[center][h1][b][u][color=LightYellow]The Conniving Witch[/color][/u][/b][/h1][/center] Hofmar Qull-Born was riding back home and she couldn’t help but be reminded how much she hated the Gardens. Everything was so lush and verdant, not a single crag or rocky mountainside to be seen. She knew that the Gardens were a place of great life and peacefulness, but some base feeling within the witch really wanted to believe that there was a dark evil lurking under the idyllic landscape. There wasn’t, but things would be more interesting if there was. Luckily, her wonderful mount, Forral, was carrying her away from the wretched place of loveliness and back to the foothills of the Anchor Mountains, where the Stonebird had been born and the Vir’s council was currently residing. Usually, Hofmar always stayed by the Vir’s side whenever he led the Grand Army into her home province, but a very important matter had pulled her away: a rival had been born. Well, more specifically, a rival had been born ten years ago and Hofmar was only just now finding out. Hofmar smiled fondly as she remembered the girl. She had just started to reach the cusp of womanhood, which was a great feat for a witch that dared to be born in Virfeild. For all One Hundred and Forty-Eight years that Hofmar had reigned as the Vir’s personal witch not a single one had ever made it past eight before she had come to remove them as threats. This girl, Houll was her name — Hofmar had made a point of remembering it — might have been able to escape her for so long simply because she lived so far into the Gardens where the Master Witch never went if she didn’t have to, but she liked to think it was because Houll was smart. Houll had put up a good fight too, not good enough as Hofmar had still won, but she had been a strong child. Most times, Hofmar killed any of the witches who had had time to come into their power (The others she usually just took out their tongues and eyes) but something and made her decide to let Houll live. Hofmar was even kind enough to let her keep an eye. It would take about forty years for Houll to get strong enough again to fight Hofmar, but by then the elder witch would probably have grown bored with working for the Vir. It is always smart to start planning for your retirement early. Trying to keep the Vir from listening to any of those mana-loving bastards was hard work, Hofmar mused, mages from all around Virfeild wanted to bend the ear of their leader, to try and confine him to some arbitrary rules an old god had made. Well, the Vir was already obsessed with the god of arbitrary rules, Tekret et Heret, so it was more of the fact that Hofmar was a witch and follower of Qullqiya that she worked so hard at her job. She would want those damn sing-songy druids to replace her before some stuffy mana wielder in long robes way to ornate for his ability. As the stonebird Forral thundered across the land, soft soil turning rocky, Hofmar began to doze off, trusting her mount to know the way. Out of the night, a great ripple of energy washed over the drowzing witch, almost knocking her off the stonebird. If she hadn’t attuned herself to magical surges in an attempt to rat out young witches, she probably would have dismissed it, but something incredibly powerful had just released a tone of magical energy into the world. Hofmar tugged Forral’s reins towards the epicenter of the energy, somewhere far to the Western outskirts of Virfeild territory. She was still a little tired from defeating Houll, but given the size of that magical disturbance, she probably couldn’t afford to wait before killing whichever being, young witch or otherwise, had made it. As Hofmar snapped the reins, Forral squawked in both resistance and exhaustion but the witch forced her onwards. It was a long ways to the Western border and Hofmar didn’t have time to waste. She released some of her magic to make Forral not feel the ache from running and try to speed up the journey. The mana exploded out of Hofmar and sent a shock wave of energy around her and her mount that contracted backwards into the muscles of the stonebird. The pulse increased the stonebird’s speed tenfold and shook the ground, startling a flock of songbirds, one of which flew after her. Spriling in the air, the small creature flew faster than a regular songbird should be able to and for much longer. She tried to ignore the bird at first, assuming it was just an animal, but the longer she rode and the longer it followed, the more she became convinced it was something more. Was it a spy sent by another witch? Or maybe a druid? It was certainly not natural. Hofmar released another pulse of magic to augment Forral who let out a great squawk of pain as her muscles bulged large, creaking louder than the trees bent by the shock wave. The stonebird shot off at an incredible speed and Hofmar had to hold tightly to the beast’s neck to not be thrown off. She hadn’t wanted to use that spell on Forral twice, but between the bird and that pulse she had felt, she was getting a little on edge. She needed to figure out what was going on. After a moment of rest, clutching onto Forral’s neck, Hofmar looked up to see if the bird was still following. Instantly her eyes locked onto the tiny songbird flying noiselessly alongside of her, seemingly uninterested in confining to natural flightspeeds. Now, the bird had somehow produced a sprig of some plant life, the tip smoldering in flame that the wind could not put out. “Begone!” Hofmar shouted over the rushing air, hucking a fireball from her palm at the bird, “I have a child to go kill, I don’t need some feathered bastad tailing me the whole way!” [color=LightYellow]“I was a little worried that was what you were doing…”[/color] a disappointed voice echoed through Hofmar’s mind as the fireball washed over and past the bird, leaving it unscathed, [color=LightYellow]“I would kindly ask you not to do that.”[/color] Before Hofmar could even be surprised, the sprig the bird had been carrying exploded into a flash of white light, so bright that it felt like a thousand punches on every part of Hofmar’s body that it touched. The witch let out a rather undignified “oof” and slipped off Forral's saddle and thudded against the ground. By the time the ringing in Hofmar’s ears faded, the stonebird was already out of sight, however, the witch didn't wait for the ringing to stop before acting. She exploded to her feet, casting a quick cyclone that spun around her, ejecting any and all things too close to her. “Show yourself!” She screamed in anger, hands raised and already steaming with magic. She narrowed her eyes as she caught a glimpse of a feather flying away and immediately lobbed a ball of roiling gray mist at the bird, “Who are you!” The mist bounced off some invisible barrier and deflected into a large mossy stone which began rapidly eroding and decaying until an area the size of a wagon wheel had aged into dust. [color=LightYellow]“I’m certainly not an innocent bird!”[/color] the voice chided her, still sounding from within her own skull, [color=LightYellow]“That nice sparrow was just doing a favor for me. There's no need to kill the poor woman, she’s got a full nest of hatchlings back home!”[/color] “What do you want?” Hofmar spat, crappling her hands together, instead of a noise coming from the action, an explosion of crystals that took the shape of a glaive, “And what are you willing to do to keep me from killing you!” The voice within her mind laughed, [color=LightYellow]“I doubt you could kill a god.”[/color] Hofmar narrowed her eyes, whoever the hell this was clearly had an ego. If they thought themselves a god they would be easier to topple. [color=LightYellow]“As for what I want,”[/color] the voice continued, [color=LightYellow]“Is simply for you not to go kill a child you know nothing about.”[/color] “Oh yeah?” Hofmar humored the voice as she scanned all around for some magical energy; the bastard had to be projecting from somewhere, he couldn’t be acting remotely because he had deflected her mist ball. If she could just find him... “What’s in it for me!” The voice paused then finally chuckled, [color=LightYellow]”Well, I suppose I won’t kill you right now as long as you promise to wait for about twenty years before you try and kill the child.”[/color] Where the hell was this guy? He had clearly used magic but there was no direction she could sense that could have been the source of it. “I think I’ll take my chances ‘god’.” the witch sneered, trying to goad her assailing, “Why don’t you come out here so I can prove that!” [color=LightYellow]“You know,”[/color] the voice sighed, [color=LightYellow]“I really wish I could. But I can’t. Infact, that child you are trying to kill was going to be my solution to that predicament. Since, I can’t show you my power in person, this’ll have to do.”[/color] “What in the world are you rambling ab-” Hofmar’s dramatic complaint was interrupted by a sudden bursting of power. Like a dam shattering and water crashing over and over until the village can see the flood coming but do nothing but know how small they were, that is how Hofmar felt. The untapped energy blew over the witch, tearing at her and taking away bit by bit until she found herself lost in the power. She had not been even touched by the god but she felt herself being stripped. The whole world seemed strange and unfamiliar, even though nothing besides her perception had changed. She forgot who she was or what the world was. She lost all sense of self and direction. She was reduced to a no one and truly lost. Until she wasn’t. Hofmar slammed back into herself, regaining all that she had lost, gasping for breath. [color=LightYellow]“How did you enjoy being a true Wanderer?” [/color]The god asked, the question actually seemed genuine, no ill in his voice. “It was terrible, if I’m being honest,” Hofmar groaned, leaning over and puking. [color=LightYellow]“I’ve got to say, you handled being stripped of all your ties to the world fairly well,”[/color] the god conceded, [color=LightYellow]“And I suppose you have a good reason not to go kill that child now?”[/color] Hofmar wiped the vomit from her mouth and straightened up. Her entire demeanour shifted, she put on the posture and face she used when talking to the Vir, whenever she needed to do a negotiation. “So,” she began cordially as if dismissing all the events that had happened before, “You are a god. I thought Y’all were gone for good.” [color=LightYellow]“We were. Now we’re back,[/color]” her target responded flippantly, [color=LightYellow]“And I’ll be gone again as soon as you promise not to not attack that child. If you disagree, I’ll leave too but then you might not be “you” anymore…”[/color] “What is your name, are you one of those Eight that the druids worship? I don’t think you are Tacsret or Kwael.” [color=LightYellow]“That was an abrupt change of subject, but if you must know, I am Iternis,”[/color] there was a brief apparition of a man in a flowing cloak appearing with a flourish, but just as she processed it happening she became positive that it was nothing but a trick of the light. “Iternis?” Hofmar was a little taken aback, she had never heard of a god named that before, “Like Ternas and Toug? Those folk heroes the peasants like so much?” [color=LightYellow]“First of all, his name was Toog. Second of all, I… wasn’t quite as active in the whole “being a god” thing in those early days,”[/color] Iternis conceded, [color=LightYellow]“Besides, I don’t see why the God of Journeys has to justify himself to a mortal like you.”[/color] “You don’t,” Hofmar deadpanned, “You chose to.” [color=LightYellow]“Okay, maybe I have missed talking to mortals a little in these 2000 years, but either way, just don’t try to harm that child if you value your ability to form connections with people, places or things.”[/color] Hofmar felt the god’s presence fading quickly as he turned his power away from the witch. She was losing her chance. “Wait!” She called out, even instinctually reaching out her hard, even though she was talking to a voice in her head. She then recompose herself, “I have a proposition.” She waited in silence for a while, trying to feel if Iternis would return. Moments ticked by and she felt nothing. A few choice insults for the god ran through her mind for the God of Journeys as she started to give up, looking around for her stonebird before realizing it was long gone. “You don’t think you can use your godly powers to give me back my ride! That was my favorite stonebird!” She shouted into the open air not really directed at the God of Journeys. She scowled, gave a great huff, and then punted a pebble into the boulder she had partially destroyed earlier. The pebble exploded into purple flames and finished the poor rock off, “I guess I’ll just have to find some other god to make a deal with.” [color=LightYellow]“What kind of deal were you looking for?”[/color] Iternis’s voice shook out again, and Hofmar tried to keep from smiling. “My first demand, I want immortality, real immortality,” She instantly broke out into her demands, “I don’t want to join one of the branches of Witchery so I can live forever only to become irrelevant after two hundred years. I also want you to augment my magic in whatever way you can, I don’t want to be killed by some random mage who wants to depose a witch.” [color=LightYellow]“Are you done yet?”[/color] “No,” Hofmar crossed her arms, “But if you want to interject you can.” [color=LightYellow]“You know, mortal, you are quite ambitious. I have a brother who would really like you,”[/color] Iternis stated,” [color=LightYellow]And I do find this whole “irreverence” thing amusing, but what could you possibly offer me to make you worth the while?”[/color] “Well, you don’t want anything to happen to this kid, right? I’m not the only thing in these parts that would want to kill a very magical baby, just the first to show up. I could keep the brat safe until they can fend for themselves.” [color=LightYellow]“You know I could make a horrible monster to protect him with its life with a flick of my hand?”[/color] “Sure,” Hofmar shrugged, “Or you could get me to do it.” There was a pause and then hearty laughter. There was a blinding flash of light and Hofmar felt the same power as before washing over her, but this time it was giving instead of taking. She gasped as she felt the mana contract and pulse around her, growing more attuned to the magic of the world. She felt so large and powerful, like if she saw a leaf fluttering in the wind she could tell you exactly all the places it could land; every high she had ever felt paled in comparison to this feeling right now. She fell to the ground in jnoy and because her knees could no longer hold all the power. [color=LightYellow]“Consider yourself hired,”[/color] the God of Journeys boomed, [color=LightYellow]“Go to the town of Harri and guide the small boy born to Halmond and Alla-”[/color] Iternis prattled on with commands, but Hofmar was too caught up in the feeling of the divine. She had done it! She had gotten a god to give her their power. Sure, it had never been her goal, it had never even crossed her mind until the moment she realized Iternis was actually divine, but it still felt like she had accomplished some life goal. [color=dfa8e6]“I just have to protect the boy?”[/color] Hofmar asked, surprised by both the excitement and new power within her voice,[color=dfa8e6] “And when he dies, of old age or some unavoidable fate, I can keep my powers, I will be free to do what I will with them as I please.”[/color] [color=LightYellow]“Sure, if you say so.”[/color] [color=dfa8e6]“Great! Just bring back Forral- my stonebird- and I’ll be on my way!”[/color] [color=LightYellow]“Oh, you don’t need her, you can find your own way!”[/color] [color=dfa8e6]“What!?”[/color] the color drained from Hofmar’s face, her finally coming down from the high of gaining more power, [color=dfa8e6]“She is my favorite bird.”[/color] [color=LightYellow]“Too bad!”[/color] Iternis chuckled, [color=LightYellow]“I’m sure you could find another ride around her somewhere, I think my gift would make it easier.”[/color] [color=dfa8e6]“If you want me to do this for you! You nee-”[/color] Hofmar began fuming before suddenly her throat seized up, no sound coming out. She tried to continue to complain more but each word she tried to squeeze out made her throat feel any tighter. She wasn’t choking or anything, but panic still boiled up within her. [color=LightYellow]“Look, lady,”[/color] Iternis sighed, if she could see him he would probably be giving her a very exasperated smirk, [color=LightYellow]“I’m only giving you this job because I think it will be entertaining. I know you think you are a super powerful negotiator and are super charismatic, but the only reason you always come out on top. You need to get used to being the smallest fish in the pond.”[/color] The spell trapping Hofmar’s throat ended and she started gasping loudly, jsu to hear herself making noise. [color=LightYellow]“Also, if you were just planning on taking your new responsibilities lightly, you should know that if you ever try and abandon your duties, I will strip everything from you just like I did before and you will be left as a no one, wandering Galbar forever,”[/color] Hofmar could feel Iternis’s prescense fading again, as if he were walking away, [color=LightYellow]“and if you were thinking that you could just wait the 70 years for the kid to die and then be scot-free, you should know the kid is going to be immortal too. You’ve got a long eternity of work ahead of you.” [/color] Iternis silencing Hofmar’s voice a second time didn’t even shoot the tirade of curses and insults the humiliated witch was throwing out at him. [hr] In the small town of Harri, Alla the Half-born was cooing over her two week old baby as her husband, Halmond, was busy stoking a fire. Suddenly, the door slammed open. Alla yelped in surprise and cradled her unnamed baby to her bosom as a haggard woman filled the door frame. She looked about forty and was covered in all manner of mud and twigs. Her hair was a storm of caked dust and frazzled strands. Her clothes looked like they had once been nice but had been destroyed by miles and miles of foot travel. [color=dfa8e6]“Where’s the damn baby,”[/color] the stranger croaked as she stumbled into the small shack. Alla stood up and retreated with the baby in the back of the shack as Halmond took up a wood axe and leapt between his wife and the witch. “Who the hell are you!” The young man shouted, brandishing his weapon. [color=dfa8e6]“Hofmar Qull-Born, Tasslman of the Vir’s Council,”[/color] The very disheveled witch growled, waving her hand and causing the axe to revert back into a tree sapling, [color=dfa8e6]“Now where i-”[/color] “Hey!” Halmond laughed, going in for a hug, causing Hofmar to scurry backwards like a scared cat, “You’re my quadruple great aunt! We’re family!” Hofmar pathetically batted away the young man’s hands, [color=dfa8e6]“I’m a lot of people’s quadruple great aunts! Now, I have had a very terrible last two weeks, so could you just please show me the baby.”[/color] ‘Why do you want my baby!” Alla pulled further away from the woman, ignoring Halmond’s sudden change in demeanor and shooting the witch a furious gaze. [color=dfa8e6]“Because,”[/color] an exasperated Hofmar shoved Halmond aside and took a step forward, [color=dfa8e6]“they are a child of great destiny and I have been charged with protecting them.”[/color] Hofmar’s dirt covered hands reached out for the child who instantly began to cry. Alla retaliated by kicking the witch in the gut. “Get back you fiend,” she shouted, “A child is safest with their mother!” Hofmar doubled over, thrown completely off balance, and toppled to the floor. She groaned in pain for a short while as Alla’s words sunk in. A child is safest with their mother. [color=dfa8e6]“This is good, gooood,”[/color] Hofmr muttered on the floor, biting her thumb furiously in thought as the others looked on at her in befuddlement, [color=dfa8e6]“If a child is safest with their mother, then it would be harming the kid to take it away from its mother. Even more, if I’m in the picture I could hurt the motherly bond, so really, to best protect the snot nosed brat, I should have nothing to do until it’s a snot-nosed adult! Iternis could hardly punish me for trying to give the brat the best childhood possible!”[/color] Hofmar sprung to her feet and bolted for the door. [color=dfa8e6]“Goodbye, goodbye!”[/color] She shoved Halmond aside, a frenzied look in her eyes [color=dfa8e6]“Find me when the little shit is fully grown, until then I will be desperately trying to live my normal life!”[/color] “Wait!” Halmond leapt after Hofmar, grabbing onto her before she could make it out the door, “The baby hasn’t had his recognition ceremony yet!” [color=dfa8e6]“And that’s got nothing to do with me, goodbye!”[/color] “No, you should be the one to name him!” [color=dfa8e6]“What!?”[/color] “What!?” Halmond’s wife let out a similar cry of indignation, “She is just a crazy wanderer who broke into the house! Why would you let her be the one to Recognize our child!” “No, she is Hofmar Qull-Born, look what she did to my axe!” Halmond tried to reassure his wife, “And if our son is recognized by a [i]Tassleman[/i] of the Vir’s Council, things will surely go well for him!” [color=dfa8e6]“I’m not doing that,”[/color] Hofmar stated bluntly as she made another break for the door, but Halmond once again blocked her path. “You said you were charged with helping out baby,” he pleaded, ignoring the witches and his wife’s complaints, “If you aren’t the one to Recognize him, you’d be hurting his chances at a great life.” Hofmar was about to just use her magic to destroy the door and make her escape, but Iternis’s threat came back to her. Would this count as forsaking her duty? The witch growled in frustration and turned back around. [color=dfa8e6]“Fine, I’ll do it. Show me the baby”[/color] Hofmar beckoned for Alla to life the tiny boy up so she could see him. The baby was a hideous little thing, granted all babies were disgusting, Hofmar just hoped this one was exceedingly so, [color=dfa8e6]“Today, we recognize this young man, born to Halmond and Alla,”[/color] Hofmar tried to get through the rights as quickly as possible, doing the bare minimum to satisfy the parents, [color=dfa8e6]“May he grow ever stronger to best serve the Vir. Under the watchful eye of Tacsret et Haerad, God of Rulership and Contracts, I, Hofmar Qull-Born, Recognize you as... “[/color] This was the worst time to blank on a name, [color=dfa8e6]“Forral!”[/color] “But that’s a girl’s name!” Halmond protested. [color=dfa8e6]“It’s also the name of one hell of a stoenbird,”[/color] Hofmar countered as she pushed past the young man and threw open the door, [color=dfa8e6]“Now goodbye.”[/color] With that, Hofmar shot off into the night, happy to get that over with and content that she had just managed to secure roughly sixteen years of peace before she was forced into the eternal labor she had foolishly signed herself up for. [hider=summary that is a little too long] A witch named Hofmar Qull-Born is riding back from a regular chore of killing/grievously wounding young witches so they won’t threaten her power. Hofmar is the personal witch of and adviser to the Vir or Virfeild, the head of the Grand Army which is the kinda, sorta not, really dominant power in a large swatch of territory. She is heading back to her post when she feels a disturbance in the force and decides to go kill whichever baby made it. Given that this was Iternis’s avatar being born, he is not all too happy about this and waylays her, causing her to lose her favorite stonebird, Forral. Hofmar tries to fight Iternis for a little bit so he briefly strips her of all identity and attachment to the mortal realm as a bit of a shake down to convince her that she shouldn't go around killing babies he likes. Hofmar, thinking she’s slick, tries to get Iternis to give her some awesome powers so she can help protect the kid, figuring that she’ll just keep the kid alive for 70 or so years, he dies of natural causes, and then she gets to live the rest of eternity as a blessed hero of a god. Iternis thinks this plan is both stupid and hysterical so he makes her a hero, on the condition that she help the kid unitl the day he dies. He only tells her that the kid is immortal after she agrees and basically signs away her entire eternity. She throws a huge fit. Cut to two weeks later, she had to walk all the way to the kid’s house because she lost her stonebird and she is NOt Having a Good Time (™). Some shenanigans ensue and she comes to the conclusion that the best, safest option for this kid is to live a normal childhood so she can have an excuse to peace out and avoid her responsibilities. She does, however, have to take responsibility for naming the baby for a VIrfeild tradition called the Recognition Ceremony and names Iternis’s avatar Forral, after her favorite bird. [/hider] [hider=MP breakdown] Start: 2/5 MP 4/5 DP -2 DP: Consecrate Hofmar Qull-Born as a hero World Treader I (Discounted by Wanderer Portfolio): Hofmar has increased endurance and speed while travelling. This does not, however, mean she enjoys it. Winding Sight I: Hofmar can see various possible outcomes from a single action with limited range, accuracy, and length. Service Bound I: All of Hofmar’s powers and magic are increased in strength as long as she is assisting Iternis (Specifically his avatar) If sheever abandons her service she is stripped of all power and emotional/mental connections to the mortal world. [/hider] [hider= Prestige Breakdown] Hofmar: Starting: 0P 10K+ Characters: +5P Ending: 5P [/hider]