Shira's End - RPLOG
Participants
Date
29/10/479
Log
There was no name on the note. Nor any indication of where it had come from. Only a scrawl that read, "If you are the best, come and prove it," along with a map to a secluded spot on Serenefall lake.
Shira could, of course not resist a challenge like that. She is clad in her regular battle gear, except that the leather leggings have been replaced with shorts, revealing her left leg to be bandaged up. SOnce she arrives at the spot the map indicates she crosses her arms and looks around.
"A lamed little girl?" comes a low, growling voice as a thin, rangy sheep being with six, curling horns steps out from under the shadows of a tree, "This is the upstart fraud who claims to be the greatest magician on Promise?" He takes note of Shira's soul pendant and sneers, "And a soulless, no less!" he snarls, "Pathetic! And to think I wasted my time coming here!" He actually turns to leave, his black robe fluttering in the wind.
Shira puts on a smug grin. "Oh, you are leaving. That is fine. It would not be the first time a scared opponent decides to forfeit, rather than face me." She uncrosses her arms, leaving one slung around her torso, while she pretends to inspect the nails of the other one.
The Ram stiffens and turns, but his snarl turns into a slow smirk. "Then allow me to teach you a lesson, child," he says.
There is no warning, no motion of hands or wand, only a sudden upheaval as the earth under Shira's feet ripples and turns to sliding quick sand!
Shira might be turned immobile, but that is no reason not to retaliate! She focuses for a moment and points and finger at the sheep, sending dark magic flying to him, the shadows from her hand forming a rune on his chest.
The ram staggers back a little with a grunt, looking down at the black sigil on his chest. . . then laughs! "The Hex of Torture?" he gasps, wiping a bit of blood from his lips, then swiping it across the sigil, which fades as quickly as it appeared, "What antique did you pull THAT from? It is barely a theory on dark magic! Let me show you." The ram spits a gob of bloody phlegm to one side and raises his hand toward the slowly sinking Shira. He does not speak or move, but some sort of dark ooze starts to drip out of the air under his hand, collecting into a restless, black, gop-like form.
Shira continues to struggle with the sand and scoffs as the sheep dispells her hex, drawing upon the shadows around him to form the next one, this time placing itself on his back, ugly, dark veins running across the skin under his fur, from it.
The ram grins at Shira, blackened blood dripping from his gums. "You have a little talent girl," he says, "Just think what you could do with any real skill!" The ugly black veins that appeared across his exposed flesh drain away toward his fingertips where it joins the foul goo forming before him. "Given some time, you might even make a mediocre apprentice," he sneers. That shadowy ooze is starting to look worrying, especially to anyone who has ever seen a free shadow.
Shira groans as yet another spell is absorbed. Dark magic kept disappointing her, so it was time to return to what she did her whole life. She fumbles quickly with her soul pendant and switches the pair of soul gems out for her other two. She takes a moment to concentrate and focuses on a mighty stream of wind to drag her out of the quick sand.
The air magic that Shira utilizes pulls and tugs at her like it would in flight, but she is too firmly mired in the quicksand, nearly up to her waist now.
"Ah," the six horned ram sighs, "But I had forgotten how limited the soulless can be. I suppose you cannot surpass the limits of whoever imbued your little pendant, and you seem to be at your limits. Such a shame. I suppose you will make an amusing little flesh puppet anyway." He starts to walk slowly forward, his robe fluttering gracefully, and the unnerving black ooze beside him keeping pace with an eerie fluidity.
The mouse's eyes are fixed on the approaching sheep. She takes a deep breath and focuses once more on her air magic, causing the ground around her to crack and break, as she is catapulted upwards, and backwards. Shira lands on her feet and her eyes narrow as she draws her sword, pointing it at the sheep, the tip of the blade sparking , before sending a lightningbolt at the black mass it was building from her magic.
"Very good," the ram says, grinning with yellowed teeth and holding out his hand. Shira's lightning bolt arcs away from the shadowy mass and into the sheep's fingertips, apparently without harm. "The things I could teach you if you were a real magician! Alas, you are nothing but a pale imitation. It was unwise of you to parade about crowing out your ego." Again, he does not gesture or chant, but lightning arcs out of the clear sky toward Shira!
The mouse is quite exhausted from her earlier air magic, causing her to not be able to dodge the mighty lightning attack of the sheep, but that does not mean she has to take it! She quickly raises two fingers high into the air and points her sword at the sheep. She closes her eyes to focus better as she tries to redirect the lightning back at its creator.
The lightning crackles through Shira's body, but her own magic allows most of it to bypass her organs and lance from her sword! It does not strike the ram, but blackens the grass in front of him. The attack leaves steam rising from her body and drops her out of the air!
Shira coughs weakly as her fur stands up in all directions possible and she drops to a knee. This does not, however keep her from stopping her assault! She focuses her air magic on the lungs of the sheep, trying to suck all the air out and leaving him a gasping, suffocating mess!
The ram gasps and doubles over, long, thin arms clutching at himself in pain and desparation. His shadowy blob suddenly disappates and vanishes into the air!
It takes a short moment for the six horned sheep to recover, and he glares at the gasping Shira with fire in his eyes. "You will not live long enough to regret that," he growls, finally raising his hands.
Wind starts to whip through the area, and the surface of the lake heaves while the ground beneath Shira's feet bucks beneath her and lightning crackles through the air!
Shira seems unfaced by the thunderstorm the sheep is conjuring up. "Mighty words from someone who just took a pretty good hit from someone who is not a real mage, eh?" She focuses on her own lightning magic to counter the storm the sheep is creating and, while she can do little about the shaking ground, direct the lightning back at its creator once again.
The mouse's taunt has little effect on the ram. He only growls and holds out his hand as lightning courses through Shira and back at him. Suddenly, a targeted blade of wind slices through the pendant holding Shira's soul gems and tearing it away! After that, there is not much left. Blades of air slice the mouse's flesh and stones tear themselves from the ground to batter her and shards of ice tear from the lake to impale her little form. Then it is over.
The ram stands, grimacing and panting. "And let that be a lesson to you." The elements ease and return to their natural state as he turns and strides slowly away.
