quest log | wilder training

[faileas]

Who: Those who signed up for the High-Risk Quest "Wilder Training"
When: 08/09 to 08/12
Where: A camp on the south-western edge of the Wilde.
What: From the quest information itself: "Outside of the recruitment, the Wilders are also offering training for anyone who'd like it regardless of bonds and experience. They'll be taken into a safe, slightly infected area in order to hone skills of magic (both Witch and Monster based), how to handle different weapons available, have lectures on things to look for in the field, and finally a test to see what they've learned. No notes allowed."
Warnings: None in the log post itself; if anything comes up, let us know, and we'll make sure to add it here.

The Way There

The training camp party gathers just outside of the city's walls before the sun begins to rise; once heads are counted and everyone is accounted for, Yvette Tressa - the same Witch who led the expedition into Smugha Cave - will start the march through Dead Man's Land, following the river. It isn't quite dark at this period of dawn, the bare landscape painted a washed-out blue by what small light there is, and as the sun settles into the early morning sky they reach their first destination - the edge of the Wilde. Rowboats large enough to fit five or six people (or a few significantly larger people) bob gently up and down where they're tied, the runes marking around the area marking it as protected by a barrier; keen eyes will notice these are the same as what the Wilders and the Coven have been setting up around Smugha Cave.

The party is herded into the boats and sent up the river into the Wilde, the boats gently rowing themselves against the current. The trees of the Wilde have slowly, almost imperceptibly, been shifting to a new color as summer turns into fall outside of it: browner and fully dead, with fewer leaves hanging from their branches, as if winter has finally come. The air is also significantly cooler the deeper they row into up the river, the breeze a sharp string of cold when it blows, and several Wilders shiver despite their being used to it. The journey is a quiet one, the river ducking out of the Wilde when the sun is at its highest point - the area is changed from the familiar fields around Aefenglom around this small bend, with dozens of flowers waving their faint scent in the still chilly breeze. No two flowers look the same, but the boat ride doesn't stop there: it continues back into the Wilde, leaving the sweet smell behind them.

The sun is still visible where they dock, noting it as a little later in the afternoon; further ahead, the river splits two ways, and it's to the left side the party will be guided. As they come upon the split's left side, the trees begin to thin in a way similar to the area around Smugha Cave, their branches cleaned up and the start of infection scraped from their sides - and then abrupt barrenness as it becomes clear just what the trees now suddenly missing have been used for: A fortified camp, well-protected by its high, sturdy wooden walls, the tops of them sharpened to a point. As the party draws closer, runes of protection are easy to notice, carved line after line in the thick, wood logs.

Training Camp: Sauf

Located on the edge of the Wilde (the red dot; the navy dot is Smugha Cave, for a point of reference), Sauf is a fairly large camp equipped with all of the basic necessities. Used year-round for various training exercises, Sauf is home to around twenty "permanent" residents - that is, those who have volunteered to stay the year - and otherwise hosts trainees, instructors, researchers, and so on. Look-outs are positioned all around the camp's edge, manned by at least one pair of Wilders, and a large communal fire pit sits in the middle of the camp. The main entrance is on the south side, with smaller ones located on the other three sides.

The north side of the camp is where characters will find their living quarters for their weekend stay: large, sturdy tents designed to hold several dozen people comfortably. Given the Wilde's chill, these are kept toasty and warm through the use of small piles of heat stones similar to the larger ones found in the city during the snow last month. Also on the north side is the mess hall, where characters can get some grub or hang out and mingle with their fellow trainees, mirrorbound and native alike.

The east and west sides of the camp are where the training takes place. Each side has a different function, however: the east side is for more individual-based training, with dummies and moving targets, both magically-repairing, and instructors, while the west side is for arena-based training - that is, fighting one another. Any type of match-up is considered fair and reasonable, and fights go on intermittently over the days, as does betting.

Finally, the south side of the camp is home to the meeting hall, a large stone building; while not currently in use, it remains an important fixture nonetheless. The healer's wards are also located here as two tarped areas that hug both walls, which provides medical help for those coming in or who have been injured during training, and protection for those venturing out.

I. A Primer On Witches


In addition to weapons training - which, specific to Witches, comes in the form of long-reach weaponry such as lances, quarterstaffs, or halberds - they offer instruction in spells that come in handy while needing to defend oneself and others in the Wilde.

• Abjuration 1: Barriers, shields, alarms.
• Abjuration 2: Healing (both lower level and advanced courses), dispels.
• Alchemy 1: Potion-brewing for healing draughts, magic draughts, potions that can cure basic ailments (poison, paralysis, sleep).
• Alchemy 2: Arrays to create on-the-go bombs (palm-sized) of the offensive and smoke varieties, weapons of various types, all from materials able to be found around and on oneself.
• Conjuration 1: Temporary camps (tents and campfires), various magical weapons, food and water (not very filling nor hydrating, essentially as a just-in-case thing).
• Conjuration 2: Living creatures such as animals and insects, a variety from the harmless/watcher-type to more offensively-based ones.
• Divination 1: Scrying on the fly using pocket mirrors, running water as a medium, speaking with animals (sometimes not extremely helpful given their lower intelligence).
• Divination 2: Finding magic via a scavenger hunt, how to enter a dream-like trance to access the subconscious and interpretation of signs found there.
• Enchantment 1: Charm spells that work against either humanoids, Monsters, or animals, which make the target more friendly or a straight-up ally; some target will know they've been charmed.
• Enchantment 2: Strengthening spells such as for physical, mental, or magical power, as well as elemental imbuing for weapons and other objects.
• Evocation 1: Single-target elemental spells and how to control them, particularly fire and ice for the latter, with elements also including earth/stone, water, lightning, and wind.
• Evocation 2: Multiple-target elemental spells with the same instruction and types as above, as well as multiple-target healing spells.
• Illusion 1: Visual illusions (people, animals, items), larger illusions (areas, buildings, bigger varities of aforementioned types).
• Illusion 2: Audio illusions, how to tie them together with visual illusions.
• Transmutation 1: Transforming oneself or one's items and back again, as well as mending minor objects.
• Transmutation 2: Transforming other people or other people's items and back again, as well as how to do it sneakily.

II. A Primer On Monsters


In addition to weapons training - which, specific to Monsters, comes in the form of short-reach weaponry such as swords and axes - they offer instruction in the special traits and perks each Monster has, particularly ones that come in handy when defending oneself or others in the Wilde.

• Arachne: Speed/jumps and web-spinning, either as traps or in use as rope, whip, etc.
• Chimera: Fighting blind and/or deaf to avoid charms, illusions, and curses.
• Dragon: Breath abilities, both how to use them and the finer points of control.
• Fae: Creating illusions and seeing through them, with a heavy focus on landscape and areas rather than creatures or objects.
• Faun: Plant growth, with a focus on naturally revitalizing plants and ones with more offensive uses, such as bomb-nuts and carnivorous flowers.
• Harpy: Singing lessons, as well as flying lessons with the use of wind magic should one have it.
• Merrow: Water magic, with an experimental focus on purifying it for drinking or bathing purposes.
• Naga: Speaking to water and empathizing with it, as well as instruction on the proper and ethical usage of hypnosis.
• Puca: Impersonation practice, with shapeshifting into someone they know or see and mimicking their voice and way of speaking.
• Turnskin: Sense training, particularly smell and hearing, with the use of blindfolds.
• Vampire: Casting thralls, and proper measures to take against the sun.

III. Partnering Up


Skills and spells are both useful while out in the Wilde, but one's biggest asset is their partner - or partners, plural. The Wilders will pick at random two or three people to partner up and do a variety of things in order to build trust and clear communication, such as your ordinary trust-falls or a game of telephone, as well as things that might be a little more on the side of seeing just how far they can go: clothes-switching (you don't know a man - or Monster - until you've walked a mile in their shoes), taking care of an inanimate object together, and being connected to one another for several hours, courtesy of some enchanted pair bracelets that won't allow their wearers to move more than a foot from the other half of their pair.

Outside of that, they'll be offering up the opportunity for those without Bonds to try temporarily Bonding to whoever their eyes land on first (with a quick, non-ceremonial shot of silver liquid), as well as fighting together against other pairs or tamed beasts (with or without the Bond) in the arenas.
IV. A Little Exploration


On the final day of the weekend training excursion, everyone is once again gathered - this time for the test promised to them. It isn't a pen and paper test, however, but one to test how well they've retained the training offered to them. In the early morning, the group will set out north-west of the camp; the path begins well-trod, but overgrowth soon begins to get underfoot. Patches of frost begin to show up as well - perhaps it's the Wilde's odd season at work.

Or perhaps it's something else.

Entire trees are encased in ice, their branches looking like arms reaching out or twisted around themselves; the bark resembles faces, with hair curled to their chins, and while some may have the sinking feeling that appearances might not just be appearances, the humanoids frozen mid-stepping from similarly frosted trees may all but confirm it.

Dryads, frozen in time, the Cwyld dark and trapped beneath the ice - or maybe those are remnants of the fire that was an attempt at culling the infection before it could begin. Some of them are cracked and broken, their limbs lost, while others are perfectly preserved.

There won't be too much time to stop and stare, however; this is a test, and the enemies of the day become apparent:


• Ice wolves. With a chilly bite and a tendency to work in pairs and groups, it's worth doing just the same to take them down. Their paws are black and crusted with mud and Cwyld infection, their eyes bright and unseeing - and though they may be blind, the rest of their senses have become even stronger in response.
• Snow elementals. Large and actually made of a mix of ice and snow, their patches of Cwyld streak across their white bodies - it makes them easy to see in all the white, but gives them some resistance to the traditional use of fire to melt them. They primarily rely on ice spikes and other related magics, ut will throw a heavy punch if gotten too close to.
• Withered ents. Ordinarily peaceful, these normally massive moving trees are as tall as a one-story house due to hunching over from the cold and ice that covers them. Similar to the wolves, their large, gnarled hands are covered in the black of the Cwyld, but only one eye is the blind white that marks infection - the other is hollow and sunken in. Roots and heavy earth shakes are their primary skills, being otherwise slow to move, and they avoid fighting where there are dryads.
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Comments

rean schwarzer | harpy | open to all

[eightleaves]

[ii. you can't fly, you can't fly]

[Rean is fairly sure he's not a witch at this point, as he's tried to use magic for days only for nothing to happen. He's not even sure he needs a proper diagnosis. Considering the dream he had, he asks a few questions, and he gets sorted into harpy training. Much to his surprise he can actually use some of this wind magic they're born with. Of course, it's not a lot, but it's enough to get him a slight jumping boost.

... He'll have to take notes on this for later, when he's stronger.

One thing he does figure out, mostly by accident, is that wind magic can be used in a few different ways-- such as accidentally blowing over the person standing in front of you while you're in class.]

Gah, I'm sorry! Are you okay?

[This is more magic than he's used to having, okay!!!]

[iii. bonds are not meant to be broken]

[People partnered up with Rean will find that he does great with the trust exercises. He's careful to note where people are going so they don't get too far apart, and he's great at catching those who fall onto him, assuming he's not falling into them first...

What's strange, however, is temporary bonds. Rean just can't keep them. He seems okay with drinking the liquid even if he's not enthusiastic, but it doesn't last long. Sometimes it breaks in the middle of a fight against another pair in the arena, a feeling of something sharp in the chest as Rean pulls ahead to take on both opponents by himself. Or maybe it happens later during some innocuous exercise as Rean loses focus in the middle of it.

If that's not enough, this keeps happening... and it keeps making him feel worse.]

[iv. the day of the exam]

[Rean doesn't have much to offer in terms of monster qualities right now, but he still has a sword and he's still strong enough to swing it in a way that can murder. He fights... recklessly, to put it simply: using more strength to chop down the snow elementals that stand in his way. He dodges nimbly out of danger and weaves back in, whirling viciously, and even leaps onto its back in order to swipe at its head.

Of course, fighting recklessly has its disadvantages. His miscalculates how much time he has to move and gets thrown about twenty feet, landing on his back instead of his feet, and he takes a second to get back up. He clutches at his heart with his left hand, breathing hard.]

[v. obligatory wildcard option]
[You know the drill. fonfabre if you wanna plot.]

III

[fiddlestick]

[Picking Rean as a temporary bond partner had been a no-brainer. Rean and him had linked all the time back home, and in fact had be one of the first in Class VII to pull off a successful link along with Gaius. So he hadn't expected any trouble from a bond with Rean at all.

And at first, it had been true. At first, he figured any odd feeling from the Bond came from them being rusty at this, and a round with some tamed beasts were the perfect way to shake any cobwebs out.

Except midway through the fight...Elliot feels a sharp pain in his chest as the Bond breaks. He doesn't even realize what the feeling is as first, since he's never had problems linking before]

O-Ow! [His hand leaves his staff to grab his chest. What the heck...? ]

[eightleaves]

[Rean hasn't formed a link with someone in a while, but it was a no-brainer for him too. These sounded just like a more... magical version of the ARCUS. It made sense to try, especially with one of his best friends who had healed his ass through a year of hell on earth. Sure, the others haven't been successful today, but with Elliot? He thinks he can do it.

But this... feels different than the link they had at home, feels off, and there's something in his head and-- there it goes. It breaks, making Rean stagger for a moment, left hand clutched to his chest. He doesn't drop his sword, which is good, because he has to block an attack from one of the beasts. It gives him an edge of desperation he doesn't usually have; as another tamed beast surges forward to take care of his spot of weakness, Rean reaches out with his left hand and grabs it by the back of the neck-- and slams it into the other one.

After that he backs away, defensive position, glancing around. If he's feeling this, then surely--

-- oh no. He spins and sees Elliot, and runs over to help.]

Elliot! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?

[A weight has been lifted, but there's a whole new one settling in his chest now-- aching and lonely, a wretched and yet familiar sensation.]

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot is vaguely aware of what's going on with the fight. He knows he needs to focus, but the chest pain hurts and it's not a feeling he's used to at all. The closest was the loneliness he felt in the time before everyone arrived, but that didn't make any sense Rean was right here-

Wait. Why wasn't he sensing Rean anymore on the bond? He did a mental reach out, but it felt like when you think there's something to grab onto but isn't.

What in the world...? ]

I...I don't know, my chest hurts for some reason-- [He is trying to put the pieces together, but he doesn't understand it. His links don't break. Especially not with Rean.] W-What happened?

[eightleaves]

[He steadies Elliot, but there's nothing beyond that touch. No bond, no feeling whatsoever. For some reason, he says, but Rean just looks... guilty. It takes a moment for him to form words ahead of the voice in his head-- a moment, and once he makes sure Elliot is steady, he pulls his hands away.]

I... I think it's me. No, I'm sure it's something to do with me.

[He sighs with some frustration.]

I thought if I tried it with someone I knew, it would-- turn out differently.

[fiddlestick]

[He appreciates being steadied. He's not dizzy, but the feeling in his chest is really distracting. But even that is overridden by what Rean says. ]

W-Wait... [Excuse him as he tries to wrap his head around it] Your bonds have been breaking? You?

[It sounds so hard to believe. If it was one of the others, like Machias or Fie, at least there was a history of it. But...]

B-But you've never had trouble linking before.

[How?]

[eightleaves]

... Yeah.

[He folds his arms.]

It's been happening since I started these exercises this morning. Everything goes fine for a little while, but then something happens and I just—can't. I don't get it. It doesn't sound like it's all that different from the ARCUS, so I should be fine.

[He bites his bottom lip a moment.]

... I'm sorry. If I knew it was a risk, I should have told you beforehand.

I think it's best we stop for now.

[fiddlestick]

Don't apologize. You couldn't have known... [Elliot bites his lip. With his expression, you don't need a Bond to tell that he feels worried and confused. Rean's bonds were breaking? He didn't even think bonds could easily break, so how...?

He did have a point about stopping. He gives a little nod before giving a "time out" signal to the Wilder trainers. They give concerned looks of their own, before nodding and using spells to restrain the beasts. The arena gate opens up, allowing them exit.]

Come on. Maybe a break will help.

[He doesn't think it'd be that easy, but something tells him forcing Rean into bonding right away again will just make the problem worse. ]

III

[overworker]

[Towa has some concerns of her own about her abilities. Even after all the training she's put herself through, of all the weapons offered none of them are suitable to her stature. Even if you ignore all that, she's still a beginner-- but if it's to support Rean then the least that she can do is give it her all.

All her efforts can't stop the jarring feeling of the bond snapping. Towa sucks in a deep breath and fights to stand strong on her legs. But the quarterstaff drops from her hands and she wobbles.

Goodness. She's really not suited to pain. But she bit her lip and endured enough that the only sound is that of the weapon thudding. At least she's still standing. But her lip might be bleeding.]

Ow...

[This is fine, she's fine.]

[eightleaves]

[Rean hears the quarterstaff hit the ground and whips his head around to check on her, only to get swiped by their opponent. That... smarts, but it's fine, he'll get over it, especially since the pain eating away at his heart is much worse than a little bit of blood on the inside of his cheek. He staggers and falls to one knee.]

Stop! I said stop! We yield!

[The supervisor blows a whistle and the other pair backs off. Still short of breath, Rean darts over to Towa's side, offering his right arm around her shoulders to keep her standing.]

Are you okay? ... Come on, let's sit over here.

[overworker]

[The sharp sound of Rean’s voice helps her focus. And after a few seconds, she can look up and recognize the shape of him leaning over her.]

No, no... I’m alright. Really. I can keep going.

[The last thing she wants is to be responsible for holding Rean back. It takes a moment for the injury he’s sustained to click in her mind but when it does, her green eyes widen quickly.]

...you’re hurt. This is all my fault... I’m so sorry Rean...

[If he hadn’t needed to protect her... if she was stronger... it wouldn’t have needed to happen like this... right?]

[eightleaves]

No, we're ending the exercise right now. [His voice is firm.] We could do it without the temporary bond, but not while you're hurting.

[He hesitates as she points out that he's hurt. He honestly didn't even notice, though as he pulls his fingers away from his cheek he sees a little blood. He bit the inside of his cheek too but that's less important. What's important is reassuring Towa that it's not her fault... because it isn't.]

What? No! This isn't your fault, Towa. Not at all. It's me... it's all me.

[Even if she's feeling just a fraction of the pain in his chest right now, it's too much. Without further ado, he simply sweeps her up into a princess carry and hauls her off to a bench in the area where other trainees have been resting. If he grits his teeth a little, it's fine-- it's a short trip, and he sets her down as delicately as if she were glass.]

Just rest for now. The pain should ease up in a bit.

[The effort leaves him breathing hard, so he sits on the ground against the bench beside her and gives himself a minute. He's hurting so badly that his fingertips are trembling, but of course he hides them beneath the sleeves of his jacket when he notices.]

[overworker]

[Towa doesn't often argue, but she can't simply accept what Rean's saying. Not right now. Even though he's made it clear he has no intention of listening she feels like she has to try.]

Honestly Rean, I'm fi--

[But she doesn't get much of a chance to finish her argument when he lifts her off the ground. Her face turns pink, but she doesn't struggle. Instead, for that moment, she's very still. She can feel the way his fingers tremble even as he forces himself to be strong.

The effect has dulled a bit, but she still remembers it so clearly; how painful it had felt. Had that... had that pain come from Rean?

As soon as she's down on the bench, her eyes shift to him. Completely ignoring what he said, she pushes herself up and goes to her knees beside him. Whether he wants to hide it or not, she's going to take his hands in her own and stare him down. Her chest still aches-- but she knows it's probably only a fraction of what Rean's feeling right now.]

I'm no expert, I don't know what happened out there... but I'm not going to let you take all the blame for this on your own. It requires two people to make a bond, and whether it's success or failure, that's something that we both share.

[eightleaves]

Wha-- Towa?

[He looks over to find her beside him, and he's obviously about to protest, but then she grabs his hands and all he can do is stare, wide-eyed, like he has a few times before. Funny enough, the trembling in his fingers stills when she touches him. Very, very gently, his fingers curl around hers.

He would like to avoid this-- like to look away-- but Towa knows a lot about what's going on, what he's served in, by the nature of her work. And he knows he can't really lie to her, anyway. They really are alike.

After a moment, he closes his eyes and finds his center.]

... Thanks. I really, really appreciate it. But it really is me. [His eyes meet hers, and there's quite a bit of sadness to them and guilt, though he keeps his voice even.] I've been trying to make bonds with people all day-- just the temporary ones, even. Each and every one failed like this after a while, even if I knew the person. Even if I trusted them.

I thought that maybe if I did it with someone I'd linked with before, it would be different.

[He breathes out through his nose.]

And now you're hurt, too. I don't know what's wrong with me, I never had trouble with the ARCUS-- and I just feel worse every time I try.

v

[cspd]

[ Did Lloyd stand a little too close to Rean when they were assigning pairs for the Get Along Bracelets on purpose?

Who knows. He isn't telling.

He is, however, playing it perfectly casual. Like Rean didn't start one of those Benny Hill chase scenes the moment they ran into each other last time. ]

So, uh. Been settling in okay?

[eightleaves]

[Rean didn't notice until it was too late-- and now he's stuck with Lloyd Bannings of all people. He looks clearly stunned as he lifts his wrist and sees who he's attached to, and then his lips form a thin line. He's, uh, happy to see you too... buddy...

(Mostly he's just annoyed at the inconvenience, but still.)]

Okay enough, I guess. I can't use any of my Quartz anymore, so I'm having to lean on what they tell me. I guess everyone else is in the same boat.

[Can this get any more awkward?]

What about you?

[cspd]

Some of the magic is coming pretty easily, and some of it...isn't.

[ Polite understatement. But he's pretty sure Elliot had a point about him just needing to reframe how he's thinking of illusion, because it would be very like him to get unconsciously hung up on it like that. ]

[eightleaves]

I can do something with wind, but that's about it.

[He shrugs a little.]

We just got here, so we'll need time to get stronger. I just hope whatever's waiting for us out here is patient enough for that.

[cspd]

Life is seldom so kind.

[ Everything always happens at once, like one big conga line of shit hitting a vast array of fans. ]

But if we give it everything we have, I'm sure we can make it.

[eightleaves]

[That's a pretty vivid mental image.

Lloyd says those words so genuinely, though, that it gives Rean pause. He's said much the same to other people himself-- and just like that, another brick chips out of the wall. He lifts his wrist and looks at it.]

... Yeah.

In the meantime, we should figure out what to do about these. I guess sparring is out of the question...

ii

[sylphid]

[He very well knows the person in front of him!

Fie turns, silver hair now a giant mess around her head and shoulders. She looks pretty unamused.]

Why?

[eightleaves]

[Here's hoping Fie doesn't shank him.]

It was an accident. I was trying to aim it at the ground and it just-- happened. This isn't like using Quartz at all.

[She's got a wicked case of bedhead though, so he's not devastated so much as... trying to hide his amusement.]

You're-- [pfft] -- you need a comb pretty bad. Maybe ask Elliot if he has one?

[sylphid]

[Fie simply stares at him and blinks slowly, then blows a strand of hair away from her eyes.]

It's probably fine. Maybe if you do it again from this side it'll even out.

[Plus, finding Elliot to ask him is so much work.]

[eightleaves]

[Rean stares for a long moment.]

I don't think that's a good idea. I didn't even know I could use wind magic until this morning.

[She looks ridiculous, though.]

Here, just--

[He tries to pat her hair down, a bit like an older sibling would. Or a mom. He's definitely being a mom right now.]

[sylphid]

Hey. Stop that.

[Fie ducks away from his momming and ruffles her hair herself, to hopefully some semblance of normal.]

So hey. Kinda before arriving here, I had this weird dream thing. Did you happen to remember one of those?