The Silvered Memory

Log Info

• Title: The Silvery Memory
• Emitter: Cryosanthia
• Characters: Cryosanthia, Seyardu
• Place: A15: Mithralla Merchandise, In the MMMM
• Time: Friday, July 30, 2021, 4:00 PM
• Summary: Seyardu visits Mithralla Merchandise on a misty day and finds Cryo and Lily out front playing around with the Blue Anihilation. She intimates she has things to discuss, and while the street appears empty the whitescale takes them into the Magnificent Mansion, which currently is arranged as a desert lair, complete with confectionary scorpion. Lily goes for a swim while Seyradu updates Cryo on the discoveries relating to the Erinyes. Cryo is able to provide some basic information on the devils, but doesn't get far with her mask. They switch to a more pleasant topic, a memory Seyardu wishes to share. Cryo is eager and curious, but her control of memory spells is nothing like Salina's. She ends up falling into a different one of the Silverscale's, one where the silvery youngling lost her brother to charn raiders. One strangely absent a mother figure, and with parts that seem completely forgotten... or perhaps erased. Cryo and Seyardu come out of it with a shock, and the whitescale does her best to be a comforting presence to both Seyardu and Little Fang, who is frightened by emotional adults. A swim follows, making things better.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* A15: Mithralla Merchandise *>=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Here, a large wooden structure has been built. Its somewhat eccentric yet elegant design suggests its owner may be of the arcane persuasion. To the side of the main structure is a small corral to for horses or wagons. Before the central building, a massive sword emerges from the earth. A sign upon it reads: "MITHRALA MERCHANDISE."

Inside is a small seating area with several comfortable chairs. To the back, an unobtrusive but businesslike sales counter, and two large signs. One asks patrons to please wait here and not disrupt those inside the lab. The other offers a lab rental at a very reasonable rate.

To the left and right are a large set of doors. The doors on the right lead to a large room which takes up most of the building. Several long tables are scattered about, many with small tool racks. A small forge sits off to the side. Unlike the average workshop, maps of celestial bodies and guides to the elemental planes line the walls. Large frameworks of brass, silver, and crystal occupy space between the tables. A large shelf dominates the far wall, the containers upon it sporting such labels as "wyvern bile," "sulfur," "tiger's tears," and other exotic items. A glass-covered hole in the roof, set with mirrors, offers direct sunlight, or moonlight, to shine upon various projects.

The doors to the left lead towards the direction of the mountains and what is reported to be a sildanyari-style ball room. Wizards.

During regular store hours, a young Llyranesi man, Belhan Mithralla, keeps an eye on the shop and the lab. When not cleaning or helping a customer, he can usually be found reading some book from the library.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

It's a pale, grey day.

The mists of Alexandria have spread up the mountain. The city lies shrouded below in a vast sea of grey. The mountain ridge sticking up through the clouds like an island.

Cryosanthia sits in the courtyard of Mithralla's Merchandise, watching the street and her youngling.

Lily is playing with her focus ball, a practice sphere of annihilation that can be directed by thought, provided one focuses enough. So far, the carnation-scale has demonstrated an adequate intensity, although her persistence needs some work.

The day was misty, and it was a welcome reprieve from the heat. And down the road came a figure, hard to discern from the mist that surrounded them. They grew closer, remaining harder to define than most would be at that point, until they were clearly in view. The silver scaled sith-makar, dressed in a dark gray skirt, and light yellow shirt, the color of Am'shere wildflowers. Finding the building, and those outside it, their tail swished to and fro, accompanied by a wave before she walked closer, more quickly now.

"Seyardu, Peace on your nest!" Cryo says, leaping up and turning the leap into jump towards Lily's ball, which she bats at.

"Ssassaaaaa!" Little Fang squeals, making the sphere shoot out of the way, "Nooooooooo."

"This one is only playing, Lily," the whitescale says, approaching the silverscale with her tail swaying behind, "That colour works well on you, it's an interesting contrast. Reminds this one of home. Are you looking for Mikilos? You wanted some enchantments? He's not in right now."

"Peace on your nest, Cryosanthia, Lily!" She greets happily. "It is an attempt to distract your focus, Little fang. Gather your thoughts and control it again." She advises the small Kobold.

"It is one of the few colors this one knows, the yellow of one of the flowers in the field from the memory. Though it was hard to focus on the rest of them, with the Tyrant Lizard that was in the middle of them." Seyardu explains after a glance down to her clothes. "This one was not looking for Mikilos today, they are still working on another project, and this one would not busy their thoughts with another just yet."

"This one, was looking to speak with you, Cryosanthia. About things, if you have the time."

"Oh! Sure. This one can speak about things." Cryo says, straightening her neck a little, getting taller in her posture. Her tail drops to hang casually behind, and her wings, mostly wings, are still bound and struggle a little within the cloth. "Which sort of things?"

"Yeaaasssss." Lily says, snout up pointed towards her ball, which she moves up, down, up, down.

"This one is sorry, has been attempting to find you to speak for some time now, after you told me to come to Mikilos' place a while ago now, but there have been, numerous delays." Seyardu explains, with a sigh that was weighted with a certain tiredness. "It is only now that this one had the time to come over, finally. There is much to speak of, if you have the time."

She looks around, up and down the road, the mist clearly putting her more on edge than usual. "Some perhaps best to be spoken of without little ones around. Is is safe to speak, here?"

"Safe... enough. Mikilos' place has defenses, though this one doesn't know what they are or wish to test them." Cryosanthia says, sniffing Seyardu, becoming more alert, staring into the mist.

"Let's go inside. Lily, come inside with us."

"Nooooo." The carnation scale protests.

"This one is not leaving you unwatched, Lily. Inside, move the ball inside." She picks up the Kobold, and slowly turn-aims her at the door. Lily remains sufficiently focused to make her ball precede them. Cryo leads the way inside the shop, then points at a wall between the bookshelves, "Walk towards, that's the secret door."

The floating ball bumps the wall and vanishes, proving the instruction.

There was nothing too alarming about the scent of the silverscale, it was just a lingering concern, worry, the sources unknown, though the visibility outside likely had something to do with it. Much of it was present on the regular, recently. And she sighs, reaching to pat the Kobold on the head before she is scooped up. "Apologies, Little Fang, this one will make it up to you another time, play is usually best with another." She says to them, before following inside. She hesitates in front of the wall, turning to Cryosanthia and nodding, before she followed the ball through the wall.

It's just a wall, and then it opens up into...

A lair.

The shop vanishes and a large, well lit cavern appears. It's formed of smooth stone, striated with bands of colour in orange, ochre, yellow, and reds. Internal ledges are bordered with bands definining the edges. There's a hole above, letting in a warm desert light, shining onto a pool. A path slopes up to a wide entrance that overlooks a desert expanse of rolling sand dunes and a cloudless sky.

In temperature, it's much closer to Am'shere than Alexandria is, and there's a slight breeze of air circulating. In the middle there is what at first appears to be a giant slain scorpion. A closer examination reveals it is actually composed of foodstuffs, fruits, meats, berriers, and breads arranged to look like a creature.

Ahead, the blue ball is hovering, when Cryo and Lily steps through, it rushes back and bops the Kobold, turning red. She squeals and laughs.

"What do you think?" The whitescale asks.

On the other side of the wall, Seyardu looks around, seeming surprised, but she steps out of the way quickly, expecting the other two to enter soon after. Out of the way, she is able to look around the area, squinting more than usual. Once they were through, She nods to the pair, swishing her tail behind her a few times.

"This one is surprised, but not in a bad way, truly. It is a pleasant spot, for certain, and a good stock of food is good. This one, has never seen the deserts before, but heard of them. The heat is pleasant, like Mictlan, or home."

"It's a very small pocket plane, it's all illusion outside of the walls." Cryo explains, gesturing at the cavern mouth. The vista beyond has a strange aspect, the sand dunes and sky looking more and more two dimensional the longer it is observed. She nods towards the scorpion-feast, "The food, sadly, can't be removed. There's enough for a hundred people, and there are invisible servants too that help out."

Lily, released, runs over to the pool and dives in, the now red ball chasing after her. She surfaces just as it's about to hit her head, turns and stares. It stops and turns blue.

Cryo smiles, "I made it to tease Zeke, Blue Dragons having a desert habitat after all. Mikilos lets me design them before he casts it. Anyhow, nothing can enter except what he allows, and the list is short."

"It's safe."

Seyardu watches the outside for a moment, the way it did not look quite right seeming to disorient her, until she looks away, and sits down on one of the ledges, curling her tail off to one side.

"A tease to Zeke, this one does not know them well, but hopes they get amusement from it. This one did not know they were blue, until Lily mentioned it one time, and the connection was made." The silverscale chuckles. But it was just a distraction from the feelings present, and she nods at the assurance of safety. "So no one can come in for the most part, that is good. That it is a safe space."

"The business in alexandria, it is growing more dangerous. The ashwings are not being idle, they seek out many things, information for the most part, right now."

The silverscale speaks, and the worry is there, growing a touch stronger at the mention of the erinyes.

Cryo glances at Lily in the pool. She's playing with her ball, splashing.

The whitescale moves around and kneels in Seyardu's view, her tail straight about behind, her wings a backdrop of sorts. She smells happy. She smells confident, a powerful Sith'makar woman, of age and determination built on enduring. She leans in towards silverscale.

"There is always something, Seyardu. This one does not mean to sound dismissive, rather that you must find a way to live with the threat. It's safe here, outside it's not, and your fear serves you well. Never relax."

She places her hands on her knees, "Do you know what, or why they seek? Are they still after Merek?"

Seyardu, by contrast, was almost the polar opposite of Cryosanthia. There was no confidence, unsure with nearly everything, and still quite young, only several years past adulthood. Yet in spite of that, it was as if they had been through much. "This one knows, there is always threat. Or do they? This one is, unsure. Thoughts have been, confused, of late. But there was always others around."

She speaks slowly, shaking her head, and sounding confused, as well. "The ashwings, it is not just Merek, or they may not try to capture him, few in number. But they have bases in the city, where they hide out. This one found a book, with Seldan and Aya. It listed names of many people, those coming and going to the temple of Eluna, and when they were going, and names and descriptions of a group called the resurrectionists. They are planning something, the book points to, but what remains to be seen. And this one is out of their realm of experience when trying to think how to help. Nearly died twice now, seeing just one of the ashwings."

A book. Names. "Oh." Cryosanthia sits there silently. She glances towards the pool, then back, still thinking. "I don't know about Ashwings. Hold on, if you don't mind."

She reaches over her shoulder into her haversack and removes a mask. It's molded to fit her long face, and has no eye holes, "I can still keep track of you. Let me look through this while we're talking."

She slips it on. Writing flashes over the mask, pages of books, diagrams, almost too fast to follow. Cryo continues, "I'll need a little bit. Let me think."

"The Resurrectionists are... well they're led by Griva, and mostly harmless followers of Animus and those that desire to bring him back. They did stir up all these hunts for shards, and have some abilities. Mostly they meet and talk about it. They tried divining the location of a Shard, and the backlash burned down their building."

She pauses, turning her head to 'look' around although she clearly can't see anything. "It's safe to tell you here, but this one is not sure it is safe for you to have the knowledge."

She falls silent again, listening to Lily's splashing. Her tail twitches, left, right, as she debates internally.

"Alright. The Ashwings seem to have guessed part of it and my information is out of date. The Temple of Eluna was one place a Shard of Animus was being stored. The Ashwings have figured that out, that's the most logical conclusion of those two interests of theirs."

"Where are the bases? Any near here?"

The silverscale watches, looking at the mask and seeming confused by it's use, as the writing which seemed to pass made her squint more, until she closed her eyes, unable to keep track of it. "It was not just the shard of animus that they seem to be focused on." Seyardu notes after a moment of thought. "There was an artifact which was mentioned, a pen used by the goddess. Ashwings, Erinyes, I believe they are called, those who showed up at the riverside that one time."

Another pause, and she shakes her head. "That I am aware of, no, there are rumors, places yet to be checked. Those we know of, there is one near the temple district, one near the docks, and unconfirmed, but given the others were correct, one possibly close to the nobility district."

"There's... been a desire to collect artifacts lately." Cryo says, sounding uncertain. "Each temple has one or two. Rune and Silvermoon have some. They're objects of power, they could be useful for any number of things. That's... troubling..."

She sits there like a statue made of ice and snow. Even in the warmth of the faux lair, a coldness surrounds her, scales bead up with droplets. "Cesran told me about a book of poetry, love poems, between Serriel and Vardama, and I think there was a pen. A bookseller friend of his was looking for it, or lost it. Different Goddesses... I think. You were there when he talked about it."

She exhales, "Mers been dealing with those for a while. How did you know you found a base of theirs? What names were on the list?"

Cryo blindly looks towards Lily again. Lily is swimming around underwater, on her back and hovering her ball just above the surface.

"Yes, artifacts, they seem to be in demand, there have been a few jobs for the adventurer's guild, which seem to deal with them." Seyardu nods to Cryosanthia. "How we knew, there was presence at the places. feathers that smell of brimstone, these shackles in the places we checked which were similar. And the book was found in the second, with information on the comings and goings at the temple of Eluna, which would match up with someone watching out the window facing the temple."

"The names, were referred to as an 'inner circle'. Seldan was there, as was Aya. Cesran and Merek as well, among others. The information was thorough in places, what they carry, what can be used against them, and their strengths. It was concerning, and Seldan holds the book, now."

Cryosanthia sits back on her heels and exhales a long sigh, one that leaves a small condensation of fog in front of her. She rubs her thighs, scraping small frozen beads of water off which crinkle to the ground around her.

"That's... not good." She remains facing the Silverscale, "Well, good that he has the books. Get in on those Explorer's Guild jobs if you can, maybe there's something to find out that way."

"I'll have to speak to Seldan. This one has wanted Seldan and Zeke to come here, there are things... too much that can't be talked about, outside..." Her voice trails off. "Shackles. Why shackles. Were they tying people up?"

"You sound confused, sounded confused. Is something wrong?" Cryo sniffs at Seyardu again, scenting for clues.

"This one will keep an eye out for tasks that may be possible with my current abilities. There are those who go, who this one desires to keep safe." She replies, glancing to where the kobold was playing for a moment. She reaches into her bag, and takes out a soft towel which she offers to Cryosanthia. The silverscale was the usual mess of scents, of worry and concern, but also happiness that mostly seemed from how Cryosanthia was doing, and the confusion from before.

"It is not good, but knowledge will help resolve matters. This one is sure, that Seldan would appreciate input. As for the shackles, Seldan was looking into them, their purpose was unknown at the time."

"The ah, confusion? This one is not sure if things are wrong. It is likely nothing, just thoughts that are strange at times. Ah! This one thought of a memory, one which would show you how things appear to myself." She explains, before she perks up, her tail swishing several times to the side happily.

GAME: Cryosanthia rolls knowledge/religion+10: (8)+4+10: 22

"Oh?" Cryo's eye ridges raise behind her mask, and she reaches up to take it off, then hesitates, "this one is very curious, but just a moment, nearly done."

The flashing of pages and writing continues. The sound of pages turning would be appropriate but seems absent.

"So, Ashwings, Erinyes, they're fallen angels, or the infernal equivalent of them. Mostly they're in the Iron Hells. They look like humans, attractive, but nothing specific. They don't all look the same, just beautiful, for humans. Sometimes they trick people with that, but they generally aren't..." The whitescale saves her hands, "... aren't known for ruses."

"Mostly, hate. They hate mortals, they hate women, they hate men, they hate children. They like killing and causing pain. They torture. Some of them might have been mortal once."

She pops her mask off and gazes at Seyardu, "So think of the worst person you know, and they're worse than that. They don't seem all that creative except when it comes to killing people. A smarter person could probably tell you more. I'm only a know-it-a-little-bit. Mikilos and Merek, they're know-it-alls."

Cryo smiles wanely, "I'd rather talk about your memory?"

Seyardu listens, silent but paying full attention to the explanation as Cryosanthia notes what was going on. The silverscale seems bothered by the knowledge shared, with a touch of anger at the explanation. "That mask, this one is curious of the purpose, but it seems to help with thinking about matters." She says, looking to the object for a moment. "Yes, they were cruel, almost for the sake of it, or for it. This one should ask Mikilos more, another time. But the memory, yes!"

Another happy swish of their tail.

"There was, a competition, for the hunter caste prospects, as there often are. This one did not do well, but remembers it well. The winner was celebrated with a necklace of woven flowers, and a stone carving of the act was made. There was paint to it as well, but I could barely make out the changes."

There was another pause though, and the confusion grew a bit stronger. "And, someone else there, yes. Someone."

"My mask? Oh, it's a book of all books. You think about something you want to research and it shows you stuff." Cryo says, turning it around and holding it out towards Seyardu, "It's like being in a giant library. Only problem is you can't see, or I'd be wearing it all the time."

She tilts her head, transferring the mask to one hand, unusually casting with her right. The scales on her arms twinkle and there's a strange white glow surrounding her ring finger, "Do you want to share the memory, that you're thinking of right now?"

"That does sound quite useful, Cryosanthia. A library wherever you are, this one has been to those in Alexandria quite a bit since coming here. It is where I learned handspeech to speak with Aryia." She says while squinting at the mask and picking the mask up for a moment as it is offered, before handing it back.

She nods, accompanied by another swish of her tail. "This one is ready to share, yes. If you are ready to see it, yourself."

"Oh yes, of course, this one is interested." Cryo says, smiling, her own tail swishing as well. There's another glance to check on Lily, then she faces Seyardu.

Her hand loops through a few more gestures, and she places it on the silverscale's head while closing her eyes and lowering hers.

The ring glows brighter, as does her horns and the scales on Seyardu's head.

The memory is shared...

The memory is entered...

The silverscale closes her own eyes, with a short sigh and a happy swish of her tail from the gesture. There is nothing to be seen for a moment, though the thoughts of archery and competition are fresh on the mind. As are the hand on your head. It reminds you of something, something that your mind struggles to remember. It is all that is on your mind, clouding the other thoughts for a moment until suddenly, you are in Am'shere, there is no doubt about it.

The first thing of note was the color. It was not the gray of an overcast sky, not an uncommon occurrence in the jungles of Am'shere, but a true, colorless gray which made up everything in her sight. The mud and grass beneath your feet, the water, still reflective, but colorless, the bark of nearby trees, and the leaves overhanging above them, all various shades of gray. It was hard to pick out some things with the lack of contrast, a fact made more evident as your feet stumble several times over exposed roots that almost look flush to the ground, or a rock sticking out of a lighter patch of ground, almost impossible to pick out by color. And anything past a decent distance away was increasingly murky, until almost all detail was lost.

In spite of the bleak environment, or simply due to being used to it however, you are happy, excited. And very small. Around five years of age, it seems. Though the sith-makar at your side appears a few years older, though it was difficult to make out specifics of their appearance. Unlike the other surfaces, they have a metallic sheen to them, and bright, almost white scales. One of their hands is around your own, and they seem to be guiding you along, confident. And steering you away from the worst of the obstacles. It isn't quite enough, and you still stumble at several places, but whenever you fall, they simply stop, help you to your feet with a swish of their tail, and continue on their way.

"This one learned from hunter Razyl the other day, how to weave fish traps." You say, with a small hint of pride at the declaration. This one was hoping that you would join. No matter. With enough practice, this one will be able to teach you."

Another swish of the tail from the other young Makari. "Sorry, Seyri, this one was waxing bowstrings for others. This one is not old enough to go hunting yet. But weaving traps, it is possible." They say. "The food stores are low. With luck, you will have a chance to test how your traps stand up to fish inside. At least, the ones Razyl put out should be fine. The lake, it is not far, yes?"

It wasn't far, at least, you thought so. Razyl made the trip seem short, but then again, you had been on his shoulders most of the way, and he didn't seem bothered.

"Not far. Less than an hour. Once the river is reached, it is towards the midday sun, up the stream." You reply after a moment of thought. "This will save him the trip, let him do other things. They will see how we can help more."

After what felt like an eternity, finally, you reach the riverbank.

"Then we keep going." The other sith-makar agrees as they walk down the riverbank. He has a bag at his side. And occasionally they stop to dig up a few roots, disturbing the mud with a claw.

It was longer than you thought though, and by the time you get there, you feel hungry. A feeling that seems shared by the other Makari.

"If your trap caught any, we should share one fish before we go." They suggest.

"Only mine, yes. Any other fish would be stealing. Do not worry. This one is confident there will be some." You agree, and reassure. They were helping you out to the lake, and it wouldn't do to leave them hungry.

Finally, after more walking up the bank, you reach the source of the river, a large lake sprawled out in front of you, free from the overhanging canopy of gray leaves. Large for a young makari, at least.

Finally you let go of the other's hand, and beckon him over to the reeds at the lakeside, where you dig up several thick ropes from the muck.

"The one with the cloth ribbon around it is mine." You exclaim proudly after finding the aforementioned adornment on one of the ropes. You begin to haul it up, but it is hard work. The other makari joins in though, and with his assistance, you manage to continue.

The first trap is pulled out. While not nearly as well made as the others one might be used to, woven wood sticking out at a few odd angles, it was at least serviceable. Though it seems no fish decided to get stuck, the bait still hanging from the centre, though it appeared nibbled on by something small. Your heart sinks as you investigate it.

You continue to haul out the traps, and your heart sinks further. All pride dashed as the second trap is pulled out, equally empty. "This one is sorry." You say, feeling disappointed. "This one listened, left the trap out long enough, used the proper bait."

The other Makari replies with a swish of their tail, and a shake of their head.

"Do not fret, Seyri. Not every trap works." They reassure, patting you on the head. It's something familiar, and comforting. "Let us continue, there is still more."

The next is pulled out, and while much better made than the first trap, it is still crushingly, disappointingly empty. Was this a waste of time? It was becoming worrying, if there was nothing there. The shame was enough, but returning on an empty stomach would only make it that much worse.

Finally, the last trap, this one emerging with several splashes against the water, and you immediately perk up. From inside, you can see the glittering of fish scales. The other sith-makar chuffs, looking pleased.

"There is at least one for us, then. It is good, feeding at least two people with the trip will be worth it. There may be more, it is a big fish. You did well, to make a trap that could catch it." They say, beginning to gut the fish with your assistance. In time, the fish is gutted and used to re-bait the traps, and a side fillet is removed, and cut in half.

"Once we have eaten, we will check the other traps. Better not to work when hungry." The say, offering you half of the fish. You sit down, the sadness from before is already forgotten. It is a pleasant day, and there would be something to show for their work.

Though as you finish your meal, there is a noise, not too far away. Strange, from some animal you have not heard before. And strange sounds put anyone on edge, especially when in such number. A whole group, or something with a lot of limbs. The other is already on his feet, and helps you up as well, seeming concerned. Just at the trees, you see them. Large, furred beasts, and on their sides, pairs of black leather boots that reflected the light. It is all you see before you are running off, the sight filling you with terror. There are voices now, strange, and unable to be understood.

"Let us be off from here. We will gather the rest another time." He advises, before quickly pulling you off down a path, away from the lake. The fish lay forgotten on the grass. But it was the last thing on your mind as you run away from the area, stumbling a bit more than usual in your hurry. The noises had stopped, but it was not reassuring. The placement of the sounds would put them somewhere near the lake, where they had just been.

And after a few minutes, the noises came back, even louder than before, and much more quick in pace. Numerous birds are sent flying up from the treelines. The sound only grows louder as time goes on, and the terror was only growing with that feeling. The other Sith was focused, guiding you through the trees, but it was clear they were scared, too.

Suddenly they stop, turning quickly to you, and speaking equally quickly. "Seyri, we will not move fast enough. This one will go off another direction, make more noise. Keep moving, reach the village and alert the hunter caste and the elders. If this one reaches the village first, they will send for you. Keep to the path, unless they get closer. Take to the river if you need, they do not swim well."

Before you can object, they give you another pat on the head with a swish of their tail, and they sprint off in another direction. And before you can process what happened, you are running again. It is much more difficult. A rock blending into the dirt is stepped on, drawing blood. Roots matching the shade of the mud trip you, scraping an arm and the side of your face against the bark of a tree. And all manner of plants scratching scales, some getting stuck. But still you run. The sounds grow closer, until they seem to grow farther again. And this only makes your fear grow, as they seem to head in the direction of your brother.

Finally, you can no longer hear the noises. But they leave a dull thrum in your ears, pierced only by the sound of another beast, one much more familiar, though it still sends you behind a tree trunk to watch the approach. A swiftclaw, one recognizable, as is its rider, a large sith-makar as black as the night sky. They turn their head, and quickly they are off their mount, running to where you were hiding. There was anger and disappointment there, but it vanished as they got closer, seeing and sensing the terror and worry. They let out a breath, and quickly pick you up, returning to the swiftclaw and climbing up as you cling to them.

"Seyardu, tell this one what is wrong." They say, even and calm, with a low hum that was reassuring. It was only now that the adrenaline was wearing off, and exhaustion and injury crept in. But the terror remains, the sound of hooves not leaving your head.

"Softskins. On beasts." You finally speak, and your head snaps in the direction the other Makari had run off in. "We need to find him, before they do." The large sith chuffs, and does his best to be relaxing for you as they turn back on the road. Already on their way back home at a brisk pace on the mount. "There are others out searching. They will find him. This one will bring you back to the village, and rejoin the search. This one is relieved to find you safe, but you need rest, and wounds tended. It would not be wise for you to join the search right now."

You try to resist, but there is no escaping the arms of the much larger sith, who chuffs again. You even attempt to bite one of his arms, which makes them grunt, but they do not budge, and the low rumble continues. "Peace, Seyardu. We will find them. This one will do everything they can." He says, giving you a squeeze. After much more struggling, finally, you are spent, and after the flight, and trying to escape, it is a struggle just to keep your eyes open. Finally you can fight it no longer, and drift off to an exhausted slumber. It is not restful.

You wake slightly later on, the sounds of hooves still ringing in your ears. There are muffled voices, and one recognizable, to both present in the memory. But before you can pull yourself off the bed you were on to investigate, the door opens, and the memory ends with a flash of metallic scales.

Cryo falls into the memory, hits the shock, no colour. Like Faran's eyes, but worse. It seems almost a dream, lost in a silveryness, in a fog. Her tail wags, as she embraces a youthfulness left behind a long time ago. She holds onto the hand that bears her up, stumbling. In this memory, she forgets that she was never this clumsy.

She murmurs some of the words she finds herself remembering, "Razyl... not far...river... save..."

"... it is mine." The whitescale leans forward, as if pulling on something, although her hand has sunk to her knee, and the other remains on Seyardu's head.

She's motionless for a moment, then her head turns as if she's heard a sound, the whitescale's scents switching. She makes a small noise of alarm, her body tightens, her legs clenching. She makes small grunts of pain, flinching her arm. "Softskins!"

She sounds terrified. There's a splash as Lily stops swimming, turns to watch, and her ball bops her on the head and turns red.

Cryosanthia trembles, swaying even as she kneels, the temperature dropping significantly, even as the memory is fading and her warm desert lair is rushing back in. She pulls back, raising her hand, frozen in place, just breathing.

She sees without seeing, the flash of metallic scales fading from her vision, the strangely familiar voice from her ears. She doesn't move until a red ball bumps her on the head, and a wet Kobold is standing there, staring at her.

Seyardu knew that the memory was incorrect, but it didn't stop. The hand on her head had both of her own wrapped around it, and it was pulled downwards, held as if for dear life, despite the temperature. The memory continues, the grip only tightening. But it was not just that, the hands were holding the side of her head, as well. Several noises came from the silverscale in the waking world, of confusion, distress, and fear.

By the time the memory finished, Seyardu was almost curled up in her own lap, tembling heavily.

"This one, is s-ssorry." She spoke finally, shaking her head.

"Do not be," Cryosanthia says, willing herself to be strong, be the Tower, to at least be a normal body temperature. She's starting to freeze the water on Lily, that can't be good for either here.

She holds tight to Seyardu's hand, leaning, pulling her closer to embrace the other Sith'Makar. She vibrates, a rumbling in her chest and throat, a reptilian purr, a noise of comfort to nestlings and often, to oneself. "You are here. You are safe. These memories make you. This one understands. You are not alone."

Little Fang makes a small noise and is pulled into the embrace. She squeezes both of the bigger lizards, tiny claws scrabbling at their backs.

"This one is sorry, so sorry Seyardu. The other Makari, was that a clutch-mate? Did they...?" Escape the softskins on beasts, she can't bring herself to say it.

Several minutes pass once Cryosanthia pulls her into the embrace. Her hands finally let go of the sides of her head and the other hand, only to return the hug. The silverscales emotions were stronger than they had ever been felt, but strangely, amongst the fear, sadness and loneliness, the confusion had only grown. They were still trembling, despite the comfort.

"They were, brother? Yes, my brother, from a previous nest." They finally say, sounding confused, and unsure. "Memories make you... this one did not remember, but felt the effects."

The trembling was getting worse, and the confusion was only growing. "When, this one came here, this one has told others about them. They did not. But, this one, until they came here, did not remember."

"Why can this one not remember their face, their name? Why did this one not think it strange, to suddenly remember, and feel the sadness?"

Cryosanthia carefully releases Seyardu, and Lily. She stands, taking their hands and leading them over to the food scorpion. She pulls a spot off its hide, which turns out to be a cupcake and hands it to Seyardu, "Eat. It's sugary, it will help."

Little Fang is given one as well.

She crouches, sitting beside the creative pile of food, pulling the other two down. Her head turns, between silverscale and carnationscale, "You forget to protect your mind, when something so terrible happens you can't face it. When it's too big."

"This one... this one had a lot of things, too big to think about." She exhales, "Then you think it is all healed, and something reminds you. Something must have, visiting here. Sometimes... you have to come round about on the memory, to remember it fully."

Seyardu looked up to Cryosanthia, her gaze somewhat vacant as the memory threatened to overwhelm her. She was unsteady on her feet when her hand was taken, and she walked slowly with the guidance.

The silverscale looks to the offered food, and she nods, taking the cupcake and collapsing into a seat beside her.

"It is not just that. Did my mind, did it truly forget everything good about them? It does not feel right." Seyardu explains, occupying her hand with looking at the cupcake, before she takes a bite to chew on. "There are many feelings this one could not explain fully. And the voice, it was elsewhere, too. No face, no name, but this one remembers it from the competition, as well."

"It's ok, it's ok, here." Cryosanthia find a goblet of grape juice and holds it out to Seyardu."

"Memories can be manipulated, erased, sometimes changed. My Mistake was very good at that." She stretches her right hand out, splaying her fingers, "This one... is not nearly as good, and does not want to... trip so lightly through minds as she does. Even if it would heal."

She leans her head in, "Do you not remember anything at all of them, even other memories? What was the competition, archery? Do you remember watching his shots? Maybe seeing a bullseye then looking back at him after?"

"Yes, you have been through much, yourself." Seyardu sighs, swallowing the other half of the cake so she could take the goblet. It seemed she did not wish to let go of the hand, for the time being as she took a long drink of the grape juice, and coughed.

The silverscale shook her head. "This one, no, they were there, were they not? Yes, they were there, they nearly won, but one other scored just better. But this one was happy regardless. The voice was not theirs, it was the one, heard in the tent. Yet I cannot put a face or anything to it, despite the familiarity." She continues, sounding confused again, as if she was fighting with her own views of what happened.

"This one, did not remember that memory, with the raiders until recently. And that is the only memory of my clutch-brother, but this one, knows it is true."

"The voice in the tent, it's known to this one." Cryo admits, "I can't place it now. It may come to me."

She holds Seyardu's hand, squeezing. She hands a goblet to Lily too, then a donut, "Eat the scorpion, gnamwn" She grins.

"Perhaps... praying to Eluna might help. She handles dreams, she might send a memory. This one is reaching. I don't know..." Cryo raises her head, staring at the walls, "you... you both have had worse childhoods than this one. I'm sorry, that was the memory I grabbed. I'm... not good at it."

"So... he was lost... then?" The whitescale touches the bag around her neck.

"Perhaps, prayer, it has been one thing that this one has had success with." *Seyardu nods, pressing the goblet and her hand against her collarbone, where something lay beneath the shirt. But she shakes her head, and swishes her tail just once. And it got stuck to the scorpion for a moment, which made her chuckle a bit more, weakly.

"Peace, Cryosanthia, this was not your fault. The magic was fine, it was, my own lapse? The action, it brought back the memory. Perhaps other things will, in time."

Seyardu falls silent, and nods slowly. "This one did not have a pleasant childhood, besides that. But, this one believes, he was lost. They were not seen again, and the horsemen, hmm. This one remembers at one point being told about the Charn raiders."

"Most... are not seen after Charn raiders." The whitescale says with hesitation, closing her eyes, "hatchlings killed, too delicate, nestlings stolen, younglings, stolen. Even young adults. That is what they do."

Little Fang moves against her side. Cryo makes a gesture in the air, her gloves glow, and she both hugs and rubs at her carnation-scale with a warm hand.

"This one is sorry, for both of you, that such happened. I will be here. I will do what I can for you now. Remember, you are safe." She looks down, looks thoughtful, "There... can be hope. Depending..."

The silverscale perhaps had the response Cryosanthia was expecting with her hesitation, as she trembled more at the thought of what they may have been doing. "This one, did not have a nest mother- no, I did, why-"

Another thought, that seems to send her into another panic, but it passes just as quickly. "No, they passed, this one knows that, when they were young. Thank you, Cryosanthia. This one is not used to having many who care without thought." Seyardu explains, looking up finally. "There is hope? This one, hopes that there is."

It's really weird that Seyardu's nest mother died, and there was not an adoptive one, of any sort. This stands out to the whitescale. Very weird. No mother figure, no what the softskins would call 'aunts'. It's unsettling to her.

"No clutch-mothers, to step in?" Cryo asks, leaning to hug Seyardu again, "No Nest-Mother, that... that would be very hard."

She can't help but glance at Lily, then back at the silverscale, "Am'shere is hard on her children, too hard sometimes. This one is here, now, that's all I can say."

"Rocky... this one lost Rocky, and he returned." She says, touching at the bag around her neck, "This one's mistake, undone. We missed some years together, but this one is glad. It was expensive, but..." She laughs, "Well as Mikilos says, magic can solve everything. Sometimes though, the answer isn't Fireball."

"There was none this one knows of. This one was around the elders, but distant from them. This one's nest father and, brother, were the family." They sigh. "River Stone, he told me of that, before. How you brought them back." Seyardu nods, her tail swishing just once, instead of getting stuck to the food, lightly impacting the whitescale. "If there is anything that can be done, this one will do what they can, should they still live. Even regardless, this one understands better, the feeling of why it as if I owe my life to others."

"Yes, there are. This one will tell you, once... there has been some time. For you to think. Come, you should swim. You too Little Fang." Cryosanthia says, "it's warm, and underwater your thoughts will change."

She stands, leading them towards the warm water. "It's better when you're wetter, you'll see."

And it is.