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A Facial Transplant
Ezalor
Emperor D'baenCanada
BACKSTORY: Basically this:
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The wood of the mask warps, as if melted into a malleable substance, and conforms to the shape of your face perfectly.
You have emoted: Ezalor grimaces slightly, hand shooting up to trace the material of the mask.
His eyes narrowing into a squint as he focuses upon the shifting mask, Haedyn says "Fascinating."
Incredible hot, burning pain is felt against your skin as the mask renews its grip on your face. Trails of black smoke waft out lazily from the eye-holes of your mask, carrying with it the distinct scent of burning
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Next, Iosyne goes for the mask seared to your face, Her hand covering its entire surface and pulling away.
You have emoted: Ezalor's face is charred and broken, skin almost utterly melted away as strips peel off, sticking to the mask. The meat of his face is burned and fused, a horrible, raw mass. A shudder wracks his body, unconscious and unstopping, every appendage vibrating.
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You have emoted: "Then I will learn," Ezalor mutters decisively, eyeing his double once more. He abruptly reaches up to his face, tearing off the hanging flap of skin with a sickening rip and discarding it carelessly to the ground.
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So yeah, Ezalor's been wearing a mask for a long time that periodically melted his face. Rather than just have it go back to normal once the mask was removed, I decided to play with it a bit. @Haedyn suggested I post this, kudos to him! Most of the scene was him, Ezalor was just a cheerleader. Inserted into Ezalor's description at the start was this:
His face is a burned and broken ruin, a constantly shifting mass of loose, hanging strips of skin and charred, burned flesh.
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Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says to you, "I shall need to reference some books, Your Grace. I will also need a few corpses and some clay."
You have emoted: Ezalor nods to Haedyn, removing his hat to allow a full view of his broken face. "In a moment. The situation as it stands..."
You smoothly slide your hand across the brim of a D'baen black gentleman's hat and peel it off your head.
You have emoted: Ezalor hisses low in exertion, willing his Blood to repair the damage to his corpse. His skin begins to reform, patches of what remains stretching towards each other desperately. Abruptly, the entire mass falls apart, newly created skin hanging in loose flaps about his face. He quickly tears off each flap, letting them fall haphazardly to the floor.
Dryly, you say, "As you can see, it's...a rather complicated burn."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "That, I do."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says to you, "I do not believe you will be able to achieve full mending of the flesh without a transplant."
You have emoted: Ezalor nods at Haedyn. "Your Grace is an accomplished scholar, having dabbled in many more skills than I have."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says to you, "The regrowth of your own flesh seems unable to keep up with the ongoing deterioration."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Moreover, I am not certain that the deterioration will not become more aggressive with time."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "My thought is to create an artificial face of sorts through reanimating flesh from other sentient beings along with earthen material."
A shadow double of Ezalor drifts silently a few feet to one side, turning its mask to face the individuals in the room.
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "It will wear down with time, but it will be disconnected from the deterioration process."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "It will, in essence, be an animated mask of source identical to your face before the onset of this condition."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "The untrained eye should not be able to tell a difference."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Though we may have to touch it up depending on how long the Malevolent's test lasts."
You have emoted: Ezalor shrugs helplessly. "That mask burned for almost a year. It has wrought damage that I cannot repair myself." He nods to Haedyn. "As good a solution as any."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Very well."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says to you, "Stay here. I shall make a quick trip to collect some materials and reference a book or two."
You have emoted: Ezalor nods, squatting down to the floor as he directs an intense stare at his shadow.
[SOME TIME LATER]
Haedyn strides in from the up, his colossal form sending tremors through the ground.
A shadow double of Ezalor drifts silently a few feet to one side, turning its mask to face the individuals in the room.
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "So let us see."
Haedyn places a set of books on the octagonal platform in the center of the room.
You have emoted: Ezalor rises to his feet, still staring at his double. "There's a reference for you right there," he whispers. His expression brightens as he turns to Haedyn, a small smile replacing his frown. "Though I don't think it's quite as handsome."
Haedyn smiles wryly at you.
Haedyn utters several words under his breath.
Ominous waves of shifting earth accompany the arrival of a sinister desert construct from the ether.
Haedyn picks up 2 corpses from a sinister desert construct.
Haedyn drops the corpse of a Spellshaper Adept.
Haedyn drops the corpse of a Spellshaper Adept.
Haedyn drops a lump of clay.
Haedyn drops a lump of clay.
Approaching the platform, Haedyn opens two of the texts side by side and begins to scan their pages with his eyes.
"Mmmm..." Haedyn softly utters.
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Very well."
Haedyn picks up the corpse of a Spellshaper Adept.
Carefully laying the corpse of a Spellshaper Adept upon the platform, Haedyn's free hand moves about the inside of a pocket upon his robe. After a few short moments the hand retrieves an item wrapped in a pristine white cloth.
You have emoted: Ezalor watches Haedyn prepare, idly scratching the base of his neck as he waits.
Unfurling the cloth, Haedyn reveals a silver scalpel. Pondering the corpse for a moment, he then begins to carefully pry the flesh away from the face of the corpse, the sickening sound of ripping flesh and cracking bone echoing throughout the dungeon.
In one last aggressive effort, Haedyn forcefully pulls the scalpel down and under the facial flesh of the corpse. In a moment, the flesh tears completely free of the muscle and bone accompanying a splatter of blood upon Haedyn's face.
Haedyn carefully lays the removed flesh upon the platform before discarding the corpse by pushing it off the platform and onto the floor.
You have emoted: Ezalor smiles in amusement as he watches Haedyn work. "A good idea indeed to have had this dungeon built," he quips.
Methodically, Haedyn grabs the other unaltered corpse from the floor and hefts it upon the platform. Without pause he begins to dig into the facial flesh of the corpse in a fashion similar to the first. Your comment remains unacknowledged as Haedyn continues to dig about the underside of the corpse's face with surgical precision.
As the scalpel in Haedyn's hand makes its way down to the chin area, he utters a brief "And ..." He then lets out a forceful grunt as he triumphantly jerks his arm upward tearing the face clear off and slinging yet another stream of blood and tissue across the room. "There!" He announces with a self-satisfied smile.
Pushing the defaced corpse off the platform in a defiant manner, Haedyn spreads out the second piece of removed tissue carefully upon the surface, smoothing it out with his fingers.
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "There."
"Easy part's over." Haedyn says, finally turning his eyes upward to acknowledge you. "Indeed. This space is proving rather useful."
Haedyn drops the corpse of a Spellshaper Adept.
Haedyn picks up a lump of clay.
You have emoted: Ezalor strides over to stand next to Haedyn, a wide smile of gratitude on his face. "Precise work, Your Grace," he says with an approving nod, eyes on the tissue. "Ah, and now for the hard part."
Haedyn's eyes now fixate upon the shadow standing beside you all the while he begins smashing a lump of clay upon the platform surface and smoothing it out with his fists.
"This clay." Haedyn comments to you. "Will serve as a surrogate for your own connective tissue."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Its purpose being to keep the transplanted facial tissue from decaying."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Just as the Earth replenishes our Undead bodies when they are injured, so, too, will this bit of Earth feed the reanimated flesh from these corpses and keep them from decaying at such a rapid rate."
You have emoted: Ezalor nods in understanding, shooting a glance at the desert construct standing silently in the room. "Brilliant," he breathes.
With great precision, Haedyn begins to sculpt the likeness of a face from the clay and slithers of flesh obtained from the two corpses.
Pausing his labour for a moment, Haedyn's eyes dart between the sculpture and the shadowy likeness of you.
Haedyn bites his bottom lip revealing the tip of a fang while he continues to visually compare the two faces.
Making a few final adjustments to the sculpture with the scalpel in his hand, Haedyn motions for you to come closer to the platform as he asks you "Thoughts, Your Grace?"
You have emoted: Ezalor observes the sculpture, nodding in satisfaction. "The shape may be a bit off, but my own tissue should accommodate that," he muses. He claps Haedyn on the back, smiling once more. "Impressive work, Your Grace."
Nodding in acknowledgement of your feedback, Haedyn replies "Aye, Your Grace. The sculpture is intended to be a bit over sized as the tissue will surely constrict with time. One must accommodate for this eventuality, else the tissue will begin to crack if it becomes too taut."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Very well."
Placing his stony hands upon the sculpture, Haedyn closes his eyes and begins to chant in a foreign tongue. As he does so, the runes upon his Earthen body begin to glow with a red-orange luminescence. After a few moments, the texture of the sculpture begins to change before your eyes, the cracks and bumps of the clay and flesh mixture coalescing into smooth curving surfaces that begin to resemble living flesh.
You have emoted: "Fascinating," Ezalor whispers as he watches, eyes intent and unblinking upon the mixture.
As the changes in the texture of the materials seem to settle, Haedyn's chanting abruptly stops and his eyes open. As you look upon the sculpture you are alarmed for a moment as you realize that it is, in fact, now fully animated, its surface twitching and gleaming in the light of the lamps upon the walls. You are further unnerved as the flick of a flame fully illuminates the living sculpture leaving no doubt that it is, in fact, your own reflection.
Haedyn smiles as he looks down upon his creation saying "Excellent."
You have emoted: "I already have to stare at one of me," Ezalor mutters, shooting a glance at his double. He pauses for a second, lips tightening as he forces his Blood from his face, flesh paling considerably as the excess retreats. He holds his chin up high, hands curled into fists at his sides. "I suppose the next step is fusing it to me?"
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Mhm."
Haedyn beckons you closer as he carefully lifts the twitching face from the platform.
You have emoted: Ezalor leans in close, eyes closed as he nods.
"This promises to be unpleasant at first." Haedyn says to you. "Though I will ask that you remain as still as possible."
You have emoted: "Unpleasant should be easy to bear compared to what created this situation," Ezalor murmurs wryly, eyes remaining closed. Still, his fists tighten, knuckles pressing against his skin as he waits.
Closing the small amount of distance that remains between you, Haedyn approaches you and carefully aligns the sculpted face with the remnants of your own.
You have emoted: Ezalor remains absolutely still; even his breath is absent, devoid of the actual need to breathe.
Applying a bit of pressure, Haedyn's eyes close as he begins to chant in a foreign tongue once more. Suddenly an intense burning sensation engulfs the raw flesh upon your face and radiates upward through the top of your head and downward along your neck and shoulders. The pain intensifies as you feel the sensation of thousands of tiny grains of clay embedding themselves into the muscle and bone.
The pain in your face and head intensifies to unfathomable levels as Haedyn continues with the foreign mantra. Your ears begin to ring and your throat begins to constrict as the bits of clay continue to embed themselves into your connective tissues.
Suddenly and without warning, Haedyn's chant ends ushering an instantaneous numbness that overtakes you from the neck up. The numbness slowly fades as it is replaced by the sensation of firing nerves. Finally, the numbness is gone, leaving behind the familiar and comforting sensation of your restored flesh.
Haedyn takes a few steps back as he eyes your face intently.
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says to you, "Alas, it is done, Your Grace."
You have emoted: Ezalor hisses as he wills the Blood to rush back to his face, a soft crimson effusing the area. He keeps his lips firmly pressed shut though his eyes scream in agony. The material on his face warps, bubbling and flattening as the power of his Blood courses through it, embracing and rebuilding the contours of his face along the foreign material. He draws a deep, needless breath as the process ends, both hands reaching up to trace the outline of his face. He frowns, then smiles with a wrinkling of his nose, testing the feel and connections; his expressions seem a bit wooden, forced and unnatural. "I am in your debt, Your Grace," he says finally, inclining his head.
"No such thing." Haedyn says to you, waving a hand dismissively. "I am sure you would have done the same for me if it were within your power."
Looking at the floor, Haedyn says to you "You will want to feed soon. You have lost a great deal of Blood."
You have emoted: Ezalor nods, showing a weak smile. "A hunt would do me good right now. Thank you again, Your Grace."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says to you, "You are welcome. Do let me know how it holds up."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "The effects of these magicks are not permanent."
Arch Duke Haedyn D'baen says, "Though it should last you a long while."
You have emoted: Ezalor nods, a trace of his humour restored in his smile. "Should my face fall off I know who to track down," he says brightly.
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