[M]Undying Quest: The Proving Grounds[IC]

[Evening Rain]

A tawny-haired elf male who flanked Alessandro threw him an amused look. "Try to better conceal your lust, hunter. Desperation is uncomely. You've impressed Veradyn thus far - but attraction is a game. Naturally a Syldin would fail to understand that, so I will educate you. Remember to thank me." He stepped closer to Alessandro, glancing down at him from behind amber eyes. Now they were walking within a few inches of each other. "As unconventional as his tastes are, Veradyn is still an elf. We respect pride. We value nobility, not the childish groveling of a desire-crazed whore. Your interest is so obvious it's making Elia jealous." He threw a malicious glance toward a younger elf female who picked deftly through the forest canopy above. "Before the purge, perhaps you should approach the packmaster and explain your interest. With dignity, of course." He raised his eyebrows archly. "I hope this hasn't gone over your head like an arrow fired by a human. I don't normally waste my words on Syldin."

[Minkasha]

Alessandro could not peel his eyes from the cup he clutched to. Lust. Desperation. Interest. Syldin….what are these things’? His mind asked, swirling and peering into the empty cup with a childish prayer an answer would come out from the bottom.

SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!

Oh light. It was Purity. Purity was screaming at him. Not with words, however the message of the blade was impacting Alessandro’s infatuated mood. Disgust touched the warm places of Alessandro, turning them cold and dead again.

The Elf waiting for the answer but Alessandro clasped a hand over his mouth to gag, leaning over for a brief moment till he swallowed down the reprimanding of his friend. It was a sharp reaction to the outward world but Alessandro knew the Elf was trying to help in some way, and thus should be acknowledged for it. He eyed the man’s feet till he navigated up to his face. The Aasimar flashed and the Elf became shorter as a result*. The cold shoulder of Purity was a lack of trust. Alessandro was hurting his friendship, in some way – he should be quiet, to himself, only serve Her Radiance and think nothing else.

“It was very kind of you to offer wisdom…” He released with a shaky breath, fighting an inner world repressing him, “I will apologize to Elia. Jealousy was an emotion the Faceless Ones fed from, and…ugly humans might consume it too, much like the Faceless Ones.” Alessandro grabbed the man's elbow, touch delicate and uncertain. "Also, I apologize forwardly because if I understand - whores are ill-intended people. I apologize to you sir for being like a whore, forgive me? I would like us to work together for Her Radiance, not hurt each other" Alessandro's small, fruitful colored lips pursed and came together. His eyes flickered, Purity of heart and soul tormenting the young man and pooling were the light glinted in them. Dappled blue light stared at the Elf.

*Purity has forfeited protecting Alessandro from harm, removing the shielding bonus and reverting him back to 20 years old.

[Eddren]

Dezeroth once more drew from the surrounding elements, walking out of the castle as need be to gather elemental wind and water, and drawing earth from the very stones of the castle itself. Over time, the castle would almost seem to be disintegrating, though for now the effect was significantly slower. Every now and then, he would ask Karrha to light a new log, but would otherwise continue to imbue the dress with magical power, rest, imbue, rest, and continue this cycle.

To those more magically inclined, each enchantment added threads of the magical power he was using at the time coursing through the dress, somewhat like veins. At certain points, when these veins were extensive enough, Dezeroth would charge himself with an Arcane Aura and twist them together in such a manner that they become more limited, but shaded purple instead. The exception to this was that there were massive, primary veins that remained a solid brown, with wisps of white wrapping about and branching away from the network, tying it together in various places. It was all complex, but overall went to a series of points.

One such point would have looked somewhat like a massive brown sphere, not too unlike a heart in its' design, that had brown veins branching out every which way. Purple veins would further connect to those, and white veins would branch out from all of the above. Another point was something mostly brown, but also infused with an equal measure of purple--And the brown was, again, like a hollow sphere. The purple, however, was like a series of needles, running all throughout the point. From these needles drew more purple veins, which drew into the larger veinwork. The brown sphere, however, was directly connected to the 'heart' of the dress. At points all throughout the veinwork, there were also seeming knots, where magical energy seemed to be bundled up into a series of smaller chambers that split into purple, brown, and white energy. These chambers started out exclusively purple, but the veins extended to all colors.

"Alright," Dezeroth said after several hours of labor, developing the system bit by bit with the resources at hand, "I've finished the arcane-earthen mana reaction chamber." He sighed, "It's going to be a bit...Different than I'd first planned. Your dress will have an appetite. It can only be filled with earth-laden materials. Metals are especially nourishing, but solid stonework will do as well. It can go a while without eating, and if need be can eat dirt, but it's not very nourishing. I've set it up so that it also breathes, which is also part of how it gets rid of excess magical radiation, so being in the dress shouldn't start turning you into an Earth elemental or something, but keep that in mind--Don't try washing the dress, because you could drown it. Let the magic do that work, instead."

[P.K.]

Karrha looked up as Dezeroth Spoke. The work he'd done was extensive even if she couldn't make it out like he could. She pushed herself up to stand and moved closer as he spoke. She cocked her head trying to sort how she felt about this.. living dress. It was... It was a thought... She stared at the dress for a moment. "First a sentient sword." She said eyeing the item in question. "And now a dress." She mused. "You sure do like putting your special touch on things." She said, still not sure how she felt about this. But, with his special touch she trusted it. If it meant that she'd be more useful in the long run then it was worth putting it on, and she wasn't about to waist the mages hard work, specially not since he was doing this for... her sake. She looked over to the mage. "So its done?" She questioned.

[Eddren]

Dezeroth laughed, abruptly. "Not even close. I gave it the means to continue living, so to speak. But I haven't yet bonded the permanent magical forces which will tie the enchantments together. Right now, there're enchantments that, when supplied with magical power, will resupply the other enchantments, but I still need to not only add a mana catalyst, which will help determine the nature of the dresses' powers, but I need to pull an exorbitant amount of Essence of Earth and Air to truly bring it to life. It'll take a great deal of time to truly get this to a workable state. But the delicate parts have all been done."

With that said, Dezeroth did continue on to the production of the catalyst. He returned to the room where the Queen was slain, water in tow, and spread it out, rehydrating the dried blood. Once it was brought back to a rather normal state of blood, he brought it back to the cistern he'd carved out for water and poured it instead into there. "Given the quantity of blood found in the room, I can only assume either the Vampire Queen or Red Waltz--Back when Purple Waltz was such--Was the source. Either will do, as either was inherently magical, but due to their nature, it also means the powers will have to be directly tied to life-force." Dezeroth grinned, "Fortunately, that's well within the bounds of my plans. However, the blood was dried. In theory, if it still contained magic, it should have retained its' liquid state. That means that it has to be re-invigorated." Dezeroth didn't look exactly enthusiastic about this plan.

He stood before the cairn and pulled out Purple Waltz. Alright. Are you ready? You can take most of the mana that I give, but I need you to transfer enough of it to bring it to a functional state. Remember...This is for Karrha. Our gift to her. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and brought one of his wrists to the blade, slitting it open so that the blood could run down the sword. As he did so, he slowly lowered Purple Waltz into the pool of blood. And don't re-absorb the blood. I need it to complete the enchantment upon her dress.

[Arcus]

Tala tilted her head at that a small smile on her face. "I hope we may reach an understanding as well your majesty. There are a couple reasons this could be happening, but honestly. I have i feeling on which one might be the reason. I apologize if it seemed like I was evading the question. I hadn't it to be one and had to think for a minute, as to a possible reason. I will gladly tell you why I think it maybe. However, if it is alright I would like your word that you will not lose your temper and will at least hear me out. I know one great as you is above such things, as losing yourself to emotions. However, please? Just to put my lesser self at ease?" She said surprising calmly, as she thought all that she needed to do and just hoped this worked.

[Evening Rain]

Dezeroth

The blade's voice sounded in the mage's mind with a certain droll undertone. "Oh Dezeroth, you don't need to remind me. This... sensation. It plays on my mind almost as much as the desire to feed. I'm not certain what makes her so special to us... but it's a part of me now. I couldn't escape the desire to protect her if I tried." The blade let out a mournful sigh all the same as crimson liquid ran down its blade. The magical essence offered up by Dezeroth flowed into the blood - and the liquid substance almost seemed to pulse, glowing with a slight purple energy. It seemed that the sword had only taken a minimal tithe of Dezeroth's magic. "Are you pleased? I'd hate to disappoint my generous master."

Alessandro

"You are learning." The elf said with a satisfied nod, smirking up at the female elf. "You are becoming more worthy of appreciation by the moment, Alessandro." As light flashed around Alessandro, and his form became more masculine, the elf let out a soft "hm". "In body as well as in mind, it seems." He gave a soft bow, before returning to the flanks of the group. Just as he was slipping into the shadows he paused and called out one more thing. "Oh, and do not fear! If Her Radiance decrees it, it will be so. None of us will harm you, and you will not harm any of us for as long as her will aligns with that purpose."

The party was making good time through the woods, and the trees were beginning to thin. Alessandro was able to catch glimpses of the sky darknening a little way off in the distance, through the trees. It appeared that the perpetual daylight of Ales Elendra was giving way to normalcy.

Tala

Tatania's eyes narrowed, but she gave a quiet nod. As Tala continued to speak, the elf seemed to relax slightly - the flattery seeming to positively affect her mood. "You speak with grace. Indeed, like royalty. For someone who is non-elven, I must admire your social poise. You are correct, that someone such as I would not stoop to losing my temper. There is no need for me to give my word, but I can assure you that you will see no anger from me. I am as calm as still water, as composed as the most picturesque panoramas."

[Minkasha]

Alessandro’s brows furrowed, Purity continued to dig deeper into his psyche degrees of unrest and shame. His body was left in a cold panic, making his learning of this Elf’s words laborious. With the man’s back to him, Alessandro clenched his eyes shut, dropping the cup and squeezing a fist over his heart.

‘Please, my friend…be with me still…’ The Aasimar begged in mind. Shame made him feel exposed to potentially any eyes on him – terrified. Sweat seeped from the pours under his armor. The hero knew that bravery was the singular way to achieve goodness. Purity’s feelings striking him recalled fears he felt far too many times in this world of the Magistrate. His skin was alive, every sensation against it sickening, heavy, crushing.

Alessandro stopped moving, entirely overwhelmed. Rejection from his longest friendship, his first friend, had mystical amounts of weight. Innocence was mixing with angst, becoming anxiety. Whimpers spilled out from his lips; it was a fraction of the sound he wanted to make because pain was requesting he scream.

‘Purity! We are doing the best good! We serve HER! We serve her together!’ The Aasimar collapsed under his own weight down to hands and knees. And then Alessandro felt nothing, almost. In the depth, at the core of his heart, he felt Purity reside but it was quiet and residual. The taste of sweet metals came to his lips and he spat blood on the beautiful grasses under him.

Managing to stand, Alessandro wiped his lips and eyed Elia, numb to what had just occurred. He waited some time to recover before he called out to her. The shouting of her name got the Elf to stop and watch him from high above in her trees. Perhaps she was more comfortable up there. Alessandro drew deep breaths so he could shout loudly and be of ease for her hearing.

“I WANTED TO GIVE AN APOLOGY. CHILDISH WHORES ARE NOT ADMIRABLE THINGS. I AM SORRY ACTING IN THE WAY OF A CHILDISH WHORE INPSIRED JEALOUSY IN YOU!”

[Arcus]

A small smile grew on Talas' face. Before she gave a smooth and fluid how, despite the pain. "Thank you for your kind words your majesty." She said, not mentioning the fact that she was technically royalty.

After Titania finished, she nodded and took a breathe. "Honestly, your graciousness. I believe the reason you are having a hard time with my mind, might have something to do your husband." She said in a polite and calm voice, mentally holding her breathe for what may happen next.

[P.K.]

Karrah watched the mage leave the ball room before regarding the dress again. He'd goes to such lengths to protect her or keep her safe in some way It amazed her sometimes. But she was touched and it only made it that much easier to follow him, though she'd committed to doing so long ago. She couldn't help but think back on the conversation that she and the elf had had shortly before coming to this castle. She woundred where they were now...

She watched the mage return, pouring blood red liquid into cistern. It was disconcerting but she knew where it come from... She pushed away the queasiness and continued to watch. "Re-invigorated?" As he took the sword and readied himself Karrha started but couldn't move fast enough to try and stop him. Even with the knowledge that they would most likely appear elsewhere should one of them die it was still not a though she relished, Specially not for Dezeroth. She stopped and pressed her hands to her temples for a moment calming herself before she strided over once he lowered the sword in.

Once he was done Karrha's hands gently clasped the mage's wrist. With all the work he was putting into this dress for her she couldn't help but be a little worried. Allowing her magic to seal the wound into fresh pink flesh before he could lose more blood she looked up at him with a frown. "I worry about you when you get ideas like this. Your going to great lengths for a crabby healer like me."