Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Did you modify some dialogue from Tangled for this scene? Because if not, this sounds really familiar but we can't place it.
Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete
- Thread starter SoaringHawk218
- Start date
- Fantasy
Did you modify some dialogue from Tangled for this scene? Because if not, this sounds really familiar but we can't place it.
Jiven
With the power of the moon...
- Location
- Strasbourg, France
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
- Location
- Internet
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
Yep, that's exactly where that line comes from. I originally envisioned Kelton saying it, but Sypha seemed to fit a bit better.
Ryza, however, fits Rapunzel to a T (IMHO): young, isolated sunshine child out seeing the big world for the first time, learning how strong she really is and finding
The only thing that could have made the comparison easier was if she'd been a White manakete with the healing powers.
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
A Mother Gothel figure wouldn't hur...would make the comparison easier.
True, I suppose. However, Ryza's parents did genuinely love her, and she was lucky enough to find a surrogate family that likes her to. or so she thinks > : )
- Location
- Israel
Hello there, Fire Emblem fan (GBA era is the one I mostly play because that's what I have 
) and I really like the idea of seeing a noble's quest through a Manakete who awakens from a long slumber (i.e. Tiki).
I have been catching up to this quest during the weekend and it was really fun thus far. Refreshing and odd on not seeing the usual tactical turn-based style of fights with plenty of maps like other FE quests on SpaceBattles (which honestly look like a pain to make), or the very famous FE stats for characters.
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
By the way, this point of the story would be which chapter would we be at?
) and I really like the idea of seeing a noble's quest through a Manakete who awakens from a long slumber (i.e. Tiki).I have been catching up to this quest during the weekend and it was really fun thus far. Refreshing and odd on not seeing the usual tactical turn-based style of fights with plenty of maps like other FE quests on SpaceBattles (which honestly look like a pain to make), or the very famous FE stats for characters.
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
By the way, this point of the story would be which chapter would we be at?
@Qudrim8054 Probably only chapter 4, actually, since a lot of the story has been cutscenes/visual novel storytelling.
Prologue: Escape from Kepesk-Okar
Chapter 1: Rescuing Ardan from the bandits.
Chapter 2: The flight to Castle Legerius
Chapter 2x: Kelton's training fight
Chapter 3: Escape from Castle Legerius
Chapter 4: The infiltration and rescue of Sypha and Bernard
I considered trying to go with FE mechanics, but several people pointed out that it would be a pain, and I've had enough trouble with the mechanics as is. So I'm going more with the theme of a group of friends overcoming the oddsand growing to eventually face the big bad nope nope no problems like that, just some political intrigue!
I'm glad you like it.
EDIT: And don't knock the GBA games: other than FEH they'er the only ones I've played too.
Prologue: Escape from Kepesk-Okar
Chapter 1: Rescuing Ardan from the bandits.
Chapter 2: The flight to Castle Legerius
Chapter 2x: Kelton's training fight
Chapter 3: Escape from Castle Legerius
Chapter 4: The infiltration and rescue of Sypha and Bernard
I considered trying to go with FE mechanics, but several people pointed out that it would be a pain, and I've had enough trouble with the mechanics as is. So I'm going more with the theme of a group of friends overcoming the odds
I'm glad you like it.
EDIT: And don't knock the GBA games: other than FEH they'er the only ones I've played too.
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- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I tried once, using a version of the FE rules intended for forum RPs. It is absolutely a pain to make them.
Ryumancer
Dragons Are Romance
There are some actually pretty solid FE Tabletop RPG systems, like FEDIY, Heroes of Lite, and Bonds And Bloods. However, what works in tabletop format with a lot of Roll20 macros greasing the wheels doesn't necessarily translate well to a quest or forum RP format. Not sure if i'm allowed to link them (by the people who made 'em) so i'll err on the side of caution.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Seconding this opinion. I think Ziodyne managed to balance the company building with the tactical battles in a way that was really satisfying to play and read through. I can't imagine all the work that went on behind the scenes in order to run those battles though. That was a ton of rolling. As much as I loved it as a player and reader, I don't blame anyone that wouldn't want to run something like that. As for the vote...
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus primarily on the journey itself (Less likely to get temporarily lost.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Specifics on the relationship between the Kingdoms and the Empire.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
Focus was a bit of a toss up. Sypha is probably not going to be an issue, though Bernard might. I feel like he'd be more likely to be irritable if we get lost and so the sooner we can finish this part of the journey and get him into a position where he doesn't have to rely on us, the better for everyone.
On the questions, the big one in my mind is the human culture. All those things that really seemed to rub Bernard the wrong way with how we acted towards him and Sypha. Bernard has a bit of a stick up his ass, so maybe learning a little bit about why would be useful and help us to avoid pushing any buttons by accident. Doing it on purpose is fine, but we have to know what they are in order to do that.
He also seems like he'd be a good source of information on the politics behind everything.Fixed that for you.
Still useful information!Fixed that for you.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I mean, he went through like four different mechanical iterations before settling on Martial / Academic / Investigative / Diplomacy proficiencies; so much behind the scenes work and in front of the scenes work.
Not to mention filing the serial numbers off of multiple different characters and concepts from other games in the series.
It was good, and it offered a different angle on Fodlan long before 3 Hopes was anything more than a thought.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I was using Fire Emblem on Forums, which I've seen go really well in other people's games. But not Quest-type games; I think it could work like that, but not with the inconsistent spare time I have available. (I can definitely see it running less smoothly if players can't banter with each other between turns, though.)
Ashen also looks neat, though.
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So just giving everyone a heads-up on the vote. For simplicity's sake, I'm going to use the plan of questions with the most votes, rather than try to figure out which are the top questions.
Which means what's currently winning is Light/Friendly and talking about the past of your new friend and "friend".
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics on human magical abilities.
-[X] Specifics on the relationship between the Kingdoms and the Empire.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
Changing my vote because my question combination has no traction.
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics on human magical abilities.
-[X] Specifics on the relationship between the Kingdoms and the Empire.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
Changing my vote because my question combination has no traction.
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Specifics on the relationship between the Kingdoms and the Empire.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Specifics on the relationship between the Kingdoms and the Empire.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
As neat as it would have been to do the other thing, I'm not surprised.
Shifting vote-strategic mode to FPTP, since my unwieldy suggestion has zero support.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics on how Sypha and Bernard were taken by the Talons.
-[X] Specifics on why humans fear dragons so much.
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics on human culture.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
Vote closed
So vetoing Dragonstones and trying to keep your riders calm win in a landslide. As for your questions, asking about their pasts and smalltalk just barely squeak it out.
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Questions Asked, Questions Answered
[X] What do you focus on during the journey?
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
-[X] Focus on keeping Sypha and Bernard calm and happy (Less likely to inadvertently cause issues.)
[X] What lines of questioning do you ask? (Choose as many as you wish.)
-[X] Specifics about Sypha's past.
-[X] Specifics about Bernard's past.
-[X] Light, friendly topics.
[X] What ONE line of questions do you veto?
-[X] Specifics about your dragonstone.
"Let's take a walk. You can show me some of your memories and I'll show you some of mine."
-Sun-Speaker Mathias III
It feels nice, being back in the sky. You're tired, true; you've been awake most of the day and into the night, after all, but it's great to feel the wind on your wings again.
At first, you're a little concerned about the whimpered prayers from Sypha: if she really doesn't like flying this is going to be a much more uncomfortable journey. However, thankfully the soothing murmurs of Bernard, and the fact that you go out of your way to avoid any signs of turbulence or cross-breezes, finally seems to calm her down.
Glancing towards your back, you're surprised to see that Sypha seems to have fallen asleep. Her head is tucked into Bernard's neck, and now that you listen you can tell she's faintly snoring. You smile sadly: you suppose it makes sense, actually. For all the stress you've been under, she's had to endure far worse. It makes sense that, now that she's safe, she's crashing.
Bernard is holding her gently, making sure she doesn't fall off. The cold, suspicious lines of his face have softened, and he is looking at his cousin in the way Mother sometimes looked at you when you came to her after a nightmare or some other trouble that needed motherly affection to cure. You smile slightly; for all that he doesn't seem to like you very much, he clearly loves his cousin a lot.
Hopefully that will be enough to keep him mostly calm with your presence.
You blink as his smile fades away when he looks up at you. You start to open your mouth to ask what's wrong, but then you realize that, to someone who doesn't know dragon-form body language, a smile probably looks like bared teeth. You close your jaws and try to apologize with your eyes, flicking your gaze towards Sypha. He frowns, but after a long moment he nods back.
Not wanting to disrupt Sypha's well-needed rest, neither of you speak for the two hours you spend flying. Finally, you're forced to admit that you should probably stop: two hours of straight-line travel will have taken you well outside of any reasonable wyvern search pattern, especially since they don't know about your dragon-form. Hopefully Robin remembered to sweep up your claw prints like he had on the way here.
"Alright, hold on Bernard, we're going down," you say, taking one last look around to make sure you're not too close to any human habitation.
The noble boy nods, hugging Sypha closer. The girl mumbles something, but doesn't wake as you circle down. There's several places that might make a good temporary camp… there! That big tree looks like it has a root-structure that would let you take cover under it, that'll work great! It even has a little clear area so you won't have to push through any trees!
"And three, two, one…" you say as you flare your wings, tipping back to land on your back-legs first. Touchdown!
Sypha jerks on your back. "Wha-" she gasps.
"Shhh, cousin, shhh, everything's okay," Bernard says softly. "We've just found a good place to land."
"'mkay," Sypha groaned, blinking. "Where-"
"Just about two-hours north-east of where we were," you say, and the girl jerks nervously. "Don't worry, it's just me. Just Ryza." You press yourself to the ground. "Do you think you could climb off: my heart-form's not big enough to not be squished by the two of you."
The two humans mumble their agreement and, after a few seconds of work, are able to untangle themselves from your spines and slide off. As they walk around to get their ground-legs back, you shift back to heart-form and stretch. "That went well," you said cheerfully.
The pair stare at you. "Does it… ever get weird?" Sypha askes nervously. "Just… changing back and forwards like that."
You cock your head. "No?" you say. "Why would it: I'm still me either way. Just a bit different body shapes."
"A bit different?!" Bernard asks.
You sigh. "Look, we're all tired. Normally I just need an hour or two to rest and reset after a half-shift jump, but do you think we could take the rest of the night off this once? We all need some rest."
"I think that's a good idea," Sypha said, her eyelids drooping. "Thank you, Ryza."
A minute later, the three of you have found a semi-comfortable space under the tree roots, spreading the collection of cloaks Mantrae's people had given you to form a rough floor. Sypha was soon curled up and gently snoring again. "Get some rest, Ber- Lord Bernard," you say. "I'm alert enough to keep an eye out first."
The boy seems inclined to argue, but you can see that his eyes are drooping almost as much as Sypha's. Finally, he seems to accept the necessity. "Wake me when you need to rest," he said. "Sypha needs sleep more than I do."
You're not quite sure you agree with that, but you don't want to argue. "Alright," you say. "Sleep well."
As Bernard settles down next to Sypha, you get some pleasure out of watching her sleepily cuddle up next to him.
Human children are quite cute.
Question 1: Specifics about your powers.
Next morning, you grumble as you poke your head out from your bundled cloak to the light of the sun. It seemed Bernard had not woken you up for another watch as you'd told him to!
Bernard hadn't seemed too happy when you woke him up for his watch, but he hadn't complained, simply nodding. Gratefully, you'd covered yourself up and gone to sleep. A part of you had wanted to see if Sypha would accept your cuddles as well, but a combination of not wanting to make Bernard uncomfortable or appear too familiar prevented you from going through with it.
Looking around, you see that Sypha is still asleep. The poor girl must really have been out of it. Carefully uncurling yourself, you automatically reach for Thunder's Cry, which you'd left-
It isn't there.
Tensing, you look over to where Bernard is sitting next to the entrance. He studies you silently, your tablet in his hands.
Shifting, you make your way closer to him, careful not to move too fast or bang your head on the tree. He makes no move to avoid you, simply watching as you get closer. When you reach arm's length, you hold out your hand.
"If you please," you say, a note of venom creeping into your voice. "That's mine."
Bernard frowns. "I've seen something like this before," he says, turning it over in his hands. "Or at least heard-"
"I will be happy to tell you almost anything you want to know," you say. "If you merely ask. However, I do not appreciate you stealing one of the few things I have left of home." A part of you wants to pointedly summon up lightning, to prove that while Thunder's Cry is a useful tool, you do not need it to protect yourself.
However, you know that if you perpetuate this cycle of suspicion and thinly-veiled dislike, it will only make things worse in the long run. Instead, you force your voice to soften. "Please? Sypha asked you to trust me, are you going to disappoint her?"
The boy flinches slightly and glances over at his cousin. Sighing, he holds out the tablet for you to take. "My apologies," he says gruffly.
"Thank you," you say, taking the offering. "And I accept your apology."
Before Bernard could answer, Sypha moaned. "Mama?" she said, rolling over.
You and Bernard glance at each other. "I'm afraid Aunt Lindila isn't here, cousin," he says, moving over to kneel next to Sypha. "It's just Ryza and myself,"
The girl looks around before sighing. "I know… it was just a dream," she says before flinching. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so disappointed-"
"It's alright, Sypha," you say, smiling. "I know how much you want to go home, and I'll make sure you get there as soon as I can." Bernard frowns slightly, but nods.
The human girl forces herself to smile. "Thank you, both of you," she says, crawling over to join you both in the light. "Have you been waiting for me long?"
Bernard shakes his head. "No, the sun just came up about an hour ago," he says. "Both you and Ryza seemed to need your sleep."
Sypha frowns at him. "Did you get any?" she asks.
"Enough," Bernard says. "I assume we are going to continue flying, so the most important person to rest is Ryza." He looks at you. "We should get going; while it is unlikely that the wyvern will reach this far out while searching, it is not impossible. The sooner we leave, the better. Unless you think you can kill it."
You shrug. "I might be able to," you say between bites. "But I'd probably have to use my full dragon-form to do it, and I've only used that a little outside of practice with Mother. I'd prefer to avoid any fights if possible."
"That sounds good to me too," Sypha says nervously, looking up at the sky. "So do you have to do that hour long magical thing again?"
You nod. "Yep," you say, pulling a pouch of meat out of your pack and offering it around, "once we're done with breakfast, that is. I'm hungry."
Sypha giggles and nods. "Me too," she says.
Breakfast is thankfully calm. As the three of you finish eating and you carefully get your dragonstone out to begin your transformation (still keeping it under Thunder's Cry,) Bernard cocks his head. "So what can a dragon do?" he asks.
"Manakete," you correct automatically. "And what do you mean?"
He rolls his eyes. "Well, you can obviously transform into a dragon," he said. "Do you need to do this whole song and dance every time."
You bite back a snarky comment that you're not a Green manakete: you don't dance. Instead, you simply kneel and start focusing. "No, I only need to do this to half-shift," you say. "When I'm just transforming normally, it only takes a second or two, but that means heart-me's not fully in control anymore."
Sypha looks down from where's she'd been peering nervously into the sky. "What do you mean?" she asks.
You consider your words as lightning begins to coil around you. "Well, dragon-me is me, but she's the me that's very… emotional and short-sighted. She won't hurt anyone I care about or anything like that, not unless something goes really wrong, but…" You sigh. "When I was escaping Castle Legerius with Artemis… I might have been able to find Axton and Lancel and Kelton as well, but when I transformed… I was just so scared that I didn't even think of trying. I just wanted to grab Artemis and get out of there."
The noble girl frowns sadly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," she says.
"It's not your fault," you say. "And we're going to make sure that everyone's okay, right. Everyone gets to go home." Except you, because your home's gone, but you don't think about that too much.
Bernard, meanwhile, continues frowning. "So what can your real dragon do that this… 'half-shift' can't," he asks.
"Well, I'm stronger, for one thing," you say. "My full-shifted dragon form could probably have carried both of you, Robin, Kelton, and maybe Claire as well, at least for a little while. It would have been awkward, but I could have done it." You shrug. "Besides that… well, my lighting breath's a lot more dangerous in my true dragon form. I can do it half-shifted, but it's just about as strong as my normal casting. My scales are tougher. In general, I'm just a lot stronger and more alert. More decisive, too. Heart-me doesn't really like fighting, but if dragon-me's threatened, she will respond."
"I see…" Bernard says, watching you warily.
Sypha, glancing between both of you, interjects in an overly cheery voice. "So what other cool things can you do, Ryza," she asks. "When you're normal you?"
"I'm always normal me," you say. "But in my heart-form, I can theoretically cast all colors of magic, though I haven't had a chance to learn any others yet. I was thinking about learning White magic so I can heal people, but I couldn't fit the scroll in when I was packing to come and get you."
The girl's eyes lit up. "Really?" she gasped. "That's so cool! I'm always begging Mistress Flarestone to show off some magic, but she's always so busy keeping everything magical in the castle running! Can you do anything else with magic besides make lighting?"
You shake your head sadly. "Not yet," you say. "I haven't had a chance to do more than skim the scroll I grabbed on magic. But I know there are a lot of cool rituals that I'll be able to learn that make life so much easier. And runewrighting, I'm really looking forwards to digging into that once we get back to Agrithe! That's what Father did, but he didn't get a chance to teach me much either."
Sypha starts to reach over to pat you on the shoulder, but stops before getting too close to the lightning. "I'm sure you'll do great, Ryza," she says. "And if you need to ask anyone anything, then I'm sure the Agrithian mages will be able to help you. One of Mistress Flarestone's jobs is to keep all of the various runes maintained, make sure there's not too much bleed-off from the fuel, so they know what they're doing."
You consider asking a bit more about that, you're still curious about how human magic works, but you don't want to get too distracted from the half-shifting ritual. "Interesting," you say simply.
Bernard leans back, folding his arms. "So, any other special powers you have? The tablet?"
"Not really," you say. "I'm a person, just like you. I'm just a manakete rather than a human: I can cast magic, I can fly, I can turn into a dragon." You shrug. "I know this is all strange to you, but for me it's just… being me." You nod to Thunder's Cry. "And this is just a focus for my Yellow magic: I don't really need it, but it helps a lot."
Thankfully, it seems the others are willing to take the time to ponder over what they've learned rather than continue to pester you with questions. Sypha is once again watching you with fascination, while Bernard seems… somewhat mollified. At least he isn't glaring at you as suspiciously as before.
Finally, the ritual reaches its peak and you shift back into your dragon form, stretching. "Alright, I don't hear anything," you say, crouching. "Come on, hop an and let's get going, you'll be able to see so much better now that it's light out!
Sypha smiles and clambers up onto your back, seemingly happier with the idea. "Just like a Whitewing?" she asks.
You laugh. "Yep, just like a Whitewing," you say. "When I was talking with Daniella and Manuela and Sara, they told me a Lady Seryph story. Do you know any of those?"
Bernard rolls his eyes, but smiles slightly as Sypha grins. "Of course! I love those stories." Her grin turns into a dry pout. "They told you the spider one, didn't they? Or at least Manuela did."
"Yeah. Sara didn't like it very much."
"She never does," Sypha said, shaking her head. "Manuela gets far too much pleasure out of teasing her sister." She helps Bernard get settled behind her. "So, do you want to hear another one?"
"Yeah! Do you know any good ones? I heard the Rena and James one from Artemis…"
"Aww, I would have loved to tell that one, it's so romantic!" Sypha pouted. "But how about the time Lady Seryph discovered the lost treasure of the great Republican pirate Longtooth Gold?"
Bernard sighed. "You do realize that almost all chroniclers agree that story never-"
Sypha quickly put a finger on Bernard's lips. "Hush, don't let your facts interfere with my fantasy, cousin! Not when it comes to Lady Seryph stories! It happened for me, and that's enough."
You kind of want to dispute this strange interpretation of reality, but then again, you also want to hear the story. "Sure, I'd love to hear it," you say as you take off, scanning the sky. You're alone up here, thankfully, and so you turn back north-east and keep flying.
The day of flight, punctuated by a few stops to rest and recast the half-shifting ritual, is… simply fun. Not only do you get to hear several more Lady Seryph stories, but you get to tell a few of your own. Sypha seems to like Marikara's Wish, the story of the time the manakete child climbed a mountain to wish for the ability to help people, only to keep getting distracted helping people on the way. Even Bernard frowned thoughtfully as you told the part where Marikara scrambled through a narrow cleft in a cliff in order to help a human woman get medical herbs for her child.
You're not sure if it's this that part of the story that does it, or just your and Sypha begging, but the boy even consents to tell a few stories he knows. You listen, enthralled, to the story of the Seven Riders, the group of dishonored cavaliers who banded together to save a town from the lord who had betrayed them.
True, they'd all died by the end, but they held out long enough for the "Wyrmguard" to arrive and save the townsfolk, so you suppose the story counts as "dramatically tragic" rather than just sad.
Ultimately… the fact that Bernard was opening up to you at all made the day a success in your mind.
Question 2: Specifics about your own past.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, could I know a bit more about the two of you?" you ask the next day.
"What do you mean?" Bernard asked.
"It's just, I'm curious about your stories," you say. "Other than Artemis, you're the two people closest to my own relative age that I've spent a long time with. I'm hoping that we can be friends, despite the… rocky, introduction we had." You glance back at them. "So would you tell me about yourselves?"
Sypha smiles. "Sure, Ryza," she says. "I'm Sypha Mantrae, but you already know that. I'm eleven years old. I can't do magic like you, but Mama's been teaching me numbers and how to manage Legerius. I also like playing the harp and singing."
"Really?" you ask. "Mother would sing to me sometimes, but Father and I were mostly tone-deaf. I can hum a little!"
The girl pats you on the neck. "I'd love to hear it sometime," she says. "But what else… well, I like traveling. I love Legerius, it's my home, but I've always heard about everything more out there. The endless Ocean of Grass, the shining pillars of Wyrmrise, the mages of Marble Hall… there's just so many fascinating places I've only ever read or heard about, but I want to see them!" She shifts. "I… I know it's kind of selfish…"
You see Bernard patting her on the shoulder. "Learning more about the world is not selfish," he says. "Though I would recommend looking at the Ocean of Grass from a safe distance: Felinceians live up there.
"Felinceians?" you ask.
"A species of people that can turn into large cats," Sypha says. "Apparently they're not very friendly, but I'm sure if-"
Beranrd shook his head. "It's been tried before," he says. "And in some cases there have even been temporary truces, but they've never lasted long. Felinceians are suspicious of humans, and I will acknowledge that there have been numerous times when humans have wronged them, so they are… not unreasonable, in their suspicions."
Your thoughts race: you've never heard of anything like this! Transforming people… maybe they're related to Manakete somehow! However, as you glance back and see Sypha deflate a bit, you decide to try and keep up the happy camaraderie that you'd been working to develop. "What's life in Legerius like? I didn't spend much time there, but most of the people seemed nice."
"They are," Sypha said. "I know I'm a little biased, since I'm the Countess's daughter, but everyone goes out of their way to be really nice to me." She sighs. "Probably because I'm the only daughter Mama's going to have…" Bernard pats her shoulder.
You frown. "Why?"
The girl chews her lip for a few seconds before carefully answering. "I… was not an easy baby, being born. Something… went wrong… Both Mama and I survived, but… well, there's a reason I'm an only child."
What was wrong with human reproduction!? Why did things like that keep happening?! "Aren't there healers?" you ask. "Someone who can… can make things better?"
Sypha shakes her head sadly. "No. Mama tried everything, but whatever went wrong, it's beyond any healer's skill."
You frown: surely a White manakete would be able to do it. It was written that, whenever there was a malady or injury too severe for another Tribe, the sufferer would go to a White, and they would be cured with the Mother's blessing. Maybe if you could find an older White somewhere…
Sypha pats you on the neck again. "It's okay, Ryza," she says. "I have Mama, I have Bernie, I have all my friends and the people of Legerius. I'm not lonely." She glances over her shoulder. "What about you, Bernie?"
The boy sighs, but nods. "I am Bernard Rickman," he says. "I am fourteen years old, and I have two siblings," He grimaces. "My elder brother, Burke Rickman, is twenty-three and the heir apparent, and my younger sister Rima Rickman is only four, so it falls to me to escort Sypha when she comes visiting. She is family, after all, and so family must see to her safety." He grimaces. "Other than that… since I don't stand to inherit, it is expected of me to train to become a cavalier, and I do not dislike that expectation."
A bit bare-bones, but you can work with it. "So you ride horses a lot?" you ask. "I'm still not used to them; they scare me."
Both humans stare at you. "Ryza… you realize you could eat them, right?" Sypha says.
"Dragon-me, sure," you say. "But heart-me's a lot smaller and softer than a similarly-sized human, and they're so big! And bulky; pegasi are much more slender…"
Sypha nodded. "You did say you grew up in the Icewalls, so you probably saw lots of pegasi flying around," she says. "Have you ever ridden one?"
You shake your head. "No, they're too fast," you say. "I did like looking at them, though."
The girl giggles. "They are very beautiful," she says. "I've mostly gotten over my I-want-to-be-a-Whitewing phase, though flying with you might be reawakening it." Bernard rolls his eyes and mutters something about girls, only to oof as Sypha elbows him. "Rude!" she says before looking back at you. "So if you don't mind me asking, what about you, Ryza? What's your story?"
You bank to avoid a patch of open sky over a group of people you spot on the road below: no Talons, but you don't want to have too many rumors flying around about you. "Well, I'm Ryza," you say, bracing yourself for what's about to happen. "I'm ninety-three years old-"
Both humans jerk on your back, and you shift to make sure neither of them fall. "Nine- but that's impossible!" Bernard squawks. "That would-"
"Make me about six times your age," you say dryly. "Yes, I had this conversation with Artemis before, but it's true. I'm a manakete, we age more slowly. I was barely walking when I was Sypha's age, and only starting to flutter around a bit when I was your age." You jerk your head towards the mountains to the south. "I grew up in one of those mountains, you can't really see it from here, but it's one of the bigger ones."
"I'm sorry, I'm still stuck on you being ninety!" Sypha squeaks. "You look like you're younger than me!"
You shrug. "I'm pretty sure I am, relatively. Humans age and develop faster, manakete age and develop slower. I haven't had time to really figure it out, things have been a little hectic, but that's the only thing that makes sense. Do you want to hear my story or not?"
The two gape at you for a moment before Bernard slowly nods. "Y-yes," he says. "Please."
A bit pleased with yourself that you managed to shock him into listening to you, you continue. "Well, that's where I grew up. There were once a lot of manakete that lived there, but I only really remember myself, Father and Mother. They raised me, they taught me everything I know about magic and life and everything…" You slump slightly, dropping a few meters in the air. Shaking yourself out of your stupor, you flap hard enough to rise back up as the humans grab onto you worridly. "Then… then there was an argument. A bunch of other manakete showed up, demanded that Mother accept something, and she didn't like it one bit. A few months later… they came back, and there was a fight. Mother held them off while Father took me to a shrine to seal me away, so that I would be safe. The fact that they didn't wake me up means… means that they must have been killed. I slept there, in stasis, until Artemis found me while she was running away from the Talons who had tried to kidnap her."
Sypha's warm hand runs along your neck again. "Oh, Ryza… I'm so sorry…" she whispers.
You force yourself to smile. "I'll be okay," you whisper. "It… hurts, a lot, but I'll be okay. Artemis's family has offered me a home in Agrithe, a place to get back on my feet. I do like her a lot, I think I'll be happy there." You glance back. "And we can get to know each other as well, and when you go home, maybe I'll be able to visit you too?"
The girl smiles. "Of course, Ryza," she whispers. "Of course you can visit me."
Bernard's shock has faded into a thoughtful frown. "You say other dragons were the ones that killed your parents?" he says.
You roll your eyes; you don't think he's deliberately misnaming you. He's probably just so used to calling your people dragons that he doesn't even think about it. This does not mean it's not irritating. "Manakete. And yes."
Slowly, he leans back, seemingly lost in thought. "What is it, Bernie?" Sypha asks.
"I'm… not sure," he says. "Ryza, when did all this happen?"
You shrug again. "I don't really know, I wasn't awake, but Artemis suspects it was about a thousand years ago."
"And you're certain it was your kind that killed your parents. Not wyverns?"
You hiss angrily. "I know the difference between a wyvern and a dragon-form. They were transformed manakete; no number of wyverns could beat Mother in an enclosed environment: she'd have ripped them apart one by one. They'd have to surround her in the air to do it, and she wouldn't be dumb enough to fight them outside." Unless her dragon-self became utterly enraged… but Mother was… had been, an old and cunning dragon-self. She wouldn't have fallen for that old trick, would she?
The rest of the day passes in tense silence.
Question 3: Specifics on manakete culture.
The next day, as you're getting ready to cast your ritual, Sypha speaks up. "Ryza… could you tell me about man… mahi…"
"Mah. Nah. Keet," you enunciate carefully.
Sypha nods. "Sorry, I just can't wrap my tongue around it," she says. "Could you tell me about your people as a people?"
You cock your head. "Sure. Why?"
She scuffs at the ground, frowning. "It's just… the stories you told… the way you are… that doesn't fit with a lot of the stories I've heard about dragons." You start to open your mouth to correct her, but she raises a hand. "Yes, I know, but that's the point. The fact that I've never even heard that word before means… means something got lost, somehow." She looks up at you. "I… I know someone, who's part of a group of scholars that are arguing that the old stories aren't the full truth. I think… I think that Mistress Flarestone would be really interested to get your view on events."
You search your memory. "Isn't that your mother's mage?" you ask.
Sypha nods. "Yes. She's a big proponent of the Revisionist movement. She went on a big dig during her time at the Marble Hall, and from what she's said the things she saw completely changed her view on dra- on mannis. Any species that could make such beautiful artwork… could dig such an extensive city… they couldn't be the mindless beasts described in the stories…"
Bernard frowned. "Countless burned and shattered human cities say otherwise," he says. "The Lake of Pillars. The Plain of Scattered Ash. Sundered Mountain. Pretty much every town around the Black Forest..."
"Humans have burned human cities before," Sypha says gently. "Maybe… maybe that was just some mah-ni- Ryza's people, who were doing that. Maybe that's what her mother and the others were fighting about."
You lean back thoughtfully, spinning Thunder's Cry in your hands. "I don't remember hearing anything about humans," you say. "But Father said that a lot of people were afraid, that something bad was happening. He said something about a war, when he was putting me to sleep, but he didn't have a chance to elaborate."
The three of you sit in silence for a few moments as you juggle your stone and tablet. There have been a few close calls when transforming, and you're pretty sure that you won't be able to keep it secret forever, no matter what you want.
Thankfully, today you have a ready-made distraction. "Well, manakete were not as unified as I've heard humans are," you say, beginning your ritual. "For the most part, we think in terms of family and blood-tribe. Each blood-tribe had their own hold and hunting grounds, Families were usually small, one or two children and parents, but blood-tribes could often rise into the dozens of families. My home, Kepesk-Okar, could comfortably fit more than a hundred manakete."
"But it was just you and your parents?" Sypha asks. You nod sadly.
"Was there any sort of over-arching structure?" Bernard asks. "Rulers, kingdoms?"
You shake your head. "Not in the way you're thinking," you say. "There were elders who were called on to mediate disputes, especially within a Color-Tribe. The closest translation to your language is Lord or Lady, but I don't think it's quite right. There was also the Arbiter, the ultimate judge who made sure arguments between tribes didn't get out of hand. They could ask manakete to do things for them, and most would agree out of respect, but it wasn't like nobility, who can order people to do things."
Bernard frowns. "That seems highly inefficient," he says.
"On the contrary, it means that we didn't have to wait for someone across the continent to tell us what to do," you say. "If Mother needed another passage dug in the mountain, she and Father got together and did it. If we'd had family around, it would just be a quick debate about where to put it. It's very efficient."
The two of you stare at each other for a few moments before Sypha cuts in nervously. "So… what sort of things did manakete value?" she asks. "You mentioned disputes-"
"Mostly hunting, from what I read," you say. "About ninety percent of arguments were over who got to hunt in which bit of territory. Not anything worth hurting anyone over, but enough to require that it be sorted out before bad blood began to build. Other than that, a few arguments over who got to publish certain pieces of work, who thought of something first, who got to name a ritual, that sort of thing."
The humans glance at each other. "That… doesn't seem like something that would lead to other people coming to kill your parents," Bernard says.
You slump. "No… I guess something else was going on, something I didn't read about," you say. "And now I don't know if there are even any other manakete around to tell me what happened…"
"I'm sorry…" Sypha says.
You shake your head and force yourself to smile. "It's okay, Sypha, it's not your fault," you say. "Maybe… maybe a journal or something survived at home, something I can find." You sigh. "It's a bit ruined… but surely something survived…"
Sypha scoots as close to you as the lighting allows. "Well, if you do find anything, I'll be really curious to hear it," she says. "Though probably not as curious as Mistress Flarestone'll be. I wouldn't be surprised if she immediately rushes to wherever you are to interview you the second I mention you to her." She pauses before continuing more quietly. "Unless… you don't want me to tell her about you…"
You pause to consider… what did you want?
[] Allow Sypha to tell this people she trusts what you told her. Maybe, if you can get some allies, you can convince humans that they don't have to be scared of you.
[] Ask Sypha not to tell anyone. You're not ready for knowledge of your nature to start becoming more common. You'll also ask Bernard not to tell, though you're not sure he'll agree to it…
As you lift off almost forty minutes later, you look around. It's been a while since you left Robin, and while you have been flying in the right direction, you have to take a moment to get your bearings…
AN: Roll a d10 to see how well Ryza's done with staying on course.
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