Chapter 5: Penelope
That bastard necromancer was the only thing she could think about as she lay in her bed. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't be the laughing stock of the camp. "Defeated by a Priest!! How sad Penelope!!" That was what they all said, and it annoyed her. She had tried to confront him in the forest, but he had obviously been too ruthless. Her body was decorated with many semi-deep wounds from one of the necromancer's dark projectiles, but the healers had said she would be healed soon enough, and that she could even walk around now, in small bursts of course. While she normally would have taken this course of action, the sight of the blood-spotted bandages around her waist area somewhat deterred her. She spotted her staff over to the right of her bed. If she had wanted to, she could reach it and then use it as a support, but still the bandages made her somewhat sick. How her teacher must be ashamed... Erias had taught her better, and here she was just lying in bed, wounded by a necromancer. An inferior mage... How could she have become so sloppy!?
Her mental ranting was stopped by the pitter-patter of quiet yet seasoned boots, someone was coming, maybe to see her, or maybe just to berate her like the others. How humiliating it was for a Zann Esu to lose to a Priest!!! She had been training with Erias for over six years, and even though she was obviously the best out of her "batch" of recruits, they still had the gall and the impudence to chide her! She had gone over the battle again in her head, and she saw that her error lie in her use of Electric Shield. Penelope realized that she obviously wasn't ready to exert such control over her art, after all. Erias was right on that. The older, but not much older, sage had warned her that she wasn't ready to exercise her shield, but she hadn't listened, and tried it anyway. It had left her drained and almost dead, if Erias hadn't been there to save her, that was.
The visitor had walked into the room at last. To the surprise of Penelope, she was greeted by, not a chiding associate, but by her own sage teacher, Erias Vaughten. Erias was a special member of the Zann Esu tribe, and so was Penelope by association. Erias had been one of the adventurers that traveled from the Sightless Eye to the Gates of Heaven in search of the Prime Evils. This quest, and its success, had brought immense popularity to the women herself, but ever since, she and the elders seemed... Burdened by something. All of the Zann Esu elders were tired as of late. Granted, they were all close to their sixties, but usually they all had a great amount of vitality. Now Erias, undoubtedly the youngest of these elders, being only 12 years her apprentice's superior at 25, was standing in the doorway, her eyes locked with those of her apprentice. A sort of silence filled the room, but so did Erias' magic aura. The involuntary field completely dwarfed Penelope's own, but still the exhaustion in the older sorceress was apparent. Being the young, rash, and straightforward one, Penelope broke the ice;
"It's so nice to see you in here, teacher...And entering in the most mundane fashion."
"Yes, I know. Teleporting has its advantages, but I didn't want to disturb you in case you were sleeping."
"Well, obviously you don't have to worry about that."
"Hmm." The older sorceress smiled, she was obviously thinking of something, and then she continued;
"How are you doing? Are you feeling better?"
Erias cringed inwardly, for she knew at that moment that she had asked the wrong question. Penelope's normally gentle, delicate face twisted into an avatar of hatred and disgust. Obviously she still felt some physical pain from the wounds, or perhaps it was merely emotional. Whatever the effect, Erias assumed that it wasn't just the wounds that were loathed, but their bringer as well.
"I'm fine... But that damn dirty Rathma Priest won't be!! I swear that one day I'll venture up into his tower and-"
"Get yourself killed?"
Penelope's look of disgust intensified. She seemed to hold her adversary in the utmost form of contempt possible. This happened many times with Zann Esu sorceresses, as Erias had seen many times over the years, even with the Elders. Tired as they were, the Elders were still convinced that their art was the only true magic art of the world, and again that they were the world's foremost practitioners of it. Erias hated their ignorance, but didn't want to take that out on Penelope. Because of this, she allowed the girl to continue.
"No! A Priest like that couldn't kill me!! Never! The unworthy dog.."
Definitely contempt. There was nothing left for Erias to do except interject;
"He almost did."
"Ah, but he didn't."
Erias was getting slightly annoyed. Penelope wasn't usually this impudent, but she had been changed somehow. Being defeated had taken her down a notch, and she didn't like it. She always had to be the best. Being beaten by a member from another magic clan wouldn't make her any happier either. Penelope was getting almost too egotistical, so Erias drove one final statement home;
"Yes.. But only because of me!"
This quick conversation obviously got the best of Penelope. Even with the injuries she sustained, Penelope slowly, but angrily got to her feet, and, with a slight display of pain, grabbed her staff. Looking over at her teacher as she walked out of the door, she spat;
"I'm going for a walk.."
Erias stood there, silent as her apprentice stormed out of the quarters she lived in. Releasing a long sigh, Erias teleported out of the building. More pressing matters were at hand right now. Dissonance among the elders was brewing slowly but surely in the Zann Esu system. The Elder's had only finalized the alliance of the Zann Esu and the Vizjerei a few days ago, and now it seemed that they were squabbling over something again. Erias had been trying to act like a moderator to the whole thing, but to no avail. Now, however, it was time to prepare for a very important gathering....
Faust MMIV was sitting, alone for now in the antechamber of his quarters in the family mausoleum. His son had gone missing a few hours ago, with no great loss to his father. Now, without his son, Faust could brew grander plans for himself, and Sanctuary. The alliance of the Vizjerei and the Zann Esu worried him only a small amount, for now that they were joining did he have a larger grasp on what was happening in the world. The two mage clans were too different in their core values to align naturally, so Faust knew that their had to be a unifying goal or objective in their alliance. Now Faust was pondering that purpose, If he could find it, then he would have an advantage.
Faust's thoughts were interrupted suddenly by three figures quickly entering his room. Even though his concentration was broken, he couldn't help but smile at the three new arrivals. The shadows of the room clouded their features, but their auras and their postures were dead giveaways as to what they were. With a wave of his arms, Faust spoke;
"Wow.. I didn't expect to see anyone here so soon... Please sit down, gentlemen."
That bastard necromancer was the only thing she could think about as she lay in her bed. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't be the laughing stock of the camp. "Defeated by a Priest!! How sad Penelope!!" That was what they all said, and it annoyed her. She had tried to confront him in the forest, but he had obviously been too ruthless. Her body was decorated with many semi-deep wounds from one of the necromancer's dark projectiles, but the healers had said she would be healed soon enough, and that she could even walk around now, in small bursts of course. While she normally would have taken this course of action, the sight of the blood-spotted bandages around her waist area somewhat deterred her. She spotted her staff over to the right of her bed. If she had wanted to, she could reach it and then use it as a support, but still the bandages made her somewhat sick. How her teacher must be ashamed... Erias had taught her better, and here she was just lying in bed, wounded by a necromancer. An inferior mage... How could she have become so sloppy!?
Her mental ranting was stopped by the pitter-patter of quiet yet seasoned boots, someone was coming, maybe to see her, or maybe just to berate her like the others. How humiliating it was for a Zann Esu to lose to a Priest!!! She had been training with Erias for over six years, and even though she was obviously the best out of her "batch" of recruits, they still had the gall and the impudence to chide her! She had gone over the battle again in her head, and she saw that her error lie in her use of Electric Shield. Penelope realized that she obviously wasn't ready to exert such control over her art, after all. Erias was right on that. The older, but not much older, sage had warned her that she wasn't ready to exercise her shield, but she hadn't listened, and tried it anyway. It had left her drained and almost dead, if Erias hadn't been there to save her, that was.
The visitor had walked into the room at last. To the surprise of Penelope, she was greeted by, not a chiding associate, but by her own sage teacher, Erias Vaughten. Erias was a special member of the Zann Esu tribe, and so was Penelope by association. Erias had been one of the adventurers that traveled from the Sightless Eye to the Gates of Heaven in search of the Prime Evils. This quest, and its success, had brought immense popularity to the women herself, but ever since, she and the elders seemed... Burdened by something. All of the Zann Esu elders were tired as of late. Granted, they were all close to their sixties, but usually they all had a great amount of vitality. Now Erias, undoubtedly the youngest of these elders, being only 12 years her apprentice's superior at 25, was standing in the doorway, her eyes locked with those of her apprentice. A sort of silence filled the room, but so did Erias' magic aura. The involuntary field completely dwarfed Penelope's own, but still the exhaustion in the older sorceress was apparent. Being the young, rash, and straightforward one, Penelope broke the ice;
"It's so nice to see you in here, teacher...And entering in the most mundane fashion."
"Yes, I know. Teleporting has its advantages, but I didn't want to disturb you in case you were sleeping."
"Well, obviously you don't have to worry about that."
"Hmm." The older sorceress smiled, she was obviously thinking of something, and then she continued;
"How are you doing? Are you feeling better?"
Erias cringed inwardly, for she knew at that moment that she had asked the wrong question. Penelope's normally gentle, delicate face twisted into an avatar of hatred and disgust. Obviously she still felt some physical pain from the wounds, or perhaps it was merely emotional. Whatever the effect, Erias assumed that it wasn't just the wounds that were loathed, but their bringer as well.
"I'm fine... But that damn dirty Rathma Priest won't be!! I swear that one day I'll venture up into his tower and-"
"Get yourself killed?"
Penelope's look of disgust intensified. She seemed to hold her adversary in the utmost form of contempt possible. This happened many times with Zann Esu sorceresses, as Erias had seen many times over the years, even with the Elders. Tired as they were, the Elders were still convinced that their art was the only true magic art of the world, and again that they were the world's foremost practitioners of it. Erias hated their ignorance, but didn't want to take that out on Penelope. Because of this, she allowed the girl to continue.
"No! A Priest like that couldn't kill me!! Never! The unworthy dog.."
Definitely contempt. There was nothing left for Erias to do except interject;
"He almost did."
"Ah, but he didn't."
Erias was getting slightly annoyed. Penelope wasn't usually this impudent, but she had been changed somehow. Being defeated had taken her down a notch, and she didn't like it. She always had to be the best. Being beaten by a member from another magic clan wouldn't make her any happier either. Penelope was getting almost too egotistical, so Erias drove one final statement home;
"Yes.. But only because of me!"
This quick conversation obviously got the best of Penelope. Even with the injuries she sustained, Penelope slowly, but angrily got to her feet, and, with a slight display of pain, grabbed her staff. Looking over at her teacher as she walked out of the door, she spat;
"I'm going for a walk.."
Erias stood there, silent as her apprentice stormed out of the quarters she lived in. Releasing a long sigh, Erias teleported out of the building. More pressing matters were at hand right now. Dissonance among the elders was brewing slowly but surely in the Zann Esu system. The Elder's had only finalized the alliance of the Zann Esu and the Vizjerei a few days ago, and now it seemed that they were squabbling over something again. Erias had been trying to act like a moderator to the whole thing, but to no avail. Now, however, it was time to prepare for a very important gathering....
Faust MMIV was sitting, alone for now in the antechamber of his quarters in the family mausoleum. His son had gone missing a few hours ago, with no great loss to his father. Now, without his son, Faust could brew grander plans for himself, and Sanctuary. The alliance of the Vizjerei and the Zann Esu worried him only a small amount, for now that they were joining did he have a larger grasp on what was happening in the world. The two mage clans were too different in their core values to align naturally, so Faust knew that their had to be a unifying goal or objective in their alliance. Now Faust was pondering that purpose, If he could find it, then he would have an advantage.
Faust's thoughts were interrupted suddenly by three figures quickly entering his room. Even though his concentration was broken, he couldn't help but smile at the three new arrivals. The shadows of the room clouded their features, but their auras and their postures were dead giveaways as to what they were. With a wave of his arms, Faust spoke;
"Wow.. I didn't expect to see anyone here so soon... Please sit down, gentlemen."