Fish and Catch-Up
Log Info
- Title: Fish and Catch-up
- Emitter: Cryosanthia
- Characters: Cryosanthia, Mikilos
- Place: W02: Mictlan
- Time: Sunday, October 02, 2022, 3:33 PM
- Summary: Mikilos arrives a Mictlan with a basket of fish, finding Cryosanthia, the other Nest-Mothers and the nestlings in the nesting grounds. Fish are shared, some raw, some sent off to be cooked as the two catch up, with Lily and the others chiming in at various points. Cryo covers the events of the Council Inquest, her search for Akoniril Belvade while Mikilos updates her on changes in the Ley Lines and a werewolf cult that's active in Alexandria. They continue to discuss things, including monsters in the area such as a Vouivre, upcoming celebrations, and the disposition of their shards. Cryo also introduces her egalrin guest, a Ravenlord, who still hasn't recovered from his emergency teleport. They speculate on steps to take as the nestlings run about and eat the fish, and finally end their discussion when the cooked offerings arrive.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* W02: Mictlan *>-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Located within the Deep Woods, and hours past Wilderness Pointe, in the heart of its northern woods, bones frame this hollowed-out space. Massive and heavy, they reach towards the sky, meeting--almost--in the center like great and worn stalagmites. Or giant teeth. After a few seconds--it's quickly evident that this is a space carved from a dragon's bones. A very, very large...dragon's bones. The air smells of ash, brimstone, and earth. Underneath the apex of the bones lie the workings of a central Fire.
The grounds are run by shamans of the sith-makar, and the sacred space dedicated to the Death Singing Dragon, one of their names for the goddess, Vardama. There are always a number of them about, from a mixture of tribes. Formally, the sith use it to sing the souls of their dead back to the land of Wing and Flame, and celebrate the Memory of Blood. It was here that brave heroes stood, and vanquished the ashen warriors of old, thereby freeing the land from Thul's curse. Informally, it is a gathering place.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Cryosanthia 6'9" 291 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman. Mikilos 6'8" 180 Lb Dawn Elf Male Tall male dawn elf, rosey blonde and handsome. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NPCs of Note =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Little Fang, 'Lily' Kobold Female A crafty and creative, pinkscale youngling, Cryo's daughter. Tayanna Sith-Makar Female A green-scaled, muscular, Egg-Watcher, patient. Xochicotzin, 'Xochi' Sith-Makar Female A red-scaled, mesomorphic, Egg-Watcher, two Nestlings. Itzpapalotl, 'Papalotl' Sith-Makar Female A bronze-scaled, squat, Crafter, several nestlings. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
- Mictlan: The Nesting Grounds
Inside the Palisade is an open-style ziggurat, inside which the new Nest-Mothers are minding their Nestlings. Nestlings which are growing, active, and all over the place. Mictlan is far safer then Am'shere, but this doesn't reduce the anxiety much; old habits die hard, even if there are no obvious threats instincts insist there are.
Cryo counts her nestlings for the millionth time. Xochi, the red-scale, snorts, "Let them run. You worry too much."
"This one has six, you have two." Cryo replies, then sounds alarmed, "where are your two?"
"They are tough, they will return."
"Xochi!"
The red-scale hisses in a snickering sort of way.
Mikilos approaches slowly, openly. The elf is no real threat, but instincts flavor hard on anything moving too fast around nestlings. "Peace unto your nests! May This One approach?" Pretty confidant in the answer, but polite to ask. The magus carries a large wicker basket, heavy and damp.
"No!" Xochi snaps immediately, inhaling and looking larger.
A green-scaled Egg-Watcher appears beside Mikilos, sniffing and staring at him. A red nestling is peering from a bush, just inside the palisade.
"Oh Xochi, of course he can. This one told you of him many times." Cryo pauses, she's straddling her nest, holding a stick that seems for all the world to be a cat toy, a fluffy thing on a string. Four of her younglings are beneath her.
"Mikilosss!" Lily squeals, springing out of a different shrubbery and hugging the dawn elf's leg. She trills at him. "What'sss in bassket?"
Xochi growls, settling slowly. The other Nest-Mothers and Egg-Watchers turn their heads, but do not object.
"Come, please come." Cryo repeats, "Papal, do you have a seat Mikilos can use? Sit anywhere, well not on anyone."
Mikilos smiles, unsurprised by any of this. Well, slightly startled by Little Fang popping out at him, but don't let her know that. The basket is shifted to one arm so the other can hug the little pink scale.
"Fish. Have been working on an enchanted fishing net, caught far more than can eat myself." He shifts focus to Cryo. "River trout, mostly, one to two hands long. Fresh this morning, and still chilled. What would you prefer done with them?"
"Oh! River Trout! We can send them to the cook-fires, they will be split and return on a leaf with a bed of rice." Cryo suggests, looking around.
"Thiss one wisshess raw." Xochi replies, "and small oness, for nesstlings."
A weight lands on Mikilos' back, small claws climbing. One of the redscale's little ones gets up to mid back. Little Fang squeezes the dawn-elf's leg and then goes to disengage the nestling from his back.
"Yes, a few raw ones too, small, so they get the taste." Cryo says, her ear fins lowering.
Itzpapalotl, 'Papal', a squat, bronze-scale with an unusually complex next sets out a small stool and flares her nostrils in Mikilos' direction, "Thiss will support you."
Mikilos tenses at the claws up his back, as most anyone would, but holds still, grinning. Getting climbed is pretty normal. "Alright, wasn't sure how many raw you'd want." The basket is carefully set down and opened, filled with shimmering fish and a few small chunks of ice. "Thank you Itzpapalotl."
Smiling, he takes a careful seat, double checking no nestling has dashed in to perch upon the stool when he wasn't looking. "How are you, Cryo?"
None have, but a white and pale green hatchling has moved underneath the stool, lurking.
"This one is good, frazzled," Cryo responds, gesturing around, "if I had hair I'd be pulling it out, but this one does not. Happy frustrations, better than the alternative."
Little Fang holds the struggling redscale she's removed from Mikilos, and all of them dash for the basket, small heads peering in. The nestling are white, red, brass, bronze and gold predominantly, with accent scales in different colours, blacks, greens, blues, copper, platinum and greys, hinting at their sires. Over a dozen, all drawing their mothers' attentions.
There is one odd nest out. It is similar to Itzapaplotl's, but simpler, as if it was a first attempt. It is occupied by a man-sized bird, a raven eglarin, completely unconscious.
Cryo waves at the nest, "This one received an emissary a week ago. He used my sending stone, then appeared by teleport, exhausted and drained. His strength is slowly recovering but we have not been able to speak."
She exhales, "This one has tried.. no, no, not there." She picks up a silvery-whitescale and sets the nestling by the basket of fish, "tried to stay on top of things in Alexandria, but must prioritize. I saw the Llyranost delegation"
Mikilos nods, sitting carefully to not block the little one under the stool. "Lot of things happening in the city and surrounding lands. Have trouble tracking it all myself, can't even imagine trying to raise little ones as well."
He keeps an eye on the fish basket, but seems content to let others take over it's care.
"I'm mildly surprised none of the delegations have sent message to me. My position is very unofficial, so they must be playing things very tight. Have a cousin in the escort guard, they dropped by to say hello, but didn't know any details."
The elf considers, and smiles wistfully. "Was the delegation from Sendor a few weeks back, had a couple veteran I'd served with drop in for coffee, but again nothing official."
The greenscaled Egg-watcher has taken charge of the basket, watching pulling out the smaller fish for the nestlings. She tosses a two-hand trout towards Xochi, and then one for each of the other nest mothers. When it seems all are provisioned, she hisses, "Cook the resst, to Cryo'ss elite tastess?"
There's laughing, and agreement. They are teasing her more than serious.
Little Fang crouches, going after the underseat nestling.
Cryosanthia squares her shoulders and inhales, a sure sign she has a lot to say. "Well..."
"It's perhaps for the best, that you were not summoned. It was a hearing, held by Alexandria with delegates from Llyranost and the Mythwood. The Llyranosi were looking for someone to blame, both for the loss of their veil and the subsequent issues their people faced without it's... I mean, her, protection."
"As you told me, and the first emissary group, way back, the Veil is a person. I don't know if you knew her name. It was shared that she is Caeldra Dawncaller."
She pauses to let the significance of that name sink in. Mikilos would know it far better than she.
"Ser Padaryn, his husband, and Stjepan told the story of liberating her, and their subsequent foray into the forest of suicides, and what they found there."
Her tail lashes, halts as she checks for her younglings, then resumes lashing high above their heads as she fixes the dawn-elf with her sapphire eyes. "Ser Padaryn was very critical of you, saying you abandoned them. Malik more critical of the Llyranosi, for holding her captive, as were much of the crowd."
She sighs and closes her eyes, "This one was there representing the Silver Empress, and did not voice any support for you or criticism. I'm sorry I was not much of a friend but I have to be careful what I do in an official capacity."
Mikilos smiles mildly, and shrugs. "I very much understand. I suspect Padaryn was pointedly critical to distance myself from him. I'm sure his feelings were at least somewhat honest, but the less involved I appeared to be with so called theives, the less trouble I'd be in with officials from Llyranost. It's unfortunate, but I understand."
He sighs. "The whole thing still surprises me. The Veil was always just some constant, like the sun rising, or water flowing downhill. I had no inkling she was self-aware, let alone dissatisfied with her role."
He frowns. "I can't say I'm delighted with the sudden change, leaving Llyranost open. I understand the need for change, and have long encouraged my kinsmen towards a more open part in the greater world, but I wish there had been a less drastic route, let them adjust. But, what's done is done, and we have to deal with it."
The whitescale nods, checking under herself for nestlings as she moves to sit on the edge of her nest. She is immediately climbed, an adventurous green-scaled head appearing over her shoulder to stare intently at Mikilos. She carefully strokes the scales of the nestling.
"The delegates did seem to lose interest in you, so that's a good thing." Cryo continues. Lily successfully retrieves a nestling and takes it to the basket, scoring one last fish for herself before the green-scaled watcher takes it away.
"The veil, Caeldra, said they had the resources to protect themselves. So, what's done is done and they endured with eventual assistance. In the Forest of Suicides, well, the Forest of Whispers, they found Menesil, her brother, at the heart of a tree at the heart of that forest. He was chained; he was released."
Her nose raises, "That was cause of the great change felt by all Mul'niessa that occurred a few months ago. The breaking of his bonds freeing them from their curse."
Her head shakes lightly, "This one doesn't fully understand the Theology behind that, how Taara holds the Shadow Elves captive. I know Zapoklenix was investigating how to free the mul'niessa at one point, before he encountered the Wee Queen. Ser Padaryn suggested the mul'niessa rename themselves."
Cryo laughs a little as her ear is nibbled, "Again, an issue this one should not speak on."
Mikilos nods. "I know the tales and legends, but how it actually all worked out in practice is still pretty baffling. The world is changing, it's very foundations shifting. Terrifying, in many ways, but much is being done for the better. For all the troubles and dangers, I think things are better than they were, say, ten years ago, over all." He frowns a moment. "Twenty years. I still get tripped up by the time in the Mists. Seven years outside, a few weeks in the city."
"There is a Mage's Private Sanctum up, so we can speak freely." Cryo waves upwards at the Ziggurate.
"Ssassa casstss every day." Lily adds.
"Yes. This one understands, the time with Endless Winter still confuses me, what was a human lifetime ago is two weeks for everyone else." The whitescale snorts, "This one still wishes she could manage the Magic Mansion, among other things, the Rope Trick serves but is not comfortable."
"Anyhow, We can't be too careful. The Llryanost Delegate was furious, at being called a slaver and especially at having no one turned over to him for punishment. Malik had accused him of being a hypocrit, of claiming to walk on the side of righteousness as defenders of the peoples and faiths of the world but refusing the opportunity to show that their claims are more than just words. The delegate stormed out and everyone laughed."
"The representative from Mythwood. Oh! That reminds, Rune has a copy of the Veil, copied the veil, so it is possible that's an entity as well. Cesran is researching this and may mount and expedition. Merek and others are aware as well."
Lily pats Cryo's knee, watching her carefully as she does every time her former mistress is mentioned.
Mikilos nods seriously. "The MythWood had it's own protections, but as I understand nothing powerful enough to be self aware. I knew Rune had studied the Viel, but was not aware they'd made a copy." He considers. "I doubt they had the divine magics to make a proper copy, so I doubt it's aware. But the chance that it might be is worth looking into."
He frowns thoughtfully. "What do you know of leylines?" he inquires, maybe not actually changing topics.
"That they are lines of power channeling magic from the Sea of Mana. Hard to see with Detect Magic, but can be sensed." Cryosanthia replies, curling her tail into her nest and surrounding two nestlings with it. She smiles down at Little Fang, "Ssassa is okay, don't worry. Please watch your siblings, and listen."
"She's always listening!" Itzpapalotl laughs, Lily grinning and all fangs before running around the nesting ground.
"Asumit had blocked some, you recall. The crystals, the strange overlapping realities, how this one went to the Sea of Mana, how we defended Ea and re-sealed the Sea from the Void Demon that was pushing into it." She brings her tailtip into her lap, turning it over to show the underside and the three interlocking ring pattern in the scales. She sighs, "So much for being united."
"Our... victory was not complete, and parts of the Void went into the Sea, and me. When I was stuck as a dragon, and rotting. I suspect issues remain."
Her head tilts, "What concerns you about them?"
Mikilos frowns. "Apparently, they're changing. The ones close to the city, that is. Which isn't really a surprise, the flow of mana is a mutable thing, leylines drift as a natural process. But with the seal on teleportations in the city, the rituals by the werewolf cult, and a dozen other things, is some concern if the changes are natural or part of something else. I havn't had a chance to look into it in detail yet, but was wondering if you'd heard anything."
Cryo shakes her head, running a hand over one of her horns, "This one hadn't, and only briefly about the werewolves. No idea they had a ritual, and not surprised that things are changing. I suspect the Ley Lines are like rivers, they will recourse, over time."
"Did the issue with the Hell Wasps resolve? They were spying for Asumit. This one still has everyone on the look out for oddly behaving insects."
Two nestlings crawl into her lap, one green and black, the green matching Tenoc's scale colours. The other a pale, glacial blue, similar to the highlights on Cryosanthia's scales and quite unlike any other sith'makar.
"I've been trying to find Akoniril Belvaded, the high Priestess of Taara, and..." she thrusts her nose in the direction of the unconscious eglarin. Mount Bird has been conquered by one of Xochi's. "... wondering what is up with the Ravenlords. Halani, Thyrson, Braelnoir, Tenoc and I went to meet them, to tell them about Grauthis the Greiver..."
"Giggles!" Lily interupts loudly.
"Yes, Grauthis call him a her and Giggles the Gnoll. We told the Ravenlords he was uniting the Mul'niessa, and would advance on them, and I guess that's happening."
"You know all about his Shard, right? The one that allows him to see through deceptions, and connections."
Mikilos nods. "I don't know all the details of the werewolves. Something about a series of statues used to shape the dreamrealm. As for the hellwasps, I havn't heard anything recently. I hope no news is good news."
He frowns seriously. "I'm aware of 'Giggles'. I don't understand how his Shard works, but those who know more are terrified of him, so I agree to caution in dealings even remotely connected."
The elf sighs. "Unfortunate how charged any dealing with Charn are. I ran across some information a few months back that suggest a distant cousin started a family in Charn. I'd love to go thru their records and learn more, but there's no such thing as a casual trip."
The whitescale nods, "Not to there, not now." Her silvery-white nestling appears on her other shoulder, chomping away at a small fish, bones and all. A few scales flake off and fall down Cryo's front. She doesn't notice, "I've read through the Crimson Pen, looking for clues for Akoniril. I think I'm on to something, but it's not solidified."
"If the High Priestess hasn't managed to seal herself off in a maze, it may be necessary to go to Charn to rescue her." She looks around the Nesting grounds, "I could manage a day or two, if we teleport, but I can't take unnecessary risks."
She gazes upwards at ziggurat arching overhead, "'Junior' is in the Secret Chest, and I haven't experimented. Has you seen any change in yours?"
"I can ask around with Seyardu or Aryia, regarding the werewolves and the ley-lines. They spend most of their time in Alexandria and have a better connection to the Explorer's Guild now."
Mikilos blinks. "The Crimson Pen? They're connected to Akoniril? Or could be?" The wizard ponders that a moment, and shrugs. "Anyway, no. I used to keep the Orb in a secret Chest as well, but with the ban on teleportation magics changed to a more mundane hiding place. Still secure, I believe, but harder to check on without drawing attention."
Cryosanthia nods, "Yes. After Akoniril vanished we met with her Fiance. This one had no idea she had one! There were a variety of options to look for her, Jinks and Aya were going to go to the Embasssy, Ser Padaryn was going to look for safehouses. She had left an odd not to her fiance."
"That she really enjoyed reading the Crimson Pen in the library with him."
The whitescale inhales, as strikingly white nestling appearing on her head between her horns. Almost a copy of her, without all the scars.
"Sabina and Braelnoir helped me there, and this one brought some back here."
All the nest mothers chuckle, Itzpapalotl saying, "We were reading them before we laid. We'd take turns doing voices on different stories."
Xochi adds, "Different, for ressearch."
Cryo nods again, "We looked for unusual stories, things hidden in the bindings, markings in the margin. I think the ones in the library might have had something special, like a Sepia Snake Image or hidden writing, but it could be the contents."
"It hasn't panned out yet, but we feel close."
She nods towards a rope hanging near her nest, attached to a point in the air. "I keep my things in there, and the little chest, and I use a lot of 'Obscure Object' as well as the Private Sanctum and the illusion to cover the nesting grounds and prevent scrying."
She exhales, "It's not ideal. Everyone is aware of the risks, but this is the best defended spot in Mictlan."
Mikilos ahs and nods. "Was thinking she was one of the authors, or something. Hidden messages are certainly possible, but without knowing more is a fairly blind search." He glances to the hanging rope, and nods. "Would like to do more, but defensive magics are frustratingly short lived, require rare components, or both."
"Yes." Cryo exhales coldly, "We had to read a lot, and there wasn't much to go on. There are several things that might be something but they haven't led to her yet."
Another nestling climbs Cryo, holding onto her back and joining the one looking over her left shoulder. Lily comes around and sits beside Mikilos' stool, quietly crunching away at the fish and watching the conversation.
"I managed to learn how to extend my spells." Cryo says, "It's helping, but this one burns through most of her magic just maintaining the defenses. If I were to adventure I'd need notice."
She reaches up to rub the one between her horns, "When it gets colder I'm going to burn out casting endure elements."
"Nah!" Xochi snorts, "let 'em learn the hard way."
Cryosanthia twitches, glance in the redscale's direction. "I don't think any of us could handle finding a frozen little one. I don't think we're at risk of 'weakening our bloodlines' if we protect against that."
Mikilos frowns mildly. "There's hardly a need for extremes. Can make do with blankets and wraps without freezing. But admit magics are far more comfortable than a mere blanket. Then again, weather never has been a great bother for me, and my robes fare well in all but the most extreme conditions anyway."
"They musst learn the world iss harsh." Xochi insists.
Cryo smiles at Mikilos, grateful for the support, then stares at the redscale, "It's not Am'shere, with the Druid Magics Mictlan goes from summer to the dead of winter. There's no warning."
"Thiss one can watch hers." Xochi replies.
Cryo huffs, "We'll talk later. Mikilos only has so much time." The whitescale centres herself, and finds she is now wearing her whole brood. "Robes are good. Blankets too. It is hard to keep clothes on them when they are small."
Still sometimes a challenge when the sith'makar are full sized.
"I'll let you know if I find out something about Akoniril, but if you happen to be reading one of the stories and it is somehow suggestive of something a High Priestess of Taara would enjoy, let me know."
She pauses thoughtfully, "Oh. There's a Vouivre about."
Mikilos snorts softly, but smiles. "And I'd know what a high priestess enjoys, how? Wasn't planning on readings, but if I do will make a mental note." He frowns, thinking. "'Vouivre'? That's... some sort of dragonkin?"
Cryo grins, keeping her nose down to hide her teeth, and wobbles her head, "I think you'd know a little. You're at least a hit with some Fey Queens."
"It's ah... this one hasn't seen one, but has had it explained. A half dragon, half woman. So dragonkin, yes. The front, top halves, joined at the hips. They are generally insane, and kind of fey, and like snakes."
"I heard from the Explorer's Guild that there's one at an abandoned town in the wilderness on the other side of the Tornmrawr. This one has two tails, so more insane than most, I guess."
"They're also evil, as you'd expect." She adds.
Mikilos ahs, and nods. "Okay, yes, I had heard something of that, the tail acting as a maiden in distress. Or in this case, two maidens." He frowns a moment. "I was of the impression it had been killed, but admit I'm not clear the full story. Something about a tribe of kobolds serving a witch?"
Cryo looks at Little Fang, then back at Mikilos. She nods, "I've been trying to find out information regarding that, in case Lily's family were involved. This one believes the Witch has been killed."
"The Alexandrian Guard corp kept posting bounties for killing Kobolds and I kept taking them down, when I was working at the Explorer's Guild. I'm not sure what happened after I took my leave."
"Brae told me a little bit, but..." She glances at Lily again.
The pink kobold hugs her shin, "Ssassa is family!"
"Yes, yes you are." Cryo shrugs at Mikilos, "it's probably the same one then, if it had two tails. So it's up to something I guess. Bigger than average, but it still might be 'little evil'. Not Grauthis, or Asumit or the war between the gods and werewolf cults moving the ley-lines somehow."
Mikilos shrugs. "Evil is evil, and little bits add up. Entirely possible it all ties together somehow, and a strange dragonkin keeping kobolds and humans apart might be vital to Giggle's plans... somehow. I doubt it, but I've had stranger connections pop up before."
Cryosanthia nods again, closing her eyes, feeling the weight of a nestling on her head, and the others on her shoulders and back. "It's true."
Another cold exhale from the whitescale, "There were some comments that you were too connected back to Llyranost, that it compromised you."
"I shouldn't share, really. I shouldn't listen." Her eyes open, such a stark blue, "to the suggestion that caring for family is somehow 'selfish', and throwing my life away for strangers who don't appreciate it somehow more noble."
"Anyhow, the Mythwood Delegate, after the Llyranost one stormed out, pledged a union and cooperation with Alexandria. One presumes this means also that the Treaty with the Silver Empress applies, and we are mutually supporting each other too. No one spoke to me about it; this one didn't ask."
Cryo adjusts her sitting position, "I'm sure it will become clearer in time."
Mikilos sighs, and nods. "I still care about Llyranost, have family and holdings there. But Alexandria is my home. Has been for years. Not sure how to make people understand that."
Cryosanthia nods, "this one's home is Mictlan, even though most of my memories are years of ice and snow. This is real."
She pulls Lily close, embracing her with one arm, "I understand, for you and Alexandria. I wish others would."
"I believe that is all that is transpiring. I am told there are other towns, holding celebrations for the adventurers who helped defeat the wights. Likely I will not get away to those."
Mikilos nods. "I'd heard of the great undead worms, and the caverns of filth they left behind. But it's almost all secondhand. Been a while since I did much of anything out in the field, so to speak."
Cryo nods, a little too far forward and ends up catching her white nestling, "Ooops, hey, there you go." She hisses happily, placing the nestling in the nest. This doesn't last long, as the white one immediately hops over the rim and runs over to the black egalrin to walk up his tail.
"Same. This one was making defenses, using spells to pull up bedrock, but they did not attack Mictlan. All I know about them is second hand too."
She glances at her rope, at her unconscious guest. "The Ravenlords said Animus was alive, but once he was killed that he is now dying throughout all time. That is changing things. Might even be behind the ley-lines."
"I know this one has been thinking of him as a person, but Ser Padaryn said one of the reasons Caeldra was so desperate to escape... Oh! She could talk with him telepathically, was that she was somehow dying along with Animus, as if she was a shard."
The whitescale leans forward, "Should I not be thinking of his fragments as a person? Should we be thinking of ways to make them weapons or defensive items, like the Veil was?"
Mikilos shakes his head. "I don't know. I think some of them do have... will, but I'm not sure they have a full personality, just fragments. I don't think all of them have will, but I don't know for certain. As for using them, that's even more uncertain. Judging by Giggles, they can be used as tools, or some can, but trying to shape one from what it already is would be dangerous at best. This isn't just divine magic, but actual divine essence. An entirely different set of rules, if there are any rules at all."
"The one that took over Halani had will, of a sort." Cryo agrees, "Mine, told us we 'had to Save her'. This one thought it was a message solely to me, but it's been repeated to others so my idea of who the 'she' is remains vague."
"Otherwise, I would guess Akoniril." She sighs, "Ironically."
She listens carefully, as does Lily. Her offspring appear to be listening too, but they are merely copying her body language. Many pairs of eyes focus on the dawn elf. "Right. Divine Essence, and not fully a personality. Like someone in a dream?"
Her voice goes low, "should someone try holding one again? We have renewed the pact, this was the demand of the death orb. Does that mean he will be more willing to speak, you think?"
Mikilos shrugs. "Maybe? I'm not sure the Death Orb is safe, even with the Pact, and I don't know if the shards communicate with each other. Working with the Shards is risky, and I'm not sure it's a risk that needs to be taken. We're still learning more, abet slowly, and every bit of knowledge lowers the risk that bit more. We may end up having someone hold one again, but ideally we'll have a solid idea of who holds which and why."
Little Fang waves her small claw-hands in the air.
Cryo snorts and shakes her head, "No Lily, not you, perhaps not even me. We can let Auntie Braelnoir or Xochi hold it."
"Let me touch it and I will desstroy the world." Xochi hisses ominously, allows a moment of silence, and then laughs, "I would not."
The whitescale exhales, "Too many unknowns, too many moving parts and things conspiring. The doom of the world seems to draw ever closer. Let me know if your research reveals anything."
"Or if you need Junior down from the rope perch."
Mikilos nods. "A vast dark sea of the unknown, and a tiny raft with a single lantern in the darkness. A poem I read recently, seems apt. We've learned a lot, but ever so much more yet to learn."
"That sounds like an interesting poem. Who penned it?" Cryo asks, once more carefully adjusting herself so she doesn't dislodge any little lizards. "This one has not done a performance in a long time."
"That bard, Patches, that I met at your place. She wishes to meet me in Alexandria sometime." The whitescale shakes her head, "With the teleport ban, travel there is really only for special occasions now."
Mikilos shakes his head. "Wasn't labeled with an author. Patch is nice, was the one who brought the leylines to my attention. And I never realized how much I used Teleport before the ban. Walking TO the city gates isn't too bad, but there's almost always a line at the security checkpoint. Most of the guards know me and just run down their checklist, but still takes time."
"Thank you for making the trip Mikilos. This one appreciates her friends." Cryosanthia says, "it is an inconvenience, and I am grateful for your effort."
She dips her nose, "You do not fly over the walls? I bank by the Airstrip and pretend I have cleared the guards there, but can't be bothered to wait in lines."
"Perhaps that's what Patch wished to discuss. I'll see about meeting her."
"Well don't bring her here!" Xochi hisses.
Mikilos grins. "Sometimes I fly, but tends to annoy the Watch, and I'd prefer to keep on their good side. And really, I should visit more often. It may take some effort, but you're worth it."
"Thank you Mikilos, I am glad." Cryo moves to carefully embrace the man. Carefully because she's wearing her descendants and they do not squish well.
"Fissh is done!" The green Egg-Watcher announces, entering the ziggurat with a tray full of the cooked trout. They lay on a bed of rice, each garnished with a salsa of mango and lime.
"Oh thank you Tayanna." Cryo perks up, everyone turns to look at the meal as Tayanna moves from nest to nest, allowing the Nest-Mother's to take their share on a large leaf.
"Definitely, you should. This meal is wonderful and all because of you. So much thanks."
A Farce of Cats
<OOC> Mikilos says, "That was a farce of comedy. Cats yowling outside, went to look. Two tom cats yowling at each other at the base of a tree, three mommacats up in the yree yowling at the toms, and a squirrel at the very top all sorts of upset"
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "HA!"
<OOC> Mikilos says, "Toms rans off as I walked up, one momma came down to say hello, the second I was able to coax low enough I could climb up and help her down. Third I trust to come down on her own. Squirrel panicked when I started to climb, made a flying leap to the garage roof"
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "pose that into the scene, oh wait, no cats in Mictlan, but something to save for in Alexandria"
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "and you are a hero to cats! who won't appreciate you. :)"