magicalglowstick | Ryslig Inbox

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From:

magicalglowstick

[Fenris huffs, which ends up sounding more like it came from a bull than a man.]

If only it were that simple. What advantages are out there that this creature has no control over? That can stand up to it?

[But as soon as he says the words the scales where his brows used to be furrow in thought, ears rising in alertness — there's only one other being here with power that seems to be able to stand up to the Fog and there's no way Rafe would suggest that, is there?

His shoulders tense.]

You don't mean...

From:

chardismastic

[ He nods, confirming Fenris's suspicions. ]

We just came back from Felfri. That's proof enough that the Fog's hold on us isn't absolute, that what she's done to us isn't permanent. That there's already power enough against her to make it as if she never existed.

[ Most days, Rafe is able to keep his temper in check. Keeps it buried deep and tucked away save for a glint in the eyes, the sharpness of his smile, a brusque chill to freeze lesser people in his tracks. But here, now— It roils beneath the eerie black leather he's forced to live in again, barely restrained and ready to erupt. It's been building every goddamn day that he wakes to see this weathered husk in the mirror, with every patch of skin he'd watched wither and die and slough away.

Before Felfri, he'd thought that he was somewhat acclimating. Accepting what he's transformed into — as a temporary feature, always temporary, always with the mind towards when he was himself again. But the Fourth had brought him back to life. Fixed him. Made him remember his pulse sounding in his ears, his lungs expanding in his chest...and made the silence he lives in now all the starker in comparison and he hates it. Hates the deific wannabe bitch that had the gall to pluck him up and throw him here and expected him to just lay down and accept it. Lay down and die.

The temperature drops steadily the longer he stares Fenris down, daring him to prove him wrong as frost begins to spread in a slow radius from where Rafe stands. ]

From:

magicalglowstick

[For a moment Fenris wants to rebuttal and not hear anymore of this. There's even a part of him that feels disappointment that Rafe is confirming Fenris's previous concern. But then he feels the chill off of Rafe's body, the few parts of his skin not covered in scales getting goosebumps, and he remembers that Rafe has died again and again. Of the two of them he's suffered most at the hands of the Fog. Then he reminds himself that Rafe doesn't suggest things lightly, without thinking them through, and he can let go of that disappointed feeling.

But he really doesn't agree.

Felfri was strange, but he had his body back. He was an elf again. And while that world was one he could barely understand it was a world devoid of he Fog's influence. He can't deny the appeal. But;]

We may have an enemy in common with the Fourth, but that thing most certainly has its own agenda. You saw what's been happening to Ser Javert's mind, haven't you? That thing could be doing the very same to its own followers.

[For a moment Fenris forgets who he's speaking to, and that obsessive respect he has for the man that keeps him from sounding too stern or demanding, from raising his voice. The scales above his eyes furrow down and a rumble echoes in his chest.]

No. I will hear none of this.

From:

chardismastic

[ The resistance is unexpected, enough that it thaws the cold snap of Rafe's anger and sets the thin layer of frost to melt as he blinks at the gargoyle on the couch. Unexpected, yes, but not unappreciated given the smirk that unfurls across his face. Because this is the partner he's spent months trying to pull out from the shell of a slave, critical and calculating rather than demurring and deferential. Better plans come from struggle, debate, from having to make your case and counter all the weak points you don't see yourself. ]

You're right, [ he'll concede that much, but only: ] To a point. Of course the kid's packing his own agenda, everybody always does. But so long "destroy the Fog" tops out his shopping list? Then it matches mine and I can live with that.

[ Irony sharpens his smirk into a grimacing smile, jaw clenching at the unintended turn of phrase as he steps into the room. His fingers close on a chair as he passes, drags it with him until he can plant it in front of Fenris and sit down to look him in the eye. ]

What I'm not willing to accept is plugging in just to turn into an electric sheep bleating out the good techno word. Which is why I would need you.

From:

magicalglowstick

[As angry as Fenris is right now he still listens to Rafe as opposed to just waiting for his turn to shut this idea down once and for all. His nostrils flare as he watches Rafe take a seat right in front of him, body giving off heat where Rafe's had been giving off a chill.

"Which is why I would need you."

Those words cut through Fenris like a knife through butter. His markings glow a dull light, but no more vibrant than they normally would upon hearing such an admission from Rafe. Why does he have to hear something so wonderful now? About this?]

I don't deal with creatures purporting themselves to be some kind of god. Ever. And even If I did, [which he adds because he's still going to hear Rafe out, out of respect,] there would nothing I could do to stop it from doing what it wants. There are no loopholes and careful plans against these creatures.

The only solution is their death.

From:

chardismastic

I'm not thrilled about it either, but what's the alternative? Just sitting around here and chowing down on someone every few weeks to keep from going insane until someone else figures a way out of here? [ A definitive, stubborn shake of the head. Bullshit. ] That complacency would gut you same as it would me, which means we have to get proactive. Which means we need to get whatever advantage we can, wherever we can get it.

[ From whomever they can get it. Never mind that underneath the cool calculation and incandescent rage, the core of him is still scared shitless of all this magic and what it can do, how wholly outside the realm of his understanding it falls. That doesn't matter. He can sit on that fear, bury it down deep rather than let it get in the way of what he wants. ]

I'm not saying we jump in headfirst; you know I would never. But one of can go in as a test, while the other observes. Watches for the first sign of any cult-y crap pushing him off the deep end, stays ready to reel him back, and if reeling back isn't an option then...

[ Rafe's voice trails off, knowing full well where Fenris's mind will go considering it'll be exactly where it went in September when Fenris made Rafe promise to end him if he began to be affected the same as the rest of the peninsula.

He doesn't need to specify who would go first, nor who would be responsible for the killing blow if it came to that. Even if he hadn't led so often as to earn his name from Fenris based on it, the fact is that he doubts he could take Fenris down in a straight fight if it came down to bare knuckle brawling. Whereas Rafe... Well. Fenris knows where his heart is. ]

Without that somebody to have my back, who could tell the minute something wasn't right and have the spine to deal with it if necessary? I'd have dropped this plan in the trash about two seconds after thinking it up. [ His hands spread in appeasement and he ignores the quiet grating of bone where his humerus rubs against his shoulder. ] If you're not able to agree to this, then that's it. We look for something else. But I can tell you right now? That I didn't come to this lightly. I know how you feel about this kind of crap, but I believe this is our best option to get some real traction.

From:

magicalglowstick

[Fenris shuts his eyes tight, hoping this nonsense will go away if he doesn't look at Rafe seriously considering this as a plan. A clawed hand comes up to his face.]

Of course I know you would never jump into something without thinking it through. And it is not as if I don't see your point.

[When he lifts his head from his hand there's worry in his vivid green eyes, the reptilian pupil narrowing at the thought of Rafe falling under a demon's influence, and what that would mean for Fenris. What he wants him to do.]

But you must understand...this is how it always begins. You swear you will be careful, that you have a backup plan, and it...never ends well. I don't want to see that happen to you.

From:

chardismastic

[ That earns a snort, not dismissive or derisive — just a quiet scoff of obvious agreement. ]

You think I do? Trust me, I'd also much prefer you not mercy-killing me.

[ He sobers quickly enough, settling back in his chair as he continues to watch Fenris with that unflinching blue stare. ]

But that's what's key about it: you. You've got the experience with this under your belt already, you'd know exactly what to look for and you'd know if I did any changing. The second that it went bad, I'd count on you to step in and if I were out of my mind enough to tell you to piss off, I'd count on you finding one way or another to make it right again. If I were partnering with anyone else, I'd scrap it and head back to the drawing board.

[ A shrug of the shoulder still attached. ]

And it's why I'll respect it if you say no now.

From:

magicalglowstick

There would be only one way to make it right.

[Fenris says it more to himself than anything, knowing full well that Rafe's aware where his mind went last time this subject came up. There's no clarification needed — so why say it? Perhaps because he's getting himself used to the thought. Because Rafe is serious about this, thought about this, is making good points about this.

Despite his size he manages to sink into the cushions of the couch, no longer perching but slouching. His gaze still holds, though.]

If it begins to promise you things, no matter how grand they sound...we are doing his for only one reason. Promise me you will remember that.

From:

chardismastic

I swear.

[ Rafe has the grace not to let his satisfaction show— It's simple enough given his habitual control and the fact that this is serious shit, and nothing to be smug about. No matter how reassuring it is to have a confirmed, concrete way forward, to have the decision done. Whether it'll steer to good or ill, neither of them will know until it happens, but it doesn't matter.

They'll deal with that not as it comes but as they choose to meet it. ]

And I'll throw this on for a bonus: if we deal with the Fog and the Fourth decides to step up to the throne? We dip in for another go and take him out too.

From:

magicalglowstick

[There's only one other person who could convince Fenris to go against everything he has ever preached time and time again. He trusts Rafe just as much, if not more. More. It's a weird thought that fills him with an unexplainable guilt, as if he were betraying someone, but it's not something he can deny.

He believes Rafe when he swears.

Fenris already feels better when Rafe lays it out like this for him. That the Fourth is only temporary, to be slayed should it step out of line as the Fog has. His posture straightens again as he nods his head.]

I still don't like this, but you are correct that we're out of options. And while I would normally rather lay down and die than to deal with demons or creatures claiming godhood...I trust you.

From:

chardismastic

Would be a pretty shitty partnership if you didn't.

[ Of course by now he knows the gist of what Fenris has dealt with at home, has worked as best he can to unravel the Gordian knots tied up inside Fenris's head to get him thinking as a person instead of a slave. Has hit the brakes more than once rather than let passion ride to allow Fenris the time and space to get his bearings back.

But Rafe banks more on himself. He's never dealt in lies past artful omission because he's never seen the point and that's still true in Ryslig. He builds himself the best he's able, assumes that those around him will see the merit in what he says, in what he does, and will make their decisions on that. If they don't see, then that just means he has to continue at it until the facts are undeniable. ]

So now that that's settled, we can move onto the details. [ Now he sits back in his chair, one leg crossing over the other. ] First off, this alliance? Does not get discussed outside these four walls. Not even on the network. I'm not expecting us to be able to keep this quiet forever but we can hold off a while if we're careful.

From:

magicalglowstick

[A part of him he hasn't been acknowledging until now is frightened by how much trust he's putting into someone again. A huge part of that fear is the fear of letting someone important to him down again but there's also this new, invasive feeling that's whispering, "my trust in you better not be misplaced" and it just doesn't make any sense to him.

It doesn't matter, though.]

I think that would be best. Alliances with these creatures paint a sizable target.

From:

chardismastic

And right now the most viable strength of the Fourth is that his faction's kept their mouths shut and their heads down while the Fog's people are out there screaming on every other street corner in between pulling their stunt of the week. I don't know whether that's a conscious choice or not, but considering the last couple months... Can't say it's hurt them.

[ Javert and Varian, Fiddleford and his band of idiots, while others in the camp played at damage control after the fact with no real consequence... Without those factors, it's possible that Felfri would've been less palatable, its shortcomings harder to swallow but in comparison? It was a downright no brainer. Hell, Rafe would eat the hat he doesn't own to think that no one else is doing what they're now planning to.

Granted, highly unlikely that most are going to be approaching this with the same kind of strategy and forethought but. You know. That's as much a given as the Fog followers continuing to be a whole pack of jackasses pulling in nineteen different directions. ]

It's a trend I'm pretty sure would benefit us to continue, to best leverage the element of surprise when it'll get the most impact.

From:

magicalglowstick

Having been on both the side of discretion and the exact opposite, I'm inclined to agree.

[The Fog Warriors were fast, quiet, even for their size you wouldn't know they were there and by the time you did it was too late. Everyone knew who they were and what they stood for but never when they were coming.

But Hawke was...blatant. Everyone had eyes on him, and a lot of it wan't his fault, but he lost count of how many times they walked right into an ambush. Every time. It was tiring.]

What do we know about the Fourth, exactly?

[He went to do some...research a while back. But then he got distracted by a certain pompous ass.] Aside from the fact that it is supposedly a child.

From:

chardismastic

And that he hates the Fog near as much as we do? Well. This is based strictly on network hearsay, from others asking around for their own info, but...

[ A deep breath that he hardly needs before he starts off. Of course he's kept notes, has them on a notebook up in his room under the floorboards next to his phylactery, but he doesn't need them for a quick overview. ]

Fog and Fourth followers do seem to both put that down as fact. Kid's name used to be Elias Liewen— Same Liewen as the lab in Bavan, the guys that always show up with the laptops? Set up some random orientation table at the start of the month come hell or high water, like it's some kind of job fair instead of a fresh round of mass kidnappings.

[ Rafe rolls his eyes in dismissal of the wannabe welcome wagon that he keeps catching out the corner of his eye every month. ]

Papa Liewen apparently decided he was tired of the Fog and decided to get tinkering on a machine to suck out all the mojo what's got her going. But once he'd gotten it ready, guess he wasn't thrilled at the idea of putting himself on the line, so. He used his kid as a magic battery and shoved all the juice in him. [ Which... is fucked up. Very much so. ] That Fog priest that screwed the pooch in October said that he's permanently hooked up to those machines now. Some of those machines used to power the network but may not anymore? Hell if I know, but that whole tech affinity has at least stuck around to the point that I wouldn't trust the network with anything I would be wanting to hide from him.

From:

magicalglowstick

[Fenris isn't sure what he was expecting to hear about the Fourth. What kind of...abominable summoning created this creature. But what he's not expecting is a story so familiar it could almost be a joke were someone who knew all the details of his past actually telling him this. He thought the Fourth was a demon or creature born the way that it was...not created. The Fourth wasn't just masquerading as a child. He is a child. Or was.

His posture stiffens as he thinks of a child's own father sacrificing them — then his own sister baiting him like a mouse for his master to find, just for her own gain...her own power. Blood really meant nothing, but sometimes it means everything. It depends if you're lucky enough to end up with a family who gives a shit versus one that will sell you down the river in the blink of an eye, like himself.

Then he thinks about Danarius, and the markings carved into his skin so the man could achieve something most magisters dared only dream of.

There's a far off look as his gaze finds something else in the room, but his tone is taut with anger and only just barely restrained.]

He...is not in this position of his own will then. A victim of twisted experimentation. Not like that fog monster at all.

From:

chardismastic

[ It doesn't take a hard-boiled detective to notice every red-letter sign that Fenris is about ten times as tense as when Rafe started rattling off the facts. His head tilts a few degrees, unblinking eyes burning a hole into Fenris with the unspoken prompt to explain himself. ]

Not to start with, no.

[ The reply comes slowly as the gears visibly turn, patient, for Fenris to spill his own side of this story. Though eventually his own words return apace, ready with a counter-proposal even if he isn't sure he'd believe it. ]

But... Then again, maybe the Fog has her own fucked up origin story. Who knows. [ Irrelevant for now, perhaps, but nothing ever happens on its own. History shows (for those that come to it honestly, without agenda, without willingly putting on blinders) that nothing occurs in a vacuum. There's always a beginning before the beginning, an end after the end, ripples spreading out from every point between to interact with others and create second, third, fourth order consequences. ] Comes down to what they're doing with that power right now, what's being done for them by their priests and what's being done in the name of. Far as that goes, Fog's the only one bringing us here and slapping us down into shit.

[ ...Well. ]

Since we've been here, anyway.

From:

magicalglowstick

[Rafe can keep looking, but Fenris is still pointedly avoiding his gaze, stewing in his own anger and frustration.]

Every creature has an origin. I've seen things like the Fog who twisted those around them for its own purpose, whispered into their minds — an insidious ambition such as that can last for centuries. Perhaps one time it was sympathetic, but I very much doubt that. It's evil.

[He shakes his head lightly, a weak attempt at pulling himself from his...moment. But he can't help but think of Corypheus.]

The Fourth may well be too far gone. Every bit of it that was once human may be no longer...but if I must choose a side...

...No child asks for something like that.

[Maybe he did, at some point, but what he asked for...he was a stupid child and hadn't realized the ramifications of Danarius's promise.]

From:

chardismastic

I'm aware, I'm just saying— Let's not get soft just because what of we know about the kid. We stay professional.

[ Something about the background Rafe's pieced together on the Fourth has struck Fenris and struck him hard... Specifically what, he doesn't know yet but while it seems enough to nudge Fenris closer to accepting the pinball wizard into his heart? Rafe isn't exactly thrilled if it becomes something more than that.

Hence why that stare continues to bore holes into his partner, those bright blue eyes narrowed and patient. ]

Is that going to be an issue?

From:

magicalglowstick

[Fenris scoffs, insulted in a way he can't properly express, mainly because he doesn't fully understand it himself. Child at some point or no, it's just as dangerous as the Fog, he knows this. And while his tone speaks of certainty, he still doesn't meet Rafe's narrowed gaze.]

I've no intention of getting soft. Have I not made my opinion on magic and creatures with power clear enough?

From:

chardismastic

I'd thought so.

[ He lets the statement hang as his arms fold across his chest: a challenge, making sure that Fenris knows he knows there's more here than is being said. ]

From:

magicalglowstick

I see no reason why that should change.

[It's clear, but going in depth now is just going to make Rafe question him more. At least, that's how he sees it.]

From:

chardismastic

Then maybe I should get you a mirror.

[ Zing.

Honestly, how can Fenris still think that Rafe will ever let a thing lie once he knows there's something more to it? C'mon. ]

From:

magicalglowstick

[Fenris makes a face — that face one makes when they know the other person is right and they're stuck. He knows where Rafe is getting at and as usual he's not allowing Fenris room to wiggle out of the subject.

He sighs and settles himself down in his seat, resigning himself to his fate.]

I never told you how these markings came to be on my body. [He always danced around the subject, or gave just enough information. It's not the easiest thing to talk about.] But I told you before that Danarius is a powerful mage. He has many experiments and research that other magisters would kill for.

[He stares down at the palm of his hand...now a claw, but still bearing the markings.]

These markings are his best work. The real reason his chase for me is so relentless. I...don't remember much from before I got them. I know that I was just a boy, that I...[Actually, that doesn't matter. He's not ready to talk about that yet.]...The process was so painful it cost me my memories.

[Fenris's gaze rises to meet Rafe's but stops just short and lands on his chest instead.]

What the Fourth's father did to it is not unlike what Danarius did to me. He turned me into a weapon. Lyrium is a volatile mineral that would cause anyone who come into contact with it permanent damage to their minds, and kill mages outright. Dwarves are the only ones who can mine it safely, and when they do they process it so that it can be used. Mages drink these lyrium potions to enhance their magic, templars drink it to help them resist magic, and some even use it to enchant armor and weapons. Mages even use it to consciously enter the Fade — a land of spirits and demons, where we are said to go when we sleep.

It's a powerful substance, present both in the physical world and the Fade, and Danarius infused it directly into my skin. Whatever I used to be, I lost it when I stepped into that sarcophagus.

So yes, I feel for the creature. But I doubt there is anything left of the child before his father twisted his very being. You don't have to worry about me going soft. The enemy of my enemy is my friend; that is all.