Topic: Re:

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-06-24 20:29 EST
Michael had been out walking that day. Ordinarily, the Wraith wasn't comfortable in daylight - his venue had been the shadows for so long that Fred had joked that he must have turned allergic to sunlight. So, just to show that Wild West gunslinger, he had taken to making rounds about town during daylight hours.

It's strange to him, still, though. When you're used to the city, the chaos and noise and constant striving to survive, not knowing who to trust and who not to trust, always watching your back no matter what, even with your friends...

He needed to get away from the other Guardians. He's still in that mindset, no matter how he tries to get away from it. Even his own sister, at times, had managed to leave him high and dry a couple times. His own blood!

It's hard to think about that. The last time had been the last straw, really - he hadn't spoken to her for more than a year before he took that final plunge into the portal that had led him here. And now, here he is, walking around Rhydin and trying to convince himself that here, he can find a better life, a more noble cause. And, it seems, he has it.

If only he can find a place to clear his mind.

That thought has no sooner crossed his mind, than he feels it.

Magic.

It is a sensation he is more than passingly familiar with, despite not being able to use it himself. It's one of the many tricks he's learned, more than he cares to count...or reveal.

He touches that focal point inside himself, tapping into the power that lays within, and access his sight, bringing to the forefront his ability to see the astral as he looks around. And like a beacon, it stands out, a web of energy that shines as bright to him as a star, not more than a couple blocks distant. Whoever worked that out must have some serious power, indeed.

But what really stands out to him the most is the sense of peace and protection it radiates, more than simply the power. That is something new - most of the time, a ward of that size and strength would simply scream at him, 'STAY OUT!' This one is...well, in a sense, it's almost welcoming...beckoning him in. He is walking towards it before he even realizes it and as he enters the web of energy, there is something that steals over him.

A sense of peace. As if he belongs here. As if he can finally stop watching his back...

Shariane

Date: 2009-06-28 19:24 EST
Oh, Hawk Brother, stead fast friend; Cast you song upon the wind. With your sure and healing hand Draw the magic of the land.

She had slept through the afternoon and into the night. It was only at the appointed hour did she awaken, refreshed with a feeling of accomplishment. She made her way to the bathing pools to clean up and ready for a day of healing. The mini vale and heartstone she had created was a good thing. A place of healing and peace.

She was a healer first and foremost. Her power was put to healing and restoring the balance to a land in need. She could not do more than a little breakwater in the midst of the chaos that was Rhydin. Yet, it was a good thing.

Seek magic for the comforting, it brings the week and poor, What hate destroys with bitter power, a healer may restore. I know the lore of darkness, it has touched my deepest heart But love can build a haven and give hope a place to start.

She stepped through the doors of the clinic and headed to the courtyard as Wraith was taking in the sensation. She held silent, allowing the man before her to find his center within the peace of this mini-vale. She studied him carefully, finding a person that was drawn into the peace. She chose then to speak up, "Welcome to the Riverview Clinic." Oh, Hawk Brother, stead fast friend; Cast you song upon the wind. With your sure and healing hand Draw the magic of the land.

With your wise and gentle hand teach me so I understand.

(Lyrics by Mercedes Lackey. Song Title "Hawkbrother", Album "Shadow Stalker: Songs from Vanyel's time. This album and others can be purchased from http://www.firebirdarts.com/)

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-06-30 15:52 EST
He had begun by walking around the small vale, observing it in detail. It's a habit his adoptive father, so long ago, had ingrained in him, and perhaps because he has been doing it for so long, it is automatic. Know your environment. Mind your surroundings. Always be aware of that which is around you. As he walks around the vale, his astral sight scanning the area, he is able to see - with ease - the focal point - the pedestal with its large fragment of crystal. Interesting, that. He approaches it carefully, not too close - bad things happen when a focus is disturbed, THAT he knows too well - and sits, looking at it intently.

He's just beginning to look a bit deeper when the voice invades his senses.

"Welcome to the Riverview Clinic."

He is on his feet in an instant, his magical abilities flaring to life in an automatic, instinctive reaction. He doesn't have Nagamasamune with him, but he doesn't need the magically charged katana - he doubts the ward would have let the sword pass its borders, anyway. From the outsider's perspective, though, in addition to having flashed to his feet in a blur, he sould have seemed to take on a shadowy aspect, becoming fainter, darker, almost transluscent.

As soon as he locates the source of the voice, and processes what it said, he relaxes, feeling a bit abashed. Trained reflexes can be a bad thing, at times - he just can't help going into what Lupinius sometimes refers to as his 'fight mode' when he is startled.

And he really shouldn't have been, he thinks as he conciously shuts down his abilities - he should have known she was there.

Must have gotten too relaxed.

He nods his head to her, his dark brown eyes flickering once with golden light as he looks her over. "Thanks. You did all this?" He's not looking at her astrally - he'd shut that off - but he can hazard a guess. The woman speaks and walks like she owns the place.

Shariane

Date: 2009-06-30 19:40 EST
Her own magical defenses flare to life as she feels him powering up. She make no attempt to draw from the Heartstone though. It is only shields that raise. She watched the power with her mage sight, seeing him in the shadows.

Just as quickly as he raised his defenses, he lowered them as well. Her shielding receded as his power withdrew, leaving the passive shields she always wears.

"Thanks. You did all this?"

She smiled gently taking no offense to his earlier defensiveness. She understood well the reflex. That he chose to stand down spoke highly of him.

"I am the creator of this mini-vale." She nodded in greeting, "I am Doctor Shariane Uth Dravon, one of the Healers employed at the clinic."

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-01 16:24 EST
He nods back, the closest he comes ot a bow for now. Doctors he's all right with...for the most part. "Pleased to meet you, Doctor. Name's Wra..." He stops himself. It's out of long-standing habit that he refers to himself by his street alias - after nearly twenty years running the shadows, you just can't help it at times. As he's about to start again, though, something about her name clicks in his head. He remembers talking to Kaleb about something that had happened when he and Lupinius had tried to help a girl out with getting her sisters free...hadn't the healer that had helped him out been...?

He decides to test it out. "My name's Michael Edward Stanton. I'm one of Gabriel Wolfe's Guardians...in fact, I think he's been seeing your sister, if her name's Onyxia."

Shariane

Date: 2009-07-09 22:53 EST
"She is kin. I do not have any siblings." She said softly. "And please, call me Shar."

She moved towards the heartstone as if floating. It was so peaceful here, yet she was the restless one. This was not her place of peace. There was that flicker of disquiet on her own features.

"This place is open to all that intend no harm."

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-09 23:03 EST
He nods his understanding of that, opening his arms to show that he carries no weapons or means of such. "Though you can no doubt see, ma'am, I have no such intentions. I had been seeking a place to get away from my companions...I find that lately, I have been a bit...restless."

He watches her carefully. He has the ability to move that smoothly, when needs be, but there is something that, even without the many, various powers at his command, he can see is making her...tense. Body language is a killer, as are the subtleties of voice. "It seems I am not the only one who's having that problem today...I'd think this place would be much more peaceful to you than it is to me."

Shariane

Date: 2009-07-09 23:06 EST
"It is keyed to another, for this clinic is her place." She replied softly. "I work here then go back to my vale."

She smiled gently, "I can create these things, but cannot find peace for myself."

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-14 19:35 EST
He looks around at the vale, approving in a glance. Even having been here a short, short time, he finds he has relaxed here a hundred fold by comparison to anywhere else he has ever managed to find, even his old home back on Earth, outside Seattle...his own private sanctuary, one might say, which was not nearly so relaxing as this one.

At her words, he smiles, but looks puzzled. "You say you can create peace for others, but find none yourself?" He shakes his head at that, smiling. "I know it makes little sense, ma'am, but if I were able to do such wonders as this one, I would be quite proud. And it would give me a little peace, knowing I brought some to one who needs it. This is a truly wondrous place...and yours is a great gift. The most I can manage is the illusion of peace, not the real thing."

He quickly shuts up after that, turning away as though examining the surroundings of this place to cover up the flush that shows in his cheeks. "Sorry...I have a tendency to run at the mouth a bit. I shouldn't be telling you your business."

Shariane

Date: 2009-07-18 14:25 EST
She shook her head, "I enjoying doing things like this. Creating sanctuaries or havens. Yet..."

She looked to the globe in thought. "I give so much and yet long for for once..."

Her gaze traveled to Michael. She feels selfish for even thinking of things that she desires. It is that little bit of shame that prevents her from voicing what she wants.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-20 17:05 EST
He is, by no means, the oldest person around. In fact, by comparison to someone like his fellow Guardians Lupinius and Kaleb, he's an infant. He's probably, in fact, far younger than this lovely lady before him. But he's been around enough, witnessed enough, and become wise enough that, even without some of his powers, he can tell when someone is holding something back. She is, without a doubt...and something else about her gives him the feeling that she's holding it back for shame, that she feels she shouldn't want anything for herself.

Still, what he says next is not to get her to voice what she was going to say, despite his curiousity, but rather, to impart a bit of wisdom he had learned from someone else.

"Again, not that it's any of my businees, ma'am...but an acquaintance of mine once told me that it's a great thing to help others, to give what you can. And you should be happy doing it, which I can see you are. But there's nothing wrong with wanting something for yourself, as well. In fact, sometimes it's a good thing...you can't make anyone else happy if you don't do the same for yourself, sometimes."

Shariane

Date: 2009-07-22 19:38 EST
"Again, not that it's any of my businees, ma'am...but an acquaintance of mine once told me that it's a great thing to help others, to give what you can. And you should be happy doing it, which I can see you are. But there's nothing wrong with wanting something for yourself, as well. In fact, sometimes it's a good thing...you can't make anyone else happy if you don't do the same for yourself, sometimes."

She pinched her nose at the thought. "I only wish that was true for me. Anytime I think I am happy for once, it changes....goes away."

She had that ancient look in her eyes. Old eyes, shimmering. "There are times I think I should join my late husband." The voice was soft. For all her strength, there was times when she felt herself faltering and weakened.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-23 19:48 EST
He simply smiles at that, nodding once. There is, for a moment, a faint gleam of golden light that shimmers in his eyes once as he looks at her, and it is gone again.

"Well, ma'am, I can certainly understand how you feel about happiness. I won't bother to compare counts with you about how many times the same thing has happened to me. Suffice it to say, it's been enough that I haven't been tempted to try for some time, even now that I am no longer a part of a world that has done its best to take everything I had. I'm no longer bother to attempt it - I'll be happy to find a little peace for myself if I can, and to get what joy I can out of helping others."

He finally sits, cross-legged, on the ground, looking up at her. "I, however, have no way of ending my life, to join those I cared about. Even if I could, I would not. You, it seems, do, but let me ask you - and again, it's not any of my business, so if you don't feel like answering a personal question, then do not feel obligated - but what would make you happy?"

Shariane

Date: 2009-07-23 21:34 EST
She lowered herself to sit within the grass of this little vale. Those eyes close a moment as she considered her words. How can she say what she feels without sounding like a petulant child.

Here goes...

"A partner that will not leave after a short time. A gentleman that won't use me for sex then chose someone else for his affections..."

The eyes shimmered even more. "I have to admit I am jealous of those that can find that happiness. And I hate feeling that way."

It didn't register on her that she was unloading on a virtual stranger. Sometimes that friendly shoulder was needed.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-24 11:55 EST
He bows his head to that reply, as well as her voicing her feelings. He can certainly understand those, at least. His eyes gleam from within with that golden light once more as he looks her in the eyes, a sad sort of look on his face.

"You shouldn't hate yourself for having human feelings, Shariane...even though you are clearly not human in the way I am, you only want the same things everyone else does. It seems to me that you haven't had much luck in that area."

The look of sadness seems to intensify for a moment, then is gone again, as though he realized he might be letting a little too much show. A force of habit, brought on by long and bitter experience in a world where such emotion can be used against you, often in the worst ways. One of these days, he'll find someone he can let that guard down around.

Maybe.

Rather, he looks her over once more, a smile touching his lips for a moment as he does so. He is, after all, a man, and despite his tendency to close himself off from others, he's not dead. "You are not the only one to have gotten the short end of the stick in the love department...I've had similar problems, though where I'm from you can't realistically expect anything better from anyone, no matter how much you may want it. Trust and commitment are not virtues in abundance where I used to live. But I'd think you wouldn't have much trouble, if you don't mind my saying."

He winces to himself, though it doesn't show outwardly.

Now what in the hell have I gone and said that for? Here she is, just looking for a sympathetic ear, and I get all flirtatious. Idiot.

Shariane

Date: 2009-07-27 13:22 EST
Was her flirting with her? She restrained the urge to ask that questions as she listened to his words.

"I am far from innocent in that regard, so I suppose this is karma for me. I had a past of being....not so loyal in my affections up until I met and fell for Airius."

She glanced down a moment and glanced back up. "I have been losing myself in my work. This little sanctuary was a gift to a dear friend who has put her heart and soul into making this place a success. With all the turmoil having been handed to her by those that would bear false witness against her, I thought to give her something that would be an aid."

She gestures to the vale within the clinic. "This is the result. Here the staff and patients can come to rest and be at peace."

Her eyes glitter then, "There are a number of children with chronic and life-threatening ailments....This will give them a chance to know a little beauty."

That was the crux of it too. Not having that shoulder to lean on after a hard day of treating the broken bones and beaten bodies of the littlest victims of violence. Those days were few and far between but they weighed heavily on her.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-28 20:41 EST
He listens, all the while listening more to what is not said than what is spoken, as the saying goes. He did not come here seeking friendship of any kind - in fact, he usually shies away from it.

Friendship can be deadly, where he's from.

But then, he reminds himself, he's no longer in the Sixth World, no longer in a place that is ruled by shadows and corruption and greed. Where trust is so precious a commodity that it practically doesn't exist, even if (especially if - it's bought and paid for.

Isn't that what drew him out and about today' He's been trying to get away from that, to find a place to think and be at peace and try to figure out how he can get past the old habits of thought and feeling that he has settled himself into the past twenty years or more.

In short, his problem is much like hers - he has no friends, not even the Guardians he works with. They have given him a cause to work for, a noble calling, but even they he has trouble being close to.

Finally, he shakes his head, a rare grin touching his face. "If it is at all any consolation, Shariane, you have done a fantastic job with this place. We don't have places like this where I am from - there are places just about as nice, but they are still perilous and you can't hope to find much in the way of peace there."

Those dark eyes flicker for just a moment with that inner golden light again as he regards her, the smile staying on his lips a moment. "If I may be so bold, Shariane, it seems that what you need more than anything else is a friend to talk to every once in a while...an ear to bend, as we used to say back in my world."

Shariane

Date: 2009-07-30 10:58 EST
"If I may be so bold, Shariane, it seems that what you need more than anything else is a friend to talk to every once in a while...an ear to bend, as we used to say back in my world."

She smiled at that thought. "I would like that very much, Michael." Friendship was something to be cherished. "I'd say we would both benefit from such a friendship."

"Especially with how sweet Onyx is on your Gabriel." She knew exact whom Michael had referred to, even though no one had told her. She understood the power of true names.

"You are welcome to visit this place." She smiled softly.

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-07-31 13:07 EST
He chuckles at that, shaking his head. He had talked to Kaleb to get that particular bit of information, but hadn't gotten any details. "All I know is that they're together...one of the other Guardians told me that. Among them, I'm...well, I'm sort of the loner of the group, you could say. Old habits, I'm afraid...as I said, trust is not a commodity in abundance where I'm from, and I'm still learning. It might be nice to learn from someone who is able to create places such as this...despite what you say, you seem to know a lot about what puts people at their ease."

He looks around the vale, a smile on his face. "It is nice here, though...I feel as if I could spend some time just sitting and appreciating it, though I usually like a place that's a bit more private, rather than in the middle of a medical clinic...I wouldn't want to be intruding by dropping in unannounced, taking up a space that is meant for others."

Shariane

Date: 2009-08-07 18:07 EST
"It is nice here, though...I feel as if I could spend some time just sitting and appreciating it, though I usually like a place that's a bit more private, rather than in the middle of a medical clinic...I wouldn't want to be intruding by dropping in unannounced, taking up a space that is meant for others."

She nodded, understanding completely where he was coming from. "I maintain a similar place of my own. It just feels so empty sometimes."

She looked at him in all seriousness. "I am looking for a place I can truly feel as though I belong."

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-08-07 19:14 EST
He nods to that, chuckling. "Aren't we all, Shariane? I myself have been seeking the place I belong in for quite some time. I had found it once, but...well, that life is over now."

He regards her for a long moment, dark eyes locked on hers, a contemplative expression on his face. Ever since coming to RhyDin, he had likewise been seeking that same sense of belonging. He had thought to find it with the Guardians. Insofar as that goes, he has found a purpose, a reason for being and a mission that suits his purposes with them.

But he still hasn't found something else.

"A home..." he says softly to himself as the thought crosses his mind. This vale almost has that feel, but of course that would be ridiculous - it isn't his place. And he cannot make it so. Shaking his head slightly, he sighs.

"I'd like to help you find that, Shariane...although, I'm not so sure it's something one finds, so much as it finds you."

Then another thought crosses his mind, one he hadn't considered. His old home had been magically keyed to himself - his brother had helped him with it, had done the appropriate casting in the place he had found for it. For a moment, he is temtped to ask Shariane if perhaps she could help him with something similar...

But then he stops himself. Magic of that level comes at a cost, a fact he is all too acquainted with, and he doesn't know her well enough to ask that kind of favor yet.

"If possible, I think I would be happy to help you find what you are looking for, ma'am. After all, that is what friends are for, and we both seem to be seeking the same thing."

Shariane

Date: 2009-08-09 10:10 EST
You know I'm a dreamer, But my heart's of gold I had to run away high, So I wouldn't come home low Just when things went right, It doesn't mean they were always wrong Just take this song and you'll never feel left all alone

Take me to your heart, Feel me in your bones Just one more night and I'm comin' off this long & winding road

This is the one time that she allowed the impulse to guide her actions. She rose gracefully and looked for an available arch or doorway. There the entrance to the courtyard perfect for what she wanted. "Come with me please, I have something I wish to show you. I would suggest you shield up."

She flagged down a security officer briefly and she murmured to him to keep people away from the door. She took the extra step to keep people safe should they pass by the courtyard. She knew the dangers this spell could pose to those unaware.

The most danger spell she knew was the Gate spell. The spell was so powerful, if one did not shield properly the weather of the surrounding locale would be greatly disrupted. If one did not have a clear picture of where they were going, one could be lost in the void. If the caster didn't prepare properly, it could be deadly.

I'm on my way, Well, I'm on my way Home sweet home Tonight tonight I'm on my way, I'm on my way Home Sweet Home

Her home was the location of choice. She kept an archway within her vale to serve as a gate terminus. Decision made, her first action was to layer additional shields around the courtyard. This was for the protection of those outside the courtyard. The level of power would hit even the marginally sensitive like a freight train; not to mention disrupt the local weather. The additional shields would prevent those effects.

You know that I seem to make romantic dreams Up in lights, fallin' off the silver screen My hearts like an open book for the whole world to read Sometimes nothing keeps me together at the seams

The preparations were easy within the shields of the courtyard. Even the self-assessment told her that her energy levels could sustain the Gate long enough. It was then she began drawing on her own reserves. The spell would not allow her to draw on the node energy within the vale. The power had to be drawn from her personal reserves.

The energy levels surrounding them increased as she focused her will on opening that gate to the Vale. The image in the doorframe was of a lush clearing within a deep forest. The clearing contained a home and several amenities including bubbling springs.

I'm on my way, Well, I'm on my way Home sweet home Tonight tonight I'm on my way, Just set me free Home Sweet Home

She tilted her head to the gate beckoning Michael to step through.

(Home Sweet Home, Motley Crue)

Michael Stanton

Date: 2009-08-09 11:16 EST
He takes that advice to heart. Shielding is a necessary skill to have for even the most menial of magically talented folk, and the first time he had run into higher-level magic he had found out why, the hard way. Even with his magically-enhanced healing and his brother helping him along, he had been laid up at home for a week.

It only takes a moment of mental preparation, reaching into that deep well within to tap into the reserves of magical mana readily available to him. The first time he had attempted shielding was long ago, and he had found the experience very draining, though each time he had done it since it had become easier. Now there is only a twinge of what his brother had always called 'feedback' as he pulls the sheath of energy around him.

Thoughts of his brother are always painful. He remembers what it had been like, seeing the sacrifice he had made to try and stop an evil being, only to have it fuel the being's strengths. And after so short a time of being reunited...

He shakes those memories away. Now is not the time to be distracted.

He can feel the power building up around him, and sets his teeth against it, building up his own shields layer by layer. To him, that sort of buildup has always felt like a combination of biting on tin foil and a static charge - unpleasant, certainly, but not unbearable.

He's never seen a gate spell, though, and just as he finishes his own protection, she casts.

He's never really understood how that works, though he has a better idea since gaining the power of illusion from his own Amulet. But if the sheer amounts of magical energy that battered his own shielding are any idication, the images he can weave are small potatoes when compared to something of this magnitude. His own magic, other than illusion, serves to enhance his own physical strengths, rather than perform feats like this.

He has to admit, he's impressed. Following her lead, he steps into the gateway, and out into Shariane's vale, looking around.

The sight is breathtaking, not unlike his own back home, though the vegetation is different. His 'power place,' as he had called it, was mostly evergreen vegetation, and rather than bubbling springs his had been next to a lonely, pristine stream that had likely not been seen by man in decades, if not centuries.

But there had been power there, and a sense of peace that was all he had ever wanted when he had needed to get away, to be at home.

What strikes him most similar about this vale is the same sense of peace that he had felt there. As he looks around, a more genuine, wistful smile shows on his face. "This is yours?"

Shariane

Date: 2009-08-19 19:13 EST
The gate snaps shut and she takes a moment to gather herself. She looks close to collapse but holds herself up well.

"This is the home I built for me and my children."

She looked around equal part proud of her work and lonely all the same. As she brought him towards one of the tree dwelling a small lizard-like creature came up and fussed at her, pressing a mug in her hands.

"Michael, This is Greesha. With out her and her mate I don't think I could maintain this."She made a face as she sipped the Willowbark tea. "They have done so much that they are literally family."