Ashan 12 719
The evening had settled with the warmth left by the sun long gone by now, the lingering cold of Cylus still a constant within the city of Ne'haer. Trevor had taken to retire to his apartment after having a few glasses of wine at the tavern, as he often did most Trials while he kept a low profile at all times. Yet even if the chill in the air hardly drained him of his warmth, the half-born found that tonight the winds were especially a little more pushy than they usually were. By now he'd grown used to the mischievous nature of his Defiance spark, but the nature he felt within the wind had been much different in comparison.
It was earnest and even impatient as the cold nearly brought goosebumps on his skin, while the breeze itself seemed to tug and guide at his feet. "Alright now settle down, you've garnered my attention well enough." He assured the air quietly as he checked his hood to make sure it rested atop his head, as the Crest Break Tavern had been put behind him with a turn at the corner of the street. Sure enough the breeze urged him forward more and more, it's direction honed down into the alley he had started to pass by. "Is there something worth investigating, or are we just eager to explore dark filthy alleyways now?"
The question soon met with a sudden gleam of something metallic in the darkness, as a figure outfitted with a shroud and dark leather armor stepped forward. Trevor's eyebrows narrowed as he tapped a few fingers along his staff, as the essential walking stick provided some small sense of comfort in the moment. "If it's money you want, I assure you I've nothing to spare sadly."
"It's not money I'm here for." The shrouded rogue assured him as he brandished the long dagger he flashed earlier.
"Ah, so it'll be my life then. Fair enough." He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, and certainly would've appreciated a mugger instead. This however meant someone wanted him dead, and with so many enemies all around Trevor had no way of picking one out. Regardless he held the staff in both hands now and backed away slowly, the air suddenly stiff now as he felt the Defiance Spark inside quiet down suddenly. With the presence of danger so very near now, it was evidently time to refrain from the usual playful tricks it liked to induce every now and then.
The assassin rushed at him and Trevor flexed in reaction with the end of his staff struck towards the man, the reaction purely defensive as the Defier's own weapon missed it's mark. This created an opening for the assassin as he drew close with blade angled, and for a moment Trevor feared the worst until the wind itself flared a gust from his right. Such a short and magnificent burst the Defier felt as he regained his own footing, the staff held protectively as he watched the assassin be flung back into the stone wall of the building nearby. "I had not expected you to be so careless, you're lucky that I had arrived to find you in time." That voice! The feeling in the air as his presence felt closer now, literally he felt his Spark fill with joy at the reunion just now.
The green embroidered cloak over the brown tunic and getup he wore, the weathered and burned cypress staff he held in possession as he approached. Trevor's own mentor Phelix now stood close by, his composure completely calm as he seemed undaunted by this assassin. "To think if I had been a trill later." The sharp and cracked voice of his mentor posed as the hitman slowly rose to his feet, clearly just as surprised as Trevor was to see another Defier with much more power here. Even so the assassin didn't seem intent to back down once he reclaimed the dagger he dropped, in which Phelix simply scoffed as he encouraged the man to attack with a hand gesture. The hitman didn't waste time in going in for another attack, his intent to throw the dagger so that he might strike his opponent from afar.
Phelix didn't even bother to use magic as he leaned aside to let the dagger fly past, the hitman then in a lunge as he tried to hit land a few punches on him. Trevor watched in awe as his mentor still refrained from the use of his magic, simply avoiding each strike while a counter hit was thrown in every other swing. Within just a few reprisals the old mage flicked his cypress staff through the air, and with a loud clob against the skull of his target; the assassin was put down without a second thought. Even with his chest heaving from the amount of movement he did, Phelix seemed studier than ever as he relaxed once more. "That will have to do."
"Master Phelix," Trevor finally uttered his name in fondness and confusion, "what on Idalos has brought you here?"
"Obviously the concerned safety of my apprentice," The older Defier remarked beneath his hood, "things have been set into motion and Lysoria no longer holds our best interests anymore."
"So you abandoned the Mage Court for me?"
Though it would've been difficult to tell in the poor lighting, Phelix casted him a troubled frown after the inquiry. "I'd do it a hundred times over." Quickly his mentor turned to walk down the street, as the breeze picked back up to pull Trevor alongside him. "Come Trevor, we've a ship to board and no watch to protect us."
"No watch? Have the Blades been tipped off or something?"
"Perhaps," the idea seemed to have merit to Phelix, "I know not what's going on exactly. Only that you're being hunted now, which is why you and I both are leaving this region tonight." Trevor walked beside his mentor now with a quiver in his step, and a tremble in his hands as he tried to contain his anxiety. Hunted? Were there mage hunters about? No... He didn't possess the proper tools, brandishing just a dagger alone on a mage? He had to be a hired thug of some sort, and if there were no watch patrols out at this part of night? Someone definitely wanted him dead, perhaps him and Phelix both if they knew his mentor would show. "Still yourself my boy, you know better than to let your emotions run wild."
"Yes, sir." He responded with restart in the flow of his breath, as he allowed the winds to fill him with fresh air. With a moment to relax the whirlwind in his thoughts, he exhaled slowly to release the tension in his form as they walked. Trevor repeated this a few times to try and keep his mind calm, even if the beats of his heart felt erratic along the way. Before too long they reached the fountain where two more figures stood, both outfitted the same as the first man who had attacked him. So whoever wanted him dead wanted the job done, and they hired an entire company to do it evidently. "Looks like we've a bit more fighting to do."
"Can you handle one?" Phelix asked out of concern.
"Why not? Can't let you have all the fun." The remark made his mentor scoff before they both took their offensive positions, the bo staff Trevor held gripped firmly in two hands as his mentor held it along just one.
"Remember; watch your opponents and strike! And the Elements are here to help you." Trevor nodded as he focused on his target since they were both to charge first, the hitman he was to face armed with a mace while Phelix's possessed an arming sword and shield. Their enemies reached them with synchronized timing sure enough, as both Defier's blocked the attacks that came their way in different fashions. Phelix actually parrying and redirecting hits that came from the sword, while Trevor merely blocked and dodged when the mace came down with a heavy swing. Trevor himself angled the staff to be held at separate sections, so that when he went in for the next block he managed to catch the steel mace at the base of it's weighted end.
He tried to disarm the man by pulling it away but alas had no strength to back the effort, and thus the attempt ended with him pulled in the direction he wanted to get away from. The mace-wielder seemed confident then as he made a grunt and attempted to jump strike the Defier, only to find that Trevor had enough balance and momentum to step aside and move in for the strike. A blow from the left side landed as Trevor smacked the hitman in the general face area, with another hit chained afterwards from the right so that he'd hit him again from the back. The hitman leaned to the side to avoid it eagerly, the dodge followed through with a jab for Trevor's own torso. The steel spike of the mace would've punctured his ribs then, but Trevor's reaction had been enough to deflect the jab away as he retreated back.
Therein was his mistake, as the mace-wielder turned into a spin that led him to bring the mace down from above. Just when he thought to impress his master, here now he proved utterly incompetent when it came to fighting. Sure enough both of his Sparks felt the anger and frustration he felt, and they in turn responded with inclinations of their own. The first being his Rupturing Spark as it manifested a sudden portal for him to blink through, the heavy swing of the mace suddenly a missed opportunity as only air had been struck. Trevor's relocation had been at least a few yards away as his mentor Phelix had already fought his way closer to the fountain, his bo staff whirled from back to front as he called upon their Friends to help. Right away the water within the fountain heeded his Dance, and a stream surged along with the strike of his staff towards the defending hitman.
That was enough for Trevor to heed the call, as his own Defiance Spark demanded to aid in this fight. Thus the Defier held his own Bo staff in one hand confidently, hopeful that he could remember the lessons from before his exile. "Shall we begin?" If the Spark had any capacity to respond the answer would've probably been yes, as he felt the heat of his fire swirl and beckon within his core. With his free hand held up and open he breathed deep and heavily, and allowed the warmth of his ether to channel beyond his palm into a small concentrated orb. Sure enough that orb became lit in a fiery blaze, a burning ball of fire almost as hot as the true fire within. Even now he felt it's heat warn and threaten to burn, as the element eagerly wished to consume anything it touched.
His opponent seemed to reconsider for a moment what to do then, now that he had been faced with a Defier whose friend was fire.
"Trevor", "Follower", "NPC"
