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Post by Artaxerxes Hirren on Jun 3, 2007 21:04:05 GMT
Crimson droplets pooled on the floor, collection together to form small pools of the life giving liquid, blood. Tired eyes gazed down at the callus and cracked palms, so familiar to him. Sea work might toughen his hands, but not against this. Gritting his teeth, he set his exhausted gaze on the target in front of him, stretching only ten metres from his fingertips.
His hand, now bare of the usual rings, lying on a table behind him, were raised on front of him, his left hand fully outstretched, his right rather closer to his chest. His palms faced the target, worn fingers curved in towards his palm. Although no one was there to notice, the pirate captain’s jaw set with a look of grim determination, rarely seen before, as he allowed the feeling of power to build.
It took a few seconds before anything was noticeable, but the glimmer of light that appeared on his left palm was gone in an instant, the only trace of it, a tiny, smoking hole directly through the target, bulls eye. Well, not quite the only trace, another grunt of pain from the captain suggested that it left more than a mark on the canvas-covered straw.
“I don’t see the point in a power that burn me, father…” He murmured to himself, silently cursing the power that had been passed down through the generations of people. He might have had more talent and aptitude for the magics than any other, but he hated them. It wasn’t going to stop him knowing. Each person had his or her own, different power, and if he knew how to learn, he could pass it on. It was the rule that all had followed.
This power was perhaps his only real offensive strength, and it infuriated the drunken pirate lord that to use this power, he had to sacrifice his own blood. A few red cuts and sears were left, a little blood still slipping from the torn skin to show the price he paid to even practice.
His hand fell to his sides as he stood, in the dark, looking at the target as though it had wronged him personally, that this inanimate object was the cause of all the pain, and therefore needed to be vanquished. A deep sigh left the weary, all too sober captain as he waited to see if he could face another shot of this terrible arrow.
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Post by Aaminah Gulbadan on Jun 5, 2007 13:34:55 GMT
]Aaminah walked quickly towards the exit of the Training Halls. She had only come this way because it was the quickest route back to her metal-making tent. Usually she took her lunch to a more secluded area in Hirren, one that she assumed no one knew about. It was the only time during her day that she felt she could really get away from things. It helped clear her head.
Just as she was about to make her exit to what she deemed as "safety", she noticed a man in the shadows. It wasn't the man that intrigued her, but moreso the arrow he held. She had never seen one like it.
Pulling her sweater around her for extra warmth, she approached him hesitantly and noticed the blood on his skin. Her own curiosity was sometimes her undoing, but it never stopped her from seeking out the answers.
With a somewhat soft and shy voice she said,
"What kind of arrow is that? I've never seen one like it before...."
Aaminah held her breath and wondered if she shouldn't have just continued on and kept a distance from this man. He seemed to look like one of the pirates. Her mother had always warned her about them but she wasn't one to go by everything her mother warned her about. If she did that she would've already been dead, or close to it.
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Post by Artaxerxes Hirren on Jun 5, 2007 14:00:46 GMT
He had raised his hands once more, forming yet another shard of light against his palms and has he was about to release it at the target, to follow through yet the same hole as they all had, in the exact centre, he heard a voice, making him loose all concentration, he did not loose the arrow and it faded into darkness, the pirate captain turning to see the woman that had spoken.
He looked over the woman that stood, watching him, a little distance away. She seemed a little nervous, but the way she spoke told him that at least she hadn't heard of his reputation yet. Beofre he even answered, he began to wrap the leather straps that he usually used to cover his scarred hands after training, back around them, working on it as he spoke. "Magic. You're in Hirren girl, surely you could guess that."
The moderation of the town had never even seen magic leave the palms of the captain, an there were few people that had ever seen that technique, the single on that had passed down the ages, only to the heirs of the first pirate captain, few had ever seen it leave the fingertips of this man, and those that had were mostly dead.
"You ought to be careful, sneaking around, catching pirates off guard, you don't know what will happen to ya."
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Post by Aaminah Gulbadan on Jun 5, 2007 14:13:33 GMT
"Magic. You're in Hirren girl, surely you could guess that."
Aaminah blinked and chided herself for not realizing it sooner. Of course, she had no ability to use magic as most Hirren did so she wouldn't recognize it as quickly as someone else may.
"You ought to be careful, sneaking around, catching pirates off guard, you don't know what will happen to ya."
Aaminah heard the pirate's last comment and sighed with a slight annoyance.
"For your information I wasn't sneaking around. I walk through this area every day. I just happened to notice your arrow, that's all."
Aaminah took her bow off her shoulder, strung an arrow and shot at the nearest target. The arrow hit the center of the target with ease and percision.
"You don't need a magic arrow to make your target."
For good measure, she strung another arrow and hit the center of the target yet again just to prove her point. She then turned, gathered her arrows and headed back towards the pirate, intending on leaving.
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Post by Artaxerxes Hirren on Jun 5, 2007 14:26:04 GMT
He smiled, maybe you didn't need a magical arrow to pierce a target, but perhaps she hadn't looked at the smoking hole properly. It passed all of the way through the target, whereas the normal arrow sat on the surfacem quivvering a little still.
Not only that, but the wall behind the target showed the damage of his arrows, deep gouges out of the wood, charred from the burning light arrows that disappeared once used.
"Perhaps not, but my arrows will cut through their target, all the way through." He sighed and began to pick up his own things to leave, lifting his coat from the table next to him, reattaching the long and ancient sabre that he always carried.
"Anyway, it's not like I chose it..." He hated this power, the damage it did to his hands, the way it worked, the powers it had, and even just the fact that his father had used it.
He seemed disheartened for a moment before brightening himself up to his usual state. "Do I know you? I know most of the people in Hirren, and most recognise me." He asked, he realised that she didn't recognise him as the city's leader, of if she did, she took on after Ixchel and simply didn't care. He did know most of the people that lived in Hirren long term, but more so, he knew the young women of the area better.
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Post by Aaminah Gulbadan on Jun 5, 2007 15:21:01 GMT
"Perhaps not, but my arrows will cut through their target, all the way through."
Aaminah shrugged and said, "But both arrows accomplish the same ending, do they not?"
Aaminah raised her right eyebrow and swiped a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Do I know you? I know most of the people in Hirren, and most recognise me."
Aaminah looked harder at the pirate to make sure that she didn't recognize him. She nodded her head negatively and said,
"I don't recognize you...I generally keep to myself. I find its safer that way. However, since we've already met I suppose the polite thing to do would be to introduce myself. I'm Aaminah Gulbadan."
SInce the man was now out of the shadow, Aaminah was able to see the scratches on his face and hands. She grimaced a little as she realized that he must have been using his own blood to make the arrows.
Not being able to use magic herself, Aaminah had learned to get along without it. Some people looked down on her because of it, but she didn't care. She had accepted the fact that she couldn't use magic a long time ago.
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Post by Artaxerxes Hirren on Jun 5, 2007 15:34:24 GMT
"Hmm, I wondered..." He muttered, rather more to himself than the other woman. He didn't want to describe the useage of his arrows really, he himelf thoguht it was pretty hopeless, but it saved him carrying around a bow and running out of arrows, anyway, he used his Flintlock more.
"Ah yes. Pleased to meet you Miss Gulbadan." He bowed down and smiled, his dark kohl lined eyes staying in contact with hers. As he arose, his allowed his right hand to fall to his hip, resting it on top of the heavy coat he had put on moments before.
The burns on his hands and the cuts that the shards of light caused him were perhaps one of the reasons he never used it, and he had never found a use for the attack unless he had run out of time to load his flintlock, besides, he hated the responsibility it reminded him of.
"Well now, Miss Gulbadan, I am Captain Artaxerxes Hirren. Leader of the Circle of the Trusted." His words gave a slightly slurring feeling, as if he had been drinking earlier, or perhaps this might have been the day after. It was simply his manner of speech and always had been.
Not that he hadn't been drinking yesterday, or even earlier, but that was usual, the flaskof rum on his hip was not there for decoration, after all.
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Post by Aaminah Gulbadan on Jun 5, 2007 20:13:46 GMT
"Well now, Miss Gulbadan, I am Captain Artaxerxes Hirren. Leader of the Circle of the Trusted."
Aaminah's eyebrows went up in surprise when he introduced himself. She hadn't recognized him in the shadows, but then again she wasn't all too familiar with the Circle of the Trusted. Sure, she remembered her parents talking about them, but she had never really paid attention.
Aaminah blushed at her own naivety and said, "Oh...I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. Like I said, I generally stick to myself."
Aaminah adjusted her bow so that it sat more comfortably on her shoulder and then said, "Well, I best be getting back. I have to fill an order before sunset today. My client won't be happy if its not complete. You should stop by whenever you get the chance. I pretty much able to make anything that involves metal."
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Post by Artaxerxes Hirren on Jun 5, 2007 20:23:41 GMT
"Ah don't worry. It's a relief that at least some people don't recognise me. Means my reputation's gone down a bit." The captain gave her a smile and walked towards the exit. "A metal worker, very nice. Why do you specialise in?"
He wondered if her hands were as rough as the metalworkers he knew, those were nearly bad enough to match his, covered with a few burns, cuts and calluses of those who participate in the physical trades.
He turned and looked at the young woman, secretly examining her, wondering why he had not noticed her. Even if she kept to herself, he was likely to have seen her once or twice before.
"Surely you have time for a drink before you call back off to work now? Keep a captain drinking his wounds away company?" He smiled at her, pushing back the dreadlocks from his face, letting them rest back over his shoulders with a jingle of silver rings that were fitted to some of them.
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Post by Aaminah Gulbadan on Jun 5, 2007 22:45:40 GMT
"Ah don't worry. It's a relief that at least some people don't recognise me. Means my reputation's gone down a bit." The captain gave her a smile and walked towards the exit. "A metal worker, very nice. Why do you specialise in?"
"Oh, everything really. Mostly I make ship parts. Knuts, screws, you know, the works. Like I said, I work with anything that deals with metal. It was my father's business...none of my other siblings wanted to take over."
"Surely you have time for a drink before you call back off to work now? Keep a captain drinking his wounds away company?"
Aaminah looked hesitantly at the door and then back towards Captain Hirren. In truth, she still had about half an hour before it was necessary for her to go back. She supposed one or two drinks wouldn't hurt much.
"I suppose...I can spare half an hour. But I'm not too keen on alcholic beverages...I prefer a milder drink."
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Post by Artaxerxes Hirren on Jun 9, 2007 11:22:58 GMT
Non-alcoholic. He paused for a moment, trying to think where they could possibly sell that, somewhere he knew of. He doubted it. "Well then, any preferance where to go?" He asked, now walking out of the door.
He held the door open for her to follow him, racking his mind trying to think of somewhere they could go. There was a cafe ish thing along by the coast, if he remembered rightly. He went in once, mistaking it for a bar only to be removed rather coldly by the woman that had been a friend of his mother.
"Very nice. Will I know your father. I know most of the older blacksmiths and such like in the area. I had to look for a long time to find one that would work on my ship." It had in fact been difficult to locate anyone with the skills to make things just as he wanted and he might very well have passed through the man's shop on the off chance that he might make some of the pieces.
((Sorry I took so long to post. I've been procrasinating.))
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