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Tweak says, "It's a Daktari stool!"

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Honor (aka Tazendra) ([info]baddecisiondzur) wrote,
@ 2011-11-10 23:00:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Since Aerich helpfully posted the full text, you can refer to that, though he leaves out the bits before Aerich shows up. This is also the first memory both Aerich and Tazendra have recovered.

I'm going to combine this with another memory, because I'm lazy, and that one doesn't add much, since it happens all offscreen.

So, Tazendra is literally entering her front door when... explosions everywhere! Magical assault! Shields down! KO!

She wakes up in a cave, with two women near her. One is this Grita, who Honor has previously remembered as an enemy, but hasn't remembered the face of -- well, she's clearly a mix of two Houses, which will be the first such person Honor has remembered. The other, a Phoenix, Tazendra feels like she should know, but is blanking on her name... it's Illista. Tazendra remembers enough to know she doesn't like Illista and finds them an appropriate duo -- look, people I don't like have come together in one place, so I can fight them!

Grita and Illista threaten her a bit, and Tazendra jokes and banters right back. She's not too concerned, even when they're all 'we're going to kill you and your friends and, since your friends aren't here, we're going to start sending them your body parts until they show up'. Also, she can't move, because magic, though the spell they are using to trap her has to come down if they want to cut at her. But, well, she'll think of something.

Someone shows up at the cave; it's Mica! Grita and Illista, even after hearing that Mica is Tazendra's servant, still let him watch without even tying him up, because... well, he's a Teckla, what's he going to do, hit them with his stool? Apparently someone called the Enchantress sent him looking -- he had been at Dzur Mountain.

Grita and Illista mention this cave was one where Zerika had appeared from, specifically after she had gone to the Halls of Judgement (where the gods live, reachable through the afterlife) to get the Orb back. Since this spot is a weak patch between worlds, Grita and Illista were summoning a Jenoine for Kana. They can banish it once Kana's Emperor, of course.

Now, this strikes Tazendra as a Bad Idea because she remembers what the Jenoine are: nasty and powerful aliens who created the Dragaerans for their own reasons, who would dearly like to come back to their world, except the gods and the Orb keep them out. Invoking them to win a succession battle is a bit like breaking out a nuclear bomb over a zoning dispute.

Anyway, Aerich shows up, and here Tazendra gets a bit worried. See, Tazendra doesn't care that much if she dies -- not that she's suicidal*, but that she normally both doesn't think much about the future and is more concerned with the quality of her life rather than the quantity**. OTOH, not only does she love Aerich, and have a duty towards him, but she also knows that he's walking into a trap against people that outmatch him: even if he knows Grita has magic enough to best Tazendra, he can't deal with a effing Jenoine. So she actually calls out to warn him off -- not that Aerich doesn't know he's walking into a trap anyway.

Grita releases the spell so that Illista can remove Tazendra's ear in front of Aerich, and Tazendra uses the chance to try to make her daring attack... Illista knocks her down, but she can signal to Mica to attack. This is why you pay attention to Teckla with blunt weapons, even if they are also stools. He gives Illista a good whack, and Grita runs him through with her knife. Before he dies, he tells Tazendra and Aerich that Grita and Illista killed Srahi (his wife) during their assault to kidnap Tazendra.

Grita, seeing that they have lost control of the situation, borrows some power from the Jenoine and makes herself and Illista invulnerable. And then uses magic to throw Aerich against the wall and crush his lungs. And gloat to Tazendra.

Then Piro and his friends (and the former bandits) show up. which makes Grita release her hold on Aerich. Tazendra uses the distraction to retrieve the knife from Mica's body and try to kill Illista... but stupid Jenoine invulnerability spell.

Grita decides that the best way to piss off Aerich and Tazendra even more before she kills them is to kill Khaavren's son and the rest of the rescue party in front of them. Illista for her part is also gloating over the fact she can kick Tazendra's ass when Tazendra only has a knife and Illista can't be hurt.

Tazendra, meanwhile, is flipping the fuck out. She's past banter and joy of fighting and into sheer berserker rage. She's probably aware Grita is killing everyone one by one, and that Illista is cutting chunks out of her, but she. doesn't. care. All she wants to do is kill them both.

She grabs at whatever power she can -- presumably Elder Sorcery, but the narrator freely admits that Tazendra is enough of a magical badass that she might be doing something else entirely -- and heats Illista's sword red-hot to get her to drop it. Then throws everything she has magically speaking at the spell protecting Illista.

Illista realizes that Tazendra is enough of a badass that the protection is actually weakening, so she screams at Grita to do something! So Grita uses her own magic to shoot Tazendra in the back. Tazendra is so fueled by rage and magic that she doesn't seem to notice until after she crushes Illista by her own protective spells.

She turns around, meets Aerich's eyes as he's trying to stand, announces 'Do you know, I believe I have bested a Jenoine in single combat?', smiles sweetly, and falls over dead.

* Though her team might disagree considering her normal amount of recklessness.
** All other things being equal, she'd like a long life, but she'd take short and awesome over long and boring.

What Honor Learns
-- I am the most badass wizard ever!
-- ... Also, I'm dead, because last time I checked, most people can't live with holes in their torso.
-- Gains a lot of magical badassery, both attacks and defenses.
-- A bit of how Zerika got the Orb.
-- The Jenoine are scary people, but I can kick their asses!

I wasn't sure where to put this memory in her registry, since Tazendra did die a happy woman, but this is probably the most rageful she ever gets -- so it got shoved into Negative. She also doesn't remember that Aerich is further injured by Grita and dies, but... well, if she remembers Aerich told her earlier indirectly what happened, she'll realize he's dead. Which... that's not fair at all! She killed one of her attackers and was the most badass, so he shouldn't have died to rescue her!

Also, it's a good thing she remembered this well after Lenalee's nightmare, because that hit several of her pings: watching her friends die in front of her is the best way to hurt Tazendra. Before she woke up, Illista said the only way they'd get a satisfying revenge is if they killed Tazendra last and made her watch as they killed Aerich, Khaavren and Pel, because... well, see note above about Tazendra not placing her own life in high priority. Hell, you remember before Aerich showed up, Tazendra is joking with people who want to kill her in pieces and think that summoning the setting equivalent of a Great Old One is a perfectly reasonable way to go about it.

(Also good that she remembered this post Heart-Run. Tazendra normally turns fear into rage, and Mirror's mongoling blocked that pathway. She can cope with it better here.)


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