[h2]Dysmoira Bazgard[/h2]

Dys had tossed and turned in her sleep fitfully, while beads of sweat poured down from her thick brown hair at a near-constant rate. One of her burly hands grasped her sheets, drenched with her own sweat as she dreamed. 

[i]Tendrils came from every direction, latching onto faceless comrades and slinging their bodies around like puppets. For those that ran, their own shadows sprang to life and held them in place so that they could be mangled and torn apart by shadows and tendrils alike. She tried to slice at tendrils before they reached her, but they always flowed around her axe, as if it was merely a bothersome fly. She found herself ducking, dodging, and rolling out of the way of tendrils for what seemed forever, while her comrades were ripped to shreds as they made even the slightest of mistakes.

An ominous feeling sprouted forth behind her, spurring dark thoughts into her head as she tumbled away from another tendril. She took a moment to look back - [b]which would be her mistake[/b] - and a shadow had sprouted into life and lunged for her, pinning her by her throat to the slippery slimy earth below, slick with blood. But whose? 

[b]"Your's."[/b] The voice of the shadow rattled as if it were just dust and bones speaking. [b]"Your pretty blood, your pretty face, your pretty guts, we can use them all for Magic!"[/b] The shadow cackled in it's odd voice. Suddenly, a thousand tendrils began to tear [b]her[/b] apart, the pain was agonizing as she felt her arm go flying into the distance, separating from her body entirely.

[h3][b]WHAM WHAM WHAM[/b][/h3][/i]

Dys shot up from sleep to the racket of hammering next to where she slept on a cot on the ground. She was disoriented for a moment, unable to truly take in her surroundings. She slicked her damp hair back with a hand, and pulled on the cotton shirt she had worn to sleep in so it would unstick from her body. [color=008080][b]"Nightmare, huh...? Not surprising, by what happened yesterday, but Light bless I could do without it."[/b][/color] She sighed and reached to take a swig out of bottle of liquor sitting near her cot. She had drank herself to sleep last night, might as well greet the day with more of the good stuff. A smile crept unto her face when she remembered Freiya offering her the wineskin the previous day, a gesture Dys had appreciated immensely at the time. [color=008080][b]"She isn't so bad, I could learn to like that one."[/b][/color] Dys murmured into the bottle of liquor and took another, much longer swig. She supplemented her drinking with reading as she slowly calmed down from the nightmares she had, had throughout the night and the battle with the bandits. Forgetting momentarily was enough for her, the horror and the impossibility of it all, but Magic was Magic. And she needed to be fit enough to fight it when it came down to it.

After her morning ritual of bathing in a nearby stream and donning her armor, the new Captain was introduced to her and the other recruits. Captain Aela, not much older than Dys in actual years, but much more mature anyway, for the fact of being human. Something about longer lifespans made dwarves just alittle more immature than the humans they worked alongside, if they were around the same age. However, Dys found herself liking the new Captain immediately, perhaps moreso than the last one they had, though the dwarf found herself regretting that they couldn't save him.

Dys was going to say something to the new Captain, but Varkasan had beaten her to it. Instead, she raised her fist to her heart in a dwarven salute and stood at attention while they were briefed on their next mission. She wasn't exactly pleased about where they were going, that much was certain.

[h2]Allure's Mist[/h2]

Her hackles were already raised before she came in to the mist. She doubted she'd find the experience [i]pleasant[/i] by any means, despite what Captain Aela said. She felt foul magic in the air before stepping in, but everything seemed to melt away, out of her reach as she desperately fought in the beginning to grasp reality as what she knew it to be. [i]You'll be happy if you stay...[/i] The mist seemed to call out to her as it coiled and flowed around her body as she bent to grab crystals from the ground to add into her bag. The crystals seemed weirdly familiar to her, as she had seen her family use them from time to time. [i]But who cares about family when you're so happy...?[/i] The mist-induced thought came and went as she shook her head and strained her mind. 

[color=008080][b]"This foul mist wont get the best of me!"[/b][/color] She tried to growl, but it came out in an airy voice, very unlike her usual self. [i]Yesterday will seem like a dream... so far off... why worry?[/i] The horrors of her nightmares seemed to evaporate in the mist so much more effectively than when she had tried to drink them away. [i]You'll forget the pains of losing your mentor...[/i] Her head was floating now, even though her body continued to work on picking crystals. And it was true, the tight ball of longing in her heart seemed to unfold and untangle itself, releasing her resentment and anger of losing Vivace. [i]Forget your anger over the past... your race flourishes now, the proud creators and inventors for the Light...[/i] She felt it disappear as well, and she became empty. She was a husk of nothingness, though her body continued to collect crystals obediently. 

When she stumbled out of the mist later, she pounded a fist against her thigh. She [i]refused[/i] to let that happen again. She'd see to it that she eventually reached the center of those accursed mists, with all of herself perfectly intact, and then she'd collect so many crystals that they'd never have to experience something so disgusting and foul again in their lives. She held a fair amount of crystals, gathered in her daze, but not as many as others who managed to keep themselves more grounded. 

She noticed that the mists had affected Alicia, as had many others, who seemed to be in shock at their role model's condition. [color=008080][b]"So the machine [i]can[/i] feel after all?[/b][/color] Something about it seemed hilarious to Dys, and she found herself chuckling quietly, and unable to stop.

Maybe the events of the past day coupled with the ones today had made her a tad hysteric? 

Maybe it really was just [i]that[/i] ironic? 

All she knew was, was that she had a lot to learn. About herself, about her fellow recruits, and about Magic.

[h2]Team Aegis[/h2]

When they arrived back with the crystals, she was surprised to see another dwarf on the surface. She wondered if they had met before, as dwarves seemed rare on the surface, but discarded the thought. [i]Who cares, right? As long as we get our work done.[/i] 

She devoured her meal with a vengeance. She didn't kid about meal-time, and dwarves needed [i]a lot[/i] of food to maintain their energy. Atleast, that was what she told a nerdy looking recruit as she stole the last breadroll, much to his chagrin. When she finished, she had ate a comically large portion in comparison to most of the other people sitting near her. She finished it off with a long drag from one of her bottles of ale, and smacked her lips in appreciation when she lowered the bottle. She patted the nerdy recruit on the back and filled up his empty water glass with ale. [color=008080][b]"You could use some hair on your chest, drink up little guy!"[/b][/color] She stood from the table and started toward a giant tent with some other recruits. 

When bunking arrangements were settled, Dys had taken one of the lower bunks in a far corner of the room - perhaps [i]strong-armed[/i] herself into it was a better word? - and had let the very nerdy looking recruit from dinner take the top, despite his protests that ladies should get the better bed. Her bunkmate was named Justin, and he probably weighed all of a hundred and ten pounds. If Dys fell on him... well, he'd live through it, but probably with a broken rib or two. She found herself amused by him and his chivalrous nature that defied his outward appearance.

[color=008080][b]"Listen here Justin, you're gonna sleep up there and like it - or I'll make this a side by side instead of a bunk, hear me?"[/b][/color] She barked as he leaned over the side of the bed to look at her. [b]"Oh... um, o-okay, well, we can't do that, so okay, I guess..."[/b] He mumbled and disappeared back onto the top. She heard a thud and a small [i]ow![/i] come from up top. [i]Hit his head on a post, huh? Clumsy kid.[/i]

She leaned back against one of the posts of her bed and held her pillow to her chest. She noticed people making a deal of a tattoo on Alicia's stomach - which honestly surprised Dys. She had one of her own, on her face, but she hadn't expected the righteous and glorious Alicia von Eternus to have one herself. [color=008080][b]"And on her stomach of all places? Weird... What use is a tattoo if others can't see it? What a waste."[/b][/color] She mused outloud, not caring who heard. 

Dys had dressed herself down to her cotton shirt and some linen shorts. She tended to be warmer than most others, so she wore clothes accordingly while resting. The rest of her things were stowed away under her bed, instead of in the proper location. Another reason she wanted the bottom, besides the chance she may crush a recruit to death in their sleep if the bunk happened to give way. Her waraxe, Vivi, was propped right next to her, just in case she'd need it.

When she managed to drift off to sleep, she found her dreams less horrifying than the previous night. In fact, she dreamt about her mentor and role model, Vivace, and how the old elf would have utterly decimated the strange magician girl, Mimel. Dys smiled as she slept. [i]Sometimes, dreams are too good to be true...[/i]

She awoke fresh and spry the next morning and in a completely chipper mood. She was amused by their new name when she heard it. She was fully armored and held her waraxe casually in one hand when she walked over to Alicia. [color=008080][b]"I like the sound of that, Alicia [i]von[/i] Eternus. Team Aegis, I know we've been through a lot, but we can get better for it. We [i]are[/i] better for it. The horrors we saw... that's the reason we're fighting against the tyranny of Magic, right? They cannot be allowed to use lives, even the lives of bandits, as nothing more than playthings. [i]Mages![/i]"[/b][/color] She spat the last word out, and her loud voice became even louder. 

[color=008080][b]"Mages, or bandits, or mercs, we'll teach them all what it means to be a Luminous Knight. We live to protect, and we live to serve. We'll be smarter, craftier, and more aware of the dangers of next time. We'll make our fallen proud, and our living prouder!"[/b][/color] She held her fist to her heart in a dwarven salute as she ended her speech to her fellow recruits, and then slunk away without a moment's notice. She wasn't one to give speeches, but if they were a Team, they were going to be a unified team, with spirit, or Dys would die trying!