• Solo • Vault Study (Graded)

4th of Ashan 718

Etzos, ‘The City of Stones’ is a fortress against the encroachment of Immortal domination of Idalos. Founded on the backs of mortals driven to seek their own destiny independent of the Immortals, the city has carved itself out of the very rock of the land. Scourged by terrible wars of extermination, they've begun to grow again, and with an eye toward expansion, optimism is on the rise.

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Neronin
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Vault Study (Graded)

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4th Trial of Ashan, Arc 718
The Museum Vaults


Neronin let his gaze flicker up from the tome he was struggling through to glance at the door of the vault. His chest remained still, his body slightly hunched over the book. The only movement in the vault for a long time had been his eyes across the pages of the old book and the flickering flame inside his lantern. Neronin had a habit now of becoming still in a way most could not achieve. He found his body no longer fidgeted, instead his discomfort lay in the deathly cold that emanated through him. The closeness to death.

The necromancer let his eyes settle back on the page, urging his mind back to the distraction at hand. He struggled through the book because in part the text was old and faded, and in part because he did not have the proper training to read something so complex, he struggled over a few words. It irked him. He resolved that when he had more time he would practice his words and letters more, and perhaps pursue other tongues besides common. A clever man needed more than one tongue.

That settled he set about his task of reading the old text once again. Soon, though, he found his mind drifting again. The exploits of this old merchant-historian across Eastern Idalos seemed not to hold his attention as he hoped. Neronin felt his mind shifting back to that newest spark, the one Vuda had forced on him. The spark hummed within him, a more real sense of life than any sensation of his own mundane body. Of course, it was the least and meanest of his magics, but it intrigued him. He found his mind drifting towards this magic rather than the book. It flared at his attention, burning hotter within him.

Neronin lifted his hands and let the spark coat them in an ether Barrier. He watched in the candlelight as the ether slid over him. It had no visual substance, but he had long since become aware of his own power, and could feel the spell coating his body. Deep within him he felt the oldest and darkest of his sparks pulse with jealous anger. He ignored it momentarily, knowing he could not for long. The necrotic spark had grown to be like a second being in him, the moods and urges becoming more defined, and less resistible.

But he was not yet so controlled by his spark. Neronin felt the somewhat new sensation of ether output from this spark and reflected on his own choices in life. He now felt more sensation, more life, from these castings than he did from the sense of sunlight on his face, or laughter in his belly. The tastes of food had become negligible and the beating of his heart never wavered in fear or excitement. Surely, he felt fear and excitement, but none affected his mortal coil in traditional ways, as if there was a lag there. But the sparks, they roiled through him and reminded him that he still lived or in the least existed.
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            Neronin
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            He could not recollect when that disturbing shift happened exactly, though probably over the course of the past few arcs, when his necrotic spark had made leaps and bounds in its strength. It seemed to have taxed his humanity with its growth. Now he embraced the sensation because it was sensation. It disturbed him only slightly that he so eagerly sought that mimicry of humanity, despite the need for it streaming from a constant crusade to rid himself of that same humanity. He had been too long on this path and convinced himself that the power was worth whatever shallow existence he had grown attached to.

            In that moment his mind drifted to Zipper, unbidden. She was the one tether to humanity he had. Their relationship built on nostalgia for a past time when things were simpler. Sure, Maws and Mongrel, Ryder and Navyri were factors as well, but they saw him as the necromancer who had already bargained away his humanity. They did not ground him in the way Zipper did. Neronin released his necrotic spark and finally let the ether out. It did not come, however.

            It seemed the power of the abrogation Barrier worked both ways. That conundrum brought his mind back to more practical things than his relationships. What was the use of a Barrier spell if it inhibited his other weapons. Would he have to relinquish it each time he required his other magics? This was an unacceptable fault he immediately sought to mend.

            The mage stood, setting aside the book he had forgotten with disregard. He focused his attention in front of him and tried once more to summon a simple Sap spell, the first he ever learned. It did not come to him, but struggled beneath the Barrier he had placed about himself. Oddly enough, this embarrassed Neronin. He knew no one was there to witness and none could comprehend what he had tried to do when he raised his hands, but it had been a long time since he had failed to cast a Sap altogether.

            He had a feeling this would be another instance of his lack of magical synergy. He had once tried to send a marrow through a rupturing portal with disastrous results, probably due to his lack of skill in the secondary magic at the time. Since then, using his magics in tandem had been a point of focus for him, and a point of consternation. He was sure this was another scenario of magics not mixing well.

            Neronin then summoned both spells again, reaffirming his Barrier and producing another Sap. Both sparks pulses with agitation and power as they clashed below the surface of the Barrier. Instead of dropping the Sap when it failed, Neronin poured more ether into both in a faint trickle. Neronin had an idea he knew where the problem stemmed from. Both sparks were greedy for exclusive attention, as well as the rupturing one.

            Neronin focused on the sparks then, forcing them closer. He forced the ether to vibrate and swirl until they mixed. The sparks, disliking this compromise, shot tendrils of pain through him. Neronin relished the feeling, knowing it either meant he was dying or doing something correctly. He ignored the pain and the discomfort of the sparks, forcing them further. Finally there was a rushing in his ears and the necrotic ether broke free of the Barrier. The Sap poured forth and swirled black in the candlelight before him.
            word count: 579
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                      Neronin
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                      Neronin grinned, knowing the Barrier hadn’ opened his eyes again and stared up at the lantern. The master mage lay there wallowing silently in his pain for a long time, waiting for him mind to calm again. He had been a fool, ignoring the ease with which one could overstep in a new magic. He was a master of both his other magics, with hardly a concern about simple spells like the Sap of the Blink. He had thought such easiness would come to the abrogation from the beginning. It was a fool’s mistake and he reprimanded himself ruefully as he lay there. What would Tabard say? Or Vuda, or Noth? What would Zipper say? Neronin felt a bark of laughter rise in his chest, but turn to a grimace as his head pulsed with pain again.

                      He was still susceptible to simple overstepping with his newest magic. And his body apparently could not handle such a heavy handed lesson in dual magic use. Eventually Neronin could sit up and take a few slow breaths to calm himself. The mage struggled because his arms still pricked with a thousand needles. Neronin forced his mind to calm through the pain of overstepping, quickening his recover. Still, it was a long half break sitting there and letting the embarrassment wash over him.

                      Neronin sighed and struggled to his feet. Once again he was reminded that he had a lot to learn. Neronin thought ironically on how he had been struggling to find a way to feel only a break earlier, and now he was hoping for a way to cease feeling. Again he wondered what Zipper would say if she saw him sitting there struggling to get the magics to work together and endeavored to never tell her.

                      Neronin shook his head and rubbed a hand across an aching brow. Zipper. He wondered if she had the same worries about her humanity as he did. Her arcane path was much different than his own, but still had its price. He walked the dark edge of undeath constantly, but she was tied to other dangers that Neronin barely comprehended. Would there come a day when both were consumed by their choices and that final tether to the past would falter and break? What then would be left for him.

                      Could he really achieve his goal of independence from a higher power? Neronin caught himself in a wry smile. Such contemplations should be saved for the future, when he didn’t still overstep with basic spells.
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                                Aegis
                                Prophet of Old
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                                Re: Vault Study

                                [anchor=OptionFour][/anchor]
                                Thread Review
                                It is nice to see Nero remembering those he considered friends and companions, and I especially enjoyed that his training here only ended in more questions.


                                Word Count: 1546
                                Review Request Link: viewtopic.php?f=242&t=16103&p=109869#p109880
                                Neronin
                                • Skill Points - 10 (Can be used for Abrogation)
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                                  1. Abrogation: Exception Spell
                                  2. Abrogation: Barrier stops user magic
                                  3. Abrogation: Exceptions can enable other sparks through barrier
                                  4. Abrogation: Barrier is invisible but can be felt
                                  5. Abrogation: Exception: Necromancy
                                  6. Discipline: Forcing mind to calm through overstepping
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                                Final Notes


                                If you have any questions, please PM me.

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