Build A Better You

[westfallcorndog]

A lovely fall day (but aren’t they all, in their own way?) finds plaid-shirted Harrowheart on a bench in the Parklands. His legs sprawl out in front of him, his arms loop around the back of the bench, and his hands – detached and floating magically just above his lap – are laced at the fingers, anchored together in the air. Despite the space he perhaps rudely takes up, he’s mindfully left room next to himself for at least one other person should they decide to join him. He’s noticed in the Nexus that when people talk, other people have a tendency to arrive, and so he pays no mind to how many or how few people are around.

“It’s Hallow’s End where I come from,” he says. “It’s a Fall festival. Used to be about the harvest, and I’m from a farmin’ land, so that was always good for me... But now it’s about a little more. During Hallow’s End some folks on my world freed themselves from an evil king who held ‘em under a spell that made ‘em lose control of their minds. Now folks all over my world celebrate Hallow’s End as a time to reflect on who they are, who they want to be, and where they came from. We think about what’s holdin’ us back in the present from achievin’ our dreams. We remember times when we weren’t allowed to be ourselves and say goodbye to grudges from our past so we can move on and be free from negativity. Guess you could say it’s a holiday about tearin’ yourself down and buildin’ yourself back up a little better.”

He shrugs, and with a welcoming smile asks, “So? What’s somethin’ you once needed or still need to free yourself from so you can live the life you want?"

Comments

[ixis]

Ugh, he's being touched. He flinches back from the contact, raising his crab claw to rebuff any further attempts of that nature. Even if he doesn't feel as much when he's turned to ice, the notion is displeasing.

"Alchemy? Perhaps. Ixian magic has been compared to it in the past. Perhaps its forging was based in it once upon a time. As it is very much transforming one to the other; they're all connected, all threaded together, one bleeding into the other rather than being absolutes that stand alone. Very few seem to glean that."

The further demonstrations are watched with interest, the ice encasement even getting an approving nod from the mage. When he's gifted with the ice chain, Naugus plucks it up in that claw of his, looking it over.

"Intricate work for something summoned so swiftly. Not bad at all, boy. Not bad at all." Pulling the chain from his neck and observing it, he appears to cast another spell with little more than a thought, the chain pulling in on itself, forming into a solid orb of ice. It then gets a high toss up into the air, where it bursts into flames and vanishes into smoke. Naugus grins, his teeth like pointy icicles.

[westfallcorndog]

Amazing! Harrow watches with perked ears and wide eyes. He playfully cuffs Naugus's shoulder, gentle and mindful of his icy form.

"Man, you really got some spells under your belt! What do you do on your world that you know all this, 'specially considerin' you know more than everyone else. Are you the archmage on your planet? Shoot, I shoulda had better manners! I don't think I even asked your name, man!"

After all this time Harrow finally offers a paw to shake. He introduces himself with a smile. "I'm Harrowheart. And you are?..."

[ixis]

Now that all the ice has been dealt with, Naugus clicks his fingers and he melts back into a form of flesh and blood.

"I used to be the royal mage for the largest and most diverse Mobian kingdom. I did it for nearly three generations of kings no less. No one is a greater mage than I; I can assure you of that." Good thing Verity isn't around to call him on that light bluff. There's one guy who's greater, but we don't talk about him, the pachydermic pest.

The hand is taken and shaken firmly! "Ixis Naugus, sorcerer supreme and master of the elements! A pleasure, I'm sure."