Species (according to Ursa):
25) Afrit
- Earth and fire creatures
o Big stature – average height of 7-8 ft tall
o Bodies made of soapstone and graphite
§ Ooh sparkly!
§ Composition changes with age
· Kids = all soapstone
· Adults- mix
- Live off gases from decomposing elements, such as carbon
o Mostly live and stay underground
o Children are especially kept underground when made of soft soapstone
o Time above ground is dangerous due to abundance of oxygen
- Have enormous wings of fire
o Requires them to live in ruins and caves with healthy supply of oxygen, carbon, and methane
o If they don't have continual source of decomposing elements, they can't maintain their wings
o Strength and color of wings reflects their health and strength
o Since wings constantly burn, they assist in the creation of fertile land
§ ? – is this like the slash and burn farming method?
§ ? – wouldn't too much of their presence destroy the land?
§ ? – if their wings are actually burning, do they produce carbon dioxide?
§ ? – would breathing be difficult around them?
o Too much time above ground runs risk of Afrit burning itself and its surroundings up
- Female Afrits are stronger than their male counterparts
o Strength is double- edge sword here
o Women can't leave underground or ruins
- Professional eavesdroppers
o They often listen near surface to the creatures talking on the surface
o Use the insights and knowledge to appear like they can read minds and see future
§ Soooo uncool!
- Avoid rainy, snowy, and heavily forested places
- Prefer deserts, steppes, and Plaines
- Tend to be very friendly within their own communities but distant with strangers
o Deep-rooted feat of "magic"
o Their body compositions make them vulnerable to spells
o Avoid Spellbinders and other spell users
§ An afrit who kills a spellbinder is a hero
§ An afrit who controls a spellbinder is a destined leader
· These both sound terrible to me
· *NOTE* avoid afrits
The bodies of her three friends fell to the ground with heavy, dead thumps. Chenoa was too stunned to scream or cry or make any noise. Shoj turned her to face him. His eyes flashed with pleasure.
"You must belong solely to us, Precious," he explained as Relyt wiped the bloody blade off on the sparse grass. "We can have no competition for your soul and heart."
Still too stunned, Chenoa could not even think of a response. Every part of her was numb. Shoj stroked her hair, admiring the surprise and shock plastered all over her face. She was a beautiful creature. Their children would be powerful, if Relyt and he could come to agreement on whose children she would bear first.
Enthralled by the blood, Relyt panted and paced for a long moment. His blood lust pumped through his veins and he felt his whole body tingle with excitement. Rushing over to Chenoa, he shoved Shoj out of the way. Grabbing her by the shoulders, hard enough to bruise her, Relyt kissed her passionately. By Luoja how he wanted to ravish her right then and there so that her screams could be forever combined with the smell of her fallen companions' blood.
The kiss and the smell of her friends' blood on her body from Relyt hands seemed to cause something to snap in Chenoa, sounding more like a mighty cracking then snapping sound in her mind. Images, power, heat, emotions flooded her body like a broken damn. Shoj took a step back as he saw her soul flare up larger than he had ever seen a soul, blazing a hot purple streaked with burning white. Something big was happening. Had her soul been freed for his taking?
Relyt, too engrossed in his own lust, did not notice the change his MagicTeller half was warning him about. Chenoa's body glowed with white light as her eyes darkened to deepest black as if her pupils had expanded to cover her irises. A pulse of power burst from her, knocking everyone within a mile radius of her down. Relyt recovered quickly, roared, and lunged at her, striking her. However, this time Chenoa did not even react. Her eyes widened and an unholy screeching sound escaped, tearing at Relyt's clothes. Flexing his claws, he attacked her again.
His heart pounded with rage, lust, and excitement. He would teach this bitch a lesson then force her to submit as his woman. Striking Chenoa, he laughed as he saw blood gush down her cheek. In a moment, though, the cut glowed bright and disappeared. Furious, he slashed at her again and again until she struck him away. Hitting the earth, he made a two-foot-deep depression. Staggering to his feet, he let out a screeching yowl of a cat as his body shimmered and altered.
Relyt transformed to his primal form. Standing at fifteen feet tall, Relyt loomed over Chenoa and the few remaining Kuolema that had not run off. His form was of a gigantic tiger with black fur and silver strips. His eyes blazed onyx black from his feline face as long silver fangs bore at Chenoa. White flames of the hottest fire rippled off his back and tail, while his deadly long claws dug into the earth, tearing it like tissue paper. He would not be made a fool of by a woman, let alone a human Spellbinder. He would destroy her and take her as his woman in any and every form he chose.
Leaping at her, Relyt ignored all his MagicTeller senses, which were begging for him to stop and run. They told him she was dangerous and unstable, but he did not listen. With mere flicks of her wrist, he was thrown here and there, yet he kept coming.
"You think you can defeat me?" he howled, sweating dripping down his sides. "You could not even save your friends."
Pausing Chenoa looked at her friends, confused as if she did not recognize or know them. Friends? Her mind said. What friends?
Taking this lapse of her attention, Relyt sprung onto her, slamming his front left paw down onto her, smashing her six feet into the ground. A heavy silence smothered the remaining spectators. No one moved. Relyt rubbed his paw harder into the ground. His fur stood on end, but he grinned and pressed harder. Even if she was broken, he would take her.
As if in response to his thought, Relyt found himself hurled into the air. His body was smashed against the nearest building with a sickening crunch, which broke his spine and skull. Falling to the ground, he did not move. From the hole rose Chenoa, her body glowing like a star. Her eyes searched around as she opened her mouth.
Who am I? her voice asked in an echoing distant voice. Why do you attack me? What have I done to you?
Terrified by her, none of Kuolema spoke.
Who am I? she repeated with grief, longing and anger. Tell me who I am!
Blasting a dead tree with her powers, Chenoa screamed in agony.
Who am I? she asked once again, her voice pleading this time.
Lowering to the ground, Chenoa surveyed the land covered with broken bodies from her powerful blast of energy. It pained her to see them. Her eyes continued to rove until they fell upon Lieben, Chris and Roque, their hearts lying before them. Tears poured from her eyes but she did not know why
Please…tell me…who am I? she cried, her voice breaking the hearts of all who heard. Her pain was their pain.
"You, my goddess," a voice replied. "Are my precious. My soulmate. My love."
Sharp teeth penetrated her neck and Chenoa screamed in pain. Shoj had snuck up behind her after watching from a safe distance. She flared up her power, but he held on, inhaling her blood. It was orgasmic to him. Never had such power, pain and pleasure filled his body at once. He knew instantly that this is what the power seal had been holding back. Drinking it in, he clutched at her body until her power grew too great. Throwing him off her, Chenoa turned on him and screeched loudly. Covering his ears, Shoj felt them burst and bleed. Yet he could not look away. He could not stop smiling. She was an angel of death and he had never seen something so beautiful.
Holding her arms out, Chenoa sent another blast of power, knocking out all within a mile radius. Shaking, Chenoa blazed in the night sky, making all the stars and moon look dim. Tears poured down her face.
Who am I? she wailed. Please someone tell me! Why do I feel such pain? Why can I not remember? Who am I?
For a long time, Chenoa wandered in her blazing sun form, the ground burning and healing simultaneously as she crossed it. She searched through the city as if she knew it. All the inhabitants had been knocked unconscious by her power. Those who managed to avoid it hid from sight, shaking and watching in fear. She repeated her question of identity again and again, pleading for an answer. Her body burned as she walked. The skin turned red and shiny from burns then healed. Yet then it would burn again, and then heal again.
She tried to touch those who were unconscious, like Kylmä, Pimeä and Lapsi, but their bodies tarnished as her heat got too close. If she did touch them, they would disintegrate. Loneliness consumed her as Chenoa tried to recall who and what she was. No one came to answer her questions though. No one came to save her from herself.
After several days, Chenoa found herself tiring but unable to rest. Sleep was all she wanted, but she could not sleep. Returning to the river, Chenoa stared into the distance. She could see a castle there. It was grand and familiar. Leagues away, Chenoa felt as if an answer was there. Someone who knew what and who she was. Heading towards it, Chenoa stepped onto the surface of the large river.
"Chenoa!" a voice called, scared and worried.
Stopping in the middle of the river, Chenoa looked back, the water supporting her on the surface. A man stood there; she felt she knew but she couldn't give him a name. He had the most beautiful prism green eyes with long white hair that flowed around him despite there being no wind. Her heartbeat briefly at the sight of him.
"Oh, Chenoa," he whispered, looking her over. "Oh, no, Chenoa…your seal broke."
Do you know me? She asked in her echoing voice. Do you know who I am?
"Yes…you are Chenoa Rose. You are my friend," the man replied, his voice catching.
Who are you?
"I am Tristan. I am a Nonelement."
What am I?
"You are a good woman. A strong woman. You are so many things that I could not possibly name them all."
Why do I feel lost?
"Because you are lost."
Why?
"Because of me. I led you astray."
Why?
"Because, Chenoa, I love you with all my being. Because I hate you with all my being."
Did I hurt you?
"Yes."
Can I fix it?
"No."
Did I know I hurt you?
"No."
What am I to do?
"Nothing. You are to do nothing but rest and be young and happy."
I cannot rest. I have tried. I do not know how to be happy. I feel as if I am waking from a long slumber.
"You are. Yet you must slumber a bit longer."
Why? Why must I slumber? Why must I be lost?
"Because you are not ready for this. You are not ready to remember. To see the truth."
What truth?
"The truth about the gods…"
The gods? What is the truth about the gods?
"They are dead, Chenoa. The gods are dead."
Blinking Chenoa felt like this meant something to her. However, she could not figure out what it meant.
Am I god?
Tristan said nothing.
Am I dead?
Again he said nothing.
Who do you love?
"What?"
Who do you love? Me as I am now or the me when I slumber.
"I love you both."
Tristan's voice cracked.
Yet you wish me to slumber.
"One day you will be the same person. Please allow that to happen so you will stop being lost."
If you love me as you say, I will slumber. But you must help me wake again with my other self so I can stop being lost. So I can stop sleeping. Do you promise?
"Yes, I promise."
Then I shall slumber, but, Tristan, in the future do not lie to me.
Caught off guard, Tristan did not know what to say.
The gods are not dead, not physically anyway. I can feel them calling to me. They are coming, Tristan. They are coming and he follows behind them.
"He? Who is he?"
Half of the beginning.
A black pulse of energy shot out and all that was broken was healed.