Spellcraft

[Diana]

"He's trapped, there is no where for him to escape to."

"Great goddess, what is that?!"

"It's a portal! Everyone stay back!"

"We have to follow him. He must be destroyed."

"Are you insane?! He's gone, let him go!"

"No. She is right. If that demon isn't destroyed he could return."

"He is the Otherworld's problem now, all we need do is seal the portal."

"If you're a coward, -I- will go."

"There are no Ancients left to show off to, you self centered bi-"

"Let her go!"

The portal was blindingly bright, swirling with colors that would never be identified. There was no moving forward or backwards, just the strange stomach churning feeling of falling and falling and falling. It ended suddenly with a crack of thunder and the sensation of slamming up against an invisible barrier and being shoved through a sieve.

She dropped through, landing in a crouch on a metal surface, apparently in the midst of utter chaos. A battle of men was going on. The portal above swirled shut, leaving a jolt of electricity shooting through the ceiling of the odd room and making the lights shudder and blink. She didn't have the time to ponder the oddness of her new location. Her mission was to find the demon and kill it.

The woman was lean and slender, clad toe to shoulder in a sturdy leather armor. Over one shoulder was a heavy hooded cape, clipped in place by a pendant featuring a fist with a wizard's staff. Her hair was so black if almost tinted blue in the light. Her eyes were a more striking shade of the color, scanning the room for a sign of her demon. When she rose, her elbow swung out to crack someone in the nose as she tried to draw her sword. There was too little room to maneuver and she abandoned the idea of the longer weapon. Magic would have to do.

A twist of her hand and nothing happened immediately. She hissed under her breath. There were no natural masses here, or there was some sort of barrier. Blood and soul magic would have to do.

"Where is the demon!" she shouted. Any of them could BE the demon, if it was truly clever. If she had to knock every single one of them down to find it, so be it.

Her gloves come off and she grabbed the first person she encountered, shoving them up against a wall as she cast her spell. Drawn from the soul, it would be more taxing, but she was not a common grade wizard. A flare of light shocked through the man's system and he dropped to the floor. No demon was hiding there.

Dozens more men to go.

 

[Jackalope]

"I swear to the nebulae you bastards are useless!" The roar echoed in the tight confines of the ship's hallways, followed by the thundering boom of something human sized being thrown about like a ragdoll. A crash sounded, metal screeching in displeasure and a door collapsing somewhere before a gloved hand poked its way into the main walkway and with a growling snarl a man pulled himself through, using his momentum to slam into the wall on the other side and kick back into the room he'd just exited. A moment later and bodies were flying out of it, most of which in military uniform and one a very startled looking young man who bounced with relative gentleness onto the crumpled forms of what could only be described as intergalactic navy sailors. The youth scrambled to his feet, looking no worse for wear, and gave a wide grin and a half-assed salute as the larger man returned through the doorway, looking pissed as all hell.

Stirling stepped into the hallway slower than he had before, taking a moment to settle himself and get a better idea of how his men were faring, but to say he was "calm" at this juncture would be a far cry. A face better suited to neutrality and a laid back grin was scrunched in absolute fury, his brows tightly down and his nostrils flared as he breathed slow and heavy. Large ears with the hint of a point on their ends twitched ever so slightly from between four straight horns, listening intently to the distant sound of fighting and judging where he would be needed next before a startled yelp at his side caused him to whip his head in that direction, hetero chromatic eyes wide. The gold of his parasite's influence outright flashed in anger from the bottoms of his irises as he growled, turning to step in front of the younger crew member as the man scurried away from where man after man was dropping...to a woman dressed nothing like the invading navy.

The captain was by no means a small man, an intimidating fellow with both height and his broad shoulders to loom with, but he seemed to swell up in size even more as one of his men was grabbed and felled, and while he couldn't care less what she did with the military they were fighting, he had quite the opinion on what happened to his crew. The assaulter was moving towards another of his family and it was that that made him move, charging down the hall to shove the distracted gunner out of arm's reach. The man stumbled and nearly fell, but was no small fry himself and his startled gaze was fast on his captain, recoiling as quickly as his heavy frame would allow so both would be safely out of the woman's immediate reach. Stirling tilted his chin down as he widened the distance one step further, the new posture aggressive yet wary and putting all six of his horns on distinct display.

Four of the horns were his own, lightly ridged and growing backwards from where they started at the sides of his head, two above his ears and two below, but two were not. These two were the more garish, hefty things that rose from his temples and curved over his skull at a slight angle. They were heavily lobed, resembling the skeleton of some ancient animal, and while all of his horns were black, these were a much deeper, darker shade with none of the natural fading expected in years of growth. There was a hint of bio luminescence on them as well, a tiny brushing of light that was difficult to name a color for but ran along the bone in a way that indicated a complicated pattern. For him, this new posture was a mixture cultural tradition--a fighting stance passed down from generation to generation--and the influence of the parasite snuggled against his spinal cord for which it was a display of prowess, and a warning to disengage or suffer.

Brown and gold eyes narrowed as Stirling adjusted his position minutely, cracking the knuckles hidden in the loose leather of his gloves and rolling one shoulder. Behind him the balance of the fight was shifting, pirates beginning to overwhelm navy, and the whistled code of his crew began to sound off as they cleared area after area, the comms beeping as the computers of their ship reiterated each announcement. He grinned at the sound and the security in the knowledge that there would soon be a starship's worth of crew clustered at his side. "You ain't navy and you ain't mine." He rumbled, nostrils flaring as he scented the air, "So tell me, what exactly do you think you're doin' on my ship?"

 

[Diana]

A boat. That would explain why her senses were muddled and they felt adrift. Her magics never did take well to water. The man beast was an impressive figure in stature. She herself was not a short woman, she towered over most the men that called themselves battle mages, and yet here she was dwarfed by the height of him. Her eyes made quick work in examining the rest of him. The bizare merging of human and monster was impressive, but clearly the demon had wasted it's energy on opening the portal, for it couldn't hide it's horns or the glow of it's tainted magic.

She changed her stance. A dagger pulled from her belt, held up at an angle with the pointed end aimed at her elbow. Her other hand raising up to shoulder height with fingers curled, ready to ignite the fuse of another spell. He was communicating in strange whirs and chirps. No doubt she had followed him in to his demon den and now he was summoning his brethren to protect him.

"Were you trying to fool me with that pitiful disguise, Nephagor? You will die here today."

She was painfully aware that his minions were on their way. She could hear the strange clanking of feet along the metal flooring, feel the only life forces that seemed to be around for miles. The part that threw her off was that they didn't feel like demons, but with the way this strange environment tampered with her magic, it could also be working against her senses.

Still, a master had no excuse for killing innocents. There were enough bodies and enough blood to help correct her error in judgement if she were wrong.

"I warn you, that I will not hesitate to kill every life aboard this boat should anyone stand in my way." she spoke loud, aiming her comments at those approaching. It was the only warning they were going to get. "All I want is the demon." And it was pretty clear by whom she meant through how fiercely her gaze stayed trained on the beast.

 

[Jackalope]

"Disguise?" Battle-readiness was exchanged for a baffled expression as Stirling cocked his head slightly to the side, brows knitting in confusion as he straightened slightly to regard the other, "Nephagor? Woman, do you have star sickness?" He shifted his weight, regarding her weapon and strange hand position with mild distaste. The parasite, however, disagreed with his distaste and a nagging feeling of unease began to swirl in his bones, urging him into a slightly different stance with one hand upraised to near chest level. He recognized the position with a downward quirk of his lips and obligingly moved into the rest of the position, tilting his wrist and spreading his fingers wide in a twisted mimicry of curled claws. Clearly his hospes was taking this intruder much more seriously than Stirling was.

His crew was beginning to gather now, approaching the duo with the wariness that their captain's new battle stance indicated, most of them having been around long enough to recognize that the pose was a reflection of the parasite's distrust in a situation. Still, they weren't being warned off yet so they slunk as close as they dared, those with the greatest aim lifting up projectile weapons at the mage and others hoisting up tight quarters weapons with grim expressions. A majority of the gathered were human, or at least visually human, but they were joined by several species of very distinct aliens, some of which had appearances even more disturbing than their captain's. One of these parted the group with clear authority, his mandibles clicking together with audible distaste as he moved to Stirling's side. Despite the mandibles, however, the first mate had much more resemblance to a mammal, and there was a distinct "deer like" look to his muzzle and the antler-like growths on his head. Stirling didn't acknowledge him as he gave an annoyed growl, very nearly flailing one arm as he snapped at the intruder, "Daemon?" The deer-man frowned, blinking two of his four almond eyes as he glanced to his captain thoughtfully, "That ship is destroyed. This is the Mirrored--and she happens to be a Encaeroga star ship, not some fuckin' tug boat!"

The deer clicked to himself, mandibles rubbing against one another in an almost cricket song movement, before he seemed to put two and two together and abruptly stiffened, turning his full attention to the woman with an amused bark of air. "Earthling mythology." He chittered, the soft blows of air clearly his version of laughing as some of the crew joined in, others staring around as baffled as their captain who broke his concentration on the wizard to stare at the first mate as though the man had sprouted an extra head.
"What? What in the name of the Gathered do Earthlings have to do with crazy women on my ship?!"

"It is...a kind of 'boogeyman' in ancient Earthling mythology." The deer chirred as he reached up, grabbing hold of one of Stirling's lobed horns and yanking him unceremoniously down to a lower level, "Big horns, bad smelling and bad attitudes. Just like you, my captain."
Stirling gave a noise somewhere between a squeak and a squawk stumbled as he was yanked off balance, a leg striking out to keep him upright as he pushed at Iah, growling obscenities at him in three verbal languages until he was released, straightening to his full height with a glare at his first mate before his attention snapped back to the woman. "So what? Does that mean she's broken? Don't tell me she actually has star-sickness." He muttered, happy to resort to speaking like she wasn't even there.

 

[Diana]

If she were surprised by the strange assortment of species, it didn't show on her face beyond the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. No elves, no dwarves, not even satyrs, yet they still gave off the same sort of energies as the typical lifeforms.

"Mythology?!" she hissed with insult, not that they were paying her any mind. All the talk about star sickness and star ship was a bit baffling. Perhaps it was not a demon's den after all, but a strange star worshiping cult. They could see the demon as their star god, which was going to be a huge pain in her ass if they were determined to defend him.

But with the deer creature's behavior towards the captain, she was getting mixed signals. She was beginning to doubt this beast was her demon. ...but she was also rather pissed that they weren't taking her seriously.

"I do not know what your Earthling mythology is, but I can assure you my demon is no myth. And neither am I."

Drawing energy for her spell from the bloody dead on the floor, she threw it down with the intentions that the jolts of electricity would spread across the floor to take down the creatures surrounding her. Instead, it swept upwards along the walls in to the boat itself. A pop of energy and a loud unusual sound reverberated. Something unlike she had ever heard before. A groaning and moaning of metals. The lights flickered and went out all together.

That wasn't what she was going for, but she didn't waste the opportunity. She dashed forward in the dark to leap at her demon, fingers sparking with another spell to set off the second she got her hands on him.

 

[Jackalope]

"My mythology? I sure as hell ain't an Earthling, girl." Stirling snarled, picking up on that to turn to her with a snap, nostrils flaring as he frowned intently at her, "That planet is rotten to its core--nothing but warped humans and their metal monstrosities call themselves Earthlings, and I ain't gonna be mistaken for one of their lot." Several of his crew mumbled out their agreements, the ones with human ancestry making strange circular motions over their foreheads even as they nodded along with the assessment, "As for your little 'demon'..." His lip curled as he sneered out the word, "You're lookin' in the wrong place. Sounds like you should get your scrawny ass back to that decrepit planet where all its outdated beliefs belong." He snorted, a scoff like sound that was clearly ending the conversation, and turned his attention back to his crew, ushering some on back to their stations with a whistling click.

"So should we set a course for Earth? Drop this cretin back on the surface?" He muttered to Iah as the majority began to head to their various places throughout the ship, "Or just shoot it off in an escape pod towards the nearest Navy ship?" Iah made a motion like a frown, his ears dipping as he thought, and began to open his mouth to reply when her sudden movements attracted his attention and he snapped his head to the side, his antlers clacking loudly against Stirling's. The captain hissed in pain, rubbing along the sensory horn that was now ringing, but turned obligingly towards the invader as well, eyes narrowing warily at the strange movements. "Now what is that freakshow up t--"

Stirling was cut off as the woman slammed her hand to the ground, the ship shivering and shuddering with the sudden influx of power. Several voices were yelling through the comms on every level of the ship, the footsteps of his dismissed crew immediately turning and running back towards them, but as the chaos swelled to a deafening level of scurrying crew, the lights shut out and the ship fell into immediate silence. The crew were flat on the ground in an instant, gut response to one of the very few rules on the ship, and Iah was immediately leaping away from the captain's side, his nimble toes and strong familiarity of every inch of the starship getting him well out of the way as the woman charged where they had been moments before.

The captain's eyes were averted, possibly watching the stag disappear to safety, but as the wizard got close enough to touch, his head snapped towards her and the warm chocolate of his eyes was completely enveloped in the rich, molten gold of his parasite. Stirling leaned to the side, avoiding her grip by millimeters, and with a snarl he lunged for her, the broad grip of his gloved hands moving to grab and fling her well away from him. "Hostile actions are all fine and good," He hissed, his voice slightly off as though it were filtered, "But you have taken it too far." The bio luminescence of Stirling's horns was completely visible now, glowing in a firm pattern that, while mostly an almost aqua color, was highlighted with stripes of a much whiter blue. The glow was no longer limited to his lobed horns, however, and was mimicked in a lesser form along his sensory horns and ears, as well as in certain places on his face that lead down to his neck and on his arms. It disappeared beneath clothing, but was considerably brighter on his hands, very nearly bleeding through the thickness of his gloves. In the dark, lit almost exclusively by the glow, he looked distinctly alien with a foreign elegance to his stance and posture. He held himself with pristine confidence, less slumpy and rugged than would be expected of Stirling, and the power flickering about in the air around him tasted of someplace distant and exotic. "I am a reasonable individual, but you have made a threat to my host using a type of power that I am unfamiliar with." He quirked his head to the side, large eyes blinking owlishly at her, "I am of the hospes. I am unfamiliar with nothing." The parasite clicked his tongue against Stirling's spine, a noise that sounded unnatural and a bit like something both wet and hollow, and Stirling flashed his teeth, brown bleeding into one gold eye for a moment with the violent expression before the hospes had full control again and he huffed, rattling his horns softly, "I will allow you to provide an explanation of your purpose and offer a defense to your actions. Or..." The way he shifted was almost in a sigh and the body language seemed to by the same as he dragged one foot against the ground, "..if you would prefer to attack us again...we could rip out your skeletal system and eat your squishy internals."

 

[Diana]

Swift dexterity had her dancing away from the demon's grasp, and if it hadn't been for the strange.... shift she would have made another lunge immediately. Instead, she rooted to the spot, hand up drawing energy for another spell and dagger's edge pointed forward. There wasn't a demon sigil or mark she wasn't familiar with. Not a language in the world she didn't know. The odd markings taking life on his skin were completely unreadable.

She recognized when something else took over the man's body, finding herself baffled when it wasn't whom she was expecting. There was no doubt this had to be a demon, but it wasn't HER demon. This put her in a strange position. Her eyes narrowed as she made her decisions quickly.

"Color me surprised, I am unfamiliar with you as well. I am searching for a demon who has escaped in to this world. You'll have to forgive my mistake. Your host begs for misconceptions."

As a motion of good faith, she dropped her hand and relaxed her stance but kept the dagger firmly pointed. If she had to, she could kill everyone on the ship. But that would leave her trying to sail the damned thing herself. But if her demon wasn't in the immediate vicinity, a truce was her best option.

"I am Joslyn Integra Uffenstien the III, Master Wizard of the Penta Order in Elmbria. The demon I seek is a world destroyer. You will help me find him. ...Unless you would like to see what else I could do to your boat?" she flashed a wicked grin.

 

[Jackalope]

A much more patient individual than its host, the hospes remained still and quietly inquisitive as Joslyn spoke, waiting for her to completely finish speaking before it made so much as a peep. Even after she had finished her introduction it regarded her in silence, possibly having an internal discussion as it blinked slowly and, after a longer space of time than was really polite, allowed a quiet smile to slide into place. "Joslyn it is." He rumbled, not really commenting on anything else at the moment before he gave a rumble of a sound that was likely a laugh, but sounded a bit like a lawn mower starting up. All at once he turned on his heels, gesturing absently behind himself to urge her after him as he negotiated the halls. "There are many types of world destroyers in this universe." He chortled amicably as he lead her through the ship, "But, I would be going against my contract with the good captain if I were to assist you in this matter. It will be up to him to decide whether to help you or to fight you--my only intention is to keep this body, and therefore him, alive."

He glanced over his shoulder as he spoke, taking a moment before a rounded door to give her a stern look, "You are strong in your world, but this is mine. Please refrain from threatening my livelihood again." Immediately the smile was back in place and he strode through the opening door, making quick work of a few more rounded halls before slipping into what was best described as an elevator, urging her into the small space. "Nevertheless! I like to learn and this sounds interesting. So I will do you one more boon and..." He gave another lawn mower laugh, lips quirking to show a gnarly set of sharpened teeth, "...encourage you not to try and..." He paused again, teeth still bared, and arched a prim brow in a clear mockery of her, "...'misconcept' your position here. You call it a boat, but boats sail seas."

The doors slid open and the hospes strode forward with long, sloping strides to the center of a large room that was virtually empty...were it not for the massive expanse of windows that cast the light of stars and a distant galaxy upon its floor. "You should not threaten the great lady that carries you through the stars." He smirked, clearly confident he had made his point, and as though he had taken a step back Stirling was back, looking a bit grumpy but otherwise no worse for wear as he reached up to scratch at his center set of horns, rubbing his nails over where the brightest bio luminescence had been

The captain looked to her for a moment, eyes narrowed in distaste, before he moved towards the windows, walking into a sunken part of the room to tap at a small square of different colored metal at the center. The sound of mechanics whirring to life drifted from beneath him and he stood square over the spot, calm and collected as a sloped chair rose behind him, not coming to a complete stop before he sunk into it with a humph. Long legs were thrown over the side of it as he leaned back against the armrest, arms crossed behind his head as he stared intently at Joslyn. "If you're done threatenin' my shit like some kinda preteen wannabe," He rumbled at last, tapping his toes in annoyance, "I would very much like to know what its gonna take to get yer ass off my ship and outta my life."

 

[Diana]

Stunning. The word didn't come out of her mouth, but the thought was painted across her face as clear as day. Out beyond the glass was nothing but black empty space, dotted with stars brighter than she had ever seen them. Formations and nebulae a figurative stone's throw away. Joslyn reached out as far as she could, trying to grasp for lifeforms or sources for power, but all that remained was this lady, as he called her, and the sky.

This put her at a distinct disadvantage.

This was also the most amazing thing she had ever seen in her entire life. And that was an extraordinary feat.

The demon was gone, replaced by the disgraceful personage that was the captain. Joslyn finally moved from the spot she had been transfixed, stopping next to his chair to look down at him. Her hands found a place to rest at her hips, and despite her previous conversation and the humbling realization of her location, she still held the air of someone entitled.

"I prefer your friend to you, I think. But if it is you I must deal with... very well. There is someone I must find and this place is unknown to me. Grant me the use of your boat, your crew, and... you... then I will compensate you for your time and energy. That sounds reasonable? Perhaps I can power this strange contraption." she mumbled finally, taking a more leisurely glance around the room.

 

[Jackalope]

A loud snort sounded and Stirling gave the woman a sneering side-eye, brows turned down as he mumbled a crude comment under his breath. "I wouldn't call that thing a friend." He harrumphed, rolling his eyes firmly, "You're probably the only one stupid enough in this galaxy t'actually like it." He grinned then, expression harsh and a bit twisted, but didn't comment on the matter any further as he reached over with one hand and brushed his fingertips on an upraised console. With a rumble of acquiescence, the ship began to change again, several smaller sitting areas rising up from the floor in two places in the room. They were identical in size and shape, one to each side of his own chair swooping in a smooth arc and each containing two chairs and a sloped couch around what almost looked like a coffee table, albeit significantly taller and with a large clear disc that could be moved and adjusted to the viewers ease. A starscape flickered to life on both screens, allowing Joslyn to take her pick of the seating areas, zooming out to show a bright blip of light to represent the Lady, and a twisting course of lines and notes in a complicated hieroglyphic language criss-crossing through the constellations.

While these areas locked into place, Stirling's attention drifted to the main windows, his fingers tapping away at the console panel as he programmed what he wanted and a massive copy of the two discs blinked into existence on the center of the windows, highlighting the ship once more. "I ain't gonna 'grant you the use' of shit." He chirruped as he swung yet another disc from seemingly nowhere, using it as his own personal sketchpad as he slumped back into his seat, scribbling in notes that swirled onto the main screen moments later, "I'll let you hire us, to a certain extent, but this ship ain't gonna listen to anyone but me and I ain't gonna accept you as anything more than a well-payin' 'client'." His eyes flicked to her, sharp and smug, "Assumin' you actually have anything worth a shiny click."

The captain snickered, scrunching up his nose, and flicked his wrist against his screen. The heiroglyphs flickered hesitantly, and one after another the lines began to translate themselves to English, making the little notations and comments about outside conditions and nearby planets, ships, or threats readable for Joslyn. "Now. Far as I can tell the thing yer lookin' for is a damned needle in a haystack." He leaned back and tapped out a memo to his first mate, sending it spiraling off to find the strange man before he glanced back to Joslyn, frowning at her coolly, "I'm gonna need a helluva lot more details."