Private Tales Enough of Our Disease

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair greeted Vittoria in his office with a smile, while not the storm of experiments and artifacts that was his home office, Al's school office was still a flurry of scholarly work. Floating in the air, in two corners of the room were levitating metal balls with runic eyes inscribed onto them that seemed to be reading books. It was one of the few ingenious ways that Alistair was able to split his attention.

"Welcome Vittoria, please have a seat."

Over the past week, Alistair had spent most of his time recovering from their previous adventure and also increasing his knowledge of anything and everything fae. While it was only a start, it would help them in their next steps.

The recovery had been more difficult, the burns had been simple enough with the help of Academy healers, but they could still not figure out how to completely bring back his internal warmth...Such was the price of knowledge.

"It would certainly seem likely, maybe an extension of the tokens. If the tokens summon warriors then this next artifact may be a way to equip or empower these warriors...Any such artifact would be a priority for the Republic, but an artifact within the Empire...we will need to be careful and quick."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria pursed her lips in a bid to choose her words carefully.

"I... have a mission upcoming that will take me to the Empire. I could procure some information about where it is, give us something more current and fresh as far as these texts will inform us." She was determined to study with the Proctor, to broaden her own understanding of magic. In a way, what if they could apply some of these dynamics to their own magical capabilities? It could set them apart, it could shape the future of the Initiates in the Academy, a stronger crop.

Vittoria's reasons were entirely selfish. Any edge to help her become an Archon she would not abandon the path.

"And another thought..."

The Initiate took the seat across from the Proctor. Her eyes pierced him, not hard to do as her eyes often held such an intensity. "There is still fae magic clinging to you. Small, complex, but... if you do not mind, perhaps I could undo it's leeching upon your health."

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair nodded at the idea, it was smart. Some reconnaissance before they sent in their team to move quickly for extraction. Of course, there was another benefit to that plan. It meant they would not have to take as many scholars with them next time.

"I like it. I'll look forward to the report."

The next topic of conversation seemed far more serious until she explained her idea. He smiled, pleased that she could sense the fae magic still clinging to him. That in itself was more than worth their first trip.

Of course, he could also see it in his own aura, it was a dark blue aura compared to his own nearly translucent aura. He had also contemplated asking for Vittoria's assistance as her magics were perfect for this but stopped himself.

Alistair was scheduled for some non-combat-focused mission in the next few months and...he was taking a risk. He wanted to let the magic fester, it was no longer a risk to his life, so he might as well use the opportunity to get stronger. Alistair would use the remnants of the curse like a vaccine for a biological disease. He wanted to let his own magic combat and tackle this curse, and slowly his own abilities may evolve and grow. Only when he had nothing else to gain, then he would ask for Vittoria's assistance.

"No, for now, I'll be fine. However, I will ask for your assistance later."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

The Initiate stared at the Proctor a moment before her body relaxed and the girl gave a shrug. "Alright."

Some individuals were better equipped with adversity and disadvantages, and Vittoria was not about to doubt the Proctor's capabilities. Perhaps he wished to study it, harness it, but at least he had time to dwell on this.

Turning her attention to the book she had at the top of the pile, Vittoria cleared her throat and opened to a page she had bookmarked with a small knife that looked like a paring knife. "There is a spell to call upon this warrior court of the fae. Explains why no one came to investigate while the token as been in our possession."

Vittoria had killed elves before. Unsanctioned orders, but in those times earlier on when the Revolution was still fresh in the air, they knew the girl to be capable and compliant. Her father had told his allies just as much. But fae? Vittoria never seen one up close. They were a tricky sort, as noted in the chapters she had read when the different strains of magic had caught her curiosity. "Apparently there are several tongues within their kind." And Vittoria only knew one... or perhaps two...

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair waved over one of the magical orbs to read the page Vittoria pointed out. One of the benefits of his own office was that he did not have to activate his own eyes saving himself much-needed energy.

He quickly read through the page, nodding in understanding as she explained it all. It made him frown ever so slightly.

"Yes, we may need to request additional Dreadlords on standby before we try the spell in any way...I've only ever seen the aftermath of a fae attack, but...Some of the things I saw were more inhumane than some of our worst war criminals."

The fae did not share the same sensibilities towards war or the appreciation of mortal experiences. Alistair had seen bodies twisted into the worst warped sculptures dedicated to carnage that he had ever seen.

"I've also begun reviewing the language. Let's try to figure out which ones you know, and then I will try to help fill in the gaps to the best of my abilities on short notice...What's most important now is that we need to get this next artifact before anyone else can hope to get their hands on this and then turn it against us."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria hummed.

"You are curious? Of the summoning spell?" The languages did not seem as interesting as that notion of Proctor Krixus' words. Her brows furrowed slightly, the only shred of doubt she would show. "You would want to willingly engage with the fae?"

But this was a study of curiosities. Vel Anir had their bad blood with the elves, and Vittoria had been brought up to believe in Anirian superiority... but if she wanted to be an Archon one day, she needed to have better understanding of magic. "Forgive me, Proctor... I have never willingly called upon a race that has lived several lifetimes while we are still living one."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair looked up slightly surprised at the concern he heard in Vittoria's voice before quickly explaining. "What? Oh yes, although only under the most controlled circumstances. While analyzing there long abandoned magics is helpful for our insights, their is not replacement for watching the magic occur in person...Whether that can be achieved through diplomacy or more aggressive means then I will happily do either."

It was only because of his being raised under Anirian superiority that he would even willingly consider the idea of learning from these pseudo-immortals. While Alistair had no desire to learn from an elf or orcs, as he could learn anything of theirs on his own, but if there was one group of races that he would consider learning from then it would be the immortals.

He already knew Samantha studied dragons, and that had proven bountiful. His one-time encounter with an eldritch-like horror worshiped by a cult had revealed to him several secrets of the arcane. In Alistair's eyes, the fae may be no different.

"It is not a practice I would recommend often, but if done carefully and with the right resolve then the results can be...excessive."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

She always knew the Proctor to be one that garnered curiosity.

On anyone else, Vittoria would have quickly dismissed them, but Proctor Alistair Krixus spoke with an understanding and thought process that made it easier to not get lost in his words. She could see his passion for this, to learn and cultivate. To apply these findings to help better the magic education for Dreadlords.

And that was the sort of mind, sort of ally Vittoria wished to know.

"My uncle... knows someone that convenes with other beings in trade." It was his connection that tracked down her true uncle, the one she never met except at the deathbed she created for him. He had been seeking shelter with the elves for so long, almost undetectable... until he tried to escape. "If our efforts prove fruitless, I could ask of him to assist in our research, if you would like."

And if she were to learn from anyone else to better her understanding of magic, it would be with the Proctor that had eyes everywhere in this room.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Normally, just the sentence 'knows someone that convenes with other beings' would have been enough to pique his fascination, but he needed to focus on one project at a time.

"Yes, bring them in. Anyone who may assist will be much appreciated, especially if you vouch for them."

Alistair stood from his seat as he beckoned with his hand, and a phantom hand came carrying a map of the Amol-Kalit Empire. Rolling it out before him, he began to take a look at areas where he expected the artifact to be. The next steps would then be to find the best routes for them to sneak in and out without running into the Empire.

"Also, please let the other members of your team for your mission know about your secondary assignment...maybe not all but they should be aware to avoid any confusion or miscommunication."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria chewed her cheek, contemplating the idea.

She trusted King with her life, knowing he would love part in seeking what she did, to learn more of magic and the lengths of greatness that can be achieved if they applied different approaches.

It was Marcia that gave Vittoria pause, her insistence to deny Vitt in every way as how it always has been between them both. There was a point she no longer knew what would trigger the other.

"We shall see. The less that know about this, the more efficient we can be in our mission and my task at finding out information."

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"Yes, but at the least, they should be aware that there are other factors at play that you can not discuss. If you must then tell them you have been ordered by Proctor Krixus. If they can not control themselves after such then a longer conversation will need to be had between all of us."

He understood Vittoria's thinking, especially from his own time at the Academy. To feel that everyone around, except for a very rare few were all incompetent and a threat to your success. It was one of the reasons that Academically, Alistair had gone so far with not trusting anyone else.

However, after the Academy, he had to learn quickly that they were all training to do a job. Very few were actually incompetent, they all just had a different way of doing things. His mind flashed to an old cat-like associate with a skill for gravity magic...scratch that, some were incompetent.

"Do what you think is best for the mission. That was simply a suggestion."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria pondered on it a little more but ultimately returned her attention to the text opened up before her.

She scanned the page, looking for any mentions that would help pin point a more exact location. "It mentions the Baal-Asha river a few times. Any of those cities in close proximity?"

The river seemed to be of great significance, given the many mentions and allusions to the water. Vittoria knew the fae were infinitelty tied to the elements of the natural world, and perhaps an artifact would be found in such a place. The last artifact had been found near the water, perhaps that was the pattern they were looking for?

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair did not even have to look at any of his other maps for this one as he had visited this city several times. In fact, one of his step-siblings had been found in this city.

"Ragash is the main city along Baal-Asha. Smaller cities run down its length into the Cortosi Coast."

He paused in his explanation before considering that he might want to take a look at some older maps just to make sure there weren't any ancient cities along the river that the Fae might have been more aware of.

"There are countless ruins of lost empires hidden in the sands there and treasure hunters are commonplace...If you can confirm they are not related to the Empire...please attempt to learn their names. For the right amount of gold, it may save us time on gathering information."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

"Ragash..." She repeated, as if she should have remembered that tidbit of information. Her eyes turned to the ancient and older copies of maps made, following the many changes over time to the area. Information came to mind, stored away for when she would need it again once she was on her mission. She would have to get it done before obtaining their target, for their exit from the Empire would take precedence over amassing intel.

"I will do my best. Names are easy to learn... and for their sake, I hope they are loyal to those that pay them handsomely." Loose ends were stressors Vittoria did not want to deal with, even less than putting up with incompetency. "I am not above showing them an example of what disloyalty looks like."

Not when their research, their endeavors, were too important to waste time with greed of the non loyal.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair smiled, but his dead faded eyes made it difficult to determine if the smile ever reached his eyes, which just made it unsettling another unfortunate side effect of his injuries.

"Yes, it's important to be clear when negotiating...We don't want any misunderstandings."

It was quite refreshing to be working with an initiate who already had a strong head on her shoulders. Her thinking was very similar to his own. It was common for the Academy to create incredible soldiers, but it was becoming too rare for the Academy when it created tacticians with the capability to think about the small details and several steps ahead. Vittoria was one of those.

What Vittoria was implying was completely correct. Alistair would try and be civil and pay any assistance. Of course, he would monitor them closely and if they betrayed them then...they died.

"I'll begin preparations for our more scholarly endeavors while continuing to study the artifact. When you return, we will decide the next steps."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Near two months had gone by before Vittoria walked at a brisk pace towards the Proctor's office. Still in her riding gear, a welcome fit after wearing the loose and thin linens favoured in the Kaliti deserts that felt so foreign against her, the riding leathers were a reminder of her home. She did not stop to bathe and change, and given that her party had only arrived back at the Academy not even a half hour passed, Vittoria had news to share with the Proctor.

She was glad to see warm lantern light flickering from the window at his door, and she slowed before it and gave a sharp rap against the glass.

Vittoria waited, prepared to walk through the door as soon as she was permitted.

"Proctor Krixus? It is Vittoria. I have information to share with you."

And it could not wait.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Rather than receive a greeting, the door to the office quickly opened. Rather than the usual storm of papers and books, the middle of the room had been largely cleared away. Alistair sat, cross-legged, in the center of the room with his eyes shut, clearly in some form of meditation.

The first noticeable aspect of the room was that Alistair's office like most of his workspaces, often gave the feel of being alive with the constant activity and thrum of magical energy. However, the room was currently completely devoid of this life. It was like all magical energy had been removed from the room providing an almost oppressive aura juxtaposed against the usual atmosphere.

Almost instantly, the feeling was gone as magic began to return to the room as he looked up from his seat.

"Ah, Vittoria, good to see you. How was your mission? Succesful I hope."

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

"Proctor—"

She paused, seeing him sat upon the floor to his office, still and silent. Was she intruding on his time?

But he answered, his magic moving about the room and welcoming her enough that she left the doorway and took a few steps in as he spoke to greet her. Vittoria furrowed her brows, not at all perplexed by his methods.

"Yes, successful. I brought back a small book from the library of a collector."

One she could not bring out into the light just yet.

"I require your assistance, you see. It appears no matter how strong of a rune I use, I cannot shield myself from it's.... defences."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Oh, and here Alistair thought today would be a calm day, only to be brought a challenge still early in the day.

"Of course, stand over there."

He pointed to an area of the room where a runic circle had actually been carved into the stone, a small table sat in the center of the table. It was a simple containment rune which he often placed important items if he held any concern about potential harmful effects.

"The first question is the obvious one. What defenses are you speaking of."

The key to the runesmith's craft was always specificity. The more tailor-made this rune could be made for this book then the quicker and smoother this entire process would go.

There was no point in slow-placed decorum, his student had come to him with a problem of fae proportions. The only thing left for him to do was attempt to remove it with executioner-like efficiency.

Alister moved to his desk where he began to dig through several of the drawers looking for specific tools, his eyes never leaving Vittoria.

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria made a face, walking briskly to the area he had offered for her to use safely.

There were gloves on her hands, and not to fend off the cold with either, but to keep her bandages in place. She withdrew the small and unassuming leather bound pocket book, tossing it unceremoniously into the runic circle. "More burns... although this time it also holds a paralysis poison on it's pages."

Slowly, Vittoria took off her gloves, then unwrapped her bandages for Proctor Krixus to see. "I thought about seeing Proctor Urahil first for healing, but felt that we needed to undo the book's defenses together... it is trickier, but the few pages I glimpsed, Proctor, I think it may very well lead us to the artifact we seek." Her hands were not as bad as the burns Alistair had suffered retrieving the token coin, but badly damaged that it was fortunate Vittoria did not need to rely on weapons or hand movement for her magic.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

His face quickly turned to a look of concern as Alistair's eyes detected the injuries along her arms and then the magical defenses of the book. These wards were not pushing out the same amount of energy as the first artifact, but the wards were more intricate and detailed. If the first defenses were a single knockout blow then this would have been death by a thousand cuts.

With a simple wave of his hands, several large runes lit up along the walls, having been hidden a moment before. While some of these runes were defensive, the majority were actually scientific in their use making energies in the room more easily noticeable or allowing for the flow of mana to act more smoothly. It was perfect for cracking magical defenses.

"A wise choice. Let's finish this and then we can have you looked at."

A part of him, who was a Proctor, told him that he should ensure the safety of his student and get her healed, but from what he could see, she was in no danger of death. If he knew Vittoria like he thought he did, there was no way she was going to leave an miss this chance anyways.

"Let's start the same as last time."

Alistair's hands began to glow as a magical diagram began to write itself depicting the fae wards much like their first attempts in the fae ruins. Now that he could look at the diagram he could see that saying this was more intricate felt like an understatement.

And was this just a hint about the artifact? Things were getting interesting.

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria knew Proctor Urahil would be able to heal her burns easily, no matter how much time had passed. It could wait, especially if her efforts here with Proctor Krixus turned up with another injury, she would hate to disturb the Healer a second time.

She nodded to him, watching as his magic made manifestation of the complexities of spellwork imbued into the small book. At first glance, it looked a riot of colour and ranges of thickness between the different strings. A conundrum, a spell not meant to make sense but only enough so that it worked.

Loosing a breath, she studied it. She grimaced at the mess, but her magic filtered from her like smoky tendrils to Krixus' eye. A killing fog, moving towards the structure of magical defense and smothering it. Vittoria closed her eyes after a moment, still locating a thread to start with to unravel it piece by piece.

"This magic is... persistent." Vittoria commented, her brows furrowing deeply with her efforts.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair watched the formula before shift, twist, and flip around ever changing but he just closely watched in silence for several moments. While Vittoria had been away doing the actual physical leg work of retrieving the book, Alistair had spent the majority of his time in between classes to study and practice to better prepared to handle the wards.

It had taken time, but as he suspected, much like in nature their was a pattern to the chaos. It only lasted for a few seconds every 18.7 seconds, but there was a moment that parts clicked into place ever so quickly.

His fingers moved quickly, pulling at invisible strings that only he could see. The intersection of magical channels in the formula began to glow demonstrating several weak points in the array.

"Begin in the outer circle. The inner circle is more difficult and will likely require you to target the weakness all at the same time, same as in the ruins."

While she worked to break down the magic, Alistair would continue dissecting the magic and spotting in weaknesses in the formula.

This was something that Alistair would continue long after they discovered these fae artifacts. Not only was it improving his own understanding of the arcane, but a certain part of it stroked his pride at the idea he was learning to dismantle the magical abilities of the fae who were supposedly blessed in the arcane.

Vittoria Larrainth

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria shifted her focus, her magic in turn listening to his instruction.

Her eyes opened slowly, needing to see where her magic traveled too. It weaved and slipped past the barely there gaps, coming to the outer circle and wrapping around a thick cord. It gave way to her power easily, but it's path wrapped complicated and long throughout the outer shell.

"It's caught." Vittoria chanced a step forward, craning her neck to see where she could sense the pause to her efforts. "It's... fused with another strain of magic."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair looked up sharply from his focus on the inner circle before pausing to look closer at the outer ring. He couldn't see anything in the structure itself, but the closer he looked, his eyes picked up on something different in the color itself.

"Yes, there is something there...That's clever. It could be any as the Fae span the entire world, they could pull from any culture or natural phenomenon. Geographically, I would think Empire magic, but that doesn't show up chronologically...Where did you find this book?"

He waved another hand as one of his floating orbs drifted over to one of the large bookshelves. It was already beginning to pull at books that Alistair hoped might be helpful.

Vittoria Larrainth