Through Darkest Knight

[Gredar]

Marten watched her display with vague interest. "Magic is no better or worse than the user. I've seen necromancers who banished the dead instead of summoning them, paladins who've gone mad with self-righteousness and killed innocent bystanders in the wake of their magic. If these people didn't have magic, they'd just invent something to kill with instead."  

[Masamune 5.0]

"That's not to say there aren't spells that will possess the user." Mirado added. "I know of quite a number that if used by normal humans it would tear them apart."  

[Gredar]

Marten arched his eyes at Mirado. "Even then, those spells are benign if used right. Magic has no mind of it's own. Now if you're summoning the will of something else, like a demon or spirit, then the spell is only as good as the caster's power and spirits conscience."  

[Masamune 5.0]

Mirado chuckled at the thought of Zarzeian Dark Magic being benign. Regardless, he didn't say anything about it. Mirado tilted his head up and stared at the night sky, letting his mind wander.

((Zarzeian Dark Magic was originally called Dark Magic when I made it up, but since there's already Dark Magic I added Zarzeian to it to avoid confusion. Zarzeian Dark Magic is cast using a Latin incantation. Dracquis uses it. These spells can be only used by demons(used as a broad-term). If someone other than a demon would use it, it would start to tear their soul apart. It's not too important, but those were the spells Mirado was refering to.))  

[demonofwhite]

Constance snorted. "What do you call the elements, then?" She sat down again. "One day all the magic will be gone from the world. Then I'll be happy..."  

[Demonix13]

Alpheus looked aghast at Constance's denouncement of magic.
"Do you realize how boring this world would be without magic? Extremely boring, that's how much. What would we do for entertainment, hit a ball with a stick, or kick around a rock?"
"Oh, and Marten," he added, turning to the human, "I wouldn't be so sure that magic has no will of it's own. I find it hard to believe that all these magic forests and secret magic springs came into being simply because some spirit wanted it to."  

[Gredar]

Marten shrugged. "So you believe that the magic willed it into existence? How is that any easier to believe than some powerful spirit?" He leaned back, placing his head against the tree tenderly. "Magic stems from life, from belief. As long as the people believe the magic is at their core, it will be there. If the people lose their faith, we will lose our power. At least, in theory."

He then addressed Constance. "I've heard many explanations for the elements, but none that satisfied me. Some say they're natural, others say the will of the gods. Personally, I think it's just the excess magic burning itself out, like the dieing flickers of a fire. But I have no proof." He sighed. "The only proof I have that magic has no will is that I've never seen it do anything it wasn't cast to do. I've never had a spell talk back to me, never seen a summoning with self will, never heard of a spell turning back on it's master without a logical reason. Until I see the magic acting on it's own, it remains nothing more than a tool to me."  

[Demonix13]

Alpheus shrugged. "Suit yourself. Still, I find it so much more...fun to believe that magic has a will of it's own. It makes things so...so...spontaneous. It makes it so that anything could happen."  

[Masamune 5.0]

"We should probably get some rest." Mirado stood up and patted some of the dust off of his pants. "I'm going to sleep."

Mirado made his way near the edge of the clearing. He found a tree that suited him and sat down, leaning against it. He let his head drop down, and he closed his eyes.  

[demonofwhite]

Constance sighed. "I'm going to sleep to. And, if you stick around with me long enough, magic will take its own course..." She smiled knowingly with her eyes closed.  

[Gredar]

Marten staggered up, feeding some of his power into a patch of grass, desicated by the earlier combat. It sprang back to life, growing thick until it was soft and springy. "Night all," he called, wrapping himself in his cloak and gingerly settling down to sleep of the after-effects of his spell.  

[Demonix13]

"Yeah, uh, night?" said Alpheus. However, instead of finding a bed, Alpheus turned and climbed up the highest (still standing) tree he could find. It was a challenging, if fun climb. He was climbing a massive Rowan tree. It had to have been magically enhanced, as no natural Rowan grew this tall. When he reached the top, he was rewarded with a wonderful view of the forest. A cool, sweet night breeze blew all around him, now picking up, now dropping down. He could see the moon casting it's queer reflections all around, and reflecting a myriad of times in the rippling lake not too far away.
"Perfect," he sighed. The Etzale contentedly nestled against a branch to wait the night out here.  

[Masamune 5.0]

((Ok, everyone's essentially asleep. ZOMG TIME SHIFT!))

When Mirado awoke his eyelids were still heavy from fatigue and refused to open, or rather he did not care enough to use what little energy it took to open them. Instead he sat, leaning against the tree, in darkness. A soft wind blew over the clearing, lightly rustling the leaves above. He assumed it was early morning, as the woods were still quiet and still.

Mirado finally opened his eyes. The sky above was grey and calm. He managed to get up on his feet, and brush off the dirt and grass from his pants. He stumbled over to the old campfire, which had burned out in the night. All that was left were ashes and black fragments of wood which had survived the flames. Mirado kicked several sticks on top of the debris, and with a quick wave of his hand the fire emerged in full glory.

Mirado rummaged around the inside of his red jacket until he pulled out a small haversack. From within this haversack, he pulled out a cloth bundle containing several strips of bacon, which was a remainder of a purchase he had made at the last village. Grabbing some nearby sticks and sharpening them to a point, he skewered each piece of bacon and set it up over the fire. Mirado took a bite of a piece of bread and put the haversack back inside his jacket. It had been a while since he had had an actual breakfast.  

[Gredar]

Marten staggered blearily to his feet a few minutes after Mirado put the bacon over the fire. He could sleep through an earthquake, but hadn't slept through breakfast since he was 16 - back when it was a given. He rustled through his pack, which was heavily laden with food, and brought out a small skillet and a slab of salted venison, then headed to the fire.

"Morning," he said, setting up a large rock to balance his hands on with the pan. Breakfast was his favorite meal of the day, mostly because it came first. "Sleep well?"  

[Masamune 5.0]

"Well enough," Mirado answered. "I'm still uneasy. I don't like the idea of the Knights and Dracquis roaming free. And the fact that we could be attacked by that vampire again doesn't help."