RP:New Beginnings
This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.
Summary: Daath presents Larewen with her Xalious staff upon admittance to the Mage’s Guild. Larewen begins her tutelage under Daath in mastering the dark arts.
Hanging Corpse Tavern
This once-timber tavern has been rebuilt in sturdily vitrified blackstone and imbued with powerful protective magics that prevent occult fire and several other potentially harmful spells being cast within its walls. No effort has been spared to make what might otherwise be a bleak interior comfortable. The bar is made of polished stone with an oaken inlay, the space behind filled with a bustle of attractive barmaids, sundry barrels and a dazzling array of coloured bottles that glint in the light cast by a large wrought-iron candelabrum suspended from the ceiling overhead. Here, the one-eyed Steadman stands, ready to take orders for food or drink. Beyond the bar, stout tables are firmly bolted to the floor, though the high-backed chairs are freestanding. The hearth is a true feature, seeming to be cast from black lava into the shape of a colossal, laughing goblin's head, its maw gaping wide and deep, usually containing a merrily crackling fire. A delicious scent of roasting meats drifts in from the kitchens and a winding staircase leads to rooms upstairs. To the south are set cellar doors, usually kept locked unless a special event is taking place. The walls are hung with thick, richly woven tapestries depicting persons and events in the history of Vailkrin and the Vampiric race. There's also a notice-board near the entrance, where one may leave messages. Unobtrusive but ever-present are the security staff, staunch fighters ever ready to toss troublemakers out.
Daath can be seen at his usual place, a table reserved for him by the Goblin's Head fireplace. The crackling fire illuminates the area about him enough to go about his task of examining a rather large tome, while still providing enough shadow to allow him to utilize the darkness as needed. A bottle of blackfire wine rests beside a fresh glass that goes as of yet untouched, as the dark elf seems lost in his work, yet again.
Larewen approached from without, coming to a stop before the establishment's entrance. A glass of wine was in order, in celebration of breaking her bond to the stone dragon. Xersom hadn't expected her to go to Gheneroc directly about it, she was certain. One arm extended, pushing against the door to the Hanging Corpse so that the vampiric elf could cross the threshold. First, to Steadmen, she requested a bottle of bloodwine. Second, she swept over the building's patrons with that dark stare until she took sight of Daath near the hearth. Then, she gestured in that direction. She'd take her wine over there, was the message expressed. A moment later, Larewen invited herself to join the necromancer. Her presence would undoubtedly be recognized, but so would the fact that something was missing from it. The chain that curled along her flesh from behind her right ear and spiraled down across her chest to eventually end at her right heel was dead, so to speak. There was no longer any magic within it.
Daath does in fact notice the vampire's arrival, but it is before she made her way over towards him. He felt the woman's presence well before she entered the tavern. She was of considerable skill in her own right, and everyone's magic was unique, and thus identifiable to those keen enough to recognize it. So, when no words are offered as a greeting, Daath finishes his passage in the large grimoire, and raises his scarlet gaze to meet hers, as he says. " Good to see you again Larewen, please, sit." With a wave of his hand another high backed leather chair appears, matching his own, before he says. " I hope I find you well?" If she notices such things, it would seem as if the dark elf is studying her.
Larewen lowered herself into the chair once it was conjured and was certain to sit as far back into it as she could, so that she might not appear to be slouching. Beneath her verdant skirt, one leg crossed over the other as a smirk teased at her lips. "Exceptionally well," she replied. Her head tilted to the side. "I have not seen your Sabrina, but I did happen upon my master. Begrudgingly on his behalf, I have reminded him of his promises and have been freed of his hold." It was certainly something to be elated for and left with it only the issue of the band around her finger. Subconsciously, the thumb and index of her right hand fingered the bump on her left ring finger beneath its glove. It would come off soon, too. "What of you, Daath?"
Daath watches the woman, and her movements, like said touching of her ring finger, but makes no mention of it. She would tell him, if she wished. But as he listens to her tale, a nod is given. " Bonds can be useful, but they can also be restraining. In my time I have pondered upon many options of extending my life, so my quest for knowledge can continue even after my long years are over. And one such options was vampirism." He takes his glass now, and pours himself a drink, before he leans back and takes a sip, looking into the fire. " But being bound to a sire was out of the question for me. To have my mind controlled, to have my thoughts invaded willingly, and to be able to be found by my sire, no matter where I go? It would feel like being under the thumb of the matrons once again, and not worth the potential power that came with it. So caution is always advised, Larewen, in such transactions." Another sip of his wine, before he looks at the vampire, taking her in for a moment, before he says. " I've a gift for you. " Snapping his fingers, a package appears before her. A sleek black case. Daath watches and waits for her to open it.
Larewen quirked a brow upward in lieu of the offered advice, and the words that went with it. "This was not to my sire," she said gently. Her sire had been Shishi, after all - but she was certain even her ex-husband himself would not recall that. It'd been too long. Nonetheless, the topic was dropped in favor of the case that appeared. She reached out with gloved hands to take it from the air and draw it across her lap. Dark eyes roamed over it before a simple breath, weighted by the arcane, popped it open to reveal what lay within.
Daath smirks as she seems to have confused his own inquiry into the bonding of vampirism, with her own bonding with the dragon. Dark magic is his speciality, draconic magic is familiar to him. But this is all beside the point. As the case opens, it will reveal a staff. Quite normal looking to the eye, but the power that flows from it is of pure arcane energy. " Made from wood from the Xalious tree itself, this staff symbolizes you are an accomplished mage, as well as grants you access to the Mage's Guild. It also allows me to promote you as -I- see fit, within the Necromancer's Guild. Use it well." The staff, while simple looking, will adopt a new look based off its master's liking. So as soon as Lare touches it, it will twist into a form she is more comfortable with.
Larewen did not have to be told from what tree the staff was crafted, for she recognized it quite immediately - she was well aware of the Xalious Tree and its power. The moment her fingertips brushed its shaft, the staff began to twist. Its wood blackened and became gnarled, and its head split into four branches that twisted upward around an empty space. Within that void between the pronged wood, a gem was birthed into existence: a mutli-faceted emerald of the deepest verdancy. A strange, eerie glow swirled within it. "I most certainly will," she said, her lips quirking upward behind her veil.
Daath allows his own lips to curl into a smirk as he watches the staff take on its shape, and nods his head as he says. " The task I asked you to under go, as far as Sabrina, shall be put aside for now. For me to properly evaluate your skills, I've a task for you to do. If you are willing." Another sip of that wine is taken, before he adds. " As well, know that the guild shall have an official headquarters of sorts, and any aid in that matter will be greatly helpful."
Larewen continued to run her fingers over the length of the dark staff, much in the manner that one might stroke their beloved pet. It was at this moment that a barmaid finally swung ‘round with her glass and a bottle of blood-infused cabernet sauvignon. She took them, pouring herself a glass that covered little more than an inch above the bottom of the glass’s wide bowl as Daath spoke. The bottle was deposited upon the table and the crimson fluid swirled around the glass as she lifted her dark eyes toward his once more. “Of course,” she said after a few moments. “What is it you require?”
Daath studies the vampire as she answers him question, and replies with. " I want you." A pause, or something, but he looks at her a moment and continues with. " To play a part in a plan that is currently underway. I've another key player moving in one direction, and in this play, I shall take the stage to fill my role soon." He lifts his own glass up to his lips, taking a sip before placing the glass down and continuing with. " So I will need you to play a more subtle part. The embers of hatred are begining to rekindle. And with my aid I shall fan them until they are flames of war once more. In this time many will die, and when they do, you shall be there to give the corpses new purpose. It shall be both a test of your power, as well as serve a vital role in things to come that will reshape the realm as we know it." It is here that the dark elf locks gazes with the vampire, and says. " Do you think yourself ready? Or do i think too highly of you, and your..." He looks at the woman, up and down, before saying. " Skill."
Larewen arched a brow upward and the corner of her lips twitched with amusement at the dark elf’s choice of where to leave pregnant pauses in a conversation. As he continued, she lifted the rim of her glass to her lips and tilted it upward, sipping its contents. Afterwards, her brow furrowed slightly. He meant reanimation, didn’t he? “I think I might need a few days to study - I have something I’d like to try, actually. It would serve as good practice,” she said at last, and her tone was a mixture of hunger for crossing into a new realm of magic she’d not yet attempted and disappointment, that she could not so readily say that she was prepared. “It will be fun.”