The second release

So he had let the madness go, just for a little while and.. well... it hadn't done too much damage. Sure, he seriously injured that boy's pride... but he wasn't killed. Gorandis was... ecstatic that he could indulge while still remain in control. He had feared that the madness would, well, be madness, that he would be locked away within his own mind as urges took control.

But no, he was more than able to let the load of without anything too severe happening. It was... well it wasn't entirely what he was after, sure, he remained in control now, but... if he let his guard down then... He didn't want to think of it... He shook his head, the purple hood flowing around the motion. he had taken to staying in the citadel for now.

Content to mingle with the other followers of Dumuzid though he wouldn't exactly call himself a follower, he had come for advice and gotten a little. It was all good and fine, but he wouldn't obey any orders, at least not just yet. Not until the imperfect could offer him something else. But with the recent worries on his mind, Gorandis found himself pacing.

Pacing around the pool. The icy depths held another one of Dumuzid's mysteries but, again, Gorandis didn't really care. He had his own worries. At least now he walked with more purpose. He was most certainly not the meagre mouse of a man that he was when he had first contracted the spirit. The spirit who had thankfully remained silent up until now.

A confrontation was something Gorandis wished to avoid for now.
(Gorandis Fester)

"If you're going to annoying pace, you're going to answer for it."

The citadel wasn't as active as usual--war parties were rampaging around the Bygone woodlands for the sake of finding hunt--and capturing Yokai that had yet to fully submit to Dumuzid's reign. The imperfect, perhaps, was even within one of these parties personally 'recruiting' those that would otherwise avoid him.

Lorelei was fine with the 'silence', even if she never truely experienced it. With the blue-flamedVessel of Adramelech comes endless whispers into the mind of the girl and she, far too often, listens. This time, she seems to have been quietly debating something within the skull.

Her words are whispers, her responces the same--yet it seems to be a heated debate and one that she doesn't seem to be winning.

Without shifting gazes, Gorandis is addressed.

"I feel you walk. I don't see you walk. I know you walk. Rotating in the back of my mind. But the question is why. I feel you and I know it's you. But it doesn't feel any different then normal. In fact...!"

With a whirl of the girl's body, the afflicted limb is jutted forth menacingly towards Gorandis and a horrific maelstrom of depraved mana oozes out, seemingly fixates upon the twin-souled man. A thrum--then another--then another--

...Perhaps the spirit within Gorandis might object to the arcana for it feels as if it is being pulled away for Gorandis. Yet, beyond that giving a nudge, nothing seems to occur.

Lorelei scowls.

"...Huff. Strange, strange, strange."

Adramelech whispers once more--Lorelei frowns more.
(Lorelei)

Hmm? He was being addressed? By Lorelei no less... And she seemed angry? Well, from what he knew, that was her default emotion and yet, no... He could feel her intent, the corrupted limb of hers jut out as it was... it was tugging, but not at himself. The spirit, yes, the bond was ever present if a little faint at times and yet now...

The long standing silence was broken and the spirit finally spoke, it was weak, more weak than Gorandis had thought it ever could be. But the barest whispers conveyed their message... One asking for help. With a frown, Gorandis narrows his eyes at Lorelei. "Whatever you're doing... don't. I'd rather not upset this spirit just yet."

"He's already weak enough as it is. I don't want to lose any more of him..." His own eyes more to the flaming skull as he stops the pacing. "What seems to be the problem?" He voice oozes, nothing like the previous scramble of words from when they last spoke. His mind wasn't nearly as addled nor confused. But there was still and edge to the words, and edge that could also be considered a fault line.

"You seem more distracted than usual..."
(Gorandis Fester)

It hit the spirit?

That's right--Gorandis was a vessel for another. It had slipped Lorelei's mind that another had inhibited the sorcerer's body. Interesting--it was affected. Lorelei muses, idly, giving a quick whisper back to Adremalech.

It must be quite rude to have lower priority then an inanimate object...

After a steady few seconds of intense whispers does Lorelei seem to cuss under her breath, shifting back towards Gorandis. "Oh, still here." She speaks, indeed a bit absentminded. "It is not distraction--the world is a distraction. I'm attempting to clarify it all but it is so difficult." The demeanour change of the man isn't overtly recognized--but to be sure if Gorandis had continued to give the stutters that implied an intense weakness would the conversation be going very differently.

The very fact that the twin-soul hadn't been insulted or otherwise assailed (beyond the minor tug) speaks volumes about how he's carrying himself.

"...Within all there is a--" Lorelei hesitates for but a moment. "...Excluding you, within all there is generally only one soul. I--" She bites her lip, lightly. "Adramelech argues that my ability to sense people isn't simply magical detection--but soul detection. That the soul is nothing more a concetrated vessel of mana. I can control spirits--and I can control the spirit plane. But those are not souls--they are different. Very much so. Very, very much so."

...Less so then Lorelei things. They are vastly different but the applications of spirit summoning can tie very well into Necromancy which can tie very well into direct soul manipulation. It was differing aspects of the same thing.

"...As a test, I tried to grab your soul. Nothing happened. As I told him." The girl glares at the skull. "It argues I'm too weak. I argue if it repeats that I'm binding him to a shoe."
(Lorelei)

He couldn't help but smile at the shoe comment. It was the first time he'd ever heard Lorelei even approach a joke. He pulls his own hood back, letting his rather lank hair fall about the place as the smile widens before disappearing under a neutral expression. "Well, yes. I know about the souls and spirits and what not... And so should you..."

"Uh, in a different light that you think... The book, remember the book I gave you? Well, the one you took from me I should say... It was rather descriptive on the topic. It, uh, helped binding this guy... Though we initially had a contract, well... I didn't need someone looking out for me anymore, he is much better off as a quiet servant..."

His lips pursed in a small from as he looked off to the side. Lorelei would be able to detect a slight manifestation of the spirit, not wholly, a sort of limbo state to keep the spirit in this plane... and in constant agony. "He didn't wish to bend so easy... But I really have no need of a body partner. So he serves his purpose in battle now, nothing more..."

"I should hope to replace him somewhat soon... With someone more... adequate. If you ability is soul detection, then you would have trouble with the spirit, yes? As his soul is far away in the stars and it is just his essence, the last shell of his soul that gets bound here... Forgive me if I am getting this wrong..." He lapses into silence for a moment before seemingly daring himself to carry on.

"If I may be so bold... I would like you assistance in that matter... the matter of gathering a new spirit that is..."
(Gorandis Fester)

Her gut says 'fuck off', but her heart...

...her heart also, admittedly, says 'fuck off'. Yet the whispers of Adramelech continue, Lorelei's frown deepening with every second. Was it right? It felt like it was just an annoying, counter-intruitive guide that was driving her more and more off the deep end. Yet it entices a theory, one that dives deep into the depths of her mind, and it's one she'll need to test on the field.

Lorelei gives a weak hum.

"I'm not a necromancer." She reiterates, her gaze shifting away from the burning vessel of Adramelech and tapping lightly at her own notebook within her clothes. "You're not wholely wrong. You're partially wrong. You're partially right. Where you're right and where you're wrong...I don't know."

Adramelech does--Adramelech also isn't terribly helpful.

"...If you're looking to steal a soul, I probably can't help you. I can't give those out. If you're looking to bring a spirit back for you, I probably can't do that either. Perhaps the myriad of other depraved entities that roam will be able to. The best I can do is summon for you something from the realm of spirits. Provided you have materials to make the circle and bind it to."

Spirit Summoning, Necromancy and Soul Manipulation were all so very, very different yet all so very, very similar at the core.

"What makes you so negligent towards your own inner spirit? Has he failed? Have you an idea of what you want to replace it with?"
(Lorelei)

Gorandis takes a moment to ponder. "I'm not asking you to do things for me... at most I am asking of ra guide, someone who has already done something... similar to what I wish to accomplish." He gestures to Adramelech. "I have gathered information on the spirit realm, about it's... inhabitants mainly. The ones I am interested in are the non-human ones..."

He looks out over to where his own spirit is bound. "Take this one for example. A fallen human, quite strong yes, but he has no more room to grow here at least, on his own. His power is wholly tied to my own and how much I can give him. He is nothing more than a parasite, something leeching off of me to gain what it wants... I wish I'd known this is how it would have turned out before I bound him..."

He lets out a half sigh half growl before continuing. "But something else, something summoned differently and with the proper care... It could be bound to my will, yes, but it would be its own separate thing too, something with its own goals ambitions and even identity. This... thing is barely even fit enough to stay around me now..."

"But, I am interested in the inhuman spirits... oh the things I could learn from one of them. The things I could accomplish with such a beast by my side..." He smiles though there is no real mirth to it, instead it is full of greed and avarice. "But, I digress... You have already bound a soul to be with you but now wholly with you, not the same way I have..."

"I wish to take that a little further beyond."
(Gorandis Fester)

Another hum escapes the lips of Lorelei.

"...I called Adramelech because I knew how to call Adramelech." The girl begins, looking down upon the blazing-blue visage. For all the fire that surrounds it, it seems to give off no heat nor anything beyond spiritual energy and a deeply unnerving depravity.

Though for the denizens of this citadel, the depravity is likely nothing more then par for the course. Lorelei reaches into her robes and pulls out her leather-bound workbook that she often peruses from. "I stole this from my tribelands. This was not mine. I--I forget whose it was, I took it from the cottage of the Elder's son. It looked powerful so I grabbed it. It's not."

It was vellum and ink--no power eminates from that beyond the power of knowledge. "Within is notes--yes--but most of it is conjecture--or mathematics--or theology. Much of it wasn't useful--beyond Adramelech's own notes. It seems they had located our Patron within his realm. I merely..."

Lorelei gives a weak frown as she looks back upon the visage. "...acted upon what was there. The ritual had accents upon them--locational quadrents of where to poll the soul from. If you're looking for something specific, you'll need to know specifically where it is. If you're looking for a general demon--or spirit--"

There's a moment of silence.

"...Summoning something at random doesn't seem wise, mind. But it may be what you're after. After that, it's merely finding a fetish to bind it to. That--That I can assist with moreso then finding your spirit."

Then again--if they could open a portal to the spirit realm? It might be easier to find something manually.
(Lorelei)

"Hmm, if we need something's location... Well pulling something randomly, some... demon as you say, it wouldn't be the worst. Of course I would rather bind something I have chosen. But to do that their spirit would have to be both found and then it would be forced to remain in that spot until the ritual is completed... Which would likely mean rooting it within the spirit realm itself..."

"Perhaps that is the best course of action then... diving into the other realm. But, such a thing is not possible without rift magic, yes? There are tales of, what was it called transient step? Something like that, some energy magic technique to travel to the spirit realm... But this is not something I would ever wish of doing alone."

He looked around the citadel's main room for a moment. "Not that there's much help to be found here regardless." He pauses again, tutting slightly as his hand came up to rub his chin in thought. "It is a shame that this would take so much effort... but, hmm, there are also other methods I wish to pursue as well, once the spirit has been bound that is..."

"Argh, so aggravating... If only I had started with this instead of binding with this... Hmm, I wonder... Can I ask Adramelech a question? It's... about the spirits in the realms..." His eyes never left where his own spirit was bound and writhing. "Could you perhaps... bait one over with another spirit, one turned into a beacon of sorts..."

"Maybe I can find use for this one..."
(Gorandis Fester)

"I mean..."

She looks towards Adramelech, theorizing internally--and listening, awfully, to the cajoling of the creature. Was opening up the Spirit Realm with Adramelech handy even wise? He very well could become--well, unbound. Surely Adramelech appreciated being summoned, right?

Of course?

Possibly?

"...The way rift works," Lorelei begins, her tone softer now as she was genuinely attempting to teach. "Is that it recalls you to somewhere you know. Intrinsically, that cannot ever happen with the Spirit Realm. You cannot rift there as you don't know what you're rifting to. It's the same reason you can't use it to escape the mainlands. You don't know what's beyond it.. There..."

Lorelei frowns, her attention lapsing once more as Adramelech speaks. What a terrible idea...!

"...is land where the planes are closest. You wouldn't be rifting but...walking through. I'm not--" She's never done it, and doesn't know any way back. "--sure if it's possible. I'm not sure if it's--feasible. Adramelech seems to say it is. I'm not sure if I trust Adramelech."

Another frown comes upon her face as she looks over the skull--genuine concern upon her! Would it kill her...? Probably...

"...Adramelech doesn't--he doesn't answer questions. He speaks his mind--he's heard. He's aware of your question. The problem is--" It's as if she was now handling two conversations at once. "--separating feasible from fantasy. It can--be an anchor. Adramelech more so. Problem is bridging the gap--and bridging it back. Possible--it speaks. But. It's not..."

Lorelei shakes her head.

"...You're gonna need some intense power to do it."
(Lorelei)

"Then it's a good thing that intense power just happens to reside within the citadel isn't it?" He answers rather coyly, if slightly reluctant. Of course he was referring to Dumuzid. "An imperfect might be the kind of beacon I am after, something to draw the creatures to it so that something... favourable can be plucked from the mix." He stops for a moment before sighing.

"Unfortunately I doubt that 'our lord' would ever do something like this for any of us... I have... theories... ones that would need to be heavily tested mind you... theories which require reports back from the other side..." He stares back at his own spirit with contempt. "If only I had something more useful contracted with me, perhaps I could do real tests."

"But I suppose he would do somewhat..." His brows knot before he finally speaks what's on his mind, this was not going to be a good idea... "Why... why did you bind Adramelech, from what I've seen between you two... it was not a good idea whatsoever... perhaps better than my own decisions, yes... but still, you seem to be fighting it more than it helps."

"I suppose he has knowledge, yes... but is it worth it?"
(Gorandis Fester)

"Adramelech is..." Lorelei begins, "...not what I expected."

For the first time in a deal of time does she break connection from Adramelech, shifting entirely from Gorandis and looking the older man over.

"Adramelech the Redeemer was the patron of my tribe." It was a story-book tale and it is evident that Lorelei treats it as such--her voice softer and more enunciated then typical. "The Akuma General of Mordred, killer of Percival, and Avenger of the Tenebrous Aurora. Sealed long ago by Arthur himself during the Divine Wars, his ressurection was to bring about a great recknoning that was to break the world."

There's a pause, ever so slight, for nothing more then emphasis. It's clear to Gorandis, had he any knowledge of Valmasian history, that her folklore is very much that--terribly historically inaccurate, and much of it clashing with reality. For instance, the divine wars and the uprising of Mordred occur in very, very distinct eras.

Adramelech, evidently, was ressurected on a lie.

"He's not any of that." The girl continues, her voice slowly becoming forlorn--ever so lightly, ever so minorly. "Adramelech is powerful. Adramelech is intelligent. Adramelech is annoying. Malevolent. Wise. I don't...know what he is. If he is a spirit, if he is a demon, if he is an Akuma. I ask and it laughs. But Adramelech is bound to me now--I have the power."

Adramelech, reflexively, quiets--the ambiance upon him usually ever-present dimmed.

"So I take advantage of it. I think it tries to lead me astray--and I think it tries to empower me for some hidden agenda. I don't know. But this is where I am now--and I'm moving forward, no matter what. Sometimes we adjust to the way the world is, not the way we want it to be."
(Lorelei)

Approaching Lorelei, Alistaer waits for her to finish speaking before he makes his own interjection.

"Lorelei, can we speak? I am planning something and I want to get your opinion on it. As well, it's very much in your area of expertise."

He stopped, looking around, noting a new face, before turning back to the corrupted girl and awaiting reply.
(Alistaer Maliael)

Gorandis had never expected to see Lorelei so... cowed. Though only in wording but she was admitting mistakes, admitting that she had been led astray and that she was not ever right... It probably showed on his face for a brief moment before he once more took control of himself but... It was, to be honest, it was concerning to see the woman who held herself so highly admitting she was wrong, even minorly.

"It seems that you have a rather... difficult relationship. And even with its flaws I do envy it over the own relationship I have with my own spirit. One forged in desperation, too hastily and... incorrectly..." He sighs and looks over to the spirit before, finally, it winks out, allowing it some respite. Gorandis did not wish for it to come to this but...

He wanted to weaken the spirit enough to simply let it go. But it would appear that his own conversation would be, rudely, interrupted. "You again... the one that Jay showed up in the desert... the other Hellstorm user. Though I must say... you really do have some gall to so blatantly interrupt something, to show so much disrespect, to interject on..."

He growls in his own throat. His fists clenching in a flash of his own crimson energy, but he does not act on anything... yet. Lorelei probably had her own opinion to state...
(Gorandis Fester)

"So take control of it. It sounds like you have a plan of action--you just need to execute on it. You don't wait, you don't idle--you do. Have you not the idea in mind of what you have to accomplish?"

There were several ways that Gorandis could go about finding a new creature ot harbor within himself. Whether he rips something at random--whether he steps into the Spirit Plane and who he brings to assist him all have very different associated costs and risks. Each one a separate path to take and each one ultimately leading to what he wants: The purge of the parasite within and the absorbtion of another.

Alistaer's interjection doesn't receive the usual lashings that she is accustomed to giving out--perhaps because he hasn't interjected to harass or otherwise cajole the girl. There was some, if not quite proper, reverence and in truth her tribelands didn't take much to order.

"So act." Attention, fully, shifts towards Alistaer--"Speak. I'm not sure if I'm going to tell you anything you want to know but if you've come this far you might as well follow upon it." --for but a moment before shifting towards Gorandis.

"And if you feel you are being overstepped, act instead of complaining. Idle threats and rants will get you nowhere but the grave."

Attention, once more, shifts back towards Alistaer.
(Lorelei)

He raised no arms to gesture as he spoke, seeing as he had none, but his words were filled with a serious tone that was rarely detected in his normally musing deep voice.

"Gladly, I am going to attempt something absolutely ridiculous, and I wanted to know if you'd be interested in it. Dumuzid suggests I try it, and by it, I mean replacing the missing limbs- my arms- with sacrifice limbs." He pauses, not sure if he was going to cause more trouble for himself by talking about this, "A left hand, and right arm, specifically."

Insanity, that's exactly what most had said about this foolish idea. One arm has effects on even a true Malpercian, but two sacrifice limbs on a foreign host? He'd lose himself and become something different in little to no time.

He too knew this, and he was prepared. Prepared to exist not as what he is now, but as something better, no matter the cost.

"So?"
(Alistaer Maliael)

"Beating up a cripple is hardly even worth my time... But, if you wish to see that I even can..." Gorandis grimaces before stepping before Alistaer, his eyes steely and uncaring. Something he would probably find concerning about himself. "If you wish to be so rude as to interrupt then I suppose you have the strength to back up said actions, no?"

In all honest, Gorandis' urges had been picking up again and he needed an outlet, a good outlet, something to let the steam off that he wouldn't have to regret. And thankfully, he seemed to be presented with the perfect opportunity. The citadel really did do wonders in introducing fodder. Most of these people were quite... exceptional at being target dummies.

With his own crimson energy picking up around him, he would stare Alistaer in the face. "So then, do you want to do this in here or outside? You are clearly at a disadvantage here, so I'll give you the choice of battle ground..." The itch, the want to destroy and break... it was picking up again and Gorandis found himself eager to scratch it.

And he was more than happy to do so.
(Gorandis Fester)

Yet another trial of limbless combat? His recent successes had instilled false confidence in Alistaer, and he'd not think to back down from someone who wielded the same magic as he did, it was too interesting to him.

"I suppose, I've never fought another Hellstorm magi. It could prove interesting."

He lacked any sense of self preservation, if he was meant to taste defeat, he would, he knew that now.

Someone as broken mentally as Alistaer cared not for what strangers thought of him, and even less for those who'd seek to do him harm. If this man lost, it'd make a statement that even with disadvantages, he was superior, if he lost, then it'd be as expected.

After all, who would lose to a man with no arms?
(Alistaer Maliael)

The strong held dominion over the weak.

Lorelei merely steps aside as she speaks, light steps carrying her over the water itself and to another edge of the pool as Adramelech re-ignites it's whispers upon her. 'I'm aware', it seems she whispers. 'I'm aware'.

It seemed like the skull was more of a nag then anything, though surely still pulling a more malevolent goal while it coaxes Lorelei along.

All the same, even as Alistaer is aggressed, he is at least rewarded with an answer from the girl--even if she offers him no salvation from the combat he is about to be inflicted. "...Disgusting." She responds, a light sneer coming upon her face. "The Sons and Daughters of Mordred are not chattal for harvesting. Be careful how you address Mordred's Touch."

Lorelei's breathing slows, her words harsh. "...That said." Every flick of her tongue comes off sharp and vicious, making a clear distinction in her terms. "I cannot govern nor say what you do with your trophies of the fallen. If you can slay a Son of Mordred--or Daughter--" It seems she implicitly implies Jael, though merely for she's never seen another on the mainland. In her mind, he's all that may have existed as far as she's seen.

"--then his parasite is yours to take. I'll warn you now, though." The afflicted limb of the girl is extended. "That this is a parasite. This is living. Two arms merely means two parasites sapping at your energies. You will likely die. The parasite will eventually take my entire body--and I'll eventually have 'two' arms as you say. I advise against attempting to rush that if you want to live."

Could two parasites coexist? Theoretically--but they would likely be weakened as a result, or the host dying. "So, in the end, my opinion is the same: If you can kill someone with one, might as well harvest the limb if you desire. Any child of Mordred that falls isn't worthy of Mordred's Blessing."

It was macabe--and it wasn't a phenomenon that Lorelei was keen to, but in theory--go wild.
(Lorelei)

Jay once more returned to the citadel, or at least from whatever dark passages he had been cavorting and practicing his dark magicks in. The sorcerors eyes surveyed the scene before him, Alistaer Maliael once more seemed to be on the move. Though his opinion was rather low of the magi he thought his obscure manner of sturdy and undefiable will was -notably- better than most.

His gaze fell on a familiar face, that of Gorandis. He had been there during the collection of Necromantic material. . .and if he remembered had garnered an interesting book. A book the sorceror himself was curious about, for that book would help influence his evolution to a degree, he had experimented and understood the human physiology enough, knew the mana circuits, and had even tested the waters of the ether plane. Fighting against the lifestream to inject a soul into a body. . .

Yet contact with such? None had yet been obtained beyond his destruction of the doll of Valeria.

"Oh my. . . " he states catching the last tid bits of Loreleis words,

"Indeed the curse is a parasite - - - but even parasites have their uses." the sorceror says, and flickers his gaze to Gorandis ignoring Alistaer for the moment,

"A question after you are done parlaying with the other. . " he says calmly. The voices and the star Brachium were rampaging wildly in his head, some whispers, others roars. Yet the star remained always at a constant thrum, its presence intertwined keenly with his own --- willful or not.


(Jael Malpercius)

"No choice of arena then? Then here shall do just fine. Lasswell tried to fight me here... much to his own dismay..." He frowned softly before shrugging any sort of misconceptions he had away. A few steps beck were taken, mainly out of, well, not quite respect, but more so just good manners. If they were so close the first shot would just seem cheap.

"You should listen to her, Mordred's touch... while some may seek to gain its power... it is nothing worth chasing, not if you value a long life. Though from your actions... it is likely that you don't... A simple apology or at least a showing of manners would have avoided this but at the very least... at the very least this will at least help me get some frustrations out..."

His hand came out to the side and the air condensed for a brief moment before the shape of his spirit appeared. It did not look well in the slightest. Scores of burns covered its form, lashes, cuts all sorts of physical injuries one would expect a spirit to be impervious to... but Gorandis had found ways to keep the man in check, no matter the cost.

"I suppose I could answer something if you so wish, Jay. I'll be done in a minute..." He smiles before the floor cracks around him as the sparks gain in ferocity. He was ready for Alistaer to make the first move.
(Gorandis Fester)

He was no stranger to pain, and suffering. How could one who seeks the dark existance he sees in his future be as such? An Oscuri, tilted towards battle by heritage and keen to magic moreso than an ordinary human, it was in his nature.

He spoke no words, as he had no need to. Unlike before, he now thrived on moments like these, where mortality was made clear and confidence was shattered, be it his own or his foes, it didn't matter. He fed on the emotions and the process, not the outcome, and the source mattered not.

He too was surrounded by an ionized cloak of red electric currents, and it was just as violent, just as hungry. Every flicker of that red lightning eagerly struggled to leave his form and meet the nearest polarized particle, it was in it's nature.

And so Alistaer vanished, with an ear ringing crack that shook the ground as he moved towards Gorandis in the form of an arcing, blood red bolt of lightning, a force likely familiar to another Hellstorm user.
(Alistaer Maliael)

Did nobody have any actual strength around here? It was concerning to say the least that the ones with no manners seemed to be the ones that acted the most foolish. Weak to be culled, perhaps, but that was not his judgement to make, no matter how much he wished to remove such... burdens from the citadel. That decision ultimately lay with Dumuzid.

Still, he could weed out what little forces he could. The ones that were unfit could be driven away. "You know, I didn't expect much... not really. But I still expected more than this..." His crimson power crackled around him gently, reined in for now, quietly under his control. "Though I suppose now isn't really the time for words, no matter how many I actually have for you."

His gaze shifted to the spirit. It was still doing its job, good. Perhaps he wouldn't have to torture it so much anymore... but that was such a good release for his energy too. But perhaps... Looking back to Alistaer a small smile formed on his face. Perhaps he could grab a new punching bag when the time came. Something else to release his aggression on.

He stood back again, and waited for the crippled man to get back to his feet. Gorandis wasn't finished beating him yet.
(Gorandis Fester)

His body was already numb. Legs wobbly, he forced himself to his feet and through blurred vision locked his sights on Gorandis.

He had lived in this state for so long at this point that it was normal for him. He, who teetered so foolishly on the brink of death so often.
(Alistaer Maliael)

The man didn't even serve as a proper punching back. He couldn't even stand up straight. ow... pitiful, but not pitiable, Gorandis found. Though he showed no mercy and struck him into an unconscious state, a barrage of lightning to fry him and keep him down, hopefully for a good while. It was so rude to just interject into another's conversation like that.

"Now... where were we Lorelei?" Gorandis turned, banishing the spirit once more but with significantly less discomfort on the spirit's side this time. "I seem to have lost track... Oh yes, telling me to act... well I will try, as all I can do is try. I don't have the knowledge to do for certain. But practice will be done, small scale. Minor rituals just to get the feel right as it were."

"After all who cares if a few spirits get shattered by my actions? There were the paving stones to success..." Perhaps a little too dark for him, but e was on a battle high. He wasn't thinking straight with the adrenaline mixing with the after effects of occult magic. It left him light headed and... well, cruel. Crueler than usual at the very least.

But at least this wasn't calculated cruelty. "Oh, yes, Jay... You had a question? Let's make it a quick one then..."
(Gorandis Fester)

Lightning arcs throughout the room but the Malpercians face remains rather immobile, as he watches the combatants battle. Even amongst similar magics, the superior one more immersed in the occult would win. That was without a doubt proven as Gorandis triumphed over the armless Alistaer.

"how nostalgic. . " he whispered, as if recalling a scene from long past. When all was said and done he watched Gorandis approach and the sorceror spoke.

"The book you obtained from our 'quest' prior. . .I would be interested in reading the material within it." in fact the book might have some sight significant meaning for him and would push his own research into forging a new path to truly obtain the power of the whispers locked within his mind, and the madness innately carved into his very soul.

"You know of course I am a person of equivalent exchange. . . and as such." he produces the necromancers notes.

"I will trade you these in exchange." simple really, and the necromancers notes should hold a keen interest for the person before him. The Malpercian had watched him carefully, this man was a scholar, and as such he was abound to descend into dark knowledge, and relish in learning knew knowledge at the same time. Besides he had memorized all of the necromancers notes, he had no need for them.
(Jael Malpercius)

Thus Alistaer falls once more.

How dose he continue to lose limbs? Bit by bit is his power taken from him, devoured by others for their own gainl. In truth, Lorelei didn't approve of it--devour the whole instead of maiming the strong. There is nothing to be gained by harming the strong--by maiming you have only made an enemy and gained little.

It was a cowardly move by someone who didn't have the fortitude to take a life.

"Don't get so bold because you've acted once. It is a way of life you must adapt--not a challenge for you to fulfill once. Remember that." Lorelei turns, slowly seeking the steps northward in case Dumuzid was to return. She had so many pressing matters to address!

"...As well..." She seems to ignore the conversation between the two. "...Let me know if you need me to anchor the planes for you. It may be difficult to do on your own and I doubt our Imperfect wants planar warfare." That, and Dumuzid likely can't grow from spirits. They weren't the mana he needed.
(Lorelei)

Gorandis seemed to sober slightly as each of them spoke in turn. Lorelei was as chastising as always while Jael seemed to try and grease him up in order to get something from him. Gorandis would have found it distasteful if not for the offer. The Necromancer's notes would prove to be useful, especially with how closely spiritmancy tied with it...

"I do not have the original book, I gave it to Lorelei as a favour..." He watched her retreating form and as soon as she was out of earshot he continued a little quieter. "That is the original book of course, I have a copy. It's the best way to retain information after all... rewriting it... Here..." He rummaged through his bag before producing what seemed to be a traveller's journal.

And while the first few pages did seem to be of that sort, The deeper into the book you went, the more... relevant the information became. "It's not as good as the original, but it will do for your efforts. And I would very much like to make a copy of that Necromancer's notes... They will prove most valuable when it comes to enacting my ritual..."
(Gorandis Fester)

He studied Gorandis for a moment quietly, not the original? Though notes were perhaps even better than the original because they were the culmination of one that had already experimented in a field.

"Understand, this is not in an effort to. . .assuage you." he says calmly, for he indeed valued the sacrifical exchange more than anything else. He was a vengeful child, --- Lilians soul trapped within his arm screamed even now at him.

"It matters not how or what as long as they are a cumulative and accurate copy of the original." he says, he approaches, the air around him feels somewhat cold. Though he does not notice yetj just how quickly delving into and against lifestream has already changed him, alongside his curse.

"When we last spoke you came off as such a person ----- a surveyor ---- an oppurtunist." the Malpercian says. "Would you be interested in coming along for a particular journey into the sarab?" he queries. Gorandis was strong in his own right, but unlike Arcadia Hirano the man was . . .carved into his own path. Arcadia was budding still ---- morphed. Perhaps when he became stronger, he would extend a hand to Gorandis; though only perhaps his morbid curiosity of obtaining knowledge would allow him to accept the Malpercian to use him as a studies towards evolution.
(Jael Malpercius)

"A particular journey? No offence but I do not wish to waste my time on 'journeys' nor adventures that would not benefit me. I am not one to go looking for things, I am one to pull to world to me..." He smiles a little, fully aware of how silly his own comment was. "But, if what you have planned does have interest similar to what I wish, then you can count me in."

"...You'll find me more reliable than the last time we worked together..." And Jael would be able to tell. In such a short time, Gorandis had grown, not physically, no the man was already well into the adult stages of his life. but his personality, the way he held himself and even his power had risen. He was no longer the bumbling clerk that had met the malpercian in the desert.

The book is tossed over with some care. "It's more than accurate, in fact, some things ended up needing corrected... trial and error, you see. I hope the Necromancer's own notes wont lead me astray in what I seek. The soul is a strange thing and diverting its power is not easy. But there are ways... if a necromancer so weak as the one we faced could do it..."

"I'm sure I'll find no problems in replicating it."
(Gorandis Fester)

he catches the book calmly, as he tosses the notes formatted neatly within his own scribbles, though towards the end their are definite signs of blood. . .of variant colors dotting the pages.

"Hmm evidence is indeed there that you have grown to a degree," he says and he flips through the book as he speaks rather quickly before closing it and focusing on Gorandis.

"True their is no point in taking a journey when there is no benefit for yourself," he muses, "Though as you saw knowledge is always something to be gained in what I do." he quickly puts the book away.

"The necromancer notes are hardly anything that will lead you astray. . .though from a glance they will no doubt help enforce what you already know, and then some."

"Hm. . .it's odd to see Alistaer still alive. .. I thought he would be dead by now." he commented idly. For the youth had indeed thought their would be no need to keep a magi like the lightning mage around. He no longer offered merit. . .or promise. He was a crutch, and anything that afflicted Dumuzid and weakened him needed to be culled.

He watched the place Lorelei had left for a singular moment. This side-note of her obtaining this book was key significance in what he suspected they were both after. He was attempting to push the madness out. . .and evolve himself to be able to enhance the whispers into something. . .beneficial. She. . .she was questing through the spirit realm. Different approaches but their goals coaelsced.

He had no desire to go insane, though she no doubt was getting closer each year. . as was he to their 'limit'. He could not serve Dumuzid from the shadows if he was a blithering madman.

(Jael Malpercius)

The Necromancer's tome was caught softly, Gorandis was quite deft despite his background. Within a few flutters of the pages he had scanned most of it and it seemed fine enough, nothing too out there from the cursory glance. Not that he thought Jay would lead him astray... yet. "Knowledge is indeed useful, yes. but there's only so much time you have to gain it."

"And it's best to spend time on what you want, not what others want...That's something I've come to learn recently..." He stared out, looking over at where the spirit barely existed. Just a slight, a portion of it here in the physical realm, something to let it know what its place is. "So, tell me, what would we be going to the sarab for?"

"I still need to finish up on this ritual I have planned but if this journey could have anything to help me with it then I suppose I could delay for a short while..." He frowned lightly but it didn't have too much meaning behind it. "Alistaer..." He looked to the man's KOed form. "It a rude, impudent and weak man, I, too am surprised he still lives."

"But every army needs its fodder."
(Gorandis Fester)

He does not bother glancing at Alistaers form before he nods,

"True, it would not do you any good to follow forward towards others in hopes of obtaining something that offers no merit." he thinks for a moment, how could he explain what was in the Sarab?

"The Sarab ---- it is a place filled with lore, there is no point in sugar coating that I myself am not sure what is out there. Despite their being some record of my peoples influence in that particular region, I am well aware we are not many and the cultists and likes of Valmasia have long transgressed and scoured the area."

"I do not know exactly what I am looking for but the means to further. . my research. Though your own studies seemed to have lead you to the ethreal planes, so perhaps this journey would not suit you." he states, there was no need to sugarcoat it. In fact he was not even sure if he would find much in the Sarab but he was keenly aware his star was pulsating to that area. . .and he was also knowledgeable that it was one of the most dangerous places on the continent beyond wherever Dumuzid and Lucien made themselves known.

It was not often the Malpercian was forthcoming towards another and often times he would have rather coerced Gorandis into this particular quest. Yet the scholar was a smart man, and few of them remained amongst the mainlands occulstis.

"Finish your ritual, perhaps I will have results of my own studies when I return. . " he states.
(Jael Malpercius)

"Yes, apologies, but I do not wish to waste my time chasing ghosts in the desert..." He falls silent, scratching his chin and the wisps of a beard that had accrued. "Well, I wish you luck in your own endeavours. The desert holds many secrets and many dangers. The shifting sands hide many things and almost all of them are deadly..."

"But, of course you know this." He smirks, bringing his hand down and resting it on the Necromancer's book, keeping his gaze on it as he spoke next. "The ritual will likely prove... harmful to myself. So I might not meet you again.." He smiled, even still. "But I do not think myself so easily stopped. No... I will meet you again in the future, Jay."

"Perhaps then we can compare notes." He gave another faint smile before raising his hood and departing. The east, towards the lower sections of the citadel. He needed some fodder... Alistaer hadn't been enough to release all of his pent up aggression and besides... No one would miss a few lessers here and there would they?
(Gorandis Fester)

He nodded his head, time nothing in the world seemed to slow it down for them. For the imperfects like Dumuzid ten years was equivalent to a brisk change in the seasons, for them it remained forever a vice on how much knowledge they could obtain.

Though his lifespan was no doubt shorter than most, or so. . .the intelligent part of his lifespan.

"Perhaps change is not always bad. . .if one understands and conquers the vice and negative effects of it." he says quietly. He watches Gorandis for a moment, and nods,

"Yes perhaps we shall be able to compare notes. . .and then we will see what benefits are to be offered from the methods we have obtained. . . for change." he says. He watches Gorandis as he heads off, in time he needed to continue his experiments but even before that he wanted to at least talk to Dumuzid one more time. To make sure the Imperfect was aware to a degree that he would be moving about with one of his soldiers.
(Jael Malpercius)