Ursine Offering

[18:59] The artificer starts as she almost always does. Getting comfortable, of course. She unslings the bow from her back, a far cry from her usual, now-dismantled firearm, and the coat goes along with it. She rolls up her sleeves and digs in one of the storage chests.

The massive, shaggy pelt of some great spiritual bear is offered out to the Meztin.

"I figure it won't mind bein' worn by Ty at least. But gettin' its permission might be nice. Or at least tellin' it WHAT it's gonna be part of."

She didn't truck with spirits. For good reason. Especially after the one in Atagi's book caught a whiff of her and nearly burnt her to bits.

The rest of the materials- the lush, white fur of some kind of rabbit and two hunks of scintillating moon arcanium. They're all set out on her nearby workstation.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:59] Thorn used the Sultan's Folly as a cane- The rather massive staff was quite the crutch at certain times. He followed Katrin along, humming as he typically did when he found himself lost in thought. The man would idly etch runes into the air as Katrin would prepare themselves- He'd find himself not even invoking the runes, merely just practicing... Getting them down into muscle memory bit by bit!

"So. You want me to talk to it? Okay!!!" He ran some fingers through his hair as he kmotioned for Katrin to come closer. "Let's do it together, okay?" He smiled, "You're the woman that's harnessing it's power and turning into something stronger, no? Might as well introduce yourself."

With that, the Meztin would hold out their staff. With a singular touch, if given the chance? It would allow the spirit of one to exit the body and project itself unto the spiritual realm. "Any otherworldly being that lacks a corporal form could be referred to as a Spirit. Ourselves, for instance. When we die our soul ascends to the stars above to be cleansed and reborn; but our lingering Mana, our essence that holds our memories and experiences lingers on, brought towards the Spirit realm." A crash course ensued, he wanted to ensure that Katrin knew what they were getting into! "Depending on the circumstances of ones death or other Occultic influences, that same Spirit can become corrupted and turned into what Moxtli considers a 'Wraith'; vengeful ghosts that haunt and attack everything in its path!"

IF. KATRIN. Were to touch the staff? They would begin to hear the faint whispers of unseen Spirits; all around them both near and far. The body itself would feel colder as if the area had dropped many degrees below what was natural. While there were hardly any spirits within the cavern. And it seemed they weren't even moving, perhaps at Thorn's behest?

Thorn's tawny hues shift into an ethereal blue. He'd at least be able to see them both. Alongside, the giant, marred bear that hung close to the pelt.
(Thorn Meztin)
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[18:59] "Yeah, if you could. I'd appreciate it- Hhhh, you sure about that?"

The artificer is certainly not. Not in the slightest. Her track record with them thus far is abysmal. Was this one going to try and maul her? Bury her in a rocky tomb? Who knows.

In Thorn's fashion, he turns it into a lesson, which the artificer can't help but appreciate. Scholar though she might not technically have been, she still thirsted for knowledge in her own right.

The artificer places a great deal of trust in the Voice, as evidenced by her reaching out to touch the staff, if only barely. She feels a deathly chill again, her shoulders shuddering. With her free hand she removes her sunglasses.

She hears them, over the beating of Thorn's heart, the faint whispers, tiny, distant susurrations of foreign voices. Were they watching her somewhere. His eyes flicker blue, plain as day. What that means is foreign to her.

"So wraiths're generally...Bad. Right. Reminds of somethin' I had to ask, actually- but another time.

Do I just...Talk to it?"

Wherever 'it' was. Katrin feels a sense of impending dread knot her guts.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:59] {Item} You drop Animal Fur.
[18:59] {Item} You picked up Animal Fur. Dropped by Katrin Weiss..
[18:59] {Item} You drop Insulated Gloves.
[18:59] {Item} You picked up Insulated Gloves. Dropped by Katrin Weiss..
[18:59] {Item} You drop Gold Lions - Vest.
[18:59] {Item} You picked up Gold Lions - Vest. Dropped by Katrin Weiss..
[18:59] {Item} You drop Orichalcum Amulet.
[18:59] {Item} You picked up Orichalcum Amulet. Dropped by Katrin Weiss..
[18:59] A hand rose to wave towards Katrin, newly-attuned eyes of his would stop at a squint. A whole new world had opened to the Drakanite, right before their very eyes! Elementals of the depths of the earth, a wisp of flame and water. What stood before them, dead center? The brutish spirit of the pelt, clinging onto it's remains as if it were their very own lives. Wispy creature, ursine in shape but with a form that was ever changing, like plumes of smoke.

"Ignore all the balls of lights that whizz past. They're not integral to this point! Wraiths are woefully bad, they cannot be undone so I'm told- At least not yet. Moxtli has one.. Kept in our sway by a frame. Moxtli's last line of defense." Katrin's body, as well as their spirit would be kept safe surely enough! The Meztin would gladly attest to such. "Spirits can have either Positive or Negatives effects on an area, the ones here- In Moxtli- Sustain us and ensure our flowers and crops never wilt or decay. In exchange we offer them Blood,"

He turns to the spiritual Katrin, "State your piece. Let it know of your intent, it does not have to be Blood that you offer it but... We operate on mutual exchange, symbiosis. Allow it to know just what it'll be used for." His free hand dips into his pockets before being guided to tap against Katrin's frame- At least their physical one. He was a warm touch, holding onto the warm rock that she had brought him.

He whispers, "If anything, I'll sacrifice a portion of my blood for you."
(Thorn Meztin)
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[18:59] It is all at once terrifying and awe-inspiring. The living world fades away, melts, and a new one full of color and life all its own takes its place. Dots of light dashing about, spirits of earth rising up and sinking into the earth And, for a moment, she swore she saw eyes of living flame, twin rubies, that watch her from afar.

She might have stared in wonderment a while longer, to really take it all in, had the bear not drawn her attention all the more readily. Katrin swallows hard as she eyes its shifting, evanescent form.

Its shape was so uncertain, shifting, changing, hard to track.

"Right. So you can...keep 'em in check? Sorta'?" It reminds her, briefly, of the conversation with the Sarradian prior. Another question for another time.

"It's like. A give and take kinda' thing? Alright...alright, I can get that."

She hears his words, feels the warming nudge, and reaches for her physicaltool belt. Katrin clears her throat, puffs out her chest, and looks roughly where she assumes the ursine spirit's eyes are.

"...Look. I imagine a lotta' you ain't like me. Or what I am. And that's fine. But a deal's a deal, and I made one with the man who had the pelt. He wants to somethin' to protect him in battle against the things that go bump in the night.

I might be one of those things. But I understand a deal's a deal, and I wanna respect that. Nothin' comes cheap or free. Everything's got a price. So you protect the fella wearin' this armor? I can give ya somethin' back."

Every thing its price. Katrin casts another uncertain look to Thorn as she sets the tip of her knife into the center of her palm. Unless he stops her, she twists the sharp point into her skin and draws blood.

It drips, one drop at a time, onto the ground at at what she supposes are the bear's feet.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:59] A smile forms across his features at the reaction, a gentle nod offered towards them. Though soon enough, he casts his gaze south-wards, towards where the Spirit stood in waiting. For the life of him, he couldn't find it in himself to not continue explaining more and more about the world.

"There's also naturally forming Spirits. Beings made of Ether that come into existence thanks to the influence of Primordials such as Ryujin, or ones that simply form into being that embody aspects of the world. Elementals, they can embody a forest, for instance, or a Lake. Even a Volcano, in this instance.." He directed a finger at the bear. "Consider this a Wisp. While it's mind may not be as... 'Advanced' as ours, it can understand intent."

With that said, Thorn made no sudden movements as she began bloodlet. A quirk of his brow, an "Are you sure about this?" Soon followed, in the end, blood was blood, life essence would drip forward- Even if it were the vitae of the undead... It was accepted without forethought, without a care. "It's the purest gift we can offer a Spirit, they can draw power from our blood, either to sustain their own forms or to provide it to the lands they exist within." Thorn fell into.. Silent prayer, to Eznite.

The ursine creature would remain silent for a time, as the blood would drip onto the ground. A warm sensation would fill the earth, a shimmering light would rise and fall with time. The bear of the pelt would accept the offering. The pelt's fur would rise and stand on ends before eventually returning to a neutral position! The bear would fade, disappear and meld with the hide once again.

A deal was a deal.
(Thorn Meztin)
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[18:59] And once she's sure she's not going to get mauled, she offers more attention to the Meztin's impromptu, but still appreciated, lesson. The gift of knowledge does not go unappreciated.

Besides, who knows when she may need to go through a similar endeavor again?

"Wisp. I heard ya use that word before. So there's a spiritual peckin' order. Guess I never thought of that."

If she had or hadn't been sure about it, it was a little late for that. Katrin braces for something awful to happen, knowing that the life from her blood is technically stolen.

"Yeah. I guess. I'm not gonna half-ass this. You know me better than that." Besides. This was a transaction. A deal. It was not supplication, which she couldn't abide by.

Well. The spirit didn't seam to mind. She breathes a sigh of relief as it seems to accept the gift, a flash of twinkling lights, and it meshesitself with the pelt once more.

"...Thanks for your help, darlin'. Means the world. Can uh. Can we shake this off and get back to the real stuff? This place weirds me out just a lil'."
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:59] "Right yeah!!" He begins, "Don't think much of it for now, in the end. Each and every spirit is important- Some more than others of course. Wisps are considered lesser spirits, typically of animals and how they look varies greatly!" Thorn seemed to try and make this quicker for Katrin- While he did want her back in her regular form.. The lesson.. Must continue.. "Essences are human spirits and alongside them are nethradin- Which I guess is to say, nethradin are not needed. At all. But essences are definitely!" He bobbed his head up and down. "We have Primordials, the descendants of the Divine and the Divine themselves!"

And with that, he bows his head. "Right away!" He blinks, the azure of his eyes would vanish- He'd no longer be privy to the spirits that resided within Katrin's abode, nor Katrin themselves... Until? The Sultan's Folly was removed from her vicinity, she had fallen into a deep trance! Only to be broken by the removal of it's cause.

It'd be a slow awakening, and even afterward the Drakanite could definitely feel just a tad bit more sluggish. A hand planted on the woman's shoulder as he waited for their return!

"I had a lil' focusing crystal that showed the real horrors of the Spirit Realm! I.. Should try finding it again!" He nodded, enthused.
(Thorn Meztin)
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[18:59] Katrin nods, an attempt to convey appreciation for the unexpected-yet-treasured lesson. She did not have to believe or put much stock in the divine to understand the hierarchies or place the spirits had in the web of things.

"You really like talkin' about this stuff, don't ya?" she remarks with a little smirk.

It all starts to melt away again, the scenery starting to drip and puddle into an indistinguishable run of color. Then darkness. Then light again, as her spirit guide rouses her from the torpor of the trance.

She blinks awake, a leaden feeling in her eyelids and her bones, and rubs at her face with her hands balled into fists.

"Fuck, that was....that was somethin'. I appreciate ya, darlin'. Was an experience! Don't know how I feel about that 'horrors' part though."

It takes a second for her to regain her bearings, but she does start to teeter over to her workstation again. There lie the arcanium, the lunar variant prized so highly.

Yet it works much like the other stuff. Katrin heats up her hands and starts moulding it all together, bringing it over to the anvil.

"Right- reminds me. I heard somethin' from some Gehennan fella about...Strigoi? You know anythin' about that?"
(Katrin Weiss)
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[18:59] Thorn clasps his hands together, wiping away the mess that was the Spirit Realm. The beautiful lands of wherever they had landed... Vanished in the wind! Gone. Now what remained was the abode of the Artificer Extraordinaire themselves! The Ookami followed them close behind, ensuring that anymore adverse effects were dealt with- Or at least, taken care of to the best of his ability.

"Yeah! I had TWO essays I wanted to write if I were to become a Lorem Magus, one of the Spirit Realm and one on Wayfinding." He rubs at his jaw, he was clearly excited to talk about his nerd shit.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, my love! I'm here to help, as always." For her, and his people. Offers always stood! "It's cooler than you'd think!" But it would still remain quite horrifying.

He hummed softly, his brow rose as the name connected within his brain. "Only once before." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his headonce. "But. I don't know.. What it entails! I should ask my fathers. What I know of Gehenna is very limited, word of mouth. Yknow?" Thorn canted his head, "I was thinking of trying to open a PORTAL to Gehenna, to maintain a hold on Esshar but.. That might be too risky!"
(Thorn Meztin)
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[18:59] The abode was comfortable and familiar, if less colorful and inhabited. Or maybe it was always inhabited and she just couldn't see it. Were there always eyes, no matter what she moved, watching her? Judging her? A chilling thought she dispels with a shake of her head.

"I ain't know what a Lorem Magus is, but why not write 'em anyway? You're clever, y'know. Not just for violence." It was certainly something to admire. Not that she didn't admire the propensity for violence too.

"Heh. S'good bein' here. Lil' more...stable," she mutters, working the lunar arcanium into the rough shape of a breastplate. Thin, light, glistening. It's satisfying to work such a rare material in her own two hands.

That might just be her own 'nerd shit', as the Voice so eloquently puts.

"Thought I'd ask. That Sarradian kid earlier? He was playin' a joke and likes people thinkin' he ain't speak common. But he does. He mentioned somethin' about them bein' like the vampires. Got me curious." Vampires, somewhere other than Apropriya no less. Or at least feral creatures that were much like them.

Katrin takes the bear pelt- which for a moment she feels as if might be, in its own way, alive- and begins attaching it to the armor like a great, draping cloak.

She is no supplicant to the spirits. Yet there is a sense of respect and reverence in the act. A bargain is a bargain.

"What do you think'd be risky about that?"
(Katrin Weiss)