Vortahar's Story

Abdown raised an arm over his face as the explosion occured. "Ah... a bit much, don't you think?" Abdown muttered as he lowered his arm to observe the aftermath of the blast. As he watched, he noticed Aeila approaching the pit. Something laid at the bottom, that was for sure, stirring as it were at the bottom. "You should be careful, as unrefined as it may be, it is no less an incredibly potent form of magic."

As he made his warning the figure in colorful clothes stood up, looking about at their melting visage, the mask beginning to distort. They growled, holding their head, barely audible, with a voice so hoarse, they have to force the words out, but somewhere in it could be discernible as "they couldn't fight before," and "useless, useless, useless!" The pit soon filled with the viscous paint-like fluid, an agitated scream bubbling forth as the fluid twists, and emerging violently, a rather large form turning into a large clawed hand reaching upwards and slamming down beside her attackers, another soon following, as the rest of the body emerges spraying paint every which way. While once an elegant form, now stood as a sizable monster standing on all fours. Sharp teeth lining a large maw, forelegs sporting long thin clawed fingers instead of paws, multiple bushy tails ending in dropping tips like paintbrushes swayed frustratedly, wildly flowing blueish hair ending in white tips, patches of blue down the back and on the shoulders, decorated face with blue markings like a form of warpaint. The large mutant Memorian bore their teeth and growled jumping back from the group.

"Please, do calm down, perhaps we can discuss thi-" Abdown began to say, but the being yelled and, with an impressive display of power and speed, spun around and, with flicks of its tails, created wave after wave of paint based projectiles, a few tearing through the ground to show them as having more force than the softness of it displayed before.

After the explosion erupted a few feet in front of him, the large man skid to a halt as he figure he was chasing was apparently caught in the blast. Looking intonthe pit there was something stirring at the bottom of it. Eventually it was clear that it was a bubbling paint like substance...And then a claw formed from it and slammed near them. And the once humanoid like colorful figure turned into a massive colorful creature.

It would fire a spray of...paint...And it looked more similar to hardened objects as it torrent the ground. “Sorry governor, looks like it’s not going to be in a mood to talk! Let’s bring this threat down!” Raimondo raised his mechanical arm as steam vented from the arm as he aimed it at the beast. “I am the arm of justice! For the sake of the people I’m bringing you down!” He shouted as a blue shined across his arm as a laser fired from his arm sending him skidding back slightly.

Aeila jumped back when the giant claw slammed down mere feet from where she was standing. She watched in awe as a huge creature began to emerge from the colourful goo, various body parts forming in seconds. "Uh.. I think I just made it angry.." she trailed off, not having a clue what the best plan of action was. They didn't even know what this thing was, and it didn't look like it was hurt at all by her explosion. Would they even be able to fight it?

She looked over at Raimondo as he shouted away at the monster, no ounce of fear in his voice, she was baffled by how confident and courageous he was, rushing in to fight the beast without a second thought. "You are a madman if I ever saw one, Raimondo." she said. She had to admit though, seeing him attacking the creature with such gallantry was giving her the courage to stand against it as well. Aeila ran towards the monster, swiftly dodging its projectiles and slashing her sword at its right leg, as soon as she connected with the creature, she quickly jumped away, not wanting to get caught by its swishing tails or claws. She watched its movements closely, trying to gauge how powerful this thing really was. She needed to gleam as much information from it as she could so that they could take it down as best they could.

Vortahar was mesmerised by the scene happening before him. He had never seen such manifestation of evil and magic power in a creature. Still crouched behind a rock, he risked a good peek before he had to withdraw and dodge a paint projectile that nearly caught his forehead. What impressed him the most was that people were actually fighting it with extraordinary abilities. He recognised the governor standing near the fight and decides to try a ranged weapon he was secretly tinkering with. Drayden would not have approved, of course, letting a mere apprentice dabble with dangerous substances.

He clumsily reached inside his pouch and takes out a blowgun, actually a long cane tube with handles. Inside a small wooden box, he took a dart and let it absorb a viscous green liquid from inside a small vial. Drayden had told him that Dragonbane, which he stole from the University's dispensary, distilled from the mystic Purple Dulfir flowers that grew near Memoria Tree could knock out large beasts.
Vortahar inserted the dart into the blowgun and took advantage of the confusion when a woman charged the creature with a sword. He inhaled deeply and blowed the tube at maximum force calculating the trajectory of the dart to avoid friendly fire. Due to the size of the monster, it was a very easy target. He followed the dart with blazing eyes as it penetrated the creature's calf.

Vortahar sighed as it seemingly had no effect at all; it didn't flinch or scream. Nothing. But after some seconds, when the fight was getting pretty out of control, he noticed a very slight limp on the creature's left hind leg. He was not sure but it seemed that the monster's attack speed on the whole had lowered by a fraction.

The beast looked on in surprise, eyes wide, as Raimondo charged his attack. In panic, in the same instance the creature threw their right forelimbs to the side, fingers open paint-like goo spewing out and stopping in a stream in mid-air, drips aloft as colorful orbs, before quickly twisting around together, folding together into a new structure, stronger, becoming less goo and more semi-fluid metal. The fluid had become an elegant blade, flowing organically from hilt-to-tip, fluid-turned-solid, yet still shimmering.

As the beast gripped the hilt of their newly crafted blade, they yelped as a pain came to their right leg, leaning some to the side. A frustrated shriek would follow, as the beast swung the blade directly into Raimondo's attack, causing the former to burst brilliantly in half, and the latter to split into two, one exploding magnificently in the distance behind the beast, the other splitting through some trees in the distance, going off into the unknown expanse away from the island. Both had singed opposing side of the beast's shoulders. Colorful flakes sparkled like fairy dust in the air from the destroyed blade, the broken off piece hurled into the air above.

The beast readied again, jumping back as tails flowed beside them, more paint flowing out and through the blade in an attempt to rebuild it, looking back and forth baring teeth at Aila and Raimondo, their ears drawn back as their expression became more concerned. They looked at their hand, noting a slight weakening quiver, and the slowing reaction time had become more apparent. A confused gasp escaped their maw.

"Not a very well organized assault," Abdown said, somewhat berating. "Rather messy, really."

The large beast would suddenly cast a glare down at the governor, but their eyes wandered up above him, something else catching their attention. The piece of the blade that was broken off from earlier now came plummeting down, quite massive in its own right, and was heading straight for the city! It had reduced to a heavy metallic blob, and from the amount of energy that was put into it moments earlier from Raimondo's blast, was aglow and unstable, resembling a colorful meteor.

Abdown followed the creature's eyes, catching a glimmer of something reflect in their eyes, and turned quickly and began to raise a hand, but the beast, to his surprise reacted faster, reaching out to the chunk, forcing it to go unstable. What followed was a brilliantly bright blast right above the city, the shock of which blew off pieces of roofing, and sent a heavy burst of air all around, as an aurora-like colorful ring rippled through the air outwards through the air. The beast panted, clawed hand still outstretched, beginning to shake again.

"Tch!" the beast finally uttered, nearly stumbling forwards from the chemicals finally spreading through their system. It was clear this fight was lost, and with a departing trick, the beast took the remaining piece of the blade, squeezing it into a ball between both hand and, pressing it into the ground, cupping hands over it. A blast of paint followed, launching the creature backwards and into the air to get enough distance away from the crowd.

"Well, that was interesting," Abdown muttered. "I was never in favor of division. Rejected just because of a bad dream? Ridiculous. It is no wonder they often become truly twisted into monsters by the Silence. This one, however... well, it is rare to see one unafflicted." Taking a moment to look at the damages, the governor dusts himself off. " Also... since when was Dragonbane filled darts standard use?"

After the beam impacted the Sword, Raimondo’s arm began to vent a large amount steam after his blast. He had to recharge for a bit so he could not follow up on his attack, however the creature looked like it was regenerating it’s blade. However that was the least of their problems. In the sky the broken blade was coming down like a colorful meteor, however before it fell upon the city it exploded, the force causing him to shield his face as the beast now began to make a retreat.

As slow as he was he made a futile attempt to follow but gave up after a few steps. “Darn!...At least we drove it off!” He stated as he waved his fist in the direction of the fleeing enemy.

Aeila watched as the creature created a massive sword from its colourful goo and shielded her eyes when it met the blast from Raimondo's arm. She couldn't believe the amount of power emanating from both his arm and the beast's weapon. This is madness..., she thought. Aeila was ready to go in for another hit when she noticed that a large portion of the blade had been separated and was flung straight into the air, descending quickly to the heart of the city. She could see that the governor was preparing to do something to help protect the city but the creature, to her surprise, seemingly destabilizing the mass before it could do any damage. Aeila shielded her eyes again as the blast illuminated the sky and sent a shockwave through the land. When she opened her eyes, the creature had taken off just as quickly as it appeared.

Aeila returned her blade to its hilt and walked over to Raimondo and the governor. "Is everyone alright? I don't know if you all noticed that, but it seemed to me that the creature intentionally stopped that meteor blob from hitting the city." Her eyes scanned the horizon, the city didn't look too worse for wear. "I hope my shop didn't sustain damage...", her voice trailed off with a tinge of worry.

Still hiding behind the rock, Vortahar is breathing heavily, his whole body vibrating with excitement as he watches the final blast illuminate the sky. He is so euphoric, he has the impression of watching a new year's firework show. Timidly, he slowly rises while putting away his secret weapon; Drayden is going to be furious if he finds out, he thought. He scans the fighters for any light injuries and frustratingly they were seemingly well. It would be the perfect opportunity to test his healing herbs and balms, one of the few magics Drayden allows him to meddle with.
He started to walk back towards the university as inconspicuous as he arrived at the scene. He didn't want to get involved in any trouble and was feeling quite guilty to be participating so actively in all this.

"Fine here, nothing broken," Abdown said, dusting his suit off and proceeded to spin his cane around and click the umbrella portion closed. "In fact, all things considered, I'd think our attacker was rather behaved. Frustrated, to be sure, she failed her mission and fell in a hole."

He pondered for a moment, assessing the damages, finding the most done is minor roofing damages. People, still shaken, began to emerge from their shelter to do the same, muttering amongst themselves about how they are no longer certain of their safety here. Some muttered about believing monsters only attacked at night, that light protected them.

"Well... their intention was to capture me alive, why, I'm not too sure, but she wasn't expecting a fight," he said confidently, a continued calm tone. "I may have misjudged the situation, it may not have been exactly a lack of skill, but intent. That blade surprised me, indeed, it reminded me of the fallen Memorian Guard... are Harlequins recruiting the Nightmare Scarred now? Unsettling..."

Looking to Ceci, Abdown approached the man only to nearly trip over the half-pint mayor of Lunalake City.

"See!? They even attack innocent citizens in their homes! The Harlequins use abominations to menace our families now! What horrid names these monsters must have to strike terror in the hearts of all!" the mayor shrieked, pleading to Ceci. "You are a hero of justice aren't you? Right? Of course you are! Won't you do something to stop them!? Won't you help us!?"

Abdown froze, looking somewhat frustrated. "That abomination spared them..."

"And, look, the governor is clearly shaken," the mayor continued, waving off Abdown.

"...and if memory serves right, that horrid name is 'Puah.' Ooh. I'm paralyzed with fear," Abdown continued, a tone thick with sarcasm.

“Nothing but a bit of dust. All things considered we all got off easy this time around.” Raimondo replied as he gave a heavy sigh and lowered his mechanical arm. “But at least everything is back to normal...Somewhat...” He then looked around. The damage was not too severe it would appear that of course such a display woke up everyone sleeping and of course caught the attention of everyone. And to that some people were out yelling and pretty scared that they were attacked.

Well this did not concern him mostly, while the others were speaking he grabbed a cigar and lit it up. Nothing like a somewhat victorious smoke, that and now he was not sure what to do now since the paint monster retreated. Maybe it retreated back home...Or it could have retreated elsewhere...Back to square one again! Gah.

“What to do now...” He muttered.

Aeila looked on at the mayor carrying on in hysterics and scoffed, shaking her head. Not even a thank you for risking our lives?, she thought, quite annoyed that the mayor was clearly focused on riling up citizens rather than trying to calm the people who were terrified at what just happened. She looked over at the mayor as he was pleading for Raimondo's help, "I'm sure the 'arm of justice' would be delighted to help, mayor, but perhaps you should provide him with payment, after all, saving the city isn't cheap." The only reason that Aeila mentioned payment was because she was hoping that would nudge Raimondo into visiting her shop and getting some work done, and surely business would pick up when a powerful vigilante like himself used her enchanting services.

Aeila's ears perked up as she heard the governor mention the beast's name, she wrote in down in her notebook, maybe she would be able to learn something more at the library or in public records. Despite the recent chaos, she couldn't help but feel a little excited at the prospect on learning more about the creature and why it showed up trying to get its hands on the governor.

Heading back to the university, Vortahar was mentally preparing his excuses. Drayden could be quite persuasive and Vortahar had to be really sure of his words.

Crossing the entrance to the herb garden, Drayden was already waiting and came running to him with a worried expression.
"Where have you been, Vortahar? I was worried sick about you! I've heard rumors of trouble near the city hall; were you near the confusion, boy?"

"Yes, master. A huge creature, seemingly made of paint attacked the governor and some warriors helped to fight it back. I crouched behind a rock and watched the whole thing." Vortahar says excitedly almost blurting about his participation in the fight.

"A creature...made of paint...! You could have been killed, you lunatic! What were you thinking.... ?" Drayen shouts.

"But master...I was trapped there. The creature was tossing paint projectiles and I almost...

"Silence, Vortahar! If you had not defied me, this wouldn't have happened in the first place." Drayden yelled angrily. "I am responsible for you. Can't you understand how important you are...if..." Drayden dramatically stops mid-sentence as if having said too much.

"Important...what are you talking about, master?" Vortahar tries to probe him for more information but Drayden starts to walk towards the herbs with his tools.

"The Harlequins are getting too bold to attack like this at daylight." Drayden mumbles changing the subject and Vortahar follows him.

"Master, during the mayhem, I got a sample of the creature's paint. I suppose you would like to study it." Vortahar takes the small vial from his pouch and hands it to Drayden with a confused expression. Drayden takes it with a nod and puts it inside his tunic pocket but turns and continues his chores silently.

Abdown cast a glance at Vortahar as he left, deciding against pursuing him, for now at the very least. He assumed this was against his mentor's wishes anyways and would likely stir trouble, regardless of any good intent. Later perhaps a discussion was in order, over some tea.

The governor put his hand on his chin, pondering what to do now. An attack was staged so close to home, even if he felt no malice in it. It forced his hand, and he had to make a decision, one that'd certainly conflict with the coward of a mayor.

"You," Abdown said, turning in the direction of Raimondo. "I'm curious... what are your intentions with the Harlequins? I must say, it is rare to see those of us willing to take up arms, in your case, quite literally," he continued, giving a look at him, then over at Aeila, who also participated in the fight. "I feel I'm under pressure to make some... executive decision regarding all this, and the spread of Silence."

"Executive dec... decision?" the mayor muttered, a faint shimmer of some frustration in his eyes. "What? Haha... no, don't worry about it! You resigned yourself to advisory, remember?"

"Under the pretense," Abdown responded almost immediately, raising a finger and casting a piercing gaze at the diminutive mayor. "Of maintain the peace."

"Oh... oh! But nobody was harmed, all is well! B-besides it was... it was after you, right? Seems l-like a personal matter, right? No need...no need to involve..." the mayor responded, his tone getting quieter and shriller as he found Abdown's gaze increasingly... intense, shrinking back until no more words exited his throat.

"The Harlequins chose to pick up arms against the Silence, and some broke the taboo of killing others, even if they were infected, and overall, the Silence should be our greatest priority," governor Abdown said, turning back to Raimondo. "They are dangerous, don't get me wrong, and they have to be stopped, but they aren't exactly wrong, either. What does justice dictate in such a situation?"

"There was once another who made the blooms, who's dreams became gardens... do you remember, or have you forgotten the roots from which you were cast? The tree that became your solace from the abyss is her effigy," a voice whispered, as if its owner were right beside Drayden, a voice that spoke to him alone. It was a woman's voice, with an ambiguous coldness in her tone. Under the microscope, the paint began to shift as if reacting to the presence. "I remember, for it was from her seed I was grown, in a bramble of her lingering regrets, thorns of sorrow. Just as she, with a touch, I can plant a seed in the dreamless... just as I did with Malachie. And this, the paint of creation? I made it grow as well, and through it, my connection to you, Drayden. I am curious, you were there from the time before, were you not? You and Abdown... did you... simply watch as the Silence consumed my mother?"

The microscope shuddered, and from it, a portion of the sample leaked out into a trail onto the table, turning black as it did so, forming into a thorny vine, and at the end, an eye-like red bloom opened. It was a signature of the witch, Zilthai.

"What I want? Not old grudges if that is what you fear, or to... 'corrupt', like they say I do. The little ones all came to me, persecuted, feeling unfulfilled, or despair from being dreamless," Zilthai said, her tone getting somewhat quiet. "What I want ultimately doesn't matter, it is what I... I need to do for my mother's legacy, to free her precious world," she continued with almost stoic conviction. There was something within those words that revealed, only a little, some uncertainty.

"I had a dream last night, from the eyes of three. One from the garden of the moon, one upon a throne of stone surrounded by the nightmare turned, and the third rests in a field of white." she said, fully convinced that this means something. The dark bloom began to wither, as the connection that held it together began to gradually fade, turning to dust on the table. "If you have a light that you truly think is brighter than mine, a catalyst of your own, then by all means, use that knowledge and succeed before I do. There are not too many nights left, and I will stop the Silence by whatever means it takes."

With that, Zilthai became silent, the bloom turned gray, the eye cracked, and its form fell dry and lifeless, gradually crumbling away into dust.

A sound cracked through the air, or more like, a deafening of sound rang from below. It was not a sound, not quite the accurate term for it, but rather, a vacuum of sound, true to its name, the Silence was stirring. Night was falling soon, and with it, all villagers fled to their houses once more, stopping all work they had set up for today, including the repairs from the recent scuffle on the streets. What threat a small group like the Harlequins paled in comparison to the Silence by far, even as terrifying as the group can be, a corrupting force was nothing short of a surreal nightmare. It didn't just carry with it a sickness as some had described, but crawling forth sometimes were the monsters twisted and reformed by its touch.

"It would appear that time has come to return to my tower," Abdown said, looking down. He had to maintain the barriers, that was about all he could do at this point due to his advanced age. "Raimondo, what do you intend to do?"

---

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On the far side of the great landmass, the beast had fled into the wooded region. She proceeded to lay down, having grown drowsy from the sedatives, and exhausted from all the exertion, panting, dripping with the paint-like substance. She searched with clawed hands to find what was the cause of an itch to pull out a dart from one of her legs and tried to get a better look at it. She pricked her thumb with the point of it and threw it aside, sucking on it.

"What did you do, Puah?" a man's voice called out. Puah looked around, checking for the origin of the voice, catching sight of a figure in one of the branches, it was a man, fairly young looking with strange features. It was Malachie, and he looked to her with not anger, but concern. "You weren't supposed to go there, so why did you?"

"I-," she muttered, but stopped herself. She looked down ashamed, ears drawn back.

"Honestly," he said softly, jumping down beside her. Taking from one of his pouches he pulled out some bandages and began to wrap her wounds. "You were there to get him, weren't you? Thought you could fix his and my issue?" he continued, tightening the bandage, causing the beast to yelp. He looked up at her, but she refused to look him in the eyes, looking a bit flushed. He sighed, looking more defeated than agitated. "Lady Zilthai had a vision of three places. Maybe this is it? Two of them should be easy enough, well, easy, as traversal goes, at least. One in the great tree, and one on an island below. The third, on the moon. Even if we could fly, the turbulence and distance would certainly be... a trial of its own."

"The moon..." Puah uttered, looking perplexed, even her magic, raw power as it was, wouldn't be able to penetrate the sky as it stood. Didn't help that she was an amateur at best, with only a powerful body. She sunk her head, thinking also of traversing the depths. "That island... too? Nightmares are greater there. I'm already marked, I..." she said.

"You won't turn, Puah. Zilthai said it yourself, you are resistant," he said, trying to give reassurance. "But... lets start with the tree, and see how it goes from there, alright? The others are waiting, if you are too tired to walk, I'll take you there."

Puah looked perplexed, but silently nodded, and despite the sheer size of her, a feat of pure strength, Malachie lifted the beast from the ground into his arms and began to carry her on his back, the scene both awe-inducing and absolutely absurd. And with only slight difficulty began to make the trek towards the Great Memoria Tree.