Here you will find two sides of the same story (seen through the eyes of different characters), written, one by Yski, and one by me. Enjoy :)
(Myself)
Moisture fills the noses of two cellmates. A surprising amount of light passes through a barred window. An asura meditates on the floor, while an old norn naps on the bed. He starts snoring. Due to acoustic, an already powerful snore becomes a thunder.
-Bookah! You snore worse than a Kodan!
-Whaat?
-Just stop snoring!
-I…I can’t help it. I’m sleepy. I had one too many.
-Maybe you’re deaf, but I still have ears.
The bed squalled under the turning of the drunk.
-Well, tell me how you got here. That might keep me awake.
-Bah! Fine. – a smirk revealed a canine tooth – it was all thanks to an annoying loudmouth like yourself actually. Next to me at the bar were sitting a norn and a sylvari. Complaining how incompetent they were. I was drinking Pale Death. But enjoyment of it was hampered by their blabber. As a connoisseur of the fine beverage, you should be able to understand me.
-Mmmm.
-So I pointed their incompetence to them in an effort to shut them up. Not only did I fail, but also accidentally spilt beer on the norn, who then proceeded to hit me like an angry Quaggan. Naturally I fought back.
-Naturally.
-Defeating the norn was easy. He was stumbling all over the place hitting furniture. – a sharp chuckle forced its way out, in place of words - he was actually apologising to the waitress for breaking the glasses! Incompetent fool. And his friend?! Crazy as half of other Sylvari. Although this one seemed a special case, even for their standards. He just kept on rambling some nonsense about illusions.
Clang of boots interrupted him. A guard threw some pigswill through the bars and left. Old norn quickly grabbed the plate and dug in. Little peaces of brown mush got stuck on his beard, eating voraciously.
-It was about time.
An unholy site of disgust found its way on the asuran face.
-Since you seem to enjoy it so much, please help yourself with my portion as well.
To keep himself distracted he carried on with the story.
-So, one norn down, a bouncer appeared. He was more of a challenge. This time I was flying across the room. Thankfully I landed softly on an old trapper and even managed to snatch his cane. It gave me a better fighting chance, as that bouncer was huuge. The brute was just too strong though, and I got cornered. But my size came in handy after all, as I managed to see a toy bear around his belt. I must say you norn are silly sometimes. Seeing me grabbing his bear, he left his guard down, and I managed to get him where it hurts, taking him down. Sadly more reinforcements came and I was simply overwhelmed .
-As you deserved it. You don’t touch a man’s bear.
-Aaanyways, that’s how I found myself here. What’s your story?
(Yski)
A broken buckle of belt was hovering right in front of his face. He carefully channeled slightly more power into the magnetic aura and the buckle stopped wobbling. It was working! With just a little more power hardly any projectile could pass through the aura. Suddenly an incredible amount of power leaked out and all his control over the magnetic forces around him was gone. His clothes were torn apart as all the weapons were tossed around the field. Something cut his side as he fell...
~~~~
He opened his eyes. Where in the name of Raven was he? For a moment he was confused, but then the memories came rushing back accompanied by a horrible headache. He looked around. No-one else was in the cell, although there was easily enough room for five or six norn to be held there. The walls were made of stone.
For once the attunement came easily. It would be so easy to smash through the wall and walk away. Of course, the whole population of Hoelbrak would chase after him and the glory of defeating the dangerous prisoner. Besides, bar brawls were common here, so they would probably release him soon anyway.
'I never expected to find one of my kind here.'
He spun around and saw a young, slightly taller than the average human male standing calmly in a corner. How long had he been there?
'Do I look like a human to you?' he grunted back and felt the pressure of the stone walls start radiating from him. Not now!
'I know full well what you are, and it's not like us to get thrown into jails like this. I'd like to hear your story.'
'You're making an awfully big deal about me being in jail for someone being there with me.' The headache was getting worse every second.
'I'm just.. a visitor. I'm not officially here. But never mind that. Please tell me what brought you here.'
'Very well. Listen to the tale of Yski Glowingleaf and the pesky asura!'
Maybe speaking would keep both his powers and headache under control for a while.
~~~~
'Sir, are you alright?'
I looked up and saw a sylvari standing right next to me.
'You're bleeding, you know.'
I groaned and tried to get up, but the pain stopped me. Was the cut really that deep?
'Or are you? Maybe I'm just imagining it..'
The sylvari suddenly seemed to remember something.
'Actually, we need to talk. That's why I came here in the first place. Come! We're brothers, in a way.'
The sylvari started to walk away and I suddenly realized my wound was no longer there. Did the sylvari heal it? But when..? I stood up and hurried after him as he turned around.
'Where are we going, by the way?'
~~~~
'I just can't control it.'
I was sitting in a small bub with the sylvari. It wasn't especially crowded, but there were a few norn drinking their ales and an asura sitting right next to us.
'Every time I try to channel earth magic something goes wrong.'
'Why do you need to control it? I saw you use earth magic in my Dream. If you just let it happen..'
'Do you have any idea what my powers would do if I didn't constantly hold them back? If my powers broke loose now your people would find parts of this bar back in the Grove.'
'Really?'
'Probably.'
We sat silently for a while.
'Maybe you should try water first?'
'I am a norn. Norn do not run away from challenges. I must master earth magic, no matter how hard it is. Still, I've tried so hard with no results to speak of..'
'Oh, would you stop your whining norn! You're a disgrace for your people.'
I looked around but saw no-one. I was puzzled for a moment and then looked down. An irritated asura stared back at me.
'I don't need your insulting, asura'
'Oh, no, that is not my intention. I simply offer advice, so you would stop talking. I'm not a magic practitioner myself, but I know enough to say, your attitude is the problem. You're fighting magic as if it were some wild beast. Magic is not something to conquer, it is not external, but rather internal. Intricacies of it are still studied by our scientists, but mechanics of it point at the wielder and largely determine its usage and effectiveness.'
'I've mastered fire and air. What do your scientist friends think they know about magic that I don't? If my attitude is the problem, then how do you explain my mastery over other elements?'
'I must say, that is a puzzle, but I would guess, it once again has something to do with your attitude, it seems as though you are afraid of earth magic. Obviously your personal issues..'
Despite all my attempts to restrain my powers the temperature around us rose by several degrees.
'I am Yski Glowingleaf, the slayer of the Colossal Griffon! My magical powers are unmatched and I fear nothing! You pesky little asura should have stayed underground where you belong instead of meddling with other people's business.'
The asura reach out and poured his beer on me. I managed not to burn anyone alive, but before I even realized it I punched him right in the face. The asura looked surprised for a moment and then charged at me faster than eye could follow. We crashed on top of a table as the other customers tried to get out of the way.
'Don't worry, they're just illusions. It's obvious. Whenever I drink, Illusions become so easy to recognize.'
What was that sylvari talking about? I tried to look at the direction of the voice, but another heavy blow form the asura made me change my mind. I pushed him back, stood up and charged. The asura dodged and tried to trip me. I somehow managed not to fall, but a small amount of electricity rushed out, hitting the wall right next to the waitress and breaking the glasses she was carrying. Had the waitress been hit, it might have been powerful enough to be fatal.
'Are you alright? I'm sorry, my powers..'
I was interrupted by two hard kicks, one to the groin and the other to the chest. How could an asura the size of a large boot kick so hard it actually knocked me back? I tripped at something and hit my head. Through red haze I saw the asura fighting a bouncer. Guards rushed in and dragged me up. The sylvari was talking something about illusions as the guards grabbed him. Suddenly he vanished and there were only dim, greenish flames dancing where he used to be. Right before I fell unconscious I realized they looked like butterflies.
~~~~
I finished my story right before guards came to let me out. I briefly looked at the door and when I looked back the human was no longer there. Had he used a shadowstep, or was it simply stealth so refined I couldn't see him even though I knew where to look? It probably didn't matter. I thanked the guards as they let me out and headed back to the field. I had an element to master.