#spellbreaking

Mythic Crafted Armor – [Grace of the Anori]

Crafted in the fires of the Dawnspire itself, a shield to make any fledgling spellbreaker proud. By the Grace of the Anori the bearer of this sword and this shield shall stand strong in the face of that which would threaten them.

[+5 to HP]

[+2 to Avoiding CC attempts]

How does your character act when they are afraid?

Fear.

All is quiet.

Means.

The world screams.

Nothing.

Hands bloody.

To.

Spells break at the seams.

You.

All is quiet.

Here.

The world screams.

In.

Blade dancing.

The.

Break their hopes, Islesun.  

Void.

This will be a short series over the space of a few weeks as Avie progresses through her Spellbreaking training. I will be chronicling her thoughts and experiences on each of the different magics she must experience as I roleplay them out with the lovely members of The Sunguard. This particular piece is a direct continuation of Return.

With Amelie asleep in her lap, Avie dipped her quill into the inkwell again and turned to a fresh page in her journal. At the top, she wrote a title in her practiced script;

The Light

The Light can be wielded by many different people in many different ways. Priests and Paladins alike may wield it to destroy or to heal. Interestingly, those risen in undeath may also wield the light, but lich cannot be healed by it. 

Connection to the Light is achieved through dedication to study of scripture and reflection upon oneself. The Holy Light resides within each living creature but not all can call upon it in their moment of need. The willpower needed to summon the Light to do ones bidding takes years of patient study. 

The Light feels, to me, feels like the warmth of a mothers hug. It is strength and comfort and courage. It spreads from the core to the very extremities and fills every fiber with peace. When wielding it, any feelings of doubt or fear are banished. It bestows a lifting and calming affect upon those who are healed by it, and burns those who are struck by it with a burning holy fire. 

It is important to note that whilst the Holy Light is a source of what is considered to be good energy, it can be and has been in the past, corrupted. Corruption by the Void creates Shadow energy, the polar opposite of Holy Light. I have yet to experience this magic, it will be explored more in later writings. Like other magics, it is possible to develop an addiction to the power that comes with wielding the Light - the fallen Prince Kael’thas is a prime example of this. This addiction does not seem to be a physical affliction such as that experience by those addicted to Fel, and appears to be more akin to a hungering for power.

Now that I can see the Ley, it appears to me more brightly than it does on the physical plane. Though I can see other magics, it is a bright beacon among them. Perhaps with time and experience that will change, but for now it is the most easily identifiable and familiar of the magic classes. 

The young paladin sat back and read over what she had written, fingers lightly stroking the kitten in her lap. For now, this would do.

The paladin sat alone in the frozen training grounds of Light’s Glory. She had joined The Sunguards campaign in the bitter north half way through their fight against the Bleeding Eye. She had had no idea what she was signing up for, only that she had severed all ties with the Blood Knights and there was no returning to her old way of life now. She’d come before Sunward Sakialyn Emberstar full of determination to carve her own path through life, façade behind which she hid her emotions behind.

Avie Sin’thorel had pledged her service to The Sunguard as a lost and lonely child, determined to bend her world to her will by any means she could achieve. In truth, it had been an act of defiance, a final two fingers to her father to say she would never obey him again. She would be who she chose to be, not who he dictated she would be. She could not rid herself of the husband he had chosen for her, but she could at least rid herself of the order he had sworn her sword to. She looked down at her mitten-covered hands, hands that had served her well over the years. Hands that were calloused and blistered from years of training at the end of sword and shield. She rolled her aching shoulders and sighed, looking up across the camp. It was quiet, save for the background noise of people going about their business. She wondered just how many of them would be returning after the battle was done. How many would be recovering in the infirmary or resting in their beds? How many wouldn’t come back?

Oooh this is a good one.

Avie desperately wants to be anything that is not what her father picked out for her. This is why she threw herself at the opportunity to start training as a Spellbreaker, ill-advised or no. She is very young and her decisions are often influenced by her emotions and, because she wasn’t accustomed to indulgent use of magic like the older High Elves, she wasn’t hit by the loss of the Sunwell quite as hard. She isn’t prepared for the full extent that withdrawal is about to hit her.

If she comes out the other side though, she will have learnt a valuable lesson: that she must think through the consequences of her choices before she swears by something. It will also teach her respect for those who struggle with addictions and those who have completed their Spellbreaking training; right now she turns her nose at people who abuse Fel and she doesn’t really understand why she should hold Spellbreakers in such high regard.

If she does become a Spellbreaker, she’ll finally feel that she’s achieved something off of her own merit. Just by making the choice to try she already feels like she’s taken a small step out of the shadow of her father, so hopefully by completing her training she will feel like she’s standing in her own light. It might not give her all the answers she’s looking for, but it’ll be a huge step forward for her.

It had been just over a week since she had decided to take the first steps on to the path of becoming a spellbreaker. It was hard, harder than she had anticipated it being. Though she had chosen not to go cold turkey immediately the effects of rationing her magic consumption were present in her every moment. Everything seemed a little less vibrant to her eyes, a little less soft to the touch, a little louder in her mind. The quill in her hand felt heavier than it should and the paper she wrote on rougher. She glanced at the small white crystal sat on her desk as a reminder of her decision and frowned at it, reminding herself that reaching out to the Light even just a little could set her back days. Focus. Write the letter, keep your mind busy.

“Avari, my dearest sister,

It’s been almost two weeks since I joined The Sunguard, and longer still since I left the comforts of Alcantarah. Has the draught in your room be fixed yet? The old bones of that house must surely need some care. I trust you are keeping well and that your fellow Magistrates are not ailing you too much. How is father? He no doubt disapproves still of my leaving the Blood Knights but I hope to one day prove to him I am still the daughter he raised me to be. And mother, is she keeping? I’m sending her some silverleaf tea to help with her arthritis. Do make sure she drinks it for I will not be able to return home for some weeks. We are soon to be deployed. I would visit before we are shipped but I cannot bare to be in a place filled with so much magic currently.

You will think me reckless for the choices I have made since we last spoke but I must free myself from the path expected of me. I have decided to begin my training as a Spellbreaker. Attunement to the magic of this world does not come as easily to me as it does to you though I dearly wished that it did. I am but a week into weaning myself off the energies our people so crave and already I feel the withdrawal beating in my head. I allow myself a single touch of the Light once daily but come tomorrow I will stop, I must starve myself of magic if I am to see the ley lines. I told you that you would think me reckless.

Please do not tell mother and father, I trust you with this secret because what better confidante do I have than a sister? My tutor tells me that once I have discovered the ley lines I will be able to indulge myself in magic again and I will arrange leave for a visit to Alcantarah, but I do not know when that may be.

I miss your company terribly, the flowers here remind me of the ones you grow in your windows.

Forever your loving sister,

Avie.”

The paladin set her quill down and gave the letter a moment to dry before she sealed it quickly. She found even the thought of leaving the quiet of her room irritated her but needs must. With a sharp huff she swung herself from her chair and grudgingly headed out into the dusk to post her letter.