r/wizardposting • u/Swordandicecreamcone Azrek nakalnus, lord of xalcotl • 10d ago

A meeting at the fortress of unity Lorepost (open interaction)

Azrek has invited you to the fortress of unity- that was the letter. this was for a diplomatic exchange, as well as just the general crisis.

Upon arriving at xalcotl, you notice it is still in ashes, but people are coming back to it. it has nowhere near the population it had before, but it is slowly rebuilding. there is a small path leading to the fortress- you could've sworn it wasn't there before. but the jungles of xalcotl are a strange place. things are only found if they want to be found, or if you have strong enough of a will to pierce through the spiritual shrouds.

You follow the path to the fortress. you reach a lake, with an island in the center where the fortress sits. despite the water being very deep, you can walk on it like it were a solid surface. Upon actually reaching the fortress, you sit down in a sunlit room, the structure being designed perfectly so that the full room is lit. Azrek sits on the end of a massive table, shaped like a diamond. you take your seat next to the other guests. azrek speaks-

AZREK- "My friends, and maybe my enemies, I have invited you here today for a purpose. we are to discuss the calamity that has befallen starstrike city and xalcotl as a whole. a calamity that has left thousands of innocents dead. this is the deed of two people- Obsidian-Reveals-Flame, and Nova-Burns-Brightly. they are the ones that razed starstrike to the ground and slaughtered it's residents."

AZREK- "Before we do that, we need to talk about what this conflict is about. it's not about EON, or the cabal, or the council, or any other faction. this isn't about faith, or territory, or wealth. we need to put all those aside. this is about having the people of the realms live another day- to save our siblings, parents, friends, and children. put all the old grudges aside. they do not matter at this moment."

AZREK- "Now for the real talk. Obsidian and Nova are... uh... um... uh..."

Azrek seems to be panicking a bit. he looks very, very stressed.

AZREK- "They come from... from... uh..."

he starts to kind of cry. he runs into his room. another astromancer, Comet-Soars-Eternal, takes his place

COMET- "Pleasure to meet you all. I'm Comet-soars-eternal, and a fellow astromancer of xalcotl. Genesis-through-focus, or azrek for the uninitiated, clearly is uncomfortable about this subject, so I'll explain it. Obsidian and Nova were originally dissasociative personalities that he built up to distance himself from violence and other atrocities, but due to mental and spiritual instability, they escaped. Nova-burns-brightly is the muscular one with the red markings. he carries an axe, feels no pain or pity, and is hyper-violent. his abilities include sun magic, pyromancy, and enhanced physical capabilities. his deadliest power is to essentially activate his opponents rage and baser instincts if he hits them with his flame chains, making them fight without caution. his axe turns anyone slain by it into ash, which he can consume to increase his powers. Obsidian-Reveals-Flame is the slender one with purple markings. he's a manipulative sadist who will exploit any crack in your psyche or past trauma. he uses darkstar astromancy, shadow magic, and illusion. his cursed obsidian dagger, should one be pierced by it, allows him to create a clone of whoever was stabbed, but this clone is effectively all the worst traits about a person dialed up to 11. clones look like the original, but should they be wounded or found out, various features reveal themselves- such as patches of black scales, reptilian eyes, purple markings, or stuff like that. the clones are independent, but are loyal to him."

COMET- "Well, I can hear Genesis crying from here. You should probably check in on him."

Should you decide to check in on him, you see azrek lying on his bed, crying his eyes out, and squeezing a particularly large stuffed animal of a raptor.

AZREK- "I-It's all my damn fault! I couldn't keep myself to-together! and now people are dying! I'm a fucking fa-failure..."

Do you decide to help him or stay at the table?

11 Upvotes

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u/Complex_Drawer_4710 Sigurd, Stealer of Titles 10d ago

Sigurd splits into two images, one moving to talk to Azrek, the other staying seated.

(Conference:) Those two were present at Earth's Embrace, I didn't see everything that happened, but no violence while I was there.

(Azrek:) Yes, they did come from you. I don't think it was avoidable though, and they are out there and dangerous either way. Your help, will likely be needed.

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u/loth17 Ten Suns 10d ago

(representative of Ten Suns)

"Do you know why they were there? Were they just part of gaius's celebration or do you think they were there to secure some kind of alliance?"

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u/Complex_Drawer_4710 Sigurd, Stealer of Titles 10d ago

I don't think it was purely celebrational, no. I didn't listen to the whole conversation though.

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u/loth17 Ten Suns 10d ago

"If at all possible I'd like to keep Gaius out of this conflict. He is young and his involvement would complicate things. So we need a way to lure the twins away from the fortress. Somewhere we can safely deal with them without provoking Gaius"

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u/Complex_Drawer_4710 Sigurd, Stealer of Titles 10d ago

Yes,it's best to keep him out of this.

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u/loth17 Ten Suns 10d ago

"Do you have any suggestions to lure them out. I was thinking we might have someone challenge them to a duel. Or even leak false information about the location of a powerful artifact and ambush them when they try to retrieve it"

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u/Complex_Drawer_4710 Sigurd, Stealer of Titles 10d ago

That could work, or we just wait until they meet with Gaius again and grab them then.

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u/loth17 Ten Suns 10d ago

"That's risky. Gaius might defend them. Especially if we show up guns blazing to their meeting. Though if we could convince Gaius to turn them over that might make it easy"

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u/Complex_Drawer_4710 Sigurd, Stealer of Titles 10d ago

Your idea of an artifact plan might work... I can make something easily, a convincing fake...

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u/loth17 Ten Suns 10d ago

"Perfect."

The representative would turn to the one leading the meeting.

"What are your thoughts on this strategy?"

u/Swordandicecreamcone

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u/Carbon_Sixx The Arcane Companions (Kaelis Maz, Reyes, Glimbo, and Tarul Var) 10d ago

Kaelis: I fought my worst impulses once when I was possessed by an entity called the Omniarch. It was an malevolent aspect of the Fundamental Forces born from destruction caused by gravity- things like collapsed stars, planetary impacts, and meteoric extinctions- and manifested through graviturges who lost control. I did exactly that during the Third Wizard War, when I sought vengeance against Opal for betraying the Pact.

I use the past tense here, because I killed the bastard and used its death to power a ritual.

My greatest strength comes from my heart, and the people I've sworn to protect. Without those, I am a shell of a wizard. If Obsidian clones me, he'll find my replica to be far less than my equal.

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u/Fantasygoria [she/her] Goria, The Cabal's Matriarch. 9d ago

"Now now dear, don't cry. You should always try and see the good side of a situation."

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u/Swordandicecreamcone Azrek nakalnus, lord of xalcotl 9d ago

"What do I have to do? Man up? get myself together? I've been told that so many times. I can't make any mistakes, can't show any crack in this facade that I put up. that's all I've been told..."

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u/Fantasygoria [she/her] Goria, The Cabal's Matriarch. 9d ago

"Man up? Oh nothing as crude as that. Cry as much as you need everybody makes mistakes from time to time. No what I think is that you should approach this incident as an... Investment so to speak, try to see how you can come up stronger from this experience.'

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u/D3n0man Sea, a panda with nukes and bublewrap 10d ago

Azrek, there is still time to stop the mess that 2 violent previous personalities of yours is causing. You can still do something to stop the violance caused by them. So stop crying and get yourself together because you are the one who knows them the best and can exploit their weaknesses.

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u/Swordandicecreamcone Azrek nakalnus, lord of xalcotl 10d ago

"I've been told "get yourself together" so much, in so many different ways. "Man up, Toughen up, stop crying". I feel like I'm never allowed to be stressed, or show anything wrong with me"

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u/D3n0man Sea, a panda with nukes and bublewrap 10d ago

Nah it is completely normal to cry at a time like this especially if you think you caused it (which you didn't cause this)

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u/measuredingabens Void Fleshcrafter, Purveyor of the Finest Cosmic Delicacies 10d ago

The Fleshcrafter gazes at those gathered in the fortress before speaking.

Azrek. Time is of the essence if we are to stop these two offshoots of your being. What can you tell us of their dispositions and weaknesses?

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u/patoman12 Mauritius, zealous scholar, eye of Archaneus 10d ago

"Hey, are you ok?"

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u/Swordandicecreamcone Azrek nakalnus, lord of xalcotl 10d ago

"no..."

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u/patoman12 Mauritius, zealous scholar, eye of Archaneus 10d ago

"Look, I'm not sure if you'd like to hear this, but, if you call yourself a failure for unwillingly creating a threat, then 70% percent of the realms are too, many, many others have felt the same feeling that you are feeling right now, my advice? Don't bottle up your emotions, let them out, then you'll be able to right your wrongs and save the people that are still in danger"

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u/loth17 Ten Suns 10d ago

"Azrek. I know that it has been difficult for you. But you must steel yourself. If you want to prevent more suffering you must pull yourself together and aid us. Those two will not stop until someone stops them"

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u/Another-Ace-Alt-8270 Ace Barksworth, Earthen Ambassador & Distant Admiral 10d ago

Fuck it. I'm not defending from anyone right now, and my other current mission ain't that complex, so I'm in. I'd especially like to deal with that sadist- I got a bad history with the sadistic sort, so kicking his ass back to the confines of a lump of nerves oughta be cathartic.