Tag Archives: Rask

Frostbite Keep Seen

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The group has passed around the guard post a while back. Tonight they are going to camp before arriving at Frostbite keep tomorrow. The group is a couple hours from their camp for the night. Alexis addresses the group.

“Before we go in, Red and myself will get the blessings of greater insights of the college of Raiden. This will boost the two of us for half the day. And to keep more in reserve, I figure we won’t pass tracelessly or detect who might be scrying on us.”

“I’ve been thinking about what we’re going to do in the keep. As the holder of the Tear, I’m going to be the target for cunning opponent. For this reason we should shift who gets more protection. My bare thoughts: Gus shields myself and Red. And I stand right next to Gus so I can heal him if he gets too low.”

“I’m a little torn about who gets your Bothers in Arms, Carm. But as the holder of the Tear, I think I should have this extra protection.”

“Gus, I might call on you for talking to any animals in the keep to get more information.”

“Red, you’ve been keeping a ether-form spell for yourself. You might need to make a quick getaway with as many Tears as you can carry.”

Alexis keeps discussing with the group about who they might find in the keep. The possibility of Sheyeeni, Thraan, or anyone else they’ve encountered along the way. Alexis reminds the group of the other tools they have, including Old Sava stones and Gustav’s arrow with the lightning bolt.

Alexis asks what else they might have missed in the conversation up to this point.

Horns? Not Six Arms. 3 gems.

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In camp, after the stone shepherd and the stone sheep, a natural snow storm brewing, Rask catches Alexis attention.

“That creature in the stone carvings back there, you talked about the gems it had seeming similar to ours. But it’s not Sagi? Not the six-armed creature right? But it had horns?”

“Gus felt like there was something special there too…”

Rask looks over at Gus.

“Horns, not antlers.. What do you think it was?” Rask asks Alexis

By Raiden’s Grace

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Rask’s prayers have become more fervent and more frequent since leaving Mount Llanos. They settle into a more familiar rhythm as the days pass. Prayers to Raiden upon waking. Quiet, muttered prayers when relieving himself, near a tree or bush or some sort whenever possible. Before eating. Before his excercises. While he exercises.

His exercises are precise, focused on powerful moves, and more and more deadly strikes as the group gets closer to the keep.

More prayers after his exercises. Prayers before sleeping. Prayers while cleaning his equipment.

Rask cleans himself and his equipment thoroughly when he can. Snow, ice cold water, warmed water, mosses and small boughs all get used to scrub the warrior, his arms, armor and clothing. He sharpens his blades and trims his hair and beard. His hair and nails he burns or buries with a prayer to Raiden to protect him and let those parts of him feed the trees and plats of the land. He mutters prayers over his waste water and preferentially pours it out near small trees and shrubs.

He prays with Ca’armine, Gustav and Alexis whenever possible and appropriate, always inviting Ethelred to join them.

With the group Rask talks a bit about tactics, staying focused on “Sassy” and “Bandy”, but needing to protect each other. His idle one-on-one conversations with Ethelred revolve around spell craft, rune and tattoo-magic, and the concentration required to cast spells during battles. With Alexis he prays to Raiden and explores the same ideas and gently hints at inquiries related to warrens and divine and arcane magic. With Ca’armine, it is prayer, Raiden, and the use of miracles in battle. Rask doesn’t really understand much of what they share about magic, but he tries.

Throughout it all, when Rask utters his own prayer, or leads prayers, he repeats:

Praise Raiden, The Great Protector,
Raiden Shields us from our Foes,
I stand before You, weak and vulnerable.
Raiden shield us all from the blows.
Praise Raiden, Raised by Anashar,
Blessed with Glory, Resolute and Strong
I wield my sword to help humanity
As we make our way along.
The Light of Raiden shine upon Us,
As it shines upon me and all of Aegir
Let it shine on me, and through me,
Let the Light purge the taint of my soul.

Some man the wall. We keep the watch behind it.
We find the rot before it shows.
We begin with ourselves.
What we find, we pull up by the root.
We remember what is worth saving.
We do not bend. We do not break. We hold.

Praise Raiden, The Great Protector,
Raiden Shields us from our Foes,
We stand before Him, made strong by Raiden.
None to save them from our blows.
Praise Raiden, Raised by Anashar,
Blessed with Glory Resolute and Strong
I wield my sword to help the Humanity
Blessed by Raiden, Resolute and Strong

Dream Web From The Heights

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The group is camped on the platform three hundred feet up. The inscription “they never came” is close-by. Rask has filled Alexis in on the watch. When he’s done, Alexis is quiet for a moment.

“I had a dream.”

He keeps his voice low.

“A thorough darkness. Then a red web in front of me. One thread vibrating, glowing slightly. Then I’m moving down it; following it. At the end of it, mist which I passed through. Couldn’t see anything, but I could feel stone all around. And weight above. A lot of it.”

“The mist thinned but never lifted. Utiog was there first. Beautiful, but badly wounded, and crowned in iron. She was moving slowly, haltingly, like every movement is painful.” He pauses. “Then another woman set against her. Middle-aged. A majestic queen, cloaked in smoke, so I never got her face. She was bound to her throne, and whatever was binding her was coming off Utiog. And she was fighting it. Fighting it hard.”

Alexis looks down and notices he has his holy symbol of Raiden in his hands.

“And above both of them, the Crone. Empty eye sockets with constellations in them. She towered over the whole scene. She was speaking to someone, but as a spectator I don’t know what she said.”

“When I woke up the ring and the tear are pulsing, seemingly in the same rhythm.” He glances up. “And the crone was there. Closer than in the dream. Then she faded. But she didn’t get any further away.”

He looks back at Rask.

“I’ll tell Carm when he’s up.”

He starts getting ready for his watch.

Spellcraft – Starting from Nothing

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After a few days of working on Gus’s leather armor and before Ca’armine’s ritual, Rask changes the subject from armor design on Ethelred:

“Red, I was wondering… I noticed you pay close attention when other people cast spells and it seems like you can tell what kind of spell they are casting without using magic of your own? Can you teach me how to do that? It seems like our enemies use spells often, it seems like it would be helpful for me to learn some of their tells.”

Protect and Serve

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Rask holds Ca’armine’s shoulder when the priest of Raiden wakes him for his watch on the platform.

Rask looks into Ca’armine’s eyes and speaks queitly, “A moment please.”

After a few minutes Rask nods, his thoughts Gathered.

“Ca’armine, what we have… won’t they come to us?”

Rask shivers a bit, and focuses and quietly prays to Raiden to shield his mind

“If Sassy can sense it he will come for it however he can, right? That probably means Bandy…”

“We are don’t need to target them, they have targeted us right? Didn’t Alexis say he could tell Varisimuss was scrying on him, probably from the Pool near Greyfax? Or at least, in that direction. ” Rask nods East and continues speaking,

“There are others who will seek it also, or will when they learn of it.” He turns towards Ca’armine.

“We need to be ready for them to come to us.” Rask says grimly.

Rask looks North, towards the mountains in the darkness to the North and asks,

“Instead of attacking Bandy on his home turf, perhaps we should set a location that is to our advantage?”




We Begin With Ourselves: The Stag Pool

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On the small platform at the end of Rask’s watch, he wakes Alexis, who has the next watch. Rask shares his watch observations with Alexis and then pauses, looks at Alexis with a bit of penitence and speaks quietly so as not to wake the others:

“Alexis, you bade me to focus on protecting Ca’armine and Ethelred and I agreed. After the camp the White Stag led us to, I was focused on protecting you, when you freed us from the call of that accursed inn, it was clear to me that I had been led astray…”

Rask hangs his head a bit, pauses, and then continues.

“The White Stag pool, then the Inn, then Zrithak in my dreams the other night… I am worried that my mind is weak, I have been working to strengthen my will, but I am worried it may not be enough…”

Rask’s concern hangs in the air, an unspoken request for aid lingers between the two men.

Taking on Raiden’s Mission

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Shortly after the group gets to the island, while Rask is on watch. Alexis comes and sits near Rask, looking out over the water.

“Red had Gus’s shield other when he dove into that water, like we had planned. Good for some things, but probably wouldn’t have saved him from being swallowed.”

“In hindsight, one of us should have been closer. I feel awful that I was helpless while gaseous.”

Alexis nods at the mantle across Rask’s shoulders.

“Raiden calls us to protect those in our care. The mantle is a symbol of that.”

“Carm probably needs to be protected first. Red second.”

“Can I count on you for that?”

Alexis waits for an answer from his companion.

Iron Focus

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The morning after Alexis has shared the mantra and symbol of the Inner Watch, Rask wakes with renewed focus. He recites his daily prayer to Raiden and adds the mantra of the Inner Watch at the end.

His exercises are efficient, powerful, precise. His physical and mental existence aligned like never before.

When he is done, he catches Alexis and Ca’armine’s attention and approaches them.

“Brothers, ‘in the spirit of ‘We begin with ourselves,’ I have had an insight I would like to share with you. My path has been driven by a need for vengence for Thater, recently I have been focused on Shasharak, I believe in part because of my anger at being Dominated by his shadow in the round room of lightning. Even without the Black Blade, I have a weakness for anger and rage. I pray to Raiden that my anger be righteous and not pull me from my Path. I share this recognition of my weakness and ask you aid my in guarding against it. Thank you for all your guidance and support, up to and after this moment.”

Rask bows his head and offers a prayer of gratitude to Raiden.