Sanctified Absence

A century of happiness does not balance an eternity of torment. If Materialism does not speak the truth, I'd rather hold onto my soul thank you.

Perhaps I said it wrong... What I was suggesting is the chances of a planet which can successfully support life for an extended amount of time (to a point of multi-cellular organisms) is catastrophically small. After all, there are many factors dictating whether or not life would be successful, the intensity of the sun, the composition of the atmosphere, a suitable environment (water for example), an extended energy source, the composition of minerals etc. Furthermore, evolution is very likely an unpredictable process, there's no certainty of any one characteristic emerging, the only certainty is there will be some form of mutation.

The chance of a planet forming a habitable atmosphere for life is catastrophically small. The chance that life will appear there is catastrophically small. The chance that such life will become intelligent is... Relatively small. If the Universe weren't so 'incomprehensibly' huge I'd be sceptical, but given the scale we're talking the statistical probability of other intelligent life is actually rather high, the Laws of Physics are just doing a good job at making sure we'll probably never meet or communicate with them, unless we design intelligent life ourselves (which is only a possibility.)

Huh, wha? I've been gone all day... Must've left my laptop on for some reason that's probably acceptable but doesn't fail to elude me.

Close your eyes and put on some sunscreen ladies and gents, let Zaddion... Enlighten you.

Is this 'steel' very reflective? Because if it is I might have a rather evil idea...

Zaddion's Battle Checklist: 1: Is it weak to Light? Yes -> 4, no -> 2. 2: Is it weak to Shadow? Yes -> 5, no -> 3. 3: Do you have to fight it? Yes -> 6, no >7. 4: SPAM LIGHT UNTIL IT DIES! 5: SPAM SHADOW UNTIL IT DIES! 6: Wing it. 7: Let the Hunter kill it.

Cursing his slow reactions, the Mage subconsciously blamed his frail, Human body, even with the Mark it just wasn't suitable for channelling. Still, it seemed as though the larger Lycan had fallen to a combined effort from Helena and the Hunter, so his reactions had not cost any lives... Yet. There was still the matter of the crimson one attacking the bard, and he wasn't about to let the remainder of his Magick go to waste. Stumbling to a standing position as fast as he could without failing, the Mage dashed towards the creature, the Shadow coilding perfectly as not to disturb the dagger until his command. At a gesture, the Shadow whipped its captive into the air, removing all the soot but giving it enough force to remove it from the fire's grasp. His wounded arms would surely make this manoeuvre more difficult, but right now there just wasn't another way to approach these things without falling to their superior speed. Throwing the remaining tendril of Magick around the Lycan, the Mage took some level of care to keep it away from the Lycan's immediate reach, they might be able to slice through Shadow like paper, but that doesn't mean their very should destroy the construct. With the Magick firmly 'attached' to the Mark across his skin, Zaddion utilized the thread as something similar in function to a grappling hook, using it to boost his speed well beyond what he could've simply done by running. Barely catching the dagger mid-flight on his way there, the Mage attempted to trust his current weapon into the creature's back. Hopefully in that weakened state his Shadow would be enough to restrain it until it died... But he didn't count on that.

Superiority to me is not logic based and so therefore is always opinionated. As a result, I don't believe there is a 'true' superiority or inferiority at all, but there are many takes on a moral or opinionated superiority, none of which have any logical value to me.

Zaddion clutched his chest and recovered from his winded state just in time to see the silver dagger cast into the flames. Perhaps the rumours of silver having unpredictable properties was true, perhaps he judged the legends of the common folk far too harshly to see the wisdom in them, or perhaps it was simply the Magickal Nullification. It would be so easy to just reach out, grab the knife and finish this beast off now that it was going for Adrass, but he didn't have time to put out the flames. There was only one way he was getting it out fast enough, it was now or never the time to solidify the Shadow he was capable of summoning. Reaching out his arm across the floor, the Mage attempted all of his Magickal and mental prowess in a manner that he'd never really been able to grasp before. The Shadow would have to be concentrated, terrifyingly so to have any sort of physical effect on an object, especially one with Anti-Magick warding. Fortunately for him the Mark was literally flowing with stored Shadow Magick, the downside being such a release of energy caused it to vibrate in a horrifically agonizing manner. Gritting his teeth and tensing his now blood-soaked fingers, a whip-like tendril of black mist emerged from the Mark, every second its consistency growing darker and darker until it resembled a shifting, black solid. The Shadow obeyed his every whim, and once it was thick enough it darted towards the dagger, fading into the air upon contact with the runed silver. Zaddion wasn't about to let this stop him though. Forcing more Shadow into the construct, the Mage intentionally kept himself in a cycle of Magick-draining concentration in a desperate attempt to successfully hold his target as his gaze shifted towards the largest Lycan.

"This one's weak to Light, the others might be weak to Magick too!" Focusing his mind, Zaddion's spells would be given a more sinister purpose than simple stunning, though one could argue that the act of killing was simply necessary in situations such as this. This would be the first time he intentionally murdered in some time, and the lack of reluctance might've been worrying if he had the chance to think. The first orb reached the creature, exploding in a fierce Light as the others. Further examination revealed that the thing was indeed being damaged, somehow. Perhaps these werewolves were somewhat filled with Dark or Shadow Magick? A question he would be glad to ponder some other time. The second wisp impacted, then the third, then the fourth. Zaddion was far too hesitant in finishing the monster off, enjoying the empowered feeling, until Helena's bolt acted as a wakeup call. Staring at the Werewolf, the Mage raised his hand one final time. "Hmph..." Reacting to his clicking fingers, the final wisps were as a volley of projectiles, each one striking at the target's general vicinity in small, concentrated flashes.

RIGHT, THAT'S IT, I NEED TO START REMEMBERING THE CROW! Do I have permission to control it myself? Zaddion might've been Magickally 'bonding' with it all this time and the longer they stay together, the more they should think in unison.

The werewolf's sudden interest in him over Adrass took the Mage by surprise, he didn't have the time to prepare the Magick he had in mind, but at least he'd had the time to gather enough. Zaddion's inability to actually injure their opponents had been a weakness thus far, but with Adrass's aid this should be just as useful... Flicking his fingers forward, a few small wisps of white Light darted towards the creature, exploding in pure blinding radiance upon impact with the flesh. As with all of Zaddion's Light Magick, there would be no force behind the spell and only a dreadfully insignificant amount of damage would be as heat, but damage wasn't Zaddion's intention. The Mage retracted his hand and held it out as if in anticipation to click his fingers, the other orbs of Magick waiting for his command. If the flash only momentarily stunned the creature he would use them to escape from it's attacks, if the effect was more serious he would attempt to keep it pinned long enough for the others to do some significant damage.

Had Zaddion been any quicker, there might've been more than one way to get out of this alive, but thanks to the Hunter their options were drastically limited to two, with only one seeing them through this. From what he could gather, this thing must be strong, durable and above all extremely fast, so the Mage's Magick would only be useful here if it wasn't particularly intelligent. "Ancients dammit Adrass!" In one rapid motion, Zaddion was on his feet and had his sword plunged firmly into the ground before him. Small threads of Light cascaded from the Krystal and up the blade, before dancing around the Mage himself in a strange chaotic harmony. The threads quickly transformed into wisps at their summoner's call, ready to receive his mental commands.

I think that's the main problem with a passive, if slightly tense situation like this one. Nobody is willing to talk to each other all that often, and all the characters would take this opportunity to go through their daily rituals. I don't really mind though... It's sometimes nice to see a party in a passive, quiet state. Not everyone can talk or fight forever after all.

Well if anyone gets the reference, I'm starting to turn Zaddion into a first Enchanter Irving from DA:O (or at least seem to be... Depends on where this goes). Adrass would pretty much be Knight Commander Gregor, the one who doesn't just outright kill Mages but despises them and is unafraid to put them down at the slightest hint of true corruption. Zaddion is less strict but agrees with the philosophy that Magick is dangerous and Mages should be taught how to successfully control their powers in ways that aren't dangerous to the common man. Despite their obvious differences, I actually think these two have the combined ability to change the world when it comes to Magick and how it is controlled.

Oh my, Adrass is now in possession of something that Zaddion would value greater than any single life if he ever found what it was... Well done Torrent!

Zaddion cursed as the lights flickered and died, his concentration broken by an unexpected voice. It mattered little, at this rate he would never finish attuning the Krystal before they got out of the forest. He could've chuckled at her statement, despite his knowledge, the otherworldly nature of his craft left the Mage far less 'tuned in' than the others when a life wasn't at stake. Drawing one of the two blades he had taken earlier, Zaddion answered without returning a gaze. "The same reason Adrass is." There was no point in hiding that he was concerned, but right now he didn't trust anyone, especially Tulla to react in a way that would be at all beneficial to the party. "There's... something following this group, something I'd rather not discuss now. If it becomes a problem, he and I will be the only ones able to deal with it."

It's fine. He'll probably end up putting it on eventually if you're sneaky enough.

Noice, Zaddion obviously doesn't know this yet though... Also, don't expect he'd have put anything on by now, a Mage knows not to inflict unpredictable Magick upon itself without rigorously testing what kind of Magick it is.

I have a very deep, fearful feeling that these two Marriage rings belonged to now dead individuals who were to be bonded in Holy Matrimony... But that's just me.

Sounds like Zaddion would take the Copper Ring and Bronze Bracelet, if that's fine with everyone else, that is. If you'd rather we took all the Magickal Jewellery just pick a remaining one or two out at random, I don't mind and assuming Zaddion could feel the Magick he'd be hoarding them anyway.

Wearing 2 Trinkets of unknown Enchantment in a relatively Magick-rich forest while practising Magick. I'm basically begging for a Roll 1d100 Magick Perils test aren't I?

Waving his hands over the small pile of Krystal he had placed upon a cloth, Zaddion gently weaved patterns of subtle, white light around his soon-to-be focus materials. This was all he had been doing for the past few days when he wasn't moving or keeping his Magick senses alert, after all even Lance probably couldn't keep track of everything out there. Unfortunately, this place was less flooded with Magick than the great libraries, towers and ritual chambers of his home, which was making the process far more time consuming, as if it wasn't already. He had to see this through, the Mage told himself, he couldn't steal from Clarke's most prized possession without a good reason, a sentiment that he was slowly faltering in keeping alive. Zaddion wasn't like the great Enchanters that he had once met, his expertise was more with the direct manipulation of Magick rather than anything else, as such he did not have the skill nor complete knowledge to leave these Krystals open to the user's attunement, they would only function under Light. "Perhaps..." Even he was surprised at his own break in silence, refusing to talk up until now for fear of other's current opinions of him had left the Mage's voice a little raspy, he cleared his throat, "perhaps a song wouldn't be such a bad idea, we could use the peace of mind and it's not like the things out there don't already know where we are."

The Great Mighty Poo, 'nuff said.