RP:Karasu Wants An Autograph
This is a Mage's Guild RP.
Summary:
The recently introduced Mage's Guild member Kasyr observes Karasu as she wipes out the last of the Venturil razurath. Kasyr introduces himself in the most Kasyr way possible, and Karasu loses her mind realizing that she is meeting a celebrity.
Mountain Pass
The mountains to your east and west are almost touching, leaving only a narrow path in between them. While still large enough to let a wagon through, it is too small to let them move side by side, only one at a time could be on the path at a time. This is a perfect place to defend, you think while you eye the tall peaks and their relationship to the path - or the perfect place for an ambush. Somewhere around here is the entrance to the dwarf kingdom, and you are sure there are sentries up in the forest to the left and right, keeping a sharp eye out on any who would wish to visit their home. A small campfire looks to be burning high above on the right, confirming the possibility of dwarven lookouts. To your south you can see the path widen considerably, while here it seems to turn a corner and lead to the west.
Karasu stays hidden in the thickest tangle of brambles on a rocky outcropping that rests well enough above the ground. The spell-blade's armor has been enchanted to look like the surrounding cliffs, allowing her to stay protected at the same time. Her attention is focused not on the dwarven gates to the west, but rather, to the steep cliff directly north, waiting for something to appear. Her ears twitch to some faint noise. A pale figure slithers over the edge of the cliff and scales the wall down, though Karasu does not yet attack. Slitted hazel eyes watch as the bipedal reptilian slithers past her hiding place to examine the pathway. The faintest of enchantment shimmers around her; a spell to conceal her scent to the Razurath. The light creature scales the wall again with little difficulty and advises to their comrades in Common that the area is safe. Karasu whispers an enchantment before drawing her swords. As scout begins to descend again, it pauses, looking directly in the direction of the brambles. It seems to catch sight of the enchantment. Before it can screech at the refugees, the halfing springs from the brambles, stabbing one of her silver-wrought swords through the creature's rib cage. A sickening crunch is heard as the blade emerges from the other side of the Razurath. As it drops to the ground, Karasu looks up to see the few refugees following behind coming directly at her.
Kasyr isn't anachronistic enough to be aware of Inception. If he was, he'd have been able to better appreciate the layer of the Razurath stalking the mountain pass, while Karasu stalked the Razurath, while he was in the process of creeping after her. In any case, the point was that it wasn't really taking long for the 'assignment' he'd posted up to bear fruit, given he'd wanted to actually get some insight to the students he'd essentially been assigned by Daath. Which was why he was now in the process of being perched on those westward gates, though, not atop them. Rather, the Kensai had quite literally embedded one of his myriad swords directly into the stone, and was balancing atop the flat of the blade- one hand lifted up to keep the sun out of his eyes as he craned forward to take in the skirmish playing out before him. "Mmm. Well, that could have gone better. Nice cut though. Still very coat-worthy." Kasyr definitely didn’t include the clause about bringing back bits of the Razurath just so he could make clothes and furniture out of them, because of the role they played in his return from exile. Of course not.
Karasu twitches her ears at the commentary, but could not respond just yet due to the present pest problem. "Ignem sacrum Xalious praesidio." The dual katanas in her hands begin to glow a bright sapphire before she stabs them into the ground. Seeming to have a will of its own, the light transfers from the blades down into the ground, then forward onto the cliff face, where it encircles the three charging saurians. A blue flame erupts from the circle, and the trio shrieks and recoils towards the center. Despite their resistance to heat, it appears the magically induced flames are even hotter. Satisfied with her trap, she turns on her heel, deep mulberry curls bouncing in place. Her hazel eyes meets the amber eyes of the vampire, and with a voice that could possibly physically not express any more annoyance, she calls out, "Can I help you?"
Kasyr 's more of an Aberration these days, given the odd state of flux he's been left in due to Gospel's wretched little minions- but the pointed teeth and the rest of his pallid appearance probably aren't the most reassuring things for most people. Not that he doesn't -try- to at least offer a modicum of disarming cheer in the form of an off-handed wave, Calico ears cropping up with an equal degree of perkiness, " Yes? I mean, you -were- helping. Et now, you're not." Moving from a perch to an incredibly precarious lean that sets the sword he's standing on wobbling, the Kensai gestures towards Karasu, "Well, I mean- I'm at least getting to take notes on things like situational awareness, et the like." The kensai might be acting especially flippant and obtuse, but it's not exactly without reason. The razurath, after all, aren't exactly dumb, by all accounts- and whilst they've certainly found themselves in an awful position, there's something to be said for higher intellects and the capacity for team work. Like, say, the ability for two of them to desperately improvise a perch for the third, so that they can provide the latter an impromptu boost out of the proverbial frying pan they've found themselves in. It's a drastic measure in the face of what their opponents down to them asofar, and yet- there's few alternatives other than braving the fire outright. Kasyr, for his part, just blinks. He was sort of hoping for a breath weapon or something from these walking handbags-to-be.
Karasu has already decided that this interloper is on the same level of friendship as Lanlan. She glowers up at him as he quips at her until the leaping of one Razurath out of the flames gets her attention again. A leopard speckled tail on deep violet fur that matches her curls swishes side to side in annoyance as she withdraws a dagger from under her breastplate. "Fulgur." She says in a somewhat bored tone before throwing it straight ahead. The Razurath makes the mistake of trying to dodge, just a moment too late, and instead of its intended destination on its forehead, the dagger lodges itself in its eye up to the hilt with a muffled squelch. The Razurath shudders violently as lightning wracks its body from the inside. While immobilized, Karasu removes one of the katana blades from the ground and marches up to the red-scaled creature. It only takes one swing to decapitate the offending creature. Her eyes drift over to the two remaining Razurath, a yellow cowering behind a green who is trying to look intimidating from behind the wall of magic flames.
Kasyr goes from that singsong posture to one of keen interest when he takes note of Karasu's rather violent change in priorities, his hands slipping beneath his trenchcoat to rest idly in his pockets. "I was expecting more from them, admittedly, since they've been warranted such a hassle?" There's an odd mirth to the Kensai's voice; but what underlies it is something far colder, coinciding neatly with the smooth manner in which the swordsmans fingers trace up alongside a number of sheathes lining the interior of his jacket. Small trails of electrical energy trace patchwork webs along his flesh, helping to pull the mithril scalpels out from their hiding spots courtesy of a bit of electromagnetism, providing Kasyr with a rather full array of blades to play with. "What a disappointment." The words are accompanied by the pop of an electrical discharge, and a roar of flame as the air around the Kensai's hand ignites, as those blades are effectively railgunned at the green Razurath doing it's utmost to display it's ferocity. Unfortunately, false Bravado doesn't provide much protection against raw kinetic force sending super heated blades shredding through scale or muscle or bone, nor provide much relief when a combination of stress and impact causes that same metal to fragment inside. Which is why there is a lot more exit points then entry points, much to the horror of the one behind. That done, the swordsman bounces slightly on the hilt of the sword, causing it's already precarious balance to abruptly dislodge from the wall and sending him plummeting to the ground, so he can neatly land in an over theatric stage bow. The quick flail of one hand to catch the falling sword only detracts a bit from the effect. Probably. "Do what you want with the last one. This batch isn't worth much." Karasu winces despite her battlefield bravado as the green saurian is decimated in moments. Oil-like blood coats the cliff face, dribbling down and causing what insects have made their homes in the dry terrain to scatter outwards as if the blood were poisonous. Karasu eyes the remaining enemy, who appears terrified for their life and is begging for mercy in broken Common. Her one weakness; never kill someone who is surrendering. "Well, Daath did say that he had plans for any remaining Razurath that we could bring back alive. He's probably going to interrogate it or something before letting it go." Wrong. "Wait, do you know Daath? Wait, don't care." She reaches down to the corpse of the red Razurath and withdraws her dagger from the eye socket, shaking it clean of blood and other viscera before wrapping it in a handkerchief. "It's not so much that they're not skilled, its their numbers that was the bigger problem." She takes the other katana from the ground, which has been miraculously unscathed by the unjust treatment, and points it at the brown one. "Follow. Or die." She commands.
Kasyr resheathes the much abused longsword he's been toting around these days, sheathing it at his hip before resuming his casual posture, " Not...really my concern. But I guess if he has a use for i" The mention of Daath letting it go free after the fact has the Kensai chuckling a bit too heartily, as he takes a moment to wipe a tear of mirth from his eye. "Give me a sec." Yeah, this probably isn't doing wonders for the survivor's faith in their continued life expectancy. "Right, right. Anyways- I suppose I ought to do Introductions- since it -is- my request you're currently fulfilling. I'm Ashen, or Kas- et apparament, according to Daath, I'm supposed to be overseeing the mages in the academy that are of the ...less bookish variety." The sheathed blade is lifted up at this, and gestured towards the other swordsman, " Which is why I was playing running commentary on your form. This was a -really- lousy entry test though. Way more tooth and claw is needed, enfin."
Karasu stares at her katanas as he speaks, her snarky demeanor growing silent. "You're..." She looks up at him, her eyes having suddenly turned into two sparkling stars. "You're King Kasyr of Vailkrin?" The katanas are almost immediately sheathed, and replaced by a small leather notebook and pencil. The Razurath looks visibly uncomfortable by this change in demeanor, and starts to slink away. "C-c-c-can I have your autograph?"
Kasyr looks about as equally uncomfortable, though it doesn't really stop him from sidling over in a smooth motion, and throwing an arm around the shoulder of the remaining Razurath in a gesture that is -anything- except friendly. It can remain a ...captive audience for this spectacle. Which is pretty awkward given that whilst he's been gradually getting a bit taller these days, he's still shorter than it. Still, the Kensai -does- try his best to stay on task "...Former. Abdicated, et all that. Et, er...maybe? You're still on the clock as it were for a job, Mademoiselle. Though..." The swordsman appears thoughtful for a few moments before he adds, "I'll let you play 20 questions as long as you answer my own. It's been a while since I had any sort of teaching job, et this bit of combat gauging ended a lot faster than intended."
Karasu is sparkling as she watches one of her childhood heroes. "Okay!" Her tail quivers happily as she approaches the frightened saurian. "Hands." She orders it with a smile. Afraid of what will happen if it refuses, the Razurath stoops, nearly squatting to allow the child to place rune-marked handcuffs on it. "Break out of these, and your head will be on the ground before the first shard of mithril does." Regarding Kasyr, she seems to be proud about this comment. "Of course, I've been training my whole life to exterminate monsters, even those of a foreign nature!"
Kasyr might frequently be a source of abundant cheer mixed with murder, but to see it from someone else is a peculiar sort of novelty. He can appreciate it all the same, especially since the uncanny threat does manage to get the Razurath to fall in line, allowing the swordsman to fold his arms up behind his head, his fingers knitting together. "Works, then. On-y-va!" A pause, and the Kensai manages to provide a smirk over to the woefully outnumbered Saurian, "That means you, too. Scoot." Not that Kasyrs in any sort of hurry, as he directs his attention back to Karasu, "Well, I suppose I ought to ask the important questions. So, what drew you to well, weapon mastery, et magic? Et where do your fortes lie in that regards, at least in your opinion?" Whilst self-evaluations aren't necessarily as informative as monster Maulings, they still help in a pinch.
Path Through the Hills
A small path running along the side of the hill leads to the north. Only sparse patches of grass brighten the mounds of grey stone and ashy dirt. The ground is largely barren, but the view from any one of the grey hilltops quickly makes up for it. From these windswept crests, the whole dome of the sky is visible. There’s a fine view of the land as well. Mountains loom to the far north, and to the west is a narrow ravine, much too sheer and treacherous to climb either up or down. South are more hills, then to the east, most inviting of all, is a pleasant meadow.
Karasu points her katana at the Razurath's back, marching forward down the mountain path. Suddenly, she's being interviewed! "My da-- father--" Her cheeks flush at the slip. "--worked very hard to get to where he is as Provost Esoterica, so I need to follow in his footsteps. I am not as adept in pure arcane mastery, but I believe my half-feline heritage makes me much more skilled with swordplay than a human. I am dexterous enough to maneuver my way through a battlefield mostly unscathed, and as you saw with my incantations, my magical ability is strong enough to take down Razurath by myself." She beams proudly.
Kasyr doesn't put much note in the flub, other than a cursory glance at Karasu's posture to see if it had managed to throw off her stance at all. "So, big shoes to fill. I noticed you used a dagger et those swords at your hips. Any other bits of weapon work you practice, et, magic wise do you have any sorts of ..affinities as it were. " To emphasize that point, the Kensai snaps his fingers, a small flicker of electricity dancing along the tip of one. "Sort of helps to figure out what best to work on, et tout cela, you know? Though, working with speed over brute force is -definitely- doable. What's the largest thing you've hunted down? Et just how much can you, well, cast until you exhaust yourself?" Interviewed, interrogated, it's not really a -large- difference, right?
Karasu watches with big eyes as the spark dances along the vampire's fingers. "Well, I certainly can't do that. It's a little frustrating. I have been studying since I could read, and yet I still need to recite incantations to activate any magic. I'm sure you saw the lightning runes in my swords. I keep those there in case of emergency, say if I were ambushed or otherwise vocally impaired and could not draw a spell. Sigils are a weak point as well, though I have yet to see spell blades work with those." As Kasyr continues his questioning, the halfling, always slower on the social uptake than her peers, realizes she is being interviewed to determine her potential. She retells the tale of how she was forcibly dragged to Rynvale by a boorish half-drow who left herself and her best friend, another half-human to deal with a behemoth of a giant invisible jaguar, and how she honestly did not feel magically expended even after the jaguar was killed. She leaves out the part where she was, though, extremely emotionally drained, and how the idea of humans skinning her now-extinct feline tribe when they were discovered deceased made her run away to vomit while she got a scolding for not skinning the jaguar.
Kasyr nods a bit more as Karasu describes both her affinities and her experiences, though he can't help but note. "You incant, but they're still shortened, at least compared to some I've heard. Have you explicitly chosen spellcraft that es quicker to recite, or has that been a process of ..modifying the spells as it were?" The Kensai pauses for a moment at Karasu's mention of Sigils, drawing his hands back out from behind his head. "I've thought of some means of mustering something along that lines, but to manage that es likely going to be ... a hassle at best, especially considering that the person who'd come to mind to help es... grouchy. At the best of times." For a moment, he looks like he wants to say more, but he finds himself pausing, as his empathy coaxes him to process that whilst he hadn't -directly- landed on the equivalent of an emotional landmine, he'd come close to something that was a bit unpleasant. "So, do you have any questions? Other than the autograph one. I can get to that now, if you want to pass the paper, enfin. But I mean more for, projects you're working on, or things tu want to know."
Karasu shakes her head. "I would like to get to a point where I can cast without requiring an incantation. The few that I use most often are the ones that I have practiced enough to only need one or two words to evoke." It slowly becomes apparent that Karasu is not as naturally gifted with arcane magic as other students, nor does she have the potential that her fellow apprentice does, but she makes up for it in sheer stubbornness and determination. As they approach the tower, the Razurath hostage they force ahead looks around desperately for one last chance at escape.The spell blade raises her sword again and prods it in the back to make it pass through the doors of the tower.
Mage Tower
This room is huge, and the entire place is covered in blue and white marble, with many torches and eight pillars reaching up to the ceiling to reinforce the room above, and keep the tower standing. The columns are covered in mystical runes, probably magic to keep the pillars strong, making them able to withstand pressure that normally wouldn't be possible. In the center of the room, there is a spiraling staircase made of glass, and also inscribed with the same type of runes as the pillars, leading to the higher levels of this magical tower. Next to the stairs there is a small desk here with a sign on it. At the top the sign reads... directions for all new mages. There is a door to the south, and you now notice that it too, is covered in the strength giving runes, that leads outside and a door to the west leading to the dormitory, a place for young mages to rest after their studies here.
"Daath, get out here. I have a present." Karasu calls down the halls of private offices. As they wait for the drow, Karasu keeps her eyes averted when she asks this. "Would... you be willing to spar with me? I want to be able to hold my own in battle, to not have to rely on anyone else."
Kasyr looks contemplative as she goes over the details. There's elements there that are easier to work with than others, and he can't help but finding himself nodding approvingly when she makes her request. After all, bravery is always a trait. "Whilst I could mention stuff, I'm not really an academic by nature. Most of what I've learned over time has been from application, and innovations forged on battlefields. So, that might be an easier way to properly gauge your limits, et what works best. Might help build some stamina as well. " It's not like the Kensai is mildly infamous with his teaching practices. Never. "If you'd like, I can give you some time to attend to anything you need to do here, and we can convene in.. "The Kensai glances around the tower, staring at the interior as he tries to properly recall the last time he'd been there, "Training hall, ou quoi-ce-soit. I need to go to my office."