[Jean] Chapter 6: The Wind Temples of Velothia

[pringerbeam]

     Jean stopped in his tracks  as a voice from a time too distant for Jean to comprehend whispered into his mind.  Jean...  With that faintest memory, the unbridled elation he had been experiencing since returning from the realm of death shattered like glass.  A tear rolled down his cheek and he howled.  "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"  He screamed at the top of his lungs until he was out of breath.  He fell to his knees and clawed at the gash on his chest, sobbing.  "No, this can't... They...  They're dead!"  He grasped at his face with bloodied hands, mixing the blood and tears that streamed down his face as he cried.  Standing up he let loose another primal scream of emotions roiling like a storm.  He grasped at the wall of the hallway they were next to and clawed into the wall, splintering his fingernails against the stone. He looked at the simple structure, rage and anguish in his eyes.  "Wind and Water!  From the deepest vault of the Hurricane Lord, give form to the lashing tongue of his terrifying steed!  Typhoon Spear!"  He screamed, summoning his weapon to his hands.  Roaring again and swung the spear into the wall of the hallway.

[info]Casting Typhoon Spear overcharged (+1 enhancement, +4d6 piercing, +5d6 cold)

Sundering nearest wall
  Attack[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 19 + 10, total 29[/blockquote]  Damage (Piercing)[blockquote]Rolled 1d8+2 : 8 + 2, total 10
Rolled 4d6 : 5, 5, 5, 6, total 21[/blockquote]  Damage (Cold)[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 1, 3, 5, 1, 2, total 12[/blockquote][/info]

[Throndir]

Dalina didn't know how to react, she instinctively took a step back when the spear appeared in your hands, and as you struck the wall, flakes of it started to explode off the impact zone. The wall wasn't completely demolished, but a large crater appeared in it, cracks had appeared spreading from the point of contact, along with bits of ice and frost that covered the area that you struck.

"Villa- ... Jean!" Dalina pleaded as she came over to you cautiously.

"I'm confused, the summoning ritual is supposed to take someone from a different world... But you're familiar with the academy? You were from the Idorian Academy's world? Jean? Jean!"

[include u=2]Wall HP: -35[/include]

[pringerbeam]

     Jean raged and howled incoherently, not even hearing Dalina's words.  The memory of Eloise, once faded by the raw torment The Old One had put him through flooding back to him.

He roared again and swung his spear into the opposite wall, barely missing a blow to Dalina in the process which could have very well decapitated her.

[info]Sundering opposite wall.
  Attack[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 5 + 10, total 15[/blockquote]  Damage (Piercing)[blockquote]Rolled 1d8+10 : 5 + 10, total 15
Rolled 4d6 : 6, 2, 3, 1, total 12[/blockquote]Damage (Cold)[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 4, 6, 4, 2, 5, total 21[/blockquote][/info]

[Throndir]

"Jean! Please!" Dalina continued to say, you had ignored her words, and moved on to the opposite wall, barely missing her. Your spear struck the other wall, doing much the same damage as tour first attempt.

"Please talk to me, tell me, what's wrong? Jean! What was there at the academy? Who's 'they'? Please Jean!"

[include u=2]Wall HP: -35
2nd Wall HP: -40[/include]

[pringerbeam]

     Jean threw his spear to the floor and slumped to his knees, his anger spent.  "They're dead...  It was meaningless...  Ten thousand deaths and it was all meaningless..."  He rolled onto his side and curled into a ball.  "Ten years...  It's been gone for ten years..."  Another memory slipped into his mind.

     At this one he bolted up.  "Wait...  She's alive?"  He bolted to his feet and ran out of the temple.  He charged away, heading back for the summoning place.  Searching for Ren, paying no heed to anything Dalina said, eventually seeing her and the slimeling making there way towards the temple.  He sprinted once he saw them.  He took the slimeling out of Ren's hands.  "You're alive!  You're alive!  Where?  Where is the other you?  Tell me where the other you is!"  He says, shaking the gelatinous being.

[Throndir]

When you made your way back towards the summoning ritual ruins, you saw both Ren and the slimeling. They were both seated on a giant green bird. You realized that it was Dalina's bird, Gust. Having the same kind of decorative armor pieces that it wore when it was still small. But seeing its full size, that decorative armor probably wasn't just for show.

Reference picture.

Gust, upon noticing both you running towards them, and Dalina attempting to catch up, flew down, and dropped Ren off. The slimeling was in her hands as well, and it already looked much healthier than before. It was slightly larger too.

"Food giver!" The creature made plopping noises, but the translation in your head still made you understand what it had said.

When you asked for the 'other you', it paused for a moment and seemed to sway back and forth. Finally after a few more moments, which Dalina used to catch up to you, it started to morph its body, and soon enough, it was in the likeness of an arrow.

Dalina was panting hard.

"I... never knew... you could... run so fast!" She panted as she breathed in deeply catching her breath. "Not everyone from the Idorian Academy is dead... When their capital fell, many of them did die. But there were many who survived. That country is no more, not even their headmaster survived. But the survivors are living throughout the rest of the world, helping the war effort in the way they can. It's not.. all lost Jean. When we get to Mount Velothia, we can ask the dragons if they have any more information about them, what do you think?"

[pringerbeam]

     "I...  I..."  Jean stammered  trying to think of what to say but nothing came to him.  He looked at the the horizon where the slime pointed to.  "They're not all dead."  He turned to Dalina.  "I'm sorry... It's...  Been a while...  Ten years at least apparently...  And I've been...  Somewhere without people...  I wasn't myself.  Or at least not the person that was first summoned here.  I should explain..."  He looked around and a slight breeze chilled his skin.  Reminded of his nakedness, he blushed and looked around, quickly diving into a bush on the side of the path.  "Umm...  I don't suppose I could get some clothes?"  He asked, poking his head out of the shrub. 

[Throndir]

Dalina furrowed her eyebrows.

"You know... I was just starting to get used to the idea that you'd always be running around naked too..." She narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you Jean Valois the master of the malevolently monstrous menagerie of madness? I think I got that right..."

But she sighed as Gust shrunk its form again and fluttered back towards her. She smiled softly.

"An actually embarrassed Jean isn't so bad either though..."

"Master... why are you in the bushes?" Renenutet asked, but she proceeded to pull on a brown piece of cloth that the slimeling had bounced back to once it had a chance again.

"Mine! That's mine!" The slimeling complained. But Renenutet stared the creature down without saying a word, and in response the slimeling backed down, though it seemed to have glared at Ren before doing so.

Once Ren had the piece of clothing however, she proceeded to offer it to you, grabbing it with one of her tentacles and gently giving it to you.

"Master... I think you look nicer without anything on..." Ren suggested, her demeanor completely changing dealing with you, as her eyes looked hungrily towards you. She still proceeded to drop the remains of the robe to you however, even helping drape it across your shoulders.

[pringerbeam]

     Jean took the cloak and covered himself up.  Carefully, he extricated himself from the bush.  Not carefully enough however, as he stumbled and fell over back onto the path, wrapped up in the cloak.  Righting himself, he shook some of the dust off the cloak.  "Easy for you to say Ren, you don't have areolas."  He said, holding the cloak to his body.  "Anyways, we should get you to your elders and I need to talk this martial instructor.  I need to prepare for the next time I encounter the demons.  But I guess in the meantime you probably want the whole story."  Jean started to make his way back towards the temple. 
     "I'm not from the world that the Idoran Magic Kingdom came from.  I came from somewhere else but I was summoned by them.  I was summoned but there was a problem.  The expedition sent to summon me was attacked by demons and almost all of them were dead by the time I made it to their camp.  Then I died...  But apparently not forever.  I was simply sent back to somewhere else...  Somewhere horrible...  I encountered some very powerful beings and then I was pulled back here by your summoning."  Jean looked down at his feet, poking out from under the cloak with each step.  "So I'm sorry, but you got a defective hero.  I died right out of the gate before.  I can't promise that I won't do the same again."

[Throndir]

Dalina frowned.

"There's so many questions... But, promise to tell me all about it later? The council meetings usually take a few hours, since we go through almost every aspect in our little society here... If you want lunch, ask any of the other priests, we don't horde anything, and we provide to everyone. Plus... everyone should know that you're the hero that was summoned."

She paused.

"You are the hero now, right? Anyways, Gust can show you where the martial instructor is."

"Anyways Jean, you said a lot that's hard to take in, but... even if I don't understand it all, you're here now right? You have another chance. Besides..."

"The Wind Temple Priests will be there for you." She winked as she waved and started running off back towards the temple and settlement.

Gust fluttered around though you noticed the bird kept staring suspiciously at you.

[pringerbeam]

     Jean made his way with the group back to the temple.  On his way, he looked to Ren and the slime.  "So you can speak too.  Are you...  Are you the same?  Or are you a separate...  I hesitate to say entity but maybe that's the best we have right now.  You called me food giver earlier.  Do you remember me?  Do you remember anything?  You pointed earlier, to your other self right?  Can you do more?  Can you send a message?" 

[Throndir]

The slimeling started to make plopping noises in response.

"Remember... always! Food giver!" It said happily. "Message? No..."

"Master... You're trying to look for that other human too? It's okay... I miss her too, her's were softer than this new girl's..." Ren licked her lips but didn't bother to explain.

[pringerbeam]

     "Well I guess it was too much to hope for.  But just in case...  Let them know I'm back okay?  And if possible...  I'm sorry."  They continued their journey.  "Ten years...  I wonder if that's how long it was in the city...  Not like it was easy to tell time in that place, no days, no nights, just eternal darkness.  I wonder if that mean's I've aged to match?"  He pulled a lock of hair in front of his face suddenly aware of it's presence.  It was long as if uncut for some time and, most shockingly to him, was white.  "What?  Oh, no, no, no, no..."  He ran ahead to the nearest house and burst in through the front door.  "Mirror...  I need a mirror!"  He begged the occupant until they produced a simple polished metal mirror.  He looked at his reflection to find that while his hair was now white and unkempt with months of neglect and included a scraggly beard.  His facial features, while looking more tired than he ever though he could look, were more or less the same.  "Well...  That's different.  Maybe it's like in one of those old stories where the shock of it all turned it white..."  He also noticed his musculature looking a little bulkier and than it used to be as he opened  his robe to look his body up and down.  His frame had always been slim and weak from years of neglecting physical activity but now he had some bulk and definition and even noticeable pectoral muscles and abs marred by the bloody gash he had inflicted on himself.  "Thanks, and sorry for the surprise."  He said, returning the mirror to the home's occupant. "I'm the hero by the way."  He mentioned as he made his way out.  "Sorry about that moment of vanity.  My appearance isn't what it used to be.  A lot has changed apparently."

[Throndir]

The slimeling cocked its head to the side, but it seemed to nod slowly, though, without confirming one way or another.

When you ran into the random home, an elderly man had greeted you. It didn't take him long to fetch a mirror, realizing almost immediately that you were the summoned hero from earlier that day.

"It's fine young man, you can keep the mirror if you'd like as well! But... before you leave, wait a minute." With that the man disappeared back into his home.

In front of the house, not going in with you, was Ren with the slimeling sitting atop her head.

She had confusion on her face, not understanding your actions. Her tentacles reached out to you, preparing to wrap themselves around you. Those tentacles were familiar, for what seemed like a lifetime, they had coiled around you when you were killed and brought back to life over and over, Ren's eyes back then had been full of concern, and there were times where seeing you torn from limb to limb had caused the tentacled girl to tear up. She was one who was ready to kill other humans without much thought, but she seemed to hold a soft-spot towards you.

"Master... you are fine just the way you are... Whichever way you are, you're still my master." Ren said trying to offer some encouragement, and was still at a loss for your reason to go into the home in the first place.

The older man eventually had come out, in his arms looked to be a folded bundle of clothing. Just by looking at it, you realized it was a set of robes that everyone on the floating islands wore.

"I had this extra pair... I think it'll fit you just fine. It'll be better than the tatters you're wearing now at least." The man said, smiling wide.

[pringerbeam]

     "I'm mostly a normal mortal Ren.  10 years would be a third of my life.  An entire decade gone.  It's not that easy to make peace with one's suddenly nearer end.  Sure, I'll probably die to the demons long before then, but the death of old age is slow and brutal."  Said Jean as he pulled on the simple vestments offered by the resident.  "Mortal problems, you know?  Besides, I may be your master by unknowable pact, but I need to earn these people's respect.  I'll need them if I expect to find the others and fight the demons."  He finished putting on the clothes and patted himself down, turning and inspecting his new look as he did so.  "Eh...  Not really my thing but it will have to do for now.  I'll need to get something more fitting later."  Jean continued back towards the temple once again.