We All Just Need A Little Push

[Dreyfus]

☬ 6th of Glade, Year 123, A.o.S ☬
Company: Himself | Thoughts: Lets take a bath | Mood: Relaxed, Alert

☬ The vampyre was still getting used to his surroundings, learning he was in a land that was filled with fauna and flora designed to kill the weak, and that was something he was adjusting to. It was still new, traveling the world outside Zaichaer. Kalzasi was a culture shock in the fact that the people were free to practice magic, so he was much more comfortable around there than in his homeland. Here however was different as he wasn't sure about the ability to camp out in the jungles so far removed from any of the nearby cities, keeping close to a nearby river.

A gentle breeze swept through the trees as he watched the river, listening to the sounds of the water and the rustling of the trees. His tail swayed side to side as he thought about his initial arrival and the group he met. If all Ecithians were as calm and accepting as they were, things may not be as bad as he thought during his stay here. Granted he hoped no one would find out about the end result of his encounter with that village.

Seeing as it was a nice day, he got up and decided to go take a bath in the water. He used that time to decompress from the stress that had seemed to build in his body. He couldnt see much, the denseness of the jungle obscuring his line of sight. He decided it was best to pay attention to the flux of aether around him, just in case something decided to make him a meal. It wasn't like he was all too worried about any of the local fauna attacking him. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Aegis]

"You're wasting your magic, boy."

The voice was low, deep, gruff, and came from across the water. He was a huge man, dark of skin, not fully Orkhan though perhaps half. He wore a set of spiked pauldrons but not much more in the way of armor or clothing. His body was sprawled in tattoos of the Ecithian style, and his gaze was intense as it set upon Dreyfus. A pair of weapons hung from his hips; one a small one handed hatchet of wood and bone, the other a mace, seemingly made of a reddish wood. He cracked his knuckles loudly as he flexed and groaned.

"If you're gonna use magic to see, you might want to make sure your eyes work well."

A water snake, startled, raced out within inches of Dreyfus, twisting over the surface of the water, diving for cover in the brush, and the man began to laugh heartily. He smiled brightly, locking eyes with Dreyfus, "It's dangerous out here for a foreigner." His arm moved in a blur, and a small pebble skipped across the water toward Dreyfus. It moved so fast that it struck a rib, and it cracked a bit. The man chuckled, "If you'd strengthened your body more, that wouldn't happy." He looked away into the grasses around them, before side eyeing back, "And don't get your blood boiling. We both know that injury means nothing to you."

The man stretched his arms wide, falling back in the small grass at the water's edge, "Have you ever wondered if maybe your life has no direction because you want something so bad, but you don't need anything?" He chuckled, "Of course not. You bloodsuckers always need so much and want so much, it's exhausting."

He hupped upright again, "I'm Skarner and you are on a path leading to a death most unpleasant. Would you rather it now, or later?" He winked as he slowly stood upright, his axe and his mace sliding down, his hands gripping their shafts firmly. "There's no bounty on your head yet, but there will be, you keep it up." A grin, "Unless that's what you want."

[Dreyfus]

Company: Skarner & Spirit | Thoughts: It all went black | Mood: Confused, Unaware, Possessed

---

☬ If he had to admit to himself, the vampyre would have berated himself as he never saw the new figure coming, he never felt his approach through the flux of aether, and that alone was unsettling to him. At first glance, he looked like some orkhan, but he seemed to have some human features about him. Whatever the case the moment Dreyfus laid eyes on him it all went black. He was floating in an endless void of black. As his consciousness drifted into limbo, his body stalled for only just a moment.

Hearing the man speak snapped it back into action, only it wasn't Dreyfus in control now, but the spirit that had sought refuge in his body. It looked to the man as he continued on, not even flinching when hit by the pebble, the sound of the rib snapping back into place. He smirked at the implication that Dreyfus was on a path to a gruesome and horrible demise. "Life isn't worth living if one doesn't go out in a blaze of glory, besides, death doesn't scare me. I will simply just return however many times is needed."

He kept his eyes on the man as he slowly moved from out of the lake, obscuring Skarner's view of his naked body as he moved to retrieve his trousers and be a bit more decent. "You speak as though you have been watching me, and I would have noticed someone spying on me in due time. So tell me stranger, just what are you and what do you wish of me?" he asked, the spirit calculating when to approach a means of betraying whatever this figure was. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Z A K U R O]

**Dice Roll Total: 4** Failed, and is Possessed

[Aegis]

If Skarner could've rolled his eyes any harder, he would've, though there for a moment, all that was visible were the white undersides. "Only the idiotic and young and those without anything that gives their heart a reason to beat spew such trash philosophy." A smirk was given, followed by the twirling of his mace between his fingers, rapidly enough that it was pulling in the winds around them both.

"I already told you, that rune is useless if you can't discern what you're seeing. You blindly stumble through magical defenses and detections, charge across paths and sight lines, and bathe in a trap. You might have the ability to look at more of the world around you, but you've never seen anything."

A sneer teasing at the corner of his smile, "And I'm not the only one that's been following you unnoticed. Do you really think this land that we've lived in for over a hundred thousand years is so wild that we're mere barbarians? Do you think the stone walls and smoke and fear of power from the land you call home is what passes for competence?"

Skarner was shaking his head, "It seems we may need to do some work abroad just to improve our reputation. After all, the Emperor thought us weak once upon a time, just as you do now." A casual shrug as the winds were ripping branches off the trees and causing waves to form in the bath as the spinning mace sped faster and faster in his nonchalant fingers. "And it will be my pleasure to help all of you to understand our strength."

He flicked the mace forward casually, sending it in a spiraling cyclone of force, with all the power of a tornado concentrated in it. Dreyfus would have exactly a single moment to react, if he even could. If he didn't move at all, it would strike him in center mass of his chest. Even a narrow miss meant the winds surrounding it would send him flying with how much power they stored in him.

[Dreyfus]

Company: Skarner & Spirit | Thoughts: It all went black | Mood: Confused, Unaware, Possessed

---

☬ The spirit knew very well what was coming, the torrent of wind alluded to the storm that was about to be launched his way. Instinctively an anchor was formed, casually tossed out in front of him as he took steps back, each causing another anchor to develop and be left. Each shield would be designed to halt the storm and wind. He wasn't counting on the form in which it would come at him.

His eyes widened as the mace was effortlessly tossed in his direction, the barriers quickly springing forth only to be shattered moments later upon impact. Dreyfus had to act quickly otherwise he would lose a large portion of his body. The only thing he could do now was force it away with his kinetics. Immediately after the last shield shattered he sent a wave of kinetic energy to push the mace away from him, if not back to its owner. The spirit would find that even that was a difficult task in and of itself.

It was being pushed back, careening into a nearby tree, the force and pressure from the mace pressing against his kinetic wave as he tried to force in a bothering direction. Using all of the strength the spirit could muster while in control, it pushed it up into the air and away from him. Falling to his knees he took a moment to catch his breath as it felt like his was being forced from his lungs as he defended against the weapon. Glowing red eyes glared at the man before standing to his feet.

"You have made your point, your kind is indeed a strong force to be reckoned with. But you haven't answered my previous question, what is it you wish of me?" the spirit asked, wondering if this man could see it, as if he could know that Dreyfus was not in control. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Z A K U R O]

[Aegis]

A feral grin grew on the man's face as his mace as just barely deflected, flying upward in the air. It curved back toward him, as though the entire attack, and Dreyfus' exact defense, had been predicted, and he caught it effortlessly, belting it. "There it is, the real one I wish to speak with."

Skarner began walking forward, speaking with his hands casually, his gaze on Dreyfus' own possessed eyes. "I have need of a unique combination of skill sets such as you and your unwary host." As he spoke, the spirit would begin to feel the strain of having to conjure so many wards in such a short span of time, as well as the dumping of aether to deflect the mace. "You see, if you keep on this reckless path here in this land that is not yours, you will be destroyed sooner than later. And that would be quite the waste. Soldiers are meant to die for a purpose, one given them by their betters."

Skarner was now directly in front of Dreyfus, his hand striking out faster than a snake, grasping the mage by the throat. Then he pulled his hand back, yanking a bit of the spirit out of Dreyfus' body. This act did not break the spirit out of the vampire's body, but it did begin draining its energy, being out of the body like this. And Skarner's grip tightened around the "throat" of the spirit, who would be able to feel a physical pain that it was not accustomed to while like this.

"You will be my soldier, the both of you."

The longer the grip was held, the more the aether of the spirit and Dreyfus combined was being drained.

"I have your scent, I have many more soldiers more capable than you both, but you have a unique relationship with a place I am interested in." He leaned in close, growling in the "ear" of the spirit, his own aura vast, deadly, sharpened to an absolute edge, "You will take this body of yours north, to Ailizane. You will use the powers bestowed upon a spirit such as yours by Bhezaxr to sow dissent among those in your homeland of Zaichaer, and in the Galerian Imperium." He squeezed even tighter, further increasing the aether drain on the pair, "If you do not, I will not send my soldiers to kill you, I will not come myself to kill you, no."

He released his grip, letting the spirit slide back into Dreyfus' body, sending them stumbling backwards into the water. "No, if you fail me, I will simply lock the both of you in a small box, just big enough that your body won't die from being crammed in there. I will have it warded so it is greatly protected from both within and without, unable to be found, unable to be opened." A smug smile grew, "And I will place it myself somewhere at the bottom of the Crystal Sea. And I will leave you there for a thousand years before I come to collect you once again."

Skarner turned to walk away, "I want a war with the Imperium, that's your goal."

He strode through the water, pausing before looking back over his shoulder at the vampyre and spirit, "You have until Searing next year." And with a wink, the man disappeared without a trace of movement more.

[Dreyfus]

Company: Skarner & Spirit | Thoughts: It all went black | Mood: Confused, Unaware, Possessed

---

☬ The spirit grimaced as it was pulled from within its host, the pain searing through it like liquid fire. Whoever this Skarnor was, he overestimated the spirit's capabilities. It was a miracle that he even was able to possess Dreyfus at this point. There was a 50/50 chance it would do so, and even it fluctuated depending on whether or not his possession was successful. To add to the spirit's mounted frustration, it had to somehow illicit war with the Imperium.

It rubbed the bridge of the vampyre's nose as it sank into the bank of the small river, contemplating exactly how to go about it. It wouldn't know until they reached Zaichaer and it could get a better grasp on how to usurp control from the vampyre and indeed fulfill the directive given to it. One year, it had one year to achieve this or risk its own extinction at the hands of a god. This was certainly not the route it believed it would take when it first attached itself to Dreyfus.

In the end, it would sigh as there was no point in trying to wrack its head around the possibilities as it sat there. "Well this is just a fine mess isn't it?" it pondered, running wet and tired hands through golden locks as it looked up through the canopy of trees. It wondered just how it would get its host to cooperate with it if it could even explain the situation they both seemed to have been thrust into. To ignite war for someone's own vendetta, but what could it do? It was at his mercy at this point, and it really didn't want to spend 1000 years at the bottom of the Crystal Sea.☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Z A K U R O]

[Aegis]

REVIEW TIME

Dreyfus

Loot: A task and a threat
Injuries: Ego maybe?

Points: 12, may not be used for magic.

Comments: Looking forward to checking in on Dreyfus in Searing 124.