An Unfortunate Turn, Iskveda vs. Lachesis

[Lachesis]

Contigo.

Bustling metropolis, full of historical importance stretching further back than the relighting of the lighthouses. Far more massive than it had been ages ago. It was not surprising it shared many attributes with other cities.

Like all cities, it smelled bad. Maybe not to everyone, but Lachesis could tell. Contigo smelled bad. It was for that reason Lachesis wasn't in Contigo. Rather, it was a few miles away from Contigo, in a field at the edge of the forest. Staff in hand, the adept was merely standing there, eyes closed. Standing there. Thinking.

It was an unusual location for Lachesis to think. In general, Lachesis was holed up in its home north of Shaman Village. But it was a good idea to get out now and then. It had even had business in Contigo. Silk cloth was currently being prepared, meaning the project could soon actually move beyond just researching the concepts. So it had seemed reasonable to at least take a stop nearby to appreciate nature.

That's what the djinni had thought, at least.

A small violet sphere buzzed through the grass, cutting through the air as it moved back to its master. It was small enough and close enough to the ground that it was likely to go unnoticed. The djinni carried news.

A Lunarian was apparently nearby. How irritating. Lachesis had hoped to avoid people for the next little while.

[Iskveda]

The Lunarian that the Djinni spotted wasn't all that far away from Lachesis, either. It probably wouldn't have been long before the Jove actually heard him approaching. Probably would have noticed the occasional young tree being ripped from its roots. The Lunarian was in a bad mood. His father had died that day, and he had discovered that he really had no direction in life. He didn't want to go into Gehenna's politics, where he was liable to die because someone wanted his position in society. He didn't really even agree with the politics of Luna.

He had no real skills, outside of the little bit of the Armster style his father had started to teach him before he died. Allegedly, his family was direct-line descendants of Joachim, the founder of the style. Or so his dad said. He didn't quite have enough courage to leave Gehenna for good, either. He was lost... much like how he was lost outside of Contigo, thanks to a failed shadow-porting.

The Lunarian boy was one Iskveda Della Nerezza, aged 16. He wore a black shirt and blue jeans, modern clothes in very stark contrast to what he would wear in his later years. At his hips were a pair of longswords in sheaths. He was hunched over, with his hands in his pockets. His black hair, as unkempt then as it would be in his future, was obscuring his face.

He exited the forest, and entered the clearing Lachesis was in. He sensed the Jove's presence, but didn't even move to avoid it. He just kept walking, seeing Contigo on the horizon. Lachesis was in his way towards his goal. Iskveda walked up to the Jove, and muttered, "Get out of my way..." and immediately shunted it out of the way with Gravity. He didn't apologize, he didn't look back, he just kept walking.

[Lachesis]

Iskveda would find his efforts were wasted. While Lachesis had indeed moved, it was still in his way. Having caught just enough of a thought to predict the move, Lachesis had promptly teleported a few feet behind itself. So now the pair was right back where they started. Iskveda was still trying to move forward, Lachesis was still in the way.

Lachesis reflected for a moment. If it hadn't known it was going to be a Lunarian, it might not have been ready to react quite soon enough. They were all so predictable sometimes. Its voice was quite level as it replied, betraying no emotion to the Lunarian.

"I don't see why you're headed that way. It smells horrible."

[Iskveda]

Iskveda hadn't sensed the teleport. Perhaps he actually had, and hadn't bothered to care. Either way, he bumped into the Jove. He backed up, and looked it in the face. "What does it matter to you? Just get out of my way." He actually side-stepped the Jove, and continued his head-down march towards Contigo.

He wondered why the Jove decided to get in his way again. Perhaps 'he' just felt like being an ass. He set the thought aside as an irrelevance.

[Lachesis]

Lachesis ignored the contact. It was nothing more than another indicator of the Lunarian's general mindset. Too many people like that. It made Lachesis wonder...

Lachesis wasn't normally one to draw attention to itself, but every once in a while, even Lachesis grew bored. Perhaps a quick game would be worth it.

Lachesis once again teleported back into Iskveda's path, this time slightly further away than the previous time. How long would it take the Lunarian to crack? Every shell could only take so much before it caved in.

Lachesis's voice was just as calm as before, perhaps even slightly bored. "Both your kind and the city smell bad enough on their own. I'd hate to learn what they'd smell like together." There was a brief pause. "I've wondered why you people smell so bad before. Maybe it's somehow hereditary. What do you think?"

[Iskveda]

Iskveda's eye twitched. This Jove was weird... Very weird. My smell? What? He wasn't entirely sure if it was a direct jab at him, or a jab at his clan. Either way... "I don't know, and I don't care. Now, please, for the last time, get out of my Kraden-damned way!" A tree from the forest was uprooted, and hurled at the Jove before Iskveda even realized what he was doing.

Oh hell... He attempted to redirect the tree to some success. It slammed into the ground about a foot away from Lachesis. He looked panicked, a bit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that... Its just you wouldn't get out of my way, and..." He didn't even finish his statement. He just growled, put his hands against his face, and bulled his way towards Contigo.

[Lachesis]

"Why would I simply let you pass now?"

The voice was different now. Still monotone, still practically emotionless. Yet there was almost an edge in it.

"You have just shown yourself to be a threat to those around you. Unable to control your frustration, you lashed out, uprooting a tree and throwing it in my direction. True, you came to your senses before anything could happen..." Lachesis teleported again, appearing in front of Iskveda once more. Except this time, the Jovian's eyes were wide open, now burning violet.

"But what will happen next time? What shall be your weapon, lunatic? Shall you tear a home from its foundation?"

[Iskveda]

And that was what really cracked the shell that Lachesis had been trying to break. He scowled, and turned to face Lachesis. The wind blowing from the direction of Contigo blew his hair out of his face. "Don't call me a lunatic! I'm not like the others of my clan! I don't go out and hurt people for fun! And, if you knew what I was going through, YOU'D probably be throwing lighting around, or something!" Yes, how would the Jove know what Iskveda was going through?

His mother died when he was born. His father, the only role model he had ever had in his sixteen years had just died. He was a failure in practically everything he had ever tried. He only lasted a week in the Junior Wraiths, and decidedly didn't get along with anyone, really. He was too weak-stomached for necromancy, too sensitive towards life to become a death master... The only thing he really had going for him at that time was his looks, and Gravity.

"Before you go categorizing me, why don't you atleast try to see things from my side?"

[Lachesis]

"You lack self-control. You respond with rage and violence when angered. You currently seek to travel to a heavily populated city, where you will doubtlessly find many, many reasons to be angered." Lachesis simply stared at Iskveda as it spoke, voice still flat. There was no sympathy in its voice.

"Your personal situation is irrelevant. Explain why I should let you continue onward when you are a threat to yourself and others." If he wasn't too busy raging, Iskveda might have noticed something probing at the surface of his thoughts. "If you cannot, you will not enter the city."

[Iskveda]

This Jove was annoying Iskveda to no end. He wasn't sure if it was because it refused to do what he asked, or if it was because the Jove was right. Which, it was, really. That didn't improve his mood much, however. "I'll calm myself down, alright? If I hadn't have run into you, I would have been in and out of Contigo by now, and nothing would have happened." Probably... It was about then that he sensed a mind-read, and felt something inside of his mind. This he forcefully batted away with Null. "Hey, what's the big idea? I thought you Joves needed warrants to mind-read someone!"

[Lachesis]

"Incorrect. You would not yet have arrived at Contigo regardless of my presence. Also incorrect is your assertion that nothing would have happened." Lachesis seemed to lean forward slightly as it spoke. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light or something similar, but its pupils and irises seemed to shrink slightly as it continued. "Your mood is foul. You have been brooding. You would have become this agitated whether I had appeared before you or not. Whether on your own or due to those around you." There was a definite edge in its voice now. "Better an incident in the wilderness than a crowded city."

If Lachesis even noticed Iskveda's questioning of the mind reading, it gave no indication. Its only response was to once again start probing the surface of his thoughts.

[Iskveda]

Kraden dammit all! The Jove was still right. And, the voice of reason, toneless, logical, and sharp as it was in this situation, was exactly what he DIDN'T want. He squinted towards the Jove at the last part of its statement. His hands went down to the longswords sheathed at his waists. "Is that a threat? I'm upset, yes, but is that any reason to kill me out here, mister... miss... Uh..." It struck Iskveda as odd that he couldn't tell just WHAT this Jove was.

While he was distracted with replying to the Jove, a small scene eeked out before Isk could null the mind read away again...
It was the day that Iskveda had been thrown out of the Junior Wraiths, and he was feeling very depressed. A very tall man, dressed in all black, was looking down upon a very young Iskveda. Like Isk, his hair was black, his eyes were red, and his skin was possibly paler. The man was Atuk Delfines Nerezza, Iskveda's father. It was a very short scene, only including Atuk dropping onto one knee, and putting his hand on Iskveda's head. He spoke, too. Most of it was muddled by the mixed emotions of the time, but one part had stood out like a beacon. "...remember, Iskveda. You are destined to do great things. You are a Nerezza." And so Atuk had been saying ever since Iskveda was born. It was something that confused Isk to no end, only made worse now that his father was dead. Now there was nobody to show him the way to the great things he was destined to do...

Lachesis would have felt rage cloud over whatever other thoughts he was trying to probe, and then felt his probing mind forcefully ejected from Iskveda's once again. "STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" He drew his swords, and threw them into the sky.and promptly fell back to Weyard, sticking into the ground. They then rose from the ground, and began circling Iskveda in a pattern that he would eventually come to know as the Spiral Curtain.

[Lachesis]

"As predicted. Leaping to the conclusion that calls for violence. Typical lunatic." Lachesis seemed utterly unfazed by Iskveda's reaction. It simply took a couple steps back when the swords shot into the air, calm gaze still locked on Iskveda. "Whether there is a death here is entirely dependent on your actions."

Lachesis stood straighter again, resting the very tip of its staff on the ground. A small violet orb floated out of it, hovering just behind and above its head.

"Your move."

[Iskveda]

"For the last time, stop calling... You know what?" Iskveda glared at the Jove again. "I've had it. I don't care if I live or die at this point, I just want to-" The swords pointed towards Lachesis. "-shut-" He rose off of the ground using some of his gravity. "-you-" He threw his hands forward. "-UP!" The swords shot straight towards Lachesis's violet orb in the air.

Meanwhile, the shadows of the nearby trees seemed to move. They crawled along the ground, heading towards the Jove. When they were within a foot of it, they rose from the ground, and attempted to constrict around it.

[Lachesis]

Lachesis side stepped out of the way of the incoming swords. As they passed through the violet sphere, the djinni made a barely audible noise of protest. Something akin to a very high pitched wind chime, though significantly quieter. It was highly unlikely anything except the djinni itself actually heard the noise.

As Lachesis moved, it began to prepare itself. Specifically, it began using buffing psynergy. A faint violet aura briefly appeared around the Jovian. Lachesis then stopped moving, taking a moment to analyze the situation.

Shadows promptly popped up from the ground and tried to entangle the Jovian. No points for originality.

Lachesis promptly vanished, reappearing behind Iskveda. No counterattack. Lachesis simply reused the earlier psynergy, once again causing a faint violet aura to momentarily spring into existence.

[Iskveda]

The Jove had ended up right behind him. He hadn't exactly expected the shadow thing to work... But, thinking back, the swords might have, had he aimed them directly at the Jove, rather than the thing that floated behind it. Throwing his sense towards it, he discovered that it was, in fact, a Djinni. Well, he had no real quarrel with it, did he?

Iskveda hurled himself into the sky, and his swords gathered around him again. The shadows that had arisen to entangle Lachesis formed into a wall. The wall shattered, and shards of Umbra were swarming towards Lachesis. Iskveda threw his hands towards it, and his swords shot towards it.

[Lachesis]

Inform your counterpart that I will be returning home somewhat later than originally anticipated. Having said that to its djinni, Lachesis took a brief moment to assess the situation again.

The Lunarian knew how to recycle, at least. He still wasn't attacking fast enough to land a hit, but at least he knew how to use what he had. Sort of. Well, he wasn't wasting the shadows from earlier. Not entirely.

Lachesis teleported once again, appearing behind its djinni. If the Lunarian was going to keep burning psynergy, he could do that. He wouldn't hit anything he was aiming for, but he could do it. Lachesis wasn't going to stop him. Not this time, at least.

Lachesis used another psynergy, this time not aimed at itself. If Iskveda couldn't shake it off, the world as he saw it would suddenly become rather... foggy. Blurry. Horribly difficult to make anything out.

[Iskveda]

What Lachesis had done was something that Iskveda was unfamiliar with...
Though, for his own right, Iskveda hadn't fought a lot of Joves. Any, for that matter, aside from Lachesis now. In any case, the world grew a lot hazier... Outlines of things were lost, and all the colors around were becoming blurred.

Not knowing what else to do, Iskveda closed his eyes. They were lying to him, so they would not have much use until he could break Lachesis's concentration on him. He spread his psynergy senses out in a wide arc. He found a Djinn... and Lachesis behind it. Motioning his hands in the direction he sensed Lachesis, he shot his swords towards it again.

The Umbra he had used had once again changed directions, once again en-route to Lachesis. This time, however, the Umbra was swarming from all directions. Iskveda began circulating Null through his eyes, trying to fight off whatever status ailment Lachesis had induced.

[Lachesis]

Iskveda would need to take a few moments to clear his mind. Delude was wonderful for slowing people down, especially if they thought the problem was in their eyes. Lachesis had a few moments before the Lunarian would be able to fully focus on the battle.

Recycling the shadows again. Teleporting would only work for so long. Lachesis needed the Lunarian to stop using them. Continuous teleporting was one option, but something else might be worth trying. It would be worth it if only to see how the Lunarian reacted.

Lachesis focused on the various projectiles coming toward it. Two swords, various shadow blades, all rather nice and sharp. All bound to miss, one way or another.

If one looked closely and didn't blink, they might have seen discs of psynergy appear, directly perpendicular to each projectile, placed so that the tips touched the center, and perhaps three inches wide. If one didn't blink.

The projectiles, the swords and shadows, were frozen in midair. Frozen in time.

Lachesis vanished yet again and once again reappeared behind Iskveda. Using Halt on that many targets at once was not normal, and would not last as long. Perhaps ten seconds, if Iskveda couldn't break it sooner. More importantly, it was somewhat draining. Fortunately, there was a suitable source of psynergy right there.

Lachesis latched onto the surface of Iskveda's mind. He could either push it off immediately, or find his own psynergy reserves shrink to restore Lachesis's. One go might not take too much, but it could add up quite quickly...

[Iskveda]

Given the mind-latching, Lachesis could probably have seen some of the workings of Iskveda's Psynergy Sense. That is, until, a very loud, angry voice called out to it. For the last time, Jove. STAY OUT OF MY HEAD! This was followed with a strong mental force pushing away, augmented with Null trying to break the mental grip.

As this was going on, Iskveda was keeping his body safe in the middle of what would best be described as an Umbra tornado. It occasionally shot a tendril towards the Jove, as though it were trying to show Lachesis that Iskveda still meant business, though it was quite obvious that Iskveda was highly subdued.