Private Tales Tenants of magic

[Andrei]

Andrei pressed his digits against the tabletop's smooth surface, running each fingertip across the smooth, wooden surface. Hours had gone by in waiting, and he grew increasingly bored, if not concerned for the well-being of his soon-to-be guest.

"Goodness, he is taking a while." A sigh fluttered past his paper-thin lips, escaping into the nothingness as Andrei's gaze shifted to the room's farthest corner. Thereupon a pedestal of marble and metal stood a clockwork mechanism. A nifty contraption it was, enabling Andrei to tell time without relying on primitive methods. In his absentmindedness, a worm of doubt snaked its way into Andrei's mind, prompting him to consider the following implications: perhaps the one he awaited wasn't going to make it.

A sorrowful thought crossed him, but Andrei chose to ignore it for the time being. He was about to slip further into the sofa and meditate when he heard a loud bang on his front door. Jumping out of the seat like a scalded cat, he quickly draped a long cape over his shoulders, which inevitably broadened his appearance. With that in mind, he raced downstairs, hurriedly passing a handful of tasteful portraits and a flower vase decorating his humble abode.

Andrei seized the silver-coated doorknob with intent, twisting it and all but forcing the doors open. And there before him stood a ragged figure, covered from head to toe in shaggy cloth which failed to obscure its hauntingly skeletal features. The undead had neither skin nor muscle to spare, his vacant, eyeless sockets emitting an unholy glow, not unlike a pair of lanterns in pitch darkness. Andrei nearly chuckled at their comical posture, slightly hunched and holding what looked like a scepter, its head carved in the likeness of evil beasts and chased with precious gemstones.

Andrei reached out with impunity, unphased. His knuckled landed on Darkensand's jagged breastplate, admiring the framework with a few well-adjusted knocks. The metal rang true, giving Andrei a satisfactory CLANG!

"For a moment, I assumed you lost amidst the local architecture. Gods know that it is hard to navigate around," chirped Andrei, referring to a more secluded section of Elbion where his estate stood. Perhaps calling it an estate would be generous, for it lacked a proper yard despite the imposing size and eye-catching exterior.

Andrei stepped sideways, beckoning Darkensand to enter. "Come in and make yourself at home. My base of operation is not much to look at, but it'll serve us well for the time being."

 

[Darkensand]

"Darn it.."
He certainly has many Talents, drawing isn't one of them, unless you would call abyssmal Drawing Skills a Talent in and of itself.

It was not long ago that Letter arrived for him, not many had either the means to track him or were on friendly enough Terms with him, to possess a tracking Sigil.

It did surprise Darkensamd when he received the one from the former, especially when it was Andrei.

In the letter was just a short Invitation to discuss something important, as well as a poorly written down Description to his Estate and this atrociously bad drawn Map.

The only thing one could possibly make out from the drawing, was, that his Estate could be found somewhere in Elbion, with a few Key Details that reduced the Area by a substantial Size, not substantial enough to find it without either losing your Way or needing a lot of luck to guess the correct Location.

Finally after 2 Locations which afterwards turned out to be the wrong Ones, he was certain to have finally found the right Location.

...

It was a nicely seclude Estate of moderate Size, nothing to Eye catching, but big enough for whatever Hobbys a single Person usually could possibly possess.

Once at was seemed to be the Front Door, he politely knocked against it.

Shortly afterwards, he could hear his soon-to-be Companion rushing towards the Door.

Andrei seemed to test whether he was just a Illusion, regardless of that rather strange greeting.

"For a moment, I assumed you lost amidst the local architecture. Gods know that it is hard to navigate around."

Indeed, with almost no Direction given it is.

"Come in and make yourself at home. My base of operation is not much to look at, but it'll serve us well for the time being."

And so Darkensand stepped in. While the two of them walked upstairs, he wanted to know, why he was needed:
"So, why for what Reason did you invite me?
And may I give you a Piece of Advice?
Next Time you give someone a Map with the intent to help them find something, let someone else, draw it, you certainly possess many Talents, good Drawing Skills certainly are not one of them."

Andrei

 

[Andrei]

"Ah, my drawing skills were never the best, but can you blame me? I had to scramble something in a hurry, and the piece of parchment you got was a byproduct of said time constraints." He all but chuckled at the liche's harsh judgment, sliding back into the warm embrace of his home. Andrei snapped his fingers, causing the hallway to light up, illuminated by arcane crystals embedded into its foundations. "On the brighter side, at least you found me without being noticed. Gods know that the local populace doesn't hold an ambivalent view when it comes to undead."

He turned to Darkensand, briefly glancing at the robe-clad lich. Andrei's eyes shone like lanterns, radiantly yellow, almond-shaped, and inhumanely sharp. Where rounded irises should've been laid slits, giving him a somewhat reptilian resemblance. "At times, I forget that mages are a minority and that the major population consists of magicless, talentless flesh bags known as merchants." Andrei's digits tapped against the nearest wall, forcing a doorframe to appear out of thin air, firmly resting where nothing but concrete should've been. It all happened so fast that any onlookers would be left wondering if their eyes were playing them like a fiddle.

"Neat trick, isn't it? I can freely manipulate the makeup of this structure, allowing me to create entry points wherever and whenever I see fit." The snow-haired male suddenly sank knee-deep into the floor, phasing through it as if he were a ghastly apparition. Spreading his arms wide, he chuckled, slowly re-emerging unharmed while the floorboards remained perfectly intact.

"Spatial magic is one hell of a marvelous thing," stated Andrei, gingerly observing for reactions on Darkensand's part. "As for why I called you, well," he trailed off, bringing a clawed fingertip to his cheek. "It has to do with your magical expertise and my curiosity. Originally I intended to discuss a pre-determined number of topics regarding the supernatural, but things have changed since then."

"Be as it may, I am more so interested in hunting down a magical artifact. One that'll surely intrigue you as much as it does me."

Once the two of them went through a newly formed pathway, Andrei introduced his guest to a lavishly furnished living room, coupled with a set of leather sofa and a work table. He neither urged nor detained the lich, leaving it up to him whether he wanted to stand or sit, though the former was preferable for convenience's sake.

Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

Rambling, Andrei's Favorite Activity or at least in his Top Three, right with Bragging and ridiculing others.

Darkensand had a lot of Patience, he was in constant battle with hid Patience after all, when he had to reconstruct his Body.

But Andrei had an astonishingly patience-eating Voice, at least that is how it always felt to Darkensand, when he had to listen to his "eloquent" Speeches, as Andrei would call it.

Then again, Darkensand thought, maybe, he just had used up most of his Patience in the Past, whatever the Reason, Darkensand was close to interjecting into Andreis nice little Monologue, when said Person finally came to the important Part.

A magical Artifact, and considering Darkensand was here, it was certainly by no means an ordinary one.

Staying in Place, Darkensand started inquiring more about, said Artifact:
"What kind of magical Artifact are we talking about?

Considering you invited me, it must be of quite considerable Rareness at least.

Adding to that, you did say hunt down, so does that mean, you do not know it's current Location?"

 

[Andrei]

"There's a lot to unfold, so allow me to take things slowly." He dove back first into the sofa's warm embrace, feeling his muscles lose their tension and will to fight. The piece of furniture seemingly warped, moving on its own as it pressed closer to Andrei's frame, all but embracing him. He melted into it with no signs of resistance. In that moment of tranquil bliss, his worries lost their keen sting, and his optimism raised its head from the dirt.

"Otherwise, my brain might fail to catch up. It is, after all, the fact that you are older than me and should therefore exercise patience as my elder." Andrei's eyes shone through with a supernatural glint that only further amplified their otherwordly nature. They were bright yellow, graced by sharp, snakelike pupils that cut through the dim lighting like a pair of daggers. And as he sat there, ogling Darkensand, a smile crept onto his milky face, wrinkling it.

He slid a steaming cup of tea across the mahogany table and towards Darkensand. Its overpowering, herbal mixture permeated the room with tinges of wood and pine. To that end, Andrei had not the slightest idea whether Darkensand could or could not smell it, much less drink the beverage.

"As for the artifact, well," he leaned back, rocking in his seat, eyes affixed to the ceiling, "it's called the soul lantern, but don't be misguided by its deceptive name. The artifact itself has little to do with souls. Instead, it's a long-range teleportation device left behind by an unknown civilization, likely predating many mortal kingdoms that we know of today."

With his palms pressed together, thumbs fiddling, he giggled, eyes glistering in silent amusement. Andrei hadn't bothered to gaze at the featureless face of his conversation partner, but something told him that the lich was losing patience by the second.

"It's powered by raw magic, meaning that there's a direct correlation between the user's mana reserves and the distance they can traverse in one go. Which, as you might've figured out, isn't what tickled my interest."

"I figured out that with enough arcane might, one may be capable of entering and exiting other planes of existence. And that ties smoothly into the research I've been conducting last two decades regarding independent manifestations."

Andrei outstretched his hand, magically compelling a book from the nearby shelf to fly down on its volition and right into his awaiting grip. The book was a simple earthy hued cover, warming to the eyes, comforting. Inside, the pages looked as if they had bathed in golden rays and taken them in, so softly golden were they. Truthfully, it was more of an exaggerated notebook than anything of literary value.

"How acquainted are you with extraterrestrial visitors?"

Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

Patience, what a fickle thing...
Andrei really seemed to like joking, that or he had yet to realize, that regardless of how old one grows, Patience certainly doesn't grow only because of ones age.

Aside from that, he finally came to the point.

Soul Lantern, truly as Andrei said, an odd and deceiving Name.

Albeit true that Souls itself may be used to extract raw Magic, it's use is in no way explained by it's Name.

Artifacts that could distort Space were rare. One needed either a gigantic Amount of magical Power or an extensive Knowledge of Spacial Distortion, at best both, since otherwise one would soon be forced to realize, that Borders appear quite quickly.

And that the Range is severely limited.

He once had enough magical Power to pull off Teleportation, now he was sadly still weakened.

This Soul Lantern probably used a highly efficient runic System or something similar to distribute it's Users magical Power so efficiently, that even lesser Beings may use it.

But to break through to other Dimensions, that was something way different than just spatial Distortion.

It did not necessary required more magical Energy, but on a Technical Level, it was several Times more complex.

"As you may know, I am by now quite Ancient for most Beings that are still alive.

During my many Years of Existence, I did meet personally a few extraterrestrial Beings.

The kind from other Planes of Existence as well as Beings that exist on this Plane outside of this Planet.

Quite a few were incredible hostile and more akin to Beasts that try to eat every speck of Life Force they come across and similar things, while others were less aggressive.

There was this one Vampire, that claimed to come from another Plane.

Apparently he was the first of his Kind, and at least some, not all, of the first Vampires here, are also from his plane of existence.

He was certainly unusually polite and did give me his name, albeit not a surname, Asgael.

But I digress, there are certainly countless planes of existences out there, depending on how you define 'plane of existence', considering your question though, it almost seems like you are in search of a specific one.

Now whether that is true or not, I wonder, how did you even come to acquire this Information about the Soul Lantern?"

Andrei

 

[Andrei]

"Vampires? What constitutes a vampire these days is quite troublesome. They come in all shapes and sizes." Leaning further into his seat, Andrei allowed himself a moment to contemplate as thoughts raced through his busy mind. The busy traffick intensified, and he laughed, fiddling with the tome while making sure Darkensand couldn't catch more but barest glimpses of it. "As disease vampirism has several dozen strains, many of whom exhibit differentiating traits. And then there are half a dozen vectors through which it spreads. Being an alien pathogen that mutated over them is a possibility, though, far likelier it is that not all vampires have a common ancestor."

"Now that you mention it, it's not the plane that I seek per se, but more so its denizens," remarked Andrei as his fingers traced trifling circles across the leatherbound sofa. He positively adored the sensation and all the pleasantries it brought forth. For that matter, Andrei found it hard to focus on Darkensand, significantly hindering the seriousness of his tone. "Ah, you wish to know how I got my grubby hands on this," he tantalizingly tapped his knuckle against the tome's hardened exterior, "delicious bundle of data."

"I've researched disappearances in the area around Elbion, which have, surprisingly, grown frequent in last 2-3 years. An oddity for sure, given the city's well organized and magically protected nature." His expression suddenly switched to that of delight. A lazy smirk crept up, unassumingly folding the corners of his paper-thin lips into a child-like smile. "And so I found wrinkles in space-time. Tiny realities layered over our primary one. Pocket dimensions, so to say. In which the otherwordly entities entrapped mortals to feast upon."

Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

"And you assume the Soul Lantern is at least partially involved in the Creation of these Pocket Dimensions?"

It was certainly possible, yet there could be dozen of other reasons, for the Creation of these Pocket Dimensions.

"Aside from it at best being a hint, as the data lacks any proof that it is the Soul Lanterns, I needn't mention that there are several other ways than an Artifact to create such Dimensions.

But fine, let us assume, either the Soul Lantern or an Artifact that can provide a similar Effect is causing the Appearance of these Pocket Dimension.

You have yet to explain to me, how you came to know about the Soul Lantern.

For all it's worth, you could be the perpetrator, so at least let me judge how trustworthy your Source of Information, whatever it may be, is."

Darkensand certainly didn't suspected Andrei of such treachery and yet he had faoled to explain of he even got his hand on the Information about the Soul Lantern.

"So would you mind to enlighten me about how you came across the Soul Lantern?"

Andrei

 

[Andrei]

"And you assume the Soul Lantern is at least partially involved in the Creation of these Pocket Dimensions?"

It was certainly possible, yet there could be dozen of other reasons, for the Creation of these Pocket Dimensions.

"Aside from it at best being a hint, as the data lacks any proof that it is the Soul Lanterns, I needn't mention that there are several other ways than an Artifact to create such Dimensions.

But fine, let us assume, either the Soul Lantern or an Artifact that can provide a similar Effect is causing the Appearance of these Pocket Dimension.

"What?" Andrei piped up, positively surprised by Darkensand's lack of trust. His face loosened up, brows falling by the sides as Andrei's lips twisted into a pout. "I am thoroughly offended." The statement itself carried no weight due to Andrei's jokish demeanor. He went as far as to gasp, swaying his upper body back and forth like a blade of grass.

Andrei suddenly rose, arms spread wide to accentuate his overbearing figure. He was undeniably tall, taller than most mortal men, yet the baggy clothes he wore cleverly concealed his physique. To that end, one would find it incredibly hard to gauge Andrei's build, be it muscular, skinny, or something third altogether.

"Jokes aside, no, the lantern isn't the culprit, but it has ties to them." Andrei grinned from ear to ear when mentioning 'them', a plural form of something. He paced around the room, circling Darkensand with renewed vigor. Andrei's footfalls had a note to them, not of desperation or excitement but sheer need. As if he struggled to come up with words to fully describe the scope of the situation, both to Darkensand and himself.

"These domains, as I like to call them, are the works of extradimensional visitors." Andrei paused, casting a sideway gaze as he combed a hand through his pale locks, messing with in hopes that the act would alleviate his frustrations. "Domains vary in size, shape, layout, and purpose. I've seen the creatures use them for a multitude of things, from hunting to defense."

"The lantern is somehow related to aforementioned creatures. I suppose it holds similar origins, the only difference being that they are alive, and it isn't, least not in conventional terms."

You have yet to explain to me, how you came to know about the Soul Lantern.

For all it's worth, you could be the perpetrator, so at least let me judge how trustworthy your Source of Information, whatever it may be, is."

Darkensand certainly didn't suspected Andrei of such treachery and yet he had faoled to explain of he even got his hand on the Information about the Soul Lantern.

"So would you mind to enlighten me about how you came across the Soul Lantern?"

Andrei

Andrei's gaze narrowed as a thousand thoughts crossed his ever-inquisitive mind. He opened his mouth, intending to say something, but clamped them down as if instinctually knowing that Darkensan had no business knowing what he was about to say. Andrei snarled silently, lips flapping upwards to expose his sharp teeth and rapidly receding gum tissue.

"I should've seen this coming." Andrei grasped the table's edge, holding onto it as he contemplated his next move, making sure to never meet Darkensand's gaze for the duration of the act. "Let's say that a friend told me," explained Andrei, his voice barely above a whisper, carrying the realization on just what kind of thin ice he was treading, "It is none of my business to disclose such sensitive info, but I will tell you that he is a human. Not only that, but he's also the type of person to get his hands dirty far more frequently than I'd be comfortable with."

Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

How unusual for Andrei to speak so... careful.

Whoever this friend was, Andrei seemed to either care quite a bit about this friend or feared him to a certain extent.

Regardless, Darkensand felt like he could at least trust that Andrei had no Nefarious Scheme for him in plan currently.

"Now that all issues are resolved, I presume our first Objective is finding one such Domain and entering it?

May I assume you already have a way, to enter these Domains?

Or at least a theoretical Pressumption of how to enter one such Domain."

His ingenious Plans better not involved using Darkensand to Test out his Theories.

After all Darkensand still remembered the last Time, Andrei claimed to have some ingenious Plans and how important it was for Darkensand to test out his Theories.

And while his Body never came close to be destroyed, his testing Methods tended to feel so arbitrary and probably stemmed from random and arbitrary Thoughts just suddenly flattering into Andreis Brain.

Andrei

 

[Darkensand]

"I do, I do. You need my help.
While we seek these Domains, unless you are aware, where one is currently, we may as well talk about something else you mentioned on the way."

Darkensand moves towards the Door, then halts for a Moment.

"I hope your 'Lantern's Dimension' wording, does not imply, that the Lantern is currently in one of these afformentioned pocket Dimensions.
Then again, I fear it is probably just that.

Regardless, shall we go?
Or did you fail to prepare everything you will be needing prior to our Conversation?"

He waited for an Answer, Andrei better not had yet to prepare anything for the Journey.

Having to wait for him just to find his required Gear, would certainly take Ages, then again, it would come to no Surprise considering Andreis Foresight.

Andrei