The Golden Age. Act 1: Discoveries.

[Nanami Touko]

"Same kinda..." Telmara scowled, still frightened by the sight of all those teeth. "We're... N-Not at all the same," she grunted. I wish I'd not noticed at all! This is the last thing I needed... And from the sounds of things, they're coming with us... The cat is bearable, but that shark. If he ever so much as amuses the thought of biting any part of me, he's roasted salmon... She didn't have much else to say, but at least she had to apologize properly to Kaya... Somewhat. She'd helped her pay for this tome, and she owed her for that much.

Now... Telmara slid off, finding a small spot to herself away from everyone else. "How much of this do I...?" She remembered the volume extensively, so she was sure the words would be the same... What she wasn't sure of, was if this body was up to casting this magic already. She already had issues with the Gust tome... Would this cause more harm than success?

There was only one way to find out. With a hand outstretched towards the sky, she flipped open the book, starting to read the necessary passage. The weight of what she was trying to do hit her head on, immediately. A throbbing pain in her skull, nearly taking her off her focus, as the magical strain began. D-Don't, stop your... Fffoocuss...! She forced her magic to move, even if it was an intense, burning pain, moving through and up her arm. "J-Just... You're, not... G-Giv, ing up...!"

With a final grunt, her arm trembling as her outstretched palm felt like it was tearing itself apart, she managed it. The spell burst forth from her hand-- smaller, and weaker than intended, but still exactly what she'd wanted to see. With heavy, ragged breaths, she slowly started to smile, dropping the tome and placing her claw against her head. It was shaking, throbbing; the headache was quickly becoming a migraine from the strain, but she couldn't help letting her smile grow wider.

"I... I can still... I can, do it. I can... Hahaha~" She laughed through the pain as she collapsed down further, flopping onto her back, eventually. "Ahhh... I'm gonna sleep so well, tonight..."

[Juliette]

"I suppose so. You seem to have a keen eye for sales yourself..." Velvet observed. "A shame I don't have any spears right now. They're very popular for adventuring, apparently. Perhaps we'll have to work something out in the future, then." She gave Kolmar a peculiar look, before turning to Kaya. "He is, isn't he? I was surprised on first impression- but really, he's not that different after some adjustment. I suppose that's how I felt about humans when I first met them, and how humans must react to demihumans as well- we are all still people, even with our differences. Your tattoos- they must bring some reactions too, don't they?" She pat at the shark-demihuman's shoulder. "It's fine. These people are shaping up to be a fortunate group to encounter. Were the circumstances different, I'd likely not be so kind... but they're not! So you're off easy this time."

Edited December 17, 2016 by Juliette

[Honey Bunny]

Of course we're not all the same, I'm a shark and you're a snake. He sighed, it was clear that talking to her was going nowhere. "Heh, thanks Velvet. I'll try to remember that it's secret next time." It was good to know Velvet wasn't upset with him. He hadn't been on the road long, and it was new to have to be alone. For the past week Velvet had been the only company he got, and he wasn't sure what to do without that. The last time Ulysses felt alone was when he was with Bartholomew, and that...Never again. Ulysses turned back around to address Kolmar, "Sorry, I don't believe I got your name. Thanks for standing up for me back there. Hey, if the offer is still open I'd love to help you cook. I could really use a bite to eat right now."

Edited December 18, 2016 by Honey Bunny

[Bluedoom]

Joviana responded to Aaron with a frown of her own. She just couldn't understand what he was saying now. Folding her hands, she replied, "I don't see why you need to be the strongest to find the lost treasure. That...doesn't even make sense, and I'm not interested in putting myself in unnecessary danger to find it."

It was then that she noticed two new people who arrived at the scene, Kaya enthusiastically talking to them. One was...some kind of a cat, and the other was...a shark demihuman? I don't recall seeing demihumans having features of aquatic animals. Maybe this one is special? Its going to take some time for me to get used to this.

"We may have interesting company, wouldn't you say?" she commented, to Aaron and Raz. Yeah right. Our group is anything but uninteresting.

[SB.]

"If the treasure was easy to find, would someone not have already claimed it?" The Madrigalian shook his head. Of course they would have. Aaron couldn't understand why this woman thought otherwise. It all made perfect sense to him. "If danger isn't your forte, then perhaps you should reconsider your choices." While perhaps a little harsher than necessary, his advice held true.

As for the new arrivals, Aaron was quietly hoping that they would part ways quickly. Telmara at least looked like a woman from the waist up, but the black-eyed shark-man had a far more unnerving appearance. If their meeting was fated, then he would just have to accept it, but...

[eclipse]

"Name's Kolmar," he said, his usual gruff manner back. "Some berries would be a nice addition to the meal. Where'd you get 'em from? Cooking's better with fresh ingredients, and I make sure I've got everything I need before I start."

[Xinnidy]

Aaron's motion to pick his axe brought a smile to Raz's face, looking intently at the ornate axe-- until he pulled it back toward him, wary of the newcomers that made their presence know. Who are-- Whoa. Raz looked at the merchant and her bodyguard --what a fearsome-looking demihuman. He looks like... a fish out of water. Is there a rhyme or reason to these transformations? That was a honestly good question, in her mind. Was there really? Why was it always connected to animals? What if there is like... a tree demihuman? Or a ship demihuman? Truly the important questions.

Raz didn't really know what to say at the time Aaron and Joviana started arguing over how they would go about their treasure run, looking at the two awkwardly. "Well, isn't it too early to know?" She tried to interject, "If that mage could have stopped us there for good, why didn't he?" Maybe there was something they weren't getting yet. No, there decidedly was something they weren't getting yet, and Raz wanted to see that full picture! "The only way to find out is to meet him again, or meet someone that knows about his deal, so we're better off moving on for now, right?" She shrugged.

Having said her piece, she distracted herself giving a look at her surroundings again, wondering what else could be there after the demihumans showed up. A sight that caught her and she most definitely wasn't counting on, was Telmara off on her own, casting a small (though still possibly harmful) flame, and then placing a hand on her head, looking exhausted. Uh oh. Was there something wrong about the spell? She seemed so intent in casting fire again, from what Raz remembered. "Uhhh... I'll be right back." It felt bad, joining and dropping the conversation with Joviana again, but Raz had to make sure Telmara was feeling good, after that talk!

"Hey!" She waved a hand as she dashed to the snake lady. "That's a new spell! What is it?" She struck conversation quickly, but her real concern was beside the spellcasting. "Hey, how are you feeling?" It seemed like it took a bit out of the mage, and her mood from earlier still left a lingering concern in Raz.

[Honey Bunny]

"Oh, I found the berries in some bushes back there. It shouldn't be too far off, just a bit up the path." Ulysses motioned up the path he just came from. He took a step towards the food-bush before remembering his initial job. "Hey, Velvet. Do you think you'll be fine if I go get some food? These guys seem alright, but you can never be too safe; and this might take a while." He turned back around to look at his new-found traveling companion. It's not that he didn't think she couldn't take care of herself, he was just worried that she might want to keep her bodyguard nearby. After all, he wouldn't be very useful as a bodyguard if he wasn't close enough to protect her.

[Nanami Touko]

Telmara laid back and stared at the sky for a bit, smiling through the throbbing pain in her head. It didn't matter to her, really. There was a distant memory floating behind the pain, back when she'd managed to cast her first, simple fire spell. It had hurt then; not as bad, nowhere near, but it was a reminder that she had a history to look back to, and a reason to look forward. Maybe the future... Won't be so bad. The throbbing in her head became sharp as Raz's voice shouted over at her. With a heavy groan, she pulled herself up to meet the girl, hand placed against her temple. She wished to try again, desperately, but doing so once more would likely cause more than just a migraine. Telmara wanted her lunch to stay where it was...

"This," she said, holding the tome out for Raz to see, plainly, "but I don't have what it takes to cast it properly, not yet. But, soon... Heh. Haha... Ahhhh, my head is murdering me, but all I want to do is laugh~ I haven't been this happy for... For a long, long while." Everything was hurting, the world was spinning a bit... She sat back down on her tail some and closed her eyes, but that made everything spin worse. She winced and opened them, before looking back at Raz. "Ahhh... D-Don't, cast magic that you aren't capable of, alright? Teacher's orders... I know I just did it, but... And you were casting gust before... I mean. Don't, force the spell to happen. If it isn't happening... Leave it. Practice more with something weaker. Go back to it later... Or you'll end up hurting yourself. This migraine's going to last a few hours..."

She sighed, but smiled. "W-Was there anything else, Raz? I'm honestly... Really happy, right now. So, this is the best mood you're going to catch me in, for a while. Ask while you can." Getting that sensation of flame back into her body was riveting. Nothing could compare, and all the bad experiences so far were capsized before of it. Now I've just got to cast the full spell...

Edited December 20, 2016 by Nanami Touko

[Xinnidy]

"Oh! Huh..." Raz stared at the tome for a moment, she knew enough about anima magic to understand that was a fire tome! About medium level, but Telmara couldn't cast it that well. Something to do with her body, if I remember it right... "Okay, I won't try my luck." After seeing the migraine that Telmara got from that casting, Raz considered herself lucky that the gust spell only made her feel a mild inconvenience. "I'd really like you to keep teaching me, though... is there something weaker than a gust tome for anima?" She gave out a sheepish smile, it couldn't go that fast if she was getting migraines just to give baby steps towards that goal.

Still, it was good to make sure Telmara was in good spirits, and her offer to ask her a question put Raz's mind to work. "Well, hmm." She had stopped a few times to wonder what she'd ask of people in the group if she could, but now that the opportunity was just handed to her, it took a bit for Raz's mind to fill the blank. Funny how that worked. "Hey Telmara..." Raz started, mind drifting to their earlier conversation, "Did you have somebody you liked before, uh, before what happened to you?"

[Juliette]

Velvet rolled her eyes at Ulysses' request. "Of course you can go... I'm small, but I'm not a child." She gestured at those near her. "We're among friends now. You don't have to always stay exactly at my side." She turned to Kaya now, looking at her tattoos again and circling around her once before stopping. "So what's your story? Those are all the gifts, aren't they? As interesting as they are, that's a strange thing to have tattooed all across your body- but then again, I suppose I'm not one to start on strange appearances..."

[eclipse]

Kolmar hid most of a snicker as Velvet addressed Ulysses. "Alright, your client said you can go. Now where's those berries?"

[Honey Bunny]

As soon as Ulysses had heard Velvet's response he turned back around. Only mildly annoyed by the smarm in her remark. "Right up here a ways. They're a little bit off the path, but they're pretty tasty. Besides we might find more stuff we can eat in the woods." Just thinking about the berries was enough to make Ulysses hungry again. Spirits, why am I so hungry? His stomach shot up with pain the more he thought about food. I'm not starving, but it sure does feel like it. "They should be just to the left here." Ulysses turned off into the woods trying to find the bushes again. "Aha, here they are! Wild raspberries." He said, picking a few off the bushes and eating a few more. "I don't think these'll be enough though. Once we get these we ought to find more things to eat. How often do you hunt?"

[Nanami Touko]

Telmara rubbed at her forehead with the flats on her fingers. Even if her hands were all scales now, it was still soothing, somewhat. Though, Raz was saying something odd. "O-Of course I will... Why, did you think I wasn't going to? You're... Promising. And I don't think it'd be a waste, if you're sincerely interested in Anima magic... You, already now how to get your light stronger. Just, k-keep using it... Don't push anything that you shouldn't. And there are, uh... Training tomes, for this s-sort of thing. If we c-can find one, you can use it to practice." Of note, Raz would've noticed Telmara's stutter slowly fading away, as she continued on. Being able to finally use that spell did a lot for her, a lot more than one would think.

Of course, Raz's question did something as well, and it wasn't the most appealing thing. "While I have a m-migraine, too... Oh, geez..." Hahhh, just try to think... This is your fault for trusting her with what you said earlier. But, you can't go back now, can you? Well... This'll be an unfun trip down memory lane. "Hah... Yes. Nothing happened with it. Bad practice..." She rubbed at her temples again, trying to calm down her head, but it wasn't a regular migraine, it was a magically induced one. It would take time and rest to get rid of it, not trying to be calm.

"She was... A student, of mine. Incredibly bright. Always paid, close attention in class. Punctual, never complained, and... Striking. No point getting into, uh... Details. It's been twenty years. Probably graduated, by now... But, I liked my job, more than trying something like that. Relationships between teachers and students... Definitely frowned upon. For good reason. I'm sure you get why... All sorts of ways things like grades, or due dates, or anything, could get... P-Persuaded. And, the like." She sighed. The past was inviting, for many things, but also something she didn't want to spent too much time in.

"Her name w-was Stella. I'll... Probably avoid, her, if I ever meet her. Seeing me like this... Hah. Not a good idea. But that was the only one, Raz... I, wasn't the most social person, if you hadn't noticed." She folded her arms again and rested on her tail. "Satisfied?" She wasn't upset, but it might've come across that way.

[eclipse]

Yeah. Definitely not enough for a full meal. Maybe it'll work as a sauce. "I hunt when I hafta. It ain't too bad, 'cept when I kill somethin' huge. Gotta carry back whatever I kill and all." He regarded the berries, then Ulysses. "Though if you're here, it'll make carryin' everything back a lot easier." He produced a pouch, which he'd normally use for a flask of whiskey, and filled it about three-quarters full.

It didn't take long before Kolmar found a deer trail. While his lance could be used to hunt deer, he preferred to hunt boars - they weren't as hard to clean, and were easier to carry. Elnar had proudly come back with a doe once, only to be chewed out by his parents. Hunt the bucks, leave the does alone. Luckily, bucks were easier to spot, due to their antlers. He motioned Ulysses over, a finger on his lips. A buck stood near a watering hole, head up and alert. Fortunately, the wind carried the scent of the hunters away from the deer. Kolmar threw his javelin, biting back a grunt of surprise as the weapon veered away from his target's abdomen. Instead, it lodged itself deep in the buck's throat. The wounded animal ran, a trail of blood behind it. Kolmar ran after it, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw the downed buck not too far away.

"Alright kid, that buck ain't goin' anywhere. You wanna do the honors?"

[Xinnidy]

"So there are training tomes huh?" Raz almost felt like bouncing on her feet, she'd get to try more of anima magic! Granted, Raz had no idea how hard she would commit to it. She never felt like top mage material, but maybe learning more types of spells could change that. "Of course! If we find one, I'll use it immediately." She saluted back.

"Oh..." The next topic, Telmara's story about her past romantic feelings, was decidedly less positive. Raz wondered how she didn't see the awkward position she put herself into coming. "I... see." Unrequited love. Raz had no idea how to comfort Telmara for saying that, perhaps there was no need to. Is... she mad at me? That couldn't be it. Telmara would have reacted worse, probably. "Sorry about having you dig that up, if you didn't like it." Raz scratched her arm, looking away awkardly to avoid meeting Telmara's soul-scanning gaze immediately after. 20 years ago... That's rough. "Um... sorry, I'm satisfied." Maybe it was time for a topic change, "I guess it's only fair for you to ask me a question, if you have any."

[Honey Bunny]

Ulysses smiled, "With pleasure." He walked up to the wounded beast, and knelt down to get closer to it. A coppery scent hung in the air close to the deer, the scent of blood...his favorite scent. Were Ulysses' eyes not completely black they would most certainly be dilated, and his mouth was watering. Remember the teachings of the tribe Ulysses. Hunt for food, not pleasure... He needed to grant this creature a merciful death, but didn't have a knife on him. Instead he'd have to rely upon his own strength. He placed one hand underneath the jaw of dying buck, and the other behind its head. Hunt for food, not pleasure. With a quick motion of his hands he snapped the buck's head around, and accidentally opened the wound on its neck further. The scent of blood grew stronger in the air and it was...intoxicating. He closed his eyes, and threw his head back in order to take a deep sniff of the air. Without thinking he said, "Spirits, why do I love the smell of blood?"

It was at this point he remembered Kolmar was there.

Edited December 20, 2016 by Honey Bunny

[scorri]

"The tattoos? Well, they're as much about the dragons as they are the Gifts, but yes. It's a way of showing my standing I guess you could say. I don't know if you've heard of the Order of the Dragons, but their members dedicate their lives to studying a dragon and the gift they gave us. When you choose a dragon to study, you get that tattoo. Except this one." She touched the tattoo resting over get heart.

"Everyone gets this one when they join the Order. As for why I have all seven, well, as I said, that's a longer story but the short version is I'm what they call the Prophet of the Dragons. I have dreams that show the future. And, well, one vision. That sorta knocked me unconscious. That was recent and unexplained though. But ah. It is why I wanted you to join us. You See, you were in it." She gave the former cat a level stare, waiting to see how she reacted.

[eclipse]

Did I just hear that? I didn't just hear that. "Uh, if you'd like, we can clean the carcass here. And if deer innards are your thing, you're free to have 'em," Kolmar said, his normally booming voice subdued. "Less to carry."

[Juliette]

Velvet's ears perked up at Kaya's story. "How strange... I've heard of your Order, only once or twice in passing. But I thought that was all dark magic, visions like that... at least that's what the only other prophet I've ever seen said." She looked closely at the dragon on her neck, quiet and unmoving other than her tail swaying before poking at it. Her touch was probably strange to Kaya, feeling more like an animal's due to the fur than a human's despite her hand shape. "That's one the Fire Emblem, isn't it? Well, that's sort of a pointless question. Of course it is... there's so many pictures it'd be impossible not to recognize. Even in tattoo form, it's so distinctive."

"I can't imagine why you'd dream about me... maybe it is fate that we met today, then. But no wonder you're so interested in the Gifts. Do you know what one you're looking for in the forest? Or is it all based off of the rumors?"

[Honey Bunny]

"Errr...sure. We can clean it out here. You wouldn't happen to have a knife on you? I've only got my axes on me." As strong as Ulysses is, he isn't quite strong enough to clean a deer barehanded. He'd need a knife to break through the skin at least.

[eclipse]

Kolmar took out a set of knives. They were far too short to be of any combat use, despite the keen edge he kept on them. "Ma always told me to carry 'em with me when I go hunting." He grunted as the knife reluctantly slid through the deer's fur and outer muscle. Quite a few less-than-polite words graced his thoughts, but through a supreme show of willpower, he bit back most of them. "Ugh. There. That should be enough of an opening to fish 'em out. Don't rip open the thing's stomach until you're a few steps away from the carcass," he told Ulysses. Half-digested deer food made the meat taste worse. At least I didn't puncture the intestines this time.

[Nanami Touko]

"It's fine. It's years old... Twenty or so now, I suppose. I wonder how old I really am, honestly... This whole time skipping business has been nothing but trouble, hah." She sighed, and looked down at her claw, opening and closing it a few times. Still scales. Still a claw. Still yours... Try not to dwell on it too long; you'll ruin the happy you're riding.

"Either way, it's not a problem. I should've expected something like that, sooner or later. So don't worry about bothering me." A question for Raz, thought? "Give me some time to think on it, when my brain isn't splitting itself apart, alright? I've got one, but talking anymore is just going to make things worse... Going to need a good hour to rest from this one, I think." She went back to rubbing her forehead, hoping it would provide any further relief from the throbbing.

"If you want to ask me anything else later, feel free to. Especially if it's about Anima magic... Don't think I'm letting you off with just a few sessions, now. I'm a strict teacher. Form is going to matter more than you think~" An almost smile slid onto her face, and a lilt of amusement with it. This was likely the happiest Raz had seen Telmara in there short time together. "Now, enough of that... I'll go get some rest until we start moving, again. Thanks for coming over." Telmara made her way off, but made sure to ruffle Raz's hair first. She found the tree she'd been sulking against before, and decided to do something more pleasant against it-- sleep.

[riariadne]

December 25th, 962. 11:45 AM. The edge of Uvara Forest, Tauvos, Balor

It took the better part of four more days for the assembled group of eleven to reach the woods they'd started off towards. Uvara Forest, with trees enchanted by a powerful mage to deter thieves who roamed the area, was notorious for their difficulty to navigate. The mage's spell worked well enough in the short term, but over the years thieves began to use the magic maze to their advantage instead, even as the enchantment became twisted and changed.

If that wasn't enough of an obstacle, a more obvious challenge came in the form of a group of ten others that were wandering the area. As the two teams of travelers neared, a shorter blonde woman holding a bow stepped up from the others. "You were all at the meeting in Vespen, weren't you? You, snake-woman... your altercation with the axe wielder was loud. I remember it. Then that means we're both after the same thing. I'd advise going another way... the river is probably only a few days from here. A confrontation wouldn't be very good for either of us, would it now?"

"Hey now, Juniper. No reason to be hostile." The archer side-eyed a blonde man with light armor and a sword, who waved much more friendly at the group. "Look, we all got here from Vespen only about a week ago. If the treasure is really as amazing as they say, we can break things up instead of getting violent."

"Sharing is naive, Isaac. We've a claim to it, since we were here first," the woman- Juniper- insisted. "It's about the achievement... maybe you're soft, but I'd rather not split with anyone."

"Don't try and threaten us! The axe wielder you mentioned had a group a lot bigger than yours, but we beat her, so we're not going to be pushed around. Do you even know what you're doing? Maybe your claim would make more sense if treasure was anywhere in sight," Aria piped up. "We didn't come all this way just to be told to go away."

"Hmph! We'll just have to beat you to it, then. The forest is difficult to navigate. We'd asked some locals for advice, but we wound up back here even when we followed it," she spoke irritably. "We'll let you be for now, but if it comes to it... anything's fair in the hunt." The blonde man shook his head, but didn't speak up, and Aria glanced nervously towards the others.

[Nanami Touko]

The more time Telmara spent traveling on her tail, the more she got used to the movement, and the more she actually enjoyed traveling around. It helped that she had something nice to put all of her time into. It only took her two days to complete the volume, but she hadn't tried casting it again-- that being her newly acquired conflagrate tome. She was going to practice with Gust just a bit more; get this body used to casting with anima magic, before jumping back to it. But, when she was sure she was prepared, it was going to be the most perfect casting anyone had ever seen~ Form, power, style... It would be a wondrous explosion of fire. She shook in anticipation even thinking about it.

And no obstacle would hold her back from reaching that! Especially not more travelers bent on being hostile from the get go. She let Aria speak, and then sneered at the archer. "Juniper, was it? I'd listen to your friend... The 'axe woman'-- Haley. She's in a few pieces now. Courtesy of yours truly... Don't think I won't do the same if you're going to try and fight us just for posture. Sssssss~." She'd show her just how 'snake-woman' she could be, if these humans were going to continue their aggressive fronts. Were none of them capable of working together? Not with strangers, it seemed. I wonder how many of these people are going to betray each other when the treasure if truly found? It's impressive their little groups have stuck together for this long... Though, I suppose the same goes for us. Would Kaya turn on us to find the treasure? ...Would I? Hmm...

She'd have to think about it.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Nanami Touko