Eileithyia
A simple, "No, questions! We believe you!" wouldhave sufficed, but the hopes of that happening was as low as no one looking at the girl who shrieked, absolutely zero.
She hadn't gotten the chance to look over those that had come through the portal with her mind focused on processing the right words to spit out in the correct order. She paced to avoid their gazes and it worked, until now. She maneuvered herself so she faced the speaker, for her eyes' to meet theirs, and give a nod here or there to confirm she indeed was paying attention. All of their questions were valid even those with skepticism. While some spoke her mind mulled over the questions, turning them over and over again until she could find the right examples or phrases to use. Perhaps, a joke or two would lighten things up.
When a pause in questions revealed itself Eileithyia struck, "Yes, excellent questions all around." She aligned her body more toward the girl with long brown hair and glasses dressed in a snazzy vest, as her questions had received the most vocal attention in terms of what people wanted answered. "Ahlinstrons, or Ahlins, which is totally easier to say and my personal preference, cause their fair share of bad things in the world and…" Eileithyia hesitated before continuing, "yes, don't die…" Of course, never say never was Eileithyia's motto that and it was best to stick to the basics.
"First, I need you to explain to your roles, then you must choose them by creating the rune and committing yourself to not only that role but to us through a sacrificial ritual that requires you to make a promise in blood." Her face stayed neutral, but ultimately failed to not twist with emotion when she started to chuckle at the thought of everyone in robes chanting Latin with daggers in their hands. "Kidding, that whole ritual stuff only was popular in the 600s. Boring stuff really, no one likes it. It's really easy, I'll explain that part it later but simply chose your rule then you bind yourself to it through a rune. We can start training after that."
Next, Eileithyia found herself looking at a guy with short, but not too short, cropped hair and a face that indicated he would be trouble. She remembered his question as it was the only one specifically related to magic, "Ah! Runes are real, but what I meant was runes such as "bravery in battle" or "super strength" do exist but their effects do not. There isn't a working rune for everything. A rune for fireball will actually produce a fireball when activated whereas a rune for courage doesn't add courage except for a placebo effect. You'll learn which do and don't work as you train." She softly smiled, Eileithyia liked people that had actually read and referenced the document that she spent so many late nights on.
Eileithyia landed her eyes on the next person, a gentleman who gave off an air of authority, the way he spoke not about the action but about the effect of everything they would do, it reminded her of her father. "I suppose the questions is, what difference do you want to make? Are you here to help? Do you like the feeling of bringing peace to those that need it? Saving lives that otherwise wouldn't have a chance at salvation? If so, welcome."
The dial on intensity had certainly been cranked as the more questions that were asked the more they delved deeper into serious topics. Addressed next was from a girl with a handful of those questions, "Yes, valid concerns, I suppose I should let on that there has been one permanent death of an Ahlin or at least hasn't appeared for a thousand years." Eileithyia decided to stop there. Not wanting to mention the fact that it could also be a really long regeneration period, but that was almost seven times as long as any other. "The more we capture, or kill, the closer we get to permanent death. Sometimes there's need for new perspective and those in powers don't normally like that, so you gotta do what you gotta do..." Eileithyia didn't notice her tone turn angry and ramble on until it was too late. "I mean, while it has been a battle of attrition, it doesn't have to be. Lately, with more... innovative thinking and experimentation the solution to permanent death is within our grasps."
Eileithyia saved the best question for last, which was also her favorite type of question and came from her favorite type of people, skeptics. This fit into her theory this all came across as a YA book. There was the main character, though in this case that amounted to several, that accepted magic and everything without question. They knew that it existed all along, and it was a quick in for readers to see through their perspective. This guy played the role of the best friend to the main character that didn't believe anything, a way for the reader's to learn more about said world due to all their skepticism and suspicions, until something tragically supernatural happened to them.
"I guess this is the part where I show you something that makes you believe... So, I'll tell you what, you let me know what will make you believe this and I'll make it happen." Eileithyia added in a wink for good measure.
***
"Right, onto the fun stuff, shall we?" Eileithyia asked and rubbed her hands together before deciding that probably wasn't the coolest thing to do and stopped the motion.
Eileithyia turned back to what she imagined was a military drill sergeant manner, hands clasped behind the back, pacing, and turning sharply on her heels. This time, she threw glances toward the people as she spoke, "Our fighting style has to do with the positions or ranges on the battlefield. The respect you receive from others depends on the respect you give to your role. You have your close range, the Frontliners, the mid-range, Bracers and Pillars, and those that are of a combination, Patchers and Ensnares and Seekers. "
"We'll start off with Frontliners because they're the easiest class to describe," the way the word came out of Eileithyia's mouth made it obvious she held some disdain for Frontliners.
"Frontliners are revered as masters of close combat and their weapons reflect that. Their position requires them to basically be able to feel the breath of an Ahlin, delivering direct blows and are the only ones that can deliver the final blow to an Ahlin if they are not killed themselves. A dispatched team usually consists of two frontliners. If both are killed then an Ahlin cannot be defeated and the team must withdrawal, but if there happens to be an ensnare present capturing is still a playable option. To be blunt, most frontliners die young. I understand that people like to prove their strength and fearlessness but there's no need to prove those qualities with your life.
"Speaking of ensnares, they're are the only ones that can capture an Ahlin. It's their call whether a capturing method is better than a killing one because they have the most to lose if it is. What I mean by that is ensnare magic requires the usage of their life force and utilizing their body to host the Ahlin. Those that aren't strong enough risk corruption from Ahlin and losing their bodies and eventually their lives. Like I said, most to lose. Generally, ensnares lay runic traps all across the battlefield, some to hurt, some to help guide to a better part of the battlefield. Sometimes restriction is the best way of dealing with an unruly Ahlin. Typically, bracers keep an eye-out for ensnares, especially when a capturing takes place.
"Pillars and Bracers are the opposite sides of the same coin. Neither is an easy job, but they make it look as if it is. Bracers defend and support basically anyone and everyone on the battlefield while Pillars attack with and boost anyone and everyone. They have to be conscious and alert to everything that happens. There's really no time for second guessing yourself, as taking a second too long will have deadly consequences. To ease up pressure on pillars and bracers patchers are given the task of leadership.
"Since patchers are the sole healers, but usually don't have to worry about the action right away they usually take command of the battlefield. They are not absolute dictators by any means but more of a supervisor that helps others move around the battlefield easier.
"Lastly, there's seekers and what we do is basically track Ahlin through various... methods. Able to give approximate means and whereabouts to when an Ahlin will show up. Unfortunately, our particular methods take awhile to learn, which is why we start at birth. This means it's not really an option for newcomers.
"On the battlefield, the only hierarchy only comes into effect in the terms of Patchers delegating tasks or letting out warnings. It's truly up to the individual whether they believe its worth following, though it's important to keep in mind they are only looking out for the team's best interest. Most make the mistake of only ever relying on a patcher, someone who cannot simultaneously give orders for five or six people. This is a team and not having cohesiveness team leads to failed missions.
"Okay, so let's make selections and then we can commence training. There's a rune for each position and by placing that rune on you bind yourself to it and then...!" Eileithyia stopped mid-sentence and groaned, realizing her mistake. "Placement of runes, right, you don't know how to do that yet. That's also simple, you have to have the image of the rune in your head and then you place your hand over the section of clothing, jewelry, what have you and focus on that rune. The magic will flow through you and onto the article. Now, runes are not activated right away unless you want them to be but that means requires more magic."
Eileithyia managed to take out five laminated cards, she shuffled through them and switched the order for a few cards before she set each of them on the ground. After she placed them she began to explain, "This one is for Frontliners," she tapped on the first card she set down. It was a triangle made up of three rows of dots. one dot, then two dots, then three dots. "Ensnare," Eileithyia moved on to the next, a (increasing) diagonal line made up of four dots. "Bracer," The image she pointed to was six dots that were in the shape of a circle. "Pillar," there were two vertical lines with a noticeable amount of space in between them, each made up of three dots. "Patcher," the last image was a square made up of three dots in each row. "All primary runes are simplistic, easy for children to learn."
"Feel free to try it, or if you have more..." Eileithyia paused, and then her face brighten so much one could practically see the lightbulb that went off. "No, no, let's do an introduction. When you do your rune you have to say your name, location, and position, oh, and anything else you'd like to add. I'm Eileithyia, I reside here, well, not here here, but also nowhere you've heard of so there's really not a point in saying the name unless I wanted to confuse you but I don't want to confuse you, Seeker."
