Starting In the Middle (Pharae)

[Kazane]

Kazane nearly died when she finally understood what the pair of them said. Manaketes...these things Elias described as large, flying lizards, were dragons?! A giant flying lizard that could breath...the raw elements? No wonder they had pushed them to the brink on Belorath! She was stunned, and it took her a few moments to regain her composure. [blue]"T-They...can take a humani form? So...they could be walking among us...right now?"[/blue] She asked timidly, glancing left and right. [blue]"But...if they have that kind of power...shouldn't you be afraid of them? I mean...in our world they practically conquered the world, so the legends say."[/blue]

When he changed the topic to mages, Kazane was more then happy to get involved. [blue]"Oh I know, the magic you all practice is very different. It's so...cold and empty it seems."[/blue] She said, not aware of how rude it sounded. [blue]"In my world, we are filled with magic. There is another realm really strong mages can enter that is literally made of magic. Where mages can change everything. In fact, it's not just a weapon as I learned it..."[/blue] She said, digging into her pack and pulling out a set of pan pipes.

[blue]"With a little training, I learned how to do this..."[/blue] She spoke, pushing air through the pipes with a wave of her fingers, sending a sweet and simple melody filling the air. [blue]"And, if you really want to see that other world I was talking about..."[/blue] She dug around in her pack for a moment more, before grasping something and pulling it free. A long and thin rod of ivory. A gray coloring on it, with a darker swirl traveling up the length of the rod, looking almost like a gust of wind coiling it. [blue]"I can use this as a key to it. But we should really only do it in a safe place. It's...um...how to explain. It sort of leaves your body here, so it's not something you can do anywhere."[/blue] She finished taking note of Aeros' behavior.

[blue]"Hey, you don't look at all well. Are you ok? Oh! And you never told us your name!"[/blue] She cheerfully remarked.

[Elias]

"Hrm? I'm not afraid of anything naturally. Dragons, as cool as they are, in the end are people. That would be like me hating every one of your Elvorei folks because pointed ears make me feel uncomfortable. Not liking an entire group for what some of them did a long time ago is silly. Most of the ones that were around for it, aren't around anymore and the ones that are here had nothing to do with it. I think. I don't know, don't know many dragons. The fact they haven't tried to murder us lately implies that they aren't out to get us though, so why should I be afraid?" He shrugged, looking at the pink person. Kaz... Kah... something. Did he already forget her name? Well if it came to it he'd just call he Kaz. He liked Pink better though, and until she complains so she shall be. "Then again I'm not from the Wrathful Bells, so I guess I can't just up and say you have no reason to be super scared. Still if you're still around and have never seen one, they can't be too awful, right? I'm sure there's a lot of stinkers in there, but between you and me there's a lot of stinkers in the human race too."

She began to put down his magic, and Elias was all uh uh, not letting that slide. He would of snapped and bobbed his head at her, but he was too busy considering the ramifications of the information she presented. NEXT TIME SHE WOULD FEEL THE FURY! "I think you've missed my basic point. We both use magic that draws it's strength from the very elements of the world. Even if it doesn't have the same 'soul' or 'feeling' or whatever you said, it doesn't change the fact that it's the same thing just used differently." He began to think about what she said though, it sounded interesting. Maybe he'd take her up on that offer. "That doesn't change the fact we have humans that are identical to your 'humani' and for two groups of people from two different worlds to be virtually identical is a humongous improbability. Truth be told they should be ten feet tall with blue skin."

"I'm sure, given enough time, a person from Elibe could learn the magic you use with as much 'warmth' and 'fullness' as you so kindly put it, that really shouldn't be possible. It's like these two worlds are compatible, the fact we both have dragons says something as well. Actually, we're speaking the EXACT SAME LANGUAGE. You can't say that's not odd. Now before you pipe up and say 'oh we have different languages' that isn't what I meant. There's many different languages in this world too. It's just... It feels kind of like these two worlds weren't chosen at random, this isn't just some kind of random event, they were connected some how. Don't you think?"

[Aeros]

The girl finally understood.

The girl might well have understood too much.

...But she didn't seem to consider the fact that she might have a manakete here, despite her suspicions on the subject, so Aeros forced himself to stay relaxed. It wasn't hard with the expectation of still-needed food; hunger or not, he made sure to listen to the conversation, in case it took any interesting turns again. And it was interesting enough, although nothing immediate: the Crimson Mage showed some decent reasoning that the manakete wished everyone would apply to the situation, the two mages began bickering about which of their magics was better, and...

That was definitely interesting. Aeros hadn't paid it much mind during the collision event--he had been much too busy fighting with a fury against reality itself for what belonged to him and would retrieve with a vengeance--but it had felt like something more than a random event, like the two worlds had sort of 'clicked' in a way that didn't seem natural. And even looking around revealed that two continents had managed to set like a puzzle; every fact that Elias had listed, plus the simple fact that they were conversing like they would with anyone from their respective worlds, pointed to something...something. He needed more ideas, maybe some of the memories that he had lost this second time.

He decided to join in the discussion, maybe share some of his own experience, when the other mage asked about him.

It was still so strange having someone ask about him that wasn't short, loudly spoken and even more loudly featured; he had gotten so used to taking care of himself that either he hid any weakness better than he believed, people didn't care, or he projected some kind of aura that let everyone know he could handle his own problems. Then again, he apparently couldn't take care of himself any more, at least not until he sorted out his hunting abilities.

"I'm...fine, thank you." 'Fine' seemed like the right word. He wasn't 'spectacular,' or 'wonderful,' but neither was he 'bad,' or 'in acute agony,' at the moment, so 'fine' worked. Why had she asked him tha--? Oh.

He had reacted a little poorly to the...wyvern...comparison...it still...tweaked him a bit, but 'fine' still worked for now.

And what to call himself?

Da-, no, not days or weeks, but some time longer than that ago, he had made some connection to the name "Reork." He couldn't explain the connection, but it seemed to fit him, in a way that he couldn't quite explain; the problem was, his association with the name "Aeros" was just as strong, and not much different.

So which to choose?

"Call me...Aeros." It was the name he had actually used, and if he met with anyone he knew, using the other would only cause confusion. He could figure out the other name some other time.

In the meantime, something very, very weird was going on--or had gone on, whichever. The manakete turned back to the Crimson Mage and said, "I think you might be right. The Merge...wasn't normal." It took him a second to realize how idiotic that statement sounded, and he amended, "I mean...normal for...something like that. It felt strange when it happened, like the two worlds were being...being drawn to each other instead of just...colliding. Right?" He didn't like not being able to express the sentiment, but if either of these two had experienced the merge as it happened, personally, he was sure that they would understand.

[Kazane]

Kazane poked her chin thoughtfully. [blue]"Well you have a point there Elias. So what, you think that our two worlds are connected? The fact that we both have Pegasi and Wyverns and...Dragons and...well yeah I guess there are a lot of similarities."[/blue] She paused. [blue]"But there are a lot of differences too. Subtle changes, like our magic, and some serious ones, like our different races. Also, I've never known of a Summoner from Elibe, I don't think that magic exists in your world."[/blue] She said, considering. [blue]"I will agree, there are far too many similarities for it to just be a coincidence. There was some reason our two worlds joined..."[/blue]

She snapped her head up with a bright smile. [blue]"But who cares?! Now I have twice the world to explore! Even more great stories, fascinating people and amazing sights! What more can you ask for, really? I mean, this place is so huge I think I could travel my whole life and not see a fraction of everything this new world has to offer."[/blue] She seemed to bounce with glee at the prospect. She turned to Aeros, who had now introduced himself. [blue]"Oh, it is good to meet you Air-ohs"[/blue] She said, continuing her old habit of sounding out new words. [blue]"I'm Kazane, in case you missed it. You did seem a little...out there. Did something happen while you were traveling? You seem like you've been through some tough times."[/blue] She asked with concern, putting a hand on his shoulder.

[Aeros]

Kazane had a point: there was plenty to see in the newly made...clump of worlds, though the manakete probably wouldn't have cared one way or another if not for certain extraneous circumstances; it was the people that he was most interested in, and, based on Kazane's reaction to the abilities of dragons, the new world likely wasn't filled to the brim with people who had any love for his species. He would have to hide some more...

...Granted, no one in...Bell-o-rath had seen a dragon in some unbelievable stretch of time, and even Elias seemed willing to open up to the possibility of some kind of peace with them. Aeros wasn't about to go trumpeting what he was, of course, but it left open some possibilities.

And now Kazane was asking about his well-being again. What had he looked like when he was having that...fit? Whatever he had done or appeared to do, the wind mage wasn't accepting his previous answer; and in the end, 'tough times' was a bit of an understatement. Not much of one, but a bit. He decided he could tell her...some things. It wasn't like he couldn't run away if need be...hopefully...

"I...don't know," he answered, bringing a hand halfway up to his head by reflex before letting it fall to his side again. "I think I...lost something during the merge. It was..." What word to use? He kept doing this... "...a little confusing."

...Which summed it up like 'big' summed up a mountain: true without any meaning what-so-ever.

This was getting frustrating.

[Elias]

"Who cares? Well I do obviously, I'm trying to figure out what happened. I mean, I honestly don't know why everyone isn't. I mean, even if we're lucky enough to not collide with some plane of existence full of mind raping reality warping monstrosities that live in non-euclidean impossible space, that doesn't mean it might not happen in the future. Who's to say that the collision of our worlds will not happen again, only this time full of crazy leprechauns who crave our flesh? Or if this was a one time deal, why was it a one time deal? Was a world just chosen at random? Is there more out there? These are important, fascinating questions." He shook his soup spoon like it was some kind of magic conversation wand. His eyes alight with the infinite possibilities that presented themselves before him.

"What if by combining it's stretching the magic of the world too thin and devouring it faster then it can be created and slowly marching towards the death of the planet? Or maybe we'll all begin to suffocate because there's not enough air to support everyone? Or the lands become barren from the sudden changes in climate? Fishing becoming impossible because of radically shifting ocean currents? Who's to say that this combination could feasibly last more then a few years before the worlds die? Or maybe even if you just think of it as another world to explore, and you want to keep things this way, needing to know how it happened would be vital from keeping it from breaking. Everything going back to normal when no one expects it, people being stuck in the wrong land, you could be stuck in Lycia and never seeing your homeworld again!" He spoke his long speeches, being a little windbag. She was a mage as well, that meant she had to have at least a little interest in this. Or maybe she was one of those hippy mages who are all 'it's nature man' and completely ignore the logical aspects of it and oh my goodness those people really crimsoned his mage.

"I mean I can understand why some people are content to just let things happening and never understand them, but Elias the Crimson Mage is not one of them! I will solve this riddle!" He pointed his spoon into the sky with a valiant effort, posing as he did so. He is a hero, it is him, and soon the whole world(s) will see it!

Then the dying guy spoke up about something and something and being confused and Elias was all oh man you're confused that never happens to the crimson mage. "Well I don't know about you two, but when I felt the merge it was like BAM POW and there was this guy there who I was talking to who stopped existing and everywhere I go and I ask people what time it is I get weird and random answers. I think time and space got all jumbled up, maybe your mind got jumbled too?" Elias shrugged before perking up.

"It should be a bit long until the food's done." Food didn't cook as fast as people would think it would. Well they could eat it now, but stew tasted better the longer it's been stewing. He would not accept a subpar meal to be created by him, he would fight a tiger before letting this soup be declared as cooked! "So lemme tell you all a story. Relatively short, but confused guy over there might appreciate it. It's about the merge." Elias sat on the ground near the stewing stew, and the fiery fire. He didn't really leave time for objections, not that he would stop even if they had any.

"You see, just before it I had left my home. It was around Ostia, which exploded somehow even though it was perfectly fine when I left but that's not the point. I met a man, he had a wyvern and called his self Ky-something. Ro I think. Cairo. I stalked him, like a crimson ninja, and when I finally confronted him we struck a conversation. He was a messenger boy for Bernilia, tasked to send a message to some guy in Sacae or something it was six months ago." He waved his hand in the air, shaking it as if the whole thing was unimportant. "I was going to go with him and then it was like there was a jump, or something. I don't know how to describe it, like someone scribbled all over a coloring book and ripped out a million pages and somehow I was in the same place but he was gone and the plants and stuff looked all different. Like if a person who was in the middle of writing a book went back and erased everything he wrote, but continued as if everything he erased was still true." He scrunched up his face, trying to think about it, but it was really hard to put into words. Before dropping it with a shrug and a sigh.

"Oh well, that guy I was talking to vanished. Like he never existed, I went to where my house used to be and there was some animal people squatting on the property. They wouldn't let me in either those jerks." He grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting slightly. "It was this weird place called heaven for strays or something and I thought that was a really mean name but they chose it so maybe they had a dark sense of humor."

"Anyways, then I started wandering around trying to figure out just what happened. It wasn't just me though. People everywhere were confused. Some people were all yeah I get it, but some were like 'oh why is my accent so silly and there's all these new people and weren't you a baby why are you an old man now?' like people who were old were in their youth. I wonder if it's a thing where a random version of something was cherry picked, or if there's five of me running around. I doubt it though, Elibeborath would crumbled under the pure concentrated incredible." He ended it with a chortling laugh. "What about you Pink? Any interesting stories? You've been traveling a bit, has it been weird for you too?"

[Kazane]

Kazane had learned fast. When Elias had first started speaking, she used to try to take in everything he said. That had left her feeling very dumb and given her a small headache. Now, due to the necessity of the situation, she only attacked bits and pieces of his massive monologue.

[blue]"Well, for one. Maybe our worlds were going to die alone, and combining was the only way for them to survive? It's not that I don't acknowledge that something bad could happen, but something bad could always happen. You said yourself, a city blew up, off the map, over night. And that was before our worlds collided. Who is to say that couldn't happen to a country, a continent, the entire world?"[/blue] She asked, eyeing him over the simmering stew. [blue]"It isn't that I don't see the danger, I just don't see the reason to worry about these massive hypothetical. If you find information to support it, then pursue it, but currently all we know is it happened."[/blue]

And then he asked the odd question, as Aeros echoed it. She remained quiet for a moment, and then began to speak. [blue]"You are talking about people appearing at different times in their lives, right? Yes, I know of it. I was...affected by it to. But I'm...a special case I think."[/blue] She paused, remembering the story in her head.

[blue]"I heard a lot of this second hand. But my Mom told me that I'd left home to go out on my own. See the world, meet people, to explore the wide world before us. Well, I think that was about six months before the collision. Because when it happened, I remember waking up in my bed, when the last thing I remember was being out in the forest of my home, the week before I planned to leave for the first time."[/blue] She paused, considering the wording she used. The tenses were screwing her up.

[blue]"What was odd about mine though, was that my mother didn't jump. And from what we'd seen from other people in Yunita, they'd be in the same place they were when it happened, just younger. I appeared in the forest by our house, bloody and beaten down, like I'd just been in a fight, and clutching this."[/blue] She said, showing the rod in her hands to the Crimson Mage. [blue]"I was somewhere else...probably in a lot of danger...and it brought me home with no memory of ever leaving. I do wonder sometimes, what kind of an adventure did I have in those six months, but there is no sense worrying about it. I'll make new memories for myself, so I won't have to miss the old ones!"[/blue] She declared.

She did pat Aeros on the shoulder with a smile. [blue]"You jumped too, didn't you? Don't worry about what you lost, worry about what else there is out there for you to find! It's a new beginning, literally!"[/blue]

[Elias]

"To ignore such possibilities is just as dangerous as overtly worrying about them. In fact it may be even worse, because at least by worrying about them you aren't hurting anyone except by being annoying. Like you said, if they needed to be together for both to survive who's to say that it will last? That the worlds won't split again and cause them both to fall if they so needed to be one?" He, for one, was somewhat disappointed in her lack of creativity. She didn't entertain the many possibilities and instead acted as though everything was normal and he was being silly for thinking otherwise.

"But you're right, we don't know anything about this. To worry about it would be like worrying the stars are going to fall on you while stargazing. That's my point though, I want to know." He takes the top off his stew, a stream of steam pouring out in a puffing cloud as he stirred it. Putting some more things inside, some strange looking plants and assorted seasonings, stirring some more and putting the lid back on. During this period of chef Elias' magnificent kitchen, he took the liberty to continue talking. "That's what I'm traveling for, actually. I've been looking into the mystery to the best of my abilities. Of which are incredibly large, mind you. Still as far as I've gotten all I can say is things are messed up. These hypothetical, while baseless, are all based on logical thinking. These are all very reasonable things to worry about if you don't have evidence to support that you shouldn't. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right? Sometimes the best way to learn about something is to find out what it's not doing."

"Of course when I solve this, I'll be the most famous man in both Elibe and Belorath. The great Elias, who saved both worlds with his incredible mind and styling sense of fashion, yes I quite like that." It was a question if he was really interested, or just wanted fame. The answer should be obvious, it being that it didn't matter and he was Elias and you should stop asking so many questions. Still this didn't seem like a topic either of them wanted to continue with, even if it was incredibly interesting and they were pooheads for thinking otherwise. Instead he decided to comment on whatever life story this girl was blabbing about, more interested in her own history then the fact the entire world basically collided with another's.

"Sounds like your body came from the future but your mind remained in the past." He let out a small hum of thought. "Maybe the same thing happened to you? I mean I kept my memories, but I might just be incredible."

[Aeros]

Aeros had apparently run into some pretty intelligent people; while the discussion wasn't anything beyond what he could understand, it was definitely...more in-depth than anything he had encountered. Or remembered encountering, which wasn't saying much, but that was beside the point. However, even as...interesting? Sure, interesting as the topic was, the manakete was distracted by the turn it was taking. And he knew precisely what was distracting him:

"What if by combining it's stretching the magic of the world too thin and devouring it faster then it can be created and slowly marching towards the death of the planet?"

Kinda Tuatara.

"I mean I can understand why some people are content to just let things happening and never understand them, but Elias the Crimson Mage is not one of them! I will solve this riddle!"

Tuatara.

"Well I don't know about you two, but when I felt the merge it was like BAM POW and there was this guy there who I was talking to who stopped existing and everywhere I go and I ask people what time it is I get weird and random answers."

DEFINITELY Tuatara.

It was incredible how much the mage reminded him of his friend, although the conversation was a bit more focused and...intelligent. Aeros had to wonder what it would be like if this mage met Tut...

He decided he would rather not know, although the thought made him smile. He would have to find Tuatara again someday...

From there, he was just content to listen, staring into the pot as the stew cooked and the conversation continued; these two mages were hitting it off pretty well, something Aeros hadn't borne witness to in...how long had it been? His perception of time was so scrambled now, as much as his memory had always been. The manakete shut his eyes and tried again to remember...and he had barely begun to try when a voice and a hand interrupted him, both belonging to Kazane.

The manakete jerked a bit in his seat at the touch, but managed to avoid reacting otherwise. and considered the beastmage's...idea. Don't worry about what he lost? "I...I'm not sure if I can do that..." Could he really? It seemed odd that he had never considered just letting go of everything he had lost...and kept losing. Of course, the first time (maybe) that he had lost his memories, it had left him feeling like some kind of husk, so maybe that was the problem. "I've already gone through this twice, and I don't think I want to keep doing it." He looked at Kazane, searchingly. "Don't you feel...bad, not knowing what happened? When you lose something important, don't you do everything you can to get it back?"

[Kazane]

Kazane paid more attention to Aeros then to Elias. In truth the...hyperactive mage was slightly annoying. His heart was in the right place, that much was true for now, but boy could he give a headache. She stayed by Aeros, listening to his problem.

[blue]"My life is defined by losing things I never had. I guess I just learned from a young age to rise above it. After all, it is such a big world out there, so many other things to find and see. If you are so concerned about what you lost, you won't find anything new. And who knows? If we go looking, maybe we will find what you lost!"[/blue] She said, clapping him on the shoulder. [blue]"I mean...do I feel bad that I never knew my home, my father, my people? Do I wonder where I was before the shift, what I was doing, who I was with, what I had seen? Sure. But sitting around and feeling bad about it won't solve anything. So I'll go out and live my life. If the mystery comes to me, that is fine, but if I spend my entire life and never find my past, well I am prepared for that to. I'm not out here looking for my history, I'm looking for my future."[/blue] She gave him what she hoped was a comforting gaze.

[blue]"So then..."[/blue] She pondered. [blue]"Did either of the two of you have a destination in mind for your wanderings? Aeros? Great Chef and Master of Magery Elias?"[/blue] She said, taking it upon herself to add even more titles for the active and loud mage, as she stuck out her tongue playfully at him.

[Elias]

Elias held his breath, rolled his eyes, knocked on wood, tossed salt over his shoulder, said a mantra, and let out a grumbling mumble. He was a bit angry, but he concealed it perfectly like the perfectly in control person he was because only lame and uncool people let their emotions take control. Unless it was a suitably dramatic scene, in which case only uncool people DIDN'T let emotions take over. It was a delicate balance between breaking out into tears because of the sheer untamed beauty of grass to asking someone to pass the potato salad during a funeral. Naturally, he mastered it because he's Elias and he's mastered over 1000 separate disciplines and growing.

Still it didn't change the lumpy piece of bummer cake stowing away into the deep recesses of his heart's storage pantry. All gross and crumbly like something something something. Kazane went out of her way to ignore EVERYTHING he just said and it made him upset. That was the cowards way to win a debate, she was just mad jealous of Elias master brain skills and such. Just to ignore it, pretend it wasn't even there. Then she started blabbing about herself and Elias was all 'I didn't even ask geez' so he decided to not pay a single bit of attention to her because of revenge. He was a master at revenge and soon she would be dining on lumpy bummer cake!

"I said where I was going, if you had been paying attention." He said with his lips pursed into a straight line. Not quite a frown, but not his usual goofy smile. Letting out a small sigh he lift the lid of his pot. "I think it's done now." Or close enough. "I said earlier I'm researching why this world became like this." He started, pouring the food into seperate bowls for each of them. "As such I'm going to anywhere that is unusually effected by this merge. I tried to get into Strayhaven, but they were like nuh uh not happening. I was planning to going to Pharae to hunt for clues though."

[Kazane]

Kazane's playful smile wilted like a wildflower in a blizzard at Elias' first comment. It was biting, clearly annoyed at something. Had she offended him? Oh what had she said now?!

She lowered her gaze from him, silently staring at the fire as he seemed to play around with the soup. Great, just great. She'd finally met friendly people, and it hadn't taken her half an hour to offend them. She pushed to deeply with Aeros' personally business, and she'd pushed Elias aside instead of giving him the attention someone of his skill and knowledge deserved. She felt horrible, more ashamed with herself for doing something so incredibly stupid.

[blue]"S...Sorry..."[/blue] She mumbled out, refusing to meet his gaze even as he made to hand her a bowl of the steaming broth. She took it from him with a word of thanks so soft it might not have been spoken at all, but she did not eat.

She was too lost in her own thoughts now, and found that she was actually missing the noise from Elias. The silence was...oppressive, and it made her feel even more uncomfortable. But if she opened her mouth, she'd just say something dumb again and make them upset at her.

They were decent people, some of the first she'd met, and she didn't want to lost that because of her own rudeness.

[Aeros]

"But..." How could Aeros respond to that? It was all true, he had known it for a while...but he had also defined his past...however-many years looking for who he had been before.

Hadn't he? Maybe not; now that he thought about it, what had he done in all this time since he woke up? Wandered around aimlessly, joining up with anyone who happened to cross his path before starting to travel again? And what else was he going to do? Where should he start? Who could he ask? Maybe he had realized it for a while...that he was never going to just find what he wanted, not when there was so much to search through. The manakete stared at at Kazane as she continued, trying to process what she was saying while trying to determine a response.

He found that he couldn't come up with a response except a quieter, "But..."

When Kazane asked another question--one that actually needed an answer, anyway--Aeros latched onto it--

...and was interrupted by the Crimson Mage's(!) own answer. The manakete couldn't vouch for Kazane either way; she had been paying him more attention than the mage, it seemed, but whether it had been all of her attention was debatable. He snatched up his own bowl and took a large sip before saying, "Nowhere, really...everything's changed so much, I wouldn't really know where to go if I wanted somewhere to go." Well, he did want somewhere to go, he just had no idea where that was.

It almost felt like he hated life, but hating things just seemed to make him feel worse, so he hoped it wasn't the case.

Then Kazane wilted suddenly. To Aeros, it was an...interesting and unfamiliar process; even so, he could tell that it wasn't a good one. But should he do? She might have been ignoring Elias...but it wasn't fair for him to be angry at her like that. "I think you're okay, Kazane," he reassured her awkwardly. "I...wasn't listening much...either. To either of you, I guess."

Did everything that came out of his mouth have to sound rude? "I mean, I wanted to...but..." Having no idea how to continue, he took another mouthful of the soup, fishing for something to say to his two new friends. "It's been...a little weird, hasn't it? I know...think...I've never felt anything like that. The shift, I mean."

If this got any more awkward, he was probably going to transform and fly off, because he was subtle like that.

[Elias]

Elias let out a roll of the eyes so fierce that is was audible. He wasn't upset, but it was a bit annoying to be ignored. Aeros up and admitted it and everything, and the way Kazane suddenly decided that she was done talking must have meant she felt guilty for doing it as well. As she should, ignoring Elias is a crime punishable by pouting, and that is a sight no man should have to see. Still he recovered, since whatever ignorance that had befell upon them earlier had quickly cleared up like a case of five second flu. His somewhat disheveled and goofy looking smile returned to it's rightful place and all was right in the land.

The topic was dead now anyways, they weren't interested in it. As disappointing as it was, they simply didn't care much about the lands colliding. He supposed there were just a lot of people like that out there in the world, who were more interested in the events of their own life then the bigger events in the world. Which was fine and good, because so was Elias. It was just the events in his life were directly connected to the world this time, so he could feign self-righteousness all too effectively and ignore any of the hypocrisy because Elias didn't even know the meaning of the word.

"It's all fine, don't worry." He laughed. A better mood now, probably because he wasn't being interrupted with ongoing dialogues completely unrelated to everything he just said. Maybe it was petty of him (of course it wasn't, he was Elias the Crimson Mage) but he was more annoyed at being ignored then either of the two. He wanted to say it wasn't important, but almost had to slap himself because how could he honestly say that something he said wasn't important? Elias when did you become such a madman? Kazane was all quiet and stuff, maybe she was mulling over his words? Why shouldn't she? It was his words after all, he could probably start a religion or something with the wisdom he doles out at bargain bin prices.

"I don't think I actually said where I was going actually." Did he? Or did he just talk about his mission and not a specific destination? Maybe. He probably said where he was going, yeah, why would he get all upset if he didn't? "Or maybe I did. I don't remember half the things I say anyways. Too busy coming up with new things to say, livin' in the future. A future where I will be famous, naturally." He began to eat his self, that being eating his own food, not committing self-cannibalism.

"Well Pharae is close by, it has loads people and I'm sure they'll have interesting stories. OH HEY! That's right! You never told me any of your stories Kazane! Has anything interesting happen to you since you woke up all dead and stuff?"

[Kazane]

Kazane's ears perked at Elias' change in tone, and at his question. She'd worked to stem that animal reaction of hers, but it still got the better of her sometimes. [blue]"U..Um...well I just left home a little bit ago. B-But if you've never been to Yunita I could tell you some stories I guess..."[/blue] She paused for a moment, trying to think up a good one. What did she know of that would be an exciting story?

[blue]"From what I know of Elibe...there are a lot of creatures you might have never heard of before. The Yunita Woods, the parts where people live are very similar to what you might expect. Animals like the deer and wolves, badgers, racoons, and all sorts of things. However, there are areas so dangerous, that even the Evlorei dare not travel there."[/blue] She paused, for no reason then to build tension. [blue]"It is called the Deep Woods, and it is home to all manner of great and terrible creatures. Carnivores plants as a person, massive aquatic creatures easily as big as a house, creatures that shoot spines with poisons that can kill creatures in a matter of seconds. Horrifying things dwell there. But legend say they aren't just there for no reason, that they guard the remains of a civilization even older then our own, some of the original inhabitants of Belorath."[/blue] Her tails swished excitedly. [blue]"It is the guess of many of our magical scholars that these...creatures are actually gifted life by magic. And that what is hidden within there is very powerful magic, long since forgotten. Many have entered the Deep Wood, few have ever returned, speaking only of the horrors and dangers there. However..."[/blue]

She paused for another moment, really into the story telling now. She took a small sip of her soup, surprised at how good it tasted, and then resumed. [blue]"One of the men who returned, told tales of an ancient ruin he found within the woods. Religious in nature, but not to any god we know. He was unable to gain entry, but brought back a gem he found outside of it. A crystal almost. Unbreakable, as near as we could tell, clear as day, and not made out of any material we have ever seen. It did not react to any magic, but the aura of magic permeated it. Even the most novice of mages could sense the power this gem once held."[/blue]

Kazane finished, taking another drink of her soup. [blue]"Nobody is quite sure what power the gem once had, but they all agree it was something fearfully powerful. Perhaps world changing. And that power, could sleep beneath our very feet."[/blue]

She ended her tale there, curious of what her companions would make of it.

It felt good to be in a good mood again. She'd bounced back almost as quickly as Elias had.