[MCCC] Elliot, the Lost Dreamer
Part of MCCC this month, will update as the challenges progress.
Elliot, the Lost Dreamer
Stats Stat(+bonus per level) = Total at max level HP: 390(+90) = 2,010 HP per 5: 6(+0.6) = 16.8 Mana per 5: 8(+0.6) = 18.8 Mana: 260(+65) = 1,430 Attack Damage: 49(+1.2) = 70.6 Attack Speed: 0.65(+2%) = 0.86 Armor: 18(+2) = 54 Magic Resist: 30(+0) Movement speed: 330 Attack Range: 150 (Melee)
Appearance Elliot is remarkably plain looking, beyond the massive, golden-beautiful angel wings sprouting from his shoulder blades. As a person, he looks gaunt and pale and dressed in rag, eyes sagging and skin shriveled; as if aged by a lack of food or safety or rest. Even for an adolescent, maybe the age of thirteen, no one should look to suffer like that. The wings are the strangest part of him, not because they are out of place but of how healthy they look: golden feathers glisten and shine like no other and radiate heat. He moves by floating on their reach, but really it looks more like he hangs from them loosely as they fly themselves.
When Elliot attacks, he swings his whole body like a ragdoll, foot first, in a circular motion as if to kick or lash at whatever he targets.
As Elliot levels his ultimate in game, his wing span grows wider. Without any ranks in R his wings are only just the size of his shoulder blades and neck, one rank they extend out to his arm's length and begin to flap, rank two they are a little bit further, and at max rank three they are double the span of his arms. At max rank his auto attack animation changes to him swinging his right wing counter-clockwise in a circular sweep.
Abilities P: Lost Dreamer *Elliot fades between dimensions, but sometimes he is closer to one or the other. * Dream stacks are gained from dealing damage, and Reality stacks are gained from taking damage, regardless of the amount taken or dealt, every tick or hit of damage equates to one stack of either respectively. Reality stacks grant 1 magic resist each, and 1 stack is lost every time he deals damage to an enemy (regardless of amount). Dream stacks grant 1.5(+0.25 Per level) flat AP each, and 1 stack is lost every time he takes damage (regardless of amount). They cap at 10 each, unless gained via Worlds Apart, in which case they will exceed the cap up to 25. Both sets of stacks last 3 seconds after exiting combat.
- Q: Dream within a Dream *Elliot imprints a dream of his into target’s mind, draining them of vigor to fight via exhaustion. If the target is slowed beyond a certain point, they are completely drained of energy and instead are stunned. * 60 Mana 16 Second cooldown 700 Range, single target no projectile, 0.35 second cast time
Elliot slows the target champion’s attack speed by 40% and movement speed by 30 (flat), increasing by 1/2/3/4/5 movement speed (flat) for every 1% of missing health; for 1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25 seconds. If the target is below 280 movement speed when slowed, they are stunned for the duration instead and gain the “Sleeplessness” debuff for three seconds.
- W: Clouded Mind Elliot reenacts the spell that his father used to control his dreams, but instead creates a cloud of imagination energy; on will it may be discharged. Hitting an enemy champion re-inspires his energetic mind. Everything that dreams and sleeps cannot resist such thoughts, causing them to ignore a flat amount of magic resist, while inanimate creatures cannot resist at all and the bolts travel right through them. 100/110/120/130/140 Mana 18 Second cooldown 525 Range, 1800 projectile speed, Channels for initial activation, then remains as a barrage ability skillshot, reseting number of casts on champion hit
Upon first activation, Elliot channels for 2.5/2.25/2/1.75/1.5 seconds to summon the cloud above him. Then afterwards for six seconds, he can be reactivated up to two times to fire a fast, short range bolts, and dealing 10/20/30/40/50 (+20% AP) magic damage. Hitting an enemy champion resets the number of bolts and will ignore 15 (+1% AP) flat magic resist. Hitting a minion will not stop the bolts and they will travel through them, but still deal damage and will stop on the first enemy champion hit. Minions do not reset number of bolts. Bolts do not ignore the magic resist of minions. Subsequent bolts deal 50% damage to the same target. No cast time for bolts, 0.5 second cooldown between bolts. Total Damage to champion: 35/70/105/140/175 (+70% AP)
- E: Worlds Apart *Elliot attempts to bring his others to his dimension, but the connection is unstable. The ally is protected under the veil for only a short duration, and enemies who attempt to break the bond are lashed out against. If Elliot casts it on him then he immediately leaves this dimension. * 40 Mana 20 Second cooldown 350 Range
Creates a 20/40/50/60/70 (+60% AP) shield on ally target for 2 seconds, stunning all enemies that dealt damage to the shield while active and up to 2 seconds of it breaking, stunning for 0.5 seconds. This does not include damage over time or traps by enemies. Enemies stunned this way gain the “Sleeplessness” debuff for three seconds. If the shield is broken, the cooldown is reduced by 50%. If cast on Elliot, he instead becomes untargetable for 2 seconds, cannot basic attack or cast abilities, loses all Reality stacks, and instantly gains 5/10/15/20/25 Dream stacks; Elliot cannot gain the benefits of the shield and enemies who damage him are not stunned nor applied the debuff. Does not halve cooldown.
- R: Return to Sleep *Elliot grows his mind, in both wingspan and speed. Upon activation, he pulls a sleepy target through a dream and nightmare dimension, recreating lifetimes of damage. * 100 Mana 140/120/100 second cooldown 550 Range
Passive: Gains 30/60/90 movement speed (flat) and attack range. The movement speed is lost while slowed. Active: Target enemy is dealt 10/15/20% of their current health as magic damage and disappears from the map for 3 seconds. Can only be cast on an enemy with “Sleeplessness” debuff.
Elliot is intended as a support, equipped with a menagerie of tricky abilities from extending from his blessing and curse of an ever expanding dreamscape. While he brings a lot of crowd control to the table, a majority of it cannot be used alone and is most benefitial in groups. Dream within a Dream is extremely dependent on a weak target to stun, and may all together vary between the target. Then, most notably In his ability Worlds Apart that counters enemy aggression with a heafty layer of crowd control, it cannot be used alone and for himself can only really be used for an escape tool. Finally, his ultimate Return to Sleep is an amazing passive, and an active that when used effectively will literally remove a threat from the map, given they already have been stunned by Elliot.
Being melee, he can choose from any of the support's gold generating items. That being said, which one is best for him can only be determined by a player's play style and while apparently simple, he can be used in a variety of ways.
As in lane, any of his abilities can be taken at level one or two but you need to prioritize how he will play. Considering he only has one damage ability, his W, should you be invaded or ganked his only true ability to disengage relies on the enemy attacking his ally, or if they are slow or low enough for him to stun with Q. He cannot simply walk away on his own with E, as while it protects him temporarily it does nothing to stop them from continuing the chase. As well, the the E can be easily bated and if so, which requires a steady understanding of when it is necessary to turn a fight: too late and you may be scrapping for parts, while too early and they may simply walk away while the shield is put on a 20 second cooldown.
Where Elliot does excel, is in teamfights: He is able to quickly move about the map, positioning the whole team by being able to move in and out with ease to plant wards, defend objectives, or scout. When the fight finally breaks out, it is possible for him to stun a whole enemy team with a strong placement on his E, such as the tank of the team: he dashes in and with one wrong attack and a priority target is stunned just long enough, and the rest of the team can follow up. On the opposite end, when the enemy tank engages drop the shield on the priority target and the enemy is stunned for aggression and a free target. If they continue to be a problem, Elliot can drop his ultimate, to more or less extend the duration of the stun; but now they can no longer be the target of heals or buffs from allies.
Lore: A bright gold flash, a sunbeam crashing to the earth, twinkling in the light of evening as it quickly plummets. Like a golden egg but faster than a bullet, it plummeted to the earth, a sunken sullen forest below. ** Crash! ** Birds squaw and flap off, but otherwise no activity. Once more the world is solemn and cold.
“One berry, two berry, three berry, four! Picka’ berry picka’ berry, more-more-more!” Looking at what she collected, the grass basket looked full for one night. Having enjoyed herself a bit too much, Annie looked around for any remaining on the branches: none. Or at least none she could see, dusk had crept up on her faster than anticipation, and suddenly she realized it was past curfew.
Crunch… Crunch… Snap-snap-snap…
She froze. Twigs crunched behind her in the tall brush. She swore she could hear the heaving bellows of some great beast hidden under night’s curtain. Her heart sank as the thought of the Bears coming out at night.
Crunch, crunch, crunch…
The basket tumbled to the ground, she didn't want to stay to see what was. She made it several feet before it revealed itself:
“Wait... Please…” From out of the weeds, a stranger’s voice called. With a loud thud, she rolled out, collapsing before the young girl. Annie did not get far without noticing, her fear subsided as the forest went still again. Tall, the stranger carried a satchel nearly the size of Annie herself, fully cloaked in both coat and the cover of night. Juxtaposing from her supplies, a massive cross, wrapped in thick wool or linen stood at the end.
“Who are you mister? Are you okay cause if not my daddy is-“
They let out a labored laugh. “Mister? No. no…” A hand drew back the hood: she was beautiful; long blonde hair tied back to reveal a fair face and bright blue eyes. “But don’t worry, it’s a common mistake. Ha-ha…” Before collapsing to the dirt and leaves again.
Annie, with little ease, pulled her sword from it from its home and propped it up against the tree.
“Lady! Lady use this! We can…” She tried to pull up the strangers shoulder to lift her, but instead turned her on her side. Looking up, she was tired and weak, but still managed to smile. “T-thanks… Smart kid…” She managed to slowly pulled herself up. “We need to go…”
“Yeah! We have to go before the monsters get us! The bears!” The stranger and the girl hobbled along.
“Are you kidding me!? If you had her collecting food then she can...“ The group was all standing at ends, no one could settle. Torches were lit, burning what little oil they had, the only two not carrying were Gregori and Anoline, the parents of the missing girl.
“Mama! Mama mama!” Shouting in the distance. One of the torch bearers stepped out, to reveal the girls silhouette, along with the strangers appeared in the dark of the torches. “Mama, I’m safe! I’m safe!”
“Annie!” Anoline shouted. “Annie, come to us! Come to us girl, please!” Annie rushed to the side of her mother, who went quickly under his wing.
“Go, go to your tent Annie, to Elliot. You need your rest, go…” Anoline scooted the girl along. Turning back to the stranger, in shadow. “Who, who are you!? Why have you-“
“I am a friend. Need not worry.” She returned.
“No, no here we have every reason to worry! Who are you!?”
She finally stepped within distance before the torch was extended to see her face, while pleasant she was clearly pale, sickly; to her side a crutch. “My name is Kayle. I am… need not worry, please. I am just another wanderer, on my way; please. All I need is rest and safety if you can allow it.”
Anoline turned to Gregori, he saying nothing. They motioned for her to enter the circle. Upon inspection, wounds covered her side, dried blood soaked through bandages: she looked more torn and weathered then they, who having traveled for several months have seen some of the worse that such swamps can offer.
“We can give you…“ Anoline offered, but before he could finish her out a hand on him to stop.
“All I need is rest.”
Gregori motioned for two of their guards to follow, Kayle took no response. He led, she followed and they trailed all the way to one of the folded tents: with a wave of his hand and a flash of blue, it rose to stand. “You may stay here, and I will send for the apothecary, to-“
She gave him a bored, tired look, “I, I am sorry for ruining any hospitality you offer, but all I really need is sleep… Thank you.”
He smiled back, “No, not at all. Sleep well, then.” As he waved her off.
“Pssst… Pssst… Hey, hey wake up…”
Kayle jumped, was still wearing her satchel, crutch still in hand. It was the girl Annie, from last night...
The morning sun shone through small gaps in the tent, as well as illuminating the hide walls. But, it was just twilight… Touching her side, a majority of the wound was healed. When did I sleep? She asked herself.
Annie was smiling.
“How can I help you?” She asked; Annie kept smiling through tired eyes. Kayle couldn't help but smile back.
Annie smiled one moment more before jumping out of the tent. Slowly rising and fueled by some curiosity, Kayle could do nothing but try and follow. Exiting, the camp was as much wreckage during day, just past midday it was, than the forest at night. Grey, grey all grey even under the warm red sun it felt cold. Several other children, more or less Annie’s age loosely played in the path though camp, as drained of color as their surroundings.
“Papa wanted to talk to you lady. He’s in,” Annie pointed to the largest tent, “He’s in there.”
Kayle nodded, sending her off.
The inside of the tent was a breath of warm air, incense burning. A low fire and coals rest at the bottom of a fire pit, while the walls of the tent are painted and colored, bearing almost unidentifiable tribal symbols. Near the fire, a man coughed and heaved, laying on his side; Gregori not far from him, singing a low chant. Again, stapled to his side was the boy. She waits for him to finish, only not a moment longer before the coughing man calms.
“You wished to see me?”
“Yes, I did.” He pointed to several cushions; Kayle watches as he directs for the child to leave, then sits down; she follows suit.
“I'm sorry, please ignore my son, Elliot... Tea?" With a wave, blue mist poured from his shirt sleeve, summoning a steaming kettle and cups. She refused. Pouring some for himself, he continued, "I do hope they have been treating you well, stranger. But now, tell me: Kayle... where are you from?”
She looked at him confusedly, his words of kindness but tone of contempt, “I, am just passing through. From north east of here, travelling-“
“How far north? Because these swamps are no small danger. We have been on pilgrimage for several months now and know that. Yet, you…” He paused. “You are here, alone, returning from dangerous lands, out at night no less.”
“Look, I don’t mean any trouble..." She said continued with nothing, leading to a subtle but abrupt pause. They both exchange stares before he gives in to her resolve, and scowls. “Gregori, is it? I must thank you for your hospitality. I really I should-“ She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm to stay, a tight grip. If he was being aggressive, Kayle could not tell; but felt hostility still.
“No, you really must stay, please. It would be rude of me to have you leave only after one day.” Shrugging him off, both exchanged glares. Beneath his eyes, almost spectral wisps of red leak, revealing his anger; gone in a blink, she takes no notice.
While marching out, she heard him yell out, “And we found you, from our camp, in the southern region...”
As much as she didn't trust him, she could still see his group needed help. She wasn't followed, but attempting to help anyone with chores was to no avail. returning to her tent, the sheen of red ruby glared her in the eye through the entrance; Annie and the boy from before, Elliot sat square around her crutch, the bandages partly peeled. Before they could see what it was, her appearance scared them to drop it. A light clank as the tip collided with some barren rock or dirt.
“I, we just, it was-“
Kayle laughed with their panic. “It’s okay, you can’t hurt it, no worries.” She thought a moment,“Do you wish to see it?”
They both looked to each other, then nodded with excitement.
Slowly, the wraps came off: it was old, yet still kept its luster. Maybe made of brass or gold, the sword was both beautiful and hearty. The edges were dull, appearing more as an ornament than anything else: most notably were the two large red gems that stuck, one tip and one hilt, deep, all the way through the blade. Both children were awestruck. She slowly reapplied the wraps, concealing its shine once more before laying it down again.
“So, lady, why were you out in the swamp?” Annie finally asked.
Kayle chewed on the question, “I, was… Travelling, just like you all are. And, I…” She took a breath. “I guess I got lost, tripped. And fell, hard… And, right now I guess I’m just trying to find my way home.”
“Do you have the nightmares too?” he finally spoke, his voice hoarse, but Annie slapped him on the shoulder. “Ellie, don’t be rude!”
Slowly turtling into his collar, he apologized.
“What nightmares?” Kayle asked.
Annie spoke for him. “Ellie is just being silly, he gets nightmares all the time about monsters but there ain't no monsters to be worried about! And papa is good with sleeping and every night keeps us all safe from the nightmares and the monsters, no worry!” She said with pep.
“Well, if he keeps you safe from the nightmares, then why is Elliot still having them?”
Elliot shuttered at the question, but Annie didn’t understand. “Papa is the only magician here silly! And he can’t have the nightmares because papa doesn't let him!” She turned to her older brother, who was neck deep in shame of his sister, “You quit being such a scaredy cat!”
“Annie, can you do me a favor?” Kayle asked playfully, she responded with a smile. “Can you go out to that little crook where you get the water and find me three little blue frogs? You know the ones? And bring them back here?” She nodded energetically, not even realizing that there aren't any blue frogs’ native here for hundreds of miles. The allure of catching frogs was too much for the young child, who rushed out the tent.
Kayle turned to him, now alone. He had a aura of vulnerability, not because he was with her; in fact the opposite. But he felt vulnerable that their was no reason to justify him being here, out of place; just like her. For the first time, she noticed just how sickly he looked: pale and pasty, along with deep eyes and droops under them, the stuff you only see when you are his parents’ age.
“Elliot, is it? Yes?” He nodded. “Elliot,” She smiled, trying to cheer him up. “I happen to be the best expert in monsters. Can you, tell me about you’re nightmares?” “He’s, he's real, I…” Halfway through speaking, he lost his energy, slouching down; she caught him.
“I’m not saying he’s not real, just… Can you tell me about these dream’s you’re having?”
Taking a deep breath, he began. “It’s, I… Every night, after ma and dad put me to bed, I…” He paused to collect himself. “I see him. I see him and I he’s everywhere and even if I get to dream then he is always there. No matter what I think of home or ma or playing ball he’s always there…” He let out a soft wail, “I see him and he is always the whole world goes dark and-“
“Elliot! **Get away from her right now! **” In burst Gregori, Annie not far behind. The whole tent flew up, like a bird taking off, revealing the boy crying to her. The whole encampment was quietly watching.
Kayle burst to the intrusion “Gregori! Do you even realize what is happening to your son? He needs-“
“You do not know the half of what you are dealing with here! Do you even realize what you could have just done?” The whole world seemed to freeze, the moment where both opponents seemed to contemplate their next move.
Hah hah hah...
He recoiled as the low toned laugh echoed overhead. “You’ve done it, you’ve really done it. The sleep spell is broken!"
In one swift motion, the sword burst from its wrapping to her hand: she stepped up off the ground. Click, clack! Click, clack! Click-click-click-clack! of the same gold metal of the sword encompassed her body. Her satchel unfolded, not holding supplies but instead full flapping wings, stretching wide as if for the first time. She was clad in her armor once more.
In an instant, almost as if an eye blinked the light away, night fell.
Gregori quickly fished from his pocket, a watch of all things, rushing to Elliot’s side. He was still crying yet the father was calm. “Elliot, Elliot please. Just look at the watch!” He said as it began swinging with the same blue magic that put up her tent. A circle surrounded them, differing rings rolled as he prepared the sleep spell once more. “Look at the watch and breathe! Just breathe and relax and-“ Snap! The boy fell asleep, jerking violently as he fell to his fathers’ arms. A dome encompassed them both as he prepared the ritual. At first, the light of the world began to return, but in an instant that was snuffed out: no birds were heard; nothing seemed to move beyond them all. The world grew to darkness around Kayle.
Hah hah-hah-hah hah… It echoed again.
“What was that? Is that the creature!?” Kayle pressed.
Gregori moved to speak, but a sudden greyness washed over the bubble he crafted, turning his likeness to granite... Until they too crumbled to dust in the wind. She was alone.
I have waited sooo long for you, Kayle. And now you have come to me…
Red… Red wisps of eyes faded between shadows in the distance. They did little to hide other than under the shroud of darkness. A near silent whistle shrieks: two massive curved blades charged her like a spearhead, at its center the face of an unsightly ghoul, the origin of the redness. She drew her sword to deflect the attack but failed, he breached her defenses quickly and before she could push the creature off, three deep gashes eviscerated parts of her armor and what was beneath. She dropped from flight, before she could even see her attacker and swing her sword, he vanished.
Hah hah-hah…
The whole world went quiet again, only the sound of blood pumping through her ears lub-dubbing filled the void. The same whistle cried out from behind her. She jumped, before she could even see it, the two blades clashed with her sword. Grinding against the gold, the massive pair of scissors were not that, but arms to a floating spectral torso weaved of dark bonds and mist. In one swift move Kayle overpowered the attack, flinging him backward. In air he flipped before stabilizing, eyes burning with rage; a piercing roar rippled through the world.
Tell me Kayle! Tell me what angels fear! Where angels fear to tread!
The ringing in her ears persisted, growing louder by the second. A third time he charged, but let his guard down in a fit of rage. Raising her sword with little accuracy, she blasted him with light. Instead of ceasing, like glass an invisible orb shattered. As if unhindered, his charge doubled in speed. The crushing pain of two cold, writhing hands clamped down on her head, one choking her while the other crushing through the metal of her helmet.
Again he roared, this time a striking blow… The world faded…
“Kayle! Kayle!” Shouting. Explosions, the hexed starburst next to her exploded… Her armor covered in the taint, searing tips of her feathers. Quickly she scrambled to brush it off, tingling the muscles beneath. But it’s been years sense the war… “Kayle! Here…” Drifting quickly to her side, her sister, Morgana, lands with grace in the puddle of taint. With a quick wave of her hand, the impurities were lifted. “Are you hurt? Can you still fly?”
“I, I am fine. How goes the siege? Are we-“
“Our troops have made some advances, but somehow they have gained new magics; our assault has halted.”
Kayle looked at her sister with confusion, the taint sizzling on the ground. “How, how this? This is unlike any of Nocturne’s previous tricks… Where could he learn such new spells?”
“Our scries are telling of his travelling to some foreign world beyond ours... They called it 'Runeterra'. We believe that was the origin of these new destructive forces… That he holds a small dominion over dreams now...”
They both looked off onto yonder clouds, filling with bursts of taint as their troops flew onward. “It is of no consequence. Once we catch him, hopefully his cause will die with him. We must rejoin the vanguard.” She began to rise above the skyline, among the others. “If we regroup-“
“Kayle, I… I can’t…” Looking down, Morgana turned to a look of death. Her feathers shriveled, armor rusted. The taint on the ground regrew like a mold, covering her hands, crawling up her arms. Collapsing, she cried out in pain. “Sister! Help me, please!” Kayle panicked, reaching for her crippled kin, only to have Morgana recoil. “*No! I, you can’t-“
“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare say-“
Hah hah-hah hah…
“I cannot let it spread to you! This was his trap..." If only in an instant the tables were turned. "I fear this is the end of the war for me sister…” Morgana cried with tears of pain and joy at the notion, “It has been so long, I, I am sorry… Sister, I love you…”
“No!”
With a burst of shining light, Kayle cast the sum of her strength around Morgana: a massive dome of golden light encompassing the trapped angel. From the ground beneath, the pool expanded, surging like the spines of a terrible creature, pressing against the egg. **Snap! Snap-snap! Crack! **
As the egg shattered, Kayle watched in horror as her sister was impaled.
Hah… So easy to fool…
The sheen of the false vision fell like a curtain. She stood, still in the center of the crowd. The world was much more yellow than she remembered it… The egg faded around the angel, as the dread of her miscasting loomed overhead.
There was Gregori and Elliot. The father stood petrified under the creature attempting to rend the bubble, as with everyone else but the young boy. One layer, then another... He grew closer and closer to the two.
She felt weakness, ages of it. She could not stop him. She had failed again.
He broke the final layer of the spell. Any attempts to fight him were instantly thwarted, tossing Gregori aside, he dove for the child, catching him mid-fall.
Sleep... Sleep and weave dreams for me...
A tether linked from the boy to the creature's tail, fishing out a prismatic cloud. Elliot lost all life, and instead the creature grew, absorbing all the life as he ate. Eyes, a mouth, a torso sprouted... The bracer's of blades shifted to his shoulders...
"Nocturne!" Kayle shouted. He turned to face his enemy in spite, in victory. The moment their eyes locked, she was on him, tackling the specter of an angel. He grasped at the air as they both tumbled forward, crashing into the withered wisp of Elliot's mind. In a bright flash, both vanished, becoming that of a fraction of an image against the portrait of the cloud.
Color… Life returned to the world. The two warriors had only been there for a day, a moment, yet their mark remained: in Elliot, the last victim of Nocturne. His nightmares continued, but now were matched in equal by his dreams… That of brave angels battling by his side in brother and sisterhood.
With age, he could only go up. Dreams became clearer, more precise. He could converse, he could remember. All the characters of his dreams were alive, each with their own aspirations, their own dreams and nightmares... Sitting at the same table in the corner, he joined her with drink in hand. Every day... She was here, no where else in this dream world of his. They would talk for hours, like old friends meeting after years. And every time she ended the dream by walking out of the hall, looking back, and saying "It's time to wake up kid. Don't worry, I'll still be here." She was the only one that he could get to recognize the dream, and took comfort in that.
Outside, change was obvious. At first it was small: he could trace, memorize. Then he could recreate, relive. It was not long before the boarders between creativity and creation were blurred, and soon he did too: crossing barriers, fading between existence and figment or somewhere in between. The great bears that filled the pilgrims with fear were tamed under his foot, almost as if he simply spoke to them. Images on a page sprang to life, dancing between the walls. The chatter of a serving hall, the clashing of battle could all be heard faintly in his wake; such sounds were worse when he had nightmares: filling the air with shrieks of horror or torture.
But everyone hears rumors of whispers in the dark or day; but when you see the proof their is no denying it. Anoline rushed to her son's tent at the fatal sounds of anguish, to find him thrown about the room like a ragdoll, gushing and bleeding. Her sleep spells, her hexes had no effect in calming his mind. All she could do was hold his hand and hope for help... Puff! Bursting from his shoulders, massive, beautiful wings sprouted, wrapping his body in their embrace like arms to a hug. Slowly, he was quelled to sleep once more, but the golden feathers stayed firm. When pressed for their origin, he would only say "They are... gifts from a friend."
[Just to add clarity, the challenge was that of Voodoo Lands, the "Ritual" requirement is his W.]
