Scales & Spells

[ShadowFighter15]

"Well my next question was going to be if spells sometimes acted differently around you. Have any seemed to fizzle out before they even reached you, for seemingly no reason at all?

"If so, then I might have an answer for you, but I think you'd rather hear it in private. Follow me to my office."

It wasn't technically an office; just a smaller repository with a reading desk, but it worked as one.

"Okay, I don't know what you're reaction to this is going to be, but here goes.

"You, Verrithanis Mijai, are a half-celestial. One of your parents was a Celestial; a servant of the gods from the Higher Planes. Which Plane, which god they served and even what kind of Celestial they were, I couldn't say. But either way; you're a hybrid of elf and Celestial the same way scale-face here-"

"Hey!"

"-is a hybrid of human and dragon."

I can't say I was happy about how Korana presented it - she should've at least asked Verrith if she was sure she wanted to know before blurting it out. Regardless, I watched her reaction, hoping she would cope somehow. Then again; how are you supposed to cope with a bombshell like that? At least I knew what I was right from the start (or at least once I was old enough comprehend it), but Verrith's been thinking that she was just an elf with a couple of extra body parts. To find out you've got blood from another species in your veins - a species from a different Plane of reality, no less - I couldn't imagine the sort of shock that could be.

 

[Vixandra]

Shock... though it didn't last long. The fast thinking that enabled me to stay alive in a fight meant my brain was racing now. "But if one of my parents was a Celestial, why didn't my mother tell me? Or my aunt...."

I trailed off, realizing something. My mother had been a stranger to my tribe, picked up in a razed village. There was no proof of who or what she was. In face, I was the only real proof she'd even existed.

"If she was a Celestial, why didn't she save herself," I whispered to no one in particular. There was moisture on my cheeks but I couldn't pay it much attention. I looked up at the cleric. "Aren't Celestial's powerful? How could a band of dark Corellon-damned elves kill her if she was the servant of a god?"

Beside the sorrow and pain, anger began to burn. Why hadn't she told me? I felt a pulse from the necklace at my neck. Turp letting me know that he was aware I was upset. I reached a hand into my armor and pulled out the amulet. It was carved from something denser then wood, softer then steel and felt heavy in my hand.

I studied the amulet, debating over whether to call forth my companion, see if he knew something he hadn't told me.

 

[ShadowFighter15]

I put an arm around Verrith's shoulders to try and comfort her.

"There are all kinds of different celestial beings and I couldn't begin to guess what kind your mother was, but even if she was a Solar sheer weight of numbers could do it. Not to mention that there are a lot of spells that affect extraplanar beings far more than normal. There is a possibility though that... she's not dead.

"It's possible that whatever method she used to come to the Material Plane worked a bit like the Summon Monster spells; that before the summoned creature is killed, they are forcefully sent back to their home plane. Either that or she was hit with a banishment spell. Either way, she could still be alive, just not on this plane."

 

[Vixandra]

I sighed and put away the amulet. I'd deal with Turp later, when I wasn't so upset. Calling the wolf now could result in him trying to eat someone for upsetting me, which wasn't exactly appropriate.

"If she is alive, then I'll find her at some point. Maybe I can see if Tixis can do a sending or something," I said, thinking out loud. "If anyone could do it, Tix could."

Of course, that didn't take into account that Tix would probably want to sleep with my companion, if only for the experience. I'd have to come up with some other fair trade for the spell. Nymphomaniac wizards can be hard to placate at times.

I knew thoughts were flying across my face in rapid order, anger, determination, a smidgen of jealousy, and thoughtfulness.

I looked up at Marcus and leaned into him. "Sorry... that was... I just never suspected. I thought I was a throwback to the winged elves. Not even the priest of the village I grew up in ever mentioned the possibility of divine blood. It isn't exactly common, right?"

OOC: Sorry for the delay, its been a hellacious fall.

 

[ShadowFighter15]

OOC: Don't worry about it.

"Don't worry; I understand." I said, still keeping my arm around her for comfort. "I've heard about hybrids of mortal and divine, but not of any one in particular, just that there are recorded instances of them."

"As well as the lesser hybrids - the ones several generations removed from the divine or infernal blood; aasimar and tieflings. But beyond that, who's this Tixis?" Korana seemed somewhat curious, like she is about a great many things. I've learnt to always be ready for the worst when that happens, after that incident with the giants, the Rashemi berserker and the hamster. That was not an incident I care to repeat. "He must be pretty powerful if you think he can locate a single specific celestial out of gods-know how many different types of near-infinite populations."

 

[Vixandra]

I smiled. "She actually. Tixis is a woman, a wizard and always on the lookout for a new sexual experience. She's the most powerful caster I know."

Tixis was a powerful caster, she just wasn't always the most... detail oriented of casters, I remembered with a wry grin. "She's 'adopted' a tiny village on the Trader's Road. Or at least that's where her floating castle currently is docked."

The look of puzzlement was clear on their faces. "Tix is... eccentric. She likes being able to move around but isn't flashy about it."

I sighed and looked to Marcus. "So do we go to Conyberry or do we go eccentric wizard hunting? She may have moved since I last saw her."

 

[ShadowFighter15]

"Huh, and I thought Korana here was the only sex-crazed spellcaster I'd ever meet."

"Ha, ha."

"The Trader's Road's a fair way from here, but my trip to Conyberry wasn't really planned. If you'd rather find Tixis, then I'm fine with looking for her as well. Besides; paying a visit to my folks doesn't seem quite as important as finding your mother."

 

[Vixandra]

I thought for a moment before offering a combination of the two. "Tix may or may not be in her village. If I send a messenger there, another to her tribe and a third one to the twins, she'll probably do a long distance Sending to tell us exactly where she is, assuming one of the messengers finds her.

"You're parents are normal humans, yes? If my mother is indeed one of the celestial, then she has a long life span ahead of her. Humans don't live so long."

I was halfway thinking out loud and spoke before I realized exactly what I was saying. Humans were shorter lived then elves, something that I often forgot because of my frequent contact with them. But pointing that out was less then tactful.

"Besides, I have to think of something to offer Tixis in return for the spell," I added. "She's big on fair trade and since I don't want to give her you, I have to come up with something else."

 

[ShadowFighter15]

"I don't think we have to worry about my parents dying any time soon; they're still both just shy of forty. No, wait; Dad would've hit forty last month. Crap; sis is gonna give me hell for missing his birthday."

Verrith's mention of my parents' lifespans was right, but I'd long since gotten over the lifespan thing, what with my draconic side bound to make me outlive even any nephews or nieces I ever get.

"There's a courier service a couple of blocks from here if you want to send those messages today. I'd offer to lend you some Sending scrolls for you to use, but I don't think I'd be able to get the funds for them - not until last night's mess is sorted out, at least."

 

[Vixandra]

I smiled at the healer. "No, I find that scrolls and such don't work well in my hands. Arcane magic beyond my own tends to fowl up around me, I'm not sure why. Or fowl me up."

The memory of the nausea from my recent teleport with Marcus made me flinch. "No, arcane magic is not my friend at all when cast from the hands of others."

We said our farewells to the cleric and made our way outside. It seemed like it should be different from the shining sun that greeted us. Perhaps epic, indicative of some great quest starting.

Instead we got a brightly shining sun... and a sausage vendor across the street from the temple hawking his wares.

I looked at Marcus, raising an eyebrow. "Well, lets go get those messages sent off."

 

[ShadowFighter15]

"Courier place is just this way." I said, leading the way. "How long do you think it'll be before we hear from Tixis, assuming these messages get her attention?"

I wasn't sure what to say about the possibility of her mother still being alive, so I didn't say anything. I had no idea what it was like for her to hear that since I'd never experienced anything close to it. Someone could tell me that my draconic parent was alive and where to find them, but it wouldn't mean much because of my foster parents treating me like their own. I'd never realised how lucky I was to have that and I thought of this, I was worried that a trip back to Conyberry might sour things between me and Verrith.

I just figured I was just over-thinking things. If it would cause problems, we'd deal with them then and if not, all the better.

 

[Vixandra]

I tilted my head to the side at his question, pondering. "Well, depending on what mood they find her in, probably less than a month or so. She's keeps a very detailed calender, even for a wizard. Tix will put me in the next open 'urgent/immediate' spot that she has. I'm not sure how retirement is sitting with her. Or even why she retired at only 58. That's not that old for a human, is it?"

For all my travels with them, the short lifespans of humans still bewildered me sometimes. Elves, in comparison, are very long lived beings. I shot a glance at my companion and figured he'd have a similar if not greater life span due to his dragonic parentage.

"The idea of tracking down a Celestial will appear to Tixis," I went on as we walked. "She's very inquisitive about the other realms. Accidentally sent us into one once while she was learning some kind of dimensional door spell. I'm not even sure where it was, just it was very pretty in a summery fashion and had big things that looked hungrily at us. We left quickly."

We reached the courier service and I quickly penned out four copies of the same note using a mix of elven, draconic, common, sylvan, gnomish and infernal. The mix of languages would confuse the hell out of someone, even if they did speak all of them. Tixis would look at it from the right slant, figure it out and know what I wanted.

I gave instructions to her new home, her tribe's location as well as I knew it, and to the twins' home.

Once we were back outside I stretched, carefully including my wings so I didn't hit anyone passing by. "Ready to get going?"

 

[ShadowFighter15]

((Merry Christmas.

Sorry for the slow reply, though I imagine you expected it what with Christmas and all. Also, sorry if this is a bit lack-luster - head-cold's back. Not surprising when you consider that it's been raining almost non-stop for a week or two now - just as well Toowoomba's on a mountain or we'd be getting a lot more flooding. Mind you; there's one big intersection in town that gets pretty flooded in rain like this.

Figured it'd be easiest if we fast-forward to their arrival in Conyberry.))

"Actually; 58's probably late-middle aged if not outright elderly. Humans only live til about 80 or 90-odd. Over a hundred if they're lucky or get the best medical care."
*************************************************************************
It was a few more weeks before we finally reached Conyberry. We'd had to spend a night in Neverwinter since it was already after-dark when we flew over the city. As we soared over Neverwinter Woods, I pointed the village out to Verrith.

"There it is, Conyberry. Not exactly the largest village around, but the people're surprisingly friendly. It'll also be easy to spot the tourists or people who've moved here in the last few years - they'll be the only ones staring at us. Follow me; we'll land outside my parent's place."

The village was just a collection of houses, some farm plots, an inn and a small church with the symbol of Lathander worked into a stain-glass window on the front. My parents place wasn't anything special and the only way it differed from the others were the training dummies in the backyard that Dad still used to keep his skills sharp and that my sister used for target practice with her spells.

Speaking of whom, no sooner had we landed than a black and red blur shot out of one of the second-storey windows and hit me square in the chest, sending me tumbling end-over-end back down the street in what I'm sure looked rather comical to anyone who'd recognised the blur, which now had her arms around my chest, squeezing surprisingly tight while talking at about a hundred miles an hour.

"Yourbackyourbackit'sgreattoseeyoubrotherwhydidn'tyousayyouwerecoming-!"

"Can't...breathe." was all I managed to get out. Annabelle gave a short shout of surprise and a frantic 'sorry' before climbing off me and helping me up. "I take it you've learnt a flight spell and Bull's Strength?"

"Yeah, sorry; forgot that was still going." she said, smiling. It's hard to stay mad at her sometimes, though I wish she'd learn to pay more attention to her magic sometimes. Mum had her practice casting spells from scrolls by giving her one of Haste - she was speaking that fast while it was on that you couldn't understand a blind word she was saying.

Annabelle stood about five feet tall, which was a bit above-average for a fourteen-year-old girl, her dark hair fell loosely past her shoulders and she wore a short red dress (apparently for full freedom of movement, but frankly I think she was trying to get the attentions of another boy in the village).

"You gonna introduce me to your friend?" She can also be rather blunt at times.

"This is Verrith, we met about a few days outside of Waterdeep. How is kind of a long story so I'll save it for when I can tell you, Mum and Dad all at once. Verrith, this is my little sister - Annabelle Blakwell, arcane tormentor extrordinaire." That last bit earned me a solid elbow in the ribs.

 

[Vixandra]

Verrith

I smiled down at the young caster. Though she didn't physically resemble Marcus, she had the same welcoming smile that held an edge of teasing. "I'm pleased to meet you, Annabell. Nice work on the flight spell, though I must recommend bloomers for when you use it. I learned that from personal experience."

I'd been twelve with wings just barely large enough to glide on when I'd convinced an older playmate to use his mothers wind fan to make a breeze so I could glide further. It had never occurred to me that dresses could flip upside down when flying.

I looked around, taking in the practice dummies, some of them with the unmistakable marks of spell scorching. The fields beyond looked well tended with healthy crops. I could hear farm animals, draft horses and other animals but none sounded displeased with their lots.

Part of me appreciated that Marcus' house was on the outskirts of the village instead of at its center. While I could work and play in large cities, I was an elf at heart. The forests and fields were my home of choice.

I looked back toward the Blackwell home an older human came out, a woman. She had the same smile and black hair as the girls, though thin strands of silver showed at her brows. I waited for Marcus to make introductions with a smile.

 

[ShadowFighter15]

Annabelle blushed a bit when Verrith pointed out the underwear situation. "Normally I do, I guess I just wasn't thinking this time." she said with a bit of a laugh at the end.

"I was wondering what would make Bel shoot out of her window like that." a familiar voice said and I turned to see Mum coming out of the house. Despite being nearly forty, the only sign of it were the thin streaks of grey. Aside from that she looked just like an older version of Bel, something my sister was quite happy with assuming she'd look that good by then.

"Hey mum," I said, giving her a hug as she approached. "This is Verrith, met her-"
"I heard you introduce her to Bel," she cut in before turning to Verrith. She always did have good hearing. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear. It's not often I meet my son's travelling companions."

Yeah, there's a reason for that, I thought to myself, I seem to keep attracting the crazies. Verrith's probably the most normal person I've worked with.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.
"Scouting patrol with the militia. Someone thought they saw worgs getting a little close to town so he offered to help check it out."
"And yet he still insists that he's retired from fighting." I shook my head. I didn't doubt that the old guy could handle anything Neverwinter Woods could throw at him, it's just that he keeps insisting that the only stuff he does for the militia is training. Everytime he helps them out on a patrol or something he keeps saying that it'll be the last time, but it never is.

 

[Vixandra]

Marcus' mother's welcome was warm and sincere. She didn't stare at my wings, in fact neither of the women did. I guess raising or growing up with a half dragon makes wings common place in some ways.

"Even retirement doesn't stop one from having to protect one's home," I said with a smile. "Besides, those who stop doing, start dying, especially those of us that live by the sword."

The thought of worgs so close to any settlement was disturbing. Either it was a wild pack or, worse, a pack allied with goblins, orcs or other nastiness. Marcus has said his father was a fighter, but that didn't mean the rest of the village could handle themselves.

"I know we just got here, but worgs can be troublesome. Perhaps we should lend a hand? Or at least offer to?"

 

[ShadowFighter15]

"Don't worry; if they took Dad along, it'll be the worgs who need help." I said calmly. "Probably just a pack looking for new turf or something; it happens occasionally."

Just as I spoke, a familiar voice let out a cheer, which was combined by something barking in annoyance and a few surprised shouts from villagers. I didn't have to guess what was happening, nor could I stop myself facepalming.

"He just couldn't resist." I said just before Dad came into view...


... riding a large and very pissed-off dire wolf.

"Good news; it was only a pack of normal wolves led by this guy." he said calmly, despite the dire wolf's attempts to throw him off.
"Bad news is, you were cocky enough to ride the damn thing into town. Again."

"Ah, good to see ya son! Besides; you should know how much I enjoy givin' the town a show!"

"Well get rid of him before he breaks anything."

"Fine, fine." He said with a smile before mumbling a command word. He and the wolf vanished with a crack of displaced air, a crack that repeated itself when Dad reappeared on his own. What? You thought I was the only one in this story who had a pair of teleport boots?

Now that he wasn't being thrown about by the wolf, it was easier to see what he looked like. He was a tall man, about my height if you ignored my wings, and had a slim build. Longish, dark hair was tied back with a red piece of cloth and a short beard covered his face. His hazel eyes seemed to be constantly smiling, matching the grin on his own face. The latter marred slightly by a thin scar. Like me, his clothing was pretty plain; a loose white shirt and dark pants with a pair of heavy boots. A curved sabre rested on one hip and he wore a bracer around his left forearm.

"So, what brings you back home? And who is the lovely lady with you?"

"Just a short break from adventuring while we wait on a reply to some messages. And this is Verrith, met her outside of Waterdeep."

"Charmed," Dad said, gently taking her hand and kissing the back of it. Apparently he'd been a bit of a lady-killer in his youth. Old habits die hard, I guess. I noticed Mum just roll her eyes at it. Really showed how much they trusted each other; that Dad could do that stuff without making Mum angry. She knew he wasn't being serious.

"Okay, that's enough out of you," Mum said jokingly, "I'll go sort us out some lunch."

"Hey," Annabelle spoke up, "have you guys sorted out where you're going to stay tonight?"

"Well, I thought..." I gestured to the house, confused. I noticed Mum looked a bit akward.

"Oh, umm... After you moved out... I kind of... um..."

"She turned your room into a drawing studio." I suppose I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was; Mum was incredible when it came to sketches and I guess with me gone, they had to do something with my old room.

"Guess I'll have to sort something out with Old Nagren." I wasn't looking forward to that. The old codger was a miser in the extreme and I'm amazed he didn't overcharge for his rooms. No chance of getting a discount either, even if you were Waukeen Herself.

"No need; he retired about three months ago. His son's running the inn now." Thank the gods for that. Jesrek and I went back a long way; neither of us could remember a time when we hadn't been friends and he was a lot more fair-minded than his old man.

"Well that's helpful; after travelling all the way here from Waterdeep I didn't want to get a Nagren Migrane."

((OOC: A few images to help give you an idea of what Marcus' dad looks like. And yes, they are from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, but I got stumped on ideas and Ezio's the only person I could think of when it came to "Master Swordsmen Over 40". Just try not to let the source of his looks also make you give him an Italian accent.

General Appearance
Close-up of face, beard and scar
General appearance from the back))

 

[Vixandra]

I couldn't help but smile as an older human rode triumphantly into the village astride a snarling dire wolf. The kiss to the back of my hand was a bit overmuch but I let him do it without protest.

When they said they'd turned Marcus' room into an art studio I couldn't help but chuckle at the look on his face. "I don't mind staying at an inn or in a tent if need be. They're both better then a cave."

The exchanges between the family were almost fascinating to watch. How easily they accepted him, different though he was. There was true warmth and love here.

Marcus let his parents know we'd return after sorting out our accommodations and led the way further into the village.

"I can see where you get some of your daring from," I said teasingly, slipping my hand into his. "I take it we won't be robbed on the inn price? It sounded like you and the inn owner are friends, yes?"

 

[ShadowFighter15]

"Close enough that we might just get a discount." I said smiling. "Plus it'll be interesting to see what he's done with the place. He was always suggesting ways to improve the inn, even using magic like some of the more upmarket in the big cities. Might sound a bit much for here, but he says it's practice for setting one up in Neverwinter. He's hoping to get one in the Blacklake District, but he may have to settle for the Market District; I don't think inns or taverns are allowed in Blacklake."

The inn itself didn't look very different from when I'd last been in town, apart from the sign over the doorway advertising it as the Little Dragon Inn. Nagren had never named the place for some reason. Never said why, just started ranting about why it even needed one whenever anyone asked about it. The lisp hadn't help any either.

Behind the bar as we came in was a slim man about my age with short, unkempt red hair, a red tunic and a pseudodragon curled up on the counter next to him. "Mark!" he practically shouted when he saw me, before casting a spell of some sort to immediately teleport over to us. Why he even had Dimension Hop ready that day I'll never know.

"How ya been, pal? What brings you into this neck of the woods?" It was about then that he noticed Verrith. "Oh," he remarked as he quickly shifted to speak quietly into my ear, "brought her home to meet the folks, huh?"

I just smiled. Wasn't going to get into a discussion about it with him until I had a few tankards in me. "Good to see you too, Jesrek."

"Ah, where are my manners?" he said, quickly moving back infront of us. "Welcome to the Little Dragon Inn, the finest inn outside of the big cities you'll ever find!" He made a rather grandiose bow as he gave his spiel. I swear, if he didn't have any talent for magic or running a business he could've been an actor.