#nirael ic

[goddesstrolls]

Anirus stood on the highest deck, looking out over the calm ocean. Light winds made slow travel, but at least things were peaceful.

They were two weeks out from shore now, having just reunited with two crewmembers- Celees, and Nirael.

Anirus had been surprised to see the former, but after regaling woeful tales of betrayal and abandonment by her lusus and friends, they were glad she chose to return.

Nirael came and went as he pleased, somehow managing to find the ship when he so desired. He paid them well with each visit and caused little trouble apart from ruffling some feathers with his flippant demeanor.

This time, he seemed in low spirits, barely acting like his haughty self and spending more time away below deck in the cargo hold. Though, as per usual, he badgered Anirus for work or did whatever unattended jobs he could find.

With the calm seas came downtime, and most of the crew was loafing about, doing some odd tasks to occupy them.

One troll sat on the railing with a fishing rod. As far as Anirus had seen, he'd caught precisely nothing, which wasn't much of a surprise.

Anirus watched as something tugged hard on the rod. The crewmember pulled back, resituating himself for better stability on the railing… And then pulled up his line, baitless and fishless.

Anirus smiled faintly to themselves as the troll probably muttered a curse- They were across the ship, unable to hear- And went to re-bait his hook.

Then they caught a flash in the moonlight, on the other side of the ship. They glanced, but saw nothing.

And then with no further warning, the sea roiled around the ship. A massive scaled serpent breached the surface, long coils winding around the vessel and ensnaring it. Anirus narrowly avoided getting crushed by one such coil, watching in dismay as the beast tightened its grip and cracked the wood of the deck and hull.

"Attack! We're under attack!" Bellowed Anirus, turning their head to find one of the serpent's coils blocked their path to their quarters, where their weapons lay. The crew had already begun to move, dodging the serpent and fumbling for weapons with which to jab the beast with.

Anirus willed up their psionics, but knew that it would take far too long to summon up a bolt of lightning or anything strong enough to drive off the serpent. The sky was clear, and in these conditions it would take at least an hour to whip up a storm, even with all the water around them.

"Oh, I see." They heard a calm voice from below, and watched Nirael step out from the cargo hold. Nirael looked up to Anirus, and smiled. "Save your psionics, Captain, we'll need you in good sorts, won't we?"

With that, Nirael reached out and lay a hand on one of the serpent's coils blocking his path. Anirus wasn't quite sure what happened- Psionics of some sort that Nirael never mentioned, not that they knew fuchsias could even have psionics- But there was a flicker like lightning, and a massive chunk of the serpent exploded.

No, it didn't explode, not exactly- There was some gore, some viscera, but it was reduced to a fine mist.

The serpent shrieked and pulled away, too tangled in the ship to recoil and instead jerking the entire vessel along like a toy.

The beast lunged for Nirael, quickly pinpointing him as the cause of its distress- The other crew members barely seemed to have pierced its hide, thick and slick with algae.

Nirael deflected the blow with a single strike of his palm and then grabbed the beast's lower jaw, its teeth so large he barely had to mind where he put his hands.

He planted one foot on the serpent's jaw and kept the entire creature pinned with apparently no effort, Anirus watching as the massive creature writhed uselessly under Nirael's grip.

Nirael extended a hand. There was a pulse in the air, like a giant heartbeat of the universe itself. The beast froze. A second pulse, and then the serpent was unmade.

That was the best way Anirus could describe what happened. They watched as its skin split along its spine and disintegrated, followed rapidly by layers of tissue and muscle, and by the time the bones were reached by this wave of destruction, the beast was gone, rendered into mist. The mist drifted away on the wind and disappeared, and the ship rocked for a moment as it righted itself.

All was still and calm just as it had been minutes before. Nirael straightened and dusted off his palms. "Well, let me see if I can do something about those leaks."

"Oi!" Heil barked, darting forward. He snagged Nirael by the collar, and Anirus tried to comprehend why the violetblood looked so furious. "What the hell was that?!"

"Just some extreme measures," Nirael brushed Heil off, walking towards the railing. "We're taking on water, so that should take precedence here, no?"

"You- There's no way you're—"

Heil cut off as Nirael jumped overboard. Anirus realized they were gripping the railing tight enough that their knuckles showed white, and relaxed. "Heil, he saved us. I don't think we should look a gift horse in the mouth." Anirus said levelly, trying to process what just happened themselves.

"It's not that- He's- By the stars, there's no way it's him." Heil just stared at the spot Nirael vanished at, some mixture of horror and disbelief on his face.

"Heil?"

Anirus picked their way carefully down the broken steps to the main deck as Heil shook himself. "Nevermind. It's nothing, Captain."

Anirus patted his shoulder wearily. "Let's just focus on assessing the damage, and thank the heavens for our stroke of luck."

"Yes, Captain."

[bastsoldtrollblog]

Nirael went to sip from his glass of wine, and then paused when he saw a face that was not his own peering back at him in the reflection.

“High Priestess.” He chirped as a pleasant greeting, and then paused. “Why am I not surprised to hear from you now?” His matesprit Tosiol, curious, looked up from her own goblet.

“You’ve felt it too, I assume.” Akidis’s tiny reflection said. “My deepest apologies for contacting you like this- Cataclysm.”

“No, no.” Nirael’s expression darkened, for just a moment. “Desperate times, you know. This is certainly no way to have a conversation, though, can I convince you to try something a little more comfortable?”

“Don’t phrase it like that, dear.” Tosiol pat his arm, leaning to peer worriedly into her matesprit’s goblet.

“Oh, now whose mind is in the gutter?” Nirael teased. Tosiol shot him a warning glance, and Nirael smirked before turning his attention back to the goblet, clearing his throat. “Ah, disregard that, Priestess, I meant no offense.”

“None taken, Cataclysm. I am asking for sanctuary. Something powerful hunts us, and I can shed some light on the...Recent change.”

“You’ve piqued my interest, Priestess. Can I ask you to draw a certain sigil, and I’ll pull you through using that?” Nirael got to his feet, bringing his goblet with him.

“Can you destroy the sigil once we’re through?”

“I most certainly can.” Nirael held out his hand, and a blazing rune sparked to life on the stone floor. He passed a hand by the goblet, changing the image Akidis could see to an image of the rune. “Copy this, and activate it.”

After a few moments, Nirael sensed that the rune had been drawn- In blood, no less- And activated.

“Ready, Priestess?”

“We’re ready, Cataclysm. There are three of us.”

“Understood.”

Moments later, three trolls- One of which he had been speaking to through his goblet of wine- Appeared on the rune. Nirael grinned broadly at the three of them.

“Blood, Priestess? How very unlike you.”

“My son, here, is a blood mage.” Replied Akidis, resting her hands on the arm of a tall, blind troll at her side. His horns were broken, but Nirael could see the family resemblance.

“How interesting! Come, join us, we were just having dinner.” Nirael gestured to the dinner table, and then stopped and clapped his hands. “Oh, right. Introductions. So used to people just knowing who I am, you know. I am Nirael Mikari, otherwise known as The Awakened, or Cataclysm.”

“Paznic Mitaze.” Rumbled the blind man.

The third troll, a rustblood boy who was already shivering in the cold of the castle, threw a confused glance at Paznic before looking hesitantly back to Nirael.

“L...Lonnen Alfira.” The boy mumbled.

“My name is Tosiol Hasiya, The Inspired.” Tosiol said from the table, smiling serenely. “Come here, Lonnen, I’ll give you my cloak.”

[goddesstrolls]

"Come on, that's all you've got? After all that bluster?!"

>> You jeer at the troll you just disarmed and threw down the street in the same motion, as they lie in a haphazard pile from the blow.

>> You're bored out of your mind, so you've been challenging passersby to "friendly" duels. Of course, few sane trolls would challenge an obviously very experienced fuchsia, so you've provided an astronomical sum of money (In the form of a large sack of hundred caegar pieces sitting tantalizingly in the center of the little 'arena' you've set up) and the promise of a favor from you if they manage to disarm you.

>> You lower your weapon, tilting your head as you watch the troll scramble to their feet, collect their weapon, and outright flee in shame.

"Hmh. Coward. Anyone else?"

>> You call out to the crowd that's gathered, lifting your sword again to rest it on your shoulder. You're getting worked up, at the very least, so it's not all been bust.

[goddesstrolls]

MIASMA02//GHOST07

Nirael stood in the garden, tending to an overgrown rosebush.

He'd never considered he might find himself gardening at any point, but something about hacking through overgrown undergrowth and pulling weeds was cathartic.

Mist drifted about his ankles. He moved through the garden heedless, not finding it unusual for the freezing area along the sea that the castle was built in.

The mist moved as though piling up, drifting higher until Nirael realized he was enveloped. Something didn't feel right. It wasn't regular sea fog.

He held up a hand, using magic to dissipate the fog.

Nothing happened. He felt energy welling in his chest, but it was weakened, stifled. And his spell certainly did nothing to the fog.

He covered his mouth and nose with his hand, and then dared to plunge through it into it to re-enter the castle. Fortunately, the fog had not gotten indoors.

He quickly sought Tosiol, plucking the strings of their bond to locate her- But finding even that was difficult. She seemed mildly started as he barreled into the kitchen.

"Tosiol! Are you alright?"

"...Yes? Did something happen?"

Nirael warily lowered his hand from his mouth, wondering now if he were simply imagining things.

"I...No. I don't think so."

Tosiol lowered the kitchen knife she had been using to chop up vegetables, and turned to lay her hands on his arms, comforting and concerned. "Are you sure, Nirael? It's not like you to get so uneasy."

Nirael turned his gaze away from her. "...It'll be fine. I hope. Just ... Paranoia, I think."

[goddesstrolls]

>> You sit at the bar, ignoring how out of place you are even without your really quite minimal regalia.

>> You're sulking, a bit, your elbow on the bar and your chin in your palm as you nurse your nearly-finished drink. Most trolls have been too wary to talk to you... Or they assume you're a stuck-up asshole.

>> You're rather disappointed you chased Astirn off. He seemed like one of the few trolls who'd be on your level in any sense.

>> You're also remembering things that, normally, you'd think you ought not to. Remembering how you did this sort of thing as a soldier. You... Don't remember very well.

>> Your gaze flicks up as someone sits next to you, but for once you make no effort to engage with them first.

[goddesstrolls]

Nirael, that doesn't seem like much of a plan- do you have any idea who to even go after? A lead? A safe place, if the castle isn't one anymore?

"I'm working on it."

"That's all you need to know."

[goddesstrolls]

Some weeks later....

(Collab drabble with @nihils-trolls)

Nirael slid out of the saddle, his boots thumping on the sand. He stumbled slightly, beyond weary from traveling for weeks with scarcely any rest, but his fatigue was nothing compared to his fury.

“ASTIRN!” He roared as he stormed up to the small desert hive, drawing his sword at the same time. If Astirn weren’t coming out, he would be kicking the door in. 

After a pause, the front door opens to reveal the tall bronzeblood, wearing a puzzled expression. “... Cataclysm? What on-”

Nirael lashed out to grab Astirn by the collar, yanking him nearly off his feet to bridge what short distance was between them. “I ought to hack your head off your shoulders now, but I’ll give you the chance to explain yourself.” He snarled, his eye tinted red with rage. His magic was depleted entirely, gone over the weeks of his travel- But he could still make someone suffer if he needed to.

“-Explain what!” Astirn huffed, regaining his footing. “You’re the one out here demanding my attention, what the hell did I do?” He could tell something was off, glancing at Nirael, but couldn’t determine what yet.

“My wife’s been ill. And my magic–” Nirael hissed, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Did you think I’d be helpless without it? You’re the only troll who could slip past my defenses and do thi–” An involuntary shudder ran through Nirael’s body as his breath fled his lungs, his eyes widening. The sword slipped from his grasp and dropped into the sand. 

Then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, dead before he hit the ground. Astirn had moved to try and escape to make his next argument- apparently, unnecessary. 

Shocked by the suddenness of this all, Astirn catches his breath and then refocuses. Without much thought to it, he stoops down to lift Nirael’s torso from under his arms, dragging him inside of the hive.

But as he starts descending the stairs in the hallway, Astirn begins considering everything said. He had no idea why Nirael was so furious- or didn’t, until now, he guesses. It made sense- Nirael’s soul had disconnected entirely from his now-dead body, bound to the enchantment in his bones. A hidden spell only Astirn would be aware of with his abilities, apart from Nirael himself- and the conclusion that Astirn had been the one to do something to it was an obvious one. 

If incorrect.

Moving aside a small table, Astirn then lays Nirael down in the center of the room. Nothing appeared physically wrong, apart from fatigue- but that could be anything. What bothered him the most was the fact that Astirn couldn’t sense an ounce of the destructive energy Nirael usually had, wreathing him like smoke. It was as if he were entirely mundane. 

The thought of Cataclysm being mundane in any sense made him scoff as he continued to look Nirael over. Astirn could tell, finally, something else was present in the body. An unusual energy- not quite biological, but not fully magical either. It was certainly nothing arcane- and it was eating away at Nirael’s bones.

Astirn didn’t dare to meddle with it yet, not with the very little he knew. But he still needed to speak with the troll that had been coming for his throat. 

Setting himself down on the floor as well, Astirn exhales- closing his eyes and reaching out his hand to put on Nirael’s chest. With a moment of focus, Astirn guards himself and extends a part of his own soul to meet Nirael’s- envisioning a space to stand in.

In this place, Nirael’s spirit had already manifested, sitting in the darkness with one hand over his face. He watched Astirn through the gaps in his fingers, a wariness like a cornered animal in his eye.

“First off,” Astirn began. “I’d like to clarify that I just want to talk.” He shifted somewhat, still wary from earlier, himself.

“Do what you like, Soulsmith.” Nirael narrowed his eye, his anger smoldering into exhausted defeat. “Gods know, I can do nothing to stop you.”

“I’m not going to do anything, you’ve got enough going on already with whatever the hell’s… infected you.” Astirn sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I get where you’re coming from but this is not my doing. What even happened?”

“I don’t know. That it was somehow you was the only remotely logical conclusion I could come to.” Nirael’s hand slid from his face and dropped in his lap as he stared at some point on the ground in front of him. “...You said I was infected?”

Astirn nods. “The best word to describe it that I could think of. I’m not sure what exactly it is. Not like any normal disease, that’s for certain. Almost like… hm.”

Nirael sat frozen, his eye wide as Astirn speculated. “Tosiol- She fell ill after she drank my blood.” He leaned forward, planting a hand in front of him, defeat turning to desperation. “That was weeks ago! Get out of here- Please. Go to her.”

Nirael shifted to kneel, lowering his head to the ground. “Please! I know I have no right to ask after I threatened your life-”

“-Listen, for a moment here-” Taken aback, Astirn raises his hands in front of him. “... This is.. conjecture, but I have reason to believe she’ll be fine, with time. This.. disease, appears to have consumed your mana, but done nothing else as far I can tell. She’s no mage herself, is she?”

Nirael had raised his head. “No. Not in the least.” He straightened back into a kneel, deep worry still painting his face. 

“Then at worst, she’ll be hungry and out of it. But you? This energy is trying to eat away at your bones.”

Nirael set his jaw. “I’m aware.” He said warily, looking at his spectral hand. “I can feel it. I don’t expect I have much longer.”

Astirn sets his hands down, raising an eyebrow. “If nothing’s done about it. But I suspect something could.”

He then looks away, clearly thinking. “I need a second opinion- and set of hands, more than likely. My matesprit would know what to do.”

“...Before you go, then– I’m sorry. I have too many enemies to go making more out of my allies.” Nirael dipped his head again, in apology. “Anything you ask, it’s yours, if you can fix this.”

Astirn turns away to leave, giving Nirael a parting remark. 

“Save it for if I manage that.”

[goddesstrolls]

"Hell of an impression my idiot descendant has made for me. So much for settling in with the normal folk."

"It's not my fault they refused to stop trying to kill me until they were on death's door."