Timeskip Log

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Lancer) COURT Seelie (Neutral Leanings) TITLE Knight of the Golden Cadre Maskhunter/Hartslayer Shield of the Cothromach Champion of Redgate OCCUPATION Knight/Trainer ABLE TO FAST-TRAVEL Servant ability to travel at up to 100 times normal human speed. A ring given to him by Alyosha that allows him to teleport himself only pretty much anywhere. A ring given as a boon that will allow him to teleport to the side of any Seelie shardbearer if their life is in immediate danger. COMMUNICATION METHODS A magical compass from Rin. Messages sent by birds. A necklace enchanted by Rin to allow contact with Seelie/Unseelie. RESIDENCE IN 2,701 Cu Chulainn's castle, Dun Dealgan, south of Daonna, his rooms at Alyosha's villa, and occasionally his rooms at Caer Glaem when he is working on his personal training ground. RESIDENCE IN 2,702 His rooms at Alyosha's villa, and occasionally, his rooms at Caer Glaem when he is working on his personal training ground. As of May, he will be invited to move into Flora's villa in Leathann. MAJOR EVENTS MASTER/SERVANT BOND CREATED W/ALYOSHA. [ ✖ ] SETS UP HIS PERSONAL TRAINING GROUND AT CAER GLAEM. [ ✖ ] CSI: DAONNA. [ ✖ ] BECOMES A CAPTAIN IN THE RED HAND. [ ✖✖ ] MAJOR CHANGES POST BATTLE: His right arm is missing at the shoulder. There are several 'bleed over' effects from his Master/Servant bond with Alyosha because various factors. These include: When his emotions are high (especially when he is angry) he will grow fangs and the pupils of his eyes will slit like a snake's eyes. He will crave blood whenever his energy levels are low or whenever Alyosha is strongly craving it herself. This is partly because of her being a vampire, but also because on his world, blood is one of the things that carries magical energy and so he knows it is a source of gaining that energy should he need it. Because of Alyosha's shadow magic, when Diarmuid uses his fire ring, the fire summoned will be shadow tinted instead of normal. Unspecified bleed over from the sigil magic that is so tightly tied to her. POST TIMESKIP: No longer introduces himself as 'Lancer.' Instead, he uses his real name. Diarmuid's fighting style shifts to something reminiscent of Capoeira. His right leg is used as much as possible in place of his missing right arm, and as a result of that, his right leg now is lightly armored from knee to foot with armor that is much like that which was once on his left arm. His boot has also been modified with a hidden blade. The blade can be released with a certain tap of his foot giving him a second weapon should he need it.

SUMMARY OF KNOWN DETAILS If Diarmuid was confused going into the battle, he is even more so coming out of it. Both castles lie in ruins, untold numbers are dead on all sides, and who knows how many worlds went with them? What good came of all of it? None. None that Diarmuid can see. As a result, he is pushed even more toward favoring the neutral side. Deep down, he no longer fully considers himself Seelie. The golden cloak that marks him as a knight of the Golden Cadre is not a badge of honor, but a reminder that even knights can take the wrong path. After he recovers from losing his right arm and spends some time learning to fight again, he will focus on strengthening his bonds with his family and friends. It doesn't matter what side they are on for he does not see them as Seelie or Unseelie. They are family. They are friend. That is all that matters. When not helping Alyosha, his new Master, and fighting the Neutral fight, he will also spend time training others, building his personal training ground at Caer Glaem, and...breeding bandersnatches? Well, at least trying. Who knows if the bandersnatches will cooperate... Of course, all of that will be put to the side when it comes time to spoil babbins and mercenar-- Err, wait, that should be spoiling babbins and LEADING mercenaries. That's better... PLANS Recover from his injuries both physically and mentally. Adjust to his new Master/Servant bond with Alyosha and the bleed over. Learn to fight again. (Looking into a new arm will come later.) Work on getting the personal training ground he has been granted built to his specifications. Meet with Lancelot to discuss worries etc about Tarz's tactics. Keep in contact with his Unseelie friends. Find ways to meet with them despite the crack down on cross court interaction. Spend more time with Grainne. Teach fighting and shard training as requested. Tag team fighting with his new Master so they can learn to be badasses together. :-D Do whatever he can to help the Neutral side. Go hunting for new bandersnatch friends with Alice. TIMELINE OF EVENTS Things Occurring THROUGHOUT the Timeskip Working on his training grounds at Caer Glaem. Learning to fight again/Practicing with his shard.(Alyosha and Lancelot will help.) Training others to fight/use their shards. Becoming used to his bond with Alyosha and the overflow from it. SPRING IN 2,701 (Mar, Apr, May) MARCH - Ask Rin to enchant the necklace he got from Merida so he can contact all Seelie/Unseelie with it (Late Feb). Talk to Politezerker about his arm. (Late Feb) Recovery from losing his arm. (Both mental and physical.) Visits the new Barrel. Check in on Kayneth. Meet Gilgamesh. Visit Zuko at Azure to help unfreeze things and for fire training. More unfreezing and fire training with Merida. Finds a strange and very large egg... Begin work on his training ground in Caer Glaem after a handwaved talk with John and Lancelot(Flora will help with terrains). Long talk (and cry session) with Grainne about his arm, her losing the baby, and other things from her time back home (handwaved). Talking to Lancelot about Tarz. Check in with Saber now that she has had time to calm down. Go hunting for bandersnatches with Alice. APRIL - Travel to the Cothromach and renew his vows to it and Sansa. Talk about ferry system work. Meeting Aslan at Caer Glaem (Training Grounds). Teach Hikaru (Lucifer) to use her(his) shard @ the Station. Trip to the Barrel to celebrate his birthday. The strange egg hatches right around his birthday. Congratulations Diarmuid! It's a fluffy green bird?!? Well, at least it's not a dinosaur... MAY - Map out the waterways around the Cothromach for Sansa & the ferry project. Hunt golden swans with Thrall (get at least two--one for Caer and one for Aengus) Start training Oscar the bandersnatch to hunt. Work on the training grounds with Flora. Drop into the Art Gallery Opening in Parrais. SUMMER IN 2,701 (Jun, Jul, Aug) JUNE - Training for those who wish it: Gilgamesh-shard. Goes to the Treun tournament. Observes, but does not participate because of his arm. Bonds with Merida. Meets Javik at the tournament. Acts as Alyosha's witness at the duel between her and Hermione. JULY - CSI: Daonna (Quest)--Sent to Daonna after the hangings to investigate for Waver. Interview Alice, Merida, Faolan. Work with Sara & Politezerker. Lén accompanies Diarmuid to help. AUGUST - Fire training with Merida. Talk with her about battle/Master stuff. Meeting Remus Lupin. Golem hunting with Javik. Visit the Cothromach's Markets. FALL IN 2,701 (Sept, Oct, Nov) SEPTEMBER - Heartbreak: Grainne is sent home from the Drabwurld. Language kerfuffle! Just how close to Gaelic is Drabbish anyway? Help Alice with her orphanage. Training: Gilgamesh/Work on the Training Grounds OCTOBER - Samhain! Meet the Black Shuck Meets Sam. Anniversary of his arrival. NOVEMBER - Hunts inmates. Protects others from the inmates. Meets up with Lancelot to talk. Becomes co-parents to a bunch of mercs with John Grimm. WINTER IN 2,701/2,702 (Dec, Jan, Feb) DECEMBER - Yule! Silliness with Fox Merida. Hunt the White Hart. Slays him with Katsa. Reward: 200 gold pieces, a while cloak and the title of Hartslayer until the next hunt comes around. Anniversary of the Fox Hunt. JANUARY - Shard Training. Working on his Training Grounds. 'Learning' to relax a little with Kaldur. Meeting up with Gilgamesh at Caer Glaem. FEBRUARY - Runs into Grell at the Noa Woods for sparring. Goes to Parrais for the Ostara Feast. 1 year anniversary with Alyosha. SPRING IN 2,702 (Mar, Apr) MARCH - Fight zombies. Visits Lumina's Chocobo Ranch and does some undead removal. Gets a new friend for Aengus? Learning to fight again complete. APRIL - Shelters his fairy groupies to keep them safe. Work on his training grounds at Caer Glaem finishes.

( codes by whambam )

Comments

[oathshackledbird]

A small smile pulls at the corner of his mouth when he is hushed and then he nods, "Yes, I do. Things I wanted. Things that could have been. Things that will never be..." Diarmuid bows his head a moment, hiding the lonely look that briefly flashes across his vision. "I don't regret what happened, but sometimes I really wish things had gone differently..."

His wishes are what had lead him to the Holy Grail War, after all, though it addresses only his first and most heartfelt wish. There are other things he wishes for as well. Thankfully, Alyosha's whispered words draw his attention away from those thoughts. It's for the best.

Diarmuid turns his head toward her and smiles, "Well, when you put it that way. Would my comrade be willing to lead me over to one of those chairs before I embarrass myself by falling?"

[fairyfoes]

"I know," Alyosha murmured, embracing him lightly again, and then leaning back to smile. "I've got you," she agreed, and moved to guide him toward the chair, attentively and guardingly hedging close to his side. She kept her eyes down, on his feet and knees, and supported him with a shoulder and arm.

"How much pain are you in?"

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid doesn't answer her right away. Instead, he focuses on making sure that they get to the chair without him falling and possibly taking her down with him. It would be embarrassing enough to fall on his own, but to cause another to fall too...

As he is settling into the chair, though, his mind drifts toward what his answer should be. His first thought is to deny the pain because he doesn't want her to worry more than she already is, but he knows she won't believe him and besides, it would be a lie. In the end, he sighs and then finally speaks, "I have felt worse, but I am not sure if it is the pain that is bothering me the most. It is the odd ghost feelings and the tiredness. I just can't shake it. No matter what I do and how I try to regain energy, it is just not coming as it should."

[fairyfoes]

She helped him to sit, stronger than her short stature might warrant, and smiled, crouching before him. She set one arm over his knees, watching him, while the other- her silver hand- slid under his fingers, gently holding his hand.

Her gaze never left him, and her half-scarred face was transparent in its honesty.

"Tell me how I can help."

[oathshackledbird]

"I...don't know..." Diarmuid's voice is soft when he answers, his fingers curling around her own. He's run so many ideas thought his head. Things he would do on his world. Things maybe he could do on this one, though it is harder to know how well they would or would not work. Of course, that is all depending on if what is wrong with him can be fixed.

Actually, no, he really doesn't want to think about that not being the case. That thought makes him even more tired just thinking about it.

In the end, the best thing he has come up with is taking a master as he had been thinking about before. The steady source of energy would have to help him heal faster...

"No, that's wrong. There is something that I think would work, but it requires a great deal of commitment from someone. Remember when I mentioned finding a master while we were shard training? If I took one now, the steady supply of energy would help boost my body's ability to heal."

[fairyfoes]

She paused, looking him over, grown very still. Preternaturally still. The stillness of stone, of bone, of unliving things.

It broke when she ghosted the pad of her thumb over his knuckles, and she brought his hand up to her mouth. Kissed the line of his knuckles, the same obeisance shown to princes and kings.

"Hawk of Ess Ruadh. There's an adage in the drabwurld, a saying. A hunting hawk is beautiful on the wrist. But it's never more beautiful than when it's free." She watched him, carefully. "I don't like these words, servant and master. But if having one would help you, I will find you the best. Whatever it takes."

[oathshackledbird]

Her actions startle Diarmuid greatly. He finds himself torn between begging her not to show since reverence to someone like himself--he's just a knight after all--and being so honored he can't speak.

"Alyosha...you don't..." his voice is very soft and unsure. As a result he stops speaking and gives himself a moment longer to pull himself together. Diarmuid is only able to do this by letting her actions go for now and focusing on her words instead. "Master and servant... I don't really like them either. I would rather a partner. Someone who will fight at my side instead of hiding in the shadows..."

Sorry, Kayneth. He will never respect that tactic.

"I think the steady stream of energy is what I need to finally heal. Whatever you can do...please. I will find a way to repay you. I swear."

[fairyfoes]

Her mouth curved into a slow smile; it grew into a broad grin. She gave his hand a fond squeeze. "Tell me what it takes, to make a Master. Is it a sort of magical ability, a power? A person of a certain kind? Guide me, tell me what I need to know."

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid tilts his head slightly in confusion. He's not so sure what he just said that has made her so happy, but maybe once he answers her question, she will explain.

"We are actually fortunate, when it comes down to it. On my world a magus is usually doing two things when they forge their contract with a servant. They are not only forming the bond, but they are also summoning that Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes. Both things together take a great deal of magic and preparation. However," he laughs softly, "I am already here, so the huge dump of magical energy that would usually be needed to summon a Heroic Spirit won't be needed. The person will still need some magical ability or even just the potential for magical ability. When we are ready to begin, I will reach out to them with my energy. There is a simple set of phrases that need to be said, but they act more as something to focus on than actual parts of the spell. The other person needs to reach out to me with their own energy and accept mine. They need to pull it in and make it a part of themselves. Once that is done and the other person truly accepts me and the burden that comes with having a servant, then the bond will form."

"As for the type of person..." he suddenly seems rather hesitant, as if he is afraid that saying the wrong thing here will doom him to reliving what happened with Fionn. "I guess it would be best if they were someone like me or at least someone who understands what is important to me. Someone who understands that there are things in life worth sacrificing everything for..."

[fairyfoes]

"Come now," she murmured, voice warmed by affectionate teasing, her dark eyes glimmering with gentle merriment. "You're more than worth whatever magical price it would take to summon." She moved his hand, gave a fondly pressureless tug on his forelock.

"Ahh, I feel like your matchmaker now," she continued, folding her legs to sit cross-legged near his feet, looking up at him. "Should they share your sense of good humour, your lust for life? Temper that aspect of you? Tell me more."

[oathshackledbird]

"Tell that to the one who-- Hey!" Well, that is one good way to distract Diarmuid from the worries of the past. He laughs and then tries playfully free himself from the tug for a moment before settling back down once she releases him. His eyes sparkle with amusement when he speaks next, "You better be careful. We don't know what will happen if someone ever manages to pull that thing off..."

After another laugh, he falls silent, considering carefully her questions, "I don't know if any two people can have the exact same sense of humor, but it would be nice if the person was at least a good humored sort that way we can understand each other's humor even if we don't completely share it. As for lust for life..."

That...that is the harder one.

"I need someone who feels it too. Maybe not to the same degree as me, but close. I don't want to end up with another person who will strangle my needs and wants when it comes to those things, but, at the same time, I do sometimes need to be told to stop and not wear myself out so much. Does that makes sense?"

[fairyfoes]

She set her arms across his knees, smiling slowly.

"Tell me what your needs and wants are." For her own curiosity, clearly. "I know you have lust for life, but... what do you desire out of your own life? Family? Glory? Legacy...?"

[oathshackledbird]

"What I want?" Diarmuid closes his eyes for a moment. What he wants is always so hard for him to say. He is so used to just doing what is asked of him. Still, a few things do float to mind...

"No, glory and legacy mean very little to me. Family, though...that is something I need more than life itself. It doesn't matter to me if my family members share my blood. Most of my family has not, to be honest, but I am so used to having them there. I...don't like being alone..."

The way his voice suddenly drops when he says that makes it clear there is something more to the fear than just that. However, he doesn't explain it more. Instead, he moves onto something else.

"I like helping people and protecting people. It makes me happy beyond words to do those things, but I get the feeling I should probably want more than that. Something just for me, right? Something...selfish?" His voice is very unsure now. In fact, he is so unsure that he doesn't continue. Diarmuid really doesn't know how to.

[fairyfoes]

"It's a timeless dilemma, Diarmuid. And you shouldn't be ashamed of feeling it. 'How does my own life stack up against all I do? How can I live my life and also serve my beliefs? At what point is self-interest warranted, and not selfish?'"

She wet her lower lip with the tines of her tongue.

"Would you take me, Dia? Not as a master, but as your partner? Not because I don't think there aren't others who aren't better suited, but..."

"I'm afraid of losing you to this world. Losing you like I have so many others. I want to defend you, and add to the sum of your power. I want to be able to go hunting together with you and, when the game is poor, romp in the heather with our dogs instead. I want my children to grow older and know you. And I'll do whatever it takes. You only need name the sacrifice I must make."

[oathshackledbird]

So many questions and none of them ones that Diarmuid knows the answer to. Not because he doesn't want to think about them, just because he never trusts his own thoughts when he does. It is always easier to accept the answers to those kinds of things when he hears them from others. He is so afraid of making a mistake. So afraid of...

When Alyosha makes her offer, Diarmuid is pulled out of his thoughts suddenly and can only blink at her in shock. His mouth opens, only to close again when he cannot find the words to match his shocked state.

Sacrifice? Why would she have to sacrifice anything to get him to accept such an honor? Doesn't she know how much it means to him to have someone who cares so much she would go so far to protect him? Diarmuid spends so much time protecting others that having someone to protect him...

It makes him feel something that is so strong, he can't even begin to describe it.

"I think you are wrong there," he leans forward to rest his forehead against hers for a moment. "There is no one better suited. Not when you are so willing to sacrifice when there is none needed..."

[fairyfoes]

Her heart lurched, and recalled a different moment in her life, not so unlike this one. She remembered a laughing voice pressed against her ear, jubilantly chiding,

'When you give each other everything, it becomes an even trade. Each wins all.'

"Hush, you noble fool," She told him, eyes shining, voice thick and soft between them. Closed her eyes and set her hands on each of his cheeks, trapping him against her. "You're too grand and generous in spirit. I'm just a woman; with more resolve than sense, as much a fool in life and love as any other."

[oathshackledbird]

"And I am just a man with more optimism and hope than is wise. Perhaps, between the two of us, we can find some kind of balance," Diarmuid doesn't pull away from her. Instead, he just stares into her eyes, taking notice of all the emotion that passes across her face. He can't help but wonder what about his words triggered all of that, but it is not a question for now. Perhaps later...

"Does this mean we can be fools together?" An amused grin crosses his face, "Fools do tend to be more happy in each other's company than they are apart..."

[fairyfoes]

That made her laugh, and she leaned back, shoulders shaking with the force of her mirth. Ruddy tears flecked her lashes, and she dashed them away with her knuckles.

"Ah! Yes. Let's be fools, for what time we've left. In what time we can afford to be. Shuck knows I'd be grateful of the company."

[oathshackledbird]

A tension that Diarmuid didn't know was even in him relaxes when she accepts. Had he been afraid, deep down, that whoever she chose as his new master might be as ill a match for him as his past ones had been? But, her... To be honest, he can think of no better a match in the whole Drabwurld than her.

"Then shall we begin? Focus your energy and reach out for me. I will do the same and reach out to you. Envision a bond forming between us, a conduit for energy to pass between us. When I feel the time is right, I will ask if you are my master. When you are ready to accept me and all the burdens that having a servant entails, say yes. Do you have any questions?"

[fairyfoes]

"That's... all there is?"

It stuck her as bizarre, this simplicity, for a ritual of such weight, and her question was very earnest.

"No blood, no runes, no gifts to gods? No ritual fucking, or words spoken by candle light?"

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid can't help but laugh at her reaction, "Oh yes, most of those things are used, but for the summoning part of the ritual, not the contracting part. I mean..." his gaze sweeps the area around them, "...if you really want those things, we can take some time to set it up, but it is not necessary for the contracting part. See, sometimes servants lose their masters in battle and they must act quickly to find another if they wish to survive and continue their fight. A long ceremony is not something most would have time for."

Only those who are lucky enough to have ranks in Independent Action can take time to find a new master, though that skill is one usually limited to those called into the Archer class.

[fairyfoes]

"It's a ritual which binds us together," she said, a little more solemnly. "Magic, power, trust, faith... it's... significant."

She swallowed, feeling suddenly shy. Poured out her sentiment before her heart clenched enough to make her second-guess speaking them aloud.

"I'd... like to do something. Symbolic, even if it's unnecessary. Just between you and I. I've never undertook... undertook such things lightly. I'd like it to be a memory worthy of us both."

[oathshackledbird]

"If that is how you want it, then that is how we will do it," Diarmuid's expression becomes gentle when he notices that bit of shyness. "It is important and it's not like I have to forge the bond this instant or I will fade away. What do you have in mind? Don't be afraid to tell me. I want to know."

He asks because he himself has never had a chance to think about what he would want out of a ceremony like this. On the surface to him, it is something that is suppose to happen quickly and without fanfare, but he only thinks that because of what the Grail tells him. Deep down, he would actually very much like it to be more.

[fairyfoes]

"I... to be quite honest, I don't know. Just... something meaningful. Something significant. Something personal, that speaks from the heart. Just between us."

She turned a thoughtful look to him.

"What's the most meaningful symbol in the world, to you?"

[oathshackledbird]

"The most meaningful symbol?" That is a difficult question for Diarmuid. He doesn't usually put a lot of thought into symbols. The things that mean the most to him are not things that can really be summed up in a symbol: family, honor, loyalty, life...

Well...if he thinks about it that way...

"My people they use spirals and circles a lot when they are marking things. One in specific is known as a triple spiral because three is a holy number for us. We have several gods and goddesses that are known as triple deities. It can also represent the three parts of the great cycle--birth, life, and death. In some places it is used to signify the three parts of the world--sea, sky, and earth. It just encompasses so much and reminds us that we are all part of one whole no matter how distant we are from one and other. I suppose, if I had to pick a symbol, that would be it."