Meeting of an Old friend - VK

Shade looked at the woman a smirk on his lips realizing that these master mages all seem to have the same temper. Kraven snapped at him like this before as well or maybe he was just good at pissing off powerful people. "Look I'm sorry I just don't like being threatened and I am double protective when it comes to Tatsoo I apologize. But she is also right she can't always be there for me so I have to learn for myself. I spent years alone so far my magic hasn't killed me yet."

He stared at the woman and sighed wondering why he seemed to attract people who just wanted to yell. "Yes I get it I don't know Uthza my bad I just met the person and I didn't ask for his life story so stop getting pissed because your not well known. I am sorry if you think me rude but don't threaten it's not a good way to get respect so please stop yelling. And what is a Red Son?"

Shade sighed and leaned against a tree staring at the sky as he muttered under his breath. "Yes I know we can be taken over and if it happens well it sucks. It's hard to let go of the thing that has kept you alive since you were a child. My anger and rage has kept me alive on hungry nights and against impossible odds. But your right I will get killed if I can't let it go maybe one day I can or it may be too late and I die."

He looked at the woman trying to figure out where he had seen her it was like a whisper in the back of his head a vision of a woman in a alley, a voice in the night at the tower, a Smell of Perfume at the wall he escaped from. He shook his head trying to send the thoughts away. "You still haven't answered my question. What is a Red Son?"

"You are. You are Caranu, you are angry and full of hatred towards others. You are defiant against all those around you. Only Culleth can keep that in check."

She looked over at Totsoo again, "I call you Culleth because of your golden hair and the fact that you and this one are together. A bride does not mean marriage, not to the Elvhen. It just means you are with someone you love."

Shade looked taken aback at her response. "Hey that isn't true I have gotten to like well tolerate a few people besides Tatsoo. Drake and I had a good conversation and I am warming up to Kraven....somehow. And I liked the old man and Nygozy was nice to me. That is actually the only people I know."

"But if I fail then i could lose my apprenticeship. I gave up one path for this I don't know what else to do if I lose this one as well. I am defiant I am not use to company and have only ever know hatred and abuse by Humans. To say I hate them is a understatement I loathe everything about them. However I am being taught that not everyone is evil."

"I have much to learn about Elvhen ways I was raised in a human city with elves born and raised in human cities. The circle was Human control all I have ever known was Human ways I am ignorant of our History and culture other than legends and myths told to me as a child. Stories to help me sleep. I am sorry if I do not know our ways but Fate put me in a city not amongst the Dalish."

"I have tried to learn our ways on my own it may be a impossible task but at least I try and Nature seems eager to talk but not always about what your after. I can promise to train hard and try to learn. I can not promise my loathing for humans will go away in the end it may kill me but you are asking me to give up a piece of what makes me well me. My anger and Hatred have molded me into someone who can survive to give that up will be hard for I am freeing myself of chains I am also weakening who I really am.

There was a lot of words traded between Areth and Shade which made Tatsoo's mind wander while trying to grasp everything, her own language mingling in her mind, but the one thing she did catch was the hatred part. That was something she knew of but the honey gold wilder was not one to hate easily.

"Ye be having a rough life, ah know. Dere is a lot more in de world den da hate an yer startin ta realize dat, Shade. It be taking time and be hard but ah be by yer side ta help ye. Hate it cloud yer mind to seeing what be in front of yer face. Ahm glad ye was able ta see past ma ears an de hooman looks an maybe dat help ye ta look past dat fer others as well."

She took Shade's arm and kissed his cheek, "Ye have more ta life den hate. It canna be expect of ye ta lose it all right away but learning comes from inside ye an ye ken do it."

"Control. That is what you need to learn to start your training properly. Hate is not an easy thing to lose, but it can be controlled. You will be taught some meditative techniques that will allow you to calm yourself and deal with your anger without violence."

"I know that your main reaction to most things you hate is to smite it. But there are other ways and I don't necessarily mean to talk it out. You will learn the proper way to cast magic, away that is not so destructive."

"There are five elements when it comes to magic." She stopped, turned and blocked Shades path.

"There is magic itself; humans call it spirit magic." She held out her hand and a ball of purple swirling energy formed in the palm. She closed her hand over it and it instantly disappeared.

"There is fire an element that has the power to create as well as destroy." A ball of fire formed in her hand; the flames crawled up her arm, until it was covered in the magical fire. No sooner had it started it was gone.

"Water; this is the main element when it comes to healing. There is so much it can do. It can heal and army, or wash it away in an instant." A ball of water formed between her and Shade; it slowly spun and warbled in mid air, small pieces broke off from it every few turns. Areth reached out a finger and took some water from it, just a drop, and put it in her mouth. "With the proper training, you will never be thirsty again."

She let the water drop to the ground and watched as the grass and plants soaked it up instantly.

"Earth; the power of protection will be yours if you can properly form it. With time you will be able to do this. But not only can it protect you, it can also feed you as well."

She knelt down to the ground and took a small seed from a small pouch at her side. She scooped up some dirt, place the seed inside before covering it up against. With her palm to the ground she pressed down and then slowly rose to her feet.

As she rose a small bush grew out of the ground. It only took moments for red plump berries to grow on its branches. She plucked a few and popped them into her mouth. She closed her eyes as she savored their taste.

"Help your self, the earth wishes you to be nourished."

"And the of course we have air. It has the power to fill a mans lungs, or to take it from them."

She flicked her hand towards the ground and a small tiny whirl wind formed. It's breeze was gently and refreshing. She flicked her hand again and it was gone. "The sails of a ship will never be empty if you can gain proper control over the power of air."

She turned and continued to walk towards camp once again, "There is one important thing you must remember; there is a balance to everything and something can not be created from nothing. Each element I created came from somewhere around us. The seed I planted; it became a berry bush. The water; I took that from the moisture in the air. The fire; that is the easiest of all. I just sped up the molecules in a focused spot and they soon burst into flames. Air is all around us, we just have to focus on a spot and we can control it. Lose focus and you can cause so much havoc that it could take your life and the lives of all those around you."

Shade listened with wonder at the magic he was to learn one of both Destruction and salvation of good and evil. He plucked a berry and ate it feeling the savory juices explode in his mouth as he walked behind the woman his arm holding Tatsoo. He was entranced with the control the Elf had over her power because she didn't use it when she could. "I am glad some understand that it is hard to let Hatred and anger go. But your right control is necessary if I am to survive."

Shade turned his head and smiled at Tatsoo. "I never even noticed those flaws my dear I was taken by your eyes and smile the golden of your hair the laughter on your lips the flow of your movement and that beautiful accent. I love you Tatsoo and to me you will always be what I saw that day. Perfect."

He looked back at Areth and followed her. "What about combination of the Elements? Lightning is wind and fire for example just created with pure energy. And what of creation magic? The power to turn one thing into another such as water into a Sapphire or Fire into a torch? I heard of Magic that was long forgotten and one was called creation Magic the power to use what was lost to create. And what of Demons? The stronger you are the stronger the demons become how do you keep them at bay, How do you stop something that may be stronger than yourself? I worry that it will happen to me and I fear hurting those I love. What do I do if I know I will lose?

"Yes there are many ways to combine the elements." She looked over at Shade as she continued to walk.

"What can lightning do for you? It is but a destructive power. I pure primal force of nature that is only created to destroy. This is the power that I am trying to warn you about. These are powers that humans crave. Your time spent among them, training with them, this time has corrupted your Elvhen ideals. This must be untrained before one shall move forward and truly understand Elvhen magic."

"Fire into a torch? Water into a sapphire? Why would you need to create such things? You could create an orb of light by combining fire, earth and air. You would create the fire for light; the earth for the glass of the orb and the air to keep the fire fed. These are things you can create without the need to burn a tree for your torch."

She demonstrated as she cast three spells at once, weaving them together to form a glass air filled orb filled with a small fire. "This will not last forever, because soon the air will be eaten and the fire will die. You can create a smaller fire inside and allow the glass to refract the light to make in brighter than it normally would be."

She laughed and shook her head, "My dear child, you would not create a sapphire from water, that is a creature of the earth. Yet still, why create it? Do you wish for riches? If you do then work for it. If you were to create a sapphire then you would also be taking away the hard work of someone who mines such things. Then even more so, you would devalue its worth in the world. "

"It is true that the old Elvhens were once artists, but they never created something from nothing. They would form things out of things they already had. They would never destroy trees to create homes; they would ask the tree to form shelter and homes for their family. The tree would still be alive and the Elvhen people would have a place to get away from the harsh elements that can sometimes strike down on this earth."

"I know, I can see it in your eyes and feel it on your tongue before you speak. Why not just make the storms go away? Just like things can not be created out of nothing; nor can they be destroyed. They must go somewhere, so the only option would be to move the storm. And then what do we have? We have just lost our source of water and sent our supposed troubles else where. We do not command the elements Charanu, we ask them, we make a request. It will comply, but they do not want nor shall they ever be controlled."

"Human magic forces things into existence, this is why they are so closely connected to the fade. They need to dig deep with in that place so that they can create their "spells"." The tone she used on the word spells, was that of mockery as well as annoyance.

"And as for the demons, if you learn proper control of your magic ,your true Elvhen magic, then you will have nothing to fear. Are Elvhen connected to the fade? Yes, but not to the extent that humans are. We do not rely so heavily on something that is so easily corrupted. We lightly touch it and only take what we need, no more. Humans, they plung their selves into it thinking they can do more powerful things. This only alerts the beasts from within so their presence. This is why the fear of possession is so great."

In a low, soft voice she continued, "Darkweaver was possessed once, a long time ago. He was seeing his people slaughtered during the first blight. He reached deeper into the fade than he was supposed to; he was full of rage and anger towards the darkspawn, towards the humans who had created them. But before he could use that magic, the demon took hold. He was cut down before he even had a moment to defend himself. His mind had been invaded by the worst of the worse and in that instant the darkspawn took down one of the great warriors of his time."

"It would be two hundred years before he would rise again. It was but a moment in his mind, as he defeated this demon and the Elvhen Pantheon took him into their arms. They gave him pieces of their power to regain his life and allow a crusade for the rise of the Elvhen gods. Little did he know that when the time came, that he would inherit all of their powers. That is what you saw when you witnessed his ascension. There has never been a mortal being who has been able to ascend. There has never been a need for it, nor did the gods want it to be so."

Shade nodded walking with the woman. It was not riches I asked about I have never felt the need for such things however Gems are beautiful and are often used in art and crafting I was hoping to make something for Tatsoo sadly I have no crafting skills except magic so i was hoping I could make something a necklace...a ring." His cheeks burned at the last part.

"Lightning is a force of destruction yes and I would not use it unless I really had too. As for the fade I think I understand. Unlike Humans who fling themselves into the Fade in hopes of greater power we pull from wider areas on the surface so as not to alert the darkness. I must unlearn what I know and that scares me for I fear of being unarmed but I see it as a necessity to become what I am meant to be. That is a surprise about Kraven his life must have been dark and I yell at him about petty things in my life. I must apologize to him next time I feel like a Jerk now. Is Kraven going to bring back the old gods? And if he does will they still be the same as they were? Would he not need new candidates for that?"

"In time you will learn to create such things, but that is for the future. For now, you must keep your mind here and take in all that you can, so that when the time comes, you will not waver when you create that token of love."

"Bring back the old gods? No, sadly not. When they imparted the rest of themselves on him, they left forever. He is the only Elvhen god left. And his time grows short in this realm, soon he will leave, only to show himself in times of great need."

"Candidates? To rebuild the Pantheon? In time the Pantheon will be rebuilt. But for a mortal being to ascend it would take a life time to achieve. Many great tasks need to be sought out, many sacrifices must be given. And still, this can only be done if he so wishes it.

"Go now, I must rest, it has been far to long since I have taken this form. I must regain my strength."

She took a seat by one of the fires, as she took a bowl of stew and began to eat.

Shade nodded as she spoke drinking it all in. "How long does Kraven have? I mean I just started my Apprenticeship I don't need my Master vanishing on me only to appear sporadically over the centuries. Also he said I would become Immortal. As for the old gods what sacrifices would have to be made to become one? I am not asking to become a god but maybe I could help more if there was a god for them to believe in again."

Shade bowed when she asked to be left alone. "As you wish I must get ready for the ceremony. Thank you for speaking with me it has helped."