The idea had been a particularly simple one, to him at least. Reject the money like his old self would have, instead facing his enemy in a ring like his Family would have wanted, undoubtedly cheering him on for his use of bravado and cunning wit. A fool's dream, Sully admitted to himself brushing off the ache of a recently healed arm and a sore eye. The words 'Suleiman the Stoneheart' still echoed in his mind, stinging at his heart. Had he gotten too greedy, stepping above and beyond his capability? Or had he just fallen from grace?
Rising from bed was the hardest - having exhausted his magic the day prior, Sully felt sick to his stomach, leaning on the wall for support as he dragged himself to the water-bucket and chamberpot. Vomit flooded his throat as he recalled the sight of whom may have been a good friend, her face bashed and mask broken following his outrage. Why had he done it? What had he gained, really? Had he not promised his Maple that the events of his homeland would never again be repeated? More bile followed, leaving Sully weaker than ever as he clung to consciousness. Was all the mental fortification for nought?
Dressing, Sully caught wind of the scar lining his arm - where he'd been slashed. The sight of it left his hazy eye with the prick of a tear. Suleiman the Stoneheart, he had been heralded as by his Dwarven mentors, raising entire statues from the stone, fuelling them with his artistic talent. Had the Usque really owed him anything? Was he looking for employers or friends? Questions drove the Songaskian's mind into a corner, leaving him curled on the floor. His memories flooded back to the time of his possession, and the intense feeling of maliciousness that clawed into his very heart and soul. The sheer need to bring everything around him to ruin - it had resurfaced. No, that wasn't quite right - he'd beckoned it. He willed it forth. He missed it.
Collecting himself after many silent moments, Sully brought his dishevelled expression to the mirror. Tracing the scar running down his eye, he once again recalled the painful details of the fight. Discarding his top, he faced Nara in a duel of fists. It hadn't lasted long, seeing as he cheated in the fight's initial moments. The woman's quick movements saved her a fatal blow, allowing her to deal a few vicious slashes in return, only to be pinned to the floor beneath a pile of rubble. A broken face, a forever scarred eye, aided by a woman Sully had harmed and numerous others. Friends - is that what Nara had? Allies that looked past her many flaws? Could he find the same compassion, despite his rocky start?
The pit of emptiness in Sully's stomach cleared as he looked upon his newfound scars - reminders of his mortality, and his sheer unprofessionalism. Reminders of how his loyal Yanar slave had dragged him through the sewers in his state, only to spend hours tending to his wounds. Rewarding 'Maple' with one of his own favoured rings, Sully dressed with a far more humble smile, heading off into the city. With coin jingling by his belt, the Songaskian felt almost relieved. No scarred man as himself could ever be an El-Amirmoez, and he no longer felt indebted to his heritage, oceans away from home. Looking up at the open city, Sully came to conclude that he could make anything of himself in this strange, international splurge of cultures and personalities. He'd start by making amends. Be it Farah'deen or Regalia, Alcohol solved just about everything, right?
This is a look into Suleiman's aftermath following a particularly pride-crippling battle of his with an IC colleague. The RP event itself was wholly clustered and unbalanced, so I decided to take out some creative liberty out with what I knew of the characters involved and decided to write this little-balanced summary up. Interpret it as you will; by no means was it a 'huge' event, just something small for character development documentation sake.
For the sake of clarity:
For the sake of clarity:
- Suleiman's eye was indefinitely slashed by Nara in the fight, leaving it scarred and hazy, if not blind. His arm was slashed too.
- Nara was battered and bruised by stone magic, with her mask cracked and face bleeding. She avoided most of it given her freelance Turall training.
- The both of them were dragged away by their respected friends to wherever else, not disturbing the current RP continuation.
- Anyone could really claim to be there to witness the fight, as long as you don't claim to have interfered somehow.
- I used pictures of dragons because Dragons are universally cool.
- I'm really bad at apologies, so here's a story.
- Kyou is still wonder-twin #2.
