Enter, With a Knifed Grin [Volundr]

[Vivian]

2nd of Ash, 4623

Ah, it was good to be home again.

While Vivian resented having a saddle of Umbraplasm on his back, as it made him feel like a beast of burden, he enjoyed stepping foot (hoof?) in the city again. He had spent months on the run, hoping and praying the Guild wouldn't think to pursue him here. He had spent months building a life back up again from scratch, but now to see the piss drenched streets of the slums...it was almost heartwarming. He had been Amoren born and bred, cutting his teeth on seducing guards and whispering to fleas in the dark. Starving, struggling to keep Bara in grain and hay. Gods, when he started to think how he once lived, shudders ran down his spine.

He walked calmly, purposefully, as straight laced as any beast of burden. The last thing he wanted to do was cause trouble, especially with a man on his back and his baby with the neighbor. Though, he was getting a bit tired of the form. He had cantered here in the heavy, plodding pace of a beast more suited to pulling ploughs than racing, and bouncing Volundr around on his spine was getting wearisome. Not only that, but so much fresh meat around was making his instincts turn toward the hunt. That was not what they were there for.

Unfortunately, there was no real way to warn Volundr. Vivian plodded into a narrow alleyway, and released the form. As he stood up, the saddle slipped sharply off his narrowing back and dumped his fellow mage right onto the slimy cobblestones...or would, if he didn't have the reflexes to realize the ride was over. Vivian carefully handled his clothing to make sure it wouldn't touch the ground, and dressed himself. After all, his clothing was worn but clean, and he was no longer the street rat he once was. Bearing that in mind, new clothing should be in order...when he got around to it.

Degare's old home was only a few streets away.

Gods, what would he think of me now? Ascended to a power he never even scratched the surface of.

Vivian shook the thoughts away and cleared his throat, looking back at Volundr. "Well, shall we?" he asked lightly, as though nothing in the world could bother him. "House Socorro awaits, no doubt still haunted with the shadow of Degare's own horrible self."

[Volundr]

This place was still strange to the Halamire scout.

Volundr had been in Amoren only once or twice, not really diverting from his job as a member of the Halamire as diversions were seen as dissertation by some, and that was a death sentence. However, using his off-time to do stuff like this was effectively allowed so long as it didn't get him in trouble with the law, which he made sure to avoid doing. Noticing how Vivian was getting tired in his still very strange form, he had prepared to hop off and return the Umbraplasm he was using back to one of his Compasses. But seeing as how Vivian was immediately going into an alley to change back to normal, Volundr took this time to slide off as one would off a horse, the saddle hitting the ground and dissipating into a black smoky material and being reabsorbed into one of the softball sized wells of Umbraplasm that hovered near his form, under his cloak.

"Doing alright? That travel took some time, and I know using my magic takes a toll, especially with time." Volundr didn't look very well, despite sounding okay. He was quite haggard, sweat on his brow and a slight shiver to his form. Despite this, he adjusted himself a bit and made sure his weapons were secure, even letting out a soft hum as he did what he needed. After some time, he acknowledged Vivian's question, holding out his hand in an "after you" motion. If anything, this might just look like a guard escorting someone of importance at best, and someone being arrested at worst. Either way, wouldn't be very new or strange in Amoren as he followed after the Ascended Malformist.

"So... tell me about all of this, I'm a bit lost. Why are we going here again? And what is it you are trying to show me?" As Volundr walked, he definitely stuck out as he was a fairly large man all things considered. He seemed dangerous just at a glance, but his eyes, now a golden color due to the light of the sun, displayed a gentle warmth that was meant to tell people that he wasn't dangerous unless you were his target. And as of right now, he had no targets in mind.

[Vivian]

Vivian stretched, pulling a deep breath into his lungs and closing his eyes. Keeping up such a form as a mode of transportation made his eyes ache. The well of ether inside of him wasn’t inexhaustible, and the longer a man stayed in a form the longer the instincts of that animal followed them. The planarian screamed at his dry skin and hungered for the warm skin and blood of the man behind him. The mule balked at the strangeness of his eyes. The flea itched for armor. The thoughts would fade, but he would startle at shadows for a few hours.

It was nothing compared to the overstepped mage at his side. He eyed Volundr critically, frowning at him. “You Overstepped this morning doing all that with the bed. Don’t do it again. This is Amoren. People will eat you alive here and if they don’t there are monsters that will.” He said archly. The man had at least tried to comfort him. He softened a bit, sighing and reaching out to pat Volundr’s arm,

“Come on. I want to show you more about the Entente, and the best way to show that is the home of my former master. A truly nasty Veir by all accounts, though I dare say with the company he kept he wasn’t unusual in his appetites.” Vivian muttered. He jerked his head toward the street, and began walking.

Degare’s estate, thankfully, was in decently good repair. It had been lived in until only a few months prior, and the recently departed staff had shuttered the house properly. The front door was locked, but the kitchen had always had a loose latch. Vivian hopped the fence and snuck around the back, through heavily overgrown rose gardens half choked with weeds that he had once lain in to read books on magic. Gods, he missed those days. The kitchen door was closed, but Vivian lifted the knob and shouldered it, and the door gave with a loud creak.

The interior of the kitchen had been covered with linens, as had the furniture in the dining room next to it. The floors had always been spotless with Degare in residence, now sporting a fine sheen of dust. Vivian felt a small shiver run up his spine; Degare would be furious at the state of the butcher block and kitchen tile. That frustration rippled through the very walls.

“Well…with Degare gone and me being his only apprentice…this house is now mine.” Vivian said quietly.

[Volundr]

A bit surprised at Vivian's worry over his physical state only to undermine the feeling with his statement about being eaten alive in a metaphorical sense, a soft but audible gruff came from his lips. "I'm not sick with mageblight, so I'm not in any danger yet." Upon hearing of being taught more of the Entente and their ways, Volundr gave a single nod, not one for wasting movements or the like as the constant discomfort from overstepping loomed over him like a reaper aiming its scythe for an elder. As they walked, and despite Vivian's muttering, Volundr was just in range to hear what he said, making no comment on it. The Kohrun didn't believe that only justice and virtue reign supreme, as sometimes one had to get their hands dirty in order to achieve what they wanted. And as he saw it, those in the elite levels of society acted very similarly, despite geographical differences. So he figured that Vivian's past was simply more of a concern when it came to negativity.

Once Volundr stepped through the door of the estate, the smells bombarded him all at once, smells he was not familiar with. Rich wood staining, polished stone, musky dust, all almost suffocating him. Looking around, he couldn't believe that at one moment, only a handful of people actually lived here, this space large enough for multiple families when he had traveled through the slums of various cities, seeing their poor living conditions. Slowly taking a walk through the estate, he was silent even with his light stepping, the soft leather boots he wore perfect for sneaking around. Soon coming back to Vivian, he stood next to the Malformist. "So... you're showing me this place to... what? Show how vain most Veir are?" While the question didn't come off the best, the tone of voice Volundr had contained only conveyed genuine interest.

[Vivian]

Vivian kept a keen ear while Volundr explored. Upstairs, downstairs, through the servant's rooms. The wing they were looking for would have been barred off a long time ago, but that didn't mean Volundr wasn't welcome to look through the various spare bedrooms, with the skeletons of bedframes and expensive furniture covered in cloth. Mirrors that had once been polished to a fine sheen now glaring dully at them from unkept walls. Vivian watched Volundr return, saw the curiosity, even a little wonder on his face. He'd bet anything that Volundr had been raised similarly to himself... perhaps not that poor, but poor compared to this.

"No, though if there was a vain bastard ever alive Degare certainly fit." Vivian said. and gestured for Volundr to follow him. "No, what we need is in the west wing. Degare was a rotten bastard but he was a strong mage. Took on more marks of control than anyone I've ever seen. The only reason I survived being caught in his house is because my form of magic is particularly rare. Malformists die often in initiation. That said, he has...had some of the most complete libraries on magic I've ever seen. I need to study books on etiquette and the Entente if I'm going to steal his face, and I need the bastard's journal. I steal his face, I steal his house, I can make a case to get his accounts restored to me and that means...I become a Veir."

Vivian smirked back at Volundr. "And being a Veir's apprentice could help you get places. It did me."

[Volundr]

Listening to Vivian calmly, he kept some key notes about multiple marks of control, only speaking up once Vivian was done talking fully. "So... I do not remember my initiation. That memory simply does not exist for me. But you can develop multiple marks of control? How many did he have?" He had not yet told Vivian of his true nature as a Kohrún, not quite sure if he should trust the effeminate man walking with him. However, after some time of walking, it's all he could do, speaking up again. "When I said my memory of initiating didn't exist... I've died. Many times."

Pulling out his journal calmly, he calmly ran one of his rough hands across the leather making up the cover. "This... is my only tie to my previous lives. I forget everything after I come back. I don't know it myself... but I don't think I'm fully mortal?" As he spoke, the words only wanted to continue pouring out, like a small drip of a creek becoming a flood. "I... do not get good sleep. Something in me... it hunts, it preys. It possesses animals and I get to experience, for a brief moment, what those animals feel before I get shunted out and the animal becomes rabid and dangerous. I normally have a good control on it... but like the worm you speak of, it hungers. I pray nobody I care about is around me when I die the next time." Looking at the journal once more, he then put it back into a hidden pocket in his armor, sighing softly as he walked still.

"Apologies, that was a lot, and I don't expect you to believe me." He offered a light smile full of concern and nervousness, that sickly look to him still prevalent as he was seemingly experiencing the early stages of mageblight. And the fact that it was only happening now, how many times had he overstepped before, in all of his past lives. Since he never really passed on to the next place, the mark of control had been on him this whole time. How long was it there. Ten years? A century? A millennia? It was hard to say since nothing in his journal said WHEN he got the mark of control, meaning he could have gotten it after he escaped Rúnskaldr. But this was all his own personal information, so there was nothing to tell Vivian anything beyond what Volundr had said.

[Vivian]

Vivian eyed Volundr critically. “A normal mage can take two, or three. Some have been able to take up to four, but it would be a miracle to have survived that many initiations. Six is what I can stand, on account of being Ascended. Degare defied the laws of nature by attempting to take too many, and too soon. I believe this more than anything is what killed him. Burned up by his own power.” Vivian shook his head. “Stupid, and greedy. If you’re going to be any apprentice of mine I won’t have you doing anything so foolish or entertaining it.”

He walked through the house, passing by the small and invisible cultural barrier imposed by Degare. It always felt like a second household; he’d left the Veir Socorro and emerged into the domain of Degare Socorro, the man. Volundr spoke up, pulling out a ragged journal, and Vivian paused to look at him. To listen. “What animals?” He asked quietly. “I had to make friends with the worm. Fighting something like that always results in a losing battle. You fight, and fight, until everything that is bottled up explodes. You should try and understand this creature. Why it possesses animals the way it does. Make an ally of it. The worm doesn’t empathize, or care. All it cares about is the fact I have born young, and I feed regularly on living flesh. It’s repulsed by the carrion we see as normal. But as long as I listen to it, and indulge its frustrations, it can’t take over.”

Vivian smirked. “Recall the dog? That was one way. Hurt no one except one unfortunate mangy mutt, and myself once I transformed back and had the worst chamberpot experience of a lifetime. Or would have, if you hadn’t interrupted.” Vivian turned back to the hallway, and pushed open a door on his left.

Rows of dark bookcases greeted them, hung with white cloth to protect their contents. A dust cover had been flung over Degare’s desk; stationary and all by the looks of it. And the carpet…Vivian looked down as he stepped over the threshold onto the carpet. “And this…was where I became his apprentice.” He ran a foot over a few old blood spots. His blood spots. He took a deep breath and pulled down one of the dust covers, coughing as a flurry of pale dust clouded around them for a moment.

“Be respectful of the books here. But you can read what you like. There are tomes of every conceivable magic here.” Vivian offered.

[Volundr]

Glad that Vivian was entertaining the conversation, he began speaking further. "Well, normally it's smaller animals, like rabbits or foxes. But sometimes it's been deer, wolves, all that. I don't think the entity within me is caring for insects, but maybe I can try and see if it would be willing to explore those. Because if I am to undergo initiation into Malformity, I think potentially becoming these animals might help greatly with understanding how they work, and what I could do with their abilities. I assume though, that combining aspects of animals is a very advanced skill for a mage like yourself."

Walking around and continuing to listen to Vivian talk about how he should understand the Neverborn within him, he didn't even know what the creature was called, or if it was even a creature. Maybe it was a projection of some darker aspect of himself, or something else entirely. Either way, it would be a bit difficult to attempt to figure out what this thing was. The "barrier" they had passed was completely imperceptible to the Kohrún, but he was immediately able to take in the blood stains, the massive library of books, and the stench of wickedness. Someone evil had lived here, and he could hazard a guess as to it being Degare.

"Respectful of the books? I'm a scout first and foremost, so I am always careful with any information. Would you know if he has any books on Nightfall? Or... Rúnskaldr?" The island was north of Radenor, so while it was known by most who had looked at a map before, information on the island was slim and few for most common folk. Looking at the bookshelves slowly, he began looking through the tomes in order to try and find what he was looking for. Vivian would know better than him though, which is why he asked.

[Vivian]

Vivian raised an eyebrow. "Initiated into Malformity?" he asked. While he did want to take on an apprentice, initiation wasn't something to be thrown around casually. He pursed his lips a bit in thought, listening to Volundr's words. "Chimerism. Blending other animals is called Chimerism. It's usually taken on by Journeymen, and from what I read, it's expected that you master the different pieces of your templates to graft them together effectively. I...wouldn't think of Malformity as a magic like a tool. You may use your shadows as a convenience, but with Malformity the goal is empathy. Understanding the world around you. Embracing the pieces of that animal...not just using your templates as a toolbox for power."

He stopped Volundr's browsing for a moment, gently taking the man's hands in his. "Listen to me for a moment." He smiled a bit, running his thumbs over Volundr's fingers as he held them. "I want you to look at me, and feel yourself. Feel how your nerves alight when I touch them. How your tongue rests in your mouth. Your stomach, the strength of your legs. What's between them. Let wind fill your lungs. Exist, for a moment, as a human animal. Think about what your animal needs. It's... very basic. Food. Water. Urination. Sleep. Breeding. Things every animal needs."

Vivian took a deep breath. "With my magic...I can go much deeper." His fingers began to branch, like those of a tree, paling out into ghostly white, slimy filaments. They spread wide over Volundr's skin, carpeting them up to the wrists and ever so slightly beyond. "I can taste what you've touched. I can...lap up hormones. Salt from your sweat. How fast your heart beats. Animals communicate with scent and hormones, and insects are masters at this."

Slowly, he withdrew. His fingers reformed, and he let go of Volundr's hands. "Think about Azunath. Meditate on what class of animals you want to bind yourself to. Be ready to tell me why. Then, and only then, I'll consider initiating you." he smirked, and turned to the bookshelves. He plucked down a volume bound in black leather, and offered it to Volundr. "Nightfall, as you asked."

[Volundr]

Stopping as he listened to Vivian's explanations, he was surprisingly used to most of it. As a scout, he had to blend in to the surroundings, become one with the elements, with the animals. If he didn't, then the animals themselves would give him away and he would just end up dying again. However, as Vivian spoke about feeling his own body, he thought about it for a moment and soon began feeling what Vivian was trying to do, the caresses of his hands being felt more than pain. It was honestly amusing, how Kohrún biology worked. He got to almost ignore pain and physical stress, but enjoyed all of the comforting feelings of life, as Y'shendra had allowed.

Once the mucus filaments covered his hands and wrists, Volundr found that he wasn't quiet bothered by it, looking at Vivian as an ally more so as a begrudging acquaintance. Listening silently, he took in everything he was told, and watched as Vivian pulled away, a small yearning inside of Volundr almost wishing that he didn't let go. But the feeling was there for only a brief moment, his stoic expression setting once again as he rolled his shoulders. Being given the book on Nightfall, he opened it up to examine what exactly it contained and how much further he could go with his magics. Volundr knew, that whatever creatures he was to turn into, he would want the ability to protect and endure.

"You don't need to ask me to meditate, to think on this. I was brought up as a soldier. My entire memory is the Halamire, and my writings speak of being a part of it for a while. Nothing compared to my endless lifespan, but still. My goal is to collect data, protect, and endure anything that is thrown at me. It is less of a class of animals, and more so a grouping. If I am initiated, I plan to interact with animals that have defensive capabilities far beyond my own. Like the natural armor of a crocodile or a pangolin. Or creatures with the ability to survive, like a honey badger or... something else. If I am met with an opposing Malformist, I want to make sure I can counter whatever offenses they have to protect those around me." Standing there for a moment, he glanced up at Vivian to gauge his reaction, holding a finger where he had stopped reading.