Who: Fistandantilus (aka Possessed!Raistlin) and Maia What: Wizard's Duel When: End of June Where: Local park Rating/Warnings Low to medium for magical violence Status: Complete!
The being calling itself Fistandantilus wasn’t the real Fistandantilus from Krynn. He (or it) had been created as a byproduct of the Dreams Raistlin Majere had had. Perhaps it was whatever powered the Dreams, or perhaps the Ice Stones Raistlin’s sister had given him for Christmas, something had given him not only life, but sentience as well. It was an odd feeling, this life, with memories of a world he had never been to. His memories as well access to Raistlin’s own. He knew the young mage better than even he himself did. He knew what he thought, his ambitions, his desires, and most importantly, his fears.
After the debacle at the Hanged Man, in which Raistlin had somehow -- and annoyingly – had asserted his presence, Fistandantilus had spent the next 24 hours repressing the other soul, binding him deep within. He had originally thought he’d destroyed the other, weaker, soul. Apparently Raistlin hadn’t been quite as weak as Fistandantilus had thought and wasn’t about to allow himself to be snuffed out. Therefore Fistandantilus bound him in a continuous nightmare to relive the same horror again and again and he could be there for all eternity as far as the old mage was concerned.
Once that was complete and Fistantandilus had used the Ice Stones to heal the injuries he’d sustained from the pirate bitch, he was back out in this world just to see what it was he could do here.
Maia wasn’t particularly looking for a fight. In fact, she’d had very specific plans involving tea and ice cream this afternoon, that were suddenly derailed by a feeling that Something Wasn’t Right. She stole a broom from a mart, and stole into an alleyway following her senses. It wasn’t actually her staff but it would suffice as an object to direct her magic through.
It wasn’t darkspawn, so her eyes didn’t glow, but the hackles on the back of her neck rose. The feeling led her to a park that looked like it had seen better days. “I realize I’m making the white girl horror movie mistake. But hello?”
Fistandantilus had sensed someone come up on him. He didn’t fully recognize the feeling or the voice, but there was something familiar about it. He’d heard it before, perhaps while he was still lying dormant and simply existing.
He glanced back over his shoulder. Eyes with the pupils pinched to form hourglasses narrowed. He only vaguely recognized the face belonging to the voice. Someone Raistlin had met in passing most likely. Another mage. There had been a time he’d gone out of his way to meet and speak with as many as he could. The question was, what was this particular one doing here now?
“Hello,” he responded. His voice, like the air around him, was icy. Strange eyes moved from her to the broom she held and narrowed a bit more. “What are you planning on doing with that?’
Maia’s grip tightened on the broom. That feeling of wrongness could be placed on that man. He looked familiar, and it took her a moment to place the face to the name. “Raistlin? It’s Maia. We met at the Magic Guild that one time?”
She shivered. The feeling reminded her of any number of foul creatures she’d fought in her dreams, and the broom began to crackle with energy. “Are you okay, luv? Do you need anything? A hug? Puppies?”
Maia. The name sounded familiar, but that was all. Her concern was amusing. Fistandantilus turned fully around. “Oh, I’m alright,” he said as he removed what appeared to be a cellphone from the back pocket of the trousers he was wearing. “But I’m afraid if you’re looking for Raistlin, he isn’t here any longer.” A swipe of the thumb over the smooth screen of the phone caused it to change into the Staff of Magius. Ingenious disguise Magius had placed on it prior to giving it to Raistlin.
“Now, I shall ask again,” eyes narrowed as the air around the two of them plunged to icy depths, “just what are you planning on doing with that broom?”
“Now that’s a trick I need to learn,” Maia muttered. It felt like she was looking Death in the eye and as someone who’d frequently looked Death in the eye it was still unnerving. “I’ll have some idea if you tell me what you did with Raistlin?”
A blue glow rippled across her body as an arcane shield formed around her.
Fistandantilus raised a brow. It seemed as though Maia was smart enough to defend herself at least. Well good for her. Her concern for a man she barely knew was a little annoying however. “What do you think happened to him?” he sneered back at her. “You are looking at his body, but you are speaking to me.” It should take a genius to figure out. “Does that concern you?” A smile pulled Raistlin’s mouth into a cheshire grin. Already he was making the necessary calculations for a volley of missiles. Just to see if that shield could be cracked.
Another field warbled around Maia, this one less tied to the shape of her body. Morrigan was always the one that was better with ice, so Maia saved an ice shield for an oh shit moment later. Right along with some of her special tricks. She kind of wished she'd studied entropy magic a little more carefully. A sleep spell might have been useful.
However, she vastly preferred fire and lightning, the latter of which crackled along the broom again while heat rose in the palm of her left hand. "I take it asking you to politely leave him alone isn't going to work, is it?"
She lifted her broom and lightning suddenly struck from the sky. With a sweep of her hand, fire rolled along the ground.
“Oh, no,” Fistandantilus shook his head, “I’ve grown rather attached to being able to go and do what as I please.”
At the same time Maia unleashed her lightening and fire, Fistandantilus let go a volley of missiles aimed at that shield around her body. This was more like it. The fire even made him smile. He could do that as well. The missiles were quickly changed to fireballs sent at her in rapid succession.
The first missiles weakened one of Maia’s sheild, and the fireballs washed over her. There was a cracking sound like glass as the shield broke. Maia darted to the side, twirling the broom around. A gust of wind tore across the park, twisting the swings into mangled metal. She took cover behind a set of monkey bars, and debated conjuring up an inferno or lightning storm. That was over kill, wasn’t it? “Tell me that did more than just tickle you.”
The Staff of Magius struck the ground creating a barrier of sorts around the old mage. It was enough to protect him, but not quite enough to prevent him from being lifted off the ground and hurdled towards a thick tree. Fistandantilus managed to twist around in order to catch a limb and keep from being hurdled into space. The bark was rough against Raistlin’s palms, scratching them as well as his bared arms quite severely.
The woman was powerful, that much was now very clear. Very well, Fistandantilus would hold no punches here. He felt the younger mage writhing deep within. Perhaps he should be allowed to see what was happening. What fun that would be.
“You managed to draw some blood with that,” Fistandantilus called back to the woman behind the monkey bars. “Congratulations.” A hand went into his pocket and closed around the Ice Stones, summoning their power. He raised a hand towards the monkey bars and uttered a word in the language of magic. An icy dome started to form over the jungle gym.
“Seriously?” Maia tossed some fire at the dome as she escaped from her cover. “Remind me to get a refresher in ice magic…”
If she made it out of this, anyway. She held her broom out, clouds whirling around over the playground as they coalesced into a kind of storm. Bolts of lightning started to strike randomly, Maia drew a knife with her other hand. It wouldn’t do much against this mage, but she had a feeling she might be a little outmatched. Still, she boasted. “I’ve slain dragons and demons bigger than you, love!”
Hourglass eyes moved upwards towards those clouds with a curious look. There was enough metal on this playground to attract that lightening, but best not to push one’s luck. He jumped from the tree and floated like a feather to the ground. Once his feet were again firmly placed the staff came up to is shoulder.
“Dragons, you say?” He said, this time with more interest than taunt. “I have to admit, I’m a bit jealous. That is something you and the boy have in common, it appears. Though, he had a bit of help from his...friends…” he laughed at his own inside joke. “Sadly dragons are a just a myth during my time, but I would have really liked to have met one myself.”
His head tilted a little when Maia drew her knife. Interesting, that. Mages of his world generally didn’t carry weapons. Generally. Raistlin did. As a last resort, a short dagger tucked into his boot, but other than that? No. He was curious what she was planning on doing with that. Rush him? No, that didn’t quite seem this woman’s style.
Oh well. He brought the staff from his shoulder and darted away from the tree. As he ran two dopplegangers seemed to split off from the body and rush towards Maia.
“They’re pretty cool.” Maia backpeddled, throwing a variety of spells at the dopplegangers. She had to be careful not to injure Raistlin, so she wasn’t using her inferno and related spells. Lightning was bad enough.
“Did you know California is known for Earthquakes?” She cracked her Broom against the ground, sending a shockwave through the Earth towards the mage. The spell drained her shielding, and she didn’t have a convenient fiance with -- OH.
“Less so wolves.” She jumped forward, body twisting and morphing into a large wolf. That was really her second to last trick, and nothing else seemed to be working but she’d always wanted to and hadn’t used that magic against the Reapers. She jumped onto a doppleganger, or at least tried to. There was no telling if they actually physically existed.
The girl is going to wear herself out at this rate, the old mage thought with amusement. The amusement was short lived when he felt something twist within him. Raistlin was continuing to fight. Even imprisoned within a nightmare the boy continued to be a thorn in Fistandilus’s side.
It was enough of a distraction that he didn’t catch what Maia was saying about earthquakes until the shock through the ground caused him to topple almost literally head over heels. With the help of his staff, he managed to scramble to his feet in time to see a wolf jump one of the dopplegangers.
The doubles were actually illusions and didn’t technically exist. They had no sentience to get the hell out of harm’s way when attacked. But that was a bit of the point, after all. They were each rigged with a secondary spell that caused them to explode. So as the wolf jumped this particular doppelganger and started to phase through it’s body, it erupted around her.
From where he stood, Fistandilus laughed, his smarting rear all but forgotten.
The explosion knocked Maia into something hard and metal, and she yelped before shifting back. More than her ego was bruised, and it seemed like nothing she did seemed to phase him. She flipped the knife so it was flush against her wrist.
"Raistlin, if you can hear me, I could really use your help."
When she wiped blood from her mouth, there was a moment where there was a buzz in the air. Like if she was pushed just a little farther she'd have to resort to something desperate.
This demon wasn't planning on killing her, was it?
Raistlin could hear Maia. He could hear everything that was going on. He could see what was happening, all through the little window opened up in his personal prison of nightmares and horror. He tried to thrash, claw, kick anything to free himself. But he had no body and the barriers that surrounded him may as well have been made of reinforced concrete.
Fistandantilus cocked his head slightly. He felt a new buzz in the air. A different kind of magic. Oh, this should prove to be very insightful. He was cautious, but as curious as the man whose body he’d stolen, he wanted to see this different kind of magic
“I assure you Raistlin Majere can hear every word you say,” Fistandantilus said. “And I’ve arranged it so he can witness our little duel here. However, as far as helping you is concerned, I wouldn’t be counting on that if I were you. The boy is my prisoner to do with as I see fit.”
He picked the Staff of Magius up at his side. The ball clutched in the claw at the end glowed a bright eerie light. Calculations were being made, power was being drawn and gathered around him. He did not know what Maia was planning on doing and he grasped the stones deep in his pocket in preparation.
The knife slid up her arm, cutting deeply. Blood pour out and a red glow surrounded Maia as red energy passed into the broom. Her hair fluttered around her head as she pointed it at Fistandantilus, trying to freeze the blood in his veins. If she could make his heart stop just long enough, maybe the demon would flee the body.
Watching Maia draw a red line of blood along her arm, Fistandantiuls raised a brow curiously. As he stood watching her, his borrowed arms and legs suddenly felt cold and heavy and then numb. The numbness started to make its way towards his torso. Ah, this must be the blood magic I’ve heard about.
Fistandantiuls was no fool. He knew if that cold numbness reached his chest it would mean the end for the body he inhabited.
“You will go so far as to kill the body of the man you wish to save?” Fistandantiuls asked. Maia’s little trick would surely kill Raistlin, but Fistandantilus himself would remain. He had existed without a body for so long. He could continue to exist as a spirit. But finding another willing host, wearing them down so he again could take over would take so much time and he’d already put in so much time and effort into this body. Oh, it wasn’t perfect, but he intended to fix that.
While he could still move his arm, he raised it and his staff over his head and then arched it around in front of his body. He shouted a word of magic and sent an arch of bluish energy hurdling Maia’s way to knock her off her feet and put an end to whatever spell she was doing.
There was a little thing called CPR and ‘my fiance knows healing magic’ that Maia was counting on. She just wanted this demon to leave the man’s body, and she could figure it out from there. What she wasn’t counting on was the blast of magic that sent her crashing into something hard. She was pretty sure she heard something crack.
Getting to her feet was a struggle she gave up on, and instead she drove the dagger into her other arm.
Something whispered in her ear. Promises of unlimited power. Promises of control, of freedom, of the ability to take this monster out and laugh about it. For the briefest moment, a large shape stood behind Maia. Hulking and spikey with spiraling horns on it's head.
It rumbled, words in an ancient and forgotten tongue. Whatever Maia responded with was lost to the sound of a shockwave as it erupted from where she lay.