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What...?
[He looks over his shoulder in surprise. For a moment, his attention's torn away from his own misery. In that moment, he realizes he can see something that looks different from the other mirrors -- a door?]
This way!
[He grabs a fistful of Rynlan's robe (or whatever he's wearing) and pulls him towards it.]
[He looks over his shoulder in surprise. For a moment, his attention's torn away from his own misery. In that moment, he realizes he can see something that looks different from the other mirrors -- a door?]
This way!
[He grabs a fistful of Rynlan's robe (or whatever he's wearing) and pulls him towards it.]
[-damn. he quietly curses himself for that slipping out, but there are more important things to worry about. for example: suddenly finding himself pulled another direction, with a startled yelp of surprise.
he's definitely not expecting to be grabbed, and stumbles for a step or two as he's pulled; it takes him a moment longer than it probably should to stabilize himself and follow properly, but whatever complaints he might have are stifled. if it gets them out of here, he doesn't care.]
Oh, that had better be what it looks like-
he's definitely not expecting to be grabbed, and stumbles for a step or two as he's pulled; it takes him a moment longer than it probably should to stabilize himself and follow properly, but whatever complaints he might have are stifled. if it gets them out of here, he doesn't care.]
Oh, that had better be what it looks like-
[It's the exit. Zelgadis bursts through the door, dragging Rynlan along. They're outside!
Then he lets go, falls to his hands and knees, and takes in several ragged breaths. Trying to calm himself down.]
Then he lets go, falls to his hands and knees, and takes in several ragged breaths. Trying to calm himself down.]
[After a few moments, he slams his fist into the ground with a heavy thud. Then, he turns his body around and sits. He keeps a hand pressed over his face.]
I'll live. Damn it...
... You?
I'll live. Damn it...
... You?
Could maybe put together some explosives... Might have the ingredients for it.
[is that a joke.]
... Didn't know this stuff bothered you, too.
[is that a joke.]
... Didn't know this stuff bothered you, too.
... There's another way you'd rather be remembered?
... Yeah.
[His hand slowly lowers... then he pulls the scarf down from his face.]
This face you see is not mine by choice. My body was turned into this wretched form some years ago.
[His hand slowly lowers... then he pulls the scarf down from his face.]
This face you see is not mine by choice. My body was turned into this wretched form some years ago.
[... he nods. yeah.]
... How'd it happen, for you?
... How'd it happen, for you?
...in degrees, over time. This- [a gesture to the tentacle hair, to himself in general, the blue situation,] was the most recent, but my people have always been susceptible to change influenced by magic. We became a separate species of elf entirely from our ancestors, over centuries without our original magic source. We were tainted by the demonic energy we were forced to turn to after the new source we found was corrupted.
[his fingers tap idly on his leg where his hand rests, a little jittery.]
I lost- more than I expected, in war, and I couldn't-- there was no returning to how things were before. That was when it started. Then we were corrupted by the Void while trying to study it, and you can see well enough the sort of change that resulted in.
[his fingers tap idly on his leg where his hand rests, a little jittery.]
I lost- more than I expected, in war, and I couldn't-- there was no returning to how things were before. That was when it started. Then we were corrupted by the Void while trying to study it, and you can see well enough the sort of change that resulted in.
[Oh. He's an elf. Yeah, Zelgadis had no idea, and that... wasn't particularly high on his list of guesses.]
A gradual corruption...? I didn't know that sort of thing could happen... on a physical level, anyway.
... You've had it rough, huh.
A gradual corruption...? I didn't know that sort of thing could happen... on a physical level, anyway.
... You've had it rough, huh.
I've already lived twice as long as many humans, I think that just comes with it. You haven't had it easy either.
[more years, more time to Suffer... he just shrugs. it's the downside of the lifespan.]
No cure on my end, though. Most of the damage can't be healed, and the corruption changes us too deeply to simply reverse it.
[more years, more time to Suffer... he just shrugs. it's the downside of the lifespan.]
No cure on my end, though. Most of the damage can't be healed, and the corruption changes us too deeply to simply reverse it.
[Well, that's depressing.]
You really think it's hopeless?
You really think it's hopeless?
I was a healer long enough to know when something can't be fixed.
[it's the way of things, sometimes, much as he hates it. maybe he thought once that anything could be healed; he's been proven wrong, since.]
As for the corruption, suppose I could always suffuse myself with another form of magic, but that's just a different type of change.
...what does your condition encompass, if you don't mind my asking? I can make a guess or two [you know, rock stuff], but.
[it's the way of things, sometimes, much as he hates it. maybe he thought once that anything could be healed; he's been proven wrong, since.]
As for the corruption, suppose I could always suffuse myself with another form of magic, but that's just a different type of change.
...what does your condition encompass, if you don't mind my asking? I can make a guess or two [you know, rock stuff], but.
[......]
... I'm human.
Weak and talentless, I yearned to be stronger. A certain man decided to grant my wish... by fusing my body with that of a rock golem and blow demon. He made me into a chimera -- a product of science and sorcery.
... I'm human.
Weak and talentless, I yearned to be stronger. A certain man decided to grant my wish... by fusing my body with that of a rock golem and blow demon. He made me into a chimera -- a product of science and sorcery.
And left you stronger, but- changed.
Beforehand, though-- feels like you'd do almost anything for it, doesn't it.
[a little quieter, there. he sought the void for strength. for power. compensation for his physical weakness.]
If there was a process, there must be a way to reverse it.
Beforehand, though-- feels like you'd do almost anything for it, doesn't it.
[a little quieter, there. he sought the void for strength. for power. compensation for his physical weakness.]
If there was a process, there must be a way to reverse it.
[He nods. It almost feels like a lifetime ago... that frustration, the desperation.]
Over the years, I've traveled across the land, seeking out sorcerers, chimera researchers, healers... At present, there is no known way to unmake a chimera.
I have to find a way to do something that no one has ever done before.
Over the years, I've traveled across the land, seeking out sorcerers, chimera researchers, healers... At present, there is no known way to unmake a chimera.
I have to find a way to do something that no one has ever done before.
Straightforward enough, isn't it.
[said with the exact sort of tired amusement of someone who knows how exhausting that actually is to chase. just invent new methods no problem...]
...you sound like you've retained your own sense of self despite that fusion, though. In that case there still should be some way to separate you from... well, from what isn't.
[said with the exact sort of tired amusement of someone who knows how exhausting that actually is to chase. just invent new methods no problem...]
...you sound like you've retained your own sense of self despite that fusion, though. In that case there still should be some way to separate you from... well, from what isn't.
I'd like to think so.
[It's a hope he needs to hold on to.]
... Twisted as he was, the man who did this to me was a genius. Most chimeras are unstable... their minds or bodies break down before long. The conflict between differing wills is too great. But rock golems are constructs built only to answer commands -- they have no will of their own. And blow demons are weak-minded creatures that lack the intelligence or malevolence of pure demons.
I believe he intentionally made this body in a way that ensured the human mind would remain intact.
[It's a hope he needs to hold on to.]
... Twisted as he was, the man who did this to me was a genius. Most chimeras are unstable... their minds or bodies break down before long. The conflict between differing wills is too great. But rock golems are constructs built only to answer commands -- they have no will of their own. And blow demons are weak-minded creatures that lack the intelligence or malevolence of pure demons.
I believe he intentionally made this body in a way that ensured the human mind would remain intact.
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