Complete Eastern Brisshal At The Right Time

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno smirked at Caelia's reaction, already expecting her to have a chill reaction despite the terrifying look of his shield. After all, with her selection of masteries, he doubted she would be concerned about how a shield looked like.

Her questions brought a laughter out of him, and he pondered. "I'd say Ghast is as smart as a trained dog." He said, and the shield glanced at him, lifting a tentacle to slap the back of his head.

"H-Hey!" Hanno hissed.

"Kukuku..." The shield rumbled as if it was laughing, shifting its attention back at Caelia, wiggling its tentacles toward her and watching her carefully, with mild interest.

Hanno glanced at his shield, then back at Caelia that was slightly far. "If you want, don't fear about touching her. Honestly, Ghast is completely under control at this point, sometimes doing some silly stuff, but she is very loyal. I never had trouble with her except when she tries to steal my food or when she tries to eat dead enemies."

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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The shield was a bit off putting in terms of its design and appearance, but Caelia was able to beat back any feelings of fear or disgust in favor of her curiosity about the strange piece. She came a little closer as it smacked Hanno, laughing lightly. The sound carried on the breeze gently.

I'd say Ghast may be a bit smarter, judging by that reaction! (giggle) Where did you get her?

She came closer still, reaching out a hand but not quite touching the shield yet. She wanted to see if it would come to her, in a sense, before she actually invaded its space and touched it properly.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Well, Ghast is smart in her own way." Hanno shrugged, which was enough for him to get an slap on his face, coming from a tentacle that nearly tossed him away. Resting a hand on his cheek, he laughed. "Come on, no need to be so sensible, buddy."

The shield squinted, then blinked seeing the other faerin approaching. It watched her intently, noticing the woman's hesitation and standing still until she was close enough. When within her reach, a tentacle reached out for Caelia's hand, slowly wrapping around her hand and then the wrist, squeezing it softly while it watched in curiosity as if it was analyzing it.

"Basically I got a dissonance essence from a giant monster me and many others fought in the past. With this dissonance, I asked someone to craft me the biggest shield they could, and I poured the essence into it. By the next morning, Ghast was born... Or maybe just possessed the shield? I'm not sure what she is exactly." Hanno said, pondering.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia came a bit closer once a tentacle had reached out, allowing Ghast to reach her without reaching so far. She marveled at how it felt, the small suckers sticking to her skin slightly as the appendage was moved slowly. She reached out with her free hand to run it over the top of the tentacle, wondering if it would be slimy or smooth or something entirely different.

A dissonance essence? I've never heard of that. That's pretty neat, though, that you were able to merge it with the shield and get something like this. It must make Ghast a really unique item to have.

She wondered vaguely how items like that worked in the game. It was still hard for her sometimes to remember that this was a game and not an alternate reality. Surely someone had coded Ghast - or at least the ability to make something like Ghast - into the game...? But how would they have even thought of that ahead of time?

So many questions...

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Dissonance is something ancient from this world. Honestly, it is pretty dark and weird, something akin to eldritch fantasies, you know what I mean?" Hanno said, smiling about how gentle Caelia was being with Ghast, that seemed to enjoy the touch of the other faerin.

"She has a soft spot for faerin, so no wonder she is liking you." He chuckled, tracing his hand on top of the shield as if giving her a pat and looking at Caelia.

"Ghast is more than a unique item. She saved my ass quite a few times and helped me to protect a lot of people. You could say Ghast is my loyal combat partner." Hanno grinned, and the shield rumbled satisfied at the compliments.

"Don't get too cocky though." He joked, and the rumbling was rhythmical this time as if it was a laugh.

Hanno then allowed Caelia to touch the shield as much as she wanted, even handing it to her if she wished.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia paused in her exploration of the shield, looking up at Hanno curiously as he explained a bit more on the dissonance essence. Dark and weird was certainly her cup of tea for this game, it seemed. Maybe she'd have to look into them more... It was hard enough to find information though, she'd ended up having to ask a lot of questions of the Landers rather than reading it out of books. She wondered why that was...

Well, I'm sure Ghast knows you appreciate them. I've heard of sentient weapons before, I suppose this is kind of like that?

She continued to pet the shield for a few moments, letting its tentacles wrap around her wrist and arm slightly before she started to disentangle herself from Ghast.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Yeah, you could say it is pretty much like that. Maybe you can have one yourself, it is fairly useful!" Hanno said, wondering what kind of weapon Caelia would have. Each sentient weapon had its own personality, which was something quite intriguing.

When Caelia tried to take her arm off the tentacles, Ghast simply released it, rumbling for a moment before tucking its tentacles back to its 'body'.

Its eye continued open, watching everything while Hanno turned to the woman, tapping his shield and smiling warmly.

"In this case, do you want to spar with Ghast or with me? Regardless of the case, it will be nice to see what you can do, so we can plan how to help you to practice further." Hanno grinned, excited to see what she was capable of. Besides, it would be ideal to get her stronger as fast as possible, so no fatalities would occur.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia hadn't even thought of using a sentient weapon herself, but the idea was..intriguing, to say the least. What would she even do with a weapon like that? She wondered if hemomancy could be used to make sentient weapons, or if it just extended to blood weapons that she was already getting good at making... She blinked and looked back up at Hanno when he spoke, snapping out of her revere to listen to what he was saying.

Oh! Right, we were talking about sparring. I wouldn't mind, as long as we're careful. I don't want to, like, actually hurt you... Y'know?

She had been crouching to pet Ghast, so she stood up, brushing some debris from the grass off of her pants as she did so.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Yeah, you wanted a practice, didn't ya?" He chuckled, looking at Caelia and lifting his shield, armed and ready.

"Don't worry about hurting me, I have plenty of HP, and I can turn my pain limiter on." Hanno said with a faint smile, opening his UI and making sure to change the settings. It has been so long since he had turned it on, he wasn't even used to not have full control of his body anymore.

Of course, he did say her to not worry, but even a newbie could kill him off if catching him off guard, though that wasn't going to be the case.

"I think it is important for you to not hold back, because this way we can see your full potential right away." Hanno explained.

Then he gestured for Caelia to follow, so they could get by a spot that was free and open enough for their practice.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia trotted along after Hanno once he started moving, clasping her hands behind her back as they walked. She wondered vaguely if they should try to go into the treeline, where any passing Landers wouldn't see her wielding taboo magic... She trusted Hanno to find them a good spot, though.

That pain limiter thing is pretty serious, huh? Say, it's not, like, cheating for me to use the auto-assist when we spar, is it? I'm still getting used to how it feels to move with these things, but I don't wanna have an unfair advantage against you I guess.

She hadn't thought it unfair against those bandits with Athena, though... Maybe it was different because Hanno wasn't a Lander, he was a player. Yeah, that was it...right?

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"It isn't cheating at all." Hanno reassured, looking at Caelia with a small smile while walking next to her, guiding them through the forest. "The only catch is that auto-assist and pain limiter limit your body too much. Being skilled in free mode will make your combos stronger and easier to control." He said, following deeper into the forest until they could finally a good clearing.

With a smirk he pushed his way into it and turned to Caelia, looking at her attentively and waiting for her to get settled.

"Unless you are fighting a newbie, auto-assist actually leaves you at disadvantage due to the lack of flexibility." Hanno said, then being very clear at what he was going to add:

"Those who are UI Locked also can't use assistance. So it is something to keep in mind." Hanno said, just in case Caelia was planning to play with no care for consequences.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia nodded slowly as he warned her that the players trapped in the game couldn't use their auto-assist, but also that it might put her at a disadvantage over time. She opened her UI briefly once they paused in the clearing, switching the auto-assist off to see just how well she could do without it. She looked to Hanno then, smiling.

So should we just...go for it? You're sure you're okay with this?

She would rather be overly sure than unsure when it came to sparring.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"I am very sure, Caelia." Hanno said, looking at her and appreciating how much caring she was being about it. But honestly, it was a practice, she didn't need to worry about it.

"Someone who is kind like you need the power to protect yourself and others, just like you said you wanted, on top of learning more about the world. Getting a few strong hits is a small price to pay for it." He affirmed confidently, firm about the fact Caelia was someone ideal to become stronger.

As he prepared his shield, Ghast wiggled its tentacles and watched Caelia intently.

"Just guarding, Ghast. We won't get anyone hurt in here, be it me or our new friend." He said, offering a reassuring expression to her.

"Ready when you are." Hanno braced himself, waiting for whenever Caelia would blast her spells. He wasn't quite sure on what to expect, but he was going to defend himself just as seriously as he wanted her to attack him. This game was very organic, so Caelia could kill him instantly if she did hit him in the right spot at the right time.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia was thankful for his reassurance that this was fine. She knew it was fine, she did, but hearing him say it still helped her feel a bit better about it. She adjusted her stance slightly, setting her feet more sturdily beneath her while Hanno told his shield they were just guarding.

Alright, here goes...

She tried to focus on something other than how she felt in that moment, because right now, she was feeling pretty good! Pretty good didn't feed dark magic, though... Caelia dug deeper, picking through her emotions until she started to find the ones she wanted.

Anger. Hurt. Upset. That's what she wanted.

She gathered those emotions up, and in front of her, an orb started to crackle and snap into being. It was dark at the center, with blue light surrounding it as she gathered the energy to strike out at Hanno. Only a few seconds passed before she threw the orb in his direction. A trail of blue energy followed it, like a comet's tail, before it slammed into Ghast and exploded like a firework.

She paused, breathing slowly to try and retain the feeling she'd dredged up as she waited to see if Hanno could take more.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno braced himself when Caelia began charging up a spell, preparing his shield and noticing her expressions growing somber. It was easy to figure out the reasons why, and this was one of the bad perks of dark magic. This, however, was very good for her training too, putting her emotional control under practice so she could become much better at using her powers.

When the sphere of dark power approached, Hanno gritted his teeth and Ghast widened its tentacles before the magic exploded on them. Hanno could feel his feet dragging for a second on the ground, as if something slightly pushed him away.

He managed to keep his posture and stance, looking at Caelia with an eye peeking out from behind the colossal shield.

Somehow the spell managed to drain a bit of his HP even though it didn't really hit him. Perhaps a side effect? Regardless of what it was, Hanno took note of it.

"Come on, buddy! You can do even better!" He said.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Deep down, she knew he was being supportive. Deep down, she knew he was trying to help by encouraging her. But on the surface?

Caelia was annoyed by his words. Come on, buddy, he said, you can do even better. Like she wasn't good enough! The Faerin grit her teeth, letting that train of thought spiral despite knowing the dangers of going too far into the dark magic's pull. Maybe a part of her enjoyed that thrill of losing herself to it. She wasn't sure.

She planted her feet more firmly, starting to draw shapes in the air. A large circle began to form in front of her, dancing with runic symbols as she charged a spell. Seconds passed, and as the runes clicked together, a beam of energy lashed out towards Hanno. It careened across the field, pushing Caelia back a few inches in its rush outward toward her enemy.

Is that better for you?! Do you want more?!!

Without waiting for his answer, she was suddenly moving, rushing towards him. Step, step, step -

And she was gone.

In the blink of an eye, Caelia stepped out of a shadow from a tree behind Hanno, raising her hands up as they crackled with bluish-black energy. Her eyes were pinpoints of light, blue with just barely a hint of red at the center as she struck down towards the other Faerin.

God, it felt good.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

With the beam of energy quickly approaching, Hanno jumped aside and used the shield to protect the side he was sure would take the longest to leave the dangerous spot. He felt the energy blasting partially against the shield, barely avoiding it and managing to find his way to a more strategic side.

Honestly avoiding magic was much harder than avoiding someone going straight for a physical blow. Magic was sometimes instantaneous and it was pretty quick, just the same as trying to avoid the bullet of a gun trying to hit you. But Hanno had Ghast with him, and the shield rumbled deeply noticing the intent of Caelia, while Hanno himself remained just watchful about her.

At her sudden approach, Hanno prepared to counterattack a potential melee spell, but her sudden disappearance was unexpected enough, and as soon as he heard something coming from behind, he turned to look just in time to get struck by the spell, that made his stance stagger as he kept his stance, soon shifting to arm his shield to block another potential approach. "Keep going!" He said.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia hissed slightly as she struck Hanno, the blow making her hands tingle ever so slightly. She barely heard him tell her to keep going. There was a cloud in her mind, a haze of smoke that curled ever so slowly around her consciousness. It cooed to her, calling her deeper into its lulling embrace. It whispered softly to her.

Not good enough, not good enough, not good enough -

Dammit, she would be good enough!

Caelia turned on her heel, striking out towards Hanno. It looked at first like she was just going to punch him, but dark magic crackled again in her hand, coalescing into a blade. She lashed out with it - not quite a dagger but not quite a sword, either - in an attempt to cut through his defenses more literally. She started to hack and slash towards him, occasionally blinking from one shadow to the next. Sometimes it seemed like she wasn't blinking on purpose, ending up in a spot that wasn't tactically advantageous before she turned and swung at Hanno again.

Her white hair started to darken at the ends, her hands turning black along the fingers.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno watched Caelia's attacks becoming fiercer, though she was starting to act... Strange. He knew she had bitter feelings within her, and that was fine, everyone had them. But while her magical power did increase with her bad emotions, it was clear for him that it was starting to consume her.

The relentless hack and slashing at him forced Hanno to try and block the attacks constantly, and soon he found himself being grateful for his practice with Cleo. The blade slashed against the shield, snapping on its edges sometimes but some cuts did go through.

Gritting his teeth, Hanno war howled, making his health and wounds close momentarily when casting a heal on himself.

"Caelia!" He called her name, still defending himself. "You must continue attacking, but you can't lose your control, you need to force your will against your dark magic!" Hanno exclaimed, watching the darkness covering the faerin.

If she couldn't manage it, he would need to stop her somehow.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia's eyes burned with unshed tears. She was a whirlwind, the blade she'd created flashing dangerously in the light that filtered into this clearing as she struck out again and again at Hanno. She heard him yelling, her mind slowly processing his words. She needed to...force her will?

But it feels so good to lose yourself. It feels so good to just let it take control, she thinks.

I am in control!

She spoke sharply, her voice cutting the air just as her blade tried to cut at him. She knew, deep down, she wasn't in total control, but wasn't this better? Wasn't it better to draw as much as she could from the darkness that coiled inside of her? God, it felt good to just get it all out, burning it up like fuel for a fire as she lashed out.

It wasn't even Hanno she was upset with. She wasn't upset with anyone. She was just letting the magic feed on those negative emotions, heightening them as it used them to cast.

@Hanno Futaba