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- [14:30] Adrian Rowan says, "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to keep everyone safe, Cordelia."
- [14:31] Adrian Rowan says, "But I am going to get even stronger..."
- [14:31] Adrian Rowan says, "Let's do this then."
- [14:32] Cordelia I. Avitus says, "Hm, I guess that's true."
- [14:33] Adrian Rowan asks, "What's true?"
- [14:33] Cordelia I. Avitus says, "Smaller homes are easier to keep warm."
- [14:33] Cordelia I. Avitus exclaims, "I commented on how big your home is!"
- [14:33] Adrian Rowan asks, "Have you done any rituals before, Satsuki?"
- [14:33] Adrian Rowan says, "I Inherited it..."
- [14:33] Satsuki blinks - with the one eye, anyway. The other one... doesn't blink. It doesn't work like that.
- (Satsuki Shimasu)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [14:33] Satsuki Shimasu says, "I-"
- [14:33] Satsuki Shimasu says, "..."
- [14:33] Satsuki Shimasu asks, "Is. Is that a jest?"
- [14:34] Cordelia I. Avitus says, "...."
- [14:34] Adrian Rowan says, "No... I have never seen one or heard of one being done."
- [14:34] Adrian Rowan says, "I didn't think they were very common."
- [14:34] Cordelia I. Avitus says, "Does becoming a Vampire count as a ritual? "
- [14:34] Satsuki glows aggressively.
- (Satsuki Shimasu)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [14:34] Cordelia I. Avitus says, "It was kind of like a ritual."
- [14:34] Adrian Rowan says, "Uhh... Where do I place theses."
- [14:34] {Item} You drop Everlasting Ice x1.
- [14:34] {Item} You drop Skadi's Fang.
- [14:34] {Item} You drop Skadi's Frozen Scale.
- [14:37] She took a few steps back from the items, a small hiss escaping the Dhampir at the coldness.
- (Cordelia I. Avitus)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [14:47] {Item} You picked up Everlasting Ice. Dropped by Adrian Rowan. .
- [14:47] {Item} You picked up Skadi's Fang. Dropped by Adrian Rowan. .
- [14:47] {Item} You picked up Skadi's Frozen Scale. Dropped by Adrian Rowan. .
- [14:47] {Item} You drop Everlasting Ice x1.
- [14:47] {Item} You drop Skadi's Frozen Scale.
- [14:48] {Item} You drop Skadi's Fang.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [14:48] They've already started this ritual off on the wrong foot. Satsuki, renowned former Chancellor of the Illuminated and blatant priestess of Jiuweihu, had indeed completed 'rituals' in her lifetime, and... frankly seemed confused that Adrian would even ask! Her arms crossed and she mumbled something or other about kids these days, but never mind - there was work to do.
- "Please understand," Satsuki muttered, "Why she might fear - or despise - the cold. It is not... because of you. You were there, Adrian Rowan. You know. But... anyway."
- She glanced at the items, and then did a quick double-take just to make sure they were actually there. Telethrene's eye was indeed a burden; it didn't make her completely nonfunctional, but she still had to question reality from time to time. Okay - a fang, a scale, and everlasting ice. No matter how much she looked, they were always laid out there. She couldn't tell what they were simply looking at them, but a quick glance up at Adrian permitted her to learn of their nature and significance by tapping into his own thoughts.
- Wisdom, or at least the sort she was gifted with, didn't permit mindreading. The Eye, however, unlocked that ability - and though it wasn't perfect, though Satsuki hadn't quite figured out the full extent of it yet, she couldn't argue that it was potent.
- "Three invaluable items, intrinsically linked to the winter - and you, too, wish to be a herald of it," she said, kneeling down and reaching into a few of her coat pockets until she located a piece of chalk she aimed to use for any runes she might have to draw. "That is... what I am discerning, from looking at you - but the eye is flawed, and broken, and not always wholly accurate. Tell me, Adrian Rowan: am I correct? What do you seek?"
- (Satsuki Shimasu)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [14:57] ''I know and I understand, so I don't hold it against her. Besides, it's not like I am cold all the time... And hopefully, this doesn't make me so, just able to shift into that form if I need to.''
- He looks over at Cordelia, flashing her a warm smile. Compared to his icy composure, people needed to remember he had the fire too. Even if most of his strength came from ice.
- ''But yes... I will give you brief understands of each item we have in front of us. The Fang and Everlasting Ice, they were earned by my uncle... Niklaus. He claimed his right to be a Champion a long time ago, and now they belong to me. While the scale is when I proved myself worthy too.
- I fought Skadi the elder Dragon to prove my worth, to show her I was worthy of wielding this axe. And now, I am going to push my own ability as a Dragon further.
- With these items combined, linking them to my very core will enhance my ability insanely. I will become an embodiment of ice, I will become a herald of it. And let's be honest, you don't need that eye to know that Satsuki.''
- He grins, allowing his wings to stretch out at his back. The beautiful blue scales glimmering, causing little snowflakes to fall onto the wooden floorboards below.
- ''So, where do you want me to put them? I am ready to begin.''
- (Adrian Rowan)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [15:02] She was silent, allowing the two to have their ritual. As Adrian flashed her that smile, she only offered one in return as she nodded.
- "I hated the cold when I was alive, the first time, too. Well - I just disliked the cold, really... But yeah. It's not you," She said softly.
- (Cordelia I. Avitus)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [15:12] "You... fought Skadi?" the Kitsune asked, looking up to Adrian again immediately. She dropped her chalk in the process, too. "Impressive, Adrian Rowan. Truly impressive. You must tell me this tale sometime." But, for now, she turned her attention to the items again. "Arrange them in a triangular fashion," she instructed, gesturing to three invisible "points." "And we will get to work. I know exactly how to draw the runes for this, and..."
- ...And... she blinked. Oh. Right. She should probably warn him.
- "Adrian Rowan. I know that you trust me - you... would not have asked for me to perform this ritual for you if you did not. But I must warn you of... my philosophy, my approach. It will doubtlessly shape this ritual."
- She took hold of the chalk again and looked up to the dragon, one glowing green eye and one mechanical golden eye staring at him. Both of those eyes seemed to burrow into the subject of their gaze in different ways, and as much as she may have tried to avoid giving off that feeling of always staring into someone's soul, it was simply impossible. Satsuki, even without Telethrene's eye, was doomed to be a little bit creepy. "Skadi is the Envoy of Winter," she said, "And I believe I can turn you into an envoy as well, with these. However, the routes to power that I take have always been... parasitic. I have always embraced symbiotic relationships, no matter how dangerous they might be. Here is... my idea, unless you have a better one - you will be the parasite in this relationship, Adrian Rowan."
- The small tilt of her head suggested she realized, as soon as she said it, that this may have been interpreted as something of a negative statement. She didn't bother trying to put a positive spin on it.
- "A fang, a scale - greater parts of one whole. A fraction of power offered, should you reach out and grasp it."
- The chalk touched the floor. Satsuki frantically scribbled with her left hand, though no major runes had been set down yet. They were simply tertiary things - small trifles and the standard requisites, in preparation for the real thing.
- "In other words, this ritual will... bind them to you, as you wish - but in a way that is more like truly laying claim to their power. The magic will be yours, Adrian Rowan, if... you can handle it."
- If not?
- Well. She didn't expand upon that.
- (Satsuki Shimasu)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [15:24] ''Yes... She was nearly unbeatable. But in the end, we managed to prove our worth and it resulted in change. A story I will tell you when you are ready to hear it.''
- He looks down at his hand, that ring gifted to him by Skadi and the spirit of Niklaus. It had more worth than any power given to him from it, as it was proof of Niklaus love for him... Even at the end of the road, they had a strong relationship until the very end.
- But now... As most looked down on him in his youth, as most expected him to be eternally stuck in Niklaus Rowan's shadow. He now will cast his own, but not in a negative way. No. That shadow wouldn't be his only, and it would cast over those that threaten what the loves.
- Moving each item, he places them around himself. The fang at the top, the scale and everlasting ice at the bottom. With the warnings presented and methods used, he doesn't even take a second to think before responding.
- ''That's fine by me. If you thought this method of binding these items to me was bad, you wouldn't use it in that fashion. Maybe I am a parasite because most things I come into contact with usually fade away. And then it's like I fall into a dump until someone new arrives, and most end up hating me after too.
- If anything... This will be the best kind of parasite I have ever been, or maybe I am just exaggerating my poor experiences. Either way, I am prepared to accept these terms and evolve.
- I will be the Envoy of Winter... And when that snow falls from the sky, you'll know whose wrath has touched Agartha... Or any area it begins to freeze over. Adrian Rowan, born from a family of death and evil. Raised by Dragons and Niklaus himself, grown into something people can rely on. And now, I will become the Envoy of Ice... No matter what it takes.''
- And the risk?
- A risk he's willing to take, even without knowing what it was. Yet those slits in his eyes shine, showing that determination to move forward. Sharp teeth grit, as he positions himself a little.
- But he pauses, blinking. ''Do I need to take my shirt off or anything? The way you do it, makes it sound like you may need to work on my flesh too.''
- (Adrian Rowan)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [15:39] "...There is no harm in symbiotic relationships," Satsuki assured him. "To embrace a parasite, like my Insatiable or my Sunyata tattoo, or even this eye, and survive it - it is a sign of strength," she said. "Likewise, when... leeching," she said after a long moment of hesitation, like she still wasn't quite satisfied with the word choice, "...Let me start over."
- She paused, and as she mulled over the words she set to work on the actual ritual. The Kitsune moved to the everlasting ice first - it was the easiest of the three items to work with given the nature of the other two, and she figured that the runes involved in attuning it to Adrian would be at least slightly less complex than actual parts of the great dragon Skadi. Satsuki sketched a circle around the ice, and around both the interior and exterior of the circle she began to draw complex runes. She stopped periodically, consulting her notepad for complicated runes she couldn't quite remember - as well as verify if they were real or if she had pulled them from some other timeline. There were so many slight differences she had to keep track of, and she found so much value in keeping the notepad around as concrete evidence of what was true and what was false.
- "When a weak parasite latches onto a strong host, it may take too much for it to handle - and it falls off, and it dies," she said, far more smoothly and with fewer unnatural pauses than she had been using up to this point. "If you are able to survive that which you are about to receive... there is no harm in considering yourself a parasite. It is not an offensive statement. It is not an insult. It is... simply the role you fulfill, in this situation."
- She finished the first circle - it contained runes that would connect it to other circles she had yet to draw. It contained the beginning of a grand tale to be told throughout the rest of the runic circle. And, more specifically, it contained instructions. Satsuki's runes were just as parasitic as the paths to power that she promised; not that Adrian could understand them, but much of the inner circle involved "draining" the energy from the ice. Even before she completed the ritual, some of the chill seemed to drain from the ice. The inner circle took on a supernatural blue tint, consuming what it could of the permafrost and radiating some of its own.
- That was her plan for them, then: steal the energy and "meaning" from the items themselves and redirect them. It was... alarmingly vampiric. But - if Satsuki was right - it would work.
- "...Your shirt," she said, "No. I ask for you to remain in the center - and there will be a small offering of blood eventually. If you hope to survive, Adrian Rowan, your veins must be akin to ice."
- She moved away from the first circle, drawing a connecting line to the scale next. It was long, arduous work, and Adrian would doubtlessly be standing in the middle of that still-invisible triangle for a good, long while.
- "For you will not simply be the Envoy of Winter, Adrian Rowan. You will be the Winter itself - the ineffable chill, the blizzard, the miles upon miles of blanketing white snow."
- "Do you still wish to proceed?"
- (Satsuki Shimasu)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [15:43] The Dhampir was silent, moving to a cushion and sitting down upon it. A safe distance away, she figured, as she allowed the initial virtue of Wisdom herself and Adrian to go about performing this ritual.
- In truth, Cordelia knew nothing of rituals, and she had no idea what to expect.
- (Cordelia I. Avitus)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [15:52] She wasn't wrong, and in a way, he knew that. Because he was still here, despite all the hardship. No one had to leave him, but they had no choice in the end. Who was he leeching from now? Or maybe... In terms of actual people, he was the host of their parasitic behavior.
- He wasn't wise enough to fully understand it, or know which way around it worked. But he doesn't even seem to ask, as if uninterested in truly knowing which way it worked in reality.
- ''This is why I originally just wanted you to help me with it, Satsuki. Your words always align with your actions, and I can trust you. In the end... If this fails, it'll be because of me.''
- He lets out an icy breath, as he looks down at the runes being drawn. That cold blue light that takes on the power of Everlasting Ice, it causes him to grin.
- ''And I don't plan to fail, I don't ever want to fail. Losing Siegfried was the last straw... And now I will expand my own power to never let that happen again.
- Take as much blood as you need, I will stay standing throughout the whole process. Even if it hurts... Even if I want to scream. I refuse to allow myself to fall.''
- It was finally surrounding him completely, and what could he expect? Bringing his arm out to his side, he clenches his fist ready. With his arm exposed, she could cut his wrist to draw blood when she needed to. As Satsuki, herself could always heal it up afterward too, which was another great thing to have her here helping.
- Almost time... The point of no return.
- And when she finally asks?
- Do you still wish to proceed?
- ''Yes.''
- If he has ever sounded more confident in anything ever in his life, this moment would take the trophy by miles. As his platinum slits gaze upwards towards Satsuki, preparing himself for what was going to come next.
- (Adrian Rowan)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [16:17] Satsuki's next circle enveloped the scale, and she began scrawling an even more complex set of runes. The ice was, in the grand scheme of things, simple. Though the scale and fang were not "living" things, they were still the product of a living creature - a truly legendary one, at that. They demanded respect in all forms, and runes were no exception. Those parasitic scribblings Satsuki employed with the ice wouldn't work on pieces of Skadi. She couldn't "steal" the magic from those.
- But theft was all she knew. She was the child of a thief, and grew up as one until she discovered faith. Even Sunyata was a form of theft: she pried corrupted mana right out of a person's circuitry and locked it all up in her tattoo. It made all too much sense that every rune written for this ritual "took". She would take, and take, and take until she held all of that power... and she'd direct it all right to one nexus: Adrian. Even Satsuki didn't know if she'd survive such a thing, but to show nervousness would be to act like anything less than the automaton that Agartha knew her as.
- Runic poetry phrased Satsuki's magical theft as a "request," then, granted willingly, and paid for in blood. It was the sort of respect that such a special item demanded. In layman's terms, where she simply "took" from the ice, she batted her eyelashes and asked very nicely to "trade" with the scale. It was a little bit shamanistic, nearly tribal, all things considered - but Satsuki saw value in it anyway. Items carried power from their origins, and if their origin demanded proper respect then it made sense to offer that same respect to the item.
- Even if it was a bit frivolous, it'd make for a stronger final result. The parasitic runes were drawn again, this time preceded by the offer of an exchange. And, as always, the requisite runes to connect it to another item.
- Moving along the floor and continuing the triangle, Satsuki finally came to the fang. There was a reason so many cultures placed great supernatural value on teeth. They were that powerful - and though the method was the same as it was for the scale, she had the feeling that the fang would provide the most trouble. Although it wouldn't literally pierce Adrian Rowan, she knew that the process of transferral would make him feel for all the world like Skadi's great jaws clamped down on him. He'd feel that fang tear right through his flesh.
- And that, too, was written into the fang's circle. Perhaps it was something of a motivator - a way to coax out a little more power from the fang.
- "Adrian Rowan," Satsuki uttered finally, moving forward carefully so as not to disturb the chalk circle as she worked on the coda of her masterpiece - Adrian Rowan himself. Just like with the items he offered her, she drew a circle around him now, exterior and interior of the ring quickly becoming enveloped by complex runes that he could only hope to understand in a few decades of study.
- There was no draining here, of course - only intake. The circles and verses drawn around the offerings all glowed a soft blue, radiating as much chill as the items themselves. The fourth circle that enveloped Adrian gave off no such glow and remained a plain, dull, mundane white, even as her chalk moved away from the floorboards. The final verse promised a trade, after all - warm blood replaced with arctic waters. It was symbolic, as stories told through runes typically were, but it simply wouldn't light up until the conditions of this runic "contract" were fulfilled.
- "Become all that you are meant to be. For that is the reason you were born-" She lookedup from her kneeling position, head tilting slightly again as she realized he was offering his wrist to her. "...No. What good is it if the offering comes from my hand? You are the one who is taking this power - not I."
- Satsuki gestured to Cordelia to direct her to step back - just in case - and hunched over her work one final time to craft a few final runes: open parenthesis waiting for the closed brackets of Adrian's own circle to activate. It wasn't wholly clear what would happen in exact terms, but one thing was obvious: once Adrian's blood touched the circle and all of those runes lit up, that power stolen from the three offerings and stored in Satsuki's runes would be sent along the line in an instant, right to the man in the position to receive them.
- Veins of ice, just like she wrote.
- And yes - it would be extremely painful.
- (Satsuki Shimasu)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [16:42] It was lucky.
- Because Skadi didn't just demand respect from people, she demanded confidence. If Satsuki showed fear or hesitation, these items probably would have refused her actions. But no, as Adrian has proven himself worthy as a Champion for Skadi... Her very flesh and maw work in unity to empower him.
- Accepting that thievery as it's going to a cause of the future, as it's going into a budding Dragon that will soon shine brightly. For other Dragons to look upon him and feel her presence, for them to be able to not just acknowledge him as a dragon. But an elder one at that, to please those spirits that watch over him.
- From the time he was young and sat with Ohtil, speaking about those very spirits and Skadi. To the time he traveled out to aid other Dragons across Agartha, and even be accepted as their Champion. To endlessly moving forwards, fighting against Archons and Demons of the Spire. And for Skadi herself to feel his presence, accepting it to be one with her own.
- To embody that ice, to become the Envoy of Winter. So that he would never fall again so that he could protect those he loved. No one else had to die, not while he was around.
- And now, he was going to go through this process and live. As he's claimed his entire life, he would not die for a cause... He would only live for it. And if him standing here wasn't proof enough of that, then the success of this ritual will mark his victory entirely... But it simply wasn't going to be the end, just another beginning.
- ''Do it myself? That sound's fair.''
- He nods his head, until finally bringing his wrist up to his mouth. Quite dramatically so, he digs his teeth in to mimic that of Skadi's maw biting down on his entire body. Eyes wide as blood begins to drip and pour onto the floorboards againstthe ritual circle.
- Bringing his arm outin front of him, he turns his wrist around to face the ground and allowing for most likely more than what was needed to start this process.
- ''Adrian Rowan.
- Envoy of Winter.
- Embodiment of Ice.
- Skadi's Champion.
- By blood, I accept this process.
- To become a parasite. To become cold itself.
- Allow me to feed upon your power, allow for me to grow.
- A new chapter, a new beginning. And I refuse to fall...
- . . . I accept the cold's embrace . . .''
- (Adrian Rowan)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [16:51] Perhaps Satsuki was the best person to ask for this ritual after all - there was no point in her entire life when she had ever been devoid of confidence. Indeed, it was simultaneously one of her best and worst traits. She was always completely confident in herself.
- Sure, she didn't know if Adrian would die or not, but it had nothing to do with her own work. Her runes were flawless; everything she did was flawless. If Skadi were watching, she might think Satsuki of a headstrong fool, true...
- ...But not for lack of confidence.
- She didn't say anything after directing Adrian to spill his own blood. She only backed out of the triangle as quickly as humanly possible - once blood hit the floor, Satsuki's runes drained the color from that, too. The circle itself took on the color of lifeblood for a short while, until the glowing blue outer circles began to send their energy along the line just as she knew they would.
- Red was overtaken with blue. Warmth was overtaken with cold. Blood was overtaken with ice. Starting from the connecting lines first, the icy blue flooded in, at first mixing with the red of the inner circle and eventually overpowering it.
- The ice, the scale, the fang - all of the power within them flowed through Satsuki's runes, shooting along on a one-way course to make good on the runic contract the Kitsune prepared.
- Blood had been offered, and power would be received in abundance, if Adrian accepted it.
- The only question that remained was if Adrian would survive the sudden rush of magic: the unforgiving cold; the enveloping wall of ice; the frigid, wintry fang.
- (Satsuki Shimasu)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [17:22] It finally begins.
- Once his blood hits the circle, the color shifts. Now taking on the color of lifeblood, red glows brightly up around his body. But that triggers a reaction, as the blue color begins to overtake the red quickly.
- An eruption of icy blue lights that form up around his body and warmth that was lingering was completely consumed by the cold. Blood overtook by the ice itself.
- Red completely removed from the circle, as only the bright blue takes over Adrian's body like a symbiote. Dark blue veins begin to shift into a brighter glimmering blue, as his entire body begins to freeze over. Skin frozen and paling in comparison, causing even his eyes to take on an unnatural glow.
- Legs trembling, as the temptation to collapse was heavy. But no, he said he was going to stand and if he fell now? It would go back on everything he's said, that would already make this unsuccessful.
- So he stands, his whole body screaming out as cold overpowers him. But instead of trying to overpower that which begins to take over his body. He tries to merge with it, to make him and Skadi's ice work in unity. The urge to scream out in pain, but even when he opens his mouth it's just a cold aching croaking noise. Like some sort of zombie, he croaks out in pain.
- Skadi's very spirit forms over him, as the glow of eyes, linger in the center. Of course, Satsuki already knew they did not belong to Adrian. Those were the fierce eyes of Skadi herself, as if judging the process and how Adrian himself took it. To truly see if he was worthy of harnessing this power.
- Which is when blood-red ice falls onto the ground below, a light red icicle forming and the dripping of his blood coming to a stop. The entire floorboards around the circle itself had frozen over, ice forming around the house and extending out. Sharp edges threatening to pierce those in its vicinity, whileruining most of the furniture present.
- The power that was exploding out from that very center slowly comes to a stop, as an icy mist takes over the entire room making it hard to see. The results of what was left... Is left to fate, to see if Adrian truly was strong enough to handle this transformation.
- (Adrian Rowan)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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