Temple Arrival

Shade held onto Tatsoo burying his face in her stomach ad he wept for Uthza, The elf was so full of energy and life it was horrible that he had to die like that. Shade wept for a few moments than wiped his eyes and stood up kissing Tatsoo gently. "I'm ok my love just tired, worn out, I'm gonna miss the old elf so much." He took Tatsoo's hand and walked over to Kraven. "Master are you ok? You knew Uthza for so long I'm sorry I couldn't do anything I had no control of what happened to me, I'm sorry I couldn't have done something."

Shade dropped to his knees and bowed his head to his master wishing for once he wasn't so useless in this place right now he was the weakest of them all. "Master...What happened to me? I felt so powerful so strong but I wasn't controlling it, I knew the voice and felt so many familiar things but I can' tell where I have heard that voice." Shade looked up at Kraven his eyes begging for a answer to what happened.

(OOC: Sorry it took so long. I wasn't home yesterday.)

"It is something we will have to investigate, however, there are more pressing matters at hand, such as a Dragon god bent on our destruction." Kraven replied

"The temple shouldn't be to far from here, maybe a couple of kilometers. But be on the look out, there are creatures around that still worship him. However, because of Takara's healing, I will have the strength to take on whatever comes our way, that is with everyone's help."

"Unforunatly Lobo did not make it through the circle before it collapsed and he has my supply of lyrium. So, Takara and Shade, we will need to ration our lyrium supply until we can get our hands on so more. It is not like there is a place around here to replenish our supply."

"Dartmoor, those flame daggers that you have there are more than what they seem. If you can concentrate you can extend those flames outward towards an enemy. And Tatsoo, with the power of air at your beck and call, you can give the fire more power. Combine these both and you can cover a wide area. thus taking out many foes at once if necessary."

"This can help take some of the pressure off of the mages, especially since one of them is a healer, and the other isn't exactly at full power. "

Kraven paused for a moment, "I think we should stop here for a bit before going on. You two will need to practice for a bit and this will give me time to discuss a few things with my apprentice."

"Aight Kraven. Ah will do me best ta learn dis trick with Darmore." Tatsoo nodded.

Dartmoor nodded and accepted what Kraven was saying, "Ok, I will practice with Tatsoo then." He rubbed Kassina's head then kissed her forehead, not wanting a wolf kiss. He loved her but that ... well it was just not right.

Tatsoo hugged Shade then kissed his cheek, "Keep me spot warm." She winked and went off to train with Dartmoor.

((I be so brain dead right now. Sorry.))

Kassina nuzzled Dartmoor's hand and accepted his kiss before trotting off to check the perimeter of their resting area. Once she was sure nothing was close by she returned to Kraven's side and shifted back to elf form so she could speak with him.

"So how use pretty?" Kassina asked pointing to the pendant around her neck. "And what fade? Kassina no no fade." She looked up at him curiously, wanting to know what they were getting in to.



Takara wasn't quite sure what to do with herself as everyone took a rest. She was quite tired from all the magic though and decided to simply rest and watch. She sat on the ground with her back against a rock. The events of the last few days quickly caught up with her and she was lightly dozing before she knew it.

Kraven smiled at Kassina's innocence, "Your "pretty" is actually quite easy to use. And it will work on more than just animals. It allows you to know the spirit and essence of everything you touch. Then all you have to do is practice changing into the shapes and things that you come across."

"At first, your size will be the same as you normally would be. But with practice you will be able to get bigger or smaller than you normally would. And in time even take on the forms of the elements around you."

He pointed all around them, "You can communicate will all the animals around you, they will come when you call. They will allow you to pet and hold them, they will trust you. That is how you will learn to change into other shapes."

He unsheathed his sword, "With practice you will be able to change just part of your body into something. Like your arms in blade to attack someone. Or grow claws without animal form for climbing. Even wings for flying or gliding, all without the need to fully transform. Even if you want to jump to high places you can change your legs to that of a rabbit or frog and away you go."

Kraven re-sheathed his blade and took a seat near Takara, "The fade is where most people go when they dream. But, not all the dreams are good. There are nightmares inside the face, demons. These are the things we must worry about. And demons are mostly attracted to mages, even untrained ones. But, that is why we are going together, we can protect each other and be there for one another."

"Do not worry my child, I will not let anything happen to you. Same goes for you Takara and all of you."

Shade watched Tatsoo go and smiled after her then laid his head back against the smooth stone his eyes glazed over as they focused on the place Uthza had died, His mind kept going back to that moment when he felt so powerful and with a word he stopped nature in it's tracks. But it scared him too for he had no control it was as if someone else was there inside his mind moving his body. A flash of fear went through him as he realized that must be how possession worked, He looked at his body wondering if now there was something inside him waiting to attack his allies when they were at there weakest.

Shade chuckled shaking his head Kraven would know if he was possessed. So what was that being it felt so strange yet so familiar. His heart raced as he realized the being had the same memories when they connected it was as if every part of them was linked. Body, Spirit, Mind. He felt lost but complete then it was gone. Shade looked at Kraven wondering if his master knew something about it. His eyes turned to his Beloved as he watched her train and smiled no demon in the fade could ever make him hurt her.

Kassina listened with keen interest as Kraven described her new abilities. She decided to put them to the test immediately. She could hear something rustling in the bushes behind her and she reached out and called to it.

A moment later a large jackrabbit hopped out of the bushes and to her feet. She sat on the ground and it jumped into her lap. Kassina began to pet the jackrabbit absently as she continued to listen to Kraven and watched Dartmoor and Tatsoo train.

"Fade.. dream? Bad yes. Kassina many nightmare. But all to.. together? Help all other, keep bad dreams away." She said slowly as he finished describing the fade.

Just as the seriousness of the discussion was getting to her she was distracted by Tatsoo and Dartmoor attempting to master their powers. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to supress her giggles as the two dodged fire.

Takara was startled from her doze when Kraven came to sit beside her. It was instinct for her to not sleep when people were close to her. Unless they were Khael or Fremelda. She really needed to learn to trust this group as it looked like she would be with them for awhile.

Slowly the mage stretched and turned her eyes to the two practicing with their new weapons. "W.. what about me? I... i've never used a st... staff before. Is th.. there any tr.. trick to it?" She asked slowly, turning from the action to look at Kraven sitting next to her.

"The staff is quite easy to master. But most of your attacks will be with the magic end of the staff. So instead of attacking with brute force like a warrior would do, you would concentrate on attacking from afar. A mage on it's staff are attuned to each other. You should easily be able to feel the magic within it so that you can focus it's power into a magical blast."

Kraven stood up, unsheathed his sword and with a thought, turned it into the spirit staff.

"Like this, " he grasped the staff with both hands and pointed it at the rock face, instantly the end of the staff erupted in a flash of purple energy as a spirit bolt flew from the staff and spattered against the cliff.

He twirled the staff around, this time holding it at his side and yet another spirit blast erupted from the staff to go sailing through the air smashing into the cliff, sending shards of rock flying through the air.

He demonstrated several more times; it was as if he was dancing with his staff, twirling it around as his body spun, each movement sending blasts of magical energy at his intended target.

He stopped, his chest heaving from the show, "Just like that really. Once you really get into it you will feel the magic from the staff become a part of you, and you apart of it. It can be quite intoxicating."

"The magic from your staff will be different. Mine is attuned to spirit energy, yours is water. So most likely bolts of ice will what comes from your staff. The staff I have here, the spirit staff, was designed to be attuned to all the elements, and that is what I hope will happen again once we complete our mission."

"While we rest here, you should practice. The good thing about using the staff to attack is that it does not use any of your own magic to do so, which can be good when we are low on lyrium."

After showing Takara how to use her staff properly, Kraven walked over to Shade, "I think while the rest of the other practice you should practice some stuff yourself."

He directed Shade to follow him, "You need to learn to focus on things at hand. Your mind has a tenancy to wander, and you are easily side tracked. This is something that can easily get you killed, especially in the fade, and we have yet to even arrive there."

"Without focus, the magics that you will learn you will not be able to control, and that would not only harm you, but everyone around you as well. Magic, it is not something that should be taken lightly. There is a reason why the Chantry was created to control mages, they knew the power that each mage held. This power could move mountains, destroy cities, and change the land around them. So, over the centuries, they have found and destroyed most of the books that taught man some of the more power magics that were known, magics that were created by the Tevinter Imperium. Some of these magics are still known but some of the more powerful magics over there, and since that is where we are going you will need to learn to defend yourself."

With a thought, the might mag warrior transformed his staff back into the 2 handed blade, and sheathed it to his back.

"An elf with proper magics as the ability to tap into the very elements around them. They can shape them to their will and use them for either defense or offense in the heat of battle."

"However, you must learn, that it is easier to amplify something than it is to create it from nothingness. So there are tools that you should always have with you at all times. You need to have a piece of the elements with you at all times: Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. The air and spirit are easy, they are always around you. If you are near a lake or stream you can use the water there for any of your water based spells. Fire is something else entirely; most apprentices learn to wield fire by carrying a torch or lantern with them at all times. This way they can use their magic to amplify the fire, and shape it to their desired effect. However, we have neither the time nor the resources to do such a thing."

Kraven raised his hand before him and clenched it into a fist. His hand quickly flicked opened and a small flame danced in the palm of his hand.

"Now, fire is rather simplistic in itself, all I did was take the air and rapidly move it at such a speed that it busted into flames. This is how fire is created in the first place, just with different tools, the tool you have, is your magic and your mind."

He clenched his hand over the flame, snuffing it out. He took a step back, and directed Shade to move out of his way, "First, you need to learn to defend yourself against attacks." He pressed the palms of his hands in front of him, and moved them in a circular manner. Instantly a shield of fire formed in front of him, create an oval barrier that covered the length of his body, blocking any attacks that might get through.

"This is a fire shield, it is best used against water based attacks, or warriors as they try to rush you. The fire will cancel out the water attacks, and the warriors will burn as they try to attack you. However, the will still be able to attack you, but they will get hurt in the process."

"Now, if you really wanted to stop someone or something from reaching you, you would just put up a more solid barrier, " He dispelled the fire shield, lowered his hands down, palms towards the ground and quickly raised them up. With the movement of his hands, a rocky barrier rose from the ground, reaching the height of where his hands stopped.

"Getting a barrier of stone up just before a warrior gets to you will make him collided with it, stunning him, or possibly even knocking him out. Of course, if a berserker was coming at you, I would suggest a much thicker wall, or.....just get the hell out of the way."

"For now, you should practice those two barriers. If you must attack, use the magic of your staff to send out bolts of energy towards your foes, for now that will have to do. Once you have gotten the hang of creating those barriers then we will move on to some other things."

Takara watched carefully as Kraven demonstrated how to use the staff to attack. When he was finished she nodded and gripped her staff tightly. She closed her eyes and slowly felt the staff with her mind, feeling the magic there and attempting to connect with it.

After a moment she opened her eyes, picked a spot on the wall and willed the staff's magic to go there. Her first attemped was a weak blast of ice that only hade it halfway to the wall. She took a deep breathe and tried again. She managed to hit the wall this time, but only with enough force to dislodge one small pebble.

Despite her first failures Takara was determined and continued to practice with a frown of concentration while the others practiced around her.

Seeing that everyone else was busy practicing their new skills Kassina decided to do the same. She concentrated on the jack rabbit in her lap and discovered the information she'd always looked for when learning a new form came to her much faster. Before it had taken several days of study to get enough information. Now she had what she needed in a matter of minutes.

Closing her eyes she let the rabbit onto the ground and then slowly transformed. A moment later there were two identical jackrabbits sitting side by side on the ground. This form wasn't much different than the regular rabbit form she already knew, and Kassina hopped about happily for a few minutes, trying to stay out of everyone elses way.

Bored with the rabbit Kassina went back to wolf from and curled up beside a pack and went to sleep.

Tatsoo stood and blinked at the thief who was giving her a lecture and her lips pulled back from her canines as she growled, glaring at him for having the audacity to call her out on that. Her temper was starting to fray at his insulting, accusatory tone and she was not going to put up with it.

"Ah made ah mistake, ye liddle punk. How dare ye talk ta me like dat! Ah get to where ah am by hard work na being de girl to Shade. Kraven did na choose me cause o dat an ye be pushin yer luck by tryin ta say dat."

She put her arms over her chest, still snarling and showed a fang as he told her what to do, "Ye be waitin til ah be not wanting ta bite yer head off. Me temper be on edge an yer barkin at de wrong gal cause ah na ta be taking dat again." It was a threat and a deadly one at that due to the fact that she did mean it.

Kassina was just starting to doze off when she was woken by angry voices and then a snarl. Instantly the wolf was on her feet and headed to the source. She didn't know why but it appeared that Dartmoor and Tatsoo appeared to be fighting.

The wolf ran between the two and barked at both of them to stop. Realizing Dartmoor was unlikely to understand her Kassina shifted to to elf form. "Stop! Why fight? Fight like tired pups. Pups need nap."

Kassina shook her head at the behaviour of the two, then grabbed Dartmoor's wrist. "Come. Rest. Calm." She dragged the half-elf over to a large boulder and sat him down, then began massaging his shoulders. "What wrong?"

Shade watched Kraven his eyes alight at the power but it wasn't the information he thirsted for just now. "Kraven please this is important I know but as long as I am kept in the dark about what happened to me I can't focus. Who was that who used me so easily who at a single word sent nature away I need to know or I can never concentrate like I should. The power in his mind, the safety of his presence I felt Uthza himself was watching over us at the very moment but this being was so different from the old man he was familiar yet so terrifyingly powerful."

His mind focused for a moment drawing in the familiar of fire something that had always been inside him from his dragon form and felt the molecules in the air shift and move speeding faster and faster as fire wrapped around him in a shield then turned into a funnel ten feet high that sent a shockwave outward. Shade's eyes burned silver for a moment before he dropped to his knees gasping for breath at the sudden release of power.

He looked over at Tatsoo the sudden spike of her anger breaking his focus and moving like a lumbering shadow he stepped up and wrapped his arms around his beloved. "My love he is frustrated please don't be upset come you can watch me train."

The mighty warrior turned from his instructions of his apprentice to the bickering of Dartmoor and Tatsoo. Without a second thought he went to them both and placed a hand, one on each of their shoulders, "We are all tired and worried about what is to come. But, we must not fight amongst ourselves, that is just what Draconis wants. The more we fight with each other, the less power we will have over ourselves, and the more power the dragon god will have over us. Just take a step back and let us all rest before we head out again. You will just have to try and coordinate your powers in the field of battle when it comes down to the need for them"

He gave them both a warming smile before we whirled around and based his conflicted apprentice, " We will all have our on trials ahead of us Shade, but this is not the time discuss them, especially when you are so ill prepared in the coming battles. You will just have to push what you saw to the back of your mind and try to focus on your training, you have no other choice."

He took a step forward, crossing his arms in front of him, "Do not ask me again. Now, keep practicing, then you must rest before we head out again."


With a whirl of his cloak, he strolled over to where Takara practiced with her staff, "You are getting the hang of it child. If you can, hold the staff in one hand and have the other hand held out in front of you. Then, aim with the space between your thumb and index finger, like so."

He gripped his staff, planting it firmly on the ground; then with his other hand held out in front of him, he took careful aim between his thumb and index finger, and let a few bolts of magical energy fly.

"Everyone eventually develops their own way of using their magical focus; that is all your staff really is. The more powerful mages do not even need their focus anymore when casting their spells. However, they will still use one as it adds power to their already powerful magics. So, keep practicing, soon you will be a master at it." He gave her a reassuring wink as he took a step to the side, indicating she should continue.

Takara was aware of the tension and the fight going on close by, but was too absorbed in her practice to pay it much attention. She knew there was no threat to her and that was all she needed to know. She was too used to being surrounded by fights to pay them much mind.

As she practiced her ice bolts became stronger and aquired more range. She only stopped and looked up from her practice when Kraven approached. She stood and watched quietly as Kraven gave her further instruction. "O... okay." she said with a nervous smile and then attempted to copy his actions. After a few tries she managed to aim the magic one handed and she grinned at the elf.

"Th... this is amazing." she commented with a grin. "N.. no wonder I was n.. never taught this before. I m... ight have escaped." Then her grin faded as she looked over at the others. "Are th.. they all right?" she asked with a note of concern in her voice.

"My love he is frustrated please don't be upset come you can watch me train."

Tatsoo took a deep breath and went with Shade. She listened to Kraven as she sat down and put her head on Shade's shoulder. This was all so much to go through in one day and she knew that she was frustrated and didn't like Dartmoor's attitude either but she had to admit that they did have to work together. Kraven was right and the attention Shade gave her made her feel much better.

"Ah am willin ta give it anotha shot if Darmoor is. It be a maddar of thinkin of de work an not de other." She looked at Dartmoor and the young man nodded agreement, "If ah ken rest fer a bit ah will be ready to try again. Maybe we just need ta cool off an get it tagetha."

Kassina gave Dartmoor a hug and a kiss on the cheek before continuing her massage. "All sad. All tired. But no fight us other. Each other? Save fight for bad."

Suddenly Kassina jumped up and grabbed Dartmoor's hands. "Come, practice me. Kassina bird drop rocks. Dartmoor hit fire." The blond elf gave him a quick kiss on the lips then stepped away and a large eagle took her place.

The eagle dug at the ground and picked up several rocks in her talons before taking flight. She circled into the sky and did several circles to survey the area and give Dartmoor time to get ready.

"Standard slavers have neither the means nor the ability to keep a properly trained mage held captive for very long, if at all. So, no, there are many reasons why you were never properly trained."

He clenched his staff tightly in one had as he sent off a powerful burst of energy. The air crackled as the bolt of magic slammed into the cliff side.

"If I had my way, all slavers would be hunted down and shown the justice they were missing. But, for now, we have more pressing matters to deal with. However, afterwards there is nothing stopping either of us from teaching slavers a lesson or two, eh Takara?" Kraven grinned evilly at the lady mage, the glow of his eyes brightened with anger.

"Don't worry about those two, they are just frustrated, and are probably feeling the pressure they are really under. I am sure once we have spilled some blood, and spent some much needed pent up energy, that we will all be the better for it." he looked over at Takara and smiled.

As Takara continued to practice shooting ice a thought came to her. "C... Could Tatsoo and I do s... something similar?" She asked slowly. "If I th... threw a spell or an ice b... bolt could Tatsoo use her weapons to ch... change the spell? And c... could I create wind to h... help Dartmoor's f... fire?"

Kraven looked at Takara and smiled, "There is so much more that you can do with your magic, but yes, you will be able to amplify and empower their spells."

"The ice spells would not work so could, but what do you get when you add water to fire? Steam. This could be a good cover when we need to escape from pursuing foes."

"You must remember though, with the magic I am to teach you, it works differently than human magic. You do not connect to the fade as you do with their magic, you touch it, just too draw enough power out to enhance elements already around you."

"Here, let me show you." Kraven held out his hand, and slowly a ball of water began to form; floating just inches above his palm. As soon as the water was formed, the air became slightly dry, not too much, because the ball of water was not a large size, but just enough to notice it.

"Did you feel that? How the air became dry? That is a side effect of what I just did. I drew moisture from the air around us, gathering it here."

Kraven pointed to her staff, "You however have a unique advantage. That staff controls water, and once you are able to focus enough, you will not need to draw upon the water around you, but draw upon the power of the staff to create water for your spells."

The ball of water slowly disappeared as Kraven let it back into the air.

He placed his hand on the young mage's shoulder, "Because of your strong connection to water, the power of fire will elude you. But you have nothing to worry about, you will have more than enough spells at your disposal to fight back if need be. In due time, you will be able to use the water that resides in all creatures against them. They can't breath if their lungs are full of water, right?"

When Kassina started tossing rocks down at Dartmoor, Tatsoo chuckled as he rushed to get out of the way of the first ones as he was not ready but he soon got into the swing of things even if he did get hit a few times.

After Tatsoo rested she gave Shade a kiss then went to train with Dartmoor and Kassina. At first they were still quite timid about working together and gave each other glances now and again that said that they did not fully trust each other. Slowly they started out working on their strengths and weaknesses up making sure not to use fire at the wall any more.

And it took some time for them to get their powers in sync as they were fighting their own reactions to each other but they began getting a form of understanding towards each other and how to work together. It seemed a bit strained but they were working things out and starting to actually loosen up.

Once they were right into their work it was hard to get out of it because they were truly enjoying what they were doing. Each one would come up with a new idea that helped greatly to increase their abilities and that made it much easier for a friendship to begin.

It all workked out mostly due to Kassina though, and the helpful calls of assurance from Shade and Takara.

Before they knew it darkness closing in a night time was descending.

Takara continued to work on her own for awhile, so absorbed in her practice that she was barely aware of the others. Eventually she grew tired and found a nice rock to sit on and watch the antics. A large bird that she assumed was Kassina was flying around throwing rocks and sticks at Dartmoor and Tatsoo. The pair seemed to be working together much better now and she was glad. They would have to depend on each other heavily in the days to come and they had to trust one another.



Kassina was having a great time. She would dive to the ground, fill her talons with rocks, grab a few sticks in her beak and rise into the sky once more. She took her time aiming, trying differnt things to throw those below her off balance. The wind through her feathers felt wonderful, but before she knew it darkness was coming.

Reluctantly she flew to the ground and changed back to her elf form. "Fun!" she said and grinned at the others. "Hungry now. Work hard." She walked over to her pack and began digging around to find something to eat.