#marzic monair

[goddesstrolls]

Ref for Marz! I'll have to update his sprites to include some of the details I added.

[goddesstrolls]

"The cloak is more to hide my wings from less kind trolls."

>> You brush aside your cloak and partially reveal your shimmering wings for just a moment. And then- Moving carefully and purposefully so she can tell what you're doing- You unsheathe your sword. You hold it in a manner that indicates she can look, but not touch- It'll burn her if she does, anyway.

>> Akin to an estoc, the long blade gleams as though made of solid light. The handle is carved of black unicorn horn- Given by your lusus- And it's hard to tell if there's metal under the glow of the blade.

"I would not mind a spar, but not with this blade."

>> After giving her a few moments to look, you sheathe it again.

"⚔ I ȼan't say I'm too keen on monster hunting, but you seem like a ȼapable warrior. A deadly one, one who strikes hard and doesn't let up. I suppose I ȼan be like that as well. I'd love to see your move set somenight... A spar, perȼhanȼe? I'm always ready and willing to test someone's skills. And my own, of ȼourse." "⚔ I do love your attire as well. Is it ȼold where you're from? The fur, long ȼloak and suȼh seem to suggest that. And that blade of yours... Seems inȼredibly impressive. Might I inquire what KIND of blade it is? I tend to dabble with all sorts of blades, but my personal favorite will always be the longsword. "Old reliable", as one might say." "⚔ A 9/10 from me, my friend. I wish you good fortune on your travels."

[goddesstrolls]

APEX03//HOWITZER05

Marzic had picked up a contract from the local guild to locate and slay a purported hellhound, but he had yet to see any evidence of the beast.

Extraplanar beasts were a rarity if they did not naturally have the ability to traverse planes, making it a bigger wonder how it even got here.

A mage’s pet, perhaps, either escaped or set on watch duty. That risked Marzic getting on the bad side of a mage, but he elected to first confirm if the beast was what the contract claimed it was.

There were no unusual tracks, nothing scorched, no animals slaughtered and left to rot- What Marzic would expect from a free-roaming hellhound. He had been scouring the forest for hours, and was finally considering giving in for the night.

His sixth sense caught wind of something nearby, and he turned his head in time to see a canine beast darting through the trees towards him.

Its ragged hide was black as tar and oozed with dark fluid. Its maw seemed to shift, sometimes one mouth and sometimes three or more, lined with sharp teeth. Multiple red slits studded its face, eyes narrowed with malice.

Marzic did not recognize it. He could understand why it might be taken for a hellhound, but he had never seen nor heard of one looking like this. It radiated some sort of energy that he could not place.

He drew his sword as the beast lunged, and he slashed at its chest. The blazing blade struck the beast’s front with a flurry of energy sparks and, momentarily, the blade’s flames flickered. The beast rapidly circled Marzic, neither harmed nor apparently fazed by his attack.

Marzic darted back, wings flaring to allow him to hover and grant him extra mobility. He streaked forward, aiming to plunge the weapon into the hound’s side.

The blade stuttered as though it had struck it into solid iron, and shattered. Marzic froze for just a moment in shock- A moment too long, as the beast twisted and caught his forearm in its mouth. Caustic tar ate through his armor and jagged teeth bit his flesh, and he tore away, the hound leaving a smoking and festering bite.

Disarmed, Marzic made a hasty retreat, streaking off through the trees until he felt a place where the veil was thin. He vanished into the neighboring realm, and there he continued to flee for some hours- Before finally returning to the mortal plane, far away from where he had met the hound.

He returned to the guild hall, to report the hound as something that should not be approached under any circumstances and seek treatment for his bite.

Marzic instead found a smoldering crater where the hall had been.

[goddesstrolls]

wild child

marz used to keep his wings open all the time.

[goddesstrolls]

Waking up after a daymare.

[goddesstrolls]

"I don't tend to find myself too welcome in the company of beasts, being what I am."

>> You muse. Though you don't kill without reason- You hunt monsters, the terrifying and the murderous.

"I may as well shear the sheep, spin and weave the wool, sew the fabric and tan the leather all myself at that point."

>> You can make and mend some things yourself, but you're not a tailor for a reason.

"The offer is appreciated, anyway, but you needn't follow through. I did already find a tailor who can more-or-less meet my needs."

>> You don't really need her claiming you have a debt to pay later because you unwittingly struck a bargain, anyway.

"Even thinned and tamed, if you go deep enough you can hide with things without modern names. There's only a few places that I've found like that, but even there I tend to feel a bit out of place."

"I do know someone who herds sheep, however, if you're for want of that. It may take time for my path to cross hers again, but I'll let you know if I do, should I also see you again."

>> The idea of meeting so many people by pure chance in the right order is amusing, but your path does tend to cross those you want to meet again.

"I could send you in her direction instead as well, but she may have taken her flock off somewhere else for the season. You'd simply have to find someone to spin and weave it all more than likely."

[goddesstrolls]

BLAME IS A COWARD BUT SELF-RIGHTEOUS

[goddesstrolls]

>> Damnit.

>> You were hunting a werewolf, a particularly vicious one at that, but it ran into the town. Likely to try to get to their hive and seek shelter, since you wounded it pretty badly.

>> You summoned your mount with a barked word in latin and tried to ride after the beast, galloping through the street at nearly full kilter. It still managed to evade you, though. You pull hard on the reins when you spot someone out and about in this rain, your black unicorn mount skidding to a halt.

"You there! Did a wolf-man or a wounded oliveblood pass through here, within a few minutes?"

[goddesstrolls]

>> You have a sharp tongue, but you'd make it better known if you wanted to kill them for some transgression. Most trolls are deserving of warning and a fair fight- You even gave this wolf warning that you were on the hunt, and he responded by challenging you.

>> You proceed to wrap the troll fully in your cloak, and heft his body onto your shoulders.

"I will bring him to my client as proof that the job is done. And, provided they want nothing to do with the body, he will be examined and either burned, or buried."

>> You have no qualms about sharing your methods, when there's no need to be secretive. A monster hunter willingly sharing her expertise is how you learned, after all.

>> You're always careful with the bodies of your marks. In some cases, it's fine to leave them to decay naturally. In others, they have to be burned to prevent them from poisoning the landscape or resurrecting (Imagine, for a moment, an undead werewolf). Sometimes you inter them out of respect- Usually this is the case with trolls.

The mage, aka you, is far too afraid and yet also a little fascinated to even be considering that at the moment. You’ve never seen a shifter turn before…you didn’t know it happened after death, or even that it could.

Part of you almost feels guilty about watching, but���it’s interesting, even if it’s morbid.

“Ah.” You swallow. “Pardon my asking, but what are you going to do with him?”

He seems…less vicious…than you feared, given how he’s handling the body. It’s very respectful. Maybe he won’t hurt you for having a genuine question.

If he tries, well, you can skedaddle.

[goddesstrolls]

a lil flustered marz, because contrary to how he likes to act the man is not immune to emotions

[goddesstrolls]

Horf

Known as Gwyndolen the Mirrored, or the King of Unicorns. he is here for no reason in particular

(Also he is Marzic's, uh. Companion? Lusus? Not really sure what they are)

[goddesstrolls]

Hunt The Hunter

Marzic flew low through the empty streets, sunlight glinting off his fluttering wings.

Having retained some traits of a rainbow drinker following the breaking of his curse, sunlight didn’t affect him- One of the very few boons of the many sweeps he’d suffered, sleepless, deathless, and slave to unnatural hunger.

He could hunt in the daylight anyway just by asking his lusus for that protection, but he supposed it was nice to maintain the effect himself.

Marzic was after one such mark today- Some mysterious killer, an undead more than likely. Trolls were disappearing during the day, and their bodies were never found.

Tracking was nearly impossible in the city, with its endless stretches of pavement. Marzic instead followed his instinct- Threads of an unusual sense that most trolls had very little of. Seeking those feelings of fear and hunger, and the shedding of blood.

He spied something in an alley. Blood and viscera, and something hunched over it.

Marzic landed near and approached. The alley was a dead end, likely used by the undead to corner its prey. Marzic would use it now for the same purpose.

The undead had noticed him before he even appeared at the alley entrance, but hadn’t moved. It stared at him as he stepped into view, still hunched over its kill.

Bright red eyes gleamed from dark, sunken sockets. The mouth split along the cheeks into a drooling, bloody maw, and hands twisted into black claws. A ghoul.

Marzic drew his sword, expecting the creature to attack at any moment. Mindless, lost to the overwhelming sensation of endless hunger.

The moment he moved the creature sprung- But not towards him. It bounded against the wall and jumped upwards, out of the alley.

Fleeing.

Marzic sheathed his sword. He couldn’t hope to keep up with the undead. Instead he stepped over to inspect the corpse.

There was nearly nothing left, just a few gore-covered bones and blood soaked tatters of clothing. Everything else had been eaten.

Marzic wrapped up the remnants in his cloak to bury. He’d carried worse with it.

—----------

Darric adjusted the lamp above his work desk, and shuffled through the blueprints again. He’d have to triple-check his math again, as he usually did, but the first draft was more or less done. 

He missed sometimes, having others around to check his work. Though he hadn’t had that since he was an engineering student, sweeps ago now.

It was time to take a break, anyway. 

He pushed out his chair and shuffled out of his work room (which doubled as his bedroom, but it was a small apartment, what could he do). 

And yelped as he saw a troll pushing open the sliding glass door of his balcony.

Tall, with straight horns and shimmering blue wings. The same troll he’d seen in the alley a few days ago.

Before he could move, the troll had their sword drawn and the tip of it pressed to Darric’s throat. Darric slowly lifted his hands, swallowing hard.

He was about to die again, huh. And he didn’t think this troll would let him come back this time.

He tried to think of something to say as his final words. No one but this troll and Nayru would hear them. 

“I’m sorry.” It was barely a whisper, his throat tight with fear. The troll’s cold expression betrayed nothing.

And then they lowered their weapon, and sheathed it.

Darric’s gaze flickered around, wondering if there was something else that made the troll decide not to kill him. His half-assed apology for nothing couldn’t have been it. He slowly lowered his hands, hoping he wouldn't get skewered if he moved.

“How often do you kill?” The troll asked. Their voice was as beautiful as they were, calm and low. It somehow surprised him more than the question.

“Uh,” Darric said. “Every day.” He swallowed again. Hopefully that was not a murder-worthy answer.

“And how many?” The troll continued.

“...One. Maybe two.”

The troll hummed faintly. There was no sign of bloodlust in their eyes, not that Darric could see.

“You kill only to subsist, I take it.” Said the troll. 

“Yeah..? Kinda. Nothing really helps…I guess it gets worse if I don’t eat, but…” Darric trailed off.

“You’re a ghoul. Nothing will sate you. But you take to it better than most.” That almost sounded like a compliment.

“So…You’re not going to kill me?” Darric asked.

“You are not a monster.” The troll replied, and Darric felt a sense of doubt before they continued. “There are living trolls who relish in bloodshed, and kill more than you. The fact that you have to kill to survive does not inherently make you a monster.”

But what if I enjoy it, too? A little voice in Darric’s head asked. Like hell he was going to pit that against this troll's logic, though.

Flames suddenly flared along Darric’s shoulders, and Nayru appeared half-curled around his neck.

“Don’t listen to a word he says,” Nayru hissed, burning eyes fixed on the troll. “He’s fae.”

The troll seemed unbothered both by Nayru’s sudden appearance and his words. “I am a monster hunter.” He crossed a hand over his chest, and bowed to Darric. “I apologize for intruding, and for following you. If you can possibly hunt less often, I would advise it. You are drawing attention to yourself, and an undead hunter will find you eventually.”

As they straightened, the troll added. “Your companion doesn’t seem too able to protect you.”

Nayru gave a bad-tempered huff.

“No, I should be able to protect myself, that’s why.” Darric rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease his own nerves. “You, uh… Know a lot about undead, though?”

“More than the layman.” The troll said, sounding somewhat dismissive.

“Can I ask you a few questions?”

[goddesstrolls]

>> You pause for a moment, as you watch the tealblood at the water's edge. With how light your step is, it's no wonder she might have taken you for a doe.

>> You were going to wash your injuries, but you suppose you'll wait for her to be done. In the meantime, you walk up to the shore and kneel. You wince slightly at the motion, before brushing your hair aside with a soft sigh, holding it back so it doesn't get wet.

>> You dip your waterskin under the surface to begin to fill it. The water seems more than clean enough to drink.

>> You half anticipate to be disturbed, however...

"Come here darling."

>You're standing knee-deep in the crystal-clear waters of Lake Berescana, boots discarded at the shore as you reach into the water, gently lifting up the mouth of a large fish that has swum up to you to the surface, using your other hand to reach into its mouth and pull out a small hook.

"There you go, that's a lot more comfortable now, hm?"

>You lower the fish's face back into the water, and it swims back away from the shallows as you open up a pouch around your belt and drop the discarded hook inside with the rest that you've collected.

>The first frosts have already begun in your forest, so very few trolls gather around the lake after a busy summer of leisure and gatherings, giving you an opportunity to take care of the wildlife somewhat.

>You hear the sound of something walking somewhere near the lake's edge, but you assume it's just a doe or some other creature coming to drink, letting it continue without a glance as you tap on the surface of the water, waiting for your next 'patient'.

[goddesstrolls]

i'm so normal about this song and also marzic. i'm Normal

[goddesstrolls]

gesture

[goddesstrolls]

god forbid you meet these two at once

ebidel (left) belongs to @nihils-trolls