Long Shadows Gathering (Open RP; attn Liitha, Kathleen)

[Myyrth]

The blight border was quiet normally, few natural creatures which buzzed and hooted in the night moved there.  Quiet save for the repetitive knocking of what sounded like a wood pecker, though no such bird lived in that forsaken land.  Under a tree at the edge of a forest a pale skinned man stood hacking the knife into the bark of a sickly looking conifer.  A tall and lean figure he struck, swathed in a black cloak, girded in black maile.  Yet this was not remarkable in itself.  What was remarkable was that instead of eyes there was smooth white skin.  The Myrddraal stopped a moment, examining the knife it held with sudden focus.  It was a jagged saw of a blade.  The ragged toothy edge would rip and cut and bring forth the black blood. The blood called him to the shadows. Blood, like pulsing thorny vines, inky substance. A
myrddraal’s blood called to darkness. He knew this. Myyrth held the knife in a firm grip, standing in the shadow of the old tree he toyed with the thought of plunging the serrated blade point first into the scar at the center of his right palm. For Myyrth, old wounds enumerated his past glories and from time to time he enjoyed reliving those moments. The pain brought forth such sweet memories. He brought the knife down, feeling it prick his palm, feeling the pale white flesh begin to give way to the razor sharp point. He stopped. He put the knife away. It was not the time to bring forth is blood, not the time to call the darkness.  He was charged with a purpose.

 

It had taken him days to reach this place; traveling exclusively through the shadows. He had stretched himself thin reaching the borderlands. If he attempted another crossing he was not sure he would be able to find his way free of the dark world. A rictus grin split his face, far wider and far toothier than any human smile. Myyrth could think of worse fates. Still, he was here at the behest of his masters with tasks still to complete. He did not know the specifics of his mission, only that he was commanded to rendezvous with human darkfriends of sufficient standing to command him. His brief communications with his eyeless kin in the region had told him of small but significant mobilizations within the trolloc camps in the area. Something was happening. Unfortunately fade of his standing was not privy to the counsels of human channelers, the Dreadlords made their plans; it was his purpose to carry them out. He cast his eyeless sight out over the
open land south of him, the hills and woods to the north gave way to a rough and sparsely wooded expanse of broken ground. He imagined the woman he was going to meet as a bug, crawling upon the ground, insignificant. He held up two fingers and pinched them shut. Splat. He smiled again; he enjoyed imagining the death of channelers. They were blind beasts who dreamed themselves masters of this world, bending the powers of the earth and sky to their whim. They deluded themselves with their false mastery; the fools served a force far greater, with goals that transcended their petty grabs for power. The Great Lord would break them all as he would break the wheel. Still, he understood why they served their own destruction. It was right of prey to serve.

“Small creatures, in his service they fulfill the final death urge of the human race.” Myyrth said. He practically spit the word human. They could never understand the disdain in which the eyeless held them. His kin were a perfection of the Great Lords plan. Empty of false purpose, empty of all the great lies that even the most devoted of darkfriends told themselves during the cold nights. The pathetic hope of all souled creatures, even the twisted beast-men, but the human slaves of the Great Lord most of all. We have a purpose. We have meaning. We matter…

Myyrth turned, drew his knife and began again to carve the bark of the tree, firmly first and then harder and harder until he was hacking and stabbing at the soft pulp beneath the bark with frenetic hate. He imagined the face of the
channeler he would meet, bleeding, gasping, and choking out their last breath. The sap was blood seeping viciously down
like crimson tears. He would hang on to that image when he met them. It was easier to deal with darkfriends that
way. He left the knife in the trunk of the tree and walked swiftly out onto the open ground. Twilight was coming. Its shroud would conceal his movements against the ever watching eyes of borderland trackers. He put up his black hood and adjusted the strap of his thankan’dar blade. A breeze came down from the north bringing the faint smell of rot. Despite
the wind his cloak moved not at all.

 

 

OOC:  I imagine this meeting taking place between Tar Valon and Arafel in that forested region there.  Maybe meeting in some abandoned trappers shack.  Still not sure what we could get up too.
                            
                       

Edited March 8, 2013 by Myyrth

[Liitha]

ooc. wrote the post yesterday and forgot to hit post of course...anyway will bring us your way then, is in that area but further in towards the mountain bordering to shienara.

 

M'bela drained her teacup and laid down the papers on her desk, it was time to move, time to get these Aes Sedai out of her region, let someone else deal with their nosyness. She moved through her halls, this was not where she once would have seen herself before she came to the shadow, in fact not even when she met Semirhage the first time, it was an unexpected twist, but you dealt with what cards you got. She smiled, besides it did have its perks, and with her knowledge of how to move about in several ways, it didnt really limit her much. She walked out to see her travel company ready to go, good, the sooner they were on the road the sooner she could hand them over to someone else, but she would play the host and start the seight'sing trip herself to make sure she got well and rid of them.

 

----

 

Cema mounted her horse as she got out, she was unsure of what to think though made sure to be back into her disquise, the seigthsing would be interesting, but she was not satisfied that the lead of the game were not on her hands, she would have to turn that around. A smile passed briefly over her lips, it was rare to meet someone she could not be sure was younger then her, this could indeed be interesting. She observed from the back of her horse as their hostess came out, she migth make them wait, but for the moment she had the higher ground as she looked down on the dreadlady walking towards the horse readied for her.

 

She silently fell in behind the dreadlady as she took the lead, and pointedly ignored the guards who made up the rear. She observed the town she had been walking through yesterday evening after the meeting, indeed there was building activety going on as well as rebuilding, a small village if that for farms that were to be turned into a little town. It was interesting, she was wondering if these plans could work, she hoped so, though she knew not everyone serving the Great Lord had the same views or visions as she did. She shivered internally, something about their hostess for instance did not sit rigth with her, if her inklings were right, and considering who ran this so called gate...no she did not like it. Cemarillinin acknowledged sometimes damage or death were nesicary for the greater good, but there needed to be a balance and a last means limitation to it. She did not join the shadow to become one of those awfull creatures like the spawn Aginor created, animals, beasts, her nose crinkled as she thougth about the darkhound, abdominations in her view. They left the rising town, and headed vestward, she observed the countryside and forest as they rode throughout the day, here and there seeing signs of spawn, and now and again observing something in the distance which seemed odd shaped and moving, but otherwise they were left alone, something that pleased her.

 

ooc go ahead and bring us into a suitable camp where we can meet our fadeling Kath

Edited March 17, 2013 by Liitha

[Myyrth]

As the land swept north away from Tar Valon and the open fields that surrounded it like a rolling sea gave way to sparse groves of trees and then to a deep and heavily wooded forest. Here the small villages and hamlets that dotted the land were divided by dark roads overshadowed on all sides by looming branches. Unknown to men, in the deep and secluded reaches of the forest, shadowspawn lurked.  More Trollocs than even the most canny of borderland woodsman suspected lived and hunted south of the blight.  These feral tribes were far removed from the influence of Shayol Ghul. It had been long since they had felt the chilling touch of a Myrdraals gaze.  Myyrth could tell by the way the Trollocs clans females watched him with barely contained hatred. Normally the lesser beasts among the Trollocs turned their eyes down in the presence of a Myrdraal.  Myyrth would need to make an example of some of the children perhaps. There was a palpable feeling of hostility among the feral Trollocs of this family group, perhaps his slaying of their leader and subsequent domination of their strongest warriors was what had sparked it. Myyrth didn't give it any consideration beyond that. This family group numbered sixty or more with about twenty strong warriors. If it was necessary to kill a few to cow the rest into submission he would, until then it was not his concern what they muttered to each other. Until his arrival the Trollocs had been sleeping in and around a dilapidated trappers hut, he was sure that the accommodations would be most unpleasant for those he was supposed to meet. The building reeked of rot and mold, so potent that the odors of shit and piss were nearly but not completely masked.  Myyrth had wanted to avoid being deliberately insulting so he had forced some of the Trollocs under his power to clean out the hut, the pile of animal hides, bones and offal piled behind the squat shelter was testament to that.

 

Myyrth now had only to wait. Outside, the Trollocs huddled in fear, the females clutching their young to them, the males brooding around their small fires. Despite their own monstrous nature, it was almost possible to feel sorry for the poor and pitiful beasts.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Myyrth

[Kathleen]

Seheria woke early and spent the morning readying herself to ride and debating on where her ride would take her. Out of this excuse of a town for certain, but where? She had learned much from her unexpected tea. She had learned what she had come to learn and more. 

 

Was it time to leave? Leaving before either of those women could tie a noose round her neck was really quite tempting and every time her thoughts turned to joining on them on the journey she knew they were about to set out on, she could feel the air tighten warningly around her throat. But it was just as tempting to go with them.She knew they would learn something more where they went, and she found it very difficult to turn down the chance at learning something new. The deciding factor though was knowning if she didn't go they would think her weak, beneath them, a girl playing at being something more and she could not let them think so lowly of her. 

 

So she showed up mounted and ready to set out, all the look of Aes Sedai grace and power. She fell in line behind her earlier companion, never thinking that she might send her away before the new journey started until she was already prepared to leave. The woman didn't tell her leave, though their original arrangement had ended. Seheria very much wished she could have held her regal and rightful pose of power, but it had already been established that in their first meeting that she was not such a member of this party. She had played the quiet one, the unknowing one who was caught up in something over her head and thus the one who kept her head down and her mouth shut and followed the lead of the others. 

 

Reluctantly she pulled her features in such a way to embody all that she was meant to play before they joined M'bela. In keeping with the fraud, Seheria kept her mouth shut and followed directly behind Cema. When she wasn't turned from this party Seheria saw it as a sign of acceptance and she cemented her place in the journey. She would all but bow to these two, but unless they our right said she was below another she would not let her reputation slip any further down the food chain. Who knew when the Great Lord would have need of her in these boarderlands again? She couldn't be mistaken for fresh bait from too many.

 

They road out of the broken town Seheria taking little notice of anything around that wouldn't simply mark in her mind that she was in the town before should she show up again. She paid no attention as that place slid out of sight behind her and wilderness enveloped the small group of travellers. Part of her wanted to know where they were heading and why, but more of her didn't want to admit she didn't know already. It wasn't until they were stopped to rest the horses and have a bite to eat that she realized not knowing where she was going to be leading her into a trap. 

 

As much as she wanted to trust these woman, she knew better than most people in the world what these two were, and even so she didn't know either of them well enough to walk blindly. Seheria managed to catch Cema when she was far enough from M'Bela to warrant a whisper to her. It sickened her to have to bring it up, especially after having followed so blindly out of the town but between bites of the bread she had packed to hide her mouth moving she did venture to ask. She couldn't bring her self to come out and ask for details though. She just hoped the woman would let up the information she should already know in casual conversation.

 

"How much longer until we get where ever we're off too? I really do hope we'll have a bed under us tonight, not these sticks and stones" she ventured, clearing a few stray rocks and a twig with her toe. She looked around to the distance cautiously as she added, "at least there's a sense of safety from those mutts when we're indoors."

 

Seheria Sedai

Aes Sedai of the Black Ajah

 

OOC: I only took us to the camp, not sure if you wanted me to actually meet up with Myrrth since I was late getting to this or not, but I didn't. We're on the way..to where ever it is we're going haha.

[Myyrth]

Myyrth watched. In the way of all Myrdraal he seemed preternaturally still, as though no effort by man or nature could touch him, as though he wasn’t really there at all. Tall and black with the white crown of his head turned at a slight angle towards the window he studied the trees and the movement of the Trollocs as they lurked quietly about the camp. His lips were a thin line which never wavered, the smooth flesh where the eyes of a human man would be facing turned ever so slightly at the sudden buzzing movement of a fly. He watched it for a time as it flitted about the warped glass of the huts small window.  His lip twitched into a smile, the fly reminded him of those he would serve. Human darkfriends, more so even than those deluded enough to worship the Creator, so desperately grasped for power in this world.  It was pathetic. With a sudden twitch Myyrth jabbed his fingernail down through the bugs thorax.  He smiled as it thrashed.  Little scrabbling legs spasming as it attempted to move itself. It was dead and didn’t know it. How pleasant it would be to crush these humans like bugs.  Still, he wouldn’t.  Why he wouldn’t sometimes escaped him.  The thought of the painful death he would experience should he disobey his superiors didn’t always seem such a bad thing if he could only feel the slick blood of a channeler on his hands. Myyrth took some comfort in the knowledge that like this fly, these humans were dead already.  They just didn’t know it.

“This world is broken.” He said to himself.  He released the fly, it continued to spasm for a time before the stillness of death came whirling down. 

 

The sudden motion of the Trollocs around the outskirts of the small camp alerted him to the arrival of those he had been sent to meet.  The warriors stood from where they crouched around their cookfires.  Reaching for weapons they began to bark at each other.  He heard the words horse, men, and food bandied about.  Myyth reached out to that invisible cord of will which tied him to those Trollocs he had mastered.  He felt along the strange connection, like razor sharp puppet strings.  He tugged hard.  As one the Trollocs fell to the ground, howling in agony.  He imprinted his will upon them.  Be still, or die.

 

He could feel them now, a sensation which prickled along his spine like crawling insects.  To be in the presence of a channeler was to feel true hatred.  His sneer twisted his face into a rictus mask as he steeled himself for the meeting ahead.  The skin of his head seemed to wrinkle and then smooth as though something alien and wrong moved beneath his maggot white skin.  His face once again an impassive mask, he stepped out of the small hut.  He could feel two of them now, riding horses.  Females channelers, most likely Black Ajah.  The forest was silent.  Only the nervous winey of the channelers beasts broke the silence.

[Liitha]

M'bela had her animal well under controll, she had made sure to ensure the stable people knew to get hold of a beast which could handle spawn for when she needed riding, not for that traveling was much easier - if you knew where you were going. That was her problem this time, and the time riding even if she could have shortened it some gave her time to get to observe the Aes Sedai more. As they aproached the camp she allowed herself to access the one power, ready to draw if needed. If she was going out of the village like this she migth as well get some work done, some of the spawn had run off and was out of controll in a border region, fades had been sent in to real in the stranglers and get them back under controll - time to see if they had, if not fire would rain. 

 

They entered the camp and on instinct she could feel where the fade was, not a very strong one, but as the trollocs kept in line it had done its job and for her that was just as satisfying, it was so much more easy to ignore the effect from the weaker ones then the stronger. She smiled, even at her age the instinctal effect of the eyeless could not be completely denied, but she had her mask well practised as she scanned the camp, pretending not to notice the fadeling before she found time for it. Satisfied she rode up to it, "I'm Mae'Shadar M'bela, these are guests of ours come to have a look at the progress we are making here in the gate. I got duties to attend to, can you see to it that they are comfortable.." she looked around at the camp again and thougth to herself good luck, feeling a glee at it. "...and stay safe during their tenure here, as well as see to it that they gain safe exit from the gate without runing into trouble with any lightfools".

 

She turned and looked at the ladies "You have your guide here, I hope your visit and rounds in the gate will be fruitfull, I unfortunately have to leave you now as I do have duties to attend to". She rode over to an empty spot, hiding her inward smirk as she made a gateway back to her garden, after having put the Aes Sedai through a long days ride and being ready to leave them in this dirthole of a camp, she could only imagine to well their seeting, it would be a good evening for sure even reports wouldnt ruin her mood now.

 

------

 

Cema watched the exchange, her spine was cold, the closest she had been up to these creatures in the past was her visit to the blight, and even then she managed to stay well clear of them. Foul disgusting and wrong in her mind, they should never been created, the whole camp should be burned down. She could barely give credit as was to that it was better if lives were to be lost that it was lives of beast rather then humans, but there was time she had doubts even that was worth it. She was not impressed with how they were left either, but was not going to give the other the satisfaction of a reply or complaint. Once she was gone she went on to as best she could ignore the myrdraal and look at her companion, "I'd sugest we make camp up on the hill over there, the wind is coming from that direction making it favorable" she hardly needed to state for what reason it was favorable. So far though there was not mass destruction out over what you could expected from battle, and as far as they seen repairs were left alone, indicating the woman was telling the truth. Her lord had made a livable foothold in the world, give it time and it might show more that the world wasnt as black and white as they wanted. Composing herself she turned towards the fade "you will keep the beasts on this side of the hill, unless patroll on the other side become strictly nesicary, warn them to keep out of camp as we will have perimiters set up they will not like the effect off" She bit the last off and started moving her horse away to mask her disqust and discomfort, she was the elder here, and one thing was for sure at the end of the day they were both Aes Sedai, which meant they had a joint picture to uphold, it was up to her to lead with a good example now.

 

 

ooc

what is your plan, and what do you need for your req's?