Meeting the Family (Shadowspawn Class)

[Jehaine]

It was a nice day. The Blight looked well-fed for once, Draghkar were cheerfully screeching in the air, the sun seemed intent to smother everything in heat and the higher-ups in the Fortress had, in an attempt to counterbalance all this joyful happyness, seen it fit to hold a Shadowspawn class in the deepest, darkest catacombs the Fortress had to offer.

 

Upon arriving, the students would notice that outside of the room they would recieve the lesson in, there stood two black-cloaked Dreadlords, one male, one female, shielding all students before heading in. They gave no explanation, and would only have offered someone the back of a hand for asking, but most had learned that lesson already one way or another.

 

Inside the room, well lit with balls of light created by saidar and saidin, stood a tall woman in black clothes that matched the raven black color of her hair. Her skin appeared a bit pale, though it was hard to tell as her clothing covered most of it, and though she made no sign of turning around she acknowledged the other students as they walked in, studying some of the notes she had made for class. As far as she was aware, all preparations had been made, and all that was left was wait for her students to start showing up...

[Raeyn]

 

Smoothing a dark blue gown over her hips, Rendra walked sedately through the Fortress towards.... somewhere.  She knew that there was yet another class to attend that day, but she was as-of-yet unfamiliar with the entire layout of this immense structure that was her current 'home'.

 

After what seemed an Age, she noticed a stream of people she recognized from her other classes heading in what seemed the right direction, and she joined them.  To her surprise, there were two cloaked forms flanking the open door.  The young Taraboner stiffened momentarily as she felt a shield cut her off from <i>Saidar</i>... but she knew better than to ask questions in this place.  The 'lessons' here were just as harsh, if not harsher, than those she'd grown up with.

 

Sighing inwardly, she shuffled in with the rest of the students, and found herself a corner to hole up in and observe from.

 

[Kura]

Arcon Dadread entered the class with a solemn expression on his face, not truly interested in what the class had to teach, but he was here regardless. Who knows, maybe something would spark his interest? Looking around as he entered, he believed his eye caught on something that might just do that. The tall woman standing in front of the class caught his eye. Tall with raven locks, and a complexion even paler than his own. Still, there was something off about her, and even the Adept's well trained eyes could not place her nationality.

 

She was tall as an Aiel, yet pale like those of his native land. Was she some kind of half-breed? Pondering that line of though, he discarded it, the likely hood of such a union was astronomically low. Perhaps her accent would give it away when she turned to speak...  Watching the students file in, he doubted it would be to much longer until she was forced to do so. Unless she planed to unnerve them all by not even turning to look at them...

 

((Couldn't resist a couple things in that post...))

[Jehaine]

OOC: Well, i think i've waited enough, so let's get this underway ^^

 

IC:

 

Rebecca walked into the classroom. She, too, had been shielded, even though she honestly didn't know why they would have. As if she would wield the Power like it was her own personal playtoy, rather than to keep focusing on diversity! Either way, disagreeing would just as well have earned her a slap in the face, and in the end it didn't matter to her either way since she still had her daggers. Not that anyone would want to break the peace though.

 

She scanned the room and spotted Rendra. Now there was one just itching to break the peace if she could get away with it. Smirking, she sat down in the back of class as well, where she could be seen but remain out of reach, waiting for class to start. Time to see what all the fuss was about with Shadowspawn. Probably human grunts doing the footwork, as opposed to spying Darkfriends and Dreadlord generals.

 

 

Rebecca

Doesn't know the half of it

 

---

 

The teacher waited for the door to close softly, telling her that all students were present and accounted for. Nodding silently to herself, she tried to guess their reactions to what she would be showing them soon. They had assured her that everyone had been shielded and would continue to be so for the duration of the lesson.

 

- "Good afternoon, class."

 

In hindsight, her voice would have given it away to the Borderlanders among them, sounding like a snake rustling through dry leaves. There was an itch behind her shoulder blades, but she found it impossible to find what caused it in this massive place, too many channelers around. She turned around then, allowing the students to look into her face, crossing her arms as she waited for their reaction to her having no eyes. Not empty sockets, they just were not there in the first place.

 

- "My name is Calaun Ontrix Seyr... And i am a Myrddraal."

 

She looked at all of them in turn, allowing her fear-inducing gaze to pass over all of them, giving them a taste of what it was she could do as well as keep the class under control. Ironic, how humans could be similar to Trollocs in some ways... There were those in the Fortress that reasoned that her gaze was not actually a Myrddraal's ability, but rather dependant on the amount of unease her targets would feel at being looked at by an eyeless face. She didn't know about that, but as long as it worked who was she to question it? For now, she'd wait until the effect of showing her face settled down somewhat before continuing the lesson.

 

 

Calaun

...Teaching

[Raeyn]

<i>"Good afternoon, class."</i>

 

Rendra gasped in surprise as the woman who had been standing there when she came into the room turned around.  Woman… but not… where were her eyes?!

 

<i>"My name is Calaun Ontrix Seyr... And I am a Myrddraal." </i>

 

Biting back a gasp, the Taraboner was suddenly very glad for the corner she had placed herself in; the walls were giving something to brace against rather than falling flat on her face.  For all her time at the Fortress, she hadn’t had to come face-to-face with any of the Shadowspawn creatures, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure whose idea of a joke it was to plop the lot of them in a room with one!

 

Of course, that was before this Calaun actually even looked at her.  When that eyeless gaze brushed her, Rendra could feel her spine trying to climb out of her skin and through the wall, and that gasp from earlier <b>did</b> manage to escape.  For all she had faced in the streets growing up, she was suddenly very sure that there was nothing quite as fearsome as this strange creature before her.  Tightening her hands into fists, she bit her lip and promised to herself that this too she would learn to not fear; she was tough, and she couldn’t let anything cause her fear, not anymore… for Aldric.

 

[Kura]

Arcon was busy inspecting his fellow classmates a bit further, getting the feel of the area. He noticed something odd, those hailing from the borderlanders stared at the instructor with an odd mix of fear and hatred. What is that all about... Then she spoke. Her voice was like nothing he had ever heard... it was an evil sound, that was the only description he had. Every borderlander present moved their hands to the hilt of their blades.

 

Then she turned.

 

Fear gripped Arcon as he realized what was standing in front of him. He almost tried to reach for the source, but resisted. I wouldn't be able to break through the shield... Instead he followed the example of the north men. His hand went to the hilt of the longsword on his hip, prepared to enter Unfolding the Fan.

 

All of this  before her eyeless gaze met his own.

 

He kept his hand locked into position; he was simply no longer ready to draw the sword. He wasn't prepared for what this beast could do, and the pale adept was shaken to the core. Steeling his will, he returned the gaze. He felt fear... but he was returning to his senses. Thats what a Myrddraal can do... Fearsome, but not strong enough to keep me from blowing its head off...

 

Despite his strong thoughts, not even a single muscle twitched in Arcon's body.

[Jehaine]

The first thing Rebecca thought when she heard the woman speak was that she was unable to discern what region she came from. Her looks provided no clues either, making her feel somewhat intrigued at the lack of information she could gather about the person that was to teach class. All thoughts on the matter fled her mind however once the woman turned, looking directly at her.

 

She felt it. All the fear she had believed to be gone dredged up, coming out of the woodwork of her soul where she had believed to have driven it all out. She was afraid to speak, afraid to even breathe for fear of slighting this... creature. Her brain tried to file this new information, but no matter how much she tried to regain her concentration, there was only one coherent thought she was able to form.

 

"Oh Light, the stories... They're all true!"

 

Her teacher's gaze passed on to the next student, allowing her some respite to gather her thoughts on what had just happened to her. She followed the woman's gaze again, noticing the fear she had felt mirrored into whichever student was being looked at at that time. An ability, she concluded, but one that would prove to be potentially dangerous to those not used to it. She now knew why they had been shielded before entering the classroom too, she wouldn't blame anyone trying to kill the Myrddraal with the Power on a reflex.

 

 

Rebecca

Recovering...

 

---

 

The corner of Calaun's lip twitched as her gaze passed through class, though there was no humor in it. She watched the students cower with fear in their eyes, or hatred, or a mixture of both. They were still too much stuck in their old lightfool habits of walking in the Light where they were to be the Great Lord's future Dreadlords! Instead, here they were, and she could almost feel them clawing for the Source for defense. They would have to be broken of that...

 

- "As there are many non-Borderlanders among you who still believe Trollocs and Myrddraal to be stories, the Dreadlords have seen it fit to have me teach this class. Ask yourselves this, had your teacher been human, would you have believed him when he'd describe me? This, at least, ensures you will not be taking this class lightly."

 

She started pacing back and forth, resisting the urge to gaze at them until they wet their pants in frustration. A hint of anger had slipped into her voice, one that she didn't bother to hide, and she clenched her fists as she tried to keep herself from drawing the blade she wasn't allowed to carry in the Fortress. If they had been Trollocs, she would have them running laps for this display of fear. But they were going to be new Dreadlords, which made it inconcievably worse to her.

 

- "As i said, i am a Myrddraal. Though we only make up two percent of the Army of the Shadow, we are the captains, the ones leading the Trollocs to where they are needed. You on the other hand, are all training to be Dreadlords, the generals of said Army. Those that will be commanding me and others like me in battle. One day, you will be expected to look me in the eye and not flinch as you give me my orders. Can you do that, knowing that fear for their superiors keeps the Army in line? That controlling fear keeps the Army from turning on itself?!?"

 

She slammed both palms on the desk, making the wood creak audibly. Whatever wood had been used had been strong, however, as the desk seemed to hold under the blow. Calaun's voice was steadily growing louder until she was all but shouting at her students, and anger and irritation were dominating the tone of her voice. She passed her gaze along the desks, wall and the bodies of the students, trying very hard not to look them in the eyes to keep from breaking their focus. But it was hard not to.

 

- "Let me make one thing absolutely clear here: You do NOT walk in the Light. None of you do. You will get it through your skulls that you belong to the Shadow now. You will break yourselves of your fear. And you will succeed, or die trying! the Great Lord does not need cowards or children needing to be held by the hand, so you will do this on your own! This is not some lightfool kindergarten for channelers, this is the Army of Shadow! This very training is set on culling the weak, allowing only those worthy of the rank to become a general!! AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR!!"

 

Her hands had curled up into fists on the table, her gaze whipping back and forth between her students, rage radiating off of her like an aura. The amount of fear she had felt from whom were supposed to become her future commanders sickened her. They might be able to channel, but as they were now they would turn into a whimpering pile if they ever met a Shadow Walker, let alone a full Shadow Knight. She was a Myrddraal, and she fought to win. And she'd be damned if she'd expect less from her commanders as well.

 

 

Calaun

A bit angry with her students

[Raeyn]

 

Rendra narrowed her eyes as the creature continued carrying on and ranting.  Granted, her spine felt like it had been dunked in the coldest parts of the ocean whenever that angry eyeless glare crossed over here, but that was beside the point.  Who was this mere creature to talk down at her future leaders; did she want to be remembered poorly in future battles, where life and death lay in the hands of those above her?

 

<i>”Still,”</i> she thought to herself as the creature raged on, <i>”Other people here claim they can ride through shadows from one place to the next, and,”</i> Rendra’s thoughts cut off suddenly as Calaun slammed her hands down on the table, making it issue a decidedly creaky-crunchy sound, <i>“… … … And maybe this Myrdraal has a point, and the lot of us are silly cows…”</i>

 

Gulping down air, she forced her hands to unclench.  Anger and fear mixed and streaked with each other in her as the Myrdraal glared around the room, and it was all she could do to keep her hands from her daggers, <i>”Did I already forget the promise I made to myself not moments ago? <b>I WILL NOT FEAR!</b>  I cannot, I must go on to punish those who would harm those I cared about.  I must be stronger than... than this creature, than everyone!"</i>

 

Forcing herself to step away from the wall, she took a deep breath and attempted to address the creature hotly.  What came out, however, was a squeaked, “I under… under..stand… you… ma’am.”  Gulping, she hung her head and glowered; she <b>would</b> master her fear.

 

 

 

[Kura]

The Fade made a mistake. It forced one of Arcon's strongest emotions to the surface. Anger. It gripped him, shattering the void. This damn half-man dares to speak to me like this! His knuckles grew white as he gripped onto the longsword on his hip, his left hand itching to draw forth his concealed weapon. By himself, he wasn't sure if he could take the shadow walker, but eying some of the Shienarians present...

 

Gritting his teeth, the adept got himself under control. Reassuming the void, he stared back at the Myrddraal. Consciously taking control of his breathing, he forced himself to not break the stare. He felt the grip on his sword become coated with a layer of cold sweat, but his will held true as she continued her rant. "You..." He took a final breath. "You are making yourself quite clear." He refused to add any honorific, the beast didn't deserve one.

 

OOC: Sorry for the delay and the like, Jeh had it right and I pretty much forgot about this thread. >>;

[Jehaine]

Rebecca was too busy gritting her teeth to react to the.. thing's tirade. All she could do was look at that skin where the eyes should have been. There were no empty sockets either, causing her to wonder how the creature could see in the first place, let alone instill her with such an amount of fear.

 

Still, she kept her face smooth, though even with all her training she was sweating heavily from the effort. Had it not been from her training as an assassin, she doubted she would have been able to pull it off, but by a stroke of sheer willpower she held on. As it struck the desk however, she winced visibly, fearing the Fade would jump over it to kill them all. As soon as she realised which emotion fueled that thought, she set about flailing it down again, trying to build up her walls of self-confidence again as she replied in a hiss, more angry at herself than at the Myrddraal pointing out her mistakes to her.

 

- "Yes... Yes, you are."

 

After answering, she continued to dig into her soul to find where this hidden cache of fear had come from. There was apparently some left that her father and her had missed during her training, and now that it was out into the open it gave her the best chance of finding it.

 

 

Rebecca

Looking for her fear

 

---

 

“I under… under..stand… you… ma’am.”

 

"You... You are making yourself quite clear."

 

"Yes... Yes, you are."

 

Watching the reactions of her students, trying to push down their fear, she sat down again. From the feeling she gave out, she still wasn't all too pleased about it, but her body language would tell them that she found the outcome satisfactory, or at least attempting to meet the standards she held them to. There was the possibility of reprecussions when the day would come that they outranked her, of course, but she wasn't too particularly concerned about that. She was here to teach Dreadlords, and couldn't care less about what they thought of her if she got the job done.

 

- "Good. Though we can't channel, every Myrddraal can sense if someone is channeling around them, even point them out if they are close enough. We also go through several power leaps in their lives, provided our potential isn't wasted by death in a meaningless battle. Every level enhanced the amount of Trollocs we can link to, the strength of our fear gaze i showed you at the start of class and the distance we can transport ourselves through the shadows exponentially, to the point where we can keep up to five hundred Trollocs in check just by showing themselves. I am currently at the lowest level of power, only able to... encourage two or three Trollocs at once to follow my orders. Needless to say you do not wish to choke up like you all did when a Shadow Knight glances at you. Shadowspawn are valuable allies, but our allegiance is based on power. We have no wish to follow someone we think is weak. This is true for the entire Army of Shadow, and moreso for its commanders, yes?"

 

She looked at the students again, finding a small amount of satisfaction that this time, the students were resisting -- or trying to resist, in some cases -- much better. She could only hope it was a skill they would master before they'd find themselves stuffed in a cookpot for failing to keep their own Trollocs in check. That, or get dominated by the first ranking Myrddraal that bothers showing up, leading to varying reactions from those that could. Most were amused, though some killed the Dreadlord in question for the failure he was. Either way, she had a class to teach.

 

- "If there are any questions, you may ask. In the meantime, we will be taking a small tour of the dungeons, where i will show you the other troops the Shadow has at its disposal. Troops you will get to lead one day, so pay attention."

 

After that, she got up, keeping an ear open to see if there were more questions as she walked towards the door.

 

 

Calaun

Hoping they got the message

[Raeyn]

 

Taking a deep breath, Rendra forced herself to meet the gaze of the Eyeless once again.  She was still shaking a bit, but it was something she could accept.  After all, everything improved with practice, supposedly, and this <b>was</b> her first time doing this.  "I have no further questions at this time," she made herself say as smoothly as possible. 

 

She was further gladdened when the creature turned away from them all to go towards the door.  Oh sure, they were off to look at <b>more</b> creatures, but at least she'd not have to look this Myrdraal in the eye again <i>quite</i> yet - twice in as many minutes was more than enough for now! 

 

Taking a deep breath, Rendra willed her feet to move forward... after the Myrdraal.  Towards whatever pit of monsters they were going to go play in, monsters that some day they would have to all command.  Even faced with it now, it was still so hard for her to believe the road of her life had taken her to such an insane point.

[Kura]

Arcon loosened his grip upon his sword hilt, mastering his body the way his father had taught him. Do not loose yourself against Arcon... Do not. He chastised himself mentally, he would have to stare down the strongest of their vile race, and command them. He couldn't do so if he was scared witless by nothing more than a glance... from the lowest Tier.

 

"No questions Myrddraal." He kept his voice neutral, mastering the pit of fear in his stomach and following her lead, staying a step behind her as she made her way through the fortress. Now now...this brings back memories. He thought of his days as an acolyte, of the days he spent in a darkhound pit, cleaning the sands of any rouge saliva to make them...safe. He thought of the loyal pit fiends who had risen with him, and what they had done in those pits to survive.

 

Not darkhounds mind you, but each other. The place lay just outside the fortress... where the peace of the shadow held no sway. He suppressed a grin, having slit that vile woman's throat himself... He doubted they'd be going to those same pits, but the memory was a fond one none the less. Those were they days he had discovered the value of his father's lessons... The day he had truly began his scheming. Her death had caused the birth of a new Dreadlord, one stronger than that antisocial punk could ever have been.

 

It had been a worthy sacrifice.

[Jehaine]

Like her fellow students, Rebecca mentioned having no further questions in a voice she did her best to keep level. Getting up, she prepared to follow her teacher through the Fortress to wherever she had wanted to take them, trying to gues where they would be headed to. She also kept an eye on Rendra in the process, making sure there were always at least one or two students in between them, knowing enough about stealth and awareness to do so without attracting attention to herself.

 

 

Rebecca

Following

 

---

 

Calaun walked on to the door, not bothering to look back to see if they were following her. They would be, unless they wanted to risk being seen as weak by each other. Be it fear or arrogance, but the Myrddraal couldn't help but note that in the end, the motivations that kept Trollocs going was in a way similar to what her students did to keep themselves and each other in line. Still, they were showing some progress in mastering their own fear, perhaps they had some potential in them after all.

 

After a while, they arrived in the catacombs of the Fortress, where prisoners were being kept. In contrary to common belief, the majority of people imprisoned here were actually Darkfriends that had failed their task horribly. The less Lightfools knew of the existance of this Fortress the better, after all. In addition, it kept the Darkfriends on their toes when they recieved a summons.

 

Arriving at the first cage, a small globe of light sprang up, the itch between her shoulder blades telling her one of the Dreadlords that were keeping the students shielded had woven it to give them a better view of the near-human in front of them. On the other side of the bars on either side of them were several cells, each holding a different type of Trolloc. They had failed their tasks utterly, but were being kept alive for the purpose of this class. There was always time to kill them later on.

 

 

Calaun

Meet the Trollocs

[Raeyn]

Following along, she felt her legs regain some strength as she wound her way down through the Fortress <b>behind</b> the creature, rather than directly in its gaze. 

 

In time, they reached the open cells.  Rendra almost gasped as she felt someone channel <i>Saidar</i> behind her; a globe of light sprang to life, revealing some beasts within.  Beasts for lack of a better word, but surely they had a name?  She had heard of many sorts in her time here – Trollocs and Draghkar, Darkhounds and so forth.  The beasts didn’t look like dogs of any shape, though, so Rendra dismissed them as that which she could see before her.

 

She was definitely curious as to why these creatures were caged before her.  Sure, they were probably dangerous, but then, what wasn’t dangerous in the Blight?  <i>”Perhaps if I do the smart thing and stay very quiet and still, I shall find out what’s going on here.  I mean, beyond what in the Great Lord’s name these things are!” </i>

 

[Kura]

Arcon followed close behind the Fade, the warmth of his anger dissuading the remnants of her cold gaze. I won't fall prey to fear again... Realizing that he was walking with the wily gate he had picked up aboard the Merry Pauper, he nearly cringed. That was the walk he associated with swordplay... and true, bitter hate. He corrected, switching to his normal glide, but putting in a bit of an aristocratic flair to show dominance. It was only proper... he would be a general of these things one day.

 

When they arrived at the cages, Arcon suppressed a grin. He recognized the darkfriend within the cage. It was the one he had practiced the spirit weaves pain and sleep upon... Looks like someone came down and got him... He had left the man with a tied off pain weave boring into his skull. Of course, his attention shifted to the other creatures within the room. The Trollocs were... big, and he thanked his endless hours in the library for the recognition of the beast-men.

 

"A bit anti-climatic, with you being the first on display, Myrddraal." Arcon prepared himself ahead of time, encase the Fade again turned it's gaze upon him. "Perhaps a Darkhound is next? The pits are nearby you know... just outside the Fortress walls." Arcon's voice was nonchalant, but in truth he was eager to be outside these walls, and have the Peace of the Shadow lifted. Their were after all always those who vied with him for power...

[Jehaine]

Rebecca walked behind the Myrddraal, trying very much to emulate an aura of confidence as she went along. Regardless of how she was feeling under the still lingering effects of simply being looked at by one of these things, she still found herself frowning as they entered the jail areas, looking at the Trollocs kept there. Another piece of the stories ended up being true as well, and she couldn't help but wonder how much what she hadn't heard was equally true as well.

 

Even though she berated herself for being distracted looking at the 'exhibits', she couldn't help but wonder just how useful they would be. She ran her eyes over the Trolloc's body, intrigued by the amount of muscle on it, equally rivaling an average human soldier. She wondered what kind of intelligence these beasts would have, as it was they would make at least semi-decent guards based on their physical strength alone...

 

 

Rebecca

Inspecting the Trollocs

 

-----

 

"A bit anti-climatic, with you being the first on display, Myrddraal. Perhaps a Darkhound is next? The pits are nearby you know... just outside the Fortress walls."

 

Calaun raised an eyebrow at the comment, though the nonchalant tone told her that Arcon had started to adapt. Semi-turning, she watched the others from the corner of her eyes, noting to her satisfaction that they too were starting to get used to her being this close to them, curiousity and the usual Dreadlord infighting starting to rise to the surface again.

 

- "And... Arcon, it did not occur to you that i might have done so deliberately? By being the first 'on display', as you put it, i've managed to get your attention as well as lower the shock of whatever else you will be shown here. It made the class all the more effective without the memory of a Myrddraal gaze drowning out whatever else you will learn in this class. Now, if all of you would look this way...?"

 

She snapped her fingers, and felt a chill along her spine as the globes of light died down save one: The one near the darkfriend Arcon had recognised. He looked up now, alarmed at being the only illuminated cell and knowing his remaining time in the Fortress to be short indeed.

 

- "The Trollocs you have seen are little more than shock troops. They are strong, and they are many, and the common tactic is to run them to the enemy until they are overrun. There are twelve clans of them, each with their own general specialisms, though that should not concern you as long as they get the job done. Next up are Draghkar. Try to resist the effects of its song."

 

A grate opened, and out stepped what appeared to be a cross between a bat and a man, wings included. The face was a hideously deformed version of a human one, almost entirely that of an animal save for one or two traits that might have looked like distinguishing features on a man. The darkfriend yelled and jumped up, raising an arm defensively to ward off the Draghkar as it closed in.

 

And then the singing began.

 

The shouts for help soon died down, and slowly, the man lowered his arms as he went into some kind of extatic trance, brought on by the Draghkar's crooning. Slowly, the beast stepped closer, and even though a few spasms from the man would betray his attempts to resist whatever had gotten a hold of him, it was no use. Two clawed hands embraced him, and the beast lowered its head to give him a single kiss in the neck area before unceremonially dropping his now-lifeless body to the ground.

 

The beast retreated back behind the grate, and after it lowered Calaun again semi-turned towards her students, checking to see who had fallen under the effects of the Draghkar's song. A good look from her would clear up any lingering effects, of that she was certain, but she also wanted to prevent doing so unnecessarily. It lessened the effect in her opinion, preferring to have her pupils for the day work to prevent rather than to spend effort trying to resist.

 

- "As you can see, Myrddraal aren't the only ones with abilities. Generally considered dumb as bricks, Draghkar can nevertheless be useful in taking out anything they can sneak up on. Including channelers, if their Warders can be kept occupied through other means. In case you were wondering, that man's soul has been sucked out."

 

She waited in case they had further questions before continuing further down the corridor, globes of light once again appearing to illuminate the way -- and the Trollocs in the cells.

 

 

Calaun

Still with me?