Rites of Passage

[TseuqCoL]

Here is the first thing I ever wrote from the perspective of Tseuq.

It's based on my first ever experience trying to solo Spectres in Oasis.




Rites of Passage


The campfire shed its light and warmth as the friends huddled around its embers. Sharing the stories of lessons learned and deeds done was not uncommon to these friends. The faces of the listeners were intent on the story as it unfolded into the night. The glow of the fire lit their faces. The warmth of that fire, and the words spoken, took the chill from the night air...

Tseuq continued...

"...And so, brave Raincrow Spiritchaser ventured in yet again to the Plane of Fear while I could only watch. Risking his mortal coil so that our friend, Falanangell, could retrieve the items stolen by the Minions of Cazic Thule"

"So, was that the scariest thing that ever happened to you Tseuq?" asked the apprentice.

"I was afraid for my friends. But the danger was not to me. Instead, it's just another example of the camaraderie personified in the members of our guild. We have all sought to help each other with our problems.”

“Even when we don't think we need help,” Tseuq continued, “someone will show up to lend a hand and lift a weight we knew not was there. Like the time Falanangell helped me after my raiding party was defeated badly by the Dragon, Lady Vox."

“Which time?” asked Falanangell and the laughter soared higher than the flames for everyone knew of Tseuq’s bad luck in his attempts to defeat the mighty dragon.

After the laughter died down, the conversation continued.

"Well, if that wasn't the scariest thing that happened to you, I'm not sure if I want to know what was the scariest", added another apprentice and the group began to chuckle uneasily to break the tension of the previous tale.

After a moment of silence and introspection, someone asked, "So Tseuq, I would like to know. What is the most afraid you have ever been and how did you react?"

Tseuq Medalot, 51st season Enchanter looked back on the many roads followed in his life and remembered one particular episode and the smile slowly left his face.

"Twas upon my 34th season", he began, "I was full of pride at just obtaining my new level of aptitude. “

"I was traveling through Oasis to go hunt in the area of Cazic Thule. You know, the hidden temple in the Ogre domain of Feerrott. That's quite a good place to hunt I might add. I learned a lot about the ways of the Enchanter. In fact..."

A tap on the shoulder interrupted Tseuq as one of the many around the fire handed him a cup of warm spiced wine. Tseuq did not notice the glazed look of the listeners who were afraid he was about to take off on one of his wild tangents that would have nothing to do with the story they wanted to hear.

"You were telling a story about a frightening experience," prompted Frawgee, winking at the other listeners as he attempted to get Tseuq back on course.

"Oh yes," the smile leaving his face once again. "I was in Oasis of Marr on my way to Cazic Thule when I spied a brave Paladin facing off against a fearful Spectre. I was rather impressed at the tactics he was using. Of course you all know, Paladins are mighty fighters and this one was no exception. But, instead of standing toe to toe with the rancid beast, he was using the power granted to him by Tunare herself to strike fear into its beastly heart.”

Tseuq pounded his fist into his hand to accentuate the words and continued. “His sword would devastate the creature as it ran away and, when it regained its wits, he would again invoke the power of Tunare to send it scampering away. Several of the creatures fell to his sword as I watched in awe."

"In one of these battles however, something went wrong and the Paladin began to loose ground. Being rather full of pride, I stepped in to help the man and together, we defeated the Spectre."

The listeners around the fire let the words and the wine soak in as they enjoyed the crisp night air. One person got up to stoke the fire and so the fire and the story began to heat up...

"So after fighting spectres with the Paladin a bit, I was rather confident that I could defeat a Spectre by myself and I longed to try," Tseuq continued, letting the foreshadowing build in a crescendo.

"Shortly, the Paladin had to leave, and that's when the real fun began..."

Tseuq's eyes grew wide and he took a deep breath, steadying himself for the tale he was about to tell.

- - - - - - -


"Twas good to meet you good Paladin," Tseuq added as the Paladin began to walk away, “You have further improved the good name of all of those who follow Tunare.”

"We shall meet again," the mighty paladin declared in his crystalline voice, "And we shall kill our fill of those vile things when we do," he boasted, extending his arm to point at the island the spectres inhabited.

It was true. The Enchanter and Paladin had made a very good team. Upon the rare occasion that the expert Paladin had angered too many Spectres for them to take at once, Tseuq would step in with his mind-altering powers and place the 'extra' spectres in a trance until the duo was ready for them. These mind-altering abilities are the most important powers that the Enchanter has at his disposal. Those powers would shortly save Tseuq's young life.

The two bid farewell but Tseuq was restless still. He sat down and changed the spells he had memorized to a configuration better suited for soloing and, after casting the beneficial spells on himself known as 'buffs', began to meditate to prepare himself for what he considered a rite of passage -- soloing a Spectre.

Tseuq then pulled a small batwing out of his satchel and began to chant in the ancient tongue known only to the casters of Norrath. Eldritch energy hummed around him and he directed it first into the batwing and then into himself. When the batwing collapsed and was destroyed by the magical energies that coalesced around it, Tseuq's feet lifted off the ground and he began to float.

He steadied himself briefly and started his run across the water to choose the Spectre destined to fall as proof of the power of the Enchanter. Tseuq’s pride was overflowing. His confidence soared as he approached the island.


Tseuq targeted a Spectre on the corner of the island and, once again, began to chant. Energies released struck the Spectre and it glanced nervously about, knowing it was now not nearly as resistant to magic as it was before this simple spell was thrust upon it. Seeking out the perpetrator, it spotted Tseuq and hissed, bile trickling down the corner of its mouth as it pursued. The chase was on!

Tseuq, in his pride, did not look back. He did not see the other three Spectres, which noticed and were offended by the young Enchanter’s actions. He could not have dreamed that this day, of all the days in his life, would be remembered as a warning to a young man’s pride.

He turned around as he reached the shore to begin his assault on the creature and was shocked and horrified to see not one, but four scythes cutting through the water as four grim reapers swam swiftly through the water towards the now horrified Enchanter.

Tseuq was aghast. Most of all, Tseuq was afraid. How could this have happened? He turned to run to the safety of the North Ro Desert and, as he turned, he stopped momentarily.

In that moment, time stood still for Tseuq. All of the sounds around him, all of his pride and confidence faded into the background as he, for the first time, truly took in his surroundings.

He looked around at the unsuspecting people in the Oasis. At the young crocodile hunters, honing their skills on the fierce reptiles that inhabited the area. At the people fishing or resting by the docks and the people battling the Orcs who had infested the Western and Southern parts of the area.

He looked into himself and saw the same fear, the very same reactions that had blistered the Oasis many times before: Hunters, unable to deal with the horrors of the Spectres they had thought to defeat would often run to the safety of other areas and leave the youngsters here to fend for themselves against the fierce and evil beings.

In that moment, resolve overcame the horror in Tseuq eyes. Fear was tempered with courage as his hands clenched into fists and tears began to swell in his eyes.

“I will not leave you to wreck your havoc foul ones,” he said to himself, his voice shaking with anger.

“I will not run like a coward and allow the rest of the Oasis to suffer!” he declared loudly and turned around to face the Spectres, tears now fully streaming down his face.

The Spectres were grinning.

Tseuq surged forward with a yell and, as quickly as he could, began to chant. Dark magiks surged around him and a halo of fear surrounded one of the approaching spectres. The Spectre’s mask of death and evil grin changed to one of surprise, for Spectres are not accustomed to being afraid of anything. Nonetheless, the first Spectre turned and fled along the shoreline.

Tseuq, now fully into the battle, ran to increase the distance between him and the three remaining spectres. He knew he would have to act quickly for the Fear spell would not last long. He targeted the weakest of the three encroaching spectres and, once again, magical energies surged through him as he began to chant another spell. The spell finally went off but the Spectres were oh so close now.

He could feel the heat from their breath and was almost overcome with nausea as the putrid stench of death invaded his senses. He pointed at another Spectre and issued a command to the one which was hit by the magic just a moment ago. In a loud voice, Tseuq commanded, “Pet attack!”

Without delay, the charmed Spectre turned on its comrade and slashed viciously with its scythe. The scythe whistled through the air as the blade descended and the evil victim screamed with surprise and pain, the blade leaving a vicious looking gash on the Spectre’s form. The surprised Spectre didn’t seem to care about what it fought, as long as it got to fight something. So, it turned to its own kind and began to slash back at the charmed Spectre.

But Spectres don’t bleed like High Elves do. The fourth Spectre had gotten too close. Tseuq attempted desperately to maneuver but the Scythe found its mark, slashing across his leg and leaving a deep gash that burned from the evil of the foul creature.

Tseuq screamed in pain and rage and was once again almost overcome by nausea as he bolted to a safe distance. The determination remained even as his lifeblood wept from his body and colored the sand.

Tseuq took count of the situation as he ran, “two spectres fighting, one fleeing along the coastline and one in hot pursuit”, he thought to himself.

The fourth Spectre, the one who had wounded and was chasing Tseuq began to chant in a guttural, harsh language and pain wracked Tseuq’s body and brought his attention back to the fight.

Tseuq ran in a circle, limping along as he favored his wounded leg and brought the pursuing spectre close to the two in mortal combat.

Tseuq began his own chant in the flowing and graceful tones of the ancient language and the very earth itself erupted with roots and vines to snake around the pursuing Spectre’s feet just as it closed within range of the charmed Spectre. It too, not terribly concerned with what it was slashing as long at it was slashing something, began to wail on the charmed Spectre as it tried to protect its newfound master.

As the three Spectres fought, Tseuq sat down to meditate and recover some of the magical energies expended. Maintaining concentration as the three death beasts howled, hissed and slashed nearby was not easy and his concentration broke several times.

He looked closely at the charmed Spectre and noticed it was looking very haggard. Slash marks marred the beast all across his body and Tseuq knew that his meditative rest would be very short lived. He bandaged his leg to stop the bleeding and was able to meditate for a moment longer before the two slashing creatures finally cut down Tseuq’s charmed ‘pet’ and turned towards Tseuq, sated somewhat by the death of their comrade. However, true evil knows no bounds and neither does the appetite for death possessed by a Spectre. The creatures moved towards Tseuq now, a bit more cautiously than before but Tseuq was ready.

Tseuq targeted the more hurt of the two spectres approaching and, once again, the charm magic worked its miracle and the two spectres began to fight. Their howls of pain were hard to distinguish from the howls of delight as they slashed each other without mercy or concern.

It was at this point that the first spectre Tseuq casted upon, the one running in fear along the coastline, collected its wits and turned back towards the fight. Once again, Tseuq tried to get a moment’s meditation before having to deal with the approaching fiend. However, as he stood to cast his fear spell on the one previously feared, the charmed spectre blinked and roared in anger at being fooled by the Enchanter Way. Both Spectres now turned on Tseuq.

The one from the coastline did not get close before he was instilled with a magical fear and, once again, fled towards the coastline, instinct taking control over the horrid intellect.

But Tseuq noticed the other two spectres too late and they launched vicious attacks against the poorly armoured caster. Tseuq managed to dodge one swipe but three more landed and dropped him to his knees as tears of pain and frustration once again rolled from his eyes. Blood poured profusely from deep gashes and spilled onto the sand. Tseuq half crawled, half ran dizzily as the burning pain nearly overcame him completely. He stood up, staggered and fell back to the sand. Only the putrid stench of the Spectres approaching for the kill brought him to his senses. This time, however, Tseuq was overcome by the pain and nausea and vomited on the sand as the Spectres hissed and taunted the poor enchanter.

Tseuq, against all reasoning, scrambled to his feet again and began to stagger to a safe, spell casting distance. His determination returned, he cast his charm spell on the weaker of the two and bandaged himself while they fought.

As he meditated, his charmed pet was finally cut down by a vicious strike across the face and the victor, quite badly injured, closed on Tseuq.

But Tseuq was boiling over with rage. He glared at the spectre and, almost violently, began his rhythmic chant. Chords of chaos and discord battered the Spectre repeatedly and it fell to its knees, its last gaze upon Tseuq as it toppled over onto its now lifeless face.

But the fight was not over and this display of power had badly drained Tseuq’s reserves. The once afraid Spectre was now closing with new determination. The approaching spectre, he remembered, had not been fighting at all during this time. So close to death himself, Tseuq would now have to face a completely fresh opponent.

He meditated and once again altered his spell lineup. As the Spectre approached, he felt he was ready to do his best. His earlier pride and confidence had returned but was tempered with a healthy caution.

Tseuq waited. His eyes were dry but his clothes were wet with his own blood. He prepared to take what by all accounts would probably he his last actions on Norrath.

The spectre charged over the hill and Tseuq stood and flung his magic at the beast. The spectre began to choke but this hardly slowed the furious creature. Tseuq ran to a safer distance and began to cast again. The halo of fear surrounded the spectre once again but in its rage, the spectre shook off the effects and leapt with a roar to slash again at Tseuq.

Surprised but not off guard, Tseuq managed to partially deflect the scythe with his own dagger but the blade opened another wound, one that Tseuq could ill afford.

He ran again and began to cast, the Spectre did not resist the fear this time and began to run away from the battered Enchanter who was now desperately trying to dam the tide of lifeblood flowing from his body.

Once again, Tseuq summoned the forces of chaos and discord and began to batter the fleeing Spectre, which was still choking on the earlier spell. The Spectre was very badly injured after the barrage but Tseuq was now completely drained. He fell to his knees and tried to prepare himself for what would come next, for he had failed. The tears tried to return but he would not allow them. He sat on the ground and steeled himself in meditation for the return of the horrid beast, which would now take his life.

A serene calm came over Tseuq at this point. Calm in body and soul without precedent for his too-short life. Calm that the Spectre was not prepared for as it turned to Tseuq, the fear spell worn off. It looked into the eyes of the Enchanter -- the calm eyes that had somehow destroyed three of its hellish companions and decided that enough was enough.

The last spectre turned and left Tseuq, bleeding but still alive, on the sand and returned to its perch to wait for easier prey. Tseuq staggered across the sand to the border of the South Ro Desert where he collapsed for some much needed rest.



“And so I remained, unconscious at the entrance to South Ro for quite some time until a passing druid took pity and healed me”, Tseuq continued.

His captive audience stared wide-eyed at the Enchanter with a new respect but nobody, including Tseuq was able to speak again for some time.

Finally, Raincrow leaned over, thumped Tseuq on the head and asked in a deep, accented voice, “and what did you learn old friend? What of your pride now?”

Tseuq replied quickly, “Oh I still have pride RC. But now I mix it with a healthy caution and respect.”

This brought a chuckle and a nod of agreement from wise Raincrow whose tribe of Barbarians could teach many of the more ‘civilized’ folk a thing or two about respect.

“I’ve also learned a very valuable lesson about courage,” the caster continued and all eyes once again turned to him.

“Courage is not the lack of fear, for everyone will face true fear one day. It may come in the form of Spectres, intent on your death. It may come in nothing but a struggle against your own internal spectres. Or, it may come in some other form we have not dreamed of yet. The true measure of one’s courage is how they face that fear when it does come.

“I can’t say that I’m happy this happened to me. But I think I am better off for it. Sometimes the lessons we learn are quite harsh. I consider it quite the miracle that I survived to learn this lesson and I thank Karana for that every day…”



Authors note: By the time the last spectre warped back to his spawn point, I was down to ½ bubble of health and ¼ bubble of mana as I made my way to South Ro. I cannot remember the name of the Paladin or the name or the name of the Druid who helped me but they do exist.