Vlindrel:Against the Armory

Day 3, 2:00 PM
The Aurelion Estate, Divintry Chamber

Morganstern: **It paces around Tate.** Your astral body is hardy, durable, powerful. It is not hindered by bodily fluids or organs, but rather by your own strength of will, and through magical power it can be made to manifest with physical weight and impingement. **It waves its hand, and the book turns to the next page. There's large anatomical diagrams and examples surrounding them. Images of a transparent form overlaid onto them, which almost glows with a magical blue-purple ink.** Even across great distances can you project your astral body. You need only know where to send it.

Tate: **He looks at the pictures, reading the text below them.** So what you're saying is that I could project my "astral body" all the way to Ahiga and Caspian, so that I can talk to them if I use divination to find them...

Morganstern: Yes. **It stops, standing behind Tate, looking over his shoulder and down at the book. Its voice deepens in tone to the old man's.** Raw power is not the only tool a witch has. Ingenuity of spells can lead to outcomes far more useful than tossing fireballs and calling down bolts of lightning.

Tate: **He looks over the page while Morganstern speaks, reading some of the lines. He's genuinely intent on learning how to do this so that he can speak to Ahiga.** ...Are you gonna teach me any of that? Tossing lightingballs and calling down bolts of fire, I mean.

Morganstern: **It continues walking around him.** Your elemental nature is water, which holds within it the capacity for great calamitous... But at this time I see no reason to educate you on any such powers. **It stops in front of Tate's desk.** We charm-blooded may be powerful adversaries, but that is not what makes us powerful. Influence over the reality is what grants us true power... The ability to enforce our will upon all realms, physical and otherwise.

Tate: **He smirks.** I think you just don't want to teach me how to fight because you're afraid I'll whoop your ass with some magic missiles.

Morganstern: **It nods a little.** Your confidence in your abilities is a good thing. Maintain it, nuture it. **Its hand darts down and points to the book.** But this is the lesson before you now. *Learn* it.

Tate: **He takes a deep breath and looks down at the page.**

**About an hour later...**

**Much of the last hour has been reading, with Morganstern chiming in with a short lecture or explaination to any of Tate's questions.**

Morganstern: Your are not what you percieve yourself to be. You view yourself as a human would, seeing only your physical form, but there is more to us, more to all things. **It points at Tate.** Your body is an anchor, working to tether your subtle bodies to the reality you currently reside in. Your astral form, mental form, your soul... Among others... All of them are all a part of you, but they are capable of acting independently of your physical form, should you wish it to be. **It takes a few steps back.** Unbinding one part of you to project it outwards is comparable to stretching your limbs. However, it is not an entirely accurate comparison, as you are a witch, meaning that this should be easier for you that it would be for most others.

Tate: ...Wait. **He looks up from the book.** Are you saying that normal people can astral project?

Morganstern: Certain individuals who train their mind can accomplish it, yes. Others sometimes do it without even their realization, but for Witches, it is easier to learn to control it, and they are generally capable of doing it longer and better than those that are more mundane.

Tate: So could Loki learn this? **The little ferret perks his ears up. and looks from the corner of the desk.**

Morganstern: **It looks from Loki to Tate.** Once you learn, you will be capable of projecting him with you, wherever it is that you go... As you two are linked.

Tate: So I do all the work and he reaps the same rewards. **He looks over at Loki.** ...Sounds about right. **Loki just rolls around onto his back and stretches lazily.** ...So I think I'm ready to attempt this... I want to talk to my friends, tell them what's happening.

Morganstern: For the purposes of this lesson, I will be deafening you, but in the future you will need to clear your own mind and concentrate. Understood?

Tate: Deafen? Like, as in "take away my hearing" deafen?

Morganstern: Outside influences can hinder your ability to perform the projection until you become more practiced in its... **It pauses for a moment.** ...Performance... **It looks back to Tate.** Let's begin. **It points at Tate and a dull red light flicks from its finger, darts towards him, and hits him square in the forehead before he can even react. There's a loud split-second boom in both of his ears, followed immediately by a ringing that quickly fades to complete silence.**

Tate: **He flinches at the loud booming sound and quickly looks around and yells out, like someone wearing headphones.** What the hell!?

Morganstern: You can still hear me, as my voice does not need ears to be heard. **It leans in closer to Tate.** Now calm down, the curse is quite temporary... **It stands up to its full height.**

Tate: **He taps the sides of his ears a few times, looking around before nodding for a moment, trying to calm down.** Alright. **His voice is still loud, but it's quieter than it was.**

Morganstern: Close your eyes and concentrate on projecting your being away from your body, as the tome explained. This should be simple enough for you to perform, projecting in conjuction with Divination will be much more difficult.

Tate: **He closes his eyes, trying to get used to the complete silence.**

Morganstern: View yourself rising from your seat. Walking beyond your reach. Feel your legs move. Feel your eyes see. **It flicks its wrist and a Dr. Pepper appears in its hand, looking small in its long fingers.** Take the beverage from my hand.

Tate: **After a moment he opens his eyes.** I can't concentrate with this silence!

Morganstern: **It holds out the soda to Tate, its voice turning more feminine, almost comforting.** But you see... You've already succeeded. **It points passed Tate to his physical body. Tate is standing in front of his desk, while his physical body is still sitting in the chair, eyes closed and concentrating.**

Tate: ...The hell? That's... **He turns and looks at himself more closely.** ...Fucking insane. **He waves his hand in front of his physical body's face.**

Morganstern: Now... **It holds out the soda.** Take the beverage from my hand... My young apprentice.

Tate: **He turns and looks back to Morganstern and then to the soda.** Sure thing... Emperor Palpatine. **He reaches forwards, grabbing the soda.**

Morganstern: **Tate's hand passes through the soda.** More Star Wars... **It holds the Soda out closer to Tate.** Take the beverage, Tate. You said you desired it. The stimulant... The caffeine.

Tate: **He tries to take it again.** I'm trying...

Morganstern: **Its eye shifts for a moment. Its voice deepens to the old man's.** Do. Or do not. There is no try. **It shakes the soda slightly, almost tauntingly.** Now... *Take it*.

Tate: **He looks at Morganstern and reaches out and grabs at it.** I fucking can't my hand passes right through it!

Morganstern: **It watches as Tate's hand passes through that soda again.** You must grab it with your *will*, not with your hand... Now grab the beverage!

Tate: **He glares at it for a moment before suddenly snatching it from Morganstern's hand.**

Morganstern: **Its voice shifts to the female's again.** Very good. You are making very good progress...

Tate: **He looks the soda over.** So can I drink this in this form?

Morganstern: Yes, but that which is imbibed by your astral form will have little affect on your physical one...

Tate: **He pops open the cap after a moment and starts to gulp down the soda.** Man, it tastes even better than I remember...

Morganstern: I conjured it from your memory, so that's quite impossible- **There's a sudden slam above them and it looks up at the stone ceiling, its eye dimming and shifting slightly.**

Tate: **He looks up at the ceiling too, but then looks to Morganstern when she finishes speaking.** The fuck was that?

Morganstern: That will be all for today. **It turns its head, almost as if its looking up through the floors.**

Tate: Wait -What!? You said you were going to teach me how to speak with my friend! **He looks up at Morganstern in anger.**

Morganstern: Practice your Divination and Astral Projection. You lesson on how to combine them will begin tomorrow. You are not yet practiced in their arts to perform what you wish. **It tilts its head again, and the eye flickers, almost like a projector.** ...There's something I must attend to. **It suddenly vanishes.**

Tate: Hey, wait! **He looks around for her.** I can't even fuck'n believe this! I actually want to learn for once, and it's my teacher that bails out on me! **He looks to Loki.** Un-fucking-real. **Loki looks back at Tate, then to Tate's body. He pokes at Tate's chin several times, then looks back at Astral Tate again, poking it while staring at him.** Knock it off Loki. **He shakes his head and takes another swig of his soda.**

**A hand suddenly rests on Tate's physical body. It's bone-y and wrinkled, but more importantly, it has a slight off-hue white glow to it, and it's partially transparent. An old man with a neatly trimmed beard and long slicked back white hair materializes behind Tate. His eyes are hollow and featureless, almost like two white holes in his head. He raises a finger to his mouth and shakes his head, obviously motioning for Tate to stay quiet. He has an expression of worry.**

Tate: ...Who are you? **He looks down at himself with a bit of worry, not liking that this ghostly old man is so close to his physical body.**

**After a moment the old man turns and points away from them, and Tate can see that he and the old man are now standing outside of Tate's room. Just down the hall, about thirty feet, is a large stone wall.**

Tate: **He looks down the hall.** ...You want me to go down there?

**The two of them are suddenly at the end of the hall, in front of the wall. The old man opens his hand into a palm and presses it into the center of the wall. He mutters something in a quiet and weak voice.** ...Ver-ee-tey... **The wall fades away, revealing an old dark passage.**

Tate: **He looks around the new path.** ...What is this... Do you want me to go in there? **He looks to the ghostly man.**

**The old man nods and then fades away. Because of his distraction and inexperience, the soda in Tate's hand suddenly falls through his grasp and hits the floor with a loud thump and some of it sprays onto Tate waking him and ending his astral projection abruptly.**

Tate: **He puts his hand on his forehead.** Shit... What the hell was that? **He lets out a sigh and looks over to Loki. The little ferret almost does a shrugging motion.**

**Meanwhile...**

Caspian: **As the two of them walk down a bridge that connects the ramparts to the main structure, Caspian turns and looks back to the tower.** Delpha must be admirable, if she did indeed save your lives.

Ahiga: She seemed nice. **He speaks a bit quiet, not wanting to attract unwated attention. The Stone Reformatory has been mostly empty, and they haven't run into anymore jailers since the tower.** I wonder how she sees through that helmet.

Caspian: I'm not sure... Knights of other lands always have facinating equipment. I hope to have a true set of armor some day. **He looks over his leather gear. The only metal on it is some chainmail around his upper chest.** Rather than what I could pillage from the ruins around Forlorin. **He adjusts the sword on his shoulder as they reach the end of the bridge.** I believe this is the armory. **He looks to an old worn-down sign, the letters are scratched away.** Prepare yourself, I doubt they'd leave it unguarded.

Ahiga: **He nods, and an iridescent shimmer flows up around him.** I'm ready. **He mutters it to himself more than he does to Caspian.**

Caspian: **He grabs the handle and carefully pushes the old iron door inwards.**

**Despite his carefulness, the hinges on the door suddenly shriek loudly, and both Caspian and Ahiga can hear the shuffling of heavy footsteps. A soldier-like enemy a little shorter than Caspian runs into view. He's covered head-to-toe in heavy iron plate armor with a black iron helmet. In his right hand he holds a long undulating greatsword and in his left a large black greatshield. Strapped to his back are several other weapons, most notably a crossbow, an even larger ultra-greatsword, a long spear, and finally, the polished silvery twin-blade that must belong to Delpha. He doesn't look or act like the jailers here, being more similar to a veteran soldier, and just from his movements he's much smarter than they are. He lets out a gutteral hissing when he sees Caspian and Ahiga.** Intruders... **He charges through the door with surprising speed, slamming into Caspian with his shield and launching him back and out onto the bridge.**  ...Die...

Ahiga: Caspian?! **He jumps back, up onto the stone halfwall that runs along the sides of the bridge when Caspian is knocked back.** Shit! **He turns and swings his axe, sending out a blade of wind that harmlessly dings against soldier's armor.**

Caspian: **He nearly falls as he's pushed away, but catches himself as he slams his sword against the stone floor to keep from falling.** Stay back Ahiga! His armor is too heavy, let me fight him!

Ahiga: **He jumps as the soldier suddenly turns and swings horizontally, the flamberge sparking against the top of the stone wall.** Fuck! **As Ahiga lands he turns and runs along the wall, away from the armory's entrance and the soldier.**

Caspian: **He pulls himself up and hoists his sword onto his shoulder.** You have the Knight Hunter's weapon. I will retrieve it. **He runs forwards and leaps a short distance, slamming his sword-spear down onto the soldier with the full weight fo his swing, his sword, and his fall.**

Armory Soldier: **He blocks the attack with his shield, causing a loud clang to resound outwards from him. His guard doesn't lower but he's pushed back a few steps. He immediately replies by taking a step forwards and slamming his heavy shield into Caspian, knocking him off-balance, and then swinging with his flamberge with and overhead slash.**

Caspian: **He stumbles backwards and falls onto his back. He pulls his sword-spear up in front of him horizontally and blocks the overhead swing. He then kicks the Soldier's arm with both his feet to knock it away, before rolling too the side and then quickly getting to his feet. As he recovers he slams his sword into the ground and swings it in a wide low sweep at the Soldier's legs.**

Armory Soldier: **Caspian's sweep lands and hits the his feet out from under him, causing him to fall to his knees.** ...No...

Caspian: **He pulls his sword up onto his shoulder and then slams it down onto the soldier's shield, pounding him down onto his back with the force of the hit. He turns and pulls his sword up with his spin before swinging it down in another fast motion to slam down onto the Soldier.**

Armory Soldier: **As the first hit lands there's a cracking sound from his shield arm and he lets out a gutteral grasp of pain. With the second hit there's a loud crunch of breaking bones.** ...No... **He raises his sword with his right hand to block the next attack.**

Caspian: **Showing no mercy, Caspian turns and swings down a third time at the soldier to finish him off.**

Armory Soldier: **Caspian's sword slams down into his greatsword, shattering it, and then slams into his iron chestplate.** ...Die... **He suddenly lunges up and into Caspian's abdomen with the broken blade. The weapon and attack are just long enough and fast enough, with Caspian being so close, that there's no possible way for Caspian to fully evade the lunge.**

Caspian: **He pulls his sword-spear to the side to block the strike, causing it to clang to the side and away from the center of his stomach. The blade instead tears deeply into his left side, splitting open his leather armor and causing blood to suddenly bubble out and down his side. He lets out a gasp of pain, not expecting the Soldier's hit to land.** Ahh! **He pulls his weapon off the soldier and stumbles backwards, grabbing his side, the cut is deep as blood suddenly spurts from between his fingers.**

Armory Soldier: **He gets to his feet and tosses away his broken greatsword. His left hand is smashed and twisted, Caspian's assault on his shield having crushed it. The soldier slowly reaches over his back and heaves the huge ultra-greatsword up onto his shoulder, similar to hos Caspian carries his sword-spear. The weapon is obviously heavy as he's forced to shift his weight to stay standing, and it looks more like a huge slab of iron than a true sword, with the top of it being flattened, it lacks a proper cutting edge, and looks like it's more for smashing its target into pulp.** ...Die... **He breaks into a slow run towards Caspian, and when he reaches the young man he hauls the oversized weapon down at him with an attack that would be impossible to block.**

Caspian: **Unsure of what to do he simply leaps to the side to dodge the attack, then lunges at the knight with a thrusting motion.**

Armory Soldier: **He quickly turns and parries Caspian's thrusting attack with the back of his left gauntlet, knocking the sword-spear away and leaving Caspian open for a follow up heaving slam with his black iron ultra-greatsword. It crashes into Caspian full force, and launches him off of the bridge and down into the courtyard fifty feet below, where he impacts the stone path, dying instantly.** ...Die...

Ahiga: Caspian! **He looks to the soldier, taking a few steps back, unsure of what he can even do.**

Armory Soldier: **He slowly turns and looks to Ahiga, dropping his huge weapon and pulling his large crossbow from his back. He loads it and then raises it, pointing it at Ahiga.** ...Die...