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Post by Remus on Nov 21, 2017 20:43:25 GMT -6
Arcadian design. So he was holding something made from Arcadia. It gave him pause for a moment just to wonder what the true worth was of the device she'd handed him. The Priest nodded solemnly as he drank in what she'd said. The priest paused before collecting himself and nodding before quietly suppressing the urge to shy away from the storm. The roaring from the approach alone was enough to unnerve him. That feats of nature occurred on this scale was still hard for him to process. It made him feel tiny. Very tiny, and very...fleeting. Remus clutched his staff tighter, hoping the pendant would indeed keep them safe like Nayru had said. He trusted her enough not to question it though. Another nod for assurance before he spoke up, albeit somewhat quietly. "I suppose once we start there's no point in stopping. Besides. After all we've gone through just to get this far, I'm content and confident enough to see this through. Just know that this er...is the single most terrifying thing I've ever witnessed. "
Remus still managed a chuckle though when Nayru spoke of him as the little fly, and found his confidence enough to start taking the steps. At-least until he got close enough that he'd have to rely on her, and as they approached...
A sudden flash burst from the Arcadian pendant when the first granules began to harshly grate the priests frail complexion. The light was sudden enough to make the priest jump and yelp, but in that instant it extended like a plated dome of crystalline. Though it was clearly magic, and a magic style familiar to the priest, its barrier was unlike his. This one was like dozens of tiny plates connected at various angles to form a complete dome. The brilliant blue warm light softly illuminating slightly from the pendant and providing a much clearer sense of direction purely from the way it pushed the sand and winds away. Though the storm raged with furious howling and sand battered away, the barrier was as impervious as initially projected. Less like it could withstand it, and more like it simply did not register the acting force of nature upon it. The wind was loud though. Thunderously so, and it angrily churned despite their evident safety. The priest glanced towards Nayru, and though he tried to keep aside, he was hesitant in motion and clearly would wait for her to lead. Though the path ahead was treacherous and he couldn't help but still have to suppress the internal desire to flee and be rid of the storm, he knew that was a sense of self-preservation acting on the notion that he was not protected. He also did his best not to imagine what would happen if the amulet at any point stopped working. This journey would be the last leg, and if it stayed apace it might just be the easiest part.
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Nov 21, 2017 21:43:33 GMT -6
"Ah, chin up. Could always be worse. Least it's not on fire, eh?"
Haha, as if this shithole could get any hotter.
Feeling a sudden urge to get hoisted on her own petard, Nayru followed the azure priest into the maelstrom of destruction with a certain degree of trepidation mixed with a resigned, dogged determination that eh, at this point they were screwed whether they went forward or backward anyways, might as well go for broke. She did NOT want to walk all the way back to civilization now, and honestly wasn't sure if Remus could handle it in the first place, they had been traveling most of the day already and desert nights were colder than Remus could know.
That said, it had been, er kind of a while since she had been here. Yea yea eidetic memory and all but actually accessing it flawlessly took time and attention, which were... harder when walking in a f**k**g sandstorm guiding a guy. There was a moment of uncertainty at first - the terror of 'can I do this?' - before she managed to submerge herself in memory and remembered senses rather than the current reality around them. There were no landmarks, after all. Not in a storm of this magnitude. Any dunes, rock, even hills would be swept away and deposited elsewhere in time. But if she could keep the direction correct. If she remembered the number of steps. Divided by length of stride, calculating distance. Keeping her eyes on the ground beneath them, mostly ignoring the storm, to avoid tripping on newer drifts of sand that would throw her off.
This was still going to be an ass crack of a journey, though. Between the unyielding roar of the world in chaos around them, the concentration needed for her focus, and making god damn sure that Remus didn't go wandering off into a monster's mouth it made it hard to really hold much of a conversation. Which isn't to say that she didn't make any attempt whatsoever, merely that it came some time after their trek began, with the gentle solace of a clear sky behind them long swallowed by the fury of the storm, in a world completely consumed by sound and fury. When it did, her tone was low and neutral almost to the point of being entirely devoid of anything, close enough to his ear to be heard but not much else.
"How are you holding up?"
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Post by Remus on Nov 21, 2017 22:46:58 GMT -6
On fire? Was that her way of telling him any part of Nabata could possibly get hotter? He was hard pressed to believe that tidbit in particular. Though he certainly wasn't about to try and suggest they test that theory. He was already sweaty and uncomfortable and sore and tired. Though it beat being dead. If only just barely. That said, he was absolutely entranced for the first few minutes of their trek. The sound and sensation and sight of it all was just absolutely fascinating. New and different. The only way he could imagine it might be any more wondrous and peculiar was if they'd been doing this under the water. The lapis haired Etrurian wrapped the bandage like wrappings around himself a bit tighter and tried to tuck the strange Nabatan themed scarf of sorts around himself a moment more instinctively protecting himself from potential sand as much as possible.
Until he heard Nayru speak up. It actually startled him. He'd been so focused on the dome itself and still amazed by the feat of magic this amulet held within him that he'd not registered her even close to his ear. The Priest yelped a bit in shock as he was dragged kicking and screaming suddenly from his stupor. The jolt that made him start slightly was quickly recovered from when he sheepishly smiled to the sable haired dragon. Still clasping his stave, he examined her for a moment before swiveling a bit and following a bit quicker in stride instead of slightly sluggish. A bit excited when he spoke. Once again, his brain had done that thing where he was forgetful of his weariness and had the energy of a much less travel burdened soul. "Wellll. Honestly? I'm amazed! This amulet. The level of magical power in it alone is something else, but the artisan that would've woven such magic into it and crafted it with a means to contain such power without any indication and perfectly repressed until the appropriate catalyst, which I am to assume is the sandstorm itself, is absolutely mindblowing! You mentioned magic within the sandstorm, so maybe that itself reacts? I am uncertain. Maybe the magic and amulet work in unison to create the barrier we now receive solace from, but it is so vexing and amusing at once! That said...this is still terrifying. To know that if this amulet faltered for even an instant it would completely engulf us in this maelstrom of raging Gaea is beyond bone-chilling. I see now why no one knows of such a place. Who would think to traverse such a thing, and if the magic works as you say who could possibly thing to even attempt trying again once they find their way out, if they do? It's so...complex. It's hard to quite wrap my mind around it all, really. "
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Nov 21, 2017 23:06:43 GMT -6
Her initial answer was a grunt, of the noncommittal variety. Not exactly the best conversation option but it did remind her of how interesting the divide in views was. To one that had grown up surrounded by magics most of Elibe couldn't even dream of, and the occasional intersection into magitech, she hadn't really seen that much special about the damn things until leaving Arcadia - when, faced with the squalid realities of Elibe, it finally dawned how blessed she had been to witness such feats of magic. It stopped being 'that old weird guy you're supposed to stay away from' into 'Athos, the living legend.' Gaudy fuckin' necklaces turned into powerful amulets that interacted with magical storms in ways that... frankly... Nayru didn't understand in the least.
The priest was right, though. There was some sort of complex interaction. She could feel the magic, sure, but that was about as useful as saying that she could smell dog crap when Fido took a dump right in front of her. How it worked? What kind of magic? Hell if she knew. Even in Arcadia it wasn't really understood, mostly just rumors and whispers. "I've never seen these damn things used for anything else, so I would guess they're somehow tied to whatever fuels the sandstorm, or the enchantments lingering in it. Most Arcadians don't know or care." She shrugged. It was weird to word it that way in her mind. Arcadians. It wasn't that she didn't see herself as an Arcadian, simply that her experience had pulled her away from the default mindset of her birthplace enough that she didn't really know what she thought anymore.
Nor was he wrong about the ferocity of the storm. She could certainly attest to that. Still mostly focusing on her guidance and calculations, Nayru couldn't help but smile wryly at his words. "Yeah. People who wander in... usually don't come out." There was a whole conversation in those quiet words, but she didn't expound on it.
Focused more on her spacial recognition her grasp of time was fleeting at best, but Nayru thought it must have been at least half an hour... closer to 45 minutes by now that they had been walking, mostly with short bursts of conversation, or more commonly simple communication. Watch out for that rock. That sand doesn't look stable. Turn a few degrees left. If she was counting right, they should be getting close to safe ground, though given the variable size of the storm it could still be a while if they were unlucky.
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Post by Remus on Nov 22, 2017 0:01:44 GMT -6
So the prospect was such that most residents of an ancient secret town with dragons and humans living together didn't know how it worked? That comforted him, if only somewhat. To know that dragons did not have any idea about some things, even if that should have been more realistically a press for concern. The lapis haired priest did not reply much to what she said about their lack of caring, but instead retorted with a thoughtful "Hmmm.." and continued to try and wrack his own mind. At this point, Remus was fairly tired. That fatigue was washing over him as the trek continued onwards. The burning in his thighs and calves more so was back. However the weariness went beyond a physical level. He was fatigued within. The battle earlier in the day, coupled with healing Nayru along the trip had finally settled in to take its tole. Like a limb struck swiftly and fiercely, the worst pain set in after the wound had time to worsen and then mend. So it was at this juncture that his steps became as if lead. His posture worsened some and his shoulders slouched. A small delay as his body weight caused him to step into the motion for a moment longer as if to relish what brief halt in motion that brought. However he had to trek on, because he knew he couldn't fall behind. This wasn't just him.
Then it dawned on him. Maybe just the reality of it. The scope. The true scale. Nayru and him, after everything they'd been through, were traveling through a sandstorm that likely less than a dozen humans had traveled through over the course of history. He, who was no more special than any other person on Elibe in his eyes, was going with his best friend The Dragon Nayru to meet a population untouched by time. How strange it would be to him yet how normal to her! It meant more than words could convey that her trust in him was so great. Part of him felt bad. He couldn't exactly return the same sentiment or gesture. It wasn't like there was some vast unknown Etrurian library that had been a collective horde of human knowledge hidden away for hundreds of years that he could take her to or any-...was there? If he found out about one, he at-least knew who the first person he'd be telling was!
The storm had started to dim. The light of the barrier still fueled and provided an augmented perception with its aquatic tones and color shading but he could see further. Shadowy masses of shape had taken form in the distance. And they served to present a realization to him. The goal. The destination. The roaring had grown quieter. Until the howling winds had subsided after a few more minutes. Then with clarity in space all around them, the barrier instantly vanished with naught but a faint hiss. The light fizzling into nothingness as the bright light of Nabatan sun greeted them once more. Yet Remus was unable to look away. For he could barely see it, but see it he could. Forearm over brow to cast a shadow, he could see great arching domes. A few smaller spires that ascended upwards and a strange mixture of rectangular boxed buildings built closer into circular ones. Further in the center, a colossal tower spiraled upwards into the sky. Much further than any other building. The skyline of it from his perspective left him nearly speechless. He managed to fumble a weak reaction though after a few lingering seconds.
"Wow..."
They'd made it. At-last.
Arcadia.
{End Thread}
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