|
Post by Remus on Dec 28, 2016 12:06:58 GMT -6
Ahhh. So this was not necessarily the trouble. The act of getting to the oasis was the real danger. The danger itself was traveling to the oasis but the oasis was not some haven of death or disaster. That was comforting at-least! It was like a hidden haven then. His first thoughts slid through as he focused on trying not to slip. Each step would just slowly press into the dune before shifting his weight and moving to the next one. Never before had he struggled to focus so much on making his steps downwards. Down, ahead. Down, ahead.
His responses were a tad slower and shaky while he focused on his steps.
"So were breaking new territory here eh? At-least...as a human it's new territory of sorts? I er..take it that people don't...often leave Arcadia? Either way, I'll err try to keep that in mind! IT makes me feel a bit special, haha."
He tried to follow the line of thoughts she inspired. An unbreakable Amelia who could do anything she wanted. To which point he imagined an Amelia that entered every room from a higher elevation via drop-kick, wantonly assaulted wrong-doers without a single ounce of restraint while loudly proclaiming her might. Yeah, that sounded like Nayru. Thus confirming his suspicion that the two were some how secretly related from ancient lineage.
"I guess er..I'm having a hard time imagining what trouble a child could get into with what seems like a peaceful place. Did you er...get into serious trouble or was it just harmful stuff?"
Quietly descending further down the dune, the priest tried to wonder how many dunes they'd be descending. Oh goodness...how many would they be ascending? THAT sounded far worse and less appealing to him earnestly. Though he would certainly be glad to be out of this desert far too soon, and the faster wouldn't be fast enough even. He had to admit though, just the daunting prospect of arriving to Arcadia would make it unlikely for anyone to really attempt on their own accord he imagined. Unless, like Nayru, they knew precisely where they were going.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Dec 28, 2016 12:25:06 GMT -6
"There's not much reason to, for most." It wasn't necessarily a viewpoint Nayru agreed with. If she had, she wouldn't have left. But it certainly wasn't difficult to understand. If you lived in the greatest repository of knowledge in all of Elibe, the most peaceful place either race had ever known, in what was really a pretty good climate by the standards of the desert, and any real journey away from it would involve at least a day of traveling... why WOULD you leave? You had everything you needed, most of what you could want, and no pressing reason to leave.
And yet she had. She had wanted to see the outside world, to learn what its truth was, to see if it was really as bad as everyone said. She had wanted to get away from the gilded cradle that she called her home - a bubble utopia, almost perfect but content to not try to export its beauty to the outside world. Understandable, given the risks. But not something she could truly, absolutely believe in as it stood. "The journey is long and arduous, and the common belief is that there isn't much of value outside of Arcadia. Pretty much no humans ever leave, and only a few dragons, even fewer of whom comes back." Not the least of the reasons she didn't want to cut too high of a profile while she was there; while Nayru didn't have a grudge against Arcadia, neither did she want to get shanghai'd into answering a million questions about the outside world. Was that selfish of her? The inability, or the lack of interest, in trying to help the people there understand what she had seen?
Maybe it was just that she was worried about trouble. Nayru wasn't really sure what the answer was, but she needed to figure it out sooner or later. Buuut that was more of a concern for later, for the time being they had more pressing issues. They had more or less descended the first dune without great mishaps, but a second, albeit smaller, dune stretched into the sky before them. Well, not actually into the sky, but it was still pretty decent sized. She sighed. "Aaand that was the easy part. Now you learn why sand can REALLY go f**k itself."
At least it wasn't as er, intense of a slope, a smaller and less sheer dune overall, so that was one small blessing. "Well, I guess I meant more dangerous adventures than the kind of stuff you get arrested for. I spent a lot of time exploring as a kid, I definitely got to be a lot more familiar with the Wastes than most Arcadians, so I learned firsthand just how dangerous they could really be. You haven't lived until your first experience with a freak sandstorm and not much shelter though - learn real quick that you either make shelter or you just die. Countless tons of sand, all split into a million shards that cut like knives, and they just never stop coming."
|
|
|
Post by Remus on Dec 28, 2016 12:57:23 GMT -6
He thought about it briefly. If he was living in a world where dragons and humans coexisted, would he want to go to another place where one of those two was non-existent? No, he didn't know that he could. Then again, his perspective was altered because he grew up in a world where one existed. So he saw value in that other existence. Like the saying went, you didn't know what you'd lost until you lost it. He had managed to slide down the last few steps of the slope before stumbling through the burning sands. He could feel the sweltering heat through the moccasins he wore while trudging onwards. The first sand dune ahead of them definitely looked awful.
He focused on Nayru while moving to climb the sand dune. Steps making his legs burn a bit and having to work himself a bit harder as the sand dune proved to be a real work in the cardiovascular department. Though he was getting a happy grin at the idea of a young Nayru. His fondness of children almost made him wish he could've met her. His experience with Amelia no doubt prepared him for some of Nayru even if not all. Alas, the sentiments were just that. A sentiment. A fleeting notion with no foundation or possibility to be fulfilled.
His tone was a bit shaky, but Remus spoke up to let Nayru hear him even as he climbed up over the hill.
"Hmm. So did you have adventures within Arcadia itself? I um..admit that I am having a hard time imagining what precise adventures you went on with me being unfamiliar with both Arcadia and the desert. If you don't mind me asking, what all did you usually do for fun or to pass the time? Did you ever grow close to other dragons while there? I um...seem to only ever remember you mentioning..Erim was her name? Erin? Er...your motherly figure."
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Dec 28, 2016 13:23:43 GMT -6
Nayru might not be having quite the same issues as Remus, far better acclimated to the heat and the movement in particular, but she wasn't entirely immune to the perils of exertion either. There simply wasn't any good way to ascend a large dune without it sucking horribly, simple as that - no special tricks, no shortcuts, it wasn't even something that you could easily surmount with a mount, who often handled it even worse than humans, and that was all assuming that your wagon didn't get stuck or pull the animal back down. Riding it was right out. Just a stupid, sucky, miserable experience that never go better.
You could compare it to climbing a mountain, but the mountain didn't slide down behind you. It didn't give way every time you tried to take a step up. You didn't have to pull your feet out of each step to take the next one. Oh, it was good exercise, if you were into that, but not the fun kind that anyone in their right mind would ever want to do. Though the younger her had done it without complaining, she supposed. More eager to see what lay at the top, what the horizon far away brought, than concerned about a bit of exertion. Then again, young Nayru didn't bitch as much as old(er) Nayru, either. Sky only knew if that was an improvement, but then baby Nayru hadn't had to deal with half the crap she had, so it kinda worked out, right?
"In Arcadia... a lot of it would be pretty commonplace by the standards of Elibe. Children's games arise naturally, the rules and settings may differ, but it is only natural to be active, to play and fight and climb and explore. Though I suppose it could be more exciting to clamber about sleeping dragons and hear storytellers whose skill and experience dwarf what most of Elibe could ever offer, from those who had actually experienced the events they spoke of." It wasn't until after she had left that she had even thought of what childhood outside of Arcadia had been like, and it was still a little hard for her to connect, though she had seen it enough by now to understand it to a decent degree.
"And yes, there was Erim... a few others. Some you may meet today. Most are likely long since dead. Dragons reproduce far more slowly, so there were always far more human children. But I did get to know... a few of my kin. One girl in particular, and two boys... though one I know is dead now." He had been the victim of one of their little adventures... the first inkling of how dangerous the wastes could truly be.
|
|
|
Post by Remus on Dec 28, 2016 13:58:43 GMT -6
Well, he'd found a new level of dislike for exercise. Every motion was far more rugged. Greater burden and with more difficult. Arduous even. As Remus tried to ascend he found his knees having to submit to more pressure and under go more adversity. His muscles already starting to throb in protest. He didn't struggle with his breathing but he definitely felt a tad bit winded. His lungs working and his chest rising and falling a bit more so than he was normally used to as he lapped up the scalding horrid desert air. Sands shifting and trails sliding down the sand dune from both Nayru's steps and his, though he was sliding ever so slightly every step out in the direction that the step came down into because the priest was still trying to get used to walking though the desert.
Luckily he had distractions to occupy his mind. He was now picturing what was likely a very inaccurate Arcadia, and a slew of children and tiny dragons running about. However, the issue was that he didn't know what baby dragons looked like so they were just all tiny Nayru's. Which wasn't a bad thought but likely unrealistic.
Though I suppose it could be more exciting to clamber about sleeping dragons
Honestly. He was an adult and he wanted to do that. This now had him simply imagining an army of children climbing atop a large slumbering dragon based on the likely inaccurate images that humanity had painted of dragons. The priest chuckled quietly, the notion evoking a particular memory of the orphanage and the children clambering over the his tired uncle who'd come to visit. A monstrosity of a burly large man, the old Etrurian Soldier had been too tired to protest and simply lay idle on the rug near the hearth while kids clambered all on him. Boy hadn't he regretted it though when he awoke to Amelia braiding the left half of his hair.
Though the tone of the conversation shifted he listened as she spoke of Erim and other dragons. He could only hope they'd take to him as well as Nayru had. In the back of his mind though he doubted it to a fair degree. One could only hope though, one could really only hope. The priest spoke in a bit of a weaker tone. After all Cardio wasn't his thing. He would make it though. If ever he could make it, he would.
"So...have you known them all, the dragons that is, your entire life or did you meet some of them as you got older? I er..also guess I'm kind of curious. How large is Arcadia? Like a great city..or a town orr...?"
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Dec 28, 2016 14:39:49 GMT -6
"I was familiar with all the Arcadian dragons at the time," she responded, feeling a little bit of the burn of the awkward ascent due to the angle at which it placed stress on her feet, "But those outside of Arcadia are... impossible to know the true extent of. I've met half a dozen or so, and I have no idea if they represent the entire population, half of it, a tenth of it... for every punch-happy idiot like me, there's some hermit living in the middle of nowhere or con artist blending in flawlessly." The funny thing, really, was that she had only met a couple during her journeys, but now kept on running into them as though they were multiplying like friggin' rabbits. Zahhak, Shara, Aeos had all turned up within a few weeks at most, all of them capable of fighting to some degree or another, and she was still getting used to the notion of... actually meeting other dragons.
And yet few to none of them had known much, or anything, about Arcadia when hinted at. Only Shara off the top of her head, of all the dragons she'd met. Was that a good sign? Bad? Did it mean something, or was it just meaningless information? Bah. Whatever. "Been running into a whole lot more of them recently, though. One on Vinland, two while waiting for you to get back from Etruria. Not sure if I'm just getting better at finding 'em, it's just coincidence, or it has something to do with all this monsters-and-Arum crap." IF Aerious's claim that dragons had been the guardians of the world was true, as she was tentatively willing to believe, it was possible that others of her kind... and perhaps her too... had been drawn into the open recently by their own instincts. Better than fate at least. Nayru didn't care much for the notion of fate at all, even more than instinct.
As for Arcadia itself though? Well, that was kind of hard to respond to, just a bit. "Arcadia is... kind of weird, I guess. Like any city, it grew from a well defined core to sprawl outwards. It's nothing close to the size of a full on city though, but uh... a decent sized town I guess? It may have spread out a bit more from when I lived there though, so I couldn't tell you EXACTLY how large it is or what it looks like now. Guess we'll get to discover that much together, huh?"
|
|
|
Post by Remus on Dec 28, 2016 14:52:36 GMT -6
Ah! Other dragons! That's right! He hadn't remembered it initially over the excitement of just seeing Nayru again, but boy how had he forgotten! He couldn't help but briefly reprimand himself mentally before he leaned forward and pumped into his strides again. Now trying to catch up with Nayru and walk along side her. He'd fallen quite a few feet behind and had to keep going until he was now about two feet to her left. He moved with her, even if he had to take a moment to catch his breath after such a rush of sorts. His head tilting and leaning into each step further while sand sloshed about along the sides of either upwards step.
"It makes me happy to know that there are more dragons than anyone truly knows alive. Just something about that prospect meets me happy. I mean...if someone had told me I'd have met two dragons in my life time I would've laughed while simply wishing it to be so but dismissing it as an impossibility! Let alone me getting to meet an entire town of them! It still makes me feel giddy just thinking about it!! Heh..."
His steps briefly became jubilant. As if he did not notice or register the strains of ascending the sand dune. The pains of the desert very briefly lost unto him. Until she mentioned the monsters and Arum. Arum. He didn't understand the word, but he understood the meaning. His brain instantly associating it to the shadowy fiend he, the wyvern riding girl, and the dragon who wasn't Nayru had battled. Really, he should have gotten the mans name so he stopped thinking of him as "Dragon that's not Nayru,". However the priest nodded in agreement before commenting idly. Seemingly undisturbed by the lack of cognitive awareness he would've undergone to learn about "Arum".
"They are intimidating...in my opinion. Arum. Those red eyes. The way that they seem to just...exude nether energy. It's...disturbing. Yet...I can't help but wonder. It looked human. What if it was just a human unable to control themselves? It fled, so no one killed it but I did try to save it. I um..didn't obviously..but it had me feeling partially sad...honestly."
His tone shifting upon his next comment as if he were perking up casually.
"Wouldn't it be crazy if a bunch of the dragons from outside it had come there and were living together? It'd be like your meeting a bunch of friends you've never known right? Or er...do they not always get along with eachother just like humans?"
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Dec 28, 2016 15:21:09 GMT -6
Climbing up the side of a gigantic f**k**g sand dune wasn't really the best time for over the top emoting, but Nayru still found the time to raise an eyebrow in reaction to Remus's little revelation. It wasn't a world changing revelation by any means. It wasn't like he'd just revealed the existence of dragons to her. But it was interesting that he had met another one recently apparently, and an Arum to boot no less. "Sounds like you've been busy since we last met. Which dragon did you run into? Name or description? I might know them... or not, if it was actually in Etruria, never actually seen a dragon there... for obvious reasons."
If anything she was a little more surprised that he knew what Arum were, and that he'd met one. That... potentially placed the meeting somewhere in Lycia, if the rumors were true. It couldn't have been either of the two she had met, they were either dead or hidden. And after her talk with Kenshin, she understood them slightly better. "...The humanoid ones are just possessed humans, as far as I know. I didn't learn that until recently, but it sounds like you need incredibly strong willpower to have a chance, otherwise they just take over completely, and that's that." Was that how Kenshin had escaped it? That was what she thought at least, but Nayru didn't KNOW for sure, she didn't like not knowing.
"There are other... varieties, though, or maybe true form I dunno, that look a bit less human. Much stronger too. Lot to learn." It DID bother Nayru that she couldn't be a walking encyclopedia on the subject. Crap like 'I think' or 'I dunno' just showed subjects she needed to learn more about. Speaking of subjects she didn't know about, Remus seemed to be full of unexpected questions today! "There's always been a very small trickle of dragons finding Arcadia, but uh, yeah, dragons don't get along any better in principle than humans do. Less so, usually, though Arcadia is pretty big on the peace thing so not much fighting, just the occasional bruised ego."
|
|
|
Post by Remus on Dec 28, 2016 15:47:49 GMT -6
Ah. Now that was the killer F wasn't it? The priest huffed from his exertions to keep up with her before continuing on verbally with as much gusto as he could muster.
"Er..big fellow. Wore Furs. Eye patch. White hair. Um..turned his arm into a big black and red one. Then turned himself into a big black and red dragon. We were ah..fighting an Arum when it happened. Though I say this quite seriously, it almost killed him. It was able to punch through my lesser barrier because I hadn't prepared it enough and nearly skewered through his arm and into his chest. It had a dark weapon. A very..very foul spear. Those it slayed rose from the dead under its command...and...its spear could create barriers. Like the one I used against you when we were training. Except..it couldn't withstand a purge I cast on it so I imagine it's not able to become a stronger caliber of barrier. It did manage to perform it nearly effortlessly however. It fled eventually."
He thought back to that dark incident. Though they'd forced it to flee. No one hew knew had died, and they'd prevented immediate loss of life given that it'd been advancing on a small town. The haunting screams of the possessed undead who he'd battled still lingered within his mind. Remus soldiered on through that sand while reminiscing before speaking up again after a few moments to catch his breath without winding too much.
"It sounds nice, by the way. Arcadia. At-least, to me as someone who's only known Elibe and the brief snippet we got of Vinland. Maybe it's just because humans have alot of er...war. Were at war now. Bern was in a civil war. Ilia was in war with Bern. Before that Bern fought practically everyone. Before that the bandit war. It just..seems like it never ends. So to know that there are humans living peacefully and have known peace for hundreds of years somewhere...well..that makes me happyier than you can imagine. Almost as happy to know there are still alot of dragons there! Though, honestly that makes me happiest of all. Ah! Speaking of which! Does Arcadia have like...a governing system? Do they have er..a king dragon or some such? Or do Dragons and Humans run themselves orrr...?"
Full of questions indeed.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Dec 31, 2016 7:09:09 GMT -6
Well... that didn't sound like anyone she knew, haha. It wasn't like she was going to comb every corner of her memory trying to think of every guy who wore fur, but if she'd known a dragon like that it wouldn't be nearly that hard to remember. Oh well, someone to keep an eye out for in the future. Of significantly more interest was the Arum that Remus spoke of - the creature matched and exceeded the vague rumors she'd heard of it, wielding dark powers far beyond anything she knew of from normal magic. To be fair, Nayru wasn't the world's leading expert on magic, but she... more or less... knew what... most of it did?
Real convincing there professor. "I've heard rumors of the beast, but I wasn't sure if they were real... hey Remus, whaddaya say when we finish up here, we go pay it a... what do you call it..." What was the word? "Visit? Oh that's right, beating. Let's go pay it a beating. I do the punchy, you do the magicey, we save the world in time for lunch." She was being a bit flippant about it, but there were actually three reasons that Nayru did want to fight it now. One was simply that it needed to die if it was actually that much of a threat, before it could hurt more people. Two was that Remus had actually sounded fairly bothered by it and she was trying to help him feel better. And three... ok, yeah, she just wanted to fight something that could be an actual threat.
The pursuing priest seemed prone to subject changes today though, switching from monsters and dragons to... well, Arcadia was still related to dragons, she guessed, so it wasn't THAT big of a change. He was right... and wrong, though. And Remus was talking to the wrong dragon if he wanted a glowing endoresement of EVERYTHING Arcadia represented. "...Arcadia works because it's just a town... trapped in time. Everything outside of the walls doesn't matter. Elibe is irrelevant. It's like a... microcosm of what Elibe could be, but spared from the problems that make Elibe what it is. No one wants to change, because change runs the risk of ruining everything - but if you don't change, how can you grow? Evolve? If I'd never met you and Veigue, I'd still be wandering Elibe on my own. I left Arcadia to see the world, but... eh."
Nayru trailed off, not really sure where she'd been going with that. She wasn't really used to ranting to people, at least not in a... long time, but between the familiarity of the desert, the desire for conversation, and Remus being easier to talk to than... some relevant metaphor, she had kinda ended up yapping her trap til it shut. "And it's more of a council system. No one really rules, 'least not officially, but there are some where when they talk, everyone else listens."
|
|
|
Post by Remus on Jan 1, 2017 16:59:38 GMT -6
Now...that was a true idea. Remus had been intending to seek and find the beast shrouded in black tainted magic with crimson eyes burning like dying coals. How chilling it was to recall even. The foul tone that it spoke with. The cruel magics that it inflicted. The priest let his hands clasp together quietly while he trudged further through this horrible sand. Listening to Nayru's proposition in full, while laughing quietly when she suggested that they team up. It was true, that they had been 6/0 in the win to loose ratio. Even if the last three were a canyon, a giant door, and a death temple. The record stood however. So, if he'd been planning to go about it either way, why not bring his nearly indestructible all powerful dragon friend who toted phenomenal cosmic power without the constraints of an itty bitty living space? Not to mention, while he trusted Donovan, Duma, and Perun, the only person he trusted more with his life was Nayru. If he could enter that battle with her at his side, it would be a battle he knew they could win.
The thought almost made him forget the terrible heat and horrendous work out that his calves and thighs were going through. Also he was 100% positive his feet would melt before they got there. That didn't stall or lessen the smile on his face while he brightly gazed towards Nayru, even if she couldn't see him.
"Heh..I'd love to be at your side while we defend countless lives in Elibe by fighting off such a fiend. Heh, imagine it. Dragon and Human fighting the nightmares of Elibe together. Maybe it's the step towards the futre I've dreamed of well..ever since you told me you were a dragon. A small step, but heh..better then any steps taken the last how ever many years!"
He began to ponder what she spoke of. Arcadia. A place frozen in time. Maybe she had a point. As much as he loved the idea of the place, he could see that as a flaw. Humanity changed too quickly in little ways, not enough in large ones. But large changes and little changes alike were necessary. If a place housed no change at all then it was just as bad. Even if it was a less murder filled situation. That...still sounded better than Elibe though. His gaze idled on Nayru as he quietly pondered. She had changed. She'd met him, and he'd met her. They'd both changed. Maybe just as she implied he was the change Elibe needed, she could be the change Arcadia needed. Even if she'd never ever agree to the notion.
"Well..Arcadia sounds like a nice change to me! Ironic as it sounds, heh. Though...less sand would be nice!!"
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Jan 3, 2017 14:02:37 GMT -6
Nayru nearly tripped at her counterpart's idea, taken off guard by it. She hadn't actually made the connection until now, thinking of it as simply something fun that she could do with Remus... for certain very specific values of fun granted, but then again they were weird people in general, adventurers and wanderers and vagabonds, and she had accepted that much long ago at least.
But the way he had worded it reminded her of a dream she had had long ago. Maybe it was the familiarity of the desert, or the weirdness of her mood, but wrapped in memories it still drew something out of her despite her usual reticence. "...You know... as a kid, that was my dream." Her voice was somewhat more subdued than usual as the dragon vented the hesitant admission, barely able to trust even Remus with that even given the circumstances. "Helping save the world. One of the good guys. I thought that all we had to do was talk it out and everything would be fine." There was a sort of wonder in her voice at the start, almost childish wonder, that soured with the foul truth of reality as she completed the thought.
It had been a stupid dream anyways. She'd given up on it a long time ago, when she grew and matured and slowly came to understand that the Scouring hadn't just been a misunderstanding and that no matter how good of a girl she was, she wouldn't be anyone's hero. And THAT was all before she'd turned into a monster, taking hundreds of lives across Elibe. So needless to say it wasn't at the top of Nayru's priority list right now. But... she still liked how Remus's idea sounded. And hoping against hope, it made her almost wish that it could really happen. The dragoness laughed a little bitterly at the thought. "At least the Arum you speak of would be a fitting villain to the story."
|
|
|
Post by Remus on Jan 6, 2017 14:56:42 GMT -6
That was what they were doing wasn't it? Helping save the world. Even if no one would know. Their battle might go unrecorded, lost to the annals of history and with nary a witness in sight. They didn't need that though. They would remember. They would know. Though, the fact that they were, well, saving the world hadn't quite dawned on Remus despite him just having implied such. This had him nearly bouncing in his step. If it weren't for the fact that the sand was literally murder on his feet. Far from comfortable really. Especially since it was eating up more and more endurance just to try and keep in stride. Sadly, The priest hadn't noticed Nayru's reaction but the tone in her voice and the slightly subdued nature had him grinning like the blue haired fool he was.
"Well Nayru. I'd once heard that dreams come true if we believe enough, and try enough. Perhaps that'll be true here too ehh? Hehe, maybe just a chance!"
Boy. This heat was the worst. Like, Nayru might've been the devil, but this heat was the devil. He had a think veil of glisten to his forehead from the layer of perspiration building up already. His skin was fairly roasted from what it felt like, as if the length of his pale forearms and hands would become mere kindling for fire otherwise. The feeling of it was only worsened when he lifted one of his forearms to brush the sweat from his brow. Feeling the contrast of his forehead which was kept slightly cooled by the large hat of his, to the scorching arm that could've likely been actually on fire and he merely too delirious to see. His steps waded through the sand none the less as the priest spoke up, regretting his wild bushy blue hair now while it messily clung to his forehead as well as the lower back part of his neck, even if it did serve as some minute veil to shield the space between his shoulder line and neck.
"Well Nayru. I can tell you this much. If it doesn't induce nightmares in most, Elibe's far better off than we might think. As it stands, I'm pretty sure it's nightmare fuel so...yes. A worthy villain indeed. Do you think we could stop it? I do, but I'm also pretty sure I'd believe us capable of stopping practically anything by this point."
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Jan 6, 2017 16:10:32 GMT -6
"Nightmares are a kind of dream too." Perhaps it was a touch churlish to rebuff Remus's idealistic optimism, but it was Nayru's curse to be unable to see a bright future any longer. It was something she had to struggle for, against the reality of her circumstance and against herself. Didn't mean she didn't want it, or that she wouldn't work for it. Only that Nayru was the last person who would ever be convinced that it would actually work. Turned out that living for a long time didn't always give you perfect perspective on everything, and depending on circumstance could even limit one's perspective in ways that others could not see.
Though at the same time. Just because she didn't believe it would end well didn't mean she wouldn't try, to keep Remus safe if nothing else. In the meantime, down they went another god damn dune. They were a necessary evil of desert life but the speed at which they crossed them was definitely ah... less than ideal. Nothing she hadn't calculated in her estimates of course, but at the same time Nayru had hoped to be wrong on that account if only to make the journey easier on Remus. And speak of the devil, he certainly didn't seem to be doing so hot in this temperature. Nayru lightly punched him in the shoulder, forcing a grin to her face to emit a level of optimism that she didn't quite totally feel. "Hold up there champ, this is probably the most physically arduous part of the journey. When things smooth out a bit we'll be able to make better time."
Turning back to the task at hand, she continued pondering his last comments a bit more. She'd had it on a background thread while speaking but been considering it along the way. Could they stop it? She didn't even know how strong it was. But she did know one thing. "It doesn't matter if we think we can stop it, though. It doesn't matter how strong it is. All that matters is that we have to stop it. Relying on others to handle the threats facing Elibe is just giving them free reign... there's an old saying I heard long ago. 'All it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.' Sometimes things work out, like Kenshin murdering the Arum in Sacae before I got to it, but all too often they don't. Until someone else better, more heroic and famous, comes along... it's on us to solve as many problems as we can."
|
|
|
Post by Remus on Jan 6, 2017 16:38:30 GMT -6
Dreams. Such a subjective thing. Happy ones. Nightmares. Terrors. Yet what he saw as a dream she instantly equated to a Nightmare. Wasn't she her ever cheerful-self? Realism though, was healthy for the overly optimistic priest. Even if he wanted to refute it and deny it with all his heart, the priest simply couldn't. Not in good conscious. The blue haired male's staff lightly punctured otherwise flawless sheets of grainule sand, briefly leaving small wounds before the natural shifting filled these gaps. The male's head tilting as he turned to look at Nayru though still astride, even as she slugged his shoulder lightly.
Even if seeing Nayru grin was the norm, it did help him feel better too. To a degree they were already well into their trip. Trudging over sand dunes wasn't exactly a recreational sport for him, but he wouldn't deny the satisfaction each time they crossed one. It was just the soul crushing depressing sight of more that prompted him to quietly shrink at the prospect. Nayru's efforts to alleviate that were well received though, and he smiled lightly at the kind attempt to keep him motivated. Wiping his brow once more before putting his other hand upon his staff to change his poise some what at-least.
"Ah, haha well knowing it'll get easier from hear is a comfort of sorts. No matter how small it seems in wake of each of these dunes. I just..feel like my muscles are going to explode when we go down. It's so strange, that going down a hill would take more out of me then climbing up one!"
Ahh. How true her words were! He listened with a certain ease. Her distraction was most pleasing in earnest. Just the conversation removed his mind from the horrible thoughts of never entering a desert again. The priest gazed ahead with what would've been optimism were it not for the sand dune blocking his vision if not for the uncertain future. Tilting his head while he spoke, he spoke nearly word for word his very thoughts. As if thinking while speaking.
"Well...your right there. We must try. Truly. Though the Arum is a truly harrowing foe...and Seelenschmaus is a terrible weapon. I think though that if my magic can affect the fiend, certainly you could harm it! It just falls on me to keep us both breathing! And well...that's er..the only thing I'm kind of good for ahah!"
--
Sand dunes were literally the worst thing ever. Endless. Frustrating. A huge struggle. Quite terrible indeed. However there was one thing they made up for. As the priest climbed what he'd decided was not actually a sand dune but the smallest mountain of sand he'd ever seen, he saw something beautiful. Initially. Cresting the top of Mount let's destroy the desert and flood it forever the dune, the view turned into a sweeping scape of flatlands. Flat sand, really. A vast escape of sand that was all fairly even. The priest, resting his weight upon his staff and lightly panting with heavy chest rising and falling while the scorching air singed his lungs with burning presence, huffed as he began to straighten.
"Well that wasn't so bad honestly. Ha..ahah..ahhh..not so bad...ahh..at all. I just-what...is that..."
In the southern most corner of vision it roared. The faint rumbling and hissing nearly universal while the colossal veil of brown spread with mixing intensity. Torrents of wind blasted the great walls of blistering sand and churned angrily in the far distance. A literal force of nature that cared not for the presence of life and moved to rob all of the few precious gifts in the barren wastes of Nabbata.
|
|