'Sounds like a regular weekend for Tyrrin then.' Ehos displays off-handedly, grinning slightly at his own joke. Of course, if Ghalen hadn't been so sure of their success, he might have been a bit less of his usual dashing self, but no one else needed to know that. 'How was your trip? Successful?' he added as an afterthought to Ghalen.
"It was indeed. We were able to recover the tome Oniero was going after. Much was learned in the process, no one was lost, and we brought back a new student with us. I'd say it was sucessful on every possible way."
"I'd heard that you all here did not have a grand time in our absence."
As lang's entourage sails on eastward and after taking in the setting sun. Lang takes the reigns of Simba.
Simba, down. he commands and with a light double flick of the reigns Simba begins to descend.
As they descend a small shrine comes into view.
"Fair enough." He grinned over at her, noted the crossed arms and rose up, ready to move.
"Let's find some place warmer. I trust the taking apart of your old home isn't going to have some sort of magical affect on your people-- right? I've never understood the need to _destroy_ things, but, cycle of life or something, I suppose. Applies to objects too, or whatever."
He motions towards the building's entrance and start walking over with her, brushing upper arm against hers, in an attempt to provide his own warmth, while heading to further warmth.
"This of course explains yet another reason to have more clothing. A warm jacket never hurts. You can always take clothing off, finding stuff to put on, that's the catch."
It won't take long for them to reach the interior of the school again and the warmer halls.
"Oh, not sure if you have, considered or not, but, you may want to speak with a councilor about school goals. Help them help you, as it were. Useful advice, maybe, not sure where that came from."
So, once back inside, where it's warmer, he glanced around and then back, "Better? Whatcha in the mood for? Think Rena's found that Bradley guy and what not? I honestly don't think we had specific plans for the evening, so .. kinda open ended here. Socialize with others?"
He glanced in the direction of the Cafeteria, or where memory made him glance.
"Umm....let's see if I can remember all that...ummm.....no, the sun going away shouldn't have any effect on us. It was just a place. The trick is finding new places to live with the appropriate climate.....and this jacket idea sounds appealing. More warmth is better....Ummm...and I'm pretty sure my school goals right now amount to learning how to write and do math and read better and trying new things to figure out what I like and what I'm good at....oh, and learning how not to fall through the floor when I don't want to. Already talked this stuff over when Rena and I signed up for classes."
"Anyways, no we didn't really have any plans for this evening that I'm aware of. I'm not really sure what to do. I don't really know what the options are. Socializing sounds good. I want to meet more people. Ummm....and I think Rena probably did find Bradley. She's been gone a while so that would only make sense. She seems to really like him. Like really like him. Ummm.....sorry. That was insensitive wasn't it? I didn't mean to be.I just thought that you maybe like Rena that way...well, that's just how it looked to me, but then I really don't know much about relationships and stuff. Sorry if I got everything all wrong there."
"I'd suggest going to your room, a lava puddle could hurt the non fire-=birds just by being close to them"
"I have to agree with Arthur there...lava puddles in the hallway are definitely a bad idea," she said, laughing. "Oh, thank goodness, your room moved down to the first floor...I was wondering how we were going to manage stairs. This is one of those times when I really appreciate living in a building that magically rearranges itself," she said, relieved, as they managed to make it to the door of Ardiente's room. She struggled a little bit with the doorknob because it was hard to open the door and keep Ardiente from falling over at the same time.
"I have to agree with Arthur there...lava puddles in the hallway are definitely a bad idea," she said, laughing. "Oh, thank goodness, your room moved down to the first floor...I was wondering how we were going to manage stairs. This is one of those times when I really appreciate living in a building that magically rearranges itself," she said, relieved, as they managed to make it to the door of Ardiente's room. She struggled a little bit with the doorknob because it was hard to open the door and keep Ardiente from falling over at the same time.
"That's alright, falling asleep in lava is a problem anyway, because then it cools while you're sleeping, and you get stuck." Ardiente replies, unable to stop himself from chucking at /that/ memory, especially with the giddiness that was running through him. Giddiness didn't actually help him stay upright though, maybe even making him less balanced, so he's glad for Raelle's support.
Raelle does eventually manage to open the door, and it swings forth, revealing something of a mess in Ardiente's room. The results of Raelle's attempt to find out where Ardiente had gone several days past. It seems Ardiente had not yet had time to come tidy up the mess.
"Thanks Arthur, I think we should be alright from here. I'll see you around." Ardiente says, clearly wanting a bit of alone time with Raelle before he completely passed out. He does make for the bed with her help, and sits on the edge of the bed looking a bit dazed.
After a moment he shakes his head in a vain attempt to clear the drowses, and looks up at Raelle. "Thanks for your help again." he says with a fond smile, looking up into her eyes.
"Yes, I'm sure that brings her great comfort in regards to the mopping of floors," she said dryly.
"Can you still do that floating disk thing to help us get back up into the trees? I think it will be hard to climb and bring the fish...and it would be a waste to just leave it."
"Yeah. It's way too good for me to give up." He created the disk and went to get the fish. "Saffire pretty much killed this fish, you know. It's insides are messed up."
Lysander sat out in the garden reviewing the word signs he'd taught Dara so far and wondering if the boy would accept his offer to learn some outside today to learn the signs for plants.
"It's so pretty. Do we sleep in the little things?"
Sara smiles as she walks around the little shrine.
"So where do you want to sit? Meet Tural's friends or not interfere? I recognize people, but I don't really have friends, so I'm good with anywhere."
riviarti thinks for a moment.
"We'll leave them be. Tural is learning to be more independent, witch is nice."
"K. Where to then? Sad people, that's to be expected after yesterday. Tural's with a big group. Who else?..."
Lim-Môr looks around the lunchroom.
The Headmaster laughs and shakes Kodjack's hand with his cybernetic one.
"Mr. Winterblow, I believe you misunderstand the term 'Headmaster' in regards to a school! In this case it means that I am the school's highest ranked faculty member, sort of like the chieftain of a tribe. This is a place of learning, not beheading, despite what some of the students taking Advanced Physical Education would believe."
"Please, take a seat and tell me more about yourself so we can determine what classes you'd like to take here at Avalon Academy."
Kodjack looked at the headmaster's hand as he shook it, perplexed about what it even was. That...thing...it looked like a hand, but there was no way it actually was...it certainly didn't feel like a hand. It was too hard, even for a true warrior's hand. "What the hell..." Kodjack said under his breath, just plain flabbergasted.
Then he was told that the headmaster wasn't really what he thought he was; at least, he let on that he wasn't a collector of heads. No way that could be true...unless...was it a test to see if he could tell if he was lying? No, there was no way that was it. No true warrior would wish to hide his identity like that, for any reason. The look of excitement turned to disappointment, and then it furthered down into sad realization. "So, there is no way around magic..." he then sighed to himself. "Just going to have to put up with it, if it means getting smarter..."
Figuring that he had no choice if he was going to further his goals, Kodjack then sat down, not exactly sure of what the headmaster meant by "classes." It seemed like people in this place loved to make up words as they went along. "I am the last warrior and member of my tribe," Kodjack then started, figuring it was the best place to start. "We were wiped out, destroyed by magic. It was some...thing. Didn't seem affected by weapons, even from the strongest of us. Laughed as it spread its fire across our homes..." As Kodjack was retelling the story, his blood seemed to boil, memories of that tragedy swirling the rage up inside of him again. "I'm the only one that survived. Now, I need revenge. I need to get smarter to learn how to beat magic. Sometimes...I see it, and I cut it. I need to be smart enough to see it all the time and always be able to cut it."
"It's so pretty. Do we sleep in the little things?"
Sara smiles as she walks around the little shrine.
The Owls all come to a landing on a stone platform apparently set up just for the eagles. once they land and everyone dismounts, several monks dressed similar to lang rush out and tend to the owls.
There is also a walking trail that heads away from the temple.
That trail leads to a small village, that is where the monks that care for the shrine and their families live.
Lang then points to an ornate archway atop a stone stairway.
that way to the temple Lang points toward the archway. This is a pillared gate that has no doors, but holds a placard announcing where it is you have arrived
That archway is called the páifāng, it is the entryway we take as we begin our temple walk. I must tell you now though, the use of magic within the temple grounds is strictly prohibited. It is a great dishonor to the temple and it will bring dishonor to me as well.
Lang leads the group up the stairs and past the archway. occasionally he stops and bows to a monk as they pass by.
Tryko'Sam guides Asha along, after touching the wall for a moment, guided by arrows.
"Let's fix the jacket option first... As for the Rena situation, no worries. I did not feel for her in a way that it'd hurt if she heads off with someone else. I seriously don't roll that quick in a new town. She's a big girl, no? Besides, pretty sure she and the Wizard Vare need to have a long sit down and chat."
Shortly there after, the arrive at a stockroom with generic clothing for the students.
"There you go, closet of warmth, just waiting to find purpose. If lunch is still treating you well, or whenever you are last, I'd just say we find a local community room or something. If they have people hopping planets, they better have entertainment handy."
He grins and waits for Asha to dress up.
"Are you allowed to use your air thingy inside?"
Sara seems interested in the no magic rules.
"Are you allowed to use your air thingy inside?"
Sara seems interested in the no magic rules.
Lang looks to Sara and smiles. Yes I can, but I won't, unless the shrine is in danger. this is a place of meditation and worship. Some come here to seek escape from the magic of the rest of the world. My air "thingy" come from the Ki that is inside me, it my spiritual energy. Magic is not prevented here is is simply prohibited.
looking to everyone as he tries to explain, many people come here, and for various reasons. it is a test of our ability to exist without the comforts of magic. It is the personal responsibility of all that enter here to experience this on their own, not by force. But don't be fooled, many of these monks are not without means to protect the shrine if danger does come.
Lang waits a bit to see if any others have questions. Lang seems proud to have the chance to share this little piece of his life with everyone.
"I should probably stay outside."
tarka giggles, looking around quickly at one thing after another.
Lang goes to Tarka, Why is that? I have invited you. you are now welcome in the shrine.
"Because there is little chance i can refrain from magic here. Or be quiet. Or resist the urge to bug meditating people."
she giggles again, then suddenly turns somber.
"I hope Louis is ok."
Lewis is flopped over on the ground in a tangle of limbs that may or may not be possible, but looks exceedingly uncomfortable either way.
"Okie dokie."
Sara is swinging her arms back and forth as she awaits instructions.
Well then Tarka, I do believe that this Shrine will serve it purpose for you very well, It is a means to test oneself. in the course of prayer and mediation, we test ourselves here to train our selves to gain control.
Grim frowns at being told he couldn't use his powers, he hadn't actually planned on using them, but there was nothing like being told you can't do something to make you want to do that thing more than anything else. He doesn't verbally complain, but he doesn't say anything else either.
"Is there an area where those restrictions apply?" she asked, shifting back to human form and checking on Lewis. "I think I need to use some healing on Lewis...and I'll need to use magic at mealtimes. Trying to feed a dragon without resorting to magic...well, that way lies many empty larders. And wouldn't be a very good guest if I allowed that to happen."
"Lewis? I don't think it's good for your wings to bend that way, sweetie..."
Fieri and Pan arrived at the practice room, loaded down with instruments, ready to get all set up to play.
Lewis makes that noise kids do when they don't want to get out of bed in the morning and flops over into a different pretzel.
tarka laughs in response to leng.
"Really! Me, meditate and prey? My "god" speaks to me directly. Trying to get me to meditate is useless. Seriously. I can't stay focused on one thing for very long at all, unless it's really important, or really fun. I rarely walk anywhere, i just teleport where i want to go, or ride Lois, because he wants me to stay with him."
Tryko'Sam guides Asha along, after touching the wall for a moment, guided by arrows.
"Let's fix the jacket option first... As for the Rena situation, no worries. I did not feel for her in a way that it'd hurt if she heads off with someone else. I seriously don't roll that quick in a new town. She's a big girl, no? Besides, pretty sure she and the Wizard Vare need to have a long sit down and chat."
Shortly there after, the arrive at a stockroom with generic clothing for the students.
"There you go, closet of warmth, just waiting to find purpose. If lunch is still treating you well, or whenever you are last, I'd just say we find a local community room or something. If they have people hopping planets, they better have entertainment handy."
He grins and waits for Asha to dress up.
She loooked relieved when he said he wasn't upset about Rena. "Oh. Well, I'm glad you're not upset about Rena then. I was worried about how I was supposed to handle it if things went sour between the two of you. I don't want to have to choose between my two friends," she said, with a cheerful smile.
She sorted through the jackets with a critical eye, finally finding a pale pink hoodie that suited her. It was much too big and once it was zipped up it looked like it was the only thing she was wearing. She held up her hands trying to figure out how to keep them out of the sleeves that kept falling over her fingers, and then shrugged, deciding it was something she could live with.
"Okay, all set. Let's go find something fun to do." ^.^
tarka laughs in response to leng.
"Really! Me, meditate and prey? My "god" speaks to me directly. Trying to get me to meditate is useless. Seriously. I can't stay focused on one thing for very long at all, unless it's really important, or really fun. I rarely walk anywhere, i just teleport where i want to go, or ride Lois, because he wants me to stay with him."
"Madness isn't a god, Tarka. He outranks them. And really, religion has little to do with Patrons, dear. But if you really can't handle things here, you can always teleport back to the school for the night and then teleport back here in the morning. I'll look after Lewis."
Lysander sat out in the garden reviewing the word signs he'd taught Dara so far and wondering if the boy would accept his offer to learn some outside today to learn the signs for plants.
What looked like a walking tin can tried to move quietly through the garden, skittering away from anyone who tried to get near him.
"Yeah. It's way too good for me to give up." He created the disk and went to get the fish. "Saffire pretty much killed this fish, you know. It's insides are messed up.""Yes, I'm sure that brings her great comfort in regards to the mopping of floors," she said dryly.
"Can you still do that floating disk thing to help us get back up into the trees? I think it will be hard to climb and bring the fish...and it would be a waste to just leave it."
"Well, now I feel better about slicing it open. At least it shortened its misery. Now if we can just get Saffire to accept that he isn't a big drake," she said, shaking her head in exasperation as she cuddled her exhausted familiar.
With the help of Michael's disk, it was a much quicker trip back to the house.
When they went inside Kitty bowed apologetically to Michael's mother while they dripped on the floor.
"Please forgive us. Saffire tried to catch a fish, and it caught him instead. We had to rescue him. But we did bring the fish back for dinner," she said through chattering teeth.
"Not much point to religion when you have a nigh-omnipotent being in your head. Even more so when you can tell him to be quiet, because he doesn't want to lose his current champion, she's working out so well."
she shudders for a moment.
"Ok, ok, not so loud... Anyway, I'll try to stay calm until everyone goes to sleep. I'll head back to the school then."
"uh you need any help there?" he asks
once they navigate the puzzle that is the door, Arthur pauses. "wait... this is my room... did the arrows screw up?"
"Huh? I didn't think Ardiente had a roommate," she said, confused, and then she looks at the room, which is now quite a bit larger than it used to be. Ardiente's half was considerably messier.
"Oh. Umm...I guess you guys are roommates now....huh....ummmm.....sorry about the mess. It's my fault. Long story. He's not usually a slob..."
lang looks at everyone apparently He never realized this would be so difficult for people.
I guess growing up without any magic kind of makes me a bit....ahhh...not very thoughtful. I guess any magic can be done out here as we haven't actually entered the shrine, and there is the little village. magic can be used there also. I can go ask if maybe someone can lets you stay there.
I'm sorry about all of this, I guess I didn't really think things through.
And Tarka, I never expected you to meditate or pray, I was talking about the monks that live here, that's what they do. We are only here to spend the night. we can even stay out here if you want, I just wanted to show you all what my home is like. I never knew magic was so important to people.
Why not set up camp here, I'll go inform the monks we are staying here and they will bring us some food. you can use all the magic you want out here, just once you pass that archway it is not allowed. This is a very holy place for me and my people
"Dare, I know it's a little scarier outside, but you did really well coming out here. I'm proud of you." He tells Dara when he's close enough to hear past all the metal. "do you want to start?"
|
"oh sure, make excuses for for your boyfriend, that doesn't sound like a healthy relationship, tut tut," he says in a tone that indicates he's obviously joking
Arthur's side isn't exactly orginized, there are small parts and pieces of metal scattered here and there, with blueprints in various places, though most of the "mess" is on or neer work benches
"Dare, I know it's a little scarier outside, but you did really well coming out here. I'm proud of you." He tells Dara when he's close enough to hear past all the metal. "do you want to start?"
Dara nodded. At present all that was visible of him was his eyes. He appeared to be completely covered in a suit of armor built out of metal toys. He moved some of the armor away from his hands so he could practice signs, staying close to Lysander just in case.
"We'll start with the sign for 'plant'..." He starts the lesson off easily, slowly making each sign as many times as he needs to for Dara and sometimes asking him to show the signs for words the boy already knew to keep him on his toes.
"I for one would like to see your temple, Lang-kun." Midori says, doing a full gamut of stretches, and slow acrobatics in order to make sure the long ride wasn't going to leave her stiff. (Some of which might cause the boys to perv of a bit, if they're willing to risk being pervy around their teacher, but none intentional on Midori's part :P )
"Tarka-san, meditation isn't necessarily about the gods" Midori adds to the conversation, perhaps a little bolder now where she might have held her tongue a few weeks ago. Obviously she understood nothing of what Tarka and Ephebe were speaking of when they spoke of Madness, but she knew of meditation practice. "Shikantaza is meditation which focuses on regulating your own breath, and mind. It lets your Ki flow properly." Midori said, though at least part of it sounds like she's reciting something told to her.
After a moment, she glances back to Lang, and hesitates slightly... and then reaches down and undoes the straps which hold her holster and pouches onto her left leg. There's another moment of hesitation, but then she lays the weapons down near to the edge of where they were to make camp., looking back to Lang, and nodding somberly.
"Leng, i misunderstood. Also, most people could go without magic for that long. I'm just not most people. Ah, but meditations still requires you to be still, relaxed, or otherwise calm. That's not going to happen."
tarka is still "smiling" as much as a kobold can, her eyes open wide in the dark. She's much more active now that the sun has set.
"That's alright, falling asleep in lava is a problem anyway, because then it cools while you're sleeping, and you get stuck." Ardiente had replied, unable to stop himself from chucking at /that/ memory, especially with the giddiness that had been running through him. Giddiness didn't actually help him stay upright though, maybe even making him less balanced, so he had been glad for Raelle's support on their way to the room.
"Good thing we've been introduced already." Ardiente says wryly, and then shakes his head at the comments on the mess. "That's alright, I'll tidy up tomorrow morning. To be honest, if the mess means that you found out where I was and showed up right on time. If it means a bit of tidying, I can handle that."
"Oohh--" Ardiente says as he and Raelle step into the room itself, and he closing his eyes. "That is blessedly warm."
"Are you coming in?" he asks of Arthur, holding the door with one hand and Raelle with the other.
"It was indeed. We were able to recover the tome Oniero was going after. Much was learned in the process, no one was lost, and we brought back a new student with us. I'd say it was sucessful on every possible way."
"I'd heard that you all here did not have a grand time in our absence."
'Yeah. I have to wonder if my Mom showing up was a bad omen. The weekend started out great, after all.' Ehos returns, his expression darkening slightly. 'Whoever attacked the school was targeting Lycans, Jaiye at the top of the list. And... lots of other bad stuff happened yesterday too. Too much to tell, really. At least you guys had a successful weekend.'
Jan seems to be at least momentarily at a loss for words at the news that her tormentor in her previous life has passed on.
Meanwhile, the other members of the group are trying to figure out what, if anything, they can identify about the monstrous machine which seems to be keeping the ghostly figure hostage.
Upon closer inspection, the machine appears to be at least partially made up of the gemstone onyx, somehow alloyed in with whatever other metals make up the machine. Onyx is often used as a material component in Necromantic spells and rituals.
There have been theories that if one was able to use magic alloy the onyx gemstone with adamantine (this is not possible using typical metallurgy), you might create a non-magical material which would be able to touch incorporeal creatures, such as ghosts, similar to a weapon/armor with the Ghost Touch property.
You know that the theories regarding the alloying of onyx and adamantine are in fact true, but research has shown that the rituals required to craft such a material are dangerous and have a corrupting influence, akin to the darkest of magic. As such, most research surrounding this topic has been abandoned.
Given the way the light in the room reacted to Adon's antimagic, and the nature of the light that the machine had been giving off, it's likely this machine is doing /something/ with ectoplasm - the essence of incorporeal creatures.
It is extremely likely, given some tiny flickers in the ghost's luminescence (which are barely noticeable), that the machine is actually leeching ectoplasm directly out of the ghost for some purpose. Literally draining it's soul. If it went on indefinitely, it is likely that the ghost would simply fade away and vanished, the soul permanently removed from the lifestream, destroyed entirely by the process.
Given that ghosts are generally held in the world by some negative emotion from their previous life, and the information Vai just gave to Jan, it is entirely probable that the dark machine is preventing Jan's spirit from finding it's final rest. Releasing her from the machine would allow her to move on. It would be somewhat difficult given the resilience of the metal, but it would not need to be delicate work.
"Well, this is a particularly nasty device. Like borderline purest evil". The young man says, supressing a shudder. He then goes on to fill Vai in on what exactly this machine is and what its doing to her friend.
Turning to look towards Vai, Anahita asks, "Vai, do you see your parents? We should not linger in this unhealthy place, with the threat of whatever these machines and their prior owners might have to the people of your village. Not to mention the poisons potentially unseen to body and soul. If others were to return we are not accounting for, this could turn into a blood bath."
To this sage advice, Vai does indeed nod, agreeing with Anahita. Given Jan's lack of response to the news of Aegythrax's death, Vai moves away from the dark machine, scanning the press of villagers - she knew them all, and each one made her gut twist ever so slightly. It was these people who had betrayed her - put her up on that rock to be taken. She closes her eyes momentarily, stopping in her scan to take a deep breath. There was always a new dawn. Redemption and rebirth were purviews of Lathander, to whom she had dedicated herself to just this morning. She would need to remember that when she faced her parents. And opening her eyes, she finds them. Avery & Elsa Emkar, blonde hair the both of them, are among the captured, human and elf respectively.
"They are there." Vai confirms, nodding at Anahita. "And you're right, we shouldn't spend much time here, but we also can't carry this many people all the way out. And what about Jan? We can't just leave her there... stuck to that... thing."
"If only we had a porta... hm." Vai cocks her head slightly to the side, as if she'd just thought of something. "Well, I know someone who actually /could/ help us move this amount of people very quickly back to the village at least. He's back at Avalon though...." after having trailed off while saying that, she immediately begins to rifle through one of her pouches...
"Well, this is a particularly nasty device. Like borderline purest evil". The young man says, supressing a shudder. He then goes on to fill Vai in on what exactly this machine is and what its doing to her friend.
Vai looks up as the stranger explains what he suspects about the machine, though she makes sure to keep some distance between herself and him. Male stranger? Vai wasn't going anywhere near him if she could help it. Even if he had helped them. "So.... what you're saying is we just have to smash it... and then... and then Jan can move on?" she asks incredulously, looking to Phaeze to confirm what the stranger had said. The hand which had gone into the pouch had pulled out a pair of the personal starcasters, but Vai does nothing with them yet.
After departing the rooftop (avoiding the pigeon coop as much as possible), Rena made a bee-line for the arrows, and went off to find Vare...
Meanwhile, Vare, being out of Unseen Servant spells for the day which could guide him around the school, is currently wandering around lost looking for either Maya or Tryko'Sam, without much success.