RP:A Bout With Arcos

Sage Forest Bell

Arcos stood balanced upon the Sage Forest Bell, his wings unfurled and his bright scarlet eyes fixated on the house above. He seemed to be pondering something, but whatever it was would not be shown on his face. He was devoid of emotion, an empty statue that happened to move and breath. A gust of wind blew through the trees here, more than enough to send the scent of Arcos throughout the area, but he didn't care. Perhaps that's what he was intending. Perhaps he was bait for a bigger predator, one whom he was eagerly awaiting. The dark avian finally allowed a smirk to tug at his pale lips. Soon he would get his chance to test his hypothesis on Desparrow firsthand.

Desparrow like ususal moved between the Sage and Cenril and actually had been heading through away from Larket, pondering if he should even bother with Artia and her plans. That was when on a strong gust he caught the scent of something familiar, something that made him grin and drew him ever closer towards the source. It wasn't long until he was standing near the bell, not immediately catching sight of the avian but not looking too hard. He figured that given the way their last interaction parted he could verywell be a target of a hunt, and not hunting.

Arcos made use of his magical right eye, something he avoided due to the physical stress it induced, but tonight he would make that rare exception. "Maior Sanctae Visus!" he called out, causing his enchanted optic to glow a bright blue. This spell would allow him to see magic, and any aura created by magic. If Desparrow was going to try to sneak up on him, he would be ready for him before he got the chance to strike. After a moment, Arcos would turn in the lycan's direction and chuckle under his breath. "Come," he said to his clansmen, giving away his position atop the bell, "No need for us to hide from one another. We both know what is going to happen next." Arcos wasn't wearing his normal coat, instead he was garbed with some sort of wizard's robes, complete with a spell component pouch. "I'm not surprised you followed my scent."

Desparrow looked up with an even wider grin, showing off all his pretty teeth. "Not surprised? Good, after all its typically what I do when I know you are around." he chuckled, looking him up and down in a fancy new outfit. He was in something rather simple; shoes, cotton pants and a t-shirt and displayed them nicely as he stepped closer towards the bell. Also in his eye was a flame reserved only for this other male, a burning passion, a desire to fight for nothing other than the fight itself and he had been anticipating this for a long time. "Oh yes we do. heh heh. Though, are you so eager as to strike first?" he said this as he discarded the t-shirt and on silent command released ether in a thin mist from his pores to curl about his body.

Arcos allowed his eyes to narrow as he watched the ether waft from Desparrow's body. Quickly, he recalled his notes on Desparrow and what he had been told by his contacts in Larket. He wouldn't dwell on his tactics for long as he calculated the best way possible to use his abilities as a conduit of magic against him. He relaxed his eyes slowly, before a boisterous laugh echoed from his chest and throughout the forest. "Strike first? I think I will." He threw his hand forward saying "Murus winf." A strong breeze picked up in the area for a moment, dusting away all the fallen leaves and debris around them. When the wind stopped Arcos was grinning, proud that his trap had been sprung. Days before, the avian had come to this spot and set up rune stones in a wide circle around the bell, hoping to lure Desparrow here. With the runes uncovered, they now began to glow with a multitude of colors. "Now, let's see how strong your willpower is. Symbol de Infirmitate!" The purple glowing runes fully activated, creating a siphon that pulled any magic in the area into them before transmitting the raw energy to Arcos. The dark avian expected resistance, so he had more runes ready to active if Desparrow still had fight in him.

Desparrow wasn't expecting anything of this sort, and he had little to no knowledge of Arcos' history beyond what had been told to him by the man himself. As the wind came through he had wondered if that were a true effort at an attack until he caught sight of the runes which immediately drew a narrowed gaze to Arcos. "What is this?" Des' mind was racing, curious to know what was to come, but perhaps struck with a spark of fear. When the challenge came he cast his eyes to the ground, still smiling; he had been a man of exceptional willpower, since childhood and only growing to this point that even when he was in a full beast transformation he had some raw control over magic which was a feat few would be able to boast. When he felt the tug on his magic, he growled and simply fought which would be viewed as a pull on that mist towards the runes though they would halt when he pulled back. Sadly for the sorcerer he had to use a deal of focus to fight against the runes and a spell which persisted on its own was more formidable. "This is what you plan? A good choice I must admit." he expelled more of his ether and transformed it into a blade of energy which he tossed towards the avian, a crescent crushing force that could break or cripple bone, a small spell, merely a taunt really.

Arcos abandoned his perch in on the bell as the ether manifested bolt ripped through the air the meet him. His reflexes proved sound as he easily avoided the attack, but it was a look of contemplation on his face that persisted instead a battle hardened glare. "Hmm," he began to mutter to himself, "Subject Zero-One-Three seems expectantly resistant to the runes. Strongly suggest that the subject be restrained and sedated..." Then, without further delay, the arcane scholar lifted his hand, making a motion with his fore and middle fingers upward in a strong gesture. "Limo terrae est." As he said "Est" he pointed his fingers downward, causing the ground beneath Desparrow to liquefy and transmute into a muddy quicksand type substance in a five foot radius around him. His aim was to immobilize the lycan so he could inflict the damage he needed to in order to subdue him. "My plans are always the best laid," he finally said, moving his arm back to his side.

Desparrow was having a more difficult time fighting the runes than he anticipated as a trickle of blood ran from his nostril to pool at the top of his lip before breaking and continuing its descent. "Damn..." his growling got louder but it didn't change the situation he was in when the runes started to gain on him which was visible by the sluggish way the mist gravitated towards them, even getting pulled from his very body at a slow rate. That was when he felt a cold substance fill his shoes and grip at his flesh to hold him in place and he had to turn his gaze back up towards Arcos. "So you have come prepared. And you seem to know more about me than I would like anyone to really. Good thing I don't have faith you could kill me." he laughed then, focusing less on keeping his magic to him, but forcing more of it through his arm and out his palm which he released as a barrage of force projectiles each with the weight and damage expectation of being struck by a flying sledgehammer in Arcos' direction. This draw of focus allowed the runes to begin truly siphoning off his mana, absorbing through the streams and continuing to pull from him but the lycan did not appear to be weakening just yet.

Arcos was much to close to avoid Desparrow's attack, a miscalculation that would prove to be painful. Contemplation quickly became frustration as he struggled to react to the barrage of magic projectiles that we're coming his way, abandoning his current pose to assume a new one "Vivificatum murum terram!" He focused his spell to transmute the earth before himself now, creating a last ditch barrier between him and the attack by molding the ground into a wall. However, the hastily cast spell was sloppy, and the barrier weak. Desparrow's barrage shattered his wall and the dark avian was brought to a knee as one of the projectiles connected with his midsection. He struggled to breath as he clutched his stomach, cursing his carelessness between gasps of air. He clenched his fist as he forced himself to his feet, eyes never leaving his target. Arcos only hoped he could regain his balance and poise before Desparrow was able to get free from the mud.

Desparrow could not hold back his elation when his attack struck home on the dark avian's body. The tricks were all fun and impressive to say the least but he was feeling his body lose a bit of its bulk, his mana-infused flesh draining constantly and it was not getting any easier, especially to slow the drain he had to focus which would take away from actually being able to effectively battle. As he watched Arcos descend he acted quickly, expelling some of the magic in his body from his feet in a short range but intense wave of heat which harded the liquid earth and allowed him to break free seconds before it succumbed to his opponent's spell again. In a single leap he barely made the distance outside the quicksand raidus and made a dash for Arcos, hand out to grip the male by the throat and slam him against the nearest tree. He had his lupine strength to account for, even if the magic in his body was lessening its physical enahncements. "I could fight you so much harder, but this is interesting, and you have certainly caught me off guard so you are forcing me to limit the amount of magic I use.. Clever clever bird boy."

Arcos knew his luck was running thin. He could barely keep up with Desparrow's movements, his wolf-like speed too quick for Arcos to react to while in his dazed state. As his body was slammed against the tree, his lost his focus on his runes and they faded away from apparent view, appearing as mundane stones once more. A ringing became persistent in his ears, and he coughed up blood as Desparrow spoke to him. Despite the ringing, the avian was able to make out what he was saying. A simple smile grew upon his face, blood and saliva trickling from his lips. "I AM clever." he said, before his body faded away into dust in Desparrow's grasp only to drift away and reform atop the bell once more, leaving the lycan holding his torn robes. Wearing only the cotton pants that were beneath, Arcos stood with a large clear crystal in his hands and as he said the words "Stringesque vermis," the purple runes activated one last time in order to pour all of the siphoned ether into the crystal. "I do not doubt you could fight me harder," Arcos said, pointing his free hand at Desparrow, fire magic swirling around his wrist, "I must admit I might have misjudged you, but no matter. My hypothesis was correct."

Desparrow was more than pleased with himself when he had the grip on the Avian but when he faded from his grasp leaving him with nothing but robes in hand he was miffed to say the least. Feeling the magic flow, his magic, towards the crystal upon hearing Arcos' words he looked up towards the man. "What exactly is your hypothesis then? You trap me, toy with me simply as an experiment? How like you. Must be afraid to take me on wholly. I don't blame you. I am quite awesome aren't I." he taunted, contemplating lunging at the other or flinging a spell or something, not wanting the fight to end. "Don't you feel it? The burning desire? To fight for the sake of fighting!? To watch the world burn around you with while all that matters is when your next blow connects?" his fingers were twitching, muscles tense beneath his skin. He was ready to go and wanted to now.

Arcos stared at Desparrow lifelessly as he taunted him but when he spoke of wanting to watch the world burn Arcos let emotion fill his eyes again. A slow chuckle began and soon it was laughter. "It's absurd. All of it. Objects, symbols, people. What are these constructs but complex concepts that are actually arbitrary to existence? The only logical conclusion that it all be returned into the substances that were put into it." A slow grin grew on his face. "It's all cyclical. Even you Desparrow, subject Zero-One-Three. I shall return you to the dust from which we were all formed." He gripped the crystal and it began to glow purple. He intended to pump all of the mana straight into his next attack. "Ultimo globus ignis!" He shouted, the fire around his wrist exploding in size as he targeted Desparrow with his forefinger. The spell literally rained fire down upon Desparrow, sending dozens of tiny fireballs that burst on contact directly at him, the surrounding trees, and whatever else was in his path. Arcos had indeed wanted to see the world burn, but had so far resisted the call. Desparrow was pushing a constant temptation right up for Arcos to see.

Desparrow couldn't help but laugh in response to Arcos' very objective stance on the world. "Then let it be returned but you will find that I so easily do not get sent back to my point of origin." At that point he let his consciousness sink into himself, delving to the very makeup of his existence to alter himself on an atomic level. As he was bombarded by the flames they only seem to catch temporarily before Des appeared to dissolve into a stream of energy, from the tips of his fingers and his head down to the bottoms of his feet which organized into several ribons of plasma controlled by Des' momentarily disembodied will. He could only sustain this form for a very short time before he had to rematerialize or forever be lost so he bolted towards Arcos, slicing through all material with a mild hum before only feet from the avian he began to reassemble into his own body however covered in burns. When he was fully in tact his eyes lit back up with that burning, all consuming passion and he outstretched his claws in an attempt to tackle the male. "You can't fight it, there is nothing to live for but the fight. It is everything. Everything does it.. they fight to live, but I don't care. I fight simply because I love it, the fight drives me to set the world on fire in search for a worthy opponent!" as he spoke he was channeling more magic into his palms which were facing Arcos and released a large force blast which would potentially encompass the man and send him sailing back, much like a boulder were on him and continuing to push him, until something broke his flight. Des immediately after releasing said spell would fall to the ground and collapse exhausted; complete form alteration like he had just performed was a barely practiced technique and highly risky, while very draining.

Arcos could hardly comprehend what he was witnessing. If not for his greater arcane sight, he might not be able to witness it at all. As he saw Desparrow transform into plasma, basically a super-heated gas, he tried to focus his aim at him not realizing the futility of such an action. Then, the lycan was on him, reformed and caring the full momentum of his rapid movement. Arcos could only brace himself as he was slammed into, Desparrow's attack working exactly as planned. As the avian was hurled through the air the crystal slipped from his hands, landing a few feet in front of the lycan. At this point Arcos' only option was to frantically beat his wings against the force of Desparrows attack, knowing full well that he had already sustained much more damage than he ever anticipated. Crashing into a tree or rock at full speed was unacceptable. Giving himself one last flap, the dark avian finally hit the ground and skidded to a halt by a small patch of bier bushes. Disoriented, battered, and likely suffering from internal bleeding, Arcos sat up and searched for the siphon crystal. Seeing it right next to Des, he began to laugh, despite the horrible pain that caused in his ribs. "You're right, there is nothing to live for. Not really. It's all meaningless in the end, but I'm not ready to stop yet. I've got too much work here to accomplish." He pointed at the crystal weakly and it began to hum slightly. "Did I mention that these have a fail safe? I can cause them to explode with whatever remaining power they have left in them..." Having said that, the crystal shattered, sending shards in every direction. Luckily for Desparrow, the crystal was almost completely spent. The damage dealt would likely be negligible.

Desparrow was considerably weakened with the amount of magic he had spent, blood running in small rivers down his nostrils, and he thought he could feel it clogging his right ear a bit. "Oh no.. there is plenty to live for. Though the fight amounts to about nine-tenths of it. Fight and fight and fight until there is nothing left." He then noticed the crystal and would have gladly given it back however apparently Arcos viewed it with abandon and sent it to blow up. It was barely enough time to cover his eyes when shards sliced with easy into and through his flesh, ripping gashes into his body all over, even puncturing his right ear. With the flow of blood was a slight magical leakage, thin opalescent streams flowing from the new wounds. With the new levels of pain and the fact he didn't know if he had enough magic to cast a spell. "Don't think you are all there is Arcos. You have no idea, I don't plan on dying.. Not here.. not anytime soon. Not until I tremble the throne of God and make the halls of heaven quake with my presence. To spite HIM!"

Arcos cackled madly until he began to vomit blood and it was in this moment, as he wiped his mouth and looked down at his blood soaked hands, that he remembered his mortality. His fragile, fragile mortality. "This is insanity." He said to himself, very matter of fact. He was becoming more and more aware of the intense pain he was feeling, and he knew his body was going to give out on him soon. He tried to pull himself to his feet but an injury to his ribs was making that almost impossible. "Damnit, Desparrow, how did I let myself be drawn in by your inconsequential rantings!" The yelling only exasperated his injuries, causing him to double over. "You want to spite the Gods? Fine by me, but I see no reason to destroy each other in the process."

Desparrow remained on his hands and knees but turned to face Arcos, even moved to sit so that he could look at the man in a more comfortable position even with shards of crystal still sticking out of his body. "Because Arcos. I am the Serpent of Destruction. I bring out the.." he coughed then, the spasms of his body reminding him of the burns left on him by the flame attack Arcos delivered using his own magic. "I bring out this thing in others.. this desire. You feel it.." he looked up at the sky then, "Burn, let the world burn." spoken as indeed around them trees were ablaze, small pools of fire here and there dwindling as they ran out of fuel. "I have no desire to destroy you. I just find you... Ridiculously attractive. Fighting may be the only way to achieve that closeness with you. And it drives me even wilder to achieve just that." just those words sent him into a painful fit of laughter.

Arcos paused, not knowing how exactly to respond to what Desparrow had said about him. "Closeness." Arcos repeated, the word sounding hollow and empty to him. He managed to bring himself to his knees, also turning to face Deparrow. "Why bother chasing such idle fantasies? You and I together can accomplish so much more if I could figure out a way to harness that energy." he began to crawl closer to Desparrow, avoiding the coals and embers that hadn't died yet. "I mean, there has to be more like you. You can't be a singular anomaly, can you?"

Desparrow watched as the other moved closer, "Why do I bother? Because the body desires it. This connection with another being. A physical one, and I substitute it for merely being expressive. Every fist connection a caress.." he then smiled, thinking of others that could be like him, and sad to say the truth, he was indeed the only one. "Yeah.. I am. My mother Sephrene, and my brother are dead. I am the only one with my power. This natural ability to produce magical energy. I can't help it. I am sorry to say my friend, that I am indeed alone and the so called anomaly." he got to his knees then, wiping blood from his lips and nose. "I've come across a lot of people in this land and none are like me."

Arcos found that his enthusiasm was working as a wonderful pain reliever. "Pity, but we can work with this. You say your brother and your mother? Perhaps it a trait... Yes, a trait. Your mother likely passed it to you..." He was finally able to make it next to the lycan. "This is all immaterial. Do you have a laboratory? Do you have space where I could piece together a laboratory?" Arcos's eyes were filled with passion again, something few people get to see. "I could run some test- Only when you've fully healed, of course. You werewolves heal quickly, right?" He reached out to touch his shoulder. "Listen to me, I realize your desires for me are carnal in nature, but you're going to have to put those feelings aside if we are to work together."

Desparrow sighed, chuckling at the other's words. "Actually.. You would be surprised.. We each had a different trait. My brother had a burning fire, and endless flame his to command. I have this.. magic. Mother could work the winds with her will. You are in luck I am the one alive." showing off those incisors again in a rather boyish grin. "My home in Cenril. Has all the room you could ask for. I could even put in a proper expansion for you to move into, though I do have a bit of a set up. You are welcome to stay there and yes, I will heal from this in no time.. and.." a sharp intake at being touched followed by a slow exhale, "I know I have to put how I feel aside. It is what it is."

Arcos allowed a smirk to grow on his face. "Cenril. Oh, how I despise that place. So be it. That cesspool of a city will serve as the perfect cover for my less than humane research. I can do all the things that were generally looked down upon by my other peers. I know you won't take offense." He did his best to stand, swaying back and forth for a moment. "Falsum vitae." He whispered, causing a black tendril of magic to swirl around them, causing a temporary healing effect to close their wounds. "This won't last long; My magic is spent and I need to seek my healer. You should probably do the same."

Desparrow got to his feet, a bit shaky in the knees but managing to attain a solid stance. "Its a wondrous place.. you'd be surprised what I'm doing with it. And If you know the name Sabine.. and her father Deavenor.. I have nearly all of the magical research into demonology, blood magic, witchcraft, and other planes that they have conducted. You are welcome to make as many rooms as you need yours." with that he bothered to look at his damaged body, how some of the wounds were sealing and he felt a bit of strength return. "Stop by whenever, if you haven't been there. Its the manor on the south east side, beyond the wharf, and the castle in the coral. Also don't mind the corpses. Some thugs bothered to break in, I've yet to dispose of their remains." with that he figured he'd try and teleport but he didn't have enough in him to do that so walking it would be. "For now, find your healer. You will need it far more than me. I'm quite durable, and good night.. Arcos."

Arcos gave his body a once over, acknowledging that most of his wounds seemed to be internal, something that always concerned the scholar. "Demonology, blood magic, and witchcraft?" Arcos repeated, legitimate interest in his tone. "Sabine is a name I believe I recall, but this can all be discussed another time. Your constitution might allow you to shrug off severe injuries, but I am running on borrowed time." He turned northward, in the direction of Larket. "Goodnight to you as well. I look forward to continuing our work together."