Compel
Legacy Name: Compel

Credits:

Art credited individually. Pet overlay, minion overlay, background gif art, profile coding, and writing done by: Iridescent
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Thanks so much to my friends for keeping me motivated. <3

Newest Art

The animated background can be seen in it's original format here in video format.



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As you sit in your countryside home before bed the fresh air outside beckons you. The summer sun is slowly fading from the world but the beauty of dusk draws you outside. You just need to spend a little more time to yourself outdoors in the calm and peace of nature. For a moment you worry that you should've gone earlier, or tomorrow when it's light outside, but you're already standing on the porch with your coat on. It would be silly to turn around and go back in and you already feel more refreshed.

You come to the edge of the woods and you hear the call of the birds saying goodnight, settling in all comfy and sleepy. The sunset left purple streaks in the beautiful sky and the world around you turns to various shades of shadow and blue. The green light almost blends in with the dark trees and brambles. You stare at it for a moment and when it moves you feel your heart skip a beat in surprise. It swirls slowly down, further into the shadowy roots of a small, twisty tree. When it drifts out of the tree's dark shadow you see there are two. What is it?

You peer closer and take a few steps into the thicket. It was so close, just around that tree. You stop as you see it again. It moves once more, graceful, luminescent, like mist it fades in and out, a pretty round green comet with a fading tail. Oh! There are three now! Intrigued you follow it for a while longer. How many are there? Is it a natural phenomenon and where is it going?

At times it seems as though it sees you and hides but it always comes out again, silent and ethereal.

_____

Shafts of golden sunlight dance through the ancient leaves in the forest surrounding Iridestra's castle home. Her visitor of the night is gone now. The glow of the werelights are muted in the day, barely visible. The small orbs floating in the air fade and wink out altogether as her familiar, Wrassa, falls asleep in a warm corner near the window. Her own lights are out as well. They are part natural, part magic, and can follow any pattern they choose. Her minions are a special source of pride for her. She's molded them into the perfect creatures- loyal, hypnotic and deadly. When they're together at the same time they could hypnotize almost any opponent. The magic she used to forge them is part of why she's a sorceress and not something more respectable, like a wizard. They have more rules than she could ever put up with. None of her familiars ever died or suffered ill from the changes she wrought on them when they were pups and kits. Each were raised with the utmost regard. Now they'd do anything for her without hesitation.

She had set the girl from last night back on the path to her dwelling before dawn. She would keep walking and every step she took would make the time she spent with Destra seem more and more dreamlike. When she got home she would fall into bed and awake thinking it was all a dream. Better than a nightmare though. It may seem devious to lure them out like that but she usually sends them back unharmed. Usually. Iridestra's a treasure-hunter and creator at heart and sometimes she needs... Help... With things. Often, she sends the creature or human back after just a glance. Others find themselves drawn further into the most dangerous parts of the marsh never to be seen again. She has different uses for those she compels. Her experiments sometimes call for test subjects, or she may need traps tested while treasure hunting. If anyone gets to close to her land she'll make sure they go elsewhere. She isn't evil but she isn't angelic either. Everyone that visits her is greeted by her piercing green- yellow eyes staring deep into their soul. If they know what's good for them they'll turn around and go home before it's too late.. If they aren't careful they may find it rather impossible to do so..

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Friends

She had summoned more than what she had expected tonight. He said he was a Prince of the Harrows. The Harrows were written about in the Barbed Texts, she'd had to kill quite a few cultists to obtain it a few years ago. She'd thought they were an accounting by long-dead, rival, royalty. No one had heard the phrase Harrows in her lifetime. The stories were very, very old and she only had the texts because they were rare and she'd wanted them. She tried to remember what she had read. The information was chilling, she remembered that much, blood-soaked stories and warnings. Pictures of demons on parchment filled her mind. He hadn't looked like those creatures but looks could be altered, skewed... Pausing, she bit her lower beak in thought. Her spell hadn't held long, according to him, he'd used it to find her, rather than the other way around. Either he was telling the truth or he was simply strong at deflection but either way he was a scamp. Even if he'd said she intrigued him...

He'd also been very interested in the terraforming that she'd done. Said he'd be back to chat with her some more. Normal protocol dictated that she should destroy him immediately but she was curious as well. She wanted to figure out exactly who he was; he had enough arrogance to be the prince he claimed to be. If he was real than the Harrows were real too, and if he was here, what did that mean for the rest of them?

Her thoughts drifted towards research. Maybe that pesky wolf in her Keep would know. There were a lot of books in the Athenaeum and more than likely he'd stumbled across something that could be of use to her. She called him Bespelled as a reminder that he was under her compulsion, she smirked to herself. He couldn't leave without her permission as punishment for trying to break into her library. He was physically much stronger than her and when he'd come to the Keep for her books they'd fought, and he'd almost won. Her spells had bested him in the end.

She wasn't a total monster though; he was free to do his own research as he pleased. She knew a geas when she saw one and he was definitely under one. He'd literally showed up at the Keep's door, an almost impossible feat unless he'd been shown the way. He swore the only guide he'd used was in his dreams, a path through the stars, guiding him here. In any case whatever brought him was not entirely in his control and he was powerful in his own magic. It didn't hurt to have him around but she also couldn't afford him running off and telling anyone she was there. Her own spells and quests into the matter, (including a trip to her favorite tarot reader Caster), came up blank except to reveal that the Keep was safer with him there. She'd let it rest after that. One could not convince the fates to reveal their hands before it was time. The future would bring answers, of that she was sure.

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The Athenaeum

The Keep was never truly quiet. Too many apparitions and animals lived in and around the castle. There were also wind-chimes hanging in the gardens and tones based on magical components being constantly triggered all over the woods. The wind blew in strong on this spring morning, carrying the various sounds and making her feel chilled and sharp. She approached the library's great wooden doors with their shiny brass fittings and as soon as she put one cloven hoof onto the threshold she saw faint blue whirls disperse into the air.

A magical tone chimed, faint and haunting, as the door opened fluidly. The whirls turned into blue translucent foxes who were already racing into the huge library to alert their master. Fancy wizards, she thought sarcastically. She could have just gone in, it was her place after all but it was better to err on the side of caution. Who knew what tricks he might have set up to spring on her. Her hold on him did extend to her own personal safety but they were light. She preferred to rely on her own personal protections rather than waste her magic on guessing what others might do. As if that wasn't obvious in her naturally manifested compulsion magic. That kind of magic is always the strongest, always the backbone for everything else.

A lifetime of training made her take stock of the beautiful library and all of her surroundings. She didn't like surprises. The library was built with warm honey colored wood, shelves stretched from floor to floor to ceiling, over multiple stories, and was circular, with desks situated in the middle of the room. Big open windows let the breeze in on the right. At the top of the farthest ceiling was a beautiful steamwork display of the constellations which lit up and moved. The ceiling spire was spelled to become opaque when needed at night and a large gold and brass telescope looked out. She watched a long legged white wolf walk out from between a stack of books beyond the foyer and went forward to meet him. He was wearing a hooded robe as usual, his bright blue eyes shining out from the depths of the shadowy cowl, his white muzzle barely visible. Her compulsions glowed for just a moment, recognizing her, invisible to everyone else. She hoped he knew something about the Harrows. If that stranger was telling the truth of course. But the way he had said it.. So full of pride, she really didn't doubt him.

"Iridestra," the big wolf spoke, stopping next to one of the tables, "What brings you to the Athenaeum today?"

He seemed to be in a relatively good mood today. She watched as his furry dragon familiar did a slow circle around the room, looking warily down at Wrassa, who was standing at the door. He watched her too, ears forward. She knew Dawn Spire only looked like a cream-puff on the outside. On the inside she was equipped with burning acid that even Wrassa knew better than to mess with.

"Bespelled," She nodded to him, "The library is looking well. The reason I'm dropping in is to find information on the "Harrows". Have you ever heard of it?"

"I've heard the word used before but nothing that would stand out. My own studies have taken me elsewhere. I was never much with the histories or superstitions."

"Hmmm... I've seen the word before, in an old book. I'm not even sure if it's the same thing. Well, I'll find out what I can today. I'm going to need you to look for any clues about them. Do you think you could handle that?"

He pretended to think about it and smirked at her.

"Maybe, haha. Is there a reason for this newfound interest?" He asked, arching his eyebrows.

"You know I like a good mystery and if my hunch is right then maybe the Harrows aren't just a vague something. Maybe it's something very real."

"Well now wouldn't that be something! The City Wizards wouldn't allow that. Impossible that they wouldn't know about it and send in their drones."

"Perhaps. However, how would we even know? If they didn't want anyone to know they wouldn't. Or maybe they aren't as all-powerful as they think and they don't know yet."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" He smirked as he caught her eye.

She shot him a look and said, "Would serve them right."

He chuckled softly.

"I'll look through the library, see what I can find. The planets are louder these days. Check the astrological mapping up in the alcove, I think this line of questioning is leading down one of the paths I've spotted. Little is coincidence, you know," he said softer, before turning his back to locate the books. Bespelled couldn't predict the future but he was very good with stars.

They parted ways and she started off through the castle heading for the woods. Once outside she came to the wide part of the path that led out of the hidden Keep and burst into a canter. Her hooves were thudding on the pine needles and undergrowth that lined the way. The path seemed to suddenly disappear but she knew where she was going. She took a sharp right and used her speed to vault up onto the great grey, moss-covered limestone that naturally jutted up out of the earth. In some places there were sheer drops, as though earthquakes many centuries ago had rearranged the forest floor. She landed with ease on the grass and followed the narrow unmarked trail through tall pines and spruces interspersed with bare rock, all of it going slightly uphill. After a bit the way was blocked by dense foliage. She headed left towards the meadow. Once there it fell away behind her as she whispered some words and her surroundings blurred as she used magic to speed up her trip.

A few minutes later she slowed from the rapid pace, now surrounded by the long brown reeds and endless space of the marsh. The wind blew warm and the crickets hummed. She turned slightly away from the sight of the marsh, back into the trees. She was in the middle of nowhere as far as anyone would have seen. She ran her spells to make sure the area was empty and whispered the keyword. The air rippled to her magesight, first the ground, than the air around her, and lastly, above her. Within moments the layer upon layer of spell locks shimmered bright green for an instance as the door coalesced into existence. She had reached her destination, her own personal fortress of solitude, her treasury collection and private workroom. It was where she kept her most prized and important treasures and scrolls, and the most volatile of ingredients. It was fortified, and not ignitable.

A few of her creations came out to welcome her, slinking softly from the forest shadows. She smiled to herself, it was good to see her minions looking so well. Her primary pet, Wrassa, led the Werelit. They flashed orbs that brightened and dimmed around her. They spoke in a language of colors and dimensional hues, light and dark. She called them the Werelit, named after the werelights that she'd woven into their beings when created.

They had free run of her entire estate, from forest to river but tended to stay close to her or the collection unless given other orders. They were free to come and go as they pleased, she could always find them or call them to her in an instant if she needed to. A few came up to her looking for a scratch and she obliged. They followed her inside as she stepped through the portal door and entered the cozy chamber. It vanished behind her. This building was the size of a small cottage and it was where she stayed when she was working on the go. It was filled with multi-dimensional shelves that could rotate out for other things, and spatially engineered ecosystems, all designed to hold the delicate and deadly alike. If she had any hidden info stashed away on the ominous Harrow Court it would be in here. She settled in for a long night.

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The key to being powerful is having more power, of course. Iridestra has more than a few lairs and treasures hidden away. One such place is particularly large and full of traps. It's hidden away in th--for--of--. *cough* It's hidden away SOMEWHERE UNKNOWN and it's full of her most precious treasures, spells, potions, keys, magics, ingredients, scrolls, creatures, dark books, enchanted weapons, and secrets. It's likely that her powers of compulsion are well-knit into the spells surrounding the shady stone fortress and that's why no one's been able to find or take it. Maybe if you are very lucky you'll be able to see it one day. Her collection of treasures grows almost daily as her dream of becoming the most powerful sorceress in the world quietly comes true. She just needs to stay hidden a little longer, grow a little stronger..

The stone fortress where she lives, simply called the Keep, is also full of hidden rooms and towers. Little does Iridestra know that one day in the future she'll be sharing it with a family. But that day is far away, there's still a war between then and now. One particular tower is very tall and winding, with a golden- blue metallic staircase spiraling from bottom to top. Tall, dark, wooden beams stretch up to the conical ceiling where it's common to find winged creatures and birds.

This is where she keeps items that may be of use to her in the future, trinkets she's collected in her travels, and odd bits of treasure. (Though it might as well be an attic. Granted, an attic with magical food held in suspended animation, potions to change anyone's physical appearance, but also, stuffed animals, and a biography of her favorite wizard.) It's also home to small creatures and animals who have ended up with her on her journeys over the years. They often scamper into and out of the tower and down the halls into the rest of the Keep. It's your typical sorcerer's tower I'm sure. Not many are brave enough to venture in... You'd better hurry before she gets back, this window will only hold so long, and remember don't touch ANYTHING. The Shrouded Spire.

The land on which she lives is kept secret from the rest of the world of Prash. Using spells of compulsion and illusion her land is hidden from outsiders. Iridestra is a sorceress, her ethics are not ringed with laws and rules. Her forays into creationism have resulted in some interesting creatures.. Not to mention the terraforming, which is not exactly illegal, yet, but as long as the City Wizards stay away there's nothing to worry about. There's a unique building nestled among the trees of the large forest, as hidden as any of her special creations. It's made of stone, metal, and glass, and inside is a menagerie of creatures. Some are from the surrounding areas, some were brought with from her travels. They are allowed to leave if they'd like, but most don't, it's beautiful and they're always cared for. If you want to see it, I know a way in: Celestial Park Conservatory.