Home sweet home....

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

Exhausted, and a bit hesitant, Mi'keh walked up to the gate of Malice. He didn't know if anyone would recognize him, and if they did if they would care, but he was ignoring anything around him. Not that he was disinterested in the war-efforts around Malice, it was more that the half-Elf had been though a lot in the past few days and was as tired as he'd ever been. With his head hanging, and for once not all that frightened of the guards, Mi'keh walked to the gate and said: "I need to speak with master Magnus the Red." Full well xpecting his master to pop out of nowhere like he always did at times like these.

[Apophis]

The guards at the gate shrugged and opened a small door within the gate for Mi'keh. They had seen the youth in the presence of Magnus before, everybody had, and nobody wanted to anger him, especially not during wartime, he wouldn't need to be hard pressed to send them to the archery range for target practice. And not as the archer.

As Mi'keh stepped through, the door closed roughly behind him. The guards didn't like to get the draft into the city fortress. No one did, as it meant that the gate was open, and they'd better have a damn good reason for the gate to have opened at this point.

Immediatly he was almost shot. The black leathered guardsman that sat in a chair at the end lowered his crossbow carefully. Had Mi'keh made a wrong move, he wouldn't have finished it. The security was tight here. But after this, Mi'keh was left to his own devices as to how to get into contact with his master.

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

Mi'keh sighed, it was always like this, magic had a very strict line of command but no organization at all. Instead of someone notifying Magnus or someone bringing him there as would have happened in any other city he was left to do whatever he wanted. Had he been a disguised mystic he could have sabotaged the gate without anyone noticing. He figured he'd ask his master about that when he saw him, and if he survived that.

Mi'keh wasn't really eager to go and see his master but he had decided to come here a long time ago and he had had enough lonely nights to ponder the consequences of abandoning his mission. Although his knees were shaking a little he walked up to the guard who had lifted the crossbow at him earlier. Figuring that randomly searching the labyrinth that was Malice for a single man that had the ability to pop up all over the place was pointless Mi'keh tried the easiest way first. Asking. "Serale, you don't happen to know where I can find Magnus the Red do you?" He said to the guard while as always trying not to show any emotion.

[Apophis]

The guard shrugged, still balancing his chair against the wall in a casual manner. His cocked crossbow immediatly produced a more seriously dangerous work environment than all the other unsheathed weapons already did merely by being in the hands of someone who seemed to make it a sport to nearly tip over.

"Magnus always busy." was his short and gruff answer. His voice was partly muffled by the small beard and his ineptitude at social conversation other than hollering after wenches. "No one knows where he is."

Perhaps the one way to find his master, was to use what he knew. The location stone should still be around here somewhere, perhaps even near Magnus.

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

The thought had not even crossed the half-Elf's mind earlier, afterall, why would his master still hold his apprentice's marker with him after all this time. Surely he wasn't the kind of person that would get emotionally attached to some sort of reminder. Mi'keh nearly snickered at the thought, no, if his master still had the marker with him it was probably out of some practical consideration or because he simply forgot about it. And ofcourse, it was still the question if he had it with him, for all Mi'keh knew the marker could be in his room.

With a sigh he had let out in Malice more then just a couple of times Mi'keh took a few steps away from the man with the miniature ballista and closed his eyes. With his breath he let his thoughts escape until there were none less, leaving him ready to focus on the magical energies of Telath. Doing so he tried to find the familiar feeling of his own marker, one which he had created a long time ago.

[Apophis]

When Mi'keh next opened his eyes, he was back in his old room. It hadn't changed. No one else had been put into it. It had only collected a large amount of dust. The single room wasn't large, and had but a single door, to the outside. Mi'keh still didn't knew in what street -if Malice had streets- he resided in, but it was in Malice allright.

Just then, he got a tingling sensation and his master stood opposite of him. Dressed in red, he looked weary, as if he was awake quite a lot. More then he used to be, at least.

"Ah, you have decided to return. Splendid. Why?"

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

Mi'keh, for a moment, did not know what to say. His master had popped out of nowhere and he wanted an explanation.

"I... I... I was in Paxia, like you told me to master, but the security was very tight. As soon as I asked a subtle question a very suspicious character started to show interest in me. The site itself was surrounded by guards. Perhaps I would have been able to get in just once, but I would have been unable to get out with the plans, and if there was any magical protection, which is likely, I would be unprepared for.... so I.... errr.... I decided to return." He swallowed heavily, his master wasn't someone to easily give into emotions, but therefor he wasn't the kind of person that would be bothered by removing an unstable object from his surroundings. "I saw in the herald what was happening to Malice, I thought I would be of more use here..." He didn't know what else to say, he was fearing for his life right now but because of all the time he had had to prepare for this moment he wasn't as nervous as he had expected himself to be. He was proud of that, a little.

[Apophis]

"Hmm. Yes." Magnus replied to Mi'keh's blabbering. Insolent, but loyal nonetheless. Spineless, but driven by fear. Yes, Mi'keh would stand at his masters side because he was ordered too. He wouldn't try to usurp power in an inconvenient moment. He was resourceful enough to return, even when the city was surrounded by hostile forces. Yes, all he needed was some more training to be of effective battlefield use.

"Here now. The city is under siege, and you'll need some more practice with your spells before I make you adept and actually useful for the battlefield." Magnus sat down on Mi'kehs bed and continued.

"I don't really have much time or energy to spend on your training, so I'll just tell you what you'll need to do, and I expect you to pick up really quickly. I'm going to teach you a new spell, if you'll come with me to the parapet." Magnus got up again and walked to the door and opened it. "We're going to walk, to conserve energy."

Winding through tunnels and staircases, it took them a full ten minutes to get where Magnus had wanted them to get. A window in a large tower of Malice. A window which looked directly at a portion of the forces arayed against them. Just then, the catapults of the Daltinans smashed into the Orcish camps again. Smoke and screams welled up agains the walls of the fortress which reacted emotionlessly.

"There is a commander of those catapults. I am going to go and attent to other business. You will destroy him by focusing a single powerful beam of energy at him. It needs to be a lance of power. Connect your vis with his to target. Drain the ara out of the surrounding sky. A single focused beam of energy, just pierce his heart or head. If someone else takes over, or you target the wrong one, take the next one out also." These words said, Magnus left Mi'keh alone at the window to return himself to other, perhaps more important business. He opened the door and closed it, hurrying off the stairs, mumbling to himself undistinctively.

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

With his thoughts elsewhere Mi'keh sat down in the opening of the window, his back against one of the window's sides while one foot against the opposite side made sure he wasn't in an hazardous position, aimlessly his other leg hung outside the window. His mind as chaotic as it had been the first time he came to Malice Mi'keh stared down onto the massacre below. At this distance, and with the smoke blurring his view, the young apprentice managed to stay emotionless staring at these amounts of death and destruction. The wind, that was as cold as usual at these times of the year and in these regions, grabbed a hold of his hair and made it impossible for him to see until he brushed it back behind his ear again. Yet another thing he had to do, do something about his hair which was getting uncomfortably long. He let out a long sigh as he stared down at the Orcish encampment again, tolerant as Mi'keh was, he was very tolerant of Orcs, he just didn't see them as complete sentient beings. A dog could be taught to "sit" when it heard the word at only the age of six months, but an Orc could be around humans for twenty years and still don't understand a single word they said. Still, what he saw was an unpleasant view nonetheless, for a moment he thought he knew how the ancient Allerians must have felt, or the Planetars even, watching down on inferior beings, approving and disapproving but never emotionally involved. For now Mi'keh, a sorry excuse for a messenger of the Gods indeed, disapproved of what he saw, even Orcs should be given a chance to fight with honour in a war like this and being killed by falling rocks and burning rubble was an honourless death indeed.

But first there was his master Mi'keh should think about, was he reassured? Far from it probably, if anyone was telling the truth in Malice. Master Magnus had been far too forgiving for as far as Mi'keh could tell. Ofcourse the young apprentice wasn't able to read his master's mind, and because of this he did not know what Magnus' train of thought had been. To him, it seemed as if his master had been too forgiving for comfort. Staring out of the window Mi'keh decided he had to keep an eye on his master from now on, he had always been good at running away and that's what he would have to do if his master turned against him. Not that he gave himself much of a chance, but any chance is better then none and keeping his eyes open couldn't hurt, could it? For now it was probably best to return to his old way of living, he was needed, or at least useful to, his master during this cursed war and Magnus the Red was not the kind of man that would throw away a failing tool if it could still be useful. And maybe deep inside, no matter how much the half-Elf hated Malice, he felt like "home" after many a day of travelling, perhaps you could hate a place and still call it home.

With a sigh at yet another series of stingy situations he had gotten himself into Mi'keh stared a bit further away and pondered what he had to do. He might as well learn something good from his master until the master decided to turn against his apprentice. And stopping the death and destruction below him was something that looked like a good way to use his skills, even if it meant he had to kill someone. He thought a bit harder about the task at hand, this was unlike anything he had done before. Until now he had either randomly thrown energy or done things with his own vis, doing something with another person's vis was probably completely different. Staring at the catapults and other weapons of mass mayhem in the distance he started looking for someone that would fit the apprentice's criteria. Ofcourse he had to be an officer, Mi'keh had been in the Daltinian Army long enough to recognize an officer from afar, and although he did not know the insignia and rankings of the division that handled siege-weapons he was certain that he could tell the difference between an officer and the normal soldiers, afterall their uniforms were designed to be recognizable on the messy battlefields. It was a shame that he was too far away to read any of the insignia but he figured it did not matter much, he would just look for the officer that was around most and to whom the other officers came, a commander would always have the lower-ranked ones come to their superiors ofcourse and not the other way around.

The moment Mi'keh found someone that could be the commander of the siege-weapons he let his thoughts run out of his mind to form a meditative state. It had become a familiar process and the young apprentice no longer did it step by step in the same way he used to do, he no longer took a deep breath to then random thoughts come up in his mind and leave with the next breath. With the experience he had now the entire process happened almost at the same time, the random thoughts that flashed by, his master and the orcs below, some other pointless things, were immediately followed by the serene emptiness of mind that would allow him to slip into a state of focus where he could not only see, but experience the arcane energies of the world with all his senses. Hinting his mind towards the arcane was enough, and soon the thought filled his mind until there was nothing else permitted in his thoughts. Now Mi'keh would try to reach out with his mind, he did the same thing when looking for his marker but now he was looking for something different, stretching as far as he could he tried to feel if there was anything in the location where the officer he had selected, or damned, was. If Mi'keh was able to find anything he would start gathering large amounts of ara from the air around him, his master had said that he needed to "connect" the spell with his target's vis so that was what Mi'keh was going to do after he had taken the collected ara and mixed it with his vis.

Still sitting in the opening of his window Mi'keh raised his mutilated right hand and aimed it in the general direction of his victim, holding the amounts of energy he had now tightly he took a very small stream of magical energy which he tried to guide out of his hand and towards the officer at the catapults. If he had managed this far the hardest part was now to come, the only way Mi'keh knew to control or even hold ara was by mixing it with vis, therefore he figured that if he was to mix only the very tip of the stream he had now sent out with a small portion of the officer's vis, for example at his head, there was a way it could work. Focussing his mind with an intensity he had not needed very often yet he tried to do so. If all went well until now Mi'keh would pray for the best and send the gathered magical energies through his arm, through his mithril hand, and along the magical guide-line he had just created.

[Apophis]

Falling into meditation was indeed easely now for the apprentice level Mi'keh. He had done so often enough, sometimes even to survive that it had become almost second nature to him. A feat which marked the true student. Eager to learn, and never forgetting what to learn. It was this phase that marked a real apprentice, eager to explore and accept that which he had learned and using it as a tool.

Gathering ara around him was equally easy; it was like breathing now, when he was in the state of focus. It was essential for his continuing existance. It granted life as much as the desire to continue on living; without it, meditating seemed only pointless.

The commanded hadn't been hard to spot. There was but one man between the catapults that stood, seemed to shout and point, and to which men kept running to. He wasn't Daltinan, but he sure as well was an officer of the Enamorian army.

The ray of force that he created -from his mithril hand to the head of Commander Himnir' was only needle-thick, but it shone with a bright blueish light that spoke of intensity. He felt the energy around his spell solidify, as if a tube of his own vis. It connected with Himnir's head, a tube of energy. A solid tube that was much like a string to a puppet; he couldn't move it, and if Himner' moved it would still be attached to the commander. This, Mi'keh knew to be true. However, the soldier didn't move. No one on the battlefield seemed to move. As Mi'keh needed to complete the final action for the spell. The connection had been made, there was only something needing to be send through the little tube.

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

He was connected to the man now, he could feel his magic attached to the man's head. Now all he had to do was 'fire the shot'. But having come this far he did not want to ruin it now by being too eager, it had to be a sudden burst, and it had to be intense to have enough power to pierce a helmet over such a distance. Slowly he started to build up all the energy he had gathered in his arm, it was much alike a forcebolt from this point on, only one that infinitely more accurate and stronger. Hoping for the best for his first attempt at the spell Mi'keh used his will to force all the energy he had in him onto the 'conductor' he had created, from that point on it was out of his hands.

[Apophis]

Mi'keh could see the ball of energy slide slowly down the tube. Still the men down there weren't moving. Something was keeping them transfixed perhaps. The ball of energy quickly picked up speed as if gravity itself pulled it down from the tower to the ground, and it was merely the steel conical cap of the man in between it and total freedom.

When Mi'keh blinked, the connection was gone. The last he had seen was the connection fade out and the man's head explode like a ripe melon. Or at least, that's what it looked like from up close. Something Mi'keh could see in his mediative state pretty clearly. The moment the bolt of force had touched the helmet of the man, the tube disappeared as it wasn't necessary to guide the bolt anymore. And with such intensity, and so accurately placed, it mattered little that it was merely a forcebolt. It was as powerful as a javelin through someones head.

Suddenly he noticed all the men down there were moving again. Or perhaps they had been moving all this time. Orcs clashed with a wall of steel presented by the Daltinans, whilst their barbaric shamans conjured up creatures out of the earth and hurled fireballs into the midst of Mi'kehs former comrades. The Daltinans were massively outclassed in the magical department, that much was sure. Even the orcs crude but brutal magical assault could not be matched by the enamorians. They seemed to have a scarcely small amount of magi on their side.

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

Sitting in the window of this tower, Mi'keh stared at the slaughtering unfolding. He wondered if his friends were there, and if they still knew him. Most of all Coulter, the hot-headed dwarf who thought so much of himself, he'd probably be promoted by now, or dead. It was their own fault if they were down there he figured. The Orcs had not been doing anything at the moment, they had been sleeping, or working, or maiming their victims, or eating them. Then suddenly rocks and burning rubble had fallen down on top of them, they acted purely on instinct as the Daltinians would have surely expected of these beasts. If you throw rocks at a dog it will either run or attack, with their backs against Malice the Orcs attacked.

Thinking like this Mi'keh stared down upon the battle, he felt good sitting here, he liked this tower. All alone, seeing many things but not being bothered by them, having his magic to work with. Yes, he finally understood why all the magicians in fairy-tales had towers. But then again, was it good to stare at creatures and people dying whilst not feeling anything about it? The apprentice stared at the death and destruction all around, trying to feel anything about it. It didn't work. Perhaps he had seen so much violence and brutality that he had become numb to it, that would be a good thing he figured, the war was just getting started and it wouldn't be good if blood disturbed him. Then again, was it good that blood no longer disturbed him?

[Apophis]

Magnus popped in. Literally. A flash of energy and out stepped Magnus, regal red robes adorning his shoulders and hood down to show his bald, red head.

"Excellent work Mi'keh." He complimented, arms at his side. He peeked out of the window and nodded. "Yes. The Daltinan troops will be confused to allow our orcish warriors to put some extra hurt on them. Maybe it will give them enough reason not to attack us again." Magnus grinned. He didn't expect the Daltinans to pick up on clues like that.

"Well, before you go out into the field to practice a few more spells, you'll need to be able to protect yourself." Magnus motioned for Mi'keh to watch as he drew in ara like a black hole in space draws all matter to itself.

"Watch closely." Magnus mixed his vis and the ara he had gathered and expelled it outside of his body, though halting it not even the tiniest fraction of an inch outside of himself. The sorceror stood there, as if wrapped in cellofane of magical energy.

"You try it."

[Mi'keh Shanicra]

Mi'keh watched his master, his jaw mentally hitting the floor, this was the kind of magic that could become really useful. With an eager nod Mi'keh started emptying his mind and then focussing it on the energy around him. He had not a clue as to the details of the spell but he was ready to give it a try in the most easy way he could imagine. Opening his mind he let the ara from the world around him flow into his mind, this had been the easy part. His master was obviously protecting his entire body with magical energy, so Mi'keh would try no less.

The half-Elf quickly took in as much energy as he thought he would need, which was quite a lot. After mixing it with his vis he slowly, making sure not to do anything wrong, spread the magical energy throughout his body similar to how he put energy in his hand when casting forcebolts. When and if the energy managed to spread throughout his body Mi'keh would try to make it into tubes, that was the best way he could describe it, the magical energy was now throughout his entire legs, but he just needed it on the outsides, he would focus the energy now in his legs to connect to his skin, to make the energy as a second layer of concentrated energy around himself and then force it to become solid like he had done with many other spells, and then do so throughout his entire body. He really hoped this was the right way to do it but attempting the spell earlier had already taken a large amount out of his energy.