Magic Collides.

[Éclair]

The harsh desert sun rained its heated rays over the town of H'rella, the destination before the Sands of Kalametris. Such a place was deemed desolate and ancient some fifty years before, but now, it is a thriving network of resources and valuables which could bring even the richest to tears by the amount of wealth this small town held within its walls. Once, though, as it was desolate, beings of immense size roamed this place, the space between desert, forest and sea. Now extinct, the shame which the elders were doomed with sometimes became too much to bear for one day.

Regardless of this, the will of the people, and the greed they have wrought, lived on. Down within the bustling marketplace, a peculiar figure wearing a full robe complete with metal gauntlets and leggings and a mask depicting a foreign creature, a crow of sorts, was casually finding the bargain of the day. While it may have been ages since this woman had seen the light of day, it was certain that her expression behind that mask was one of complete irrelevance and disorder.

Daedra once knew what it was like to know thrills and excitement, but her facial muscles had become so unmoving that an annoyed, old-yet-young female knew not of joy anymore. She was overly hard on herself, trying to break free of whatever this burden was, and that was when the flashbacks occurred. Numerous, overlapping visions of what happened that day, back in a place she once called home. An experiment permitted by her teacher at the time caused the destruction of the town, and with it, many lives she once knew personally. The pain was real, with each passing second, and though she could break free of it temporarily, it would never go away for real.

The masked woman continued her shopping, if only for something to pass the time which crawled so slowly.

 

[V0calStat1c]

Tobias sighed, wiping a hand across his forehead to clear the sweat before it reached his eyes. He was tired of this heat, but his abilities had led him here to help people. There were always sick or wounded, and on the edge of a desert it held doubly true. His talents had never allowed him much time away from work, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact the healing was one of the few ways he could escape from the memories and pain that haunted him.

Long before he had mastered his skills, he was an apprentice to someone more powerful than him. He didn't know why, but one night his home was burning. His entire life was ruined in that night. At the center of the inferno was his teacher, the person he respected and admired most in the world. From that moment on bitterness had been growing in his heart. He had run away, swearing to never become like her.

On his way through the market he would stop at stalls, picking up herbs or crystals. Most of it was for show, his magic didn't require ingredients of that kind. But for most people, intrinsic magic was more difficult to grasp and accept than magic granted with the help of something else. Tobias, finally growing accustomed to the heat, started to hum to himself as he walked. He was doing what brought him peace and there were very few things that could ruin his mood.

 

[Éclair]

The woman had some charm, at least, her hips in sight as well as some leg to perhaps lower some of the prices for products within the market place. There was, however, a price to pay when it came to the extreme heat and sunlight around here, thus full robing was essential to daily life. Even if Daedra knew this, her knack for showing off just that small, enticing piece of flesh was enough to convince her of the rewards, rather than the risks.
Suddenly, the handful of fruits Daedra had bought suddenly dropped to the ground as she sighted what would be the one person she did not expect to see so far west of the main continent. That... That fool! She cursed inside her mind, being sure not to project the thought out for those with magic to hear. It was an interesting concept, how those holding natural magic could hear each other's thoughts. Such a thing was commonplace for those who trusted each other - to those who were seen as enemies, it was a clear shut out to them. To shield one's mind while also focusing on using magic effectively was a hard art to even begin to master.

Luckily, the crow mage had done just that. In her twenty years with advanced magic, she had gone from strength to strength to realise her own goals. Though this was the case, perhaps these goals would be her downfall, all since that fateful day, back at home...

 

[V0calStat1c]

Tobias continues to walk around, keeping his head mostly down to shade his eyes from the blazing sun. He hadn't packed the right clothes for this, so he was busying buying things to wear to keep the sun away. He found a pair of dark tinted glasses and bought them, putting them over his eyes. The effect was immediate and welcome. He was able to lift his head and survey more of the market.

He had already passed by Daedra and he didn't feel any need to glance around behind himself. He grunts slightly, lifting a hand to the back of his neck and swatting as if there was something buzzing around him. In truth it was just an odd feeling coming over him, a twinge of the magic in his blood. He had learned to shield his own thoughts and it was second nature to him now, even more than the spells he could cast.

 

[Éclair]

Now that she knew her former student was in town, the crow mage made her way toward the opposite end of the market, having picked up her belongings before doing so. It was so odd to see him, after all this time, though she could not falter now that she was here. Her mission, in truth, was to proceed through the desert, and beforehand she would have to get used to these conditions, even more so after the last sandstorm that hit.
Daedra felt her magic quiver somewhat, as though it wished to be free for a split second, but the same feeling seemed to come whenever she thought of magic, as though it were a living, breathing creature inside her veins. Now calming herself, she proceeded to look at the local weapon vender, the curved swords and knives not really being to her taste.

 

[V0calStat1c]

Tobias finishes his shopping, turning back toward the place he was staying. He caught a single glimpse of the crow mage, but he lost her before he could confirm the glance. He shook his head, the deep well of his anger and hate already starting to boil at just the thought of her being here. He hadn't seen the crow mage since the night everything had been taken from him. A small, but always present, part of his mind wanted him to track her down and destroy her for the pain she caused him.

He let out a slow breath, clearing his mind of the image. It couldn't have been her, there had been no word about her in the magic world for years. She had dropped off the face of the earth, dead as far as anyone knew. As far as Tobias cared as well. He starts to walk back toward his residence, sure there would already be word spreading about the traveling healer coming to town to help any who need it. He preferred to have a building set up and people come to him, but he wasn't against leaving the building if someone was too sick or injured to come to him.