{F-5 PP} Commencement and Inducement <<The Traveler>> -Domarus, Floofy, Aereth-

[Domarus 0]

It was finally time to begin Sakoda's training.  However there was more than just her training that he needed to prepare for.  While Sakoda gathered what scraps she had, which Keres 'helped' her with in order to distract her, Domarus was writing a message to Domarus in his crafting room.  Sakoda had proven to be far less than sane, even with this game's cardinal attempting to repair brain damage while in the game.  Either the system was failing, or Sakoda was far more determined than the system ever was.  When she snapped she would typically challenge Domarus' authority, acting snark and smug towards him and his words.  This attitude needed to change to respect, determination.  Fear, would aid him in that area.  Once this message was sent he would have that advantage, and he had no doubt in his mind that Sakoda would change the way she thought soon enough.  He finished the message and pressed send.

Quote

Sender:  Domarus
Recipient:  Aereth
Subject:  Assistance with an apprentice

Aereth.  I'm going to catch you up to speed on something so that it will make sense.  I have encountered a player and through an interesting series of circumstances, she has become my apprentice.  However she seems to have two mental states.  One where she is completely loyal and yet childish and weak, and another where she is strong but rebellious, proud and arrogant.  In order to keep her from disobeying me in the future, so that I can focus on reforming her mind, I will need your assistance.

For her first lesson I'll be taking her on the Traveler quest, therefore giving her experience, a skill, and a lesson all in one go.  At some point I will leave her and she'll have my orders.  Watch her from the shadows.  DO NOT let her spot you.  Wait for any sign that she has disobeyed me and then act.  I want you to attack her and reduce her health to the red zone.  If you can harm her further than that without killing her then do so.  If her health begins to rise again, attack again.  Show her that she will pay dearly for betrayal in any form.  I want you to put the fear of God in her. 

My instructions for her will be thus:  She will be required to stay at the campsite in the center of the desert for three days straight with no food or water.  There will be an oasis nearby and she will be tempted to head to it at some point.  This game has no punishment for lack of food or water, and thus while she will feel hunger and thirst, there will be no harm done to her.  You have your orders.  Don't disappoint me Aereth.

The moment he finished this message and sent it, he heard footsteps from behind him.  He turned around and saw Keres who had come to inform him that Sakoda was ready.  He nodded and walked out of the room, Keres following him closely.  Keres had gone through a drastic change with the lack of pain in Aincrad now.  She was far more quiet, determined.  It seemed she had a goal of some sorts now.  What this goal was he was unsure of.  He didn't like it.  He walked into the main area of the shop to find Sakoda there.  Domarus wasn't in his armor, but his casual clothing.  Even so, his eyes held a fierce passion that never bowed down or bent.

@Aereth, You can post any time you want in between character's posts.
@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda looked up and glanced over, seeing Domarus standing there. Jumping up, she hurried over to him and bowed. It was more of a greeting than a sign of servitude, so Sakoda thought it would be acceptable. "Hey Domarus! Sorry for being a bit late, I slept in again... but anyways, I'm here!" She grinned with excitement, knowing Domarus had a quest lined up for her to do today, although she hadn't gotten any details about what she would be doing for the quest. Regardless, she was still excited. This meant that she would be making more progress to becoming a competent player, and everything she could do to get better was great news to her. After all, she wanted to become stronger, and right now she trusted that Domarus had the intentions of making her stronger too. To be completely honest though, she had her reservations about his plans overall plans.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

Keres was the first to notice Sakoda.  While she was stripped the ability and enjoyment of pain, she still had one other area she could enjoy herself:  And that was messing with other people's emotions.  Domarus wondered if Sakoda would recall this, or if she had forgotten by now, as well as how she might react to it.  Keres watched Sakoda approach Domarus, giving her a wink with a wide smile on her face.  She had some skill in deception, however hers was focused on making others feel what she wanted them to feel.  She hoped she could still receive enjoyment from this apprentice master relationship.
     "Well now, you look excited," she teased.  Domarus ignored her of course and nodded.
     "The excuse will fly for now, but in the near future you will have a schedule.  Going against it will reap consequences.  Now come on.  Our destination is on the fifth floor."  Domarus turned to the door and opened it up, Keres keeping it open for the rest of them.  In status, Keres was on a lower position than either of them, what with her being a maid and servant, and Sakoda being Domarus' apprentice.  When it came to trust and loyalty however, Sakoda was nowhere near Keres' position.  And that gave Keres more power than Sakoda, as it would remain as such for some time.  The question of whether or not Sakoda would ever reach such a point was yet to be seen.  Worst case scenario would be Domarus needing to end her.  He hoped it would not come to such a conclusion.

@Aereth@Floofy

Edited August 1, 2017 by Domarus

[Aereth 1]

Work work work. This was all Aereth did recently. Work for the Laughing Coffin, work in his shop, and work for Domarus this day. Storing away some of the vanity weapons he would use today to scare that apprentice of Domarus, he threw the his black cloak over himself, pulled up the hood and facemask and fetched a teleport crystal. Aereth then used said teleport crystal and vanished in pixels. 

He re-appeared somewhere in the middle of the deserts of floor five. God how he hated the heat and the sun, but at least the teleport crystal dropped him near the location where Domarus wanted him to be. Finally arriving at the oasis, there was a rundown city with an destroyed church nearby. Perfect to wait and watch what was happening around the oasis. he immediately made his way up to the highest point of the destroyed church and waited for the pair of Domarus and his apprentice to arrive.

@Floofy, @Domarus

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda followed her master and the maid, having not reacted to the later's flirtatious actions. "What's on floor five?" She would ask out of curiosity. "Some high level secret boss? Some super rare item? Maybe a hidden ability that nobody else has?" The questions flew out, poking and prodding at Domarus for answers. Evidently, her curiosity was leading her to ask questions until she received some form of an answer: even if that answer was to be told to shut up. "I don't think i've been to the fifth floor yet, actually. What's it like there?" Her questions suddenly shifted from what they would be doing to what the state of the fifth floor was. "Is it hot? is it cold? Will I need a blanket?"  She looked over at Keras, wondering if the maid had everything she needed for the trip. "Will Keras be ok? Do we need to get anything for her before we go?" Truthfully, she wasn't trying to be annoying. Actually, she wanted to be prepared, and wanted to know everything about their mission.

[Domarus 0]

Domarus began to walk out of the shop, knowing Sakoda would follow him, while he listened to her string of questions that followed each other very closely, preventing him from being able to answer any of them.  It was quite infuriating and while he knew she honestly wanted answers to be prepared, he couldn't wait till this hyper and uncontrollable girl had become the focused, willing and eager, powerful, and obedient apprentice that he was in such need of.  The list of questions grew longer until Domarus had finally had it.  He turned around, a stone look on his face with burning eyes.  
     "Sakoda.  If you wish to ask a question, process exactly what you want to know, and ask a single.  Question.  I shall not reveal any information on the floor as you will soon see what is there.  Even if there were requirements for you, the gear you have now is all you have so that question would be irrelevant now wouldn't it?  It's already been established that you don't need to worry about Keres.  Now.  If you have anything you wish to discuss, think about it to see if you already know the answer, or say it one.  At.  A time."  Domarus turned around and continued to walk.  Keres walked beside Sakoda with a grin as she put her arm around the apprentice.
     "Don't mind him.  He's never had an apprentice before.  That and his mind tends to work like a cold calculating machine.  He prefers to avoid unnecessary noise so he can make his plots and schemes, you know?"  

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda nodded, blushing in embarrassment. In truth, she was just excited to go on another quest. She had been relatively unable to do much in terms of exploring the other floors, and so being able to do so with someone like Domarus watching over her gave her confidence and eagerness. "Yea, sorry Keres. I'm just really looking forward to this. I guess it's got me energized and everything," She explained to her companion, seemingly having obtained some control over her emotions. Whether or not that bit of control would last had yet to be seen, of course. She picked up her pace, as to keep up with Domarus and not fall behind. She glanced back quickly at Keres, noticing how cute she looked in the lighting, before quickly returning her attention to Domarus and where he was leading her. She didn't want Keres to notice her admiration towards her, as she suspected that Keres wanted to manipulate her.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

Domarus had of course, heard the words Keres used to keep Sakoda from going all ballistic again.  However at the same time, it was backtracking from where they needed to lead her.  It was a dangerous game, one that would need require proceeding with absolute caution and accuracy.  One false move and he would need to terminate her.  At the moment however he would focus on the task at hand.  She had to endure the extreme heat of the desert on the journey to their destination.  After retrieving the item, Domarus would tell her to remain in that exact position for another full day and night before she was allowed to return.  Not only to teach her the value of patience and silence, allowing one to process details of things they usually couldn't when they rambled on like she did, but also to infuriate her enough to the point where she would attempt to disobey him and trigger Aereth's actions.
     "Excitement clouds the mind, blocks your perspective and perception, narrowing it down to one thing and one thing only.  You must teach and train yourself to remain calm and sharp.  For example.  Where is Rhozarth?"  The flaming dragon who was no longer scouting ahead, but hiding behind her, swooped down, thrusting it's claws into her shoulders.  It didn't cause any pain of course, unless she felt phantom pain, but other than that her health dropped just a little bit.
     "Enough Rhozarth."  The familiar returned to scouting ahead.
     "Sakoda, there will be actions, sounds, events, and other such details that you will need to observe no matter what.  You may not think that the sound of something falling, or the wind blowing, or whispering of players to be important, but they very well are.  You need to focus on everything.  You will not master this in one night as it takes much practice.  It takes years.  However getting started is better than not doing anything."

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

She jumped in shock at Rozarth digging into her, glaring at Domarus. "That wasn't fair! I had no reason to think Rozarth would attack me, and he's your familiar! I shouldn't be worried about your pet, especially when you don't have any motive for attacking me!" She folded her arms after scolding her teacher, confident that if it was something else attacking her that she would've been able to react to it. Unless Domarus was trying to make her believe she couldn't trust him, she didn't have reason to expect attacks from him or anyone he was acquainted with. "That was a dirty thing to do, Domarus," She stated, with a matter-of-fact attitude. "Apologize to me, right now!" She fumed at him angrily, trying to keep herself composed but at the same time feeling like she was unable to hide the fact that the sudden attack had scared her as well.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

Domarus was beginning to see how her rebellious side worked.  She only got worked up if she either got cocky, or if she felt she was being treated wrong, however that worked in her twisted mind.  She tried to turn it to her favor stating that it wasn't fair at the same time and then on top of it all, demanded he apologize to her.  They were on the teleport pad when she stopped Domarus said the location and they warped to the fifth floor.  After he did so he took her hand and began pulling her towards the edge of the town.  He had already had Aereth scan the town beforehand, assuring that there was no one waiting or hiding to see his actions.  He gave her an 'encouraging' push to keep her walking along with him.
     "There is nothing fair in life.  You should learn this quickly or you'll end up as crystals flying through the air.  While you shouldn't be worried about my familiar, you should be concerned about your surroundings.  For example:  Thinking ahead of time I made certain that no one was on this floor as I taught you.  If you were aware of what was going on with the surroundings, you wouldn't be caught by surprise by Rhozarth.  And also:"  Domarus grabbed her and held her in front of him, his eyes a fiery steel, unyielding.
     "I have no reason to apologize to you Sakoda.  As you have yet to give me a reason to show you more respect than a mere apprentice.  Learn your place.  And learn it fast."  Domarus pointed out to the center of the desert.
     "You'll accept the quest given by that npc there and you'll travel out to the center of the desert.  Rhozarth will follow you and when you recover the item, Rhozarth will return it.  Once he leaves you will stay in that exact area for three days.  The reason is this:  You need to learn how to withstand intense environmental weather, complete silence for long periods of time, and finally you must practice patience.  I doubt you'll learn this lesson but I warn you:  There will be severe consequences if you disobey me.  Do you understand?"  Keres pursed her lips a bit.  To Sakoda it may have seemed that she was a bit nervous for Sakoda.  In reality, she was trying not to chuckle, grin or laugh at the situation.

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda's heart sank as Domarus quickly showed her no intention of gentleness, apology, or any form of kindness. Bowing her head, she muttered quietly, "Yes Domarus sir," before going over to the NPC and accepting the quest. She couldn't believe how easily Domarus made a fool of her. She thought for sure that she finally had an upper hand on him, but he easily turned it around onto her. Even if she had known where his familiar was, she still wouldn't have expected it to attack her without reason. Sighing to herself, she looked out to the desert and started on her journey. This time, she expected Domarus to throw something at her, or to send Rhozarth to attack her again. She figured it would be something cheeky enough for Domarus to do to her. After all, he seemed to enjoy making her a fool. Well, she would show him that she was no fool!

Edited April 3, 2018 by Floofy

[Domarus 0]

Domarus watched as she made her way over to the npc and watched as she made her way out.  The moment she was out of hearing range he sighed, and walked over to behind a building, placing a hand on his face before walking into the bar.  He was by no means going to just let her head out there and not do anything.  For one he didn't trust her.  For another he couldn't let her die out there.  And finally he would like to hear what she had to say.  Of course Aereth was out there and would no doubt hear everything she said out loud, but he would like to observe it himself.  He walked up to the bartender and ordered a bottle of whiskey.  A full bottle.  When the bartender placed it down Domarus reached to grab it but Keres got to it first.  Domarus turned his head to her.
    "Keres.  What do you think your doing?"  
    "For once I'm going to ask you this.  Why are you being so rough on her?  I know we need to bend her into what you need her to be, or rather want her to be, but certainly you could so just a little bit of restraint?  The only reason you haven't hit her is because you don't want her to know that players are immune to pain now."  It would seem that her pain withdrawal symptoms and after effects included not only confidence, but a desire to have some voice.  Still, that wasn't a bad thing.
     "And how would you like me to handle her then Keres?  You want me to show her love an affection which we both know I don't have?"  Keres gave him a serious look which she hadn't done in forever.
     "We both know that's not true."  Domarus ripped the bottle from her and walked towards the door, Keres walking closely behind

@Floofy @Aereth

[Floofy 0]

Sakoda looked around at her surroundings as she made her way, although to be honest she wasn't really looking at anything. She was still fuming over Domarus and how he humiliated her. She would show him, she just had to! Kicking at the sand in anger, a gust of wind blew passed her. This, of course, caused the sand to blow back into her face, making her spatter and spit. "AAAAGHHH!!!" She screamed in greater frustration. She refused to let this game beat her! She refused to let DOMARUS beat her!! She would show them all! As her rage became determination, she took off running, eager to complete her quest and show Domarus just how competent she really was... and then immediately slipped on the sandy dunes, falling face first into the ground. Mentally sighing to herself, she decided to lay in the sand for a while until she cooled down enough to continue her misadventures. Boldly rushing onward clearly wasn't going to help prove herself..

[Domarus 0]

When Keres had said that, his thoughts drifted to Esther for a moment before he forced them back to the present.
     "Talk like that again and I'll break the pain dampeners from what I'll do to you."  Keres however was still determined.  He had only rarely seen her like this, the first time when she wanted to talk about their own relationship, and her issues with how soft he had been going on her.  She hadn't just wanted slaps and punches, she wanted the whole nine yards of pain and torture.  He looked at her face and knew he couldn't get out of it until he discussed it with her and gave an aggravated sigh.
     "The foolish girl is on the crazy side.  She is flip flopping between the two extremes of either childish, accepting and weak, to rebellious, resisting, and ungrateful.  The first thing I need to establish is that she will never again defy me, now or in the future.  The first step will be ensuring that she knows I'm in charge and not her.  I've given her orders, and she will be disobeying them.  That I am certain.  Once Aereth handles her, she won't argue against me again."  Keres stared at him as they walked.
     "And what about afterwards?"  Domarus was silent as they walked.
     "Domarus, like it or not she's your apprentice, not your servant.  If you're going to be training her to take your place, you need to treat her like your own for once.  Stop being so ruthless and just teach her.  It's bad enough that this game has a traumatic effect on most people, let alone a young woman.  After Aereth handles her, think about it for a few hours and go see her."

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

Face down in the sand, Sakoda finally admitted the truth to herself. She had no idea where she was, and was entirely lost. She cursed loudly, mainly in Domarus' name, blaming him for not giving her clear enough instructions, or not giving her good enough gear, or even just blaming him on her own personal lack of direction. Truthfully, none of it was actually Domarus' fault, but that didn't stop her from blaming him. "I'm going to kill him for this.. It's his fault! He's trying to get me killed! He knew that this place was too extreme, and sent me here with the hopes that I'll fall over dead! I'll show him! He's going to think I've died, then when he's least expecting it I'll jump him and break his neck!!" Sakoda declared all of the things she would do to him, laughing with what was either insanity or evil desire, or even perhaps a mix of the two. Regardless, it was evident that Sakoda was breaking again.

[Domarus 0]

Domarus was silent as they continued their walk.  Keres said nothing either, having said what she needed to say.  Domarus was thinking about what she had said.  Treating her like she was his apprentice and not his servant.  That in itself was a big of a stretch for him.  Domarus was cruel, uncaring of others and for good reason.  However the more he thought about it, the more he realized that she was correct.  He was looking for a suitable successor to his power.  To his kingdom.  He needed someone to be there in order to secure the domination of the world.  He needed to stabilize Sakoda so that he would be able to transform her into such a successor.  To do that however, he needed her to respect him.  Not fear him, the only thing she should ever fear is failure.  Not hate him, as she should only hate the weak.  Not depend on him as she must learn to become strong.  He would need to teach her.  He would need to make sure she respected him enough, and was close enough to him to lose all thoughts of removing him.  He needed to stay on this world for as long as he could.  In the end he made his decision.  And so he stopped and stood halfway between the destination and the city.  Between her and home.  And waited for her to return.

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

It had been some time now, and Sakoda had all but forgotten the quest that she had originally set on now. Her mind had completely settled on proving to Domarus and Keres that she was strong. Strong enough to overcome this world, even conquer it if she so desired! Wiping the sweat from her forehead she walked on, steaming in hate and desert heat. As she walked, she openly cursed Domarus for sending her into this stupid desert on this stupid quest, realizing she didn't even remember what the quest was, but not caring enough to worry about it. What she didn't realize is that she was walking in the wrong direction completely, going away from the main hub and away from the quest objective. At some point in her rage, she had lost her directional awareness. Sakoda later would scream at nobody in particular, but blaming Domarus of course, about how far away the quest goal was. She had begun doubting that there was even a quest out here to begin with, and Domarus just wanted to humiliate her further than he already did. "I'll show him! I'll find my way back and beat his smug face into the ground!!"

[Domarus 0]

They stood there in silence.  Neither Domarus nor Keres were affected at all by the heat and sand from this floor, and soon enough Sakoda would be immune to it as well...  But was that going to be a good thing?  Did he really want this girl to survive this?  He wasn't entirely sure.  He still needed a way to stabilize this girl and if he couldn't do that, he'd need to have her killed of which would end up being a waste of his time and resources.  Once she was stabilized however, he was not going to have any choice in the matter.  He'd need to treat her as his apprentice.  His successor.  He could not let any harm befall her mind in any way.
     "Harken..  What are your plans?"  Hearing his real name be spoken drew his attention to Keres and looked at her for a moment before speaking.
     "You know me Keres.  You are simply going to have to wait it out and see."  Keres smiled.  Yes she did know Domarus.  And she was certain that Sakoda would be assured safety at this point, so long as she could remain focused and not flip flop the way she has been.  Porvós remained wrapped around her while Rhozarth was still keeping an eye on her, though he looked like a random bird from Sakoda's point of view.  His job was to fly high above her towards the target location, leading her to it without her knowing that Domarus was aiding her in any way.  Once she was there, Rhozarth was to fly around aimlessly until Sakoda found her way back to Domarus.

@Floofy

[Floofy 0]

 

So.. Sakoda had finally realized that she was lost, and wondering around aimlessly. However, in her moment of clarity, she noticed a bird flying above her, seemingly random and seemingly trying to lead her somewhere. That, or she was getting desperate. Regardless, she started to follow the bird. Even if she WERE going insane, the bird, assuming it was real and not some illusion from her insanity, would need to land to eat and drink eventually. That meant she could find food and water for herself! If she were really lucky, the bird could lead her back to civilization. She would be able to pummel Domarus into the ground for this stupid desert excursion! Not that she would kill him, maybe.. She was unsure if she could actually kill anyone in this death game. If she could though, Domarus was the closest to being the first on her hit list. Actually, she didn't really have a hit list, but if she did then Domarus would totally be up there!

[Domarus 0]

Rhozarth continued to fly over the desert, leading her directly towards the quest objective.  His job was simple, he was strong and could endure long flight, and the heat of this floor only made him stronger.  He fed off of not only heat and fire, but also pain.  Similar to how the Sith turn their pain into rage and rage into strength, Rhozarth used his own pain to push forward with more force than before.  Making him nigh unstoppable.  For now however, he was only leading her there.  When he reached the destination, he'd circle around once or twice before flying back to the entrance of the city, which was also the same direction as Domarus was.  Domarus had timed it out:  When she reached him there were birds flying above the city so she would have no reason to believe that the bird was Rhozarth.  Domarus would be waiting calmly for Sakoda and would not outwardly react to anything she'd say or do.  He'd remain very calm, showing no anger, no joy.  And it would be made very clear very soon that he wouldn't be making any reaction until she stopped talking and calmed down.

@Floofy