Wait, what? I've always killed the dragons that show up? Will something happen if I don't kill them?
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Twisting Paths
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Doesn't really work on casters. Healing and cure poison spells mean that you need something like nerve gas to do jack and shit, and I wouldn't put it past a master restoration mage to make a resist poison spell rated for sarin or VX anyway.
Zerg rush. Across a narrow bridge with no railings and a huge drop. In whiteout conditions and a strong wind. Against people who shoot exploding fireballs. Do you see a problem with this plan?
Night doesn't help. Magic gate says they're not getting in unless it's open, which means they're charging through a murderous killzone because there is someone at the gate flinging fireballs.
The mages murder them, that's what. Lots of hitscan aimbot lightning spells.
Oh, that's boring.
27
The look on the vampire's face was hilarious as I let loose my frost breath, catching a dozen of them. They didn't take as much damage as I expected, but they were still driven back, ice forming across their bodies before I pounced, leaving Witcher and Paladin to cover the door outside.
Some of the vampires disappeared, turning invisible so I quickly cast the see magic spell while spinning in place, making a bunch of vampires go flying as they were hit by my tail, a dozen others dying as they caught the razor edges of my armored wings.
Spells flew at me, smashing against my armor, some kind of red spray magic just kind of flowed along the metal, frost spikes and fireballs shattering against it.
They did very little.
This armor was as much of a masterpiece as my weapon and made to fight demons, not some fucking vampire wannabees.
Even so, there were a lot of them and some of the enchantments started to weaken beneath the bombardment.
Ducking away from a fireball, I pounced into the next closest group of vampires, thrashing and slashing with my claws, battering a couple away from me with my wings as the dead started to rise from the piles by the walls.
Purple energy surrounded the bodies as they pulled their daggers, their hands lighting up in spells.
Okay, that's fucking bad. My armor was tough, but not that fucking tough. Note to self: Add some actual weapons to it in the future. I never did get the built in mana lasers to work.
Fine.
You could handle frost, how about this then? Turning I channeled my magic, twisting and weaving it into a spell before I let loose a torrent of thick flame into the crowd.
The vampires screamed and turned to dust, their resurrected mages burned like tinder as they tried to charge me or cast spells.
I raised a wing like a shield against the spells as I turned my head, keeping the spell going as the inferno spread through the room.
Vampires and undead lit up like torches and I cut through, pouncing through a group of burning undead to slam into the big leader.
He ducked my first swipe, his hands glowing an unhealthy dark purple as he threw himself at me, his claws leaving deep gouges in my armor as I shook him off, spinning around to face him again.
Snarling beneath my helmet, I slowly sidled to the right, idly swatting a surviving vampire to the side with my tail.
"You ruined everything… what are you!? What are you!?" Lord Harkon snarled at me, dark energies whirling around his hands as he started to seem surrounded by swarms of bats.
"Die in ignorance!" I snarled back and let loose a stream of flame at him.
There was a flash of darkness and he was out of the way of the flame, launching himself at me from the side.
I lashed out with my wing towards him, his claws and energy clashing with the armor and I could feel the claws ripping into the skin on my left wing before I flung him back and against the wall.
The vampire lord smashed against the heavy stone with a meaty thud of snapping bone before he dropped.
I didn't give him time to recover and pounced like a one ton cat, slamming my claws down into his chest and then crushing his head with my other paw.
Snarling I flung the remains to the side as they started to turn to dust and spun around to see Paladin and Witcher holding off the last four very lucky vampires.
A heavily burned but still struggling vampire was crushed beneath my claws as I stalked over to where Alexis hung in her bonds and I twitched my head, causing my armor to retract into its normal dragon armor mode, leaving my head uncovered.
"Alexis?" I asked as I reached her, giving her a bump on the side of the head with my snout, "Wake up."
No reaction, but she was still breathing.
I wove my magic, returning to human form, and put my hand on her chin, raising her head. She was asleep, not knocked out. Some kind of spell on her.
She looked relatively unhurt, even if she would clearly have bruises.
My white mana may be low, but I was still good on green. Taking an acorn from my satchel, I held it up to the chains holding her up and urged it to grow. The wood flowed through the links, shattering the chain.
I was just barely able to catch her as she fell. Carrying a limp body is surprisingly unwieldy even if she was way lighter than I expected her to be.
Carefully picking her up, I turned to see Witcher dance under a blow from one of the vampires, his blade flicking and taking its hand and then head off, leaving us the only ones in the cavern that were not a pile of dust or dead.
Carrying her past them out into the tunnels, I then motioned for Paladin with my head, pushing my meaning at her.
She quickly nodded and removed her cloak, setting it down on the smooth ground, allowing me to set Alexis down.
Then I gathered what Blue mana that I had managed to get back from claiming the Augur summon into a dispel as precise and powerful as I could before touching her forehead.
There was a split second of glowing blue light sweeping over her before she gasped and arched her back, her eyes flicking open and flashing white, her hand grabbing at my neck.
I caught her wrist, "Alexis, you are safe."
She panted, staring up at me with wide eyes for long moments before she blinked, the white light in her eyes winking out.
"…Atreus?"
"It's me. You are safe."
Licking her lips, she then swallowed and struggled to sit up, scooting to get her back against the wall before rubbing her wrists, "Fuck, my everything is killing me."
Not surprising.
"What happened?" she asked with a frown at me.
"It's a long story. Think you can walk?"
She nodded and moved to get up, "I can fucking walk out of here," before she groaned and grimaced, sinking back down. Her eyes started to glow white once more, "…give me a moment, I may need to heal first."
Paladin moved to assist her.
AN// Big thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this part.
Some of the vampires disappeared, turning invisible so I quickly cast the see magic spell while spinning in place, making a bunch of vampires go flying as they were hit by my tail, a dozen others dying as they caught the razor edges of my armored wings.
Spells flew at me, smashing against my armor, some kind of red spray magic just kind of flowed along the metal, frost spikes and fireballs shattering against it.
They did very little.
This armor was as much of a masterpiece as my weapon and made to fight demons, not some fucking vampire wannabees.
Even so, there were a lot of them and some of the enchantments started to weaken beneath the bombardment.
Ducking away from a fireball, I pounced into the next closest group of vampires, thrashing and slashing with my claws, battering a couple away from me with my wings as the dead started to rise from the piles by the walls.
Purple energy surrounded the bodies as they pulled their daggers, their hands lighting up in spells.
Okay, that's fucking bad. My armor was tough, but not that fucking tough. Note to self: Add some actual weapons to it in the future. I never did get the built in mana lasers to work.
Fine.
You could handle frost, how about this then? Turning I channeled my magic, twisting and weaving it into a spell before I let loose a torrent of thick flame into the crowd.
The vampires screamed and turned to dust, their resurrected mages burned like tinder as they tried to charge me or cast spells.
I raised a wing like a shield against the spells as I turned my head, keeping the spell going as the inferno spread through the room.
Vampires and undead lit up like torches and I cut through, pouncing through a group of burning undead to slam into the big leader.
He ducked my first swipe, his hands glowing an unhealthy dark purple as he threw himself at me, his claws leaving deep gouges in my armor as I shook him off, spinning around to face him again.
Snarling beneath my helmet, I slowly sidled to the right, idly swatting a surviving vampire to the side with my tail.
"You ruined everything… what are you!? What are you!?" Lord Harkon snarled at me, dark energies whirling around his hands as he started to seem surrounded by swarms of bats.
"Die in ignorance!" I snarled back and let loose a stream of flame at him.
There was a flash of darkness and he was out of the way of the flame, launching himself at me from the side.
I lashed out with my wing towards him, his claws and energy clashing with the armor and I could feel the claws ripping into the skin on my left wing before I flung him back and against the wall.
The vampire lord smashed against the heavy stone with a meaty thud of snapping bone before he dropped.
I didn't give him time to recover and pounced like a one ton cat, slamming my claws down into his chest and then crushing his head with my other paw.
Snarling I flung the remains to the side as they started to turn to dust and spun around to see Paladin and Witcher holding off the last four very lucky vampires.
A heavily burned but still struggling vampire was crushed beneath my claws as I stalked over to where Alexis hung in her bonds and I twitched my head, causing my armor to retract into its normal dragon armor mode, leaving my head uncovered.
"Alexis?" I asked as I reached her, giving her a bump on the side of the head with my snout, "Wake up."
No reaction, but she was still breathing.
I wove my magic, returning to human form, and put my hand on her chin, raising her head. She was asleep, not knocked out. Some kind of spell on her.
She looked relatively unhurt, even if she would clearly have bruises.
My white mana may be low, but I was still good on green. Taking an acorn from my satchel, I held it up to the chains holding her up and urged it to grow. The wood flowed through the links, shattering the chain.
I was just barely able to catch her as she fell. Carrying a limp body is surprisingly unwieldy even if she was way lighter than I expected her to be.
Carefully picking her up, I turned to see Witcher dance under a blow from one of the vampires, his blade flicking and taking its hand and then head off, leaving us the only ones in the cavern that were not a pile of dust or dead.
Carrying her past them out into the tunnels, I then motioned for Paladin with my head, pushing my meaning at her.
She quickly nodded and removed her cloak, setting it down on the smooth ground, allowing me to set Alexis down.
Then I gathered what Blue mana that I had managed to get back from claiming the Augur summon into a dispel as precise and powerful as I could before touching her forehead.
There was a split second of glowing blue light sweeping over her before she gasped and arched her back, her eyes flicking open and flashing white, her hand grabbing at my neck.
I caught her wrist, "Alexis, you are safe."
She panted, staring up at me with wide eyes for long moments before she blinked, the white light in her eyes winking out.
"…Atreus?"
"It's me. You are safe."
Licking her lips, she then swallowed and struggled to sit up, scooting to get her back against the wall before rubbing her wrists, "Fuck, my everything is killing me."
Not surprising.
"What happened?" she asked with a frown at me.
"It's a long story. Think you can walk?"
She nodded and moved to get up, "I can fucking walk out of here," before she groaned and grimaced, sinking back down. Her eyes started to glow white once more, "…give me a moment, I may need to heal first."
Paladin moved to assist her.
AN// Big thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this part.
I wonder what happened to Serana. Something obviously went awry with the timeline. Was she ever freed from the crypt or is she just stuck there for however long it takes for it takes someone to discover her by pure chance?
Poor Harkon forever doomed to be foiled by a dragon one second before his plan comes to fruition.
Serpentine
Dark Arts Enthusiast
- Location
- The Tower of Ghenjei
Well. I guess Harkon was even more insignificant than I thought he'd be, I couldn't even call that a fight.
pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
He got jumped by a dragon in magitech semipowered armor. Even without the integrated beam cannons that's still not a fun place to be.
OK, so. Were there other safrices? Where are the mages and townspeople of winterhold?
Atrigos just interrupted a cabal of vampires conducting a ritual of human sacrifice to the daedric prince of domination. What do you think happened to the townspeople?
- Location
- Software
Thanks
Oh, and new laptop acquired. Previous generation Lenovo Thinkpad 11e. Small, compact, robust and while not fast, it's far, far from slow and I like the keyboard.
Perfect for what I will be using it on. Now when I can write on the go, i can stop slipping behind on my writing and might actually be able to catch up again. I have barely been able to write at all for weeks other than the weekends.
Thanks to everyone that donate to the Patreon, it help a lot.
Perfect for what I will be using it on. Now when I can write on the go, i can stop slipping behind on my writing and might actually be able to catch up again. I have barely been able to write at all for weeks other than the weekends.
Thanks to everyone that donate to the Patreon, it help a lot.
Last edited:
Itsune
Eldritch horror, Ship's Cat, Emergency Gunner.
- Location
- Somewhere in King County Washington
They just became Kind of Crispy... The Vampires had eaten the City... Stupid Vampires...
You have got to remember that The Vampiric Version of recruitment of armed forces is to move into a city, and Kill everything, then raise the useful bits of the population palceing them under full Thrall of mind/spirit/soul control/slavery.
Victory against Vampires is Pyric even at the best of Victories.
You end up having to Kill then burn your wounded before they turn and bite you.
You have got to remember that The Vampiric Version of recruitment of armed forces is to move into a city, and Kill everything, then raise the useful bits of the population palceing them under full Thrall of mind/spirit/soul control/slavery.
Victory against Vampires is Pyric even at the best of Victories.
You end up having to Kill then burn your wounded before they turn and bite you.
So they have already been safriced, yes. Where are the bodies.
When Atregos attacked, they started rising, Zombie mages burn just as readily as vampires. relevant bits highlighted.
28
Alexis rubbed the back of her neck as we walked back out into the College, "Atreus, my weapons… did you…"
I shook my head, "I'm sorry. I didn't see them."
To be fair, I had been more worried about getting her out than finding her sword.
"Damn." She sighed and glanced backwards before shaking her head and walking out into the clear air, "…Master Goldmane bought me that sword."
Nodding, I motioned for Paladin and Witcher along with Rogue to turn around and head back inside, "I'll see if they can find it."
"…Thanks." Alexis said and rubbed her forehead, "Thank you. For getting me out of that."
"Not like I would leave you there."
She shook her head, "No, I mean…" before she sighed, "I can't believe I got captured like that."
"…Take it from an expert on the subject, it happens to the best of us." I said and shook my head with a smile, "Do you still have the note?"
Alexis shook her head, "I don't think so, I must have dropped it when… whatever it was grabbed me. Let's look around, see if we can find it."
"Here." I said and pulled out my gun, spinning it over and offering her the handle, "Until they find yours or your sword."
"Thank you." Alexis answered and took it, quickly checking it before looking at me, "…Forgot to reload, did you?"
"It wasn't that useful against the vampires in any case." I protested while handing my spare magazine over. I did in fact forget to reload. Even if it was not that useful, I should have done so before I put it away.
Oops.
"Mhmm."
"Maidens in distress don't get to object over how they were rescued!"
Alexis just reloaded the gun and walked back in through the door and I frowned slightly after her. I expected a comment back to that one. She was not as okay as she pretended to be.
I knew that I sure as hell was not okay after I was captured and had to be rescued. Every time, but especially the last time.
The demons…
I had nightmares.
Letting my breath out, I started to look around, kicking through the drifts of snow looking for a piece of parchment.
That damn thing may have been anywhere, it was windy, it might have blown away. If we couldn't find it, there was nothing to do but return to Azeroth.
We couldn't comb the infinite multiverse in the hope to find him or anyone else that could and would be willing to help. We only had five months at the very most and Walking wasn't something you could do quickly.
I needed to get back there. Those five months were the maximum upper limit, but the longer we took, the less time there would be to plan and prepare, to find a way to save the world and Kalecgos.
Stopping, I turned to look out over the frozen sea, leaning against the stone, running my fingers through the snow. Even with Ajani on our side…
I knew he was powerful, anyone that could kill a dragon, even a Tamriel dragon, with one spell was not weak.
Holding the snow up, I let it run through my fingers. But it was the Burning Legion. We couldn't fight them. Not with our power, which was why I built the Weapon in the first place.
Even Kalecgos didn't have a chance while supported by thousands of dragons and even more mortals.
"Sir," Paladin said as she walked up next to me, "We did not find the weapons. They may have been lost somewhere in the tunnels as she was dragged down there. Should we continue the search?"
"No. Thank you, you are dismissed." I said and unsummoned them for now, looking back over the frozen ice stretching out to the horizon.
It reminded me of the sea by the Nexus. I almost felt like going swimming, but it wouldn't be the same without Rengosa hunting next to me.
"Atreus. Found it." Alexis said and moved up next to me, leaning against the railing next to me, "My weapons?"
I shook my head, "Lost. They couldn't find them."
"Shit. Okay, fine."
"At least I got you out," I said, forcing a smile, my mind still stuck on the mental image of infinite demons.
"Yeah." She said and looked out over the frozen sea, handing the note over.
Unfolding it, I read through it quickly.
'Alexis.
If you need me, I am at Kaladesh, the city of Ghirapur.
Ajani Goldmane.'
"Kaladesh?" I asked with a frown, looking over at the redhead, "Where the fuck is Kaladesh?"
"A plane Master Goldmane took me to while teaching me how to Walk. Two walks from here for me, you could likely push it to one." Alexis explained, "The note is marked, it's two months old. He may still be there."
"What's it like?"
"Like most Planes from what I could see. We stayed in a forest for our stay and then returned here. It was interesting though, they had magic in the air, like… like ley lines, but high in the sky instead of in the ground."
I slowly nodded, "You know the way back there?"
"I… Yes." Alexis said after a short moment, "I think I do, if we Walk the way I do and stop where we stopped. I think I can find the way back there."
Two stops, that's a week. Two weeks back and forth, three to get there and then back to Azeroth.
Almost a month lost just Walking, then there was the time needed to find him.
What if he was not even there?
Say two months. There would still be three left.
Had to try.
I nodded, "Let's get packed up and portal back to the jungle, better we leave from the same spot, make things easier on the way back."
"Let's go."
AN// Big thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this section.
I shook my head, "I'm sorry. I didn't see them."
To be fair, I had been more worried about getting her out than finding her sword.
"Damn." She sighed and glanced backwards before shaking her head and walking out into the clear air, "…Master Goldmane bought me that sword."
Nodding, I motioned for Paladin and Witcher along with Rogue to turn around and head back inside, "I'll see if they can find it."
"…Thanks." Alexis said and rubbed her forehead, "Thank you. For getting me out of that."
"Not like I would leave you there."
She shook her head, "No, I mean…" before she sighed, "I can't believe I got captured like that."
"…Take it from an expert on the subject, it happens to the best of us." I said and shook my head with a smile, "Do you still have the note?"
Alexis shook her head, "I don't think so, I must have dropped it when… whatever it was grabbed me. Let's look around, see if we can find it."
"Here." I said and pulled out my gun, spinning it over and offering her the handle, "Until they find yours or your sword."
"Thank you." Alexis answered and took it, quickly checking it before looking at me, "…Forgot to reload, did you?"
"It wasn't that useful against the vampires in any case." I protested while handing my spare magazine over. I did in fact forget to reload. Even if it was not that useful, I should have done so before I put it away.
Oops.
"Mhmm."
"Maidens in distress don't get to object over how they were rescued!"
Alexis just reloaded the gun and walked back in through the door and I frowned slightly after her. I expected a comment back to that one. She was not as okay as she pretended to be.
I knew that I sure as hell was not okay after I was captured and had to be rescued. Every time, but especially the last time.
The demons…
I had nightmares.
Letting my breath out, I started to look around, kicking through the drifts of snow looking for a piece of parchment.
That damn thing may have been anywhere, it was windy, it might have blown away. If we couldn't find it, there was nothing to do but return to Azeroth.
We couldn't comb the infinite multiverse in the hope to find him or anyone else that could and would be willing to help. We only had five months at the very most and Walking wasn't something you could do quickly.
I needed to get back there. Those five months were the maximum upper limit, but the longer we took, the less time there would be to plan and prepare, to find a way to save the world and Kalecgos.
Stopping, I turned to look out over the frozen sea, leaning against the stone, running my fingers through the snow. Even with Ajani on our side…
I knew he was powerful, anyone that could kill a dragon, even a Tamriel dragon, with one spell was not weak.
Holding the snow up, I let it run through my fingers. But it was the Burning Legion. We couldn't fight them. Not with our power, which was why I built the Weapon in the first place.
Even Kalecgos didn't have a chance while supported by thousands of dragons and even more mortals.
"Sir," Paladin said as she walked up next to me, "We did not find the weapons. They may have been lost somewhere in the tunnels as she was dragged down there. Should we continue the search?"
"No. Thank you, you are dismissed." I said and unsummoned them for now, looking back over the frozen ice stretching out to the horizon.
It reminded me of the sea by the Nexus. I almost felt like going swimming, but it wouldn't be the same without Rengosa hunting next to me.
"Atreus. Found it." Alexis said and moved up next to me, leaning against the railing next to me, "My weapons?"
I shook my head, "Lost. They couldn't find them."
"Shit. Okay, fine."
"At least I got you out," I said, forcing a smile, my mind still stuck on the mental image of infinite demons.
"Yeah." She said and looked out over the frozen sea, handing the note over.
Unfolding it, I read through it quickly.
'Alexis.
If you need me, I am at Kaladesh, the city of Ghirapur.
Ajani Goldmane.'
"Kaladesh?" I asked with a frown, looking over at the redhead, "Where the fuck is Kaladesh?"
"A plane Master Goldmane took me to while teaching me how to Walk. Two walks from here for me, you could likely push it to one." Alexis explained, "The note is marked, it's two months old. He may still be there."
"What's it like?"
"Like most Planes from what I could see. We stayed in a forest for our stay and then returned here. It was interesting though, they had magic in the air, like… like ley lines, but high in the sky instead of in the ground."
I slowly nodded, "You know the way back there?"
"I… Yes." Alexis said after a short moment, "I think I do, if we Walk the way I do and stop where we stopped. I think I can find the way back there."
Two stops, that's a week. Two weeks back and forth, three to get there and then back to Azeroth.
Almost a month lost just Walking, then there was the time needed to find him.
What if he was not even there?
Say two months. There would still be three left.
Had to try.
I nodded, "Let's get packed up and portal back to the jungle, better we leave from the same spot, make things easier on the way back."
"Let's go."
AN// Big thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this section.
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
Well, considering the place is now a ruin, there's a non-zero chance her stuff'll be there when they have time to look more carefully after the current mission.
That, or it'll end up in the hands of a bandit or an adventurer, but hey.
Tranquil Zebra
Equid of Peerless Tranquility
- Location
- Norway
Now we know how those Oblivion bandits got decked out in full glass or daedric, they found the gear proper adventurers couldn't be arsed to pick up after themselves
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
Now we know how those Oblivion bandits got decked out in full glass or daedric, they found the gear proper adventurers couldn't be arsed to pick up after themselves
Exactly.
29
I opened my eyes, the forest around us filled with shadows, the area lit by just the small firepit. My armor was standing to the side where I had been working on it last night, working to repair the damage that that accursed vampire caused it.
I still didn't know how he did that with just his claws, but whatever it was, it got through some parts of my armor and into the flightskin of my left wing.
Luckily, Alexis was able to heal those cuts.
Speaking of Alexis, she was sitting by the fire, poking at it with a stick. She had trouble sleeping, the times I woke up during the night it was rare that I saw her asleep even with Witcher standing guard during the nights.
To be fair, that's the same reason that I had been waking up even if seeing a cavern full of dead bodies and vampire monsters that had captured one of my best friends barely made a blip.
The fact that something as shit as that barely registered was actually kind of sad.
Yawning, I stretched and spread my wings and got up, shifting closer to the fire before laying down again. "Morning."
Alexis glanced away from the fire. "Morning."
She didn't mention my nightmares and I didn't mention hers. Seemed fair.
I settled down and watched the fire crackle away on the branches before I spoke up. "We should be able to reach Kaladesh today."
"Mmm." Alexis agreed. "Been thinking of how we would find Master Goldmane when we get there."
"Alexis, he is an almost three meter tall cat man. I don't think he will be able to blend in with the local population."
"It's still an entire plane." She said and pulled the stick from the fire, blowing at the tip as she looked up at the red stars in the sky. "That's a lot of ground."
"…True. So, any ideas?"
Alexis nodded. "Yeah. Well, in part. I do know what kind of places he likes to frequent, so we are not completely blind. I have some other ideas too."
"Great, so we go there and ask around if anyone has seen a giant cat man." I snorted, causing the fire to flare slightly. "Remind me to make you a tracking necklace each."
"That would be nice, thanks."
Raising my head, I looked at her and then bumped my snout against her shoulder. "Unless you want to get some more rest, we should get ready."
She scratched behind my nose horn and shook her head. "Let's go. I always have trouble sleeping without a bed anyway."
That's not it and you know it.
Nodding, I pulled back and moved to make my armor fold back up into a form where I could put it back on.
It was not made to be easy to take on and off, it was made to be worn.
Weaving a quick telekinesis spell, I lifted it as I slipped in beneath the armor, allowing it to settle on my back as I shifted my wings, testing the fit.
Giving it a magic pulse, it deployed, flowing across me to cover me with the full armor and I turned my head, flexing and stretching my wings as I checked the damaged area. The repair had been made using the same enchantment that let it flow and deploy, it took a micron of material from the rest of the suit to fill in the damage. It looked intact.
"Working okay?" Alexis asked as she walked up to me, shouldering her bag.
Nodding, I showed her the wing before focusing on weaving my magic, returning to mortal form after a couple of seconds.
"More or less." I said, "I want to go over it properly in a lab and I still want to know how the hell he did it, but it works for now."
She nodded, handing me my satchel. When I took it, she took off her headband before brushing her hair back and putting it back on. "Ready?"
"Ready." I confirmed, slinging it across my chest, making sure it was nice and secure. Alexis' way of Walking was very different from mine.
I had tried teaching her to Walk like I did, but it simply didn't seem possible.
Alexis closed her eyes and started to focus as I cast a quick unsummon on Witcher before waiting for her to finish preparing.
Taking a slow breath, she held her hand out to me and I took it.
Then we ran into the dark forest with her taking the lead, one of her arms raised to keep branches out of her face as she ran as fast as she could.
Running in a dark forest is a very good way to get hurt, but she did it. I ran with her, my own eyes more capable so I could pick up roots and pits that could break ankles, but she didn't have that advantage.
Even so, she ran surely. The wind around us started to pick up, reality getting hazy and shimmering, blurring togeather and things howled and twisted.
I could see hints of what I saw when I Walked, but everything when she did it was twisted, strange and alien.
The world twisted and warped before shattering and uncreation howled for a split second before we burst out into the sunlight.
It was early morning, the sun rising above the towers and not many people around. The air was clear, smelling of spices, warm metal and something I couldn't identify.
Alexis put her hands on her thighs as she worked to get her breath back. Meanwhile, I slowly turned, my jaw dropping as I took in the sights of twisting towers of metal, glowing reservoirs of glass and glass tubes crossing between the buildings, glowing softly.
The very air almost thrummed with power.
Above an airship floated past, crossing path with a swarm of bird-like flying machines. A smaller flying machine with four wings like a dragonfly the size of a bird flew past just above, following the path before banking hard and darting into an opening in one of the buildings.
"Alexis?"
"Y-yes?" she asked and stoop up, letting out a small gasp as she looked around.
"I have the biggest boner right now."
AN// Big thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this part and a God Jul, Merry Christmas or Happy whatever holiday you happen to celebrate during this time!
I still didn't know how he did that with just his claws, but whatever it was, it got through some parts of my armor and into the flightskin of my left wing.
Luckily, Alexis was able to heal those cuts.
Speaking of Alexis, she was sitting by the fire, poking at it with a stick. She had trouble sleeping, the times I woke up during the night it was rare that I saw her asleep even with Witcher standing guard during the nights.
To be fair, that's the same reason that I had been waking up even if seeing a cavern full of dead bodies and vampire monsters that had captured one of my best friends barely made a blip.
The fact that something as shit as that barely registered was actually kind of sad.
Yawning, I stretched and spread my wings and got up, shifting closer to the fire before laying down again. "Morning."
Alexis glanced away from the fire. "Morning."
She didn't mention my nightmares and I didn't mention hers. Seemed fair.
I settled down and watched the fire crackle away on the branches before I spoke up. "We should be able to reach Kaladesh today."
"Mmm." Alexis agreed. "Been thinking of how we would find Master Goldmane when we get there."
"Alexis, he is an almost three meter tall cat man. I don't think he will be able to blend in with the local population."
"It's still an entire plane." She said and pulled the stick from the fire, blowing at the tip as she looked up at the red stars in the sky. "That's a lot of ground."
"…True. So, any ideas?"
Alexis nodded. "Yeah. Well, in part. I do know what kind of places he likes to frequent, so we are not completely blind. I have some other ideas too."
"Great, so we go there and ask around if anyone has seen a giant cat man." I snorted, causing the fire to flare slightly. "Remind me to make you a tracking necklace each."
"That would be nice, thanks."
Raising my head, I looked at her and then bumped my snout against her shoulder. "Unless you want to get some more rest, we should get ready."
She scratched behind my nose horn and shook her head. "Let's go. I always have trouble sleeping without a bed anyway."
That's not it and you know it.
Nodding, I pulled back and moved to make my armor fold back up into a form where I could put it back on.
It was not made to be easy to take on and off, it was made to be worn.
Weaving a quick telekinesis spell, I lifted it as I slipped in beneath the armor, allowing it to settle on my back as I shifted my wings, testing the fit.
Giving it a magic pulse, it deployed, flowing across me to cover me with the full armor and I turned my head, flexing and stretching my wings as I checked the damaged area. The repair had been made using the same enchantment that let it flow and deploy, it took a micron of material from the rest of the suit to fill in the damage. It looked intact.
"Working okay?" Alexis asked as she walked up to me, shouldering her bag.
Nodding, I showed her the wing before focusing on weaving my magic, returning to mortal form after a couple of seconds.
"More or less." I said, "I want to go over it properly in a lab and I still want to know how the hell he did it, but it works for now."
She nodded, handing me my satchel. When I took it, she took off her headband before brushing her hair back and putting it back on. "Ready?"
"Ready." I confirmed, slinging it across my chest, making sure it was nice and secure. Alexis' way of Walking was very different from mine.
I had tried teaching her to Walk like I did, but it simply didn't seem possible.
Alexis closed her eyes and started to focus as I cast a quick unsummon on Witcher before waiting for her to finish preparing.
Taking a slow breath, she held her hand out to me and I took it.
Then we ran into the dark forest with her taking the lead, one of her arms raised to keep branches out of her face as she ran as fast as she could.
Running in a dark forest is a very good way to get hurt, but she did it. I ran with her, my own eyes more capable so I could pick up roots and pits that could break ankles, but she didn't have that advantage.
Even so, she ran surely. The wind around us started to pick up, reality getting hazy and shimmering, blurring togeather and things howled and twisted.
I could see hints of what I saw when I Walked, but everything when she did it was twisted, strange and alien.
The world twisted and warped before shattering and uncreation howled for a split second before we burst out into the sunlight.
It was early morning, the sun rising above the towers and not many people around. The air was clear, smelling of spices, warm metal and something I couldn't identify.
Alexis put her hands on her thighs as she worked to get her breath back. Meanwhile, I slowly turned, my jaw dropping as I took in the sights of twisting towers of metal, glowing reservoirs of glass and glass tubes crossing between the buildings, glowing softly.
The very air almost thrummed with power.
Above an airship floated past, crossing path with a swarm of bird-like flying machines. A smaller flying machine with four wings like a dragonfly the size of a bird flew past just above, following the path before banking hard and darting into an opening in one of the buildings.
"Alexis?"
"Y-yes?" she asked and stoop up, letting out a small gasp as she looked around.
"I have the biggest boner right now."
AN// Big thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this part and a God Jul, Merry Christmas or Happy whatever holiday you happen to celebrate during this time!
- Location
- Hampden Park
Bad Dragon.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
it could be worse....
he could be talking literally...
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Vox De Harlequin
Consequences are for other people
- Location
- Hyalean Theoric World
A completely reasonable reaction.
- Location
- In a hole in the ground there lived a...
So I suppose the overarching question is just how much Kaladeshi technology can Atregos yank?
The vehicle tech and lifecrafts might be use able, but they're heavily dependent on a constant supply of Aether.
Things like Rashmi's teleportation gates, however, are more likely to be game changers. But also put him in conflict with a certain elder dragon.
The vehicle tech and lifecrafts might be use able, but they're heavily dependent on a constant supply of Aether.
Things like Rashmi's teleportation gates, however, are more likely to be game changers. But also put him in conflict with a certain elder dragon.