Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 21: In Destruction's Wake

[-Cynthia-]

"Fun?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at Lev. "I've heard the word, but I fail to see how it is relevant."

Tristan whispered back into Viveka's ear "Somehow it doesn't surprise me that a Haltonian military officer would have illegitimate children. He was with this group before right? That means if we take Tobe with us he'll probably run into his father again...but that may do the child more of a disservice than having no father at all."

[Phoenix]

Fun

Lev: Relevance isn't always clear so I apply things in life as I see fit. Fun generally fits into the "when I have the time" category. As for you, I'm worried that you might not even know what it is. (Fun 101: Figuratively speaking, fun is "Having your fill of bread and wine, then telling tales of other times you had your fill of bread and wine.")

No Fun

Viveka couldn't help but be slightly amused by Tristan's comment about Damian at first. Then she quickly realized that even though he had a bit of a reputation and was from Halton to boot, he hadn't done anything to her to warrant her response to the degrading commend. She didn't feel right finding it funny of a sudden and a bit of guilt slipped into her expression. She whispered to him a second time.

Viveka: I-I guess there's two sides to this. We could take him with but that's extremely dangerous and I doubt their reunion would really be worth the trouble. If we don't take him with and Damian finds out about it ... drama.

Susann watched as the two humans spoke to each other quietly. It was strange. Humans were usually obnoxiously loud and hard to ignore. They were now communicating with such teeny tiny sounds that she could barely hear them. Now she wasn't sure what they were going to do, but she was getting upset. They both seemed to be confused about they child. This wasn't right she thought. Her rider and the magnificent one's rider needed to take responsibility for their actions and take care of their child.

[Ether]

As Damian reached his destination, a separate wing of the metalworking storage area.

As he approached the guard, the man saluted.

"Milord Kleine! I take it you wish to enter?" The man inquired, moving his hand towards the door handle.

"Yes, please." Damian replied, stepping through the now open doorway.

Approaching the area in question, Damian looked over the works. Elegant works of metallurgy, though not quite the kind used for battle.

One particular piece caught his eye, and picking it up to examine it, he smiled.

"Yes, this one is perfect." He said to himself cheerily, pocketing the piece and exiting the gallery.

Making his way back to the gate, Damian saw Ixion and O'Donnel there already.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I can get this treated in Redwood while Ixion concludes his business there."

[Snowy_One]

"Don't worry. See? I'm not going to hurt you." she cooed softly. It was a repetition of what she had already said to be sure, and she was more than used to it by now. She gently placed her hand upon her chest as she tried to gently nudge the bull to move farther down the hallway, to a place more open where she could converse with the animal easier. "Etain." she said simply. "Etain." she repeated the false name she had made for herself, hoping that the animal would understand what she meant by it. "Etain." she repeated before putting her hand on Howard's head. "Howard. Howard. Howard, Etain. Etain, Howard." she alternated her hand with each name, putting it on the proper person. It was a crude exercise, one that could have been refined much more had she had the time. Still, if the beast could even understand the concept of her having a proper name, it would be a step over Harold to be sure.

[Phoenix]

Return to Redwood

O'Donnel: Very well then. (I'm also looking forward to finally seeing what Ixion is up to as well.) Let us return to the fortress.

O'Donnel wasted no time in warping them back to Redwood Fortress where the men appeared amidst a small crowd of mercenaries standing around something. It seemed as though someone was giving a performance or demonstration. Looking past the people, O'Donnel saw some mercenaries dueling up in an unguarded arena.

O'Donnel: I notice that each of the bases tends to have a slightly different focus. The Septimus branch in Irvinheim has a higher number of ranged units including magi while Elyisima's branch keeps to fast tactical units. Halton's branch seems to rely on similar force structure as the Halton military itself.

Ixion: Indeed. Damian, you're free to do what you need to. I need to gather a few things and scout an area.

O'Donnel: This scouting for that test of yours?

The man nodded confirming O'Donnel's suspicions.

O'Donnel: (Finally ... little more stalling it seems.)

OOC: "ungarded means there are no rails to keep them from falling into the crowd. No guard rails, lines, or barriers of any kind.

Irvinheim

The woman began speaking to him again. The same thing over and over again. Her hand seemed to touch him in time with the words. When her hand reached out to him, she made the sound "Howard" ... and when she touched herself, "Etain" was the sound. After a few repetitions, Howard began to make some connections. He had memories of his master who also had a sound that referred to him. "Ixion". It was name.

Wanting to see if this was the case, Howard took Mana's hand and put it to his chest waiting for her to make the sound "Howard" again. If she did, he would put her hand to her own chest and wait for the name "Etain" to come again.

Edited November 17, 2010 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

"Fun is...frivolty. Doing things that one enjoys." Morgan said. "As for time, I think we have very little of that." Morgan said to Lev, head cocked to the side.

"I'm not particularly concerned about what a Haltonian colonel thinks." Tristan said to Viveka. "If we are going to a town, we should probablyh leave Tobe there. Although I'm not sure how safe a town would be at a time like this." he said, frowning.

[Ether]

"Very well. Ixion, could you direct me to the infirmary?" Damian said, as Ixion told him to go ahead with his business.

[Snike]

Arguing with Madness

"... Kid, you've heard of the tales of the war, have you not? Of the fell dragon, who's tendrils converted man and beast alike to be her servants?" the man asked, adjusting the angle of his shot. "Well, those 'arrows' are really tendrils of that monster. If you don't move aside soon, she will take over your horse, and you'll be next. Let me shoot him. Putting him out now is better than letting him suffer."

[Phoenix]

Gathering What Is Needed

Ixion nodded and then put his fingers to his lips and let out a loud whistle that got the attention of quite a few mercenaries watching the duel. Turning to face them, the men gave curious stares.

Ixion: I need you to gather some things for me. Place them ...

He paused to look around for a moment. He saw a big open area nearby. It was usually where Victor rested but the wyvern wasn't there.

Ixion: (That will do.) there. Right over there.

Merc: What do you need gathered, Ixion?

Ixion: Pretty much any remaining livestock. I'm going to need a lot of parts.

The mercenary nearly gagged imagining what Ixion was going to make out of a random assortment of body parts. Even O'Donnel was more curious than ever now.

O'Donnel: You won't be able to construct anything practical out of a mass of random animals.

Ixion: If you say it cannot be done, fine. But do not interrupt the person doing it, O'Donnel.

The man leaned back a bit, having been quickly shut down by Ixion's witty comeback.

Ixion: Follow me, Damian. I'll lead you to the infirmary and then I must return here.

Levski

Lev: Yeah time isn't really on our side. We probably won't even be able to make much progress discussing these, but I wouldn't call it frivolous or irrelevant. You're one of those people that can function just fine without it if what you said about your past is true. Still, say there was time, and say I convinced you it wasn't a total waste of that time. What would you say to a bit of exploring?

Viveka

Viveka: Maybe ... maybe we should look after him until Damian comes back. Just til then. Then he can decide what to do. If Tobe was older I wouldn't be as concerned but he's not even at puberty yet from the looks of him. (Maybe I'm bias but he's just a kid and we may know who he belongs to. It's a bit different than normal, right?)

A Thing Happens

Adam nervously looked over his shoulder to see his horse faintly reacting to the pain in its leg. The shard in its leg began to soften a bit. The skin around the wound had gone from a sickening purple and blood stained red to a pale gray in a matter of seconds. The areas around the wound began to undergo a similar change and the horse let out a pained cry as it stomped its leg up and down repeatedly.

Adam: W-what's happening to him?! What's happening?!

[Snike]

The Change

"It's the transformation. He only has a few minutes before he turns into a lich. Kid, please, move aside. If you want to help your friend," the stranger said, moving his aim towards the eye of the horse.

[Ether]

"Alright then." Damian replied, moving to follow the druid.

[Inactive Account]

"Yeah." Kelas got to her feet and stretched. "Ehh, maybe if a few people are ready to go, the others will notice and start moving." She went over and got her saddle, inspecting it to see if the rain had done any damage. The leather had been treated for weather, so it was mostly all right. "Dammit, we need to stop somewhere we can wash things," she muttered, noting the dirt all over her saddle blanket: that wouldn't be particularly good for Amari. She shook as much dirt out of the blanket as she could, kicking it a few times for good measure, then folded it up; there wasn't much more she could do.

She whistled for Amari and brushed and saddled the mare. Amari continued to give her rider dirty looks, but made no other move to show her disapproval. The lesson had hopefully been learned, she thought, and the rest of the herd would hopefully help keep Kelas from dying, too.

As she worked, Kelas thought ahead. Helenos... they'd faced off against the dragon before, and it hadn't gone well. They'd gotten stronger, but... she supposed if they'd managed to take out one demon and chase off two more, maybe they stood a chance. "Or maybe we'll all end up half-dead and on the run," she muttered, buckling the girth of the saddle and giving Amari a pat. She surveyed the group: they were all still in varying stages of getting up. Ah, well...

---------------------------------------------------------------------

At the appearance of the prince, Tobe backed up again, crouching down to hide behind Susann's forelegs again. He didn't want to get involved with some discussion with royalty, that was for sure. Eventually, though, the pair of riders stopped trying to keep their voices down, and he realized the conversation was about what to do with him. "It don't really matter to me," he piped up, not coming out of hiding. "You c'n leave me in the next town or whichever, I'll be all right. Just can I come with until there's a town? I donno what to do out in the middle of nowhere."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Arrin sat down to eat for a moment, unceremoniously stuffing his face. "Looks like we might be leaving soon, I might have to introduce you to the others while we travel," he observed once he had wolfed down his food.

[-Cynthia-]

"If there were time, and the activity did not seem completely irrelevant, I suppose a new experience could be enlightening." Morgan conceded. "But for now, I think we should get moving towards Helenos. Who do you think should wield the Wyrmslayer by the way? I have been carrying it with us ever since the dragon graveyard, but I have no skill with a blade." she said to Lev.

"Sure Tobe, we'll watch over you until we get to the next town. And you'll be welcome back to work at the palace once we get everything uh, back in order." he said to the boy. He'll probably be better off on his own than with a Halton military leader anyway Tristan thought to himself.

[Script]

Luc Altair and the Fargo

"So, Captain, who's gonna be doing all the riding in my shiny new carriage?" Fargo randomly inquired.

"Excuse me?" Luc responded. He hadn't given any deep thought into how the addition of the carriage could effect travel arrangements. Most of the group was already accounted for on mounts as it was. But there were the two new boys to be concerned about. "I'll speak with some others regarding it. How many can the carriage hold?"

"Well, it's rated for four, but the undercarriage has been reinforced to account for the heavy armor, so it could probably fit eight all told," Fargo said with uncharacteristic pride.

That was a lot. Seeing Fargo care about something--besides saving his own hide--was unnerving. "Hm, very well. We can also severely lessen the burden on the horses." That would allow a greater travel distance and--dammit! Luc realized a problem. He couldn't unhinge the saddlebags on Fargo's horse because Paul was inside. Luc's own nature had betrayed him once again. "I'll, speak around camp to see who wants to ride in the carriage. You two are more than welcome to, of course," Luc nodded at Arrin and Beau. Luc walked off, thinking he might as well continue asking about destination as well.

[Mercakete]

"That's fine with me," Beau replied to Arrin, trying to suppress his humor at how Arrin was eating. He was surprised to be sure, but there was somewhat of a release in noting how freely the other ate his food. The young heir, though he had been travelling for a while now, was still uncomfortable eating freely himself. So, politely, he began to eat his breakfast. He ignored Luc's chat with Fargo until adressed specifically. (I wonder what to do? It would be beneficial for certian, especially since I would probably slow them down. I cannot walk very quickly... However, I am not certian I would want to ride in the carrage unless Arrin was riding in it as well...) Thinking about all this, Beau continued eating, though gaining a humorously serious - almost determined - look to his countanace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(It looks like people are getting ready to go.) Tas frowned at a sudden realization...and with annother sneeze. "Irina," Tas began as he stood up, recovering from the side-effect of his cold, "There's a problem regarding travel. Namid can't walk very well or very far and the trees are too close together for him to fly low. I'd have to fly over the trees to go anywhere."

Namid was gnawing on the bones of the deer he'd just eaten. It was filling and tastey and he was a very happy wyevern at the moment.

Edit: Had Beau react to Luc.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Infirmary

Leading Damian to a nearby building, the two walked inside to see a few of the people inside. One of them appeared to be an ordinary doctor. Another was the same priest from the battle the previous day, and the third was the doctor's assistant. There were a few beds lying around along with lots of bandages, herbs, first aid equipment, splints, sutures, and liquids.

Ixion: They can take a look at your hand. If you'll excuse me.

After a moment, Ixion left the building heading for the place he'd picked out for his test. The priest smiled and came over.

Priest: Ah. Damian. How are you? Oh right, you aren't here by coincidence. What ails you?

Isotov and Irina

Iso quickly finished off his food and then looked around a bit. Irina was almost finished but she was taking awhile given she only had one hand to work with at the time, and she still needed to feed her wyverns. He figured as much too.

Iso: Irina, we need to get going soon. Do you need some help?

Irina's face lit up as she turned to him.

Irina: Oh really? Yeah I'd appreciate it. Okay just go get some of the deer meet and follow me over to Kiev and the Pinky.

Iso: Alright.

Before they could head over however, Tas brought up a complication they would surely face during their departure. Namid wasn't much of a walker it seemed.

Irina: It should be alright if you fly. You can help us scout what's out in front of us and you're probably fast enough to avoid getting shot down. I'm ... not that so lucky in the scouting department. I could stay on the ground with the eggs since Kiev's spent most of this trip walking anyway. That or Lev could carry the eggs. He almost never flies.

Levski

Lev: I'll remember you said that, Morgan. Heheh.

He smiled so she would know they wasn't making some sort of covenant. He figured she could pick up on his non serious gestures by now. The topic of the wyrmslayer quickly put a serious look back on his face though.

Lev: You only have a handful of candidates ... and only one of them is a crimson weapon wielder. Someone you can trust. (Then again she and Esphyr don't get along from what I've seen. Probably doesn't trust her either. Then there's that severance thing she wants so badly. Yeah no trustworthy swordsmen after last nights incident.) Hmm. Well. There's Esphyr, Aiya, Derek, I saw Kelas with a sword as well, who else? ... err ... Tessa. Hmm ... Tessa ... there's an idea.

Viveka and Susann

Viveka: Yeah we aren't going to leave you out here in these woods. (There's like three bodies over there dead and buried. This is no place for a kid.)

Looking down at the boy, Susann lowered her head to start nibbling on the boy's hair. Viveka quickly snapped her fingers freezing the pegasus cold!

Viveka: A-ah! Stopit.

She'd been called off the child? Perhaps Viveka remembered now? Of course. Her efforts were successful. She had claimed her child. There was no human family moment yet, but at least the difficult part was past. She decided to look after the infant since it was already using her for cover. It was slightly annoying though that she couldn't nibble on the boy's hair though. He was right there, so close.

Edited November 17, 2010 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"This would be what ails me." Damian replied, showing the man his scorched hand.

"There was a bit of an incident with a clash of the powers of the Lady and the Lord... my hand was a victim in that struggle."

[Phoenix]

Priest Guy

Priest: My goodness. Well I suppose I won't pry. Here. Open your palm an relax your hand.

The priest quickly held up his staff close to Damian's hand and as the man began his silent prayer, the staff gave off a radiant glow and light energy began to flow freely over Damian's burn wounds, slowly mending them.

Gathering Things

Meanwhile O'Donnel watched with his arms crossed as the mercenaries brought a few dozen creatures to the open areas near the main building.

O'Donnel: (Now what could he be attempting to do with all of this I wonder?)

Ixion soon came up behind him. He hadn't come straight back from the infirmary. He made one extra trip on the way first. When O'Donnel noticed someone was right next to him, he tossed the person a glance only to find that it was Ixion.

O'Donnel: Alright, enough stalling. What are you doing? What is all this for?

Ixion: This is our way in, O'Donnel. This is our way in ...

He began walking toward the mercenaries and gathered animals, mentally preparing himself for the severe strain he was about to endure.

[Mercakete]

Tas nodded. "That would be easy for us - you're right. And yes, I would appreciate you continuing to look after the eggs and the hatchling," Tas replied, "If there's a problem, you can always just leave them with Lev and fly up to get me. When everyone starts moving I'll head up. I'll stretch my leggs while I can for now, though."

The wyvern courier stretched his arms and back while he waited for comfirmation. (A walk around the camp should be fine. Always good to stretch before a long flight and I don't know how long it will be before I'm on the ground again.)

[Inactive Account]

"Hmm..." Arrin pondered. "I wouldn't mind riding in the carriage, but I'd like to stay with Tessa and my sister... I suppose I'll have to see if they're riding or not. I sort of doubt Kelas wants to go in the carriage..." He paused, then called over to Kelas: "Are you going in the carriage, or riding?"

Kelas looked up. "Might be warmer I suppose, but I'm not riding in that box on wheels, no. You can if you want, you don't really need my permission. I'll take care of Francis if you want to go in the carriage, or someone else can ride him," she offered. "Either way works."

"All right," Arrin mused. "I guess I just need to find out what Tessa's doing." He looked around, wondering where she'd gone.

[Snowy_One]

"Howard." said Mana happily as her hand was placed upon the bull-monsters chest. Then, once it was placed upon her own, she smiled happily and replied "Etain" with a broad smile. This beast was intelligent! Ixion had made something smarter than Harold! Very happy at the progress, she pointed out the nearest of the castle windows. "Outside. Harold. Etain. Outside."

---

Bored. Bored without anything to do. As Esphyr sat off to the side, her stomach rumbling slightly from the lack of food, doodling in the ground with the tip of her blade, she couldn't help but feel... bored. Sighing in sheer boredom, she got up and started to move about the camp aimlessly, avoiding people involved in conversations already so as to not intrude. Slowly, she started moving away from the group and subconsciously nearer towards that part of camp where the larger animals, including the wyverns, seemed to be. Or rather, Irina's overgrown lizard, as she noted with contempt before deciding that she really didn't care who or what was there, if only from the sheer bordem.

"Hey. You." she said in a flat and disinterested voice. "I apologized to your master. Not that it matters to you."

[Phoenix]

Howard

Her arm was close enough to identify herself and him with, but the window was unsurprisingly out of reach. Not entirely certain if she was pointing at the window itself or the endless expanse on the other side, Howard took one of his spears from the strap on his back and held it on its end. Then he began pointing it at the window, the length of the weapon allowing it to touch the sill. Now he only needed to find out what she meant specifically.

Kiev

Kiev wasn't sure what he could do to communicate with Amari, yet alone everyone else. It was a bit discouraging. His attention quickly shifted to Esphyr when she called out to him. For him it was a bit strange. The human that nearly chopped his skull open was trying to communicate with him? Despite the ounce of fear, he stood up on all fours and came a little closer. Talking to a human might be easier than with a horse. After all he had more experience with them and knew some of the words and their meanings. Before meeting the hero horse Amari, Kiev was merely content fantasizing about dining on any horse he came across. Stopping right in front of her he waited for her to say something else.

The Theory

While Damian was being treated in the infirmary, Ixion and O'Donnel stood in front of the ever increasing number of animals being brought over.

Ixion: (Is that enough mass? I'm not concerned with materials since my test with the minotaurs was successful. They were proof alone that it is possible to forge something with ill-suited materials. This also goes to support some previous discoveries. There are mostly cattle here but I believe that by changing the most basic elements that form them, I can create something entirely different, something exactly as I imagine it, and suited to its purpose. We'll find out shortly I suppose.)

[Snowy_One]

"No. That's a window." said Mana, her hand sliding down the bulls mighty shaft until it reached the tip. Then, gently gripping it in her hand, she rubbed it against the sill before placing her hand upon the cold stone. "Window." she said once more before holding the tip of the spear carefully once again. Lifting it up, she held it up to the empty space of the window so that the point pointed outside. "Outside." she said as she pointed outside as well. "Outside. Etain, Howard, outside."

---

"Whoa there fellow!" exclaimed Esphyr, raising her hands before her in a defensive posture. "I'm not going to hurt you! Just passing though!" Her feet slowly traced across the ground in a backwards motion, getting ready to spring away should the giant monster attack. She fully expected him to do so. He was a beast; feral by nature. She had hurt him. He probably saw her as little more than a annoying being to be crunched in one swift bite had he the chance. "You're master doesn't want you to hurt me, understand? You. No. Hurt. Me."

[-Cynthia-]

"Hmm, perhaps Tessa would work." Morgan said, putting her hand on her chin. "She is lesss likely to be caught up in this political nonsense unecessarily. Though I do wonder if she has the arm strength to wield such a blade."

Charlotte noticed that Derek made a hasty retreat after she brought up the subject of politics. So it seems I cannot even have one subject who will stay by side. I can hardly expect to rebuild a nation if I can't even hold onto my own friends. She sighed and decided to forego eating for now as she was not feeling hungry in the least.

[Inactive Account]

While Arrin looked for Tessa, Kelas surveyed the camp yet again. It looked like a few more people were ready to go, at least. It looked like everyone was up and eating breakfast...

She spotted Charlotte on her own, not preparing, not eating. She realized what the betrayal of the previous day meant for Charlotte... Charlotte probably needed someone to talk to, and it looked like nobody was there. Well, Charlotte was her friend... right... she'd better do something. She headed over, letting Amari roam a bit again.

"You all right?" she asked awkwardly, knowing full well the probable answer.