A Sin in the Night (Jodd)

OOC: I deny all accusations that the title of this thread was inspired by Quark's character. >_> It's actually inspired by several factors including: The time of day this takes place, which personae is going to be in control of Gorin for the fight, and a verse from one of my favorite songs.

BIC: Dear Jodd,

I’m sorry that it has taken so long for me to get hold of you. I’ve been rather busy lately, and was thus unable to send you a letter. Anyway, this letter concerns the Oblivion Alliance.

I promised you that I would give you another chance to join, so here’s that chance. Meet me at Thorango Village, and come prepared. You might also want to write a will in case you don’t survive.

Sincerely, Gorin.

Gorin folded the letter, sealing it with hot wax. Once the wax dried he handed it to his domerri, Jeorrod. This scenario was all too familiar. Gorin would give Jeorrod a letter, he’d deliver it for him, and the Oblivion Master would go off on some kind of dangerous quest.

The neo-echo used his appearance changing ability to look like a human wearing a bowler hat and a trench coat. The form had a semi-bald head, with a single ring of gray hair going around the top. No facial hair could be seen, although his eyebrows were rather bushy.

“This should be a good enough disguise,” Gorin said, his voice changing to match the new form. The deep-throated voice of a man in his late seventies emanated from his mouth. He straightened out his trench coat, materializing a cane to go with it.

“Good, now that I look like an aged politician, I should be off.” The Oblivion Master snapped his fingers, calling the imp Frank to come over with his horse drawn carriage. The neo-echo patted a horse on the head before entering and sitting on the plush red seat.

“Where to?” Frank asked. Although the imp didn’t realize it, Gorin heard him mutter and curse under his breath. Gorin lifted a cigar to his mouth, lighting it with a cheaply made match before answering.

“Take me to Thorango Village. I have a business appointment there,” replied the Oblivion Master. He took a deep puff of his cigar and leaned back. It was beginning to grow dark, and it was about to start pouring out…

OOC: Sorry for the short intro. My CJ's with Gorin are severely lacking at the moment.

OOC: My first battle for a very long time. Give me a while to shake off the rust...

BIC: Jodd cracked his fingers. Grabbing a knife from his bench, he pried the wax off the letter, and read it quickly.

Dear Jodd,

I’m sorry that it has taken so long for me to get hold of you. I’ve been rather busy lately, and was thus unable to send you a letter. Anyway, this letter concerns the Oblivion Alliance.

I promised you that I would give you another chance to join, so here’s that chance. Meet me at Thorango Village, and come prepared. You might also want to write a will in case you don’t survive.

Sincerely, Gorin.

Jodd recalled his previous battle with this mysterious member of the Oblivion Alliance. He had waited anxiously for word about the fight, but after a while, forgot about it. His new job in the village potion shop had kept him busy enough to forget lot's of things. He had almost forgotten the kindness shown to him from an old man who saved him, he had even forgotten what his old master had taught him. He felt guilty, in a way. People had tried to help him all his life, and he went and forgot about them.
"Well, time for me to start remembering!" He stood up, and walked out of the potion shop, amid cries from his boss, and headed to the inn he was staying in.

Jodd took his staff off the wall. A thin film of dust covered the blue orb, and he blew it off.
"Now, let's see..." Jodd practiced for the first time in a long time. The knotted wood felt easy in his hands, and he tried to cast some simple spells.

After being reassured by the fact that he remembered how to cast magical shields, and throw bolts of lightning, he sat and meditated, thinking about the battle that faced him. His mind flashed back to the phrase: You might also want to write a will in case you don’t survive. He sensed in his last battle that his opponent wielded great power, but was puzzled as to why he didn't exploit it to it's full extent.
"Don't let your mind wander," He muttered to himself, "Focus on the task at hand." He returned to trying to devise new methods of spell-casting, and trying to figure out how to use his magic without getting tired, a skill that had long eluded him...

As dusk set in, Jodd arose silently from his sitting position on his bed, and walked calmly out of the Inn. Thorango was only a small village outside of the city walls, and it didn't take him long to get there. He waited near the center of the village. Two old ladies stood in the square, gossiping. An old man leant against a post opposite from Jodd. Jodd got the feeling that he was being watched, but the old man just stared at the ground.

Only a few minutes after the old ladies left for home, the man called out.
"Are you waiting for something, boy?"
"I am, sir. It might get quite messy though. Maybe you should leave for home?" Jodd called back. Then the man laughed. It was a deep, throaty laugh, that made Jodd shiver.
"If things get messy, my boy, I'll be the one making the mess!"

OOC: And it's all you. You get to start the fighting! YAY!

Gorin grabbed the tip of his wooden cane and yanked, unsheathing the blade that had been hidden inside the walking aid the whole time. Retaining his old man form, the Oblivion Master moved into an offensive stance with his blade held horizontally over his head.

“Let’s see what you’ve got,” Gorin said, returning to his usual appearance. “Jodd. Let’s make this fight a verrry interesting one.” The neo-echo changed the hilt of the blade from the top of a wooden cane to a pure silver, elegantly decorated hilt.

The bottom of the hilt was adorned with a pure silver snake’s head, a grand jewel inside its gaping jaws. The rest of the hilt was designed to look as though it had scales, adorned with small jewels. The jewels were varied between rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and amethyst.

“You like it?” Gorin inquired. The blade was the most detailed weapon he had ever created, and reminded him of how he used to have a single, specific weapon. Of course, he could probably make a more decorative weapon if he wanted to…

“Oh well, I’m going to lose it in just a few seconds…” he thought. The former god slashed the blade through the air a few times to warm up his arms. He cracked his knuckles and spoke.

“Here’s the catch to this battle. I won’t be fighting you exactly,” Gorin cracked his neck. He could already feel him beginning to take control. “You’ll be fighting my… significant other, White Light. I’ll be exactly the same, but his fighting style is a bit different than mine. Survive until I regain control, and you’re in the OA.”

Before Jodd could utter a word, the Oblivion Master went into a series of bizarre twitches and convulsions. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, something that was unusual when White Light took control. Before he even had complete control, White Light forced Gorin to use his appearance changing ability.

His hair became a pale white, his face and body following suit. His clothing morphed from the simple black clothing that Gorin usually wore to pure black armor. Two completely non-functional wings sprouted from his back, looking like the wings of a raven.

His eyes changed from yellow to a brown eye and a green eye. The new looking Gorin, now fully under White Light’s control, smirked. He was going to have some fun.

“Nice to meet you Jodd. This is the first time Gorin’s willingly allowed me control. I hope you know that I’m not as merciful as he is.” White Light said. He lifted the serpent blade that Gorin had created, pointing at Jodd with it.

The thunder mage fired a bolt of lightning at the new threat. White Light didn’t seem like the kind who would take advantage of the neo-echo’s practically godlike control over all elements. Fortunately for Jodd, that was true.

Rather than absorb the attack, WL rolled out of the way. Of course, not absorbing the attack didn’t mean he hadn’t absorbed any elements. He let out a blast of wind element to blow Jodd off his feet.

OOC: Yay. Fighting. I'm not sure if I'm portraying Gorin/White Light as well as you might like. Can you give me some feedback as to how I've done him so far?

BIC: Jodd flew back several meters before landing on his back. He scrambled to his feet, but White Light/ Gorin did not take advantage of Jodd's moment of weakness. Jodd had silently cursed himself after releasing his lightning bolt, not remembering Gorin's ability to absorb elements until after the magic was released, but he was relieved to see White Light hadn't absorbed it.

As Jodd rose to his feet, White Light started walking towards him. The walk became a jog, and then a run. Jodd flung himself out of the way as White Light slashed downwards. His blade sunk deep inside the earth.
That would have cut me straight in two! This guy really is merciless! thought Jodd. White Light had managed to free his blade, but before he could turn, Jodd leapt to his feet and threw up a magical shield. Whitet Light walked calmly over to Jodd, who stood still, staring into Gorin's eyes, transfixed. White Light raised his sword, and swung again. The blade smashed into Jodd's magic shield with devastating force, shattering it, and sending White Light back a few steps. Before Jodd could recover, White Light back-handed him in the chest, sending him flying into the air and landing bodily on the ground, about 20 feet away.

Jodd pushed himself upright, blinking to clear his eyes. He leant on his staff for a second, then used it to help him stand. White Light began walking towards the mage again. It was now obvious to Jodd that fighting up close was a very bad idea. Taking a proper stance, he flung two lightning bolts in quick succession towards the beast in control of the neo-echo. White Light jumped over the first, and leapt to the left to dodge the second. Another idea came to Jodd. He started throwing lightning bolts at White Light, but purposely made them weaker, and tried to make them slower and easier to dodge. As he fired magic, he stepped backwards slowly. White Light dodged the bolts of magic easily, until Jodd managed to hit him on the arm with a faster moving lightning spell.
"Is that it? That's all you've got? I've been wasting my time dodging this child's sorcery!?" White Light now strode purposefully towards the young mage. He no longer bothered dodging the lightning bolts, and let them strike him on the chest, leaving no damage at all. Jodd almost grinned, then prepared a proper spell. Drawing as much power as he could, he released the glowing bolt towards White Light. White Light didn't bother to dodge this spell either, and took it head-on, but had under-estimated Jodd's power. The spell hit him hard, pushing him backwards, but he maintained his balance, his feet skidding along the earth.

White Light and Jodd now stood 20 feet apart, holding fighting stances, and glaring at each other...

OOC: You’re portraying White Light perfectly. Cruel, sadistic, a bit proud, greedy, and basically whatever you think an evil villain would act like.

BIC: WL looked at Jodd, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. The evil entity morphed his body to resemble the teen, something that had absolutely no effect on the battle itself. Then again, many people find fighting doppelgangers of themselves to be disturbing.

This whole time he was using his mindscan technique, copying Jodd’s ability to use lightning magic. To top off his impersonation, he dropped his current weapon and created a staff that resembled Jodd’s own. The Mind Embodied ran his finger across his new face, marveling at how smooth it was.

“You know,” he said, perfectly matching Jodd’s own voice. “Most people torn by war and battle have rough skin. Yours is fairly smooth.” His hand now ran over the scar on his right cheek.

“Hmmm? You misfired a spell eh? Not very bright then,” WL stared at the palm of his left hand, smiling as he noticed his fingertips changing to match Jodd’s. He smiled one last time before launching a surprise attack.

The Mind Embodied launched several small balls of lightning at the surprised Blue Mage. Much to WL’s disappointment, Jodd raised a barrier in time to stop the attack from frying him. On the contrary, the balls were launched back at WL.

The evil entity ducked under the attack and charged, well aware that he still had his usual strength. Despite having an appearance that perfectly matched Jodd’s, and similar powers temporarily, he still had his own strength, durability, and speed.

WL brought his staff down on Jodd, intending to crush the young man’s skull.

OOC: It's really late after I finished this, and I'm not in prime writing condition, so I'm not thinking very well at the moment... Please reply, and I'll try to correct any spelling mistakes and re-word some stuff if there's any confusion. I'll keep the gist of this post the same though, so your next post will tie in all right.


BIC: Clack! Jodd raised his staff to meet WL's imitation of Jodd's weapon. Jodd pushed with all his strength, but was unable to fight against the evil being for more than a few seconds. WL swung his staff around, jabbing Jodd in the stomach. Jodd took several paces back, and WL swung his imitation staff like a golf club, connecting with Jodd's chin with a loud crack. Performing a full back flip in the air, Jodd landed on his face in the dust.

Jodd felt warm blood trickle down his neck, and he tasted it's metallic tang in his mouth. He couldn't feel his jaw, and was unsure as to whether it was broken or not. White Light wasted no time in preparing to finish Jodd off with a lightning bolt...

Jodd was quickly able to recognize what WL was doing. His body, his actions, they were familiar to him, he knew them inside out. That was his advantage. White Light was not accustomed to Jodd's body, and did not know the intricacies of Jodd's magical powers. As White Light continued to draw energy to attack, Jodd drew energy to defend himself. In the exact same moment, WL released a trememdous thunderbolt, and Jodd produced a magical shield. Brilliant yellow collided with translucent blue, as Jodd prepared to match his magic against himself. Jodd hoped his knowledge of his own magic was going to be an advantage to him...
"You can't hold it for long, beast." Jodd said, trying to use as little energy as possible.
"Defensive magic uses less energy than offensive magic, and summoning that much lightning in one bolt uses much more than I would ever risk using!"
White Light was confident that he would be able to out-last the teenager, who was beginning to show signs of exhaustion. Sweat ran down Jodd's face, mixing with blood. The salt stung at the mage's open wound, and he grimaced in pain. Tiredness also began clawing at White Light, though he expertly kept his face neutral. With each passing second, he felt more and more energy drain away.

Jodd was no longer able to hold his shield. He felt light-headed, and his legs felt heavy. He withdrew his magic shield, and allowed White Light's lightning bolt to strike the end of his staff. The blue orb absorbed the energy becoming heavy as positive ions filled the magic stone. Jodd saw his chance, and before WL could break away, he used the energy built up in the orb, flung it towards the neo-echo. WL tried to increase the power of his own lightning bolt to combat Jodd's, but his spell was forced backwards towards him. When the spells hit WL's mockery of Jodd's staff, WL was flung backwards. The neo-echo righted himself mid-air, landing in a crouching position, but immediately realized he was weaponless: His staff lay on the ground, right between Jodd and the White Light's copy of him.

White Light growled at Jodd. Like Gorin, he was greedy. Unlike Gorin however, WL didn’t know when to stop listening to greed and start listening to common sense.

“You’re just a kid, you can’t possibly outlast me!” he shouted. The evil entity materialized another staff, using Jodd’s lightning ability to charge up another blast. He didn’t seem to notice that Jodd was indeed using much less energy than he was.

“Die!” WL shouted, unleashing a crackling ball of lightning in the Blue Mage’s direction. This one was much less coordinated than the last one, and the mage easily sidestepped it rather than bother using a defensive spell.

The Mind Embodied locked his face into an angry sneer, already feeling the effects of magic overuse. He, unbeknownst to Jodd, materialized a throwing knife to use with his free hand. The imitation leapt upon the mage, attempting to club him to death with his staff.

Jodd sidestepped the attack, striking WL with a lightning bolt. At the same time however, the entity released the knife. It missed Jodd’s vital organs, although it did manage to knick his shoulder.

White Light crouched down, breathing heavily. It had been a while since he’d used magic, and he was feeling the exhausting effects even more now. Either that, or Gorin was forcing him to hold back a little bit.

Unsure of the reason, and not exactly caring either, WL decided to change his strategy. He used his mindscan technique again, this time purely for the memories. It didn’t take him long to find a good form.

The imitation of Jodd slowly morphed into a new form, one resembling Jayara. Psychological warfare was always his thing anyways…

OOC: Sorry for the short post. I'm not having a bout with writer's block but rather, insomnia. I can't get a good night's sleep anymore...

OOC: Exams are finally over! Also, I noticed that Gorin has died. Is it okay to finish this battle?

BIC: Jodd flinched as WL took the form of his old guardian. He knew that WL was not the real Jayara, but it brought back floods of memories. He remembered the faces of the slaughtered people of his settlement, how they had moaned in their death throes. WL changed again, this time taking the form of Kayeel. More memories rushed to Jodd. He took a step back. WL smiled inwardly. He changed forms, one last time. Into Taila.

That was too much For Jodd. He dropped to his knees, tears springing to his eyes. He shook, his mind attacking itself with the horrible images of what had happened to the onlt family he ever had. WL grinned, and stepped forward, preparing to finish the battle.

Jodd suddenly flung himself upon WL, scratching and punching, trying desperately to hurt him. Wl took two steps back, under the sudden weight of the lightning mage, before throwing him to the ground. Jodd rolled, and sprung to his feet, rushing at WL again, common sense and tiredness lost in his rage. He swung his staff wildly, charging the end with lightning. WL crouched, awaiting the headlong charge.