Title: Rest and Relaxation
Description: Lady Era
Ahren - March 15, 2007 02:45 PM (GMT)
The winds swirled around him, filling him with sounds and smells. The air over the Debon Plains was always in a playful mood, and whenever someone who could hear it passed by, there was always an uproar so to speak. In the heart of that whirlwind of air stood Ahren, the God of Air. For that moment at least, he could leave off his title and simply rest. The wind didn't care that he was a God, to it, he was one of the wind's few friends. One of the few people who could hear the wind and listen to what it said. Few people knew it, but even the wind needed a friend. Standing with his arms slightly raised, he felt the wind moving over him. It's cool touch was soothing. Slowly, he let his arms drop, opening his eyes as he did. His moment of rest was over, it was time to return to the reason of why he had come to the Debon Plains. A rumor had reached his ears that someone was out here hunting the gryphons. Now technically that was the business of the wardens who watched over the plains, but Ahren felt an affinity with the gryphons.
Letting out a small sigh, Ahren made a quick motion with his hand and the wind that had been around him dispersed. The wind would scour the plains, bringing him anything they found. This had seemed the quickest way to find anyone who might have been killing the great beasts. Concentrating slightly, Ahren just barely felt the hilt of his sword forming in his hand. If he needed it, he had more weapons than anyone would suspect. Letting his sword become air again, Ahren stood there patiently, awaiting the return of the wind. In reality, Ahren realized that the only reason he was here was because this would provide a distraction from his normal duties. Besides, being out here was preferable to staying in his temple all day. No one ever took the time to visit the temple anymore, so all he did was stand in the courtyard listening to the wind. At least here it was slightly warmer and he could lay down on the ground if he felt like it.
Keeping his wings folded flat against his back, Ahren simply began walking. The wind would find him no matter where he went, so it wasn't important that he stay in the same place. So he would do a little searching himself to see if there was anyone nearby. Glancing up at the sky, Ahren guessed that it was just past noon, meaning he had been out there for three hours. He would eat soon if he felt like it, although really he didn't need to. One of his winds came back. There was a family of gryphons nearby, but none of them seemed to be injured. That was good, at least this person hadn't tried to hunt any gryphons so far today. Ahren wasn't sure what he was going to do if he found this hunter, but he doubted that the hunter would enjoy it. Normally, he was very calm and reasonable, but he took offense whenever someone went out of their way to kill an animal. Still walking, Ahren waited for more of the winds to return, hoping that one of them brought him news.
Lady Era Orestias - March 15, 2007 03:25 PM (GMT)
Lady Era had been asleep, the now huge steel dragon Valen curled protectively around the fragile elven body she possessed. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep; she didn’t like to sleep as the elves dreams would seep into her own mind. It was meant to be a short rest in the luxuriously open expanses of the planes. She loved it there. It reminded her of the Plane of Air. Such memories did little to shield her from Lady Mladen’s nightmares once she had fallen into the realm of dreams though.
The dream was frightening because it made no sense. It was like pure chaos… Darkness and quiet had held on to her for a moment and then the world seemed to move in a direction she had never experienced and light came upon her from both the right and the left, like duel suns destine to crash into each other. They didn’t crash though, or even touch, but spun around each other in the unnatural shape of a square. From the square rained down fire and ice. The ice caught on fire then and the world froze. The earth then cracked open and huge black beasts oozed out, dripping green and blue tears from sightless eyes. The ground below them fell away and they floated for a moment before falling upwards to where the square of light had been. Then the earth rose up around her and true fear gripped her. Then she felt a soft whisper across her skin and she wondered for a moment why she was back in the Plane of Air…
Era woke then, feeling very disorientated and her emotions twisting about her like they wished to be a noose. She was also still exhausted and she found herself drifting back to sleep. In a panic she quickly abandoned the possessed body and Lady Mladen intently fell back into unconsciousness. Valen blinked in surprise at her appearance. She was in her air form, her birth form. Her head was at nine feet above the ground, but her feet were off the ground. She hovered effortlessly for a moment, looking about for bearings. In the open air she began to relax again, to organize her thoughts and emotions. She then took a deep breath and flexed her wings.
“Are you alright?” Valen asked.
Era simply nodded. He understood it was she he talked to, weather she was in the high elf’s body or not. Era had something more pressing to wonder about then Valen or weather she should really not be in the protection the high-elf’s body offered her. Why was she just reminded of her Plane of Air? Was there a gate near that she had somehow missed? Could she still catch it? Should she try?
Ahren - March 15, 2007 03:50 PM (GMT)
Ahren was beginning to relax. So far, none of his winds had brought in anything about a person being in the plains. A small smile came to his lips, at least the gryphons would be safe for today. Still... Ahren was still waiting for one of his winds to return. The wind had been gone for a while, perhaps it had found something. Turning around, Ahren began walking in the direction the wind had gone, determined to discover what was keeping. Unless there was another person who could hear the wind nearby, it shouldn't be taking this long. Then, Ahren felt his wind returning. It was excited, eager to give him what it had found. Listening carefully, Ahren received a slight shock. A woman and a dragon were on the plains. For a moment, Ahren simply stood there, thinking about what he had heard. A woman and a dragon, what could they want. Well, a dragon might be the "hunter" he had heard about, so he needed to find out.
With his mind set, he began walking, gathering the wind around him as he went. Ahren had never dealt with a dragon before, but he knew that he could pin the beast down if he needed to. Even a creature as strong as a dragon wouldn't be able to break out of a grip of air. He just hoped that it didn't come to that. Also, he wondered what this woman was doing in the middle of all of this. Stopping for a second, Ahren made a decision. He was going to go into this situation with this woman fully aware of the power he had. That might be a deterant if she was one of these people who were hunting gryphons. Raising his arms, he pulled the winds around him, causing them to swirl around him. Holding them there, he continued walking. To anyone who was watching him, they would be able to tell that he was surrounded by a swirling wind. His clothes were constantly being pushed back and forth, and the grass around him was bent at an angle as he passed. Holding his left hand at his side, he gripped a wind in his fist, holding it in place. The wind fought, wanting to be free to move. If he needed to, he could release it directly at anyone. With all of the pent up energy it was gaining, that would be like getting hit in the chest with a hammer.
For a moment, Ahren wondered why he was doing this. It was more likely that this woman was simply a traveler with a dragon friend. But no, if this woman was indeed killing gryphons, then she would fight to avoid being taking to the authorities. That was what he was being prepared for. Hopefully he wouldn't need to use the wind as a weapon, as that was something that he never enjoyed doing. However, he wasn't going to be a fool and go into a potentially hostile situation unprepared. With that thought, Ahren finally caught sight of the two being she was after. The dragon pulled most of his attention. It was a fully grown steel dragon. But still, he would be able to hold it down if he needed to. Next, his eyes turned to the woman, and received something of a surprise. The woman was hovering in the air. Why would another winged elf be hunting down gryphons? It was a question he intended to answer.
Lady Era Orestias - March 15, 2007 04:30 PM (GMT)
After a moment of thought, she decided it should be safe enough to travel without the high-elf's body. She was in her natural elemental form and could work better with the elements this way. She would need that if she was going to try and find a gateway. Leaving the elf on the ground where she was resting against Valen, she looked around. The world was very different in appearances when she used her own eyes. She saw the lines of the elements as they lived and interacted in this strange material plane. She didn’t understand it very well yet, but she was still learning this world. Turning back to the dragon she reached down to touch his nose.
“Valen, stay here with Mladen. Let her sleep, let her keep her own dreams to herself. I’ll be back, I promise.”
Valen nodded. She had asked as much from him before. She thanked him, paused to look down at the eternally sleeping elf dressed in yellow. Then a strange sensation gripped her, like a tugging feeling and she looked up. What she saw was most definitely not what she had expected to see. She spread her wings abruptly as the air around her seemed… seemed very happy. She moved away from the dragon and the dreaming elf, drifting up in the air for a moment before attempting to land. She couldn’t truly land though. She hovered lass then an inch above the ground.
The figure approaching was practically shielded by air, embraced by it or in command of it… she wasn’t sure. Whom ever it was, it was a powerful being. One she would never wish to cross in the Plane of Air… but what was one as powerful as this doing in the material plane? Was this something else then? Was this what happened when a Traveler, her own race, became trapped in the material world? When they died while on this plane and then could only have one more life before disappearing forever, never to return to the elemental planes? She shivered, remembering the tales and wondering why she had decided to stay in such a dangerous place.
Be is surprise or awe, she really didn't know which, she found herself staying exactly where she was as the figure approached them. The thought that perhaps she should be frightened crossed her mind for a moment, but she didn’t see why she should be afraid. If this power was as great as it seemed she wouldn’t have a chance anyways. She had only been reborn shortly before coming here. She wouldn’t have enough magic to face something like this, and in truth she wouldn’t want to face it at all if given the choice.
Ahren - March 16, 2007 04:11 AM (GMT)
For a few moments, Ahren simply stood there, watching the group in front of him. The large dragon was protecting an elf, while an elemental being hovered in the air in front of him. It was a strange group, probably with an interesting story of how this arrangement had come to be. Still, they didn't seem like the kind of people who would be hunting after gryphons. A moment of indecision gripped him, a moment where he was unsure of what his next course of action was going to be. Then, he relaxed, slowly releasing the air that he had held gripped in his fist. He was hoping that he would be quick enough to call it back if he needed to, but for now, he was hoping that that would not be necessary. The elf lying with the dragon was clearly helpless if he needed to act, and so from what he was seeing, he had more power than the elemental being. The only one of the three that could probably be considered a real threat to him was the dragon, and even then he knew that he had enough strength to overcome it. If it tried to use it's breath weapon on him, he could simply shield himself from it.
With those thought in mind, Ahren took a few more steps forward, hoping that he wasn't making a big mistake. "I apologize for the fashion in which I arrived, but I hope that once I explain things you will understand." He hoped that they would give him time to explain things. Ahren wasn't sure if they were offended or surprised, but either one was not a good emotion for listening to explanations. And so, he would need to try and lessen the tension in the atmosphere, something he was never very good at. His conversation skills were something that he needed to work on, but that was because he rarely had anyone to talk to. For the moment, he would be content with finding out more of why they were here. "I must confess, I find it odd to find an elemental being here. If it does not offend you, would you mind telling me why you are here?" He hoped that it wouldn't offend here, but you never knew. Some people were insulted by the strangest things, it was all a matter of how you had grown up. Calmly, Ahren stood there, hands gripped behind his back as he waited for an answer from the elemental. Whatever her reason, this was proving to be an interesting day.
OOC: sorry for the shortness, I was just trying to get one out of the way so that you could reply
Lady Era - July 5, 2007 09:20 PM (GMT)
Valen’s sharp gaze stayed locked on the stranger. He didn’t understand why he was edgy, but something made him shift on his back haunches and flex his back claws into the earth. Era waited calmly, but not really still. Her clothing shifted and whipped around her as if they weighed nothing. Lady Era listened as the man spoke. Era smiled at the man, feeling the tension of the air relaxing. “I’m not quite an elemental, but thank you for at least recognizing the relationship. I’m a Traveler, a blind to two or more Elements. I am both Fire and Air, but with so much open space,” She looked up and around her, “Air seems to suit here best.” She paused, not sure what to do next and as she was not in possession of her Elven host, she didn’t have the resource of tapping into the girl’s memories. Then , quite suddenly, she realized that she should probably introduce herself by name, not just by race. She half nodded, half bowed to him, not at all comfortable with the handshake so many seemed to prefer.
“By the way, I’m Era and if you wouldn’t mind telling me who you are first, I don’t see any problem with hearing your explanation.”
((OOC: Gah! I can’t believe I forgot about this thread!!! My post seems so short! :( ))