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Post by sparklemuffin on Aug 31, 2015 2:57:18 GMT
Kee lifted her head back, staring at him unwavering. In her humanoid form, her antlers were but mere stubs, unremarkable. To get to them, he would need to get her to change shape. Which gave her a foolish opportunity to rebel in some small way, even though she would likely come to regret it.
"What you call power is nothing more than fear and intimidation. I come from Eternia, but I'm not that naive. You aren't powerful, you won't be powerful. All you will ever amount to is a bully, harassing those weaker than you and scaring them into submission, all while pretending to be refined. You're no more cultured than an animal in that regard."
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Post by karaikou on Aug 31, 2015 3:32:17 GMT
"We'll see." He mocked, still careless of her taunts. "Times have changed. Your god has yet to answer a single prayer of the Citadel's residents and we've been forced to live in darkness fighting against this blight by ourselves. With no support from those who live their luxurious, peaceful lives in Eternia. And so we've had to make some compromises in order to adapt to this cruel forsaken land." He wasn't defending his actions, he knew exactly what he was.
"And so we've crushed a few measly races who had no hope of survival, we enslaved them, slaughtered them, abused them, it doesn't matter. We'll draw Mystic's attention one way or another, even if we cross the border and take what he gave up for ourselves. It's not just me you know, there's plenty of others with the same agenda."
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Post by sparklemuffin on Sept 1, 2015 20:31:04 GMT
The thought that all of this might be a cry for attention from the Creator hit her hard. It didn't make her approve of what was being done, by any means, but she almost felt pity for Cyburn and the Citadel's non-slave citizens when considering they did not have the resolute faith she had. "Is that what you're doing it for? To draw Mystic's attention? He doesn't ignore prayers because he doesn't care, you know. He's still recovering himself. The reason I came to this side was to help. I was in that forest, healing the land, something the Citadel would benefit from. By capturing me, you're just extending the duration of the corruption. You're preventing me from beating back the blight."
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Post by karaikou on Sept 2, 2015 0:59:29 GMT
"At first maybe it was." Cyburn shrugged as other thoughts ran through his mind, particularly those of how to make his new subject change form. "But now it's not. We, the Citadel's residents, have given up on the god and instead will take matters into our own hands. We'be lived with the corruption long enough to learn to hate anything pure which is why I care so little of your forest and I do plan on calling open season on it. The trap spiders we snagged were quite valuable, more so in death."
There was not a sliver if goodness in this man's body, everything about him was cruel and threatening. He killed for sport and considered his position in power vulnerable if the land was returned to it's original state.
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Post by sparklemuffin on Sept 5, 2015 3:37:16 GMT
Cyburn's tone and his utter disregard for living things other than himself once more managed to light a fire in the nature spirit, making her long to kick and bite and attack him when normally she was peaceful to her very core. Even she was not infallible, though, and his taunts regarding the forest and the spiders in particular were effective barbs. "You soulless bastard," She hissed quietly, shifting her body subtly as if trying to get comfortable. Although she was still quite tired from his attacks earlier, anger made for a good second wind. She only wanted him to get close enough that she could do something as foolish as try to attack him. Damn him and damn the consequences - she wanted to hurt him and she'd find a way to get it done.
"What fair weather friends you people can be to your Creator! When he was suffering, recovering, you were giving up on him because you had to go through a trial? Your life was difficult, and I might empathize if it didn't seem you were all so very quick to abandon faith at the first sign of trouble. You wallow in corruption and destroy clean and pure creatures, not just to survive, but to prove to yourselves that you still have some kind of worth - as if slaughtering things and beating them to a pulp were some symbol of respect." She ranted quite passionately, giving vent to feelings that she might've kept bottled up if she were not captive and stranded in a hostile environment, the only friendly face banished from sight.
"You are a despicable excuse for a living creature. Mystic never turned from any of you, it was you who turned your backs on him. You blame him for your weaknesses because facing your shortcomings would be too difficult. Easier just to shift the blame to something or someone else."
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Post by karaikou on Sept 5, 2015 3:47:34 GMT
Cyrus took great pleasure and amusement in tormenting the spirit with his cruel uncaring words and malicious plots. He knew he was safe, no matter how close he stood to the glyph, Kee could not hurt him, the invisible barrier was far to strong.
Another step was taken closer and he leaned in, so close that his breath could be felt against her nose. "Do you ever wonder why we were created, our ancestors given the ability to reproduce, learn and achieve things without being used like puppets on a string? Because we were made to evolve, to conquer and to adapt. If the old god didn't want this we wouldn't have the capability to think how we think, to do how we do. And you are just the first piece of the puzzle when it comes to obtaining the power to slay him."
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Post by sparklemuffin on Sept 5, 2015 3:58:13 GMT
"You will never destroy him. In the end you are his ungrateful and spiteful children, and you are like children compared to him, even in his current state." Kee would have gladly ranted on further, it was the only thing keeping her from breaking down with sorrow and exhaustion. But he was closer now, close enough that she felt confident she could do something even better, and in her weariness she forgot to be guarded about what he could possibly need that unusual scissor-like tool for. Her form twisted and changed rapidly, spurred on by the reckless use of energy. She didn't have much to spare, but as far as she felt, it was all quite worth it.
All was well until she tried to lash at him with the powerful rack of glowing antlers atop her head, managing only to strike the barrier and disorient herself instead. Like an animal, her confusion created a small seed of panic and she reared up on her hind legs, boxing at the invisible shield that protected her foe. It was useless, and now that her energy was swiftly waning without anything to show for it, she was afraid of what he was going to do to her.
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Post by karaikou on Sept 5, 2015 6:02:41 GMT
"Children capable of outsmarting others." Cyburn scoffed with laughter, his little ploy to get her to reveal her more powerful form and with less than a breath of air to waste, he used his own magic, capable of bending the will of others to force her on her knees. "If all it took were a few insults and some sob story to make you bend to my desires then my concern over just how hard it would be to attach strings to a spirit was for naught."
He lifted his desired tool up in his hands and locked it against her left antler like a vice, "oh how rich just one of these would make me~ such a shame the power it has is more valuable than the gold."
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Post by sparklemuffin on Sept 5, 2015 23:35:31 GMT
For that moment Kee was like any terror-stricken animal, the whites of her liquid brown eyes visible with panic as she struggled to somehow get free without endangering her antlers. It wasn't that it would hurt, it was little more than having a particularly strong nail clipped. But she knew the power her antlers held, both symbolically and literally, and even in a state of fear she knew he ought not have them.
It didn't do to fight, she was soon on her knees, held in place by both the magic and the tool itself. Nor could she think of anything useful to say, even a witty retort. She could only stare at him with a mixture of hatred and terror.
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Post by karaikou on Sept 6, 2015 1:09:21 GMT
The antler was stronger than he anticipated but with help from his wicked tool and a strong yank he managed to pry it free Kee's head. It's iridescent glow faded not despite being separated from it's source of power, and with little care for the fear or pain his newest victim was in, Cyrus returned to his work bench and took a seat, admiring the pure magical energy.
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Post by sparklemuffin on Sept 6, 2015 2:22:00 GMT
Kee felt withered and weakened, not because of her missing antler but because she knew it was in his possession. She knew what he might do with it if he could simply unlock the powers it held - and though her magic was not intrinsically evil, nor even easily corrupted, it was powerful magic all the same. A creative mind could find plenty of uses for the healing capabilities it held. Shivering on the cold floor, she did the only thing she could think of by curling up in a tight ball, her face buried in her spotted fur, with her sole remaining antler poking out.
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Post by karaikou on Sept 6, 2015 2:56:15 GMT
The human watched with amusement from his peripheral vision, she was vulnerable and likely ashamed and now he had a kind of power no other being in the Citadel had. He snapped the antler in two and began to liquidfy it's power with his own. "You know, very few have ever seen a spirit, let alone captured or studied one alive. Even when I've sapped every ounce of magic from you you'll still be a fascinating, ornamental piece to any collection.and I'm sure as you've seen I have several exotic creatures. Though, heh, I must say the cost to smuggle such rarities over the border means that I really need to consider the value that they could hold if I ... Improved them" he explained before having an idea.
"But if you can cure the corruption from the land... With a little work we, you and I, could purify and enslave the few sentient beasts that roam the lands outside of the city. The more I think about it the more I want to keep you."
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Post by sparklemuffin on Sept 6, 2015 3:17:06 GMT
"I would rather die than be another one of your pets," Kee seethed quietly, lacking the passionate undertones she had in her earlier speech. Of course she would rather die, but that would be a level of defeat that she was still desperately afraid of. It was against her nature, no matter how desperate she was, to do anything but live. "I've seen what you do to those you've collected. If that's the life ahead of me, I would rather end it and deprive you of any of my power than go on to see you use it for capturing innocent and free beings."
She realized, of course, that there was a risk to holding yourself hostage. For instance, she might one day have to follow through with her threats to end her own life. But it was hard to remember by now that she had come here with a plan, with a hope to free Tyarnach and get to the root of what Cyburn had done. She could hardly see past misery and exhaustion.
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Post by karaikou on Sept 6, 2015 3:26:43 GMT
"That is a pathetic threat, even if you decided to resist or starve yourself I have ways and the magic of making you live for as long as I will it." Cyburn stated, "and my pets have the pleasure of hunting the great beast alongside me when the time comes, wouldn't you like to see that?"
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Post by sparklemuffin on Sept 6, 2015 3:37:32 GMT
"To see you try to destroy the god to whom my life is devoted? That my ancestors have served faithfully? No," She growled. "That's not something I want to see. Because even if he crushed you in his jaws, I would hate to see the poor creatures bound to your servitude be punished for not knowing better than to do as you say. Even your death would be joyless because you are the sort of spiteful being to find a way to drag others down with you."
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