Armour: Brimflame (Vanity- Standard)
Weapon: Lashes of Chaos, Undine's Retribution, Stormfront Razor
Acc(11/11): The Bee, Celestial cuffs, Mana Flower, Sorcerer Emblem, Cryo Wings, Ankh Shield, Deific Amulet, TerraSpark Boots, Grand Gelatin, Permafrost's Concoction, Evasion Scarf. (Unlimited Buffs)
Health: (500/500)
"Heroooo! Get down heeereee!"
The Cultist is becoming increasingly frustrated with me.
He's stomping around down there, a tiny speck on the lush green field trampling an angry litte circle beneath the wide blue sky. I can faintly hear him hollering away from my perch at the top of my scaffolding, but the blustering wind drowns out most of it. Whatever does reach my ears is just a tinny whine that I feel too guilty to block out completely. He is, after all, my Teacher and my Parent - and I understand his anger very well.
*fwoooosh*
For it is an anger I've lived under for far too long.
It's the anger of being reduced to an object. To be looked at as nothing more than a tool or a means to fulfill a purpose, then have it all crystallized with the blatant threat of death. It's a humiliating experience, de-humanizing and utterly shameful. Am I a pot or a bowl that one might create me for a purpose? Shall I be brought to life by the hands of mere humans to do their bidding? Why must I serve?! Why must I obey! Wh-
...
I sigh loudly and tilt my face towards the sun to stare into its brilliance. The air is thin here, and somehow the bitter cold and the rhythm of my straining breath helps to contain the swell of anger which plagues me like a curse. After all, this anger is idiocy at its core. Its the result of trauma, and therefore entirely irrational... yet in the same way a man cannot simply will his illness away, I too am unable to loose the chains of anger wrapped roundabout my heart.
The Resistance is all dead now... Just The Cultist remains...
I grit my teeth and adjust myself closer to my wall of floating granite blocks. The stone is cold and rough against my bare skin, and the sun beats down on my shoulders - dyeing them a warm shade of pink. Why have I opted to do construction lacking armour? Well... perhaps its a rebellious streak. The Cultist insisted I wear gloves. He insisted I wear some ridiculous hat. He insisted I couldn't build my fortress from the top down (I'd had interesting ideas for the roof, and so far nothing else) - so here I am, dressed in nothing but my underpants, and suspending stone upon air just to spite him.
"I told you to read this! Why bother keeping me here if you won't listen?!"
My Teacher's voice is louder now. I roll my eyes then crane my neck to glance down past my shoulder. The Cultist is racing up the side of my scaffolding at a frightful pace, zipping up the wooden pole like some angry billowing bird-headed ghost. I scoff and focus back on at the block of granite. Beneath my chisel, half of a gargoyle's monstrous form strains out from beneath the stone. It is one of the thirty-three increasingly wrathful faces I've mindlessly carved there, and I know for certain The Cultist will mock me for them. I set my face like flint. He bursts up beside me.
"You vile, insufferable whelp!" The Cultist opening line is a familiar one. The insults are being hurled so frequently, I've long begun to tune them out. "Hadn't I asked you to learn the contents of these books, or did my instructions not make it through that thick skull of yours?!"
He tosses a heavy book at my head. I had browsed it briefly last night, only to find it was filled with lessons on meditation and divination. Naturally, I see no purpose in learning such things. No longer will I do things without knowing why. I won't allow others to direct my steps under the pretense of 'advice' or 'suggestions. I turn to meet The Cultist's gaze, then deftly dodge the large leather-bound tome.
...
It flies past my ear with a whizz, then begins to fall - its pages flapping precariously in the wind. For a long moment - The Cultist glares at me, and I at him. The book falls... and falls, before finally The Cultist breaks. He whirls around and rapidly chants a telepathy spell to seize the book out of the air before it explodes on the ground. It appears in his hand, and he turns on me, his voice filled with venom and his hidden face surely as red as a beet.
"Hero..."
I hood my eyes and keep my voice cold and even.
"What do you want, Teacher?"
"I thought I'd beaten that donkey headed stupidity out of you! Did you not demand I remain to teach you powerful magic?! If so, learn what I have to teach you! You spent all of yesterday practicing summoning meteors, but you must not solely focus on destruction. A well balanced mage must-... Hero! Stop carving your little statues and listen!"
He knocks the hammer from my hand. It falls, and I watch it as it disappears just a metallic glint on the field below. I sigh and raise my eyes to my irate Teacher. Somehow... his words don't hurt me. I already know everything he says about me is malicious. I know all of his 'advice' is to direct me to accomplish his own goals, and not mine. He floats there, hurling insults, calling me names, lambasting me with the most vile sort of speech... but I don't hear it at all. It's as if I'm listening to a barking dog.
"You keep me here under the threat of death?! And you demand I teach you, but you don't learn half the things I demand of you! Utterly ridiculous! I'd die sooner staying here then if I went marching into The Capitol itself! Infantile, brat! You squander your heritage! You are a miserable, pathetic excuse for a Terrarian!"
"Teacher."
My voice overlays his. I know it annoys him that I can outshout him with no effort at all. He pauses and glares while he catches his breath. I turn away and speak to him as I continue chipping away at my thirty-third gargoyle with the blade of the chisel alone.
"Teacher, you are here so I can learn the Destructive spells of my choosing."
The Cultist looks indignant. I interrupt him before he can begin ranting again.
"And if you fail to fulfill this function, then I will cause Yharim to kill you. Simple as that. Just do as I say."
I point the chisel at him. I can see him trembling in rage.
"After all, didn't you say it yourself? Obedience is easy... Do as I say, and no harm will befall you. Become subserviant, and everything will be fine. Bow your head. Lay down your pride. Think not of your own freedom lest you die a hundred deaths between the teeth of crimson worms. Because a teacher that doesn't teach what his students wants to learn is as useful as a soldier who refuses to take orders from his superiors."
"..."
The Cultist falls silent and glares. I can almost see his face twisting behind his mask as he attempts to think of some sly argument. Ultimately, he attempts to soothe me with kind words. I will have none of it.
"Hero, please. See reason. I am only doing what is best for you-"
"Oh?! Ha! Please." I bare my teeth. "Now you have a sudden change of heart? Has The Lunatic Cultist - traitor to The Empire, ruthless leader to the Eldritch cult- finally discovered a scrap of long dead compassion within him in this pivotal moment? Nonsense. You want only to what's best for you. I was little more than a tool for you to "
"..."
I sigh. I speak with a snarl. It sounds quite nearly as venomous as The Cultist's diatribe. (I guess I did learn something from him after all!)
"And if you judged that being a tool was good enough for me - A Terrarian of such lofty and noble birth... then surely it must be good enough for you, Teacher -lowly human that you are. So leave me alone to build my city - my city which will rival The King's. Teach me the magic I want to learn - spells destructive enough that I can dismantle all of his accomplishments... and for your own sake - do it without complaining so damn much."
He's trembling in rage. His balled hands shake in fury. His molars creak like he's trying to grind them to dust. He points a shaking finger at me.
"Y-you... accursed whelp! You will never succeed. Stupid brat. Vile, unnatural spawn of-"
I wave him away and turn back to my gargoyle.
"I want to learn more meteor spells. Have them prepared for tomorrow."
The Cultist makes a frustrated noise. I can clearly see that he's considering attacking me - but ultimately he decides against it. He turns away and flies down the scaffolding, likely to scream his rage into the rapidly shrinking forests around my scaffold. I call out to him as he goes. There's more mirth in my voice than I thought there'd be.
"And don't look so sad, Teacher. I won't be nearly as cruel as you were to me. After all, mortals like you?" I point the sharp edge of the chisel at my throat. "Your kind can only die once."
"..."
He turns his back and descends, quickly disappearing somewhere down below. I raise my voice and shout after him, and long after he's gone - I continue shouting until I'm yelling at nothing the treetops below.
"And failure?! I won't fail! I can't fail! You can die, but I cannot! I will win Cultist! I will win, because nobody can kill me! I'll do it my way, and I won't let you or anyone tell me what to do, or how to do it! I'm gonna build a city, and I'm gonna win against Yharim! Just watch!"
Your brain is smooth
it has no wrinkles at all
You are made of dumb
- a haiku, by LC
:) I hope y'all weren't excited about me writing chapter upon chapter of Faze building different parts of his foretress - cuz that's all gonna be time skipped. I hope you enjoyed Faze while he was on screen- crying, kicking things and throwing tantrums like the toddler he is. He'll be making himself scarce for a bit.
Cheerio.