Improvement (Adra/Lestacia)[private]

After meeting Adra the a couple days before, he had agreed to meet with Lestacia on this very day. For what she did not know but she'd get some training done before he arrived. It was still pretty early in the morning so lestacia had some time to work on a couple new spells she was working on. After all she had found new strength and power in the spells she had now thought up of. She had walked into the nearby woods and towards the town. To her knowledge The tavern that they were to meet at was pretty well known.

Lestacia sighed putting a hand to her brow and looked up towards the sky. It was a bright and sunny day. A couple cumulus clouds in the sky floating past, blocking the sun every now and again when the canopies of the trees failed to. Lestacia smiled moving along the path from Dawnblade's camp to the city. On her way Lestacia's feet had begun to hurt. She carressed them and took a stop massaging her feet. She had been walking around a lot why not take a break with one of her newer spell Ideas. "Seedling Transport." Lestacia stabbed her staff into the ground and a brown seed immediately formed around her. It then buried itself into the ground and moved Lestacia all the way in front of the tavern.

Upon arrival the seed would stay put under ground and slowly rise to the surface with Lestacia tucked away safely inside. People upon the surface wouldn't be able to see let alone hear anything as the seed slowly made it's ascent.

Wc: 278

Spell Trained:

Adrastos didn’t return to Vardreth’s camp after meeting with Lestacia in another town. Instead, he travelled to a town called Guo Lan. Guo Lan had one tavern, which made it well known in the vicinity, called Yahui. The magician picked this location because of it was far from Vardreth’s camp, and hopefully far from Vardreth himself. He laid on his bed, shirtless, waiting for Lestacia to arrive while thinking about what he was going to say to her. Adrastos didn’t give a reason why they were meeting here, he just told her to meet him. He knew she was pretty talented, and didn’t want to lose that talent to anyone else, but how was he going to keep her by his side? Threats would probably cause her to leave, but she was a woman. He could try to charm her to stay, pretend he had feelings for her like he tried to do with Cherilyn. Last time the magician saw Lestacia, she had changed drastically from their first encounter so it wouldn’t be too bizarre for him to attempt to woo her, right?

Nox offered Adrastos a glass of wine, but he waved it away. “Not now. Maybe when she gets here… If she does that is…”

It wasn't long now that the girl's seed had sprouted from the ground. It opened up revealing Lestacia, who simply yawned and rubbed her eye. She had apparently found her way to the town's center. The people marveled at the seed she stepped out of before it dissipated back into a stream of magoi. Lestacia looked all around for the Tavern she was supposed to meet the man at and she smiled. She had found it. The sign was pretty noticeable and hard to miss. She'd give another yawn before approaching the fine establishment and opening the doors.

Scanning the room she'd find Adrastos, the man who had been training her the entire time, the one she was supposed to meet her. She moved over towards him and took a seat. "It's been a while huh!" She said turning her head to the man and smiling. Her smile was bright and pure as always. Her eyes gentle but always hungered for information. The last time Adra had seen the girl she was a younger and so much smaller than he was. By now Lest had gained some height. Yes the tiny life magician had a growth spurt. Puberty had taken it's toll on the young girl as she was now maturing into a beautiful young woman. Lestacia ordered a glass of water and as it was set in front of her she took a sip and set it back down. She'd rub the rim of it with her index finger while talking to Adrastos. "So master, what have you been up to?"

WC: 262

The magician sat up when Lestacia entered, exposing the scars on his upper arms and shoulders and toned muscles. He nodded to Nox, signalling him to leave the room and shut the door behind him. “Indeed, it has been a while. You’ve changed during the time we’ve been away,” he said, offering a gentle smile. “You’re a beautiful young woman now, aren’t you, Lestacia.” The magician took this time to observe her briefly before nodding. “Beautiful indeed.”

Adrastos took a glass of wine and twirled it around before sipping the dark red liquid. “I’ve been enjoying this country, despite the war that ravages it. However, that also means that as a doctor, I have a duty to help the wounded. So it’s been a mixture of work and pleasure.” He took another sip of wine. “What about you? I’m sure you’ve been practicing with your magic or else you wouldn’t have been so excited to show me what you’ve learned a few days ago.”

Lestacia had stopped twirling her index finger upon the rim of her cup and had actually begun to drink the water laid out before her once again. However what Adra said about her being beautiful caught the girl unawares. It showed temporarily on her face but she regained her composure. Sure she liked Adrastos, in fact she had a crush on him. However for him to call her beautiful not only once but twice nearly made her heart skip a beat. Her face flushed red as she sipped down the rest of her water and cupped it in both hands.

"I-I'm sure a very handsome man, like yourself says that to all the young ladies." it was obvious that Adrastos' comment affected her. However it was in a good way. She stared at her reflection in the remainder of the water she had. Listening still to Adrastos' every word. He then inquired about how her time went here.Either Lestacia was reading into this too much or her master was interested in her. She smiled softly and began.

"Well, yeah! I've been finding new ways to help people affected by the war, while also making some headway in my magic training.It's more like leaps and bounds." She said giggling to herself.  "I've been utilizing all the magic I learned in different ways. I've even learned Clairvoyance Magic." She gave him a look and continued. "I was going to learn heat Magic but offesive magic isn't really my thing. But I think i can make use of it to help people." Lestacia began thinking. "So far I've been healing the wounded during this war and..." Her face went dark a little. "I've killed a couple people though... it was nerve racking at first but I've gotten used to it." She finished her water but tried to hide her dismay with another smile. "But thanks to that I've improved." She just noticed the mans arm and she reached her hand out to touch them. "I hope you've been staying safe. There are a lot of strong people out there..." She smiled softly. "But what am I worrying for! You're very strong."

Wc: 358

Adrastos refilled his glass with more wine while his silver eyes remained on Lestacia. Though brief, he noticed an emotion pass over her features but it was too quick to know what emotion was conveyed. Was she embarrassed that he called her beautiful? As if to answer his question, Lestacia’s cheeks flushed red and she stuttered. She really must be embarrassed… But why? There wasn’t a whole lot he said, and it was a simple compliment. Unless…

“I’ve only met a handful of women. None of which I’ve really indulged with compliments because I was either busy or lacked manners. The former is most likely than the latter, even given my upbringing.” Adrastos shrugged. “I’ve evolved a bit by studying the actions of nobles and whatnot, I suppose.”

He listened to her progress and what she had done since arriving in Kou. His eyebrows raised, however, when Lestacia confessed to killed a couple of people. She didn’t seem to be the type. The magician was about to speak, but held himself back when Lestacia touched his arm, speaking once more. “There’s always someone stronger than me, Lestacia. I’ve just been smart enough to keep my distance until I can face them.” He placed one hand on hers and smiled at her reassuringly. “You needn’t worry about me.”

Nox returned with some more wine and water before leaving just as swiftly as he entered. “Would you care for some wine, Lestacia? I’ve made sure it was the finest around, the kind only royalty can get their hands on.”

Adrastos sipped on his glass as he watched Lestacia. Her gentle touch and embarrassed reactions sent a signal to the magician, making him suspect that perhaps the young woman before him had feelings. If such was the case, he could use those feelings to his advantage, but that also meant he had to play along and reciprocate those emotions. Almost like Cherilyn. But he had to be sure before he made a move.

“I’m sorry you had to end lives, Lestacia. War is cruel; it sometimes brings out the worst of us or unlocks a part of us we didn’t know existed. Don’t try to hide your distress. Perhaps talking more about the incident could lift your spirits. A little wine also doesn’t hurt sometimes either, least that’s what I’ve heard.”

So Adrastos wasn't the type to throw around compliments willy nilly. Lestacia gave a sigh of relief, and retracted her hand. As long as Adrastos was safe, she was happy. As Adrastos offered her some wine Lestacia decided to take up his offer. Giving him a smirk and looking his way she'd get an extra wine glass and hold her cup out. She'd sigh heavily still smiling and looking in Adrastos' general direction. "After all that's happened I'm going to need a drink." She'd give another heavy sigh and continue.

"The new magic I came up with is pretty strong. I wanted to tell you while we were alone because I didn't want someone overhearing us. I found a way to steadily make people lose consciousness early  by sealing their stamina. I've tested the magic on a group of people and it's left them the most vulnerable when they ran out of energy."  She looked a bit smug when speaking of it. "This magic though... I  fear that I'm not using it to it's full potential. I wanted to teach it to you and study exactly how you wield it. It's most effective against other magicians in previous tests but... i'm not the offensive type. I trust you the most though so would you please, allow me to teach it to you so I can gain a better understanding of how it can be put to better use?"

She'd sip some of the wine with grace and swirled it within her fingers. "Hm! This is pretty good! I don't think I'd be able to appreciate this as much due to my upbringing." She stared into her cup with some wine still in it and drank more. The taste of wine pleased her and surely did help her forget about all the killing. She was at peace, at least with Adrastos by her side.

WC: 313

As Adrastos leaned back against the wall next to his bed, he listened to Lestacia describe her new magic type. The concept sounded interesting, but the blue magician didn’t know what to make of it. He filled her glass before speaking. “I suppose I don’t mind if you teach me the aberrant magic you created, though I can’t really promise great results until after I get accustomed to how it works and know what I can do with it. I hope that’s understandable.”

“Perhaps after you teach me, assuming you’ll be teaching me now, we can continue to socialize. Talking with you has brought on a nice change since I arrived in this war torn nation.” Adrastos stood and walked to a closet at the other end of the room. There, he tied his long, white hair back and looked through the various kimonos he owned. With his back facing Lestacia, she’d be able to see more scars decorating his back. Some scars were long, others not, but it was difficult to know what caused the markings.

Adrastos selected a blue kimono, a red kimono, and a black kimono, each decorated with white patterns, before turning to Lestacia. “Which would you prefer?” He didn’t particularly care about her opinion, but asking for it would make it seem otherwise.

Lestacia smiled a bit. She poured herself more Wine and drank it. "I can teach you later! Let's talk more!" Lestacia crossed her legs and finished her wine. She'd then get up to examine Adrastos' figure and the colors of the various Kimonos. She finally decided on the color and nodded. "Black! Not only does it look great, but it matches so well with your silver hair. N-Not that any of the other Kimonos wouldn't look good on you! I-I mean of course they'd look good on you. Your a very handsome person, any girl would fall for you. Uh- I mean..." Lestacia blushed. Her face flushed red at the shirtless man before her as the girl's heart beat from within her throat. A moment of silence lasted between them before Lestacia spoke once more. "Black!"

The girl was clearly embarrassed. She might as well have confessed she was deeply in love with the man while she was at it. But there was no way that someone like him would fall for her. She smiled softly examining more scars that he had shown upon his back. "These scars..." Examining them closer she saw how they varied in size and shape. She hugged the man out of reflex. "They must have hurt. However these scars tell me that you're strong and to have  faith in you." She buried her face in his back and gave a somber look. "I don't know how you acquired these scars but, they make you all the more beautiful as a person!" She smiled hugging him a bit tighter. Her chest pressed against his back. "I won't disappoint you. I promise! You mean a lot to me!"

WC: 281

Adrastos stared at Lestacia. Her drunken stupor confirmed his earlier suspicion. Lestacia seemed to have liked him, which meant it was a weakness the magician to utilize. However, he wasn’t quite sure how to react as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, her chest pressed against his back. The magician cleared his throat. “These scars are a reminder of the promise I made long ago… They give me the strength I need…”

He placed the kimono’s back in the wardrobe and turned, wrapping his own arms around Lestacia. “I do appreciate your concern and honesty, however. It means a lot,” he said as he pushed her back just far enough to cup her face with both of his hands gently and look into her eyes. Adrastos smiled at her, his eyes, seemingly green in the current lighting of the room, sparkled. “I have no doubt you’ll do me proud, Lestacia. The thought of you by my side keeps me going even during this tiresome war.”

The magician brushed some hair from her face. “I really wish our meetings weren’t so far apart from each other… Who knows how much you’ll change when we see each other again… Especially given how long this war might go on…” He leaned down to place his forehead against hers. “Try not to change too much, will you, beautiful Lestacia?”

Adrastos pulled away and looked at the magician before him. “Anything specific you wish to speak about while we’re here?”

Amidst her drunken stupor she was able to understand his words, however her speech had become slurred, and her judgement not so... well... smart. She had thought up of a devious Idea amidst the stupor and conveyed it to Adrastos. Regardless of his input she would go with her plan because in her drunken mind, it was a good idea. "I actually did, but it can wait... right now I want to test this new spell out." She gripped her wand and opened her parchment. She had written tons of notes in neat, legible, cursive writing upon it with ink whilst in the library. " I want to see it's effect on the populous here." She gave a Devious Smile. "Everyone in this city will be my guinea pigs!" With that wand tightly and looked to Neo. "The city is roughly the size of my spell so it is going to be perfect don't you worry about it. No one is going to die. Maybe go to sleep for a little bit, she giggled and gave Adrastos the chance to leave if he wanted.

Lestacia would turn around still drunk and stabbed her wand into the ground. She would sit there channeling all the magoi she could. She was going to need a lot, of it. As she channeled her magoi she needed to envision the spell in order to effectively make it work. So she thought of the darkest most terrifying things that she could. A story about a murderer going on a rampage. She remembered it's most vivid parts.

“No-one lives,” the murderer said.

His voice was muffled by the dread iron of his helm, like the corpse-rasp of a hanged man. The sound scraped along their nerves like rusted blades. He drank in their terror and grinned as one man threw down his shield and ran for his ship in desperation.
He bellowed as he galloped from the weed-choked ruins, lowering his hooked glaive and feeling the old thrill of the charge. A memory flickered, riding at the head of a silver host. Winning glory and honor. The memory faded as the man reached the dark surf of cold breakers and looked over his shoulder.

“Please! No!” the victim cried.

That was great! More dark thoughts she needed more to summon this forest of Nightmares!

The sword-wife stood amid the burnt out ruin of her home. Everything and everyone that mattered to her was gone, and she was filled with fathomless grief... and hate. Hate was now all that compelled her.

She saw again the smile on his face as he gave the order. He was meant to be their protector, but he'd spat upon his vows. Hers was not the only family shattered by the oath-breaker.

The desire to go after him was strong. She wanted nothing more than to plant her sword in his chest and watch the life drain from his eyes... but she knew she would never be able to get close enough to him. He was guarded day and night, and she was but one warrior. She would never be able to fight her way through his battalion alone. Such a death would serve no purpose.

She took a shuddering breath, knowing there was no coming back.

That was it all the sad excerpts from stories once told to her painted the picture in her mind. The one place that all this grief and horror could take place, the one place she could forcefully bring towards her. The one place that Harbored all these nightmares. "SLEEPING FOREST!" She cried out Stabbing her wand into the ground. The Rukh flowed through the earth summoning hundreds of tree's within a 20 meter radius of Lestacia where she was at the Epicenter of it all. Whilst outside, one would be covered. The canopies of the trees let in no sunlight as the black mist secreated from the trees themselves. It all was so sudden. The trees appeared and vision of the things infron of people had been blocked off. Many people confused and scared cut the trees but they just reformed and shot a beam of smoke toward the person that cut them. Lestacia smiled whilst in the middle of her masterpiece. She could hear the screams of the townsfolk and cries from those nearby. Amidst the drunken stupor she laughed maniacally. This was who she was, when drunk mind you. Lestacia was always a kind person however being intoxicated was one thing she had not forsaw bringing out unforseen hatred and malice towards other people. "It's what you people deserve for heckling my magic. I'll show you the REAL strength that life magic REALLY holds!" With that said Lestacia collapsed to the ground. Her own mist was now affecting her she needed to get out. Moving to what she remembered to was the door way was kind of hard. Everything looked the same in the darkened forest. She sighed. her own stamina was being drained from her by the mist. People on the streets started dropping unconsious. First the younger ones, and the elderly. Then the more healthy people.
Lestacia stumbled about and fell flat on her face. "Thats what you get for making fun of my magic you insufferable, deplorable, simpletons. Lestacia would be fine after words but being drunk expressed all her anger and pent up rage that she had at once towards those that gave her mean looks and judged her magic. Lestacia would pick herself up and gather the Magoi that she could to cast another spell.

"Seedling Transport!"

With the spell the seed would sprout around Lest and bury her under ground where she would decide upon her location after burying as deep as she could.

wc: 972

Spell successfulyl trained:

Spell used: