this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Jan 25, 2018 11:55:24 GMT
t
here is something about the sheer level of irony to her current situation, kaelin reflects with a certain amount of grim humour, that is somehow distinctly metaphorically reflective of the direction her life has recently taken.
staring down at the opposite end of the arena to where her opponent stands, she narrows her eyes at ninos knight, twirling her wand with a marked air of displeasure. "when you convinced me to participate in this event," she says to him, sardonically dry, "this was not what i envisioned." 'this', of course, referring to being matched against her coach for an exhibition duel.
the thing is, while kaelin is well aware of her magical combat abilities ( or more specifically, her lack thereof ), she is not particularly bothered by it given her career and her goals. ice skating, after all, has rather limited areas with which magic can be used, and almost all of it is in performance and aesthetics. of course, the competitive part of her that glows star-bright in her blood and drives her to reach for the sky will accept no less than trying her best in this tournament regardless of her inevitable defeat; but, but: facing off against the man who is not only her teacher, but also the one who had convinced her to enter, is decidedly something she is not estatic about.
she twirls her wand again, the movement causing light to refract off bracelet-form kiska in a spray of iridescent glitter. "well," she muses wryly, straightening her posture and holding her head with as much dignity as she can muster, "at the very least, i can put on a performance if nothing else." - though, probably not exactly the performance the audience is expecting.
as soon as the signal for the duel to begin sounds, kaelin flicks her wand sending a small swarm of crystalline ice needles (STORM OF SWALLOWS) flying off into ninos' direction; then, the instant she finishes casting, she sprints to the side, gathering momentum till ice gathers beneath her feet (SKATE) and she slides into an elegant glide, body automatically slipping into the graceful movements she has so painstakingly carved into each muscle and ligament and bone.
[attr="class","inkpost"]it takes his familiar three whole days of constant pestering to get ninos to sign up for the empyreal cup. it takes three whole days of reminding that ‘it won’t be that bad’ and ‘you’ll probably have a fighting chance’, and at least two more days of ‘maybe’ before he acquiesces, and then time between the agreement and the actual day blurs into one whole nervous wreck. and then somehow, he is standing here, realising that he has been matched against his own student.[break][break]
frankly, part of it is his fault. he had convinced kaelin to join after all, because if he was going to be put through this, then he might as well drag other people along.[break][break]
“i didn’t expect it either, believe me,” he responds, light-hearted and with a sheepish smile. he had expected to be duelling an absolute stranger, in which being absolutely thrashed by his opponent would be a minor embarrassment to simply walk off. it is straightforward and simple that way. facing kaelin, though, it takes only the briefest moment to come to the realisation that should he face a defeat at her hands, he would feel nothing but proud of her. [break][break]
he had known exactly one other who burned with the same supernova intensity as her; the thought casts the faintest of melancholy’s shadows upon his features before he inclines his head in a nod and says, sincerely, “good luck.”[break][break]
then, the signal goes off and the duel begins.[break][break]
he blinks, and the air before him fractures into a myriad of needle-sharp lights as kaelin makes her move. a wave of the wand and the shadows at his feet sweep upwards ( shadow tendrils ) in an arc close to his body, a haphazard defensive repurposing of an offensive technique to ward off what needles he cannot dodge. a quick glance around sees his opponent moving smoothly and swiftly. he waits -- not for long -- until kaelin draws nearer to the shadows cast by the arena walls, before he launches a quick and decisive cage of shadows.[break][break]
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Jan 27, 2018 14:15:53 GMT
p
erhaps she should have foreseen that skating too close to the arena wall where the shadows pool in liquid darkness was a bad idea given ninos' element. perhaps; but kaelin is not one used to thinking in combat terms, and her vague thought to strategy was the vague hope that distance might be an advantage to her. if she is not within immediate striking distance, she should be able to avoid any potions he throws at her, right?
unfortunately, she had not predicted the shadows that rise up to cage her.
there is, perhaps, an advantage to the momentum she has gathered with her pseudo-skates; kaelin has just the forethought to augment herself ( AUGETE: CLAUSTRA ) before she slams into the cage impetus her impromptu half-lap around the arena has allowed her to build. reality breaks;
the shadows fragment;
she stumbles and loses control on both her technique and her augmentation spell; but she is free. kiska, worriedly tightening her tail around kaelin's wrist, rears up to spit a few more needles ( STORM OF SWALLOWS ) at ninos' direction - a distraction, hopefully, while kaelin is reorienting herself. it does not take too long - falls and stumbles are common in practice, and to pick themselves up with speed and grace is a skill all ice skaters learn - and she once again takes to ice ( SKATER ), though this time carefully avoiding venturing too close to the shadows.
[attr="class","inkpost"]within the span of a breath, he only watches as kaelin gathers herself and shatters the shadows -- his familiar growls a mixture of approval at the girl’s tenacity and frustration that the cage had not held. it is no matter, though; the wild dog is a patient hunter. another flurry of needles flies his way as kaelin skates away from the arena walls, and once more the shadows ( shadow tendrils ) at his feet rear up to bat away what he cannot dodge. [break][break]
he knows he cannot keep relying solely on his element -- it works best in the absence of light, and in a duel meant for exhibition, light is far from lacking. while the first strike holds the element of surprise, he knows he has to find a way to force her closer to the walls if he wishes to repeat the attack. though, he muses, and this is when miro breaks off from his position at the witch’s side to fall into an easy lope, where is the fun in simple replication?[break][break]
crowds liked spontaneity. crowds liked seeing things that were new. crowds, fortunately for him, also often enjoyed explosions.[break][break]
taken from the alchemist's pouch a mere second before, there is a vial held gingerly in the wild dog’s jaws as he breaks into a sprint. a vial that, as the familiar draws as close to kaelin as he can get, is taken by a single shadow tendril. ninos pivots where he stands, eyes intent -- he has to time this right, but damn that is difficult when your target is constantly in motion -- brushes a single command against their mental link. ‘now.’[break][break]
the tendril flicks the vial forward in an almost dainty motion, just as miro veers away sharply. as soon as it hits the ground, the sheerfire dust explodes. [break][break]
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Jan 30, 2018 5:21:44 GMT
t
he problem, she knows, is that she cannot rely on her skating experience and evasion forever. it is, unfortunately, far too predictable a tactic for a prolonged duel, and sooner or later ninos will develop a strategy to counteract hers. she glances over with slight disappointment ( though no surprise ) as her coach bats away her ice needles with tendrils of shadows rising from his feet, then back at the familiar loping towards her with more alarm.
he is planning something. both are, and the glint of light reflecting off the glass held in miro's jaws is a rather big hint at the plans to come. kaelin focuses and skates faster; has absolutely no desire to be hit with whatever potion is in the flask. kiska, meanwhile, rears up and spits even out more needles (STORM OF SWALLOWS) at the approaching dog in an effort to, if not stave him off, then at least to weaken him.
but apparently, they were focusing on the wrong opponent; a flicker of darkness and the vial is suddenly sailing towards them, glittering and crimson and the herald of doom. she mentally curses, abruptly skidding to a halt and changing direction- but it is not enough to avoid the effects completely. the ground trembles as the sheerfire dust explodes, kaelin's ears ringing as she tumbles to the ground with an arm thrown up over her face to shield herself from the worst of the debris.
already, she can feel cuts and bruises stinging along her limbs; if only she'd the forethought to have augmented herself, she thinks gloomily. but better late than never; flicking her wand, she casts a quick AUGETE: AETHER over herself while her familiar aims to distract their opponents by flicking continuous ice needles at them, alternating between witch and familiar. both of them can feel their reserves depleting - while kaelin has considerable physical stamina, magic is not an area she has intensively trained in, and it is showing.
still, she is determined to hold out for a while longer; lips set in a resolute line, she begins to SKATE again in a wide arc generally away from ninos, turning and spinning and altering her course in rapid succession so that it is less easy to predict - slower, perhaps, than her earlier straights, but providing no clear trajectory to follow. kiska continues to spit out ice needles (STORM OF SWALLOWS) at their opponents whenever she has the opportunity; they are tiring, yes, but they are professionals. they will not quit so easily.
[attr="class","inkpost"]triumph, even momentary and partial, comes at a cost -- there is a prick of pain that shoots up the length of his arm as miro gives a startled yelp, slivers of ice glinting from where they lie embedded in the dog’s leg. more follow hot on its heels, sunlight flashing off the needles in an almost dizzying display; he catches sight of them but his body is a split-second too late in its reaction. [break][break]
he is a skirmisher, familiar with tactics of devastating attacks and hasty tactical retreats, but there is no place to run to within the four walls of the arena, nor cover to duck behind. and even then, ninos has to admit, he has always been more partial to mundane weaponry in lieu of magic.[break][break]
perhaps it is fatigue quickly catching up, between his questionable living habits and the constant drain of mana in the duel. perhaps it is age, he muses to himself, considering kaelin is at least a decade younger. but whatever it is, he cannot dodge completely, and a particularly accurate needle leaves a scarlet line across his cheekbone.[break][break]
retaliation follows quickly; he straightens up as kaelin regains her momentum, and with another wordless brush against their mental link sends miro darting back out, flanking the ice skater’s irregular path to the best of his ability. [break][break]
with a flourish of the wand, he casts knockerbacker, just as the shadows at his familiar’s feet lash out in whip-like quick succession ( solidify shadows ), in an attempt to either make contact on their own or drive her further towards the spell. [break][break]
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Jan 31, 2018 8:46:18 GMT
t
he brief flicker of triumph upon successfully hitting her opponent dies rapidly in favour of concern and guilt - kaelin has never wished to be the cause of someone's injury or pain, no matter how slight, no matter that it is the entire point of this exhibition match. no matter if there are trained medics carefully watching their every move, ready to interrupt if proceedings get too dangerous, no matter that the impact of her needles are likely cursory at best. this is a competition, and she is accustomed to quietly cheering on and marvelling at her opponents' skills while drawing star-bright conviction along the curve of her spine to do her best too - not this. different sports, she knows, but. it does not ease the troubled edge to her thoughts.
kaelin very nearly lowers her wand to halt the duel, very nearly opens her mouth with words of concern on her tongue. but... she does not, because miro is darting back out towards her, and ninos is straightening again, and she was born with competitiveness burning in her blood.
she throws herself into a sequence of spins, steps, glides and curves and dizzying patterns traced onto the ground, frost flowers glittering in her wake; a performance, she thinks, and vaguely hopes that there will be at least some in the crowd entertained by her skating rather than this 'duel'. her coach's familiar draws ever closer, however; with a brief flash of warning, kiska notes the spell heading their way, and the shadows lashing out from the wild dog.
more fancy footwork. kaelin darts between the shadowy projectiles as the ice fades from beneath her feet, but then is forced to step into one in order to avoid ninos' spell. rearing up, kiska spits a flurry of ice needles (STORM OF SWALLOWS) straight at miro, even as kaelin trips and falls with welts red and raw on her legs. she grimaces, bringing her wand up to cast AUGETE: AETHER before she allows herself to panic too much - leg injuries are always the worst, she thinks, considering her choice in career.
there is no time to fully heal herself, however, not even with kiska providing a distraction. kaelin scrambles to her feet and once again throws herself back into SKATE, carving ice into loops and swirls away from her opponents. it... probably would have been more strategic to run at miro while augmenting her strength - probably a better showing for the audience, too, given a change in tactics rather than this game of evasion - but kaelin knows herself, and she knows she would not have been able to bring herself to physically hit miro, no matter what their circumstance.
and so, she ignores the pain in her calves and lets imaginary music fill her head, lets the glacial coolness of ice guide her limbs, and flies past her coach with a slight grin and says, "catch me if you can."
[attr="class","inkpost"]he cannot deny that, despite the pressing concern of the duel, kaelin is still finding a way to perform admirably. she turns the arena into a stage, skating in dizzying, sweeping arcs, and it’s a wonder that he hasn’t fallen down just from all the pivoting he has to do to keep a watchful eye. frankly, it is also a wonder when the pincer attack works ( he is half certain she will find a way to escape unscathed ). [break][break]
he watches her stumble and fall and for the briefest moment, regret and concern flash sharp in his eyes. surely, he could have found another way to attack without going for the legs. he didn’t have to, and he really should know better than this. real smart, ninos, real smart. there is no time for any of that, though, because kaelin is up and moving once more before he can really do anything else.[break][break]
‘catch me if you can,’ she says, gliding past, and passes unharmed; he laughs, then, rich and genuine because he knows he can’t -- he does not ( and will not ) fool himself into thinking he can keep up with someone who shines so brightly. [break][break]
“take pity on your elders,” he shoots back instead, in a tone full of mirth. snaps his fingers and miro is off once more, a mottled streak shadowing winter’s breath, yet another glass vial held between his jaws. a faint murmur from ninos and miro twists in his tracks, lobbing the sheerfire dust over his shoulder.[break][break]
ninos is only a split second behind, using not only the shade of the dust cloud the explosion kicks up but kaelin’s own shadow; tenebrous tendrils are quick to lash out, solidifying rapidly into yet another cage of shadows.[break][break]
