Shards of Rage - RPLOG
Participants
Date
13/8/475
Log
It's a fine thursday evening. The side of the castle has signs directing soulless that way, where three guards and a scholarly mouse stands to welcome all. The mouse is recognizable enough. Mione, resident scholar and scribe. "The King is very pleased you've responded to our request."
Walking along, following the directions she had been given at the inn, Monique looks a little nervous as she hears the rodent, "I... I am glad to be able to help." she says, holding one paw up in greeting to the woman.
Bite slithers along the well guided path and bows respectfully to Mione and the guards. She tilts her head and smiles sweetly, saying "I'm glad to help out royalty, it must be of great importance." She looks over the three guards, judging if they're body guards, or for some greater saftey having to do with this discussion.
Kilsa smiles and takes her seats, watching the rest of soulless enter. She is very intrigued about this invite, the Good King seems very set on this soul gem research. While her own soulgem is nice Kilsa can't help but feel more skills would better help her in the field. "I'm happy to hear that our King is interested in the furthering of Soulless. Its nice to know the higher ups don't think of us as tools or monsters to be stuffed in a corner." She nods to Mione in a friendly guesture.
"Monsters?" says Mione, "Creators, no. You are all very talented individuals." He leads the way inside and to a small room with available seats as he moves behind a small writing desk and pulls out a gem, familiar to Bite and Kilsa as the rock they retrieved, "With the consent of some of you, I've been trying to discern how to replicate this, for the good of the kingdom, and I think I may be close at hand. It's not a very pure sample, I'm afraid," he explains, "There's a lot of emotional taint that would make it impractical to use directly."
Sitting down, Monique watches the presentation of the stone, tilting her head at it until she murmurs, softly, "A soul stone?" under her breath, not really sure what it is she is looking at.
Bite as a shudder goes down Bite's spine her body writhes, she can't imagine what sort of feelings would enter ones body if they just tried to use it as is. It could be pure bliss and contentment or an absolute nightmare, but it's not worth dealing with, that was a poor wretch of a creature. She looks it over, and sits down with a nod. "It's probably... full of love." she manages and tilts her head the other way from before, not sure if that makes it any better to the mouse.
Kilsa chest puffs up at the thought of her and her snake friend being the ones that single handly found the stone. "Love and insanity, maybe". she smirks thinking of the horrid effect that might have on any souless directly using the stone.
"I couldn't say for certain," agrees the mouse hesitantly, "I dare not surrender it for use as it is, but..." He reaches under the desk and pulls out a handful of smaller soul gems, much closer to the standard size of soul gem than the larger monstrosity, "These are some the Freesword artisans have managed. It's been a challenge, coming as it is from a monster, instead of the honored fallen."
"Wait, we are expected to wear them? Have they been tested?" Monique asks out loud, since from her compatriots it seems this is an open meeting, "Or are we..." she adds, pondering if they are meant to be the testers.
Bite smirks and looks over the gems, reaching out towards one she feels the urge to and looking to Monique for the okay. "I'm sure it's safe, there are guards her to help if someone gets out of hand. So did they really all develop from that same gem?" she hisses curiously.
Kilsa smiles and nods to Mione, "I would be willing to test it. No progess could be made without a little trial and error." She looks at monique, "Wouldn't you want to be the first to have power unyielding? To learn skills no other soulless might know?" She looks to Bite. "My friend here seems to already feel the pull of the unknown." She chuckles a little.
"Each is a little different," explains Mione, "They're sailing in unknown winds, as it were. So they tried different techniques to purify the gem to usefulness." He nudges them forward, each a slightly different color, "We are hoping one of them is right. If we can find it, then they will know what to do, and do it again." A snap of fingers, "And we'll have a new soul gem. Pardon that they are so large. These are not meant to be worn for long. The size allows them to be studied more easily, and copied, if it works well."
Biting her lip and approaching, Monique looks down at the gems. Then it catches her eye, red, blood red. The girl's heart beats a little faster as her paw reaches out to touch the stone, seemingly quite focused on just it.
Bite picks up the one that she felt a draw to and begins the process of applying it, swapping her mage adept for it. "How long will we have to test them?" she asks, watching the mouse with curiosity.
Kilsa moves near Monique and finds a gem that seems to be a cross of white with deep silver streaks in it. "This feels similar some how." She waves her hand over it but does not touch it. "I feel keen on having this one if that ok? I would love to test it." She doesn't know why this particular gem makes her feel so at ease but she knows it doesn't feel as tainted as the one that came from a monster.
Purified or not, these gems are much 'hotter' than the perfected models for sale at the Freeswords. Emotion flows thick. From Monique's, rage, from Bite's, sorrow, and from Kilsa's, loneliness. A bit troublingly overwhelming at first adorning, but it does start to die off quickly, the existing emotions and personality pushing aside the artificial intruder. "How do you feel?" asks Mione.
Blinking, her paws itching to take up her axes, Monique fights back the anger and promise of violence with the light meditation that she has picked up. Taking a deep breath, she says, "Hot, strong... wow." she says, her voice almost growling until she focuses more on narrowing her thoughts away from the rage.
Bite shakes her head. "Oddly... sad? A little better?" she hisses and clears her head. "I feel interesting, that's certain. She stretches out and looks slightly distant before snapping to with a smirk. "I feel fine." she hisses with satisifaction. She knows she can do this. She begins to try and figure out what this gem has brought to her, what's special about it.
Kilsa blinks back a few tears, "I feel warm but at the same times I feel an overwhelmingly lonely feeling, like I'm a sitting at the playground alone as a kid again and not one wants to be friends with the fat badger." She blinks back a few more tears. "I'm not sure if I feel anything important yet." She tries not to think on the loneliness as it slowly fades.
There seems to be little real power in the downturned emotions. Faint hints of small promises. Surely not worth the effort of attuning oneself fully to their workings. The angry rock, on the other hand, is happy to shout about the glories of battle, of bathing in the blood of defeated enemies, protected only by the need to be victorious.
Mione looks between the three cautiously, as if they could fly off the handle at any moment, which they could, considering.
Struggling to keep the rage down, Monique tries to find a hint of actual skill in the gem and, to her dismay, finds none. "It's... it's empty of..." then it hits her, or rather, it occurs to her. If this gem is based on the rage, maybe it's skills will only be apparent when she does get angry. Looking around, the girl reaches to her weapon belt and undoes it, tossing it over just in front of a guard, she doesn't want to pull her weapons on one of these people.
Bite continues searching on the soul gem, trying to figure out it's purpose. Finding none she becomes a little aggitated at the lack of progress, feeling it's made her worthless. She seems to be sinking back into the sorrow after having so easily come from it as the thoughts of self worth become more and more personal and degrading.
Kilsa struggles with her own loneliness before realizing why she is lonely now, She is a solitary guardian and even if everyone is scare of her immense power and large size, she is still protecting them even if they laugh behind her back she is the hammer protecting thier backs. She doesn't mind the loneliness and turns the feeling into solace. She puff out her chest and remembers that even if people try to push her out of their lives they don't realize that she is a large part of their lives, at wedding, at funerals, with the sick and poor. A smile graces her face as she fights back happier tears this time. She feels something akin to a spark but not sure what it means. "I feel a little less lonely but I can't tell what I'm getting from the gem." She looks very confused. "I think I might need more time with it."
He scratches his cheek a brief moment, "Forgive me if I am misrembering, you know better than I, surely. However, I was given to believe that, most times, you felt the usefulness of a gem fairly quickly? Maybe it's too diluted," he says with a frown, then looks towards Monique and her tossed weapon, "How about you, madame?"
"Anger... fighting... violence..." Monique grinds out from between clenched teeth. Approaching a different guard to the one she threw her weapons in front of, she has him raise his shield arm. All at once, the girl howls out and starts punching, slashing and even biting at the shield, taking all the anger, letting it flow with the hard steel as her focus.
Bite seems to sink lower, despair filling her form. It slowly turns into resentment, and she stands up looking at everyone. Her mind clears slightly and she sits down to the free lunch, looking a little sour as she tries to get ahold of herself.
Kilsa smiles and remembers her friend, "Hey are you ok?" She rubs her friends back and smiles, "As a soulless even with a priest gem I need a bit of experience doing what it is my soulgem was crafted to do. We learn quickly and my pick up a skill or two but I would need experience in what the soulgems made for." She smiles and continues to dote on Bite. "Don't look so glum it doesn't suit one so beautiful. I don't know what the gem has you feeling but mines made me feel loneliness. I'm trying to fight it..." She leans in closers. "I still feel like crying but it doesn't suit me.. just like looking sad and piss doesn't suit you."
Mione looks askance as Monique performs deadly assault on the guard's shield. Deciding not to get directly involved with that, he moves towards Bite first, reaching to pop out the gem in her band, then advises towards Kilsa, "You should remove yours as well. I'm afraid this is a failed experiment. We don't want to be driving our people to tears and depression," he assures, pocketing the dud soul gem.
The guard in front of Monique is a little confused, with his shield being banged away at, but no attempt to harm him underway, "Maam?" he ventures, "I need that shield maam. Please calm down."
A dull 'clang' is heard as the thylacine's fist is driven completely through the shield, the metal peeling back around the hole like banana peel. Panting and growling, Monique tries to focus, to bring her anger back into check, resorting to some of the stronger focusing techniques she had been taught. Shuddering as she pulls her paw free from the metal, she looks apologetically up to the guard, "Ss... sorry." she says, looking at the ruined shield.
Bite shovels what she can into her mouth to swallow whole, stands up, then hugs Kilsa. She replaces her mage adept gem and stretches, forcing the rest of her gloom away by taking a look at some of her crowns. A smile crosses her face and she flicks her tail against the ground, offering Kilsa a seat and recommending some fish. "I though it went well. You learned something didn't you sssweetie?"
Kilsa hold up a hand and smiles softly, "Give mine a moment.. unlike that one," She points to Monique, "We are of less physically demand traits, I don't speak for her but I think you should give me something to defend against. My gem makes me feel lonely but the feeling goes away the moment I think of protecting someone, give me someone to protect. I think your approaching the gems to linear, Giving a mage soul gem users a Large sword and sending them into combat wouldn't get your the results your seeking." She looks down at monie with a bit of hope in her eyes.
"Ah?" says Mione, unsure, "Well, if you are handling it well, and it's taking time, keep it, for now. Perhaps its purpose will come to you in time. Do report it as soon as you are sure." He moves towards Monique then, answering Bite on the way, "Yes, there is always something learned. Never a wasted venture. Just not a successful one."
The guard works off his mashed up shield, sighing at it and giving Mione a pointed glance. A soft gesture has him dropping the shield, looking irate, but not speaking about it. "Madame?" Mione says towards Monique.
A bottle on her anger, the girl looks over to the mouse, "Y-yes?" she asks, still trying to focus herself, to keep the burning hurricane of violence suppressed. It is clear that although Monique is having to fight every moment to keep that anger locked up, the short time she spent under it's influence, was glorious.
Kilsa smiles and get an ideal. "Monique, please try to attack this guard." She points to a random guard and stand between them. "I will defend." She places her weapon on the nearst table. "Unless your scared." She raises her fist and look at Monie, "Its a test if I have your permission." She doesn't want to get kicked out for being rude.
Bite continues eating before standing up and ready for a potential issue. She watches Kilsa curiously and then the already slightly unpredicatable MOnique, when fighting she already had issues, whats going to happen now?
The scholar quickly raises his hands, "Oh no no no. We have test targets in the courtyard if you need them. The guards are not at our disposal for these things. They're here for our protection," he says, trying to nudge the soulless back out towards the hall, presumably to guide them to the courtyard.
Nodding, the image of her fist punching through steel overlaying with the kind badger's, Monique shudders and follows Mione's advice, making her way down the hall. Passing one guard, she reaches to pick up her weapons, trying to palm the shieldless soldier some coins apologetically. "Sorry, I just... I needed to let it out and it seemed the safest target..." she says softly.
Bite frowns and follows the mouse, not quite happy about being pushed away from the free lunch, but understanding the threat and reasoning behind the thinking. She watches Monique warily, "When they're more mainstreme ones like that will be easier to maintain correct?" she asks about the blood red gem.
Kilsa nods, "With all due respect I would still like to have the test." She waits for monie decision, "I'm game if you are, Sir. I've been thinking that if we go enough tests you have to waste less of the soul gems." She eyes the scholar carefully. "I mean no offense I'm just excited about the ideal of more skills for my fellow Souless."
"Of course we can have tests," assures Mione, "Just not against the guards. They are loyal servants of the crown, not practice targets." He exits the hallway out into the inner courtyard of the castle, where two archery targets are laid out on the right side, "You can make use of these, and they are far easier to replace."
Looking at the targets, Monique tilts her head and then, out of the corner of her eye, she notices what would really help. Striding over, almost hidden to one side, she begins dragging a heavy log from the wood pile and a wood-axe. Standing the log up, she nods at it, "I always fight better with something in my paws to swing." she says with a grin, rubbing her paws as she tests the weight of the axe.
Kilsa smiles and knows the feeling, "I'm a hammer folk myself." She grabs a wooden club from the rack of training weapons and takes a bit of charcol from a pocket in her armor and draws a crude picture of bite. "There... Ok Monique. Let wait for the go ahead from our benefactor here." She stands and takes a few practice sings of her club and smiles widely. "I'm ready when He is and I'm sure your looking for a reason to let off whatever that gem has your feeling." She pat her armor. "I'm a tough gal so don't hold back."
Bite looks to the targets and watches Monique, having never gotten a reply she drops the line of questioning. She looks to Kilsa, unsure if she is going to be safe defending worthless targets from a seemingly frenzied creature as such. Of course for the sake of testing she slyly begins prepping some explosive magic to place between the targets.
Mione does not keep Kilsa waiting long, giving a soft approving gesture. As it turns, Monique's gem works reasonably well, creating powerful blows with a total lack of concern for self protection. Kilsa, fortunately, is still under the protection of her fighter training, the new, dud, soulgem unable to override it.
A few bruises, but no serious injuries later, it seems clear that at least one soul gem has potential. "Splendid," says Mione, "Marvelous. I will inform the Freeswords this very moment. If they can perfect that, we have ourselves a revolution." He looks quite delighted at this, moving to retrieve the potential soul gem.
Panting hard, Monique reaches a paw up, running it over the gem almost protectively, "I... here..." she says, working to remove the gem and hand it back to the mouse reluctantly, "Any chance... well, could I have the chance to buy one of those?" she asks, "Or perhaps that one, when they are done with it."
Bite inspects Moniques body curiously. "I think they'll be smaller than that one, you would probably be more ini control that that." she hisses and flicks her tail, looking Kilsa over before smirking and casting her spell, causing a bit of mindless destruction to the two targets and giggling.
Kilsa grunts and begins her minor wounds a little displeased to have a useless soulgem. "I guess I was wrong." She pops out her gem and inserts her original priest gem. She walks up to Monie and gives her the gem. "Maybe another time." She says and gives the failure to Monie. "Good times Monique, When you get far stronger I would be happy to see how you work out with a perfected model of that soul gem."
Mione looks a bit perplexed as the targets are reduced to cinders, "Was there a particular reason that you destroyed the Good King's property?" he asks, tucking the gem away, "I don't believe that was part of any experiment. Ah, madame, I can't promise anything until we're holding more than one of these. This gem is the most valuable rock in the kingdom right now. I had best get it to them straight away," he says, excitedness creeping back into his voice, "But I will see what we can do when we have it copied." Apparently, test time is over, because he's off at a light jog, trusting no one else to carry the precious soul gem.
Bite nods to Mione. "It was a last ditch effort to see if Kilsa could defend the targets." she hisses. "I wouldn't destroy anything without a reason." she adds, handing 50 crowns to the mouse with a smirk.
A guard accepts the 50 crowns in Mione's stead, as the mouse is already headed down the hall at a good clip.
Turning, fitting her fighter gem back into her pendant, Monique smiles to Kilsa, "Sorry about that, at least I wasn't able to really hit hard..." she says, offering a paw in apology.
Kilsa looks down at Monique and smiles picking the girl up in a big hug. "Its fine, I'm sure against anything that isn't a giant badger in armor your a terror." She places the girl back on the ground, "I'm more dissappointed in the gem not working for me." she ruffles the smaller females head.
Caught up in the hug, grinning despite herself, Monique gives her friend a pat on the back, "Hey, it looked like they are making tons of these things now, maybe next time?" she offers, all the time though, going through her mind, how to get a copy of that gem...
Bite shakes her head, smirking at the two. "You two did wonderful sssweethearts. Mine was a dud, and I came off worse than you two. I should be dissapointed for not handling it better." she hisses and offers Kilsa another hug, and Monique one as well.
