Printable View
Zany - Main Room
Thatcher nods, his back to the fireplace, the warmth comforting him...
Yes...one more thing...
Zane hops to his feet, walking up to stand beside the Hermit, placing a hand on the small of her back.
Are we all ready?
This would be the final, deciding moment.
[Zany - Main Room]
The Hermit places an arm around Zane's shoulder, and holds the other out to Thatcher.
"Come on. We need to find a better place for it - I think you'd prefer we not melt the floor?"
"We've come all this way. Has something changed now?"
Zany - Main Room
Thatcher takes her hand.
The whole place is relatively fireproof, but I understand your concern. The forge should work.
You have a forge? I suppose you've become a blacksmith, then...Zane chuckles, but the guildmaster only rolls his eyes in response. It's true, of course...
He's spent countless hours honing his skills, and only for this one blade.
Thatcher leads Zane and the Hermit down to
The Forge
Where a fire similar to the upstairs fireplace burns brightly.
Alright. Let's begin.
Zane begins building up a massive amount of fearblaze. The Hermit may recall when Zane originally performed the ceremony on her. This Zane summons the fire significantly faster.
His eyes burn, and the black element flares out of his arms and hands.
He will start pouring it over Thatcher when Crimson is ready.
[The Forge]
The Hermit follows down to the forge, where one might note Ashna is nowhere to be found.
"There's relatively fireproof, and then there is actually up to this."
She stands on the opposite side of Thatcher and begins calling up fearblaze as well. Not as fast as Zane for whom it is his very blood, when she only has traces in her veins, but fast enough.
"Now."
And sends it all forward, streams of heat converging on Thatcher, to burn the fearblaze back into him.
The Forge
Thatcher spreads his arms out, eyes closed and mouth open.
Zane offers his contribution...an unrelenting torrent of unholy fire, filled with purpose.
No words are spoken over the burning roar.
Thatcher feels the fearblaze reaching his magical core...the very center of his being...of everything that makes him a pyromancer. It's been bleached for so long.
The flames do not burn him, they feel familiar and foreign all at once.
Still, they were his to begin with. Half of the fire is the same blood as his own, and the rest was given by him.
The fearblaze takes over his core, infecting almost every aspect of it.
Almost every...
A small part of his core remains unstained, pure and unchangeable.
Thatcher's eyes open, flashing white, then black, then back to their vibrant blue, though they may not see that through the flood of fire...
He collapses to his knees, his blue hair and beard have turned into a black, bordering on gray...like ash.
Just to the right of his hairline, a streak of white hair sticks out, running across his hair and down to his beard...luckily it isn't on his face, or in his eyes...
[The Forge]
It worked! They managed it!
The Hermit steps into the dying flames, holding out a hand to help Thatcher back to his feet.
"Welcome back. Should I call you 'Zane' again at last?"
The Forge
The pyromancer takes her hand for the second time today and rises to his feet.
Yes...even though I have changed, I am Zane...
It only makes sense...are you still the Darkstar?
The clone asks, his hand still wreathed in flame.
No.
Zane looks at his other hand and produces a ball of black fire. He throws it at the forge flames and summons some white flames immediately after.
I have become stronger...I am not as strong with fearblaze as you, clone...or possibly you, Crimson, but I have two flames to wield...
He draws his sword, looking at it curiously...What do I call myself? Zane _____.
[The Forge]
"It's obvious, right?"
The Hermit laughs and lightly sets a hand on his shoulder, to direct his gaze to the forge.
"Zane Smith. Flamesmith, maybe. Or..."
More laughter, and she heads over to the discarded cold-weather robe, tossing it over a shoulder.
"Should probably call me something else, now I'm not always in these robes. And we're not hiding anything. I'm Skye."
The Forge
Darkstar laughs.
You joke, but he'll do it...
He'll come up with some name like "Zane Fyrefarge..."
You joke...but Fyrefarge isn't half bad. It's impossible to tell if he's teasing or not.
Regardless, Skye is a better name than Hermit.
He chuckles, It's good to be back, my friend...
I'll be on my way then. Darkstar remarks casually, heading towards the stairs.
Where exactly are you going?
Who knows? I have a marker, so you'll know if I'm dead or not. My work here is done...if you need me, I'll find you.
Unless stopped, he will head up the stairs.
[The Forge]
"Well it isn't so bad, at that."
Skye turns and waves, eyes dropped and with a frown appearing on her face.
"Stay safe, Darkstar."
She brightens up looking to the guildmaster.
"It really is good to have you back, the way you should be."
The Forge
Darkstar smiles wistfully. Zane had done well for himself.
I'll see what I can do. He turns back and leaves the mansion.
Zane nods to the man as he fades away into the darkness.
Quite a fellow, if I don't say so myself...
I missed you, Skye. I hoped this guild might draw you back to me someday. When I saw Ashna, I almost thought I had.
He clasps her hands in his.
[The Forge]
"Darkstar, yes. Quite a fellow."
The Hermit shakes her head slightly.
"And it finally did. I wouldn't have come, you know. I thought I had everything I needed."
She steps in close to the guildmaster with a momentary laugh and a smile.
"I made a lot of mistakes after our last meeting. I thought I had everything, that I knew everything. I couldn't have been more wrong. But now I've seen, a bit, of how terrible, and how good things can be, and I have my flames again."
The Forge
I'm glad it did...
Since we parted, much has changed, for the both of us, it seems.
Zane further closes the gap, their noses almost touching.
With all that you've seen, and all that you've learned, will you stay?
Now that our flames have returned, )(there's a double meaning in that)( will you stay here, with me?
[The Forge]
"Well, there's sure to be more to learn."
The Hermit kisses him; no need for a gap at all.
"Yes. I'll stay."
The Forge
Zane smiles.
Skye...there's not much to say.
She's said everything that he ever wanted to hear.
So he'll return the kiss in the light of the forge, a multicolor array dancing across their faces.
[In Search of the Traitor]
Maria the Exploding Witch arrives at the Cloudtop mansion, finally. She got instructions on how to get here by asking people. Skyside is kind-of weird. Last time she was here was during that blackout. Before that, she was in Groundtown, burning down some buildings.
In her hands, she still has the sword, awkwardly held, that she was given earlier back at the valcano, but now it has letters written in dried blood along the blade. She obviously didn't walk here; it's much better to float all the way. That way, there's no need to grow tired or pay airfare.
At the door, she pushes the buzzer (since what kind of mansion doesn't have a buzzer? Especially here in Skyside, those things ought to be very common.). Into the speaker system, she uncharacteristically sweetly says, "Hi. I have an scheduled playdate with a certain Zane. I was told that I could find him here. Can he come out to play?"
She obviously doesn't know that the one she's looking for is not the one who is found here.
In Search of the Traitor - Front Door
The impressive wooden doors swing outwards, revealing Zane! Except...oddly enough, this isn't the same Zane from AMEN.
This man has vividly blue eyes, and wears a different outfit entirely. I mean, the faces are similar, except this man's face is older, more worn and more scarred...
He also carries a weapon* at his side, though it has no sheathe...
I am Zane, the Guildmaster of Those Forged by Flames. What business have you with me?
Zane's eyes furrow, raising his hand to brush a white streak of hair out of his face. Oddly enough, while his beard is mostly dark, and his hair is too, the pyromancer has a shock of pale hair along his bangs...wonder where that came from.
If you're looking for trouble, you've come to the wrong place.
*Just in case you don't wanna scroll down for weapon descriptions.
Zane's sword is a little broader than the link's, and the handle is longer. Also, the metal he used gives the blade a pearlescent sheen, with flashes of other colors running through veins up and down its length.
[In Search of the Traitor - Front Door]
"I think this might not be the right Zane, but maybe he'd still like to play?"
The Hermit in Crimson, though the name is put to lie by how much purple is in the outfit, is just recently sat up and looking over at the door.
Being a human gives one the luxuries of wasting time, sitting on furniture.
"There's a lot of trouble to be found here all the same."
[In Search of the Traitor - Front Door]
Maria looks at the Zane at the door, and realizes it's not the right one. Where, oh, where, has her little Zane he gone? Where, oh, where can he be? But wit no money she cannot drink here; She suppose they makes one wit he.
With that smile of hers on her face, she looks down at the sword (she's still somewhat in the air, so she would look down at anything below shoulder level). "Zane. That's a cute sword. Did you get a parakeet to go with it? I got a crow with mine."
Continuing with the slightly odd way her mind connects thoughts, she responds to the question (Or, rather, implicit question), "I came here for neither pins nor needles." She shows Zane the AMEN record she has on the other Zane. "I didn't come here to marry him, either, but I still want to find him. After that, you and I can play for as long as you would like."
In Search of the Traitor - Front Door
We do seem to find ourselves in trouble more often than not...he muses, ignoring the half-mad jib cut at his blade.
Zane looks back at Crimson before returning to face the floating witch. Regardless, I am the only Zane who resides here...so if you need the Dark One...check the forests.
The pyromancer is confident enough in his own ability to beat this woman, but he does not want to get tangled up with AMEN. Darkstar, on the other hand, is already involved...presumably he should be able to face this mad woman alone as well.
[In Search of the Traitor - Front Door]
"There are many forests around: forests of ashes, forests of estrangement, and forests of lost children," Maria finally replies, after what seems like an eternity for her player to post. I think it's a little weird how Maria doesn't blink or advert her eyes or even look away like most people would do in a normal conversation. "Which one has he lost himself in, or should I search them all?"
In Search of the Traitor - Front Door
Maria will find that Zane's eyes are like blue flames, alluring but fierce.
Check whatever forests you like. Why should I help you hunt me? He asks, spreading out his arms in a universally questioning gesture.
Clearly you have ill intentions for Darkstar. Why else would would you come to my doorstep, armed and eager for blood?
The pyromancer's left hand erupts in a swirl of white and black flames, perfectly balanced between the two halves.
"Come on now, Thatcher. It isn't as if we don't go around armed. It is a dangerous world."
The Hermit stands and steps to the door, a hand to set on the guildmaster's shoulder.
"Should we be fighting his battles?"
The answer is of course 'yes'. In her open hand a teal flame appears, black sparks shooting from it occasionally.