• Graded • Burning Man

[Darius Baer]

Arc 721, 45th of Ymiden

It all began with a tiny spark.

Darius, having only recently returned from Saoire's feast, was out on the Hollow Sea in his rowboat, the Lady Jean, when it happened.

He had decided to seize a rare opportunity to have some time to himself, so that he could clear his head and reflect on what had happened. In order to facilitate this, he had opted to take some of his woodworking tools and a small block of wood. He could think of no better way to pass the time than to whittle on the water.

But then there was a spark. It came out if the blue...or, rather, it came out of his hand.

Darius flinched the instant he saw it. A tiny flash of light as a warmth shot through his palm, and he pulled his hand away. He dropped the block of wood, which clattered noisily against the bottom boards of the boat.

Blond brows furrowed as storm grey eyes studied his hand. He could see no marks, and there had been no pain. And, for a handful of trills, he wondered if he had simply imagined it. The water that surrounded him was a constant dance of movement, and perhaps a glint of sunlight had caught the crest of a small wave and reflected across his gaze. A rowboat presented him with a lower vantage point than a brig, after all.

But that made little sense either, he realised. He had been at sea numerous times, and in all forms of weather. Not once had he 'imagined' a spark of heat and light.

It was only when he reached down to collect the wooden from where it sat in the bottom of the boat that he began to realise something about what had happened. Like his palm had been earlier, the wood was warm. And when he turned it over, one side was lightly charred, as if a flame had brushed itself against it.

Evidently, he was not imagining things.

A rush of fear and confusion flooded his mind. How his own hand had caused flame was — for a few terrifying trills — a mystery. Darius was not a user of magic; he had not been initiated by another mage. He had never had 'powers' of any kind, and the thought that fire could unexpectedly burst from his palm was unsettling.

But an explanation would soon come from the heavens.

[Darius Baer]

Katara let out a shrill cry.

Unbeknownst to Darius, the hawk Diri had been circling overhead and keeping an eye on her ward. Thin tendrils of smoke trailed from her flaming feathers as she soared. The rowboat looked small from such a great height, her view of it and its tiny occupant periodically interrupted by clouds that came between her and Darius.

But as she saw the Scalvorian and heard his thoughts, his struggling to comprehend what was going on persuaded her to swoop down towards the Lady Jean. She let out another cry as she dropped down through the clouds, and Darius looked up just as her large talons collected the block of wood from his hand.

Darius watched as the Diri flew in a large loop, before landing on the prow of the rowboat. The block was briefly held in a tenuous grip by the hawk's beak, until she set it down on the thwart where Darius was seated. She chattered and squawked, and the bearded mariner suddenly understood where the spark had come from.

When Darius had first become forged in fire, there had been a vague understanding that making such a decision did not merely bring with it an immense amount of responsibility, but that it might also open the way for some level of power. In truth, such promises were not what had motivated the Scalvorian. He was driven by trying to do what was right, and protecting his homeland from anyone who might threaten it seemed like the only reasonable option.

But now, Katara was telling him, there were abilities that had been made available to him. And, apparently, one such skill was to forge a small flame of his own.

That, the Diri squawked, was what had caused the spark that had singed the block of wood.

As overwhelming as this revelation could have been, it actually put Darius' mind at ease. As his confusion faded, his fear did likewise.

Now it was a case of attempting to channel his new gift.

[Darius Baer]

Over the next break or so, he set about doing exactly that. As Katara watched on, Darius attempted to create another spark. The biggest issue facing him was that he had no idea how he had created the first one.

His initial thought was to attempt to replicate what had happened the first time. So he picked up the block of wood and began whittling, as if doing so might magically unlock the secret to sparks and flames.

What he soon discovered was that he became so focused on trying to force the spark to happen that he was unable to concentrate on his woodworking. He quickly realised that such an approach would not work. When the first spark had appeared, he had not been stressed and trying to make it happen. He had been relaxed; content; comfortable.

Katara let out a squawk and, in doing so, informed Darius that this would not be something he would need to force. It was an innate ability that had been unlocked by his loyalty and dedication to Faldrass. Not only that, but there were other abilities that might be unlocked if he proved himself worthy.

That revelation brought an air of peace to Darius' mind. It was possible, if he could get his muddled thoughts out of his head, and just let it happen.

It took several failed attempts before the blond mariner was able to find his rhythm. But eventually, by relaxing and allowing himself to simply be in that moment, he was able to make some progress. He sat there, listening to the water lapping against the underside of the hull and allowing the current beneath the Lady Jean to gently rock him. He closed his eyes for a few trills, slowed his breathing, and then it happened.

The first time he held a ball of flameFireball in his hand, he could feel the warmth even before he opened his eyes.

"U'frek's piss," he muttered to himself in amazement.

And when he did cast his gaze upon his own palm, he marvelled at the sight. The flames flickered and danced within his hand, but they caused him no pain. And then, going against everything that he had ever known about fire, he slowly curled his fingers and gripped the ball — loosely at first, but then his grip tightened. He squeezed the fireball, as if daring it to hurt him, but it never did.

As Katara watched on, her head cocked in curiosity, Darius carefully extended his hand out and over the side of the boat, and he let go of the fireball.

The burning projectile fell, flames lunging up at the sky as gravity took hold. It hit the water with a hiss, and a cloud of steam rose up into the air. Darius watched for a few moments, and when he was satisfied that the fireball was no more, he tried to create another.

The next one was created with his eyes open, and — after using it to singe the block of wood some more — it was cast into the Hollow Sea.

By the time he had created his fifth fireball, Darius was growing in confidence, and the flaming sphere was thrown much further. Each one reacted the same as the last, ending its existence as a hissing plume of steam.

And then, to Darius' surprise, Katara informed him of another ability. Apparently he could flyPhoenix Wings!

Such a notion might have seemed impossible, had he not just been throwing balls of fire into the Hollow Sea! But it felt like he was on a roll, and so he decided it couldn't hurt to try. Within bits, flaming wings had formed in Darius' back. He could feel their warmth as the flames flickered behind him. But it took longer to get a feel for how to make them work.

They flapped separately, at first, and then not at all. Katara stood tall and, without taking off, flapped her wings. Darius nodded with a chuckle, thanking the Diri for showing him what he already knew he was supposed to be doing.

But, eventually, he managed to get both wings to flap at the same time. As they began to move, he could feel his body want to lift from the boat, and so he stood, and he tried again. And again. And again.

Before long, he felt his heels lifting off the ground, and he could only stand on his toes as the rowboat wobbled in the water.

With a sudden burst of overconfidence, Darius leapt from the boat. For a trill — perhaps two — it actually worked. His wings held him and he felt the sensation of his body hovering a few feet above the water. He whooped with delight, but in his excitement, he lost his rhythm. One wing started flapping faster, while the other one stopped altogether! As a result, he gracelessly spun around twice, before tumbling into the same ocean that had swallowed his fireballs.

He splashed and floundered, causing Katara to take flight herself. She hovered above her ward until he eventually found enough composure to grab hold of one side of the Lady Jean.

After working his way to the stern, Darius hauled himself back into the rowboat, soaking wet. His wings had evaporated into steam as he'd hit the water, but — seemingly undeterred — he attempted to create them again. He could feel their warmth, but instead of wings, he only succeeded in creating more steam, and he realised that it was pointless trying while he was soaking wet.

Resigned to his lack of flight for the time being, Darius lifted the oars and began to make his way back to shore. He was soaking wet, and a little embarrassed. Perhaps he would stick to making fireballs for the time being!

OOC Note

This thread is to explain how Darius discovers his FireForged abilities, Fireball and Phoenix Wings.

Future abilities will be 'assumed' to have been discovered once he reaches the appropriate FireForged ranking.

[Jackalope]

Experience: +10 xp

Knowledge:

Discipline: Being present in the moment.
Flying: Feeling the sensation of being airborne.
Flying: Flapping wings require coordination.
Flying: Flapping one wing and not the other can cause you to spin.
Flying: Landing doesn't need to be graceful, as long as you're safe.
Swimming: Sink or swim!

Skillplay: Appropriate to level

Loot: None. Unfortunately, all the street cred washed off when Darius fell into the water.
Injuries/Overstepping: None.
Renown: +5. Because fireball.
Wealth Points: None.
Collaboration: no
Magic Experience?: No.

Comments:

I’ve often wondered how to dramatize the advancement of powers such as marks, etc. Usually, I just assume that my character knows somehow and then try the new things out. You’ve done something much more interesting; it takes a while for Darius to even realize what is going on and what he can do now. It was fun reading him figure it out with Katara’s help, then spend some time chucking fireballs, then trying to fly without the appropriate skill for controlling his wings. Katara prompting him by flapping its wings made me laugh.

I’m glad Darius crashed into the water instead of into his boat! That would have been awkward. I didn't realize that Darius was just a novice at swimming. I'm glad he didn't have to go far to get back to his boat. I would probably have added strength to skills used, since getting back into his rowboat by himself wouldn't have been trivial.

I just have one question, though: would Uf’rek’s piss be the ocean itself? Maybe it’s better not to think about that too much.

Enjoy your rewards!