paradisa | 22nd Gate - Nothing is Gained Without Risk

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vanyel ashkevron

22nd Gate - Nothing is Gained Without Risk

It had been nagging at Vanyel ever since that young Lady Luthor had brought up the issue of safety preparedness in case of attack. He could set up shields, but did anyone really have a way out of the Castle in case it was attacked? He had no idea if it had any sort of secret tunnels, and frankly he had no wish to go exploring for them either - not sure if he wanted to brave the places beneath the Castle. Besides, there was no guarantee of those tunnels existing or surviving an attack either, or if someone else had previous knowledge of them.

Well, he had a possible way out. His Gates. He knew they did not work if he tried to go home, but what if he tried to place people far beyond the Castle's sphere? Could he open one into the Dead Zone or further, back where that temple they had visited had been? Yes, magic went null there, but would that still be true if the source of the magic was from elsewhere? He was confident he could open it near the Zone, but further would be better in case of a full out assault, he thought.

Yfandes, of course, had her concerns, but he reminded her of their last experience getting out of a Castle at the last minute this way, and how he really had no wish to repeat it. She could only agree, and also knew she could not stop him if he had his mind to it. At least he had come out to the barn to attempt this, not wanting any of his magics to backlash across the people in the Castle proper, and he could avoid harming the horses by taking them all out to pasture.

With a secure barn, and no one else around to potentially get hurt, he began his work, reaching in, drawing on his power since he had no other real source to tap. He began fashioning the anchors, envisioning where he wanted the Gate to open. He could see it, bright and clear, was sending his Gate out to connect....

And was suddenly thrown back as the Gate refused to connect and snapped back like a snapped bowstring, not giving him time to re-channel the energy. Even if he had, it would have been a massive overload of his own channels, just like before... In the back of his mind, as he waited to hit the ground, he told himself he should have known this would happen, just like last time. But, he had hoped, after all his work, he had hoped...

He hit the ground, breath knocked from him and the pain blinding him. Frankly, he should have been used to this sort of pain by now, it had happened often enough, was burned into his mind from the first time it happened and the events that had immediately followed it. What that event had made him. Of course he would flash through this things as he tried to process the painful burning inside of him, but it was all to much. It was always to much when this happened.

His mind went dark to spare him, long before he realized the pain of having trouble catching his breath, the ache in the back of his head.

Outside, Yfandes began to rear and scream at the top of her lungs, not for the first time hating her equine form.].

ooc: Basically Vanyel is unconcious, so most of your interaction will be with Yfandes. If you can hear Mind Speech, she might try to talk to you, but otherwise she will just be a very, very pushy mare.

ooc-2: No more rescues ^^ I think it is safe to say he has been rescued, though if you are wondering what is happening Yfandes is happy to give an explanation still.

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[ That was something very interesting to do with magic. Duke can't quite tell what it was purposed for, exactly, but it was very interesting-

Right up until it ... rebounded? Failed spectacularly? It wasn't even his magic, and he felt like he should be gaining a headache for what happened to it. He was already carefully picking his way outside before he heard the sounds of a very unhappy horse. ]

You will have to direct me, or wait for me to stumble closer. I can heal, if that is needed. [ So he might be talking to himself at the moment, he's not quite sure how close to the upset animal he is. Close enough for his ears to hurt, anyway. ]

_{[A healer! Thank the gods! She thought she recognized this one from Vanyel's mental descriptions, though his name escaped her. She snorted, trotting over and pressing her shoulder against him, snorting sharply to encourage him along and quickly, not wanting to be to far from Vanyel.]}

[ So definitely injured, and Duke should hurry. Duke nods, understanding that much...

But being blind does not help haste. He manages to catch himself with magic before he faceplants, tripping over something his slow swirl of mana missed in the need to try to move faster. ]

It is hard for me to move fast. I can prevent tripping, but then would be unable to keep my bearings. Would require aid, but it would be faster. [ And just. Levitate himself upright right now. This is what he meant. ]

_{[It irritates Yfandes, but she slows, keeping herself to a jigging walk. She snorts and neighs when they grow near Vanyel to warn him, wanting to dash to her Chosen's side, try and siphon some of his magic and shield him, though he had learned to well to shield himself by now. It had been many years since she had to do such things for him...

She looked to Duke and brayed, taking his shirt in her teeth and tugging him along to Vanyel, letting go when they reached him.]}

[Clow would have had to be brain-dead to miss that surge of magic - he's half-surprised the non-magically-gifted didn't notice. But to have it surge and then vanish so abruptly... that couldn't mean anything good. A safe ground wouldn't leave a signature like that. And what gods-cursed idiot would plan something that powerful without letting anyone else know? He was nosy enough himself, and Felix was a gossipmonger - one of them should've heard about this.

It only took him a moment to excuse himself from work, and hurry outside. He couldn't quite pinpoint where the surge had been, but he had a direction, and that was enough. The wings formed at his back without any of the show of the display he'd put on for Vanyel, and with a practiced push, he was airborne. Easier to see things this way. And faster than searching on foot. He was almost at the barns when he spotted two people, one laid out on the ground and... Yfandes? She was hard to mistake for the other horses in the stables, even at this distance. He cut downward, the wings vanishing just before he touched down. The landing was somewhat less finessed than usual, and he has to catch himself with his hands and one kneed to avoid sprawling on the ground, and he knows he's going to be able to feel that impact later.

But he ignores it for now - up close, he can see that the sprawled out figure is Vanyel, and with what Vanyel and Felix have both told him - he's pretty sure he can guess what happened here. He goes to Vanyel's side now - and yes, there's faint after-traces of the surge he felt earlier, though they're fading now. He has no healing skills, but he at least knows some first aid, so he reaches down carefully to feel for a pulse at Vanyel's throat. You know, just to be safe.]

What happened?

[The question is for Yfandes and the stranger, though he doesn't move away from Vanyel when he asks it, and there is worry cut clear in his voice]

Edited 2012-09-05 04:56 (UTC)

Exact? Unknown, felt the rebound, collapse, whatever wish to call it. And she is upset. [ A short hand movement to indicate the horse. He will fight down the urge to ask exactly how the other had gotten there, he had heard wings and the landing, but there was no sound to indicate the wings were still there.

At the very least, he splits his magic into thirds - keeping one third to himself, the second to circle and read what the damage was on the one on the ground (who felt an awful lot like Vanyel), and the last third to see if he could read anything interesting off of the one who had flown-and-landed. At the very least, learn the feel of him so he could recognize him later. ]

Need a moment to discover damage. Can pinpoint, but would be slower than if a larger amount of healing is needed. Wish to prevent need of fixing after healing once.

_{[Yfandes knew Clow, knew he was a magician, and was glad for it, though she was unsure how much help either would be. Her ears flicked and she snorted. Magic sickness, like this was going to cause, was going to be painful, and right now Vanyel had to be in extreme pain else he would have been awake. She brayed again, deciding to try and see if either of them could hear her - ]}

:: The Gate backlashed. It has basically torn open his magic channels, blasting them again. They are raw. He will be in large physical and magical pain right now. He will need magic or herbs to dampen pain, and he will have have a massive headache once he wakes. ::

[What the other man said more or less fit with his assumptions about what had happened - and he was relieved that he could feel a pulse under his fingers, though it was fluttery and faster than it should be.

When that female voice speaks into his mind, his head comes up abruptly, meeting Yfandes' eyes with a look of utter surprise. It's gone a moment later - he's had a lot of practice looking utterly unflappable even when he's just been startled.]

Yfandes...? [Okay, no, still sounding surprised. Though what she /said/...] This is what he tried to do before, isn't it.

That is your name? [ Asking the horse, even as he places it as correctly in his mind, trying to multitask. Although at her words, he does place the damage he was feeling, retracting his magic and deciding how to best wield it.

He doesn't really notice how he's hearing her, though. ]

The physical damage is easiest. Magic, may have to think a moment to alter where the healing goes, but can at least sooth. Should not be that much different from healing Contamination or Seal. [ Neither of which are things he's particularly an expert at healing, but he can figure it out. Recover is a basic spell.

So pretty golden lights, a spiral of ... what looks like over complicated math from about Duke, then about Vanyel appears a cone of light, the magic finding and starting to fix physical injuries. ]

_{[Yfandes snorts, worried, but decides to trust these people. Healers had done more before, when they had to, though a part of her was glad they did not have to take off his shirt. Vanyel was a peacock, yes, but he had his reasons for disliking the scars that criss-crossed his body, testament to the tortures he had endured in his life.

She fidgeted, clearly worried for her Chosen, nudging at his hand with her muzzle and looking at Clow with pleading blue eyes. She hated feeling helpless.]}

:: Yes, it is what he tried to do before. He thought it work, since he was not attempt to transverse worlds. But it seems opening into the Dead Zone will not work either. Some times, I wish he was not so driven to aid others...::

[Clow takes his hand off of Vanyel and turns to the other man.]

Do what you need to. Healing is a skill I lack, magically speaking.

[And now he turns back to Yfandes, getting up and brushing his pants off, with only a quick sideline glance at the circle the other man is casting.]

He's an idiot, and forgive me, but you're an idiot for not stopping him. Or at least telling Felix or me about this plan. We have enough powerful mages to try these things with more safeguards in place.

Will do best. [ Not that Duke's particularly good at healing.

He will continue to pay some attention to the conversation going on, but most of his attention is on Vanyel. Levitation is remembered, and turned off, and he takes a seat gracelessly where he stood.

Keep talking, ignore the glowing lights. Its all perfectly normal. If it seems like he's moving slow, its because he's altering spells on the spot. ]

_{[Yfandes lets Duke keep doing what he needs to do, sure that at least the physical pain will be taken care of, though the magical will be the harder. She turns her attention instead to Clow, her ears not back, but her eyes fierce.]}

:: You think I am so foolish, Clow Reed? He can hide things from me if he wishes, and he frankly sprung this on me. Believe me, I will be giving him my own talking to later, but this is... how he is. Right now, it is not the issue. Now, are you going to take the time to lecture me, or will you aid him? ::

_{[The last has its own note of reproach towards him, calling into question his own sense of judgement. She snorted and turned back, lowering herself down with surprising grace and laying her head across Vanyel's legs, and if they could sense it, they might be able to sense Yfandes attempting to shield some of Vanyel from the damage, though she could do little . It was not like when he was young and untried, still so raw.]}

[Clow resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He's starting to feel like that surge is giving him a headache, and having Yfandes 'shout' at him isn't helping]

We'll have this debate later. What can I do right now?

_{[She was not shouting good sir, but that was not an issue right now either. She looks to him.]}

:: As soon as Duke is finished with his physical wounds, we must get him to a clinic and see about anything to deal with a fever and severe headaches. He will be nauseous, and there is a chance of nightmares, so anything to help with a dreamless sleep. ::

Cannot aid with sleep, can prevent some of the nauseous and keep the fever low. Would need him awake to aid with headache, not area wish to effect when he is not aware...

[ Duke blinks blankly in their general direction, done with magic for now. ]

If the Child of the Full Moon was still residing in the castle, I would have contacted her. She has had more training in healing than I. Likely could do much more.

[He sighs, a mixture of annoyance, frustration, and worry]

I can get him to the clinic - they should have medicines for the headache, though I'm not sure how well they'll work in this case. And I can keep him asleep, though while I can try to send pleasant dreams, that's an aspect that's notoriously hard to control.

[He pulls his journal and a slightly chewed-on pen out of a back pocket, and jots off a quick message for Felix, then puts it back before turning to Duke]

Let me know when it's safe to move him.

:: I can carry him on my back if need be. I run much smoother than a normal horse.::

_{[She pushed herself to her feet again, clearly wanting to move him soon.]}

:: If he does not dream at all, that is better than what might come ::

Should be. Healing those who are not conscious is an odd thing, at worst he still has bruising. For added care, can apply Levitation to him to get him off the ground before relocating him.

[ Duke stays put on the ground, listening to the motions of them both. He's quite comfortable with waiting until everyone else is done moving before he starts. ]

[Clow gives him a wry smile]

That's more or less what I was planning to do, actually.

[He goes to carefully scoop Vanyel up, applying the smallest threads of his own power to wrap around him and take some of the weight. Luckily, levitation is easy, even without The Float to help him. He cradles Van against his chest, as one would a child, though it looks a little awkward when they're both nearly the same height.]

I can hold most of his weight anyway - after what he just did, I'm not sure what exposure to more magic will do to him, so I'm using the bare minimum.

_{[Yfandes snorted and nodded, going to Duke and pressing against him, knowing from Van the man was blind, which was more than obvious now. She looked back to Vanyel, letting out a soft sound of worry and concern, though the man could not here it.

In Clow's arms, Vanyel groaned a bit, head lolling against his chest. It might have been romantic, perhaps, if not for the circumstances.]}

Thinking alike, then. [ Sorry, all facial expressions are lost to him. Most vocal expressions are lost too, he's a little thick like that. ]

... A good point. [ And perhaps a little resigned, he doesn't resume circling his magic. Being completely dependent on another for where he was supposed to go was not particularly comfortable, but Duke could deal with it.

... He won't ask which direction, though. ]

[Clow glances back, and now that he's not quite so focused on Vanyel, he sees what he missed before. The way the other man's eyes aren't meeting his, the way he's still sitting there]

...You can't see, can you.

_{[Yfandes rolled her eyes at Clow and snorted, nudging Duke again to signal they should start walking and making her way out of the barn, constantly looking back at Clow and Vanyel.]}

Have been very focused. [ A bit dryly, Duke intends that to be a comment on the fact that Clow just seemed to figure it out. ]

Although more polite. Many like to wave a hand in my face. [ He gets up and listens to figure out which way he should be going now. Moving with the horse sounds good. ]

22nd Gate - Nothing is Gained Without Risk

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