[Closed] Player Plot: Desire Demon Possession

[dragoon_pride]

WHO: Kain Highwind, Inessa, Anders, Rydia, Bruce Not-Banner and James Norrington
WHAT: Backstabbing, temptation, demon-slaying and bad endings. Kain has come back to the area and brought a “friend”! OOC information is here
WHEN: Forward-dated to September/Kingsway 8th
WHERE: Mountains outside of Skyhold
NOTES: Contains violence, betrayal, eventual character death. Also, there’s no need to keep a specific tagging order, just keep things moving and jump in whenever! :)

It had been a good month so far. Kain had explored a great deal, seen some incredible lands and creatures, and overall gotten closer to clearing his head. He’d started even somewhat enjoying himself as he camped by night and traveled by day, unburdened by other responsibilities. But, eventually, he had to return. He had sworn his loyalty to the Inquisition, after all. He still had his redemption to work toward. So he’d started heading back in the direction of Skyhold.

Unfortunately, he’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time when a rift erupted. He’d started dealing with it… only to get overpowered by a desire demon. The creature remembered him from his trip to the Fade and was ready with temptations that overwhelmed him. Kain couldn’t stop it, not when the demon reminded him of what he truly wanted, deep down… to be stronger than Cecil, to be better overall, well admired and respected… and to have Rosa, all to himself. It was the Rosa illusion that really broke him. His love for her had been his downfall once before, and now it is again, in the worst possible way.

Claiming Kain was all too easy for the demon after that. All it had to do was dive in and take over the reigns. Kain’s mind was weak from his past experiences, all too open to being controlled by another. From there… the demon started testing out the limits of its new form, forcing Kain to do its will, exploiting his abilities alongside its own.

Comments

Tracking and Temptations

[dragoon_pride]

The reports start coming in as rumors. Death from the sky, they say, and others claim it’s a dragon taking the shape of a man. Whatever the case, this thing is becoming more dangerous to anyone heading toward Skyhold. There are injuries reported. Soon enough, a couple bodies are found of random travelers, with stab wounds indicating a lance was used.

It all sounds a lot like demonic activity… sort of. That’s where the Inquisition comes in. They have to investigate and stop it before any further damage can be done, so a team is assembled and sent out.

There are signs, fortunately, and a trail can be picked up with close observation... Footprints and blood mark a path leading off the main trail, into a forest of towering pine trees. Is the demon just sloppy… or does it want to be followed?

1. Temptations
As the group continues along, they’ll occasionally hear a deep whisper aimed at them, reminding them of what they want more than anything… be it people, objects, or even more abstract things like power… What do you most desire? If you turn back and leave the demon alone, you can have it...

2. Dracolisk
Kain’s dracolisk makes an appearance eventually along the trail, unharmed, but very clearly spooked as it rears up and kicks wildly.

3. Bird
Kain’s parrot shows up further along, swearing up a storm as it flies overhead.

[ooc: This is for the initial setting out and tracking Kain. Feel free to hit up one of the prompts or do your own! Jump around, mingle, work as a group, split up, etc. The demon knows it’s being pursued and will be trying to move them off to a more isolated spot.]

3

[circleprodigy]

"Nug-humper!"

Already tense the further they go, Inessa jumps a little at at that sudden outburst, though a moment later realizes no demon would speak that way. Her eyebrows draw together as she spots the brightly-colored parrot flying overhead. Given that she met Kain when the bird was absent, and it's been in his company since, this is met with no recognition.

"What in Andraste's name...?"

[dragoon_pride]

A voice hisses out of the trees, startling Bastard, who starts going on with "Son of a darkspawn whore!!!" and similar. He continues circling the are, also making distressed parrot noises.

"Little elf mage... you want to help your people, don't you? I can make it so. I can grant you enough power to see it through, to make it so... power to crush all those who've oppressed you..."

[circleprodigy]

Staring upward at the parrot in complete puzzlement, Inessa's attention is soon derailed by that hissing voice. Her lips from a thin line, and her eyes harden. "No. I'll never work with a demon. I don't want your tainted power; what I achieve, I do through my actions and mine alone."

Foul-mouthed though the parrot is, Inessa doesn't like seeing it distressed. Poor thing. She takes some trail mix from her bag and tosses it to the ground for him.

[dragoon_pride]

"Yet there is a limit to what you can achieve on your own... a limit to the knowledge you can learn. Wouldn't you enjoy knowing what no mage before you ever has, having the power to cast spells none ever have before... What you studied in the Circle is nothing in comparison..."

Bastard devolves to squawking after a bit, circling around the area warily before finally swooping down on the treat. He's still clearly agitated, wings fluttering wildly every time that creepy voice speaks up.

"Join me and become the greatest mage who ever lived."

2

[amygdalae]

...he recognized that mount.

"Wait a minute," he tells the others before urging his own dracolisk to trot closer towards the other dracolisk. As far as he could recall there was only one other person crazy enough to want a dracolisk of his own. The fact that it had a saddle was a pretty big proof that it did belong to somebody at some point.

He turns back to the rest of the party. "I'm fairly certain this is Highwind's."

[blessedmaiden]

Rydia recognizes animals easily enough so as soon as she sees the drakolisk she knows It's Kain's... and her heart sinks a little.

"Hey, beauty..." She murmurs trying to approach the mount, she spent so many nights in the stables just talking with her as Kain asked... maybe the sound of her voice will be familiar? The magic wand is lowered and the summoner tries to approach the drakolisk, trying not to startle her "It's her, it's definitely her." and hopefully it won't run away.

"Hopefully she just escaped from her stables... maybe she ran away looking for Kain? Could it be?" Think positive, Rydia, think positive!

[amygdalae]

He lets the other handle the mount, mostly glad that he isn't the one who has to deal with it - just because he (reluctantly) had a dracolisk of his own didn't mean that he was an expert or anything.

Either way, he frowns at her words when she speaks, eventually giving a shake of his head. "If I remember correctly he took... her along." He could easily be wrong, of course, but he hadn't recalled seeing another dracolisk when he was at the stables, so...

This was all rather troubling.

[blessedmaiden]

She sighs, caressing the mount's scales and trying to calm her. For a while she could hear whispers in the dark, voices perhaps in her head suggesting her to turn around, rest, maybe close her eyes because in the dream they're waiting. She caught glimps of her mother between the trees, when she rested the desire to return home and force every member of her family to stay with her, it all felt innatural but this? No, Kain is probably okay, he is an adult man in the world she comes from!

"There must be an explanation." Maybe he ended up investigating like them? "He's fine, he has to be fine." She offers a tentative smile, still trying (and failing) to calm down the drakolisk.

"I'm sure he's just a bit ahead of us."

1

[judgemewhole]

"You want to kill them. You want to kill them all." Came the whispers, and James had to roll his eyes, before he stated simply, "Yes. I do. I want to kill every single blood mage who has ever taken another's life. What is new about that?"

And there, the whispers stopped. Then they started again, "You want Ingrid, you want her so bad ..."

"Seriously, you are going to have to do better. That should be clear that I desire the woman I am going to try to marry." James rolled his eyes, flicking the hold off his sword.

He is eying the path of blood, before he spoke quietly, "Okay, this might be something along the lines of a trap ..."

[dragoon_pride]

Good. That's what the demon wants. Luring them off and perhaps using them somehow, perhaps getting rid of them entirely... the farther from help they are, the better. It all depends of course, on how this goes. There's a smirk on Kain's face as the demon wearing it continues slipping quietly through the trees.

It's trying out different targets, probing them, trying to find weaknesses. It continues with this target now, despite his initial resistance. The demon's tone is almost gentle, soothing as it makes its attempt to bargain.

"If you leave me be, I can help you... I can ensure that no blood mage who crosses your path ever lives... Strike a deal with me, and I promise you this."

[judgemewhole]

"Excuse me - but you are one of the reasons that blood mages exist. You take their blood and their calling and twist it to your own purposes." James's tone is firm, and disgusted. "So let me simply say - No. Absolutely not. And if you try this again I shall do such harm to you that you will have wished I killed you first."

[dragoon_pride]

Templars. The demon laughs, an eerie sound that starts out in Kain's voice, but devolves into a higher pitch by the end, something utterly inhuman. The laughter echoes through the forest.

"All I want is to give others their deepest desires, whatever they may be. No more or less. If it's to harm blood mages, then you shall have this. Isn't there one blood mage you especially wish to see dead? One responsible for killing someone very close to you... Together, we can see that you get your revenge..."

1

[justice_is_blond]

Desire demons are dangerous. In his opinion, they're the hardest to deal with because he's always wanted so much more than he's gotten. The whispers are a little less compelling than usual... but only because he's awake.

You can run, they say. This time you can be free. No one will chase you. They're too busy with Corypheus. They might even like it if you left. Look at them, the Templar and Banner. Think of how relieved they'd be if you were gone.

He takes a slow breath, shifting his staff in his hand. Yes. They'd be relieved if he was gone. But Nate wouldn't be. And he can't abandon Kain or Inessa or Rydia.

"You seem to think I want them relieved." Anders' voice is dry.

[dragoon_pride]

It's all a little game to play, to the demon. All it has to do is find the right thing to tempt him with and he'll have him. Anders is a good target, the demon decides, watching him for a moment, then moving slowly along to continue working on him for a moment. Mages always are. Though it's been having a lot of fun in this body.

"But isn't that exactly what you want? An end to the fighting... to all of this strife? You would be completely unburdened, as would they. Think how they all look at you... they loathe you. They want you to go. If you leave them all behind, you can start a new life, away from their hatred. You can finally know peace and acceptance."

[justice_is_blond]

"The price is too high. And I'd lose what little peace and acceptance I've found." Nate is his anchor as much as he is Anders' freedom, and Anders won't betray him by fleeing. He won't betray Nate, period.

"I want piece, I want an end to strife, but you charge more than I can afford." A beat. "That, and I like annoying people who want me gone. It's satisfying." So many have wanted him dead. So many have died wanting that, while he still lives. He takes a great deal of pleasure in that.

"When I go, I go as myself." And probably long before there's any peace to be had at all.

[dragoon_pride]

There's a smug little laugh from the demon. It's not deterred really, and it's enjoying this conversation far too much.

"Yet you were willing once before to entertain an... occupant with you. Don't you miss how that felt? Having such power at your fingertips, being stronger than any other mage ever could be, alone? I could grant you far more than any spirit ever could...

Oh, yes... it knows how to twist a simple desire such as freedom into something cruel and terrible. It's just getting started with its little envisioning of how things could be. Anders would be so much fun to use.

"Let's finish what you started. Let's crush all who would oppress the mages and ensure that your people know freedom for the rest of time!"

Fiiiiiiiiight!!!

[dragoon_pride]

It’s bitterly cold and isolated where the demon has led them. The desire demon has been toying with the group so far, keeping hidden in the trees, occasionally taking advantage of Kain’s jumping power to move around easily. Now, it’s led the group to an open, snowy area, where it intends to finish them off.

“Is a fight truly what you want? Or is there something better I can give you?” the demon says in Kain’s voice, his mocking tone daring the fighters to approach. Even at a glance, something is very off about the dragoon’s overall stance… it’s evident that the desire demon in full control here. Lesser demons surround the area as well, one rage and a pair of terror demons, which are already moving out to start targeting the group. The desire demon moves Kain's lips into an eerie, uncharacteristic smile, pleased with the distraction they'll provide.

[circleprodigy]

Upon finally spotting the desire demon in Kain's body, Inessa can't help but recoil, even more pale than usual. Demons and possession...suddenly, she's back in the tower, a frightened child hiding and hoping they don't find her. She swallows hard, trying to push past her terror, as Garahel stands in front of her and snarls loudly.

Oh, Kain. If only they'd known about this earlier, perhaps the ritual that saved Anders could have saved him. Now, it seems...really unlikely. Its questioning finally earns her gaze, full of tranquil fury.

"I want you to die, demon."

Heart sinking, Inessa begins to cast as her mabari charges forward. She centers a Misdirection Hex on the demon in Kain's body, as well as a Vulnerability Hex after that.

[judgemewhole]

"Maker's Breath - abomination!" James called out, and made sure to step forward in front of the mages to protect them as his sword came out. He took two steps forward, to put the mages out of his range, before he waved his word out and pulled out with a heavy weapon right away -- Holy Smite, to drain it from energy before he and the mabari charged forward into battle.

Demons were only to be killed, after all, especially when they had gotten this deep.

[justice_is_blond]

He slams his staff down, throwing barriers around everyone as he tries not to think too much. Another possession. And they don't have what they'd need with them to field-test the ritual, they don't have anything other than an urgent need to defend themselves.

"You could always leave him, go into a nearby nug or something, if you're asking what we want." It won't. It has power like this. But Anders rarely shuts up and backtalking a demon seems a good cause.

Haste is the next thing he casts, spreading it to their group. "Can we... Is there any chance we can just subdue it?" It might not be good to ask this of any of them. There might not even be anything of Kain left. But he has to try, because he cares.

Aftermath (Warning for eventual character death)

[dragoon_pride]

The demons are cleared out, the desire demon defeated at last. The battle has been far from pleasant for everyone involved… including Kain, who’s barely clinging to life. His mind is free, but his body is beaten.

A little healing magic ought to help… right???

let's get this ball rolling

[amygdalae]

The fight was over.

Bruce can feel himself nearly wanting to keel over from the exertion - his mana capacity was one of the reasons why he was never a fighter, among others - but it wasn't over yet. Highwind was still alive... so perhaps, there was some hope.

Using the staff to support him Bruce makes himself walk over to where the Rifter was lying, huffing a breath as he focuses and tries to draw out whatever that remained inside of him to fix whatever was possible and at least try to pull him out of danger.

yesss good idea!

[dragoon_pride]

The demon had lent him considerably more strength, pushed him physically past the limits of his human form. It had been far past where he'd ever have been able to push himself, even as a reaver who thrives on pain. Now he's paying the price for it. Paying the price for failing and becoming a puppet yet again.

There's nothing that doesn't hurt at the moment. The pain is head to toe, his body bruised and bleeding and broken. Kain grimaces, waiting to feel the usual relief of healing magic. But so far, Bruce's first attempt doesn't seem to be even touching it. Right, he's been in bad shape before... this can't be any different. He's a little concerned at the moment, but he's willing to trust in the healers. They have plenty of them here, after all.

"...what have I done...?" His trembling voice is thick with guilt, his breath unsteady and harsh.

[circleprodigy]

Likewise as exhausted as Bruce, Inessa makes her way over after healing a limping Garahel. Her own wounds aren't significant, and she's not about to bother with them at the moment, when Kain needs to be the focus. Looking him over, she visibly winces upon noting the damage done. Plenty of that was her own doing, and while she hadn't hesitated then, it's different, seeing him like this now. At least that demon seems to be driven off.

She sighs and crouches down by him, gathering the strength for another healing spell, though compared to Anders, her own skill is a paltry thing. "Just stay still, please. We'll help as much as we can." But peering at his current assortment of wounds, she wonders if this is too much even for a Spirit Healer to handle.