RP:Apparitions and Mage Contrition

Summary: Pilar has been playing the part of Hildegarde for some time, and things have been going well... until Odhranos comes by and sees through her illusion. Grailan comes by to offer his color commentary/advice, and Pilar comes clean to Odhranos. Odh questions the justice of the war, but Pilar defends it, while conceding that war was an awful thing. Odh gives some advice to improve the illusion and returns to Xalious to meditate on the state of the world.

Frozen Pathway

Pilar was hiding out in Hildegarde's tent with Lisbeth. Pilar had an important job to do: keep the camp unaware of Hildegarde's absence. This was quite the test of her illusions, and so far, with Lisbeth running interference, things were going well. "Hildegarde" was currently at the table, poring over a map. Pilar was hidden behind a partition, normally used to privacy when dressing, and Lisbeth was standing at the tent's entrance. Pilar clutched her talisman of Xalious in one hand and concentrated hard on the illusion she was weaving.

Odhranos hadn't been in the war camp long, in fact he had only just arrived. Striding between the pitched tents and scurrying soldiers, the mage shook his head sadly as he went, he had seen many campaigns in his time and was honestly sick of them. Diplomacy, that was the way, there was no call for such expenditure of gold, time and most of all life, when almost every conflict could be solved with rational words and reasoning. Stopping at a large stone that the tents parted around like a sea of canvas, the mage climbed atop the large lithoid and sat, crossing his legs and slipping the heavy pack off his shoulder for a moment. He could see a large tent over the sea of heads and due to its central location in the camp, it could only be the leader's tent. Now Hildegarde, he had seen her speak, that woman certainly knew a thing or two about public speaking. Odhranos had been present at her rousing speech at the ice palace in Frostmaw and had witnessed her powerful rhetoric firsthand. Not to mention her prodigious power, which the magically-attuned mage could actually see lighting up her armoured frame like a small star. However, he was somewhat perplexed, for from inside the tent came a rather different magical signature. He couldnt tell accurately what the strength of the magic user within the tent was, but knew only that it wasnt the titanic well of energy he recognised as The Silver's signature. Hopping down from his rock, the inquisitive mage made his way over to the tent, with the intent of finding out who it was occupying the tent.

Grailan 's form flickered to existence, like would an apparition or a spectre, and his location was behind that partition and before Pilar. Dead, gray, and glazed eyes seem to mournfully scrutinize her, but he said nothing -he called no one, and least of all the camp's attention. It was only because he knew that Hildegarde was gone was that the Dread Knight didn't take the illusion at face value and further investigated to find the illusion had no soul -otherwise he would've been easily fooled by the well-crafted illusion.

Pilar jumped when Grailan appeared, and her Hildegarde blinked out of existence. "Y-You!" she squeaked. "Pilar, the illusion!" Lisbeth hissed quietly. Pilar, now shaking, recast her spell, but "Hildegarde" looked... off. Her movements were stilted, when she moved at all. Pilar tried to calm herself and focus on the task at hand. "Hildegarde" needed to breathe, to blink... Okay, okay, that was good, now add a few frames of animation... Good, okay, back to normal. Pilar looked up at the knight, her eyes flicking over to the illusion every so often. "Wh-what are you... doing here?"

Odhranos reached the tent and without waiting for permission or announcement, pushed through the entrance, no doubt surprising those within. What is inside certainly surprised the grey mage. One of the Queensguard, a giant, a woman who appeared to be Hildegarde but was lacking in her magical signature and last of all..... a ghost? An apparition? Odhranos couldn't tell, his magical senses were deceiving him, telling him there was nothing there while his eyes told him something else. Keeping his eyes on the apparition, he turned to the "Hildegarde" and stated very simply: "You are not Hildegarde. Who are you and why are you impersonating her?" he asked, confused yet again between the difference in his magical sense and his vision. Safe to say the mage was glad the Queensguard seemed to be who she appeared as, and that was undoubtedly angry, at the intrusion and revelation of sensitive information.

Grailan 's face remained enthralled in that mournful and pitying expression of profound melancholy, and there was that perpetual emanation of dread and oppressive depression that radiated from his black-armored frame as his gaze stared so sullenly at Pilar from beneath the hem of his hoodline, though it also seemed to see past her all at once, as if his eyes were unfocused. "I've not left. What is it that -you- are doing here?" His voice was full of that despair, and yet, was echoed by a distorted copy that sounded both disembodied and ethereal. All at once, however, he turned his head, as if to see through the partition and at the illusion. "One questions your image."

Pilar was already generally melancholy, and Grailan's aura was starting to send into into the depths of despair. She went into panic mode when Odhranos barged in, though Lisbeth took to standing between him and "Hildegarde." "I don't know what you're talking about," the giantess said coolly, "but this woman is, in fact, Hildegarde. And she is very busy, so if you would please leave, that would be splendid." Lisbeth made no aggressive moves yet, but there was no doubt she was willing to bodily eject the mage if he continued pressing the matter. Pilar had no time to answer Grailan, when there were more pressing matters. "Hildegarde," for her part, simply blinked at him in confusion. "Please, whatever you need, I'll see to it when I have the time," she said simply, politely. The voice was exactly how Hildegarde would sound, if a bit more monotonous than usual.

Odhranos planted his staff laterally across his chest, neither an offensive maneuver, nor passive either. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about ma'am, unless you too have been fooled by what I can only describe as a rather impressive illusion". Leaning out to the side past the giant, he met "Hildegarde's" eyes and one eyebrow lifted slightly. "You're magic signature, its showing like a lightbulb" he stated. "Hildegarde's magic shines like a sun, yours does not. And even if you were to try saying how tired and drained you are, one: to lose so much magic in the space of a few days would render you half-dead, and two; your magic is different, its whole feel is different." He continued, his eyes switching into both magic-sight and regular to affirm his statements as he made them. "So I ask again, who are you and why are you impersonating the leader of this army? If the soldiers were to find out, i'd say they'd be just as curious" he concluded, as his eyes grew flinty and dark like sharp stone.

Grailan did not vanish away at this point with Pilar too indisposed to answer him or even really pay attention to him while sustaining her illusion before Odhranos; he stayed, and rather persistently stared at the woman with those glazed, dead and gray eyes. "For how long can you sustain this before you are drained?" The Dread Knight asked -though, in spite of his profoundly depressive tone coupled with that of ethereal and spectral echo, there was the distinct impression he was moreso curious than mocking or threatening. "I would diffuse the situation beyond this curtain."

Pilar didn't have time to glow under Odhranos's unwitting compliment. Right now, she and Lisbeth had to tend to damage control. She had no idea what to do, and was now close to full-on panic. Lisbeth seemed to be weighing her options. Keep on keeping on, or hope Odhranos could be trusted with the truth? "Listen, I'm telling you, that's Hildegarde. I'd know, I never leave her side," the giantess insisted. It seemed she wasn't in a trusting mood. "Now, am I going to have to toss you out?" "No need for that, Lisbeth," Hildegarde said. "I'm sure this fine gentleman will remove himself." Pilar prayed to Xalious for the strength to hold the illusion.

Odhranos smiled and bowed in a somewhat grating fashion. "Oh most certainly, if you're certain that is Hildegarde, and it is that much trouble to you to answer my question, I shall simply take my inquiry elsewhere." The mage left the last sentence hanging and turned and walked slowly out the entrance of the tent, fully expecting to be hauled back in by a giant's hand fairly sharpish. He bore no ill will to whoever it was behind the mask, he was simply curious, was it an enemy imposter or a far more subtle plot?

Grailan seemed to mourn the action of Pilar and Lisbeth by the apparently judgemental look of remorse that was enthralled on his features, "That will be a hindrance. Come clean to him, bring him in on your plan -or else his inquisitive nature will undo what you are trying to achieve." It was advice, and despite the phrasing of a command it was easily discernible that he was hardly commanding anything of Pilar as opposed to simply offering his view. "You wouldn't have to use all your strength."

Pilar considered Grailan's advice. Their charade would only last as long as no one was around Hildegarde long enough to see through the illusion. They didn't believe for a second that Odhranos was actually placated, but they prayed that he would just let the matter sit instead of stirring up suspicion amongst the men... which he most assuredly would do. "Wait." Pilar pushed the partition aside, revealing herself and Grailan, and "Hildegarde" continued to stare at Odhranos. "Pilar!" Lisbeth said, shocked. Pilar looked at her apologetically, then at Grailan, as if for confirmation that she hadn't just screwed up, then looked at Odhranos. "H-Hildegarde is... out, on an important, secret mission. Please, please, just... forget what you've seen."

Odhranos smiled for a moment, but shortly realised how distressed Pilar seemed and instantly regretted what he had done. "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to cause you distress, it was simply the fact that the illusion was defective, I had to inquire more. I am sorry" the mage hung his head. On principle, Odhranos tried to be a good individual, but he had a tendancy for sarcasm. "I was under the impression it could have been an imposter from the opposing army, I see now i was mistaken, forgive me for my intrusion. I had good intentions" he screwed up his features into a frown. "Might i make a suggestion, to prevent discovery?" he asked, eager to make reparations

Grailan, however, was gone when Pilar looked back toward him.

Pilar was eager for any advice to improve her illusions. Lisbeth, for her part, seemed relieved, but kept glancing out of the tent, to be sure no one was coming to look. Pilar was surprised when she went to look at Grailan again, only to see that he was gone. Drat, so much for asking her question. Well, there were more important things to tend to. "S-Sure," she finally said. "How can I make her more convincing?"

Odhranos cringed at the falter in Pilar's speech. Good work Odhranos, very well done. "Well, the way I was able to sense the difference because although your illusion was extremely convincing visually and aurally, it lacked substance from a magic point of view. So to any magic-sensitive individual, it seemed like a very low-level magic user, which is okay if you wish to appear as such, but for one such as Hildegarde, it wont do." he tried putting it as nicely as possible, dancing on eggshells compared to his rude brash statements earlier. "Perhaps...Illusions are essentially replicated energy, right? Light energy for an image, sound energy for a voice, so perhaps you can use the the same logic to simulate magic energy?" he suggested. Odhranos had some familiarity with illusions, having been subject to and witness to many during his work with Lanlan, an illusionist of the Mage's Guild, but had to think through his scientifically skewed viewpoint to understand their mechanisms.

Lisbeth raised an eyebrow. "Hildegarde is no magic user. She is a warrior, a knight." Pilar nodded along with Odhranos, however. "But... she is also a dragon. All living beings have magic energy. Dragons especially so... right?" Pilar looked at her Hildegarde proxy. "I... I'm not sure I know how to project pure magical energy. I always have to give it some kind of, of form." A shape, a sound, a smell even. Oh gods, she hadn't been replicating Hildegarde's smell! What if a lycan or vampire showed up? Crap, crap, crap, stupid girl!

Odhranos turned to the giant. "The woman in indeed correct, every creature contains some magic force, whether or not they use it. I can see the energy in your body, it is like a network of glowing golden streams of light, but as it is not used, it is dim." the mage paused, then returned his gaze to Pilar, one eyebrow raised, "I dont wish to distress you further ma'am but I was unaware Hildegarde was in fact a dragon. I had heard stories but always assumed they were just that, stories. Nonetheless, you are right, dragons are highly magical creatures. If they werent, it would by significantly difficult for them to change forms with such ease." The grey mage then cocked his head to the side and pondered. "I understand your problem, we unconsiously register sights and sounds and as such it is probably second nature to an illusionist to replicate such. However, i think that you are looking at this from the wrong angle; you dont need to literally project magic energy, simply project the feeling of it, the sensory impulse that one equates with a powerful magic source." he tried to explain it as best he could, but not being an illusionist hampered the advice he could give.

Pilar was herself an amateur illusionist. She had only a handful of illusions she could do well, copies of people being among them. She still didn't get all the subtle nuances that sixth senses (or heightened senses) required to be fooled. And especially since magic energy felt different to everyone, she wasn't sure what to project. A tingling sensation? "I... I don't know how to... make her feel magical," she said, looking from Odhranos to Lisbeth and back again. "I don't..." "It's okay, Pilar," Lisbeth said. "It's just something that'll come with practice. Take heart, most of the men here aren't mages, they won't notice anything off. You've been doing well so far." Pilar appreciated Lisbeth's words, but her confidence was still shot.

Bugger, Odh had messed up big time. "She's right, you are doing a fantastic job" he stated, trying to quirk his face into a friendly and encouraging smile. "Honestly, I do mean it, your illusion is visually and aurally astounding, you could have her give a speech and fool the whole army!" he laughed, ommiting the fact that some of the mages might see through but there were times for brutal honesty and times not for it. "It just takes work, like everything, but you have a great start" he adds, doing hia damndest to lift the woman's rudely squashed spirits.

Pilar naturally had low self-esteem, had suffered from it since she was a little girl. Odh was just the latest in a long line of people to accidentally hurt the sensitive woman's feelings. She looked at "Hildegarde," trying to figure out what to do. She couldn't just give up and hope things continued okay, could she? Carefully, she raised a hand and tried to channel the sensation of magical energy. To her, it felt like warmth. To another, it might have been a tingling. "How... how is this?"

Odhranos closed his eyes and let his magic senses take over. The room was lit in shades of grey and gold, thin mirages peeping through the walls as people bustled past the tent. In the room, however, there had been a change. Lisbeth was infused with delicate traceries of gold light, while Pilar's dimly visible form was suffused with a stronger gold incandescence. Now a third form joined them, the gold light vibrant, but it wavered ever so slightly, as opposed the the natural pulsing flow of natural energy. However, at a distance, it would suffice to fool a magical observer. "Very good! Thats exactly it!" the mage exclaimed, clapping his hands in approval.

Pilar sighed... And promptly sat in the nearest chair, which happened to be Hildegarde's. She clipped through the illusion for the brief seconds before it dissipated. Pilar looked very drained, her dark ochre skin paling. Lisbeth hurriedly fetched a bottle of blood, bringing it to the vampire. The diminutive mage murmured her thanks before drinking from the bottle. She made no secret of her status, nor did she flaunt it. She was what she was.

Odhranos quietly noted the blood, but made no comment. He had come across vampires before and hadnt found them to be anything less than honorable individuals, so the information didnt phase him. "I am sorry for causing you such stress ma'am, it wasnt my intention nor my nature to do so." he frowned again. "Im assuming you must be involved heavily in this war business to have such a job fall on your shoulders?" he asked, to make conversation if nothing else.

Pilar finished chugging the bottle and put it aside. She looked much better, now, though still a bit tired. She looked at Odhranos. "... Wrong place at the wrong time," she said by way of reply. "I'd say right place at the right time. You sell yourself short, Pilar," Lisbeth said. She cast a wary eye on Odhranos. "I thank you for keeping this all under wraps... but I can't help but wonder what brought you here in the first place."

Odhranos grimaced. "Curiosity, I suppose. I wondered what is was this time that drove young men and women to cast their lives away for the sake of a cause. I've seen many wars before, fought in many too. The perks of living in a nation that was obsessed with expanding its empire. The one thing that never changes is that its pointless, people, individuals, each with their own hopes and dreams, sacrificed in the mill of war, only to have their cause inevitably distorted and lost in time. I just can't reason it" he spoke plainly, an expression of hurt crossing his features.

Lisbeth shook her head. As a good, Aramoth-loving giant, she didn't see war as something wholly unavoidable, though like Hildegarde, she equally detested senseless loss of life. "What would you have us do? Leave the innocents of Frostmaw to suffer under Balgruuf's hands? Ask him nicely to stop slaughtering elves? This war is far from pointless, and you have a lot of nerve to come here and insult Hildegarde by implying that she started this war for no reason. Aramoth's beard, she didn't start this war at all!"

Odhranos met the giant's eyes and there was a flinty hardness there that betrayed a deep hurting anger. "What I would have you do is irrelevant, I would have Balgruuf stop what he is doing and lay down arms, as I would have you do the same. I would have peace, I would have us barbaric creatures cease our senseless bickering and constant strife between our nations be put to an end wish a click of my fingers but it wont happen, because no-one cares about what the exile has to say. They're all to caught up in their wars, their conquests; a bloody squabble to gain a few years of peace until it all starts over again. The problem is, we are all too caught up in our struggle to impose our order upon this world, whether it be Balgruuf's tyranny or Hildegarde's fair rule, to. many lives will have to be spent." he argued, hia voice cracking slightly near the end. "Im sorry. I used to be a diplomat, its my nature to wish for a peaceful way of solving problems" he murmured.

Lisbeth huffed, thinking Odhranos a fool, rather than the wise man he obviously thought himself to be. But Pilar piped up, "I just want the fighting to stop, too... I want people to stop dying. I want everyone to get along..." She looked at Odhranos. "But we can't all get along, and sometimes we have to fight. When you don't fight, even more people suffer and die. Innocent people." This was obviously an issue dear to her heart. She wished someone had fought when her people were being oppressed. She wished someone had fought when her family was slaughtered. "There's things so much worse than death..."

Odhranos certainly had no illusions about his own grandeur, he simply had his opinion. However, what Pilar said did make him pause. Bowing his head, he considered his response. "You have a point. There are times when you do have to fight. That I understand well. I just...just wish it wasn't necessary." he frowned, disappointed in himself and his inconclusive statement. Shaking his head he continued; "I guess living away from the world, it gives you a different view of everything, but there are things you forget to take into account. Don't mind me," he addressed Lisbeth, "I've removed myself from society in despair of its shortcomings, it was foolish to believe such a change could occur and I am sorry if I seemed to slander your cause. The liberation of innocents is a worthy cause, I only wish it was not necessary" he seemed a bit deflated, stuck halfway between an existential crisis and a worldly despair.

Pilar got up from the table and approached Odhranos, the petite woman daring to wrap her arms around the mage. Normally she wouldn't get so close to a stranger, but he seemed so sad... and besides, Lisbeth would lop off his head if he tried anything funny. "It's a sad, mean world we live in," she said. "But it's people like Hildegarde... and like you... who make it a little more okay."

Odhranos made no moves to accept or obstruct the hug, but to anyone taking particular notice, the usually stoic mage's eyes welled up a little in tears. It had been a long long time since anyone had hugged Odh and he wasnt accustomed to them anymore, so he stood awkwardly for a moment or two before returning the hug. "It is, I guess it's all we can do to try our best to fix it, a little bit at a time" he sniffed, rubbing away the tears with his robe's sleeve before anyone noticed. "I shouldn't have been so rash in dismissing what you are doing. If this army has more people like-minded to you, its not as bad a cause as I thought." the corner of his mouth tweaked up in a little wan smile.

Pilar offered him a smile. It was tired, but sincere. "Thank you. And while we would appreciate your help... You don't have to fight with us. Perhaps there is something else you can do with your talents, to make the world a better place."

Odhranos nodded solemnly. "I'll have to think on it. There's this place, in Xalious, a little ledge that allows you to see across the whole of the East, I find its a good place to think, or to start fixing the world." he smiles idly. Meeting Pilar's eyes, he smiles a little easier. "Take care of yourself, okay? We need people like you, who, when the dust settles, can pick up the pieces and make the world better than it was before. If you ever find yourself in the Xalious area, let me know, we can talk again" he reached to take the petite woman's hand momentarily, then let it go. Turning to the giant, he spoke no words, but bowed deeply, bending at the waist, judging it to be the least offensive farewell. "Good luck!" he called as he picked up his bag, and pushed lightly through the tent entrance, dissapearing quickly into the crowds of the camp.