[Fred] Chapter 5: A Change of Leadership

[Linwelin]

"Huh...grab it and cup it in my hands...?" Fred had a pensive expression on his face as he closed his eyes to focus on the lake once more. Take a handful out...how? Could he just make hands? It seemed strange. Hands can't hold water well anyways...why not a bowl? It's easier to imagine holding something in that. Fred mentally imagined a bowl being dipped into the water, lifting up and carrying the contents back to himself. Looking into the bowl, Fred could see the beautiful white light within it, slightly dimmer due to lacking the density of the lake. His mental body dipped its hands in a stirred, trying to feel out the contents. Strangely enough, a few things happened. Some of the light stuck to his hand in very small amounts, while others became small wisps that floats out of the bowl, lighting up the immediate area like fireflies. It was one of the most enchanting sights Fred had ever seen, even if it was a mental image.

Externally, Fred had his hands cupped, as though he was physically holding the mana in his mind. Though he could not see with his eyes closed, he could feel wisps of energy moving around in his hands. It was a peculiar feeling, to say the least, like there was a small whirlwind of static caressing his palms warmly.



"I don't know about any goddess, unless she felt like looking similar to an old, wizened man from my home world. Perhaps she pulled me into this world, but I don't believe I met her."

"And that is good to hear, Abrielle. Perhaps that is a first step we could take in this world. At least give the people some comfort, and not live as a lesser creature. But for now, I suppose we have to focus on surviving and getting stronger."

[Throndir]

There was some excitement in Eris' voice.

"You did it! Open yours eyes too... maybe..."

In you palms, was the same sight you had seen earlier as a mental image in your mind. But this time, it was actually real. The motes of light danced around your fingers, and you noticed that Eris was gazing intently at your hand as well. The others around you seemed to focus their gazes at your face instead however, as if they didn't see or notice at all any of the motes of light that captured Eris' attention.

"Eris, you see...? Oh! As expected of our handsome hero! ☆ I can't believe this was your... first time." He winked slyly.

"Now my handsomeness, imagine fire sprouting from your hands, words would come to mind the moment you do so... Speak those words, and that is how you can cast a spell... Don't worry if nothing happens when you first try though, or if no words come to mind, it usually takes practice, and at least until Eris over here, I always thought that it takes a few weeks or months to learn..."

Casting spells in the setting is a few steps:

1) Imagining the spell
2) An 'incantation' comes to mind. This is in the form of:
(Invoked Element). (Incantation). (Keyword or Spell Name). Examples can be found in probably Pringer's RP.

Keep in mind, there are limits to number of free spells I'm giving out, new spells afterwards will have to be learned.

For actual mechanics, spell creation can be found under the Elemental Magicka System doc. If you want a quick example, check out the known spells list that other players have created so far for the Elemental Magicka system spells

"That is intriguing... one of the common things among the countries in this New World is the belief in the Goddess of Light, or at least, most of the countries anyways... It's said that heroes are from the goddess herself, though... Now I wonder if that's not always the case, or something else." Filiane eventually shrugged.

"But I am called Filiane... It's good to meet you, hero." The pointed-eared girl bowed her head.

One of the maids behind you spoke as well, the one who was giving you a shoulder massage.

"I am Oliana... I exist to please our leader and... of course you, the summoned hero."

"They are one and the same now. So that's double the reason." Moliane piped.

[Linwelin]

"Whoa~" Fred's eyes glittered in awe as he stared at the motes. "It really is just like I imagined it!"

"Try to make fire sprout from my hands!? Well, Abrielle did mention it was possible here,-" He turns to her "Didn't you?" It was less of a question, and more of a recognition of what was possible. Fred quickly turned his attention back to the mater at hand. Well, in hand.

Closing his eyes, Fred probed the lake for knowledge of fire, looking within that bright light for an energy specific to flames, even mentally calling out for it. Finally, a whisper began to echo out from within the 'waters', and specks of golden red light began to gather from various places onto the lake's surface. They suddenly sprouted from the lake in a line, snaking around him an a loose, conical coil, seemingly ready to launch out at a target of his discretion. It was a foreign, but incredible feeling.

It's time.

Fred's eyes quickly opened in determined focus, the words at the forefront of his mind, and the motes turning red in hue and collecting toward his hand.

"Great spirits of fire, coalesce before me and writhe, encircling me ready to strike at my enemies. Flame Serpent!"

[blockquote]Spellcraft:  1d20+5 : 2 + 5, total 7[/blockquote]



"Huh, if that's how it is here...maybe he was the god of my world? After all, our two worlds might not be directly connected like it's made out to be. And it is a pleasure to meet you, Filiane." Fred gave a small, warm smile, before turning to the two maids beside him, "And of course, an equal pleasure to meet the two of you, Oliana and Moliane. Though you need not expend so much energy, I'm but a simple man. Good food and company to converse with is plenty."

[Throndir]

[info]New Spell Learned
Name: Flame Serpent
Details: Tier 2; Fire; Transforming; Form 1: Single-Target, Fire Damage vs Attacker's Touch AC; Form 2: Single-Target; Fire Damage vs Touch AC
Base MP Cost: 4[/info]"Amazing... As expected of our handsome hero! ☆" Your display of magic caught the attention of the others too, and you began to hear murmuring among them. You managed to catch most of what  they were saying, it was primarily about how rare it was for someone to be able to cast a spell successfully on their first try.

"My oh my, quite jealous, it took me a couple of years to cast my first spell after being taught... There really is a difference between a hero and everyone else..."

"... That's... amazing." The girl, Han Tu《Covert Ops》, said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.



"Other gods? One of your world... My, my, my, the world is an interesting place. How many gods did your people worship? Or... if you were a raven, perhaps there was no worship..."

"Of course theirs other gods! As much as some churches refuse to believe. In my country we have 7 of them!"

"Stop talking about gods and goddesses, they do nothing for us really. All this religious talk makes me sick." Lu Zhihao《Sadist》said.

"Oh! Another killer talks back! Besides, Fred is from the goddess, or at least... a god of some sort. I saw you bowing earlier too Zhihao."

The girl shrugged.

"We're all killers. Everyone else was, figured I'd do the same." She stood up and made her way towards you.

"Oliana, stop hogging the new leader all to yourself, let me get my hands on him too." Without waiting for a confirmation, she placed herself behind you. She planned to wrap her arms around you.

"Our leader, well, old leader Lai Fen absolutely loved pain." She continued to glide her arms around you, ignoring the protests in everyone else's eyes. "How about you?"

Feel free to take actions to interrupt anything above

[Linwelin]

Fred was stuck laughing to himself with glee, motioning widely with his arms almost dance-like to move the serpent of fire through the air near him at his whim. "As much as I want to, I'm guessing I shouldn't target this at anyone down here...is there a safe way to cancel this spell? I'd rather not set something on fire."



"Since I was a bird, I didn't actually know there was a god or goddess. Though...if I equate how people here act toward gods and goddesses to how people I observed in my old world acted, I believe there was only one. It's hard to say since I didn't understand any of them very well."

At Zhihao's approach, Fred got a slight chill down his spine. Why am I so anxious...

"Our leader, well, old leader Lai Fen absolutely loved pain." She continued to glide her arms around you, ignoring the protests in everyone else's eyes. "How about you?"

Oh, that's why...she's dangerous. Fred swallowed nervously as he replied, "I'm not partial to it." His instincts were screaming at him to get away, but he could tell that, being in her embrace already, there'd be no escaping. Plus, she wouldn't actually do anything here and now, right?

[Throndir]

"That's a good question..." Eris echoed your sentiments looking at Jed. The large and muscular man frowned.

"Spells normally dissipate with enough time... You can think of it as using spells to create or bend the elements to your will, like a force to move them. After you take away that force, it might still be lingering around. Cancelling a spell would instead be figuring something out to cancel it. For that fire spell of yours, using water, for example. ☆"

I keep having to make disclaimers, lol, but feel free to interrupt any action that I write from here on out, I find it easier/faster to proceed with scenes this way, rather than getting feedback after every sentence.

You felt the dark-haired girl bring her head close to yours from behind. Her tongue flicked out, aiming to lick your cheek.

"Who knows, pain might just feel real good."

During the dinner, Wen Chaoxiang《The Silent One》, moved himself to behind you, then dropped himself in a bowing pose, with his forehead touching the ground. There were other men beside him too. Chaoxiang had been wearing a mask since the beginning, but the other men around him weren't. Most of them were younger than him. Apart from Jed, who seemed to be the oldest in the group, most of the other men and boys were behind Chaoxiang in the same bowing position.

It was then that Lai Fen spoke.

"Fred, meet Chao. He doesn't talk much, but the other guys in our little group follow him more than they follow me at times... That's his way of paying respect to the new leader."

[Linwelin]

"Huh, I was hoping to be able to just kind of halt it, without using more mana. That's a shame. Well, I guess I'll go ahead and have some fun while it lasts!" Fred shrugged, then began directing the serpent with his hands, waving them to and fro as the creature of flames danced through the air around him, leaving a dazzling trails of embers in its wake. Finally, after some time, it fizzles out into a trailing cloud of sparks. Fred nods his head contentedly.

[info]Done with this one if you are.[/info]



Fred quickly dodges to the side, breaking free and standing up a short distance away, "I think the word you're looking for is painful. Real painful."



Fred did all he could to stifle a groan. Again with the bowing!? And this is even more severe than the others...

"Please, comrades, stand. Respect has been paid, and is appreciated. But I'll say it again, I've not done nearly enough to deserve this yet, and this whole 'high status' thing is unnecessary among friends to me. Maybe once you've all taught me I'll finally accept these gestures more naturally."

[Throndir]

"Pain could be good too..." She pouted.

The moment you asked him to stand, the masked man stood up, his intense gaze looking upon you. He grunted at that same time, and the other men behind him who had been prostrating themselves, stood up as well.

Wen Chaoxiang then foled one hand over the other, and raised it above his chest in a saluting manner. The rest of the men too, followed suit.

"He's pretty loyal, but he doesn't talk... They kind of have a very... hmm... chivalrous attitude when it comes to everyone else."

[Linwelin]

[info]Ready to move on from meal/intros. Let me know what I need to do.[/info]

[Throndir]

Note that there are ~50 Dark Raven members, but I didn't give every single one an image and a name. In summary, Jed is the eldest male. Everyone else is from 15-25. There are some men who follow around Wen Chaoxiang like puppies. Also, since you should have seen this long ago. The little girl's name is Sio Ai《Princess》

When the meal was over, you managed to get an account of everyone's names. So far, no one really talked about your powers as a hero, though they did all see that you were able to strip people's clothing off. Each of them introduced themselves properly, the little kid however, continued to hide away from the rest, and wouldn't really talk with other people, though some of the members of the Dark Raven had teased her.

One of the individuals however, seemed to give you a different name.

Mo Ruogang《Red Hand》

Though you see Mo Ruogang《Red Hand》, she introduced herself as "Lei Lingxin".

Apart from that, Lai Fen had lit some incense, and as a group, they mourned the losses of a few members that day as well.

It is around 7 PM, you can fit in any sort of Training for the rest of the evening, unless there are specific things you want to do.

[Linwelin]

"Lei Lingxin? It's a pleasure to meet you." Fred offers his hand for a hand shake. After waiting until she takes his hand, he firmly grips her hand back and follows up with a probing question, "So tell me, how is the Red Hand treating you?" He gives a knowing look directly into her eyes.

I hope there's a good explanation for this. We're already about to mourn loss, and I don't wish to start another fight. But if she's really with Red Hand now, it's safest to expose it now.

I'd like to train to gain Qi/Martial abilities. But I'm rusty on the training mechanics. What's the duration I can go for, and what do I roll?

[Throndir]

The girl furrowed her eyebrows, but shrugged a moment later.

"Strange question you would ask, but pretty much the same as everyone? They're a thorn on our side for sure." She said simply as she nodded to herself. Her eyes noted the fact you held her hand firmly, though her eyes slowly moved to meet yours instead. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, hero."

Regular session: 4 hours
Expedited session: 2 hours, but increased DC (+4 DC for Basic Techniques)
Training steps:
1) State who the mentor is that is teaching you (if available)
2) Roll training check: 1d20+6.

[Linwelin]

"Oh really? I thought they would treat their members differently...Mo Ruogang." Fred stated in a hushed tone, laden with his suspicion. Fred prepares to clamp down on her hand at the very moment she shows intent to withdraw. Though he hopes to avoid a conflict, his time here has shown him such things are unlikely.



[info]Fred doesn't really have a preference in a trainer. As he's the most familiar with Lai Ju or Lai Fen, most likely one of them. But since they could probably be busy, anyone willing to take a moment to show Ki basics will do.

[blockquote]Training Ki 1d20+6 : 13 + 6, total 19[/blockquote][/info]

[Throndir]

Roll for initiative!

Let's handle this before moving on to Training.

[Linwelin]

[info][blockquote]Initiative:  1d20+9 : 11 + 9, total 20[/blockquote][/info]