very high ranking Dragonlord who displays traditional Dragon traits (i.e. being a ruthless, violent, and a self-absorbed pain in posterior) to an even greater extent than just about anybody I know. Oh and she's a kind of a good friend of me and my wife. But the kind of a friend that likes to give off the vibe of tolerating me. We don't really hang out just together, just in a group of other friends, one could say our relationship is complicated for reasons I'm not going to explain (i.e. go read the books).
She has absolutely no compunctions about studying (illegal) Elder Sorcery; which she got from her dad, the one who dissolved the capital city into the lesser sea of chaos and threw the entire Empire into anarchy for over 250 years. She's absolutely devoted to said perp, meaning her late father Adron. Again the one who accidentally destroyed the Empire in an attempted coup d'etat. And a good way to get dead fast is to mention that or insult her late father. I swear, the phrase Daddy's little monster is sometimes a great description of her. Her temper is notoriously violent even for the House of the Dragon.
Deeply prideful, she doesn't accept sympathy well. Or help, really hates being helped.
She has one of the great weapons, named Pathfinder. Its aura feels neuter where Blackwand (Morrolan's sword) is feminine, dangerous but not actively aggressive (unlike Morrolan's which definitely feels hostile). As the name implies, Pathfinder can locate people and objects, as well as doing other things.
Important advice, really important, like critical! Aliera is short for her race, why… barely six feet tall, and you should never comment on this because she has an incredibly deadly weapon and will end you as her lack of height really bothers her. Oh, and She's a slightly better sorcerer than she is a swordfighter...but she's so extremely good at both that it hardly makes a difference.
Tends to either always be annoyed at something or easily annoyed. Oh, and she's second in line to be the Dragon emperor when the cycle turns.
Sethra Lavode: The legendary and feared Enchantress of Dzur Mountain, a figure who has been alive (and later undead) longer than anyone can remember, and is rumored to have actually come from the rock of Dzur Mountain itself. May be either a Dzur or a Dragon or some combination thereof; both houses have claimed she's a member at different points and she's rather mum on the topic. She's the most powerful sorcerer in the history of the Empire. Heck, she's forgotten more about sorcery than anyone else has ever learned.
Sometimes she's considered an evil enchantress and many and aspiring Dzur hero will climb Dzur mountain to challenge her. Which she supposedly then transforms them into animals. I've told her that doing such does not help with the evil enchantress rep, but she just smiles at me.
An eerie pale skinned brunette, she is a vampire after all. Vampire in that she's undead, not quite sure if that means she drinks blood and not all that eager to find out.
She has the great weapon Iceflame, a dagger that is somehow linked to Dzur mountain, and no, I have no idea what that means. She's also considered one of the greatest war leaders of all time, given half a chance to talk about military strategy, she can go on for hours (trust me, I know).
Loves to dress in black, which is the color of magic by the way. Many folks dressing in black are stating they are very skilled with magic. I find her surprisingly friendly and down-to-earth, when she's not actively trying to scare you. In fact, she's probably one of the nicest Dragaerans I know. Keep in mind that she's supposed to be older then the Empire itself
Morrolan e'Drien: He's showing up later in the story so I suppose best to give you the run down. He's a high-ranking Dragonlord (third in line to be the Dragon emperor when the cycle turns). We met a few years ago and after not killing each other we slowly became friends. Very similar to Aliera, meaning that if you insult his honor, or the memory of his uncle Adron, then he will slice you to ribbons (although if you're lucky you won't be permanently dead as resurrection is a thing here).
He wears black all the time and lives in Castle Black (which is a floating castle by the way), and as I said before, black being the color of magic, but black does not mean evil, well… mostly not evil. Oh, and the Dragon house colors are black and silver. Now naming your castle Black is considered quite arrogant, all kinds of fighting words one might say, which works out fine because he is a Dragon; meaning he loves to fight. Also the Castle has been having a continue party for the last hundred years or so (which is really fun by the way, great wine and food).
Hmmm, I remember the time when Morrolan decided to get the attention of the god Cthulhu by urinating on a statue of him. And yeah, it worked and no, I really don't want to see that again, meaning what happened after the urination.
And guess what, he also has a long sword Great weapon by the name Blackwand. Just like the other two, he's a great swordsman and sorcerer. And a witch as well, his familiar is his sword.
Now here's the weird thing, he was born in the east after the fall of the empire, back when magic did not work and did not really understand that he was not an Easterner until he was about 100 years old. He supposedly did not seem particularly curious about his abnormal height and agelessness. He was raised by humans (meaning Easterners), so he's nowhere near as much of a bigot towards us as most Dragaerans.
Rather best buds with cousin Aliera; in a friendship kind of way, not in any icky kind of way if that's what you thought I meant. They have a close relationship based on mutual respect, close kinship, and endless bickering.
Oh, and he's one of the few Dragaerans who has also studied witchcraft.
Morganti Weapons: According to Dragaeran legend, the Serioli (the original race of this world) created Morganti weapons to make war so terrible that no one would ever start one. They are magical blades that destroy the soul of any person they cut, killing victims utterly and making resurrection or reincarnation impossible. Morganti weapons are semi-intelligent and yearn to "eat" the souls of victims. People near a Morganti weapon can feel its malevolent presence. Morganti daggers are often used by the Jhereg for particularly vindictive assassinations (not that I would know anything about such things, after assassination is illegal and doing such with Morganti gets the Empire all riled up… but… I might… know somebody who has done such).
The power of Morganti weapons varies, the most powerful are called Great Weapons, which possess a number of advantages over lesser Morganti blades. Great Weapons are more intelligent (they are considered sentient by the Serioli) and can exercise their will by choosing not to devour a soul, protecting their wielder from harm, and granting their wielder a number of magical abilities unique to the weapon. There are thought to be a total of seventeen Great Weapons in existence, each with its own name and personality.
And finally, just who lives in this fun world of ours?
Dragaerans: The dominant species of the world, were created when the Jenoine magically crossbred humans with various animals. Dragaerans average seven feet tall, with slender builds and very little muscular definition. They cannot grow beards and have very little body hair (which is why I sport a very nice pair of whiskers). Their lifespans are greatly enhanced, spanning several thousand years. They consider themselves "humans," but are called "Dragaerans" by Easterners who live in the Empire. In other lands, Easterners call them "elfs" or "fairies."
Easterners: Identical to real-world humans or nearly so, occupy the lands to the east of the Dragaeran Empire, called the Eastern Kingdoms. They are considered barbarians by the Dragaerans, who frequently invade the Eastern Kingdoms. Smaller, weaker, shorter-lived, and without the aid of sorcery, Easterners have nonetheless managed to withstand Dragaeran hostility for hundreds of thousands of years. In other lands, Dragaerans call them "dwarfs."
Others: There are various other minor races, like the cat-centaurs that live by the paths of the dead and yeah, I've been there as well.
Serioli: The original humanoid inhabitants of Dragaera, possess powerful magical abilities that have yet to be duplicated by Dragaerans or Easterners. They created all of the Morganti weapons, including the Great Weapons, and the written language of magic uses their alphabet. Despite their power, they were nearly wiped out in the early years of the Empire. Survivors hide in small mountain communities and occasionally come to aid those fighting against the Jenoine. They are small and ugly by Easterner standards.
In addition, there are a number of immortal creatures that transcend the physical world of Dragaera to some degree, including:
Jenoine: A vastly powerful race of extradimensional creatures that made a number of modifications to the world of Dragaera for unknown reasons. Their thought processes are alien and difficult to understand even by the gods. They occasionally attempt to return to the planet to enslave it, but the gods and the most powerful Dragaerans fight them off.
Gods: Powerful beings that take an active role in maintaining the Cycle of the Dragaeran Empire and keeping the Jenoine at bay. At least some gods were once servants of the Jenoine, but broke away from their masters. Others have since attained godhood through various means. The most powerful gods are called the Lords of Judgment. Easterners worship them, while Dragaerans respect them.
Demons: Beings of great power who are similar to gods, but with the limitation that they can be controlled against their will.
With that Vlad raised his glass in a toast to you. "Well, that's about it for now. I'm sure I'll think some thing else to share."
Loiosh adds a comment as well (Hey boss, can I get a second Teckla?)
Part 66h: The path is found to be more complicated then first thought
"Yes milady, she teleported right through the teleportation block."
Aliera was busy interrogating the Phoenix guard at the Klava shop Illyana had recently been at. Pathfinder had led her to this location and Aliera had been surprised as to the details.
"A female Easterner? Fought and defeated more then a dozen Dragaerans?"
"Yes, and the Dzur warrior outside."
"All without weapons?"
"That is correct Milady."
Once done Aliera contacted Sethra.
(Sethra…)
(Yes?)
(Your demon has taken the form of a female Easterner, blonde, wearing all black leathers that were described as most indecent, and appears to be quite fond of Klava. She is not here as she teleported away, right through a teleportation block.)
(An Easterner, how… odd. And unarmed?)
(Yes, she did apparently smash a few with chairs and was very skilled using the broken bits to beat her attackers. I will let you know when I've found it… her I suppose.)
Aliera concentrated as she held her sword and… there… as the sword pointed north.
Part 66i: Our protagonist/antagonist makes a decision
Illyana stared at the sea of liquid Chaos, known as amorphia to those of this world. There were but tiny ripples in the liquid as it lapped at the shore of white rock chips. The crunch under her boots was defiantly coarse and not sandy at all was Illyana's musing thought as she gazed up the sea, which was more then large enough so that it reached beyond the horizon.
She had first inspected the smaller sea of chaos, where she had encountered various memorials raised to the dead and a major monument mourning Adron's disaster. Which implied to Illyana that a major idiot had let a very dangerous spell get out of hand. A shrug of her shoulders in that Oh well, some folks just had to learn the hard way kind of gesture. This second sea was much larger and felt much older.
Hmmm, she needed to do something while waiting, and she was rather full at the moment, but supposed she could get more coffee later, but, what to do? She could… and… with a mischievous grin, she stripped, first removing her boots and then all other clothing before putting her toe in the liquid.
Cold.
Hot.
Tingly.
Numbing.
Burning.
Soothing.
Painful.
Pleasurable.
It had been a while, a great while, since she had last taken a chaos swim. With that she wadded in and once the depth reached her waist, began to swim out into deeper regions. Once she reached about a hundred yards from shore she dove, surfaced, then… just floating face up while the chaos tried to consume her. Ahhhh, the epidermal attack was so… invigorating, just like she remembered. Resulting in a long lazy moment just floating and feeling fuzzy as her form partially lost definition while she enjoyed the long moment. As she just floated there her thoughts drifted to why she was here, and to Sapna, her former apprentice and somewhat foster child.
The one she'd been forced it kill.
But… for now she dwelt upon happy memories.
Part 66j: Impossibilities are reckoned with
Some time later, Aliera had found her prey, but was now greatly concerned.
(Sethra I have found your wayward demon.)
(Good, is it still alive?)
(Not sure, she… it… is… fuzzy.)
(Fuzzy? Hair? And how does that involve being alive?)
(No… the form of the demon has partially lost definition, from what I can discern of it. But of more concern is that the demon is floating in the greater sea of chaos.)
Sethra's tone of thought went from casual to high alert. (That should not be possible. What is it doing? Is this some kind of attack? I suddenly fear that the demon may be a servant of the Jenoine. I shall alert the Empress and gather forces! This may be an attempt at misdirection to draw me from Druz mountain so I must remain.)
Aliera was not certain (Agreed. Yet… I sense no attempt at magic or invocations, the entity is just floating there like… it's enjoying a… bath?)
An act that Aliera found to be irritating as only those of her lineage were supposed to be able to survive direct contact with amorphia, and only after many decades of training.
Aliera finished. (I shall attempt to deal with it.)
The first action was to raise a strong teleportation block. The second was to attract the attention of the oblivious creature. Aliera felt rather insulted that the intruder was just floating there instead of paying attention to Aliera.
Part 66k: Our protagonist/antagonist engages in a failed social interaction
Illyana was just relaxing as she hummed a song that she liked as it so fit what was to come. The rage that was always with her, which had drawn her here, was burning in anticipation of the approaching Apocalypse. The song was Battleborne by Two steps from hell and the lyrics were…
Oh
There is fire in the air that I am breathing
There is blood where the battles rage
These are faces I will not remember
Will I fight for the queen or the slave?
…
…
She supposed it was the second shout that roused her from her daydreaming, it was the fourth to be specific, and two thrown stones from an increasingly vexed Aliera. Illyana's form snapped back into definition, that being a blonde Easterner treading… well… treading chaos to be specific. A female Easterner from Aliera's vantage point as Illyana raised her head up from the liquid.
"Yes?" Was Illyana's polite reply, she has not heard the actual content of the shout as her ears had been submerged. There was a human sized female elf on the shore looking most cross about something. She was standing next to Illyana's discard clothing and was waving a very impressive sword about and looking annoyed.
"Egress immediately!" Was Aliera's declaration. She had contemplated casting something magical, but the entity being immersed in amorphia had given Aliera pause on that course of action due to the possible reactions from the amorphia.
Raw chaos was so much nicer then the distilled stuff was Illyana's abstract thought as she tread chaos (i.e. treading water). To Aliera's growing anger the blonde Easterner did not immediately comply, instead she just asked a question as if she did not have a care in the world. "Is there something wrong?"
"You are not allowed to do what you are doing! It is forbidden!" And should have been impossible, but Aliera felt disinclined to share that tidbit of information.
"By whom?" Was Illyana's polite inquiry. Likely the local authority was her internal conclusion but best to let the natives think that what they said was of value was one of Stephen's mottos even if you are going to disregard them. Illyana tended in the blunt side of the scale but not currently as her anticipation of the coming events meant that she was in a very cheerful state of mind.
"Order of the Empire!"
Illyana continued to just tread whatever the heck she was swimming in. "What empire is that?" And then a bit of snark as the elf appeared to consider her words to be very important. "Does it have a flag?"
Illyana might… just might… have begun to play dumb is it did appear to be very frustrating to the elf. Speaking of which, this elf was prudently dressed, just like the others she'd encountered, so it was looking like this was not one of those chain mail bikini dimensions. Which was a bit of a bummer as those tended to be extra violent.
Well…time to get going was Illyana's conclusion as the elf shouted a few more things that Illyana didn't bother to listen to. With that a teleportation disk took Illyana from the liquid to stand on the shore about fifty feet from the annoyed elf.
Resulting in Aliera confronting a very naked female Easterner that actually had amorphia dripping from her onto the bleach rocky beach. Dragaeran society was quite stuffy, very unchanging, and frowns upon showing too much skin in public. So Aliera was quite scandalized by this, and Illyana's apparent blasé attitude about nudity (Illyana had been rather sure that this would discombobulate the elf and Illyana did not have any real nudity issues).
And yes Aliera was somewhat discombobulated by this exhibitionist behavior, which really irritated her as Aliera hated being self conscious, resulting in the declaration.
"Cloth yourself!" As Aliera kicked the black clothing in the direction of the Easterner while holding aloft her sword with her right hand while pointing with her left hand
Illyana gave a bit of an ironic grin as she was not about to approach the armed and annoyed elf. Instead she have a shiver that shook the remaining amorphia from her body, which giggled parts of her anatomy in a most alluring way, which continued to distress Aliera as nudity was just not really something that was done in the Dragaera empire, and certainly not by a lowly Easterner. Then Illyana spoke.
"Nice sword."
As a light disk took the clothing from the ground as another one appeared above her head. Her clothing dropped down and in an instant she was clothed as the black leathers just somehow draped themselves upon her person. And Illyana meant the compliment, the sword the elf was holding was most impressive as Illyana was able to discern at least part of its nature.
Resulting in Aliera confronting blond female Easterner, looked like early twenties in age, dressed in a scandalous black short shorts, a black top with a most indiscrete boob window, tall black boots, black gloves, some kind of black sticks stuck in her hair, and there was now some kind of weird black spiky armor on her left shoulder and on her left black glove. And her clothing was very tight, all of which meant that this creature must be of low moral character, or so was Aliera's conclusion.
"So… who are you?" Was the Illyana's inquiry of the elf as the elf cautiously began to approach. "I'm Magik by the way, spelled with a K."
Magik? To have such a name was prideful boasting beyond measure was Aliera's conclusion. Aliera was quite proud of her parentage, the e in front of the last name denotes the name of the founder of a clan. "Aliera e'Kioron." The Kioron name being very prodigious, not that Illyana knew that, in that Kioron founded Dragaeran Empire several hundred thousand years ago
Illyana took a few steps back as the elf continued to advance, while holding up her hands to show that she was unarmed, another thing that Stephen was must insistent upon when meeting strangers, even if they were armed. Now Illyana was not in agreement with Stephen but her good mood meant that she'd again try it his way. She attempted some light banter.
"Nice to see somebody more my size.'
Aliera's tone was not welcoming as her eyes narrowed. "What?"
"You're by far the smallest elf I've seen so far."
The elf's expression did not look pleased. Illyana belatedly realized that perhaps this elf was sensitive about her diminutive height so she attempted to change the subject. "So what's the story about the other chaos lake? I assume that some idiot named Adron caused it. Was he stupid or just an uncaring bastard?"
Aliera had killed more then a few people who had commented upon her height, all in official duals. And demonstrated her graciousness by resurrecting then afterwards to show that she bore the defeated foe no ill will regarding their prior insults. But insulting her beloved father was not something she would forgive.
Or tolerate.
Illegitimacy is a big thing with Dragaerans. Really big. Dragaerans almost exclusively reproduce only within their house. So Dragons with Dragons, Lyorn with Lyorn, so on and so forth. And female Dragaerans apparently choose to get pregnant, unlike humans where doing the deed can result in unwanted side effects (meaning children). So questioning one's legitimacy is just about the most deadly insult in Dragaeran culture. And no, Dragaerans, other then Jheregs, do not tell 'your mama' jokes.
Aliera, being a dragon, did inform this Magik that she had taken offense in that special ways that dragons do. Meaning she gave a shout of rage and charged with murderous intent.
Illyana inferred that she had yet again somehow given offense, and that once again Stephen's methods were shown to be ineffective. Anyway combat was on offer and Illyana loved a good fight so… much to Aliera's surprise, Illyana summoned her soul sword and met Aliera's charge.
Combat could be thought of as discussed disagreement or discussion by other means so much discussion commented as blows and magics were utilized as the two blondes fought. Aliera in a rage, Magik with a disturbing look of enjoyment.
And that is how Morrolan found them when he teleported in, or tried to. Aliera's teleportation block meant that he appeared five hundred feet away. He spied the ongoing altercation, the light show from the magics and the small explosions being most helpful in locating Aliera.