The Horned Man [Enoch]

The sprawling underdark of Karnor.

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Kala Leukos
Posts: 669
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:21 pm
Title: Lady
Location: Kalzasi
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=933
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=934

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Kala's head cocked to the side, curious.

"Commander Emmerich was last seen in Gel'Grandal, I believe," she said. As far as she knew, he had died a Kathar, subject to the Obelisk when it was raised. If she was purposefully vague, it was only so as not to put the strange man into an emotional tumult from which she couldn't pull him. That would make it all the more difficult to keep him alive, a relic of a bygone age. There was much he could teach their people, however, and if Mother Naori had bade her unify their people, which horned man would be more helpful than a Firstborn with an ax to grind with the Imperium for sins long past?

"Be at ease. We have aether."

Kaus stepped forward and they both conjured aether fit to task toward elemental magic, but they kept it in a primal state, pure energy for the Lysanrin parts of him to sup upon. His snaked forward, meeting Kala's as they joined into one whorl of energy before the man's face. It lit up noble features as they memorized his face, his amber eyes, and his ebon curls. Between the two of them, they conjured enough to satiate him without unduly spending of themselves.

But at least he was on his feet and they were giving him what he needed to recover quickly out here in the Otherwilds. Kala wasn't about to leave one of her people behind.
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word count: 250
I tell you: one must still have chaos within oneself,
to give birth to a dancing star.

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Enoch
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:56 pm

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Emmerich was in a place called Gel'Grandal? He would need to go there soon, would need to find him. His heart settled with relief as the hunger in him grew feeling the surging Aether swirl before him.

Grateful to them for the sacrificed aether, he reached out to it. Tiny flecks of reflective black minerals began to seep out of him. Like shifting sand it began to coil about the energy. Leeching it from the air. Warmth and color returned to his skin. Tightness in his flesh softened to a more hydrated look. Life refilling him like a mummy returning to life. Along with it, his vision began to clear. Fuzzy blobs became more defined shapes. Even with crisp definition not fully restored he was certainly more capable in his sight now.

The last of the offered Aether consumed started the quick dissipation of the black sand substance. He took a deep breath filling his lungs fully once again.
"Your help will not be easily forgotten. I grant you a single boon when you so desire it of that you have my word. Atoria will have to wait. Emmerich in Gel'Grandal is my first priority. It is however clear to me that the world has greatly changed since I fell. I will need to learn what has transpired since if I am to navigate the modern world."


EnochNPCMemory
word count: 258
User avatar
Kala Leukos
Posts: 669
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:21 pm
Title: Lady
Location: Kalzasi
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=933
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=934

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Kala smiled as she observed his Lysanrin abilities at work. She had never seen a Lysanrin Avialae before, but she was pleased to see it. Unity was her domain, and her race could unite with many others. It felt right. As his good health returned to him, she considered him with her eyes as well as her Rune. He was a man full-grown, and he towered over even Ceran and Indric. He made all of them look like children, but especially Kaus and Kala, who were small for their race.

"No boon is necessary, Ser Enoch," she assured him, "but if you feel so compelled, we will remember." Smiling up at the giant, she continued, "When you are ready, we can lead you to safety in Kalzasi. There, you may catch up on the time you have missed and if you still wish to go to Gel'Grandal, plans can be made."

Perhaps she should not have mentioned the seat of the Imperium, where he would either be killed or collared. She couldn't always think like quicksilver. If the powers that be could persuade him to remain in Kalzasi a while, a cooler head might prevail and he need not be lost to the Imperium. Not like Baudric. But while she stifled a sigh at the thought of her missing friend, she couldn't let his memory keep her from protecting this one.

"We have enough dragonshards that the trip has been worth our while," Kaus assured her, and he smiled at Enoch once it seemed as though the man could see him. "If Ser Enoch can walk, then we can set off without need to camp. If he can fly, then we can return all the quicker."

"But when we do," she added, "I will have to hide my wings under a glamour and I would ask that you not mention them to anyone. The women of our race abide in Atoria, and the time has not yet come to reveal my wings."
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word count: 336
I tell you: one must still have chaos within oneself,
to give birth to a dancing star.

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Enoch
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:56 pm

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Though his eyes sight had returned it still was hard to see clearly. Not enough to be a hinderance. The way the two acted with each other while the others stayed partially back told him that these two were close. It was not even a thought that they were bonded. He assumed all of his kind were. It bothered him that his was severed somehow. Even with their offer of a bond, he resisted remembering the excruciating pain of loosing so many bonds at once. His body was still recovering from whatever stasis he had been in. Best to play it safe for now. Plus with his one bond remaining he worried they would get drowned out in the web. And he was not going to abandon this link. However distant it was, it was steady and still. Probably in stasis like he was. Which meant he had time. Time to get ready to release them and bring them back into the fold.

Testing his wings as the two spoke about moving out from this place. They felt tight, but that could clear up after a couple stretches and use. Spreading them wide, he tested their range of motion. Getting the blood to start flowing to their extremities.

Flashing his own smile back to Kaus only to drop his face. A single arched brow with a cold stare at Kala.
"For what reason has any of our women deemed it necessary to hide their wings? Has the men of your age grown jealous of our fiercest warriors? Too weak their prides to celebrate the victories of our shieldmates. Clearly our sisters in Atoria don't hide themselves. So why?"

His tail coiled and whipped about behind him. Clearly confused and unamused that any of their kind should hide their wings for any reason. His face, dead cold in ire.

EnochNPCMemory
word count: 338
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Kala Leukos
Posts: 669
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:21 pm
Title: Lady
Location: Kalzasi
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=933
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=934

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The handsome Avialae seemed to be recovering his senses as well as his wits, which was a good thing, though it required she answer his questions now rather than later. She could only hope that he took shock well.

"The winged women retreated to Atoria with Mother Naori, Garel the Necromancer, and the Firstborn," she said slowly, carefully. "In living memory, only male Avialae have been born with wings. The rest of us... seemed to have been left out of our heritage. But I found Atoria and I was given back that birthright. I just haven't made it public yet because... well, it may be the hope of our people, but it will also complicate matters politically. There will be more danger than before... I do not wish to put our people in jeopardy until we can make the most of this blessing."

She put a hand on his arm, not to steady him but to anchor him to this new place and time and reality.

"I hope you will trust me and speak with discretion."

While Kaus stayed nearby, Ceran and Indric went about finishing with what they had been working on, safely gathering dragonshards. They would be given, most likely, to Master Kilvin to be forged into weapons and armor, and other marvels. More than anything, though, they had descended into the Warrens so Kala could breathe and spread her wings. Here she needn't hide herself, and they could all whet themselves like blades against the dangers below their great city.

Perhaps they hadn't had as much time to mine as they had hoped, but they had made an even more important discovery: one of their own.

None of them could say what Enoch's appearance might portend, but the boys were beginning to develop that reverence and awe for their lady that her nascent divinity might deserve.
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word count: 313
I tell you: one must still have chaos within oneself,
to give birth to a dancing star.

*
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Enoch
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:56 pm

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He didn't understand the reason for the way the people of this age thought. Didn't understand why it would matter for her to keep her wings a secret. Her explanation did not serve to satisfy his confusion, but he was not stupid. If he had gone on from here talking to any and everyone about the truths he would know to be common knowledge, he very well could be labeled as a lunatic. Especially if he was entering a town where no one would know who he is.

No right now he had to focus on gaining primal needs. After that he would then need to devour more aether as the meager amount this lady had provided he could feel already slipping away. Like a leaky amphora it leeched out of his plexus but it did not leech out of him into the area around him. Instead it trickled through the bond. Off to where ever its end lies dormant. At least the original effort on her part did kick start his natural ability to lightly syphon from the world around him.

"You need not worry. Just knowing I am, and can no longer be, in my own time. There Is much and more I must observe while I regain my strength."
Casting his eyes down to reflect on the loss of his bond to the host of his brothers and sisters. Astoria would probably be the best place to start rekindling his place amongst them. Then he could think about what he would do with his life now. Hellmaw has long since fallen. The reason behind his sacrifice and rebirth was no more. It was clear the life he wanted with Emmerich would never be a possibility. But he would not go back to a life of selling his looks for coin.

"I am ready as I can be for the journey to this Kalzasi you speak of. Along the way you can explain to me the politics and rights of the people. What kind of world I have awakened to. Then I can find my place in it."

EnochNPCMemory
word count: 374
User avatar
Kala Leukos
Posts: 669
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:21 pm
Title: Lady
Location: Kalzasi
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=933
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=934

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Kala smiled, pleased that he didn’t seem to have a problem deferring to her on this matter and most of those surrounding his appearance here and now, out of time and place. Her shoulders relaxed slightly; she hadn’t been aware there was tension there until there wasn’t.

The boys prepared things to depart, allowing her to spend time near Enoch, and so she began to answer his questions as best she could. That continued as they retraced their steps back through the Warrens. She outlined the history of their race since the defeat of the Hellmaw, then focused on Kalzasi, though she didn’t hide the reality of the Kathar enslavement from him. It as a problem all Synnekar had to face, and even if he was neither Synnekar nor Kathar, it was a divide in the current reality that he would have to contend with as well.

Along the way, they found dragonshards not large or potent enough to mine, but they were a ready source for his nourishment, at least.

Her keen Semblance caught the edges of a person’s awareness, giving her enough time to slide the cloak across her shoulders, shrouding her wings from view. Once they were in the parts of the Warrens patrolled by miners and those who protected them, it was easy to find the way home. Of course, this was no home Enoch knew, but Kala hoped he would find it hospitable until he found Atoria again, or wherever he might travel.

From the mouth of the Warrens, they flew to the Cintamani Pavilion. It was dark and so she was less worried about anyone seeing her wings. Enoch got a view of the city, though the home of House Leukos in the city was on the ground. Above, toward the mountains, were Cloudhaven and the other floating islands that also formed a part of the home of the Synnekar Avialae.

In the courtyard, they landed. Ceran and Indric took their small stash of dragonshards to the magical workshop; Kala would sort them later. She explained to those members of the household who came out to see to the young lord and lady what she knew of Enoch, wanting them to be especially considerate with him. They would answer his questions, as well, if he posed them.

“Would you like me to show you to your room?” she asked solicitously. “Or do you have more questions before you rest?”
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word count: 410
I tell you: one must still have chaos within oneself,
to give birth to a dancing star.

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Finn
Posts: 1021
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:20 pm
Location: Kalzasi
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=916
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=925

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Experience: 10 xp, available for magic.

Lore: Enoch (13); Kala (14).

Injuries: Enoch is off-kilter.

Loot: N/A

Note: Sorry to see you go, Enoch!
word count: 48
we keep on churning and the lights inside the house turn on
and in our native language, we are chanting ancient songs
and when we quiet down, the house chants on without us
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