Welcome to Gaia! ::

Maverly and Ivan had set out together from the Academy later in the evening. By now it had been dark for a couple of hours and the temperature had dropped so much that she could see her own breath in front of her. Ordinarily, the trip down to the middle of Veridium would take a couple days walking, but Alexis was able to tear open a portal only about an hour away. She was one of the few people in Occulas that could open a portal at whim, and seemingly with little effort. Maverly had her theories as to how she had so much power - but she chose not to question the blonde on it. Now she and Ivan were walking over the rolling hills of Viridium, the lush green realm that held within it the elven lands, the neutral territories, and the forest of Kuj'anast. Maverly could see the Aerie Peaks ahead, and as she peered down its spine towards the right, she knew that somewhere beyond that horizon was Asmodius. They had been walking for some time time and for the most Part Maverly made little to no conversation with Ivan. Emphasizing that she must focus on their mission. She finished her decent down one hill, and was now beginning to ascend the next as she passed a rough boulder, damp to the touch as she ran her hand across it. "This land is filled with so much history... anything could be causing the famine and decay - even if it is magical" Maverly mused, allowing the crisp cold air to brush over her cheeks. She filled her lungs, allowing her chest to chill. It may be cold, but it kept her alert.

Ivan was right, the silence was deafening. Maverly felt it in her bones, a kind of supernatural chill. "We should be careful" Maverly replied, taking wide steps up the remainder of the hill where she could finally see the top of Duobus peaking over ahead. As the two of them neared the top, a clearing of level land could be seen dead ahead. Beneath them, and some way further was the gigantic tree stump known as Duobus. It was the remnants of a world tree destroyed before written history of Occulas began. It was once a home of the Aether, lost to time. Maverly took in the breath-taking view, allowing it to rest deep within her mind. She didn't want to forget it. "I've never actually been here before" Maverly admitted quietly, feeling an almost gravitational pull to the tree's remains. She felt... an aching sensation in her heart. She couldn't help but think about those that once lived here, and what a horrid disaster must have caused the tree to die. It was then in that moment that Ivan noticed movement and Maverly ducked down to her knee. Her keen eyes quickly narrowed down on it after Ivan pointed it out. There were figures in the distance, moving near the entrance to the ruins. Together they decided to make their way down as quietly as possible.

Maverly had several questions. Who else could be here so late at night, and who else knew about the ailment of the wildlife here? Sure, the birds had spread to a few nearby villages... but who regularly traverses this place? It is mostly a forgotten ruin. As they approached, they saw no further movement from anyone or anything. Maverly looked at Ivan with a little bewilderment. She then let him lead the way within whilst she kept watch behind them.

Within, they found themselves inside the colossal tree. It was big enough to hold an entire village, tall enough to house a skyscraper. And to think this was just the stump. Silence filled the air as she looked around, taking in the stars above them. Just as she had read, the font of golden light could be seen at the centre of the space. There was a dip in the floor lead to it. The light had a weight to it, as if a little fluid. It attempted to rise like a fountain, but would collapse under its own weight. "There's nothing here..." Maverly whispered in disbelief, still looking around them. She could see the large slopes coiling up against the trunk's inner wall, creating a means of traversing the upper levels. She could see carved out, ancient rooms in the walls, ruins of empty structures ground from the tree itself dotted around, empty, filled with blackness. She looked down at the font, noticing its glimmer occasionally faltering. "That.... wasn't in the books" she said, "look". She knelt down closer towards the font of aether, the very essence of the people of the same name in Other Earth. As they watched, it looked as though a stream of it's light was sucked out of existence before the rest of the essence reignited it's light. However, Ivan's keen eyes had noticed something else. Teeny... tiny... eyes. Emerging from the darkness of the ruins, seemingly appearing above them, around them, near and far. Tiny specks of cold-blue light. Like pin-pricks gazing at them from the voids. It took Ivan a few moments to finally grab her attention. And when she stood up she felt a chill run through her body. "What... is... that" she slowly asked, slowly grabbing her riding crop. She could feel her heart beginning to race as the prospect of the unknown began to test her courage. Her half-elven eyes then watched as a skeletal beak appeared within the twilight from above as a large avian stepped forwards. It looked like a heron. She then had the horrifying feeling that all the eyes she saw... were undead. Unfortunately she was proven correct, but oh how she couldn't have been more wrong about what kind. She watched as the skeleton bird limped forwards, but it was attached to something else. These weren't just reanimations, they were golems. Creatures of varying sizes, all stitched together with unseen magic. Some tall, some wide, some barely able to crawl, some others apparently able to fly. As she was taking in the sight all around them a sudden screeching came from immediately behind herself and Ivan. A tall avian creature let loose a terrifying howl into their ears, causing Maverly to jump forwards out of her skin and clasp at her eyes. This thing stood with a hunch-back and scythe made from a giant beak. It's head was made of an amalgamation of beaks and bird-skulls. It had wings of sinew and talons, and each and every skull on it's reanimated corpse had beady specks of blue light in their black sockets. Without a single thought, she let out a sunset missile to throw it back a few yards. It was time to fight.