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 Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:38 pm
The Edge of the LabyrinthSosiqui Tian Yue, still in dragon-form, took a deep breath as they moved further into the tree, downwards and deeper, further from the light and from his brother's presence. He could smell the faintest traces of Echo and her companions, but most of what he could smell was dust and rot - centuries, eons worth of it. The Tree was not rotting to bits in entirety - it couldn't, not with Kishara alive and generally well - but it had certainly seen better days.
And it was vast. What he had seen in the Ancient Pantheon was the merest protrusion, he understood now, the merest sapling emerging from the unthinkable whole. It would be impossible to map... except they didn't have to map everything. If his theories were correct, then the truly dead sections would host living worlds. The dead roots and branches could bear no precious mana-flow... and what sense was there in ferrying mana to empty places? The Tree was alive in a sense that went beyond the esoteric knowledge of mere plants.
"Ankou." Tian Yue raised his head and inhaled again, trying to triangulate from which directions flowed stale air, or fresh, or utter rot and corruption. "This part... we must map and number the branches, somehow. The rotting places should bear no fresh fruit; no living worlds... so we must note which areas are dead, and which alive. I believe this will answer our Lord's request in the most efficient way." Zero Dream Ankou's attention so far had been mostly on making sure the little group of aoidei and errais was well settled, and making sure his kitten didn't fall off in awe of what she was seeing from so high up.
That, and watching. There was not much that would look unusual to most sights - but he could see them - the ghosts - even now, some were still making their way toward and inside the pathways of the tree, as if drawn by an invisible force. And the urge to simply ask Tian Yue to go further down, down, and down, was getting harder to ignore.
He has been distracted enough as is. This travel is not on my whims... He reminded himself, sharply, before the worldshield called out his name. "That would most likely be a good way to start..." He agreed, looking into his backpack for a small notebook and pencil. He was not exactly skilled at map-making - all that he needed to know before he had committed to memory, though now it was all gone - and handed the lantern to Jinx. "I am ready." Sosiqui Tian Yue walked forward slowly, moving with care; the way here was more than large enough to hold him, but he was careful, listening to the sounds of the wood below him as he moved, ready at a moment's notice to switch from walking to flight should the floor break beneath his weight. "I will place scratches in the walls to indicate our path so we can return... and so we can know which areas we have canvassed," he told Ankou.
The harness was working quite well, even though his Aoidei had made it quickly - Toki was an astonishing seamstress, really. Ankou, Xing Yun, and Jinx could ride him comfortably from above, while the two errais could be carried in slings at his side if such a thing was needed. For now, he heard them trailing behind him - no need to carry them now, not when they were moving slowly in exploration.
The first fork in the path came swiftly; a tunnel smaller than Tian Yue could fit into. Still, he jammed his muzzle into the opening and inhaled sharply, only to rear his head back and cough very, very hard as rot-dust seemed to practically attack his nose. "Ugh... blech!" he spluttered, shaking his head and spitting the dust out onto the floor. "That... that does not smell like anything's alive back there... Ankou, do you see anything?" Zero Dream Jinx let out a startled meow when the dragon read back, but held on as best as she could. Ankou, for his part, made his way up to standing in order to have a better vantage point of the front. Tian Yue had warned him he was big in dragon-shape, but that hadn't stopped him from still being surprised when he saw just how much. There were no dead coming out, but some were heading in, clearly lost in the maze-like tangle of roots, which made him frown. He should have come here long, long before now, but he forced the guilt away. Now was not the time.
"Over there, Jinx." He pointed, and the cat aoidei tried to light the hallway the best she could. Ah, this was better. The dead that were heading that way were turning back. "Nothing's coming out of it. The ghost who try to go down that path end up having to go back." A few scribble of the loose shape of the tree later, he slashed an X over that particular branch. Nothing would stop them from going on if it was not closed off.
Though... he could not leave them here. Yet, to bring the ghost along all this way ? He would not mind, but there was the off-chance that his companions could feel them, and feel rather haunted indeed. "The way you seek is downward - follow the trunk to the roots." He called out, some authority slipping into his voice as he did so. The ghosts looked at him, but... nodded, and started their decent.
There. Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded, then reached out one claw to carve an x-shaped marking in the floor in front of that pathway. "There... that's that bit done, anyway..." Still, at Ankou's mention of the dead, Tian Yue sighed quietly. There had once been living, vibrant worlds attached to this branch - or was it a root? he couldn't tell - and now they were gone. He couldn't tell when the mana had ceased to flow... had it been thousands of years ago, or during the aborted Ending?
He turned away slowly, moving down the tall pathway, ducking his head and occasionally raising his voice to direct the light sources carried by the Aoidei - his night vision was fairly good, but not that good. "Are there any areas with large numbers of dead moving, Ankou? Perhaps we should angle our path in those directions... it would help to confirm our hypothesis. I'd hate to track dead branches only to find they don't mean what I think they do..." Zero Dream "Hm..." The Guide moved along to look toward the side. The dead had already started to move in the direction he had called, so it was a little harder to tell. It took a few minutes before Ankou actually replied to Tian Yue's question.
"Over there." He pointed toward another branch.... root ? Another opening, though it was hard to tell if the dead were coming out because the way was blocked from this angle. Sosiqui And down they go to Underworld, to rest eternal or to Rebirth's cycle, on and on and on- Tian Yue shook his head again, feeling an atavistic shudder run through his frame, unbidden. He wasn't afraid of ghosts, not at all, but the certain knowledge that the Dead wandered here invisible, seeking their Destination, was somewhat unnerving.
Yet the Eaten worlds... would release no Dead. They had no Destination, only the mouth of Void.
"The great pathways at the trunk will be much, much larger. Forks splitting everywhere - we must be barely at the tip, the merest beginning." Large dead sections would narrow their search... yet it would also mean vast damage, hundreds, thousands of worlds Eaten.
Tian Yue took a few steps forward. "Can you see, now? I don't think I can fit down that tunnel without transforming." And that was a little irritating, he had to admit - his proper size was a bit of an inconvenience at times. He took a few experimental sniffs. "It smells..."
Like Her, like Kishara only faded and dusty and aged beyond telling, and like our Lord, and like green things...
"... alive," he finished, shifting his weight slightly." Zero Dream "Hm." The Guide said again, This was a bit better, yes, but he still had to scramble his way atop his head to get a better look in the distance. "It looks like they are actually going out, yes..."
And he did not see any decay, either. At least not as much as he had seen at the other path. The bark seemed alive here, as well as leaves there and there. He managed to pull his notebook and draw a circle around that particular entrance.
...He just hoped the dragon wasn't going to sneeze again while he was up on there. Sosiqui "Shall we go down this path?" Tian Yue had no idea how deeply it led, how many forks-upon-forks they might stumbled down... again the sheer scale of the task nearly dizzied him, and he forced himself to narrow his perception to this one tunnel. They could explore one at a time. Just one. And then another, and another, until they were done.
It wasn't so bad, thinking about it that way, provided he kept himself fully focused on that viewpoint alone, and did not shift to consider - try to consider - the whole. "Perhaps confirm at the first world-juncture we meet... that our hypotheses are correct? Provided the worlds we find here do indeed live, then that would serve. I might also travel a short way down a dead branch to see if I can find anything living there." He had a terrible thought of worlds left un-found, forever separated from the false Sky through his own bad logic. Zero Dream "That would probably be best." After all, they were going from guesses - and guesses were indeed not infallible. Just because ghosts were wandering did not mean a thing. This place struck him as a maze - it did not mean that they had came from it.
They could have simply gotten lost.
Most of all, they had to be as accurate as possible - no matter the time it ultimately took. Too many things depended on it. "Do you need to shift ?" The errais were certainly not far behind... He could hear their hooves from here. Sosiqui "That might be best, yes. I don't think I can fit in that tunnel and carry you comfortably." Tian Yue sighed and shifted from foot to foot, then crouched as low to the ground as he could to let the Aoidei and Ankou climb down from his back. "Xing Yun, once everyone is clear, please undo the cinches and bring down the harness? I don't wish to change and be buried in cloth."
"Of course, Lord," she said at once, then bowed to Ankou. "After you, honored Lord."
I can carry you? Gringolet's mental-voice was excited, and Tian Yue had to laugh, the sound shaking his sides. Don't, the errais chided him instantly. I'm the Horse, I'm meant to carry things - you are not. You are not the Fangbridle.
"And a good thing, too," Tian Yue snorted, amused, and waited for the others to dismount. Zero Dream Ankou nodded, and let himself slide down along one leg, landing in front of one claw with obvious agility, and starting to make his way down the path. This both gave more room for the dragon to shift and... less chance for him to end up squished. The black cat was quick to follow her master, after having taken the time to aid Xing Yun with the cinches and the harness.The brown-black errais that followed Gringolet closely could not help but watch, unable to keep in his awe at what he was seeing. This... This was so vast... He had never dared imagine something like this. Or that he would be chosen by the Fangbridle himself for something so important. Was his mother still wandering those roots... ? Sosiqui Tian Yue waited until the harness slid free of his back, then transformed, his viewpoint changing at dizzying speed as he poured himself into human shape. It took only a moment, and Xing Yun was there immediately with clothing for him, but he had to pause and stare before doing anything else.
Now that he was human-sized, the Tree seemed impossibly large - which it was, and he'd known that, but knowing something and really feeling that mass, that distance pressing down on you... that was something different entirely.
"Honor to the Empress," he murmured, feeling for his pants as Xing Yun wrapped a waist-length robe around his shoulders, her fingers deftly fitting his shoulder-spikes into the 'sleeves' made for them.
"Praise indeed," the Aoide echoed, then bowed and stepped back. "Are you ready to continue, my Lord?"
"Yes, I think so." Tian Yue shook his head, slowly, then smiled as Gringolet eagerly trotted up to him, ears raised. "Thank you, noble heart, but I think now... we draw close." Even in this form he could smell air, cool and sweet, and feel the faint stirring of a breeze from a nearby fork. He took a few paces and peered at it, where a delicate tracery of roots led upwards, a natural ramp spiraling up the interior of this root. If he stood in the center and looked up, he could see light filtering through...
"Shall we? I believe it is enough for the errais to come as well." Zero Dream Ankou had stopped his walk after only a few steps, leaning against the wall of root as he waited, observing the sight in front of him rather than the shifting dragon. He had to admit that this was quite a sight, especially in times like these... But this was the Yggdrasil. There was comfort in knowing this would not be the last of those sights he would see.
When the rest of the group had caught up to him, he surveyed the path again, then nodded. "Yes, I believe that would be fine." He rose one hand to idely run one hand across the length of Athanasius' neck. It was easy to see that the young one was at least a little bit nervous. Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded, then began to walk up the path with care; Xing Yun trailed him, bearing her light. "It smells... good," he murmured, tilting his head up as they ascended, light beginning to filter through cracks in the bark. The scale had shifted; their surroundings looked more like the inside of a normal-sized tree - and the type of tree seemed to have changed, too, into a soaring conifer that went straight up above them, smelling pleasantly spicy and alive.
There was, however, a gap at the top of the 'stairs'. Tian Yue hesitated. "Well, here we go," he said, took a deep breath, and stepped through.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:39 pm
Paen to SilenceZero Dream The small group emerged in what looked to be a dence forest, composed indeed mostly of conifer - a few looking a bit worse for the wear, but otherwise it seemed the wildlife here had recovered nicely. But yet, at the same time, something seemed... wrong somehow. Like if something was missing, but...
"We should look for water... Usually there are settlements near them." Nearest to the sources of life. It was where most of the rebuilding he'd seen had happened - it was only logical to assume the mortals here would do the same. "What kind of information do you want me to note down ?" He asked, cocking his head sideways to look at the worldshield. He was not quite sure what exactly would be most relevant to keep in mind. Sosiqui "Only that this world is alive." Tian Yue sighed and took another deep breath of the air. It seemed ever so slightly tainted with ash, but that was hardly surprising, not after Gehenna. And yet... there was something faintly wrong...
It took him a moment to realize, and when he did, his expression shifted into a frown. "Ankou... I don't hear any birds. Or insects. Or..." He bent down and worked one hand into the sod, lifting up soil rich with roots but empty of worms. Zero Dream Ankou had nodded in answer, raising the notebook to take note, but then he was stopped in mid-stroke by Tian Yue's sudden realization. That was right...
And it reminded him all too much of somewhere else......
"That..." He did not finish his sentence, however, and instead turned to look... toward something invisible, at least to the rest of his companions. "Do any of you know anything...?"
He was silent, for a moment, but his face quickly pulled into a frown. "...Most of the ghosts here are ones that wandered from the World Tree..." He did not like this. This was starting to look more and more like Karsch had been. Sosiqui Tian Yue shivered - the breeze was pleasant, not too cool and not too hot, but something about the whole place seemed abruptly sinister. The only sounds were the rustling of needles and leaves against each other, moved by the wind. Other than that, there was nothing but the sound of their own movements. Their own breathing.
"Maybe... maybe this place has always been this way?" Even as he spoke, though, the dragon knew it was a vain hope. Plants needed pollinators to reproduce at the very least, and while the worlds could range from the mundane to the utterly implausible, this one seemed a close cousin to Crispin's Earth, at least in basic form. Zero Dream "...I do not think so." Ankou shook his head. "We should probably check. Just to make sure..." After all, to him, it seemed like knowing what happened here was relevant enough to take the time.
Even if they were very likely not to like what they found. Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded, then placed one hand on Gringolet's shoulder as the erras edged up to him, clearly also nervous yet ready and willing to do his duty. I hear nothing, Lord... do we continue?
"We do," Tian Yue said, aloud, and Gringolet stood to let Tian Yue mount him. "Which direction? Towards water?"
The erras stood still, head tilted up to catch the breeze, then turned. This way, he broadcast to both gods, Aoidei, and his fellow erras, then slowly began trotting in the direction of the water he could taste on the breeze. Zero Dream Likewise, Ankou took place on Athanasius' back, followed by Jinx, and again the errais seemed a bit nervous, but again, the touch of Ankou's hand running down his neck proved soothing. 'Lord...'"I want you to stay close to Gringolet, should we need to part ways again." The Guide said. The older errais could easily keep an eye on this young one... young and perhaps a little excited and overeager. "And if you get tired - let me know. Understood ?"'Yes, my Lord...' The black horse set after the pair at that moment. His father and mother had taught him respect of the gods at a young age... perhaps knowing that their sons would likely have destinies much like their own. The small group traveled for quite awhile though the forest - many dead husks of trees littered the landscape, providing fertilizer for the new growth. This world had not been sparred the influences of the weeks, far from it - but the new growth, most likely influenced by Creation's return and Gaia's stronger influence, was slowly starting to take over the old and dead. There was indeed a river nearby - and following it's bank led them to what had perhaps once been a settlement, which looked worse for the wear... and most importantly, inhabited. There were no curious eyes peeking to see who these newcomers were, no stirring within the two huts that had remained standing, no recent traces of what could have been a campfire. Nothing at all.
This was really starting to look too much like the burning city... and his frown gave an outward sign of the Guide's worry. "Hello ? Is there anyone... ?" He called out. Both the living and the dead. Sosiqui "So there were sentient beings here... humanoid, from the proportions of the buildings," Tian Yue murmured, slowly dismounting and walking over to the hut, leaning forward slightly in an unconscious attempt to make himself look bigger. Just in case.
Though what would challenge a nearly seven-foot-tall, clearly spiky dragon god... well.
But nothing presented itself. The inside smelled stale and cold, not even the scent of habitation left. The only rot he could smell was that of wood, nothing meat or bone. "Ankou, there's not even anything... nothing edible here. Nothing alive or even formerly alive. No bodies... not even of vermin..." Zero Dream This was not natural at all. It was easy for even him to guess and see - there should be, at the very least, bones from the victims of the influence of the weeks... some kind of remain, even if there was no life.
But nothing was left. As if it had been picked clean by an unseen force --"Once, the bards sang..."The sudden voice made Ankou suddenly perk. "Did you hear that ?""Mrr ?" The cat-like aoide peered in turn, from where she had been peeking though remains to see if there was any bodies there. Strangely, there were none. "No..." "The songs of the kingdom, joyous and sad both..."Without anything else in term of explanation or warning, Ankou suddenly ran off toward the back of the village. Sosiqui "Hear - Ankou!" Tian Yue barely had time to get the god's name out before the Spirit Guide was running away from him. Hear what?!This place... Gringolet shifted and stamped his feet in nervousness. It is not right, my Lord... it is not right.."Hush, my Horse... we are here. No ill will befall you in my care," Tian Yue soothed him, running one hand down his neck; still, he readied his power grimly, set to release his shields and his form if he must. He was formidable in human shape; in dragon form, he could be a potent force of destruction.
But only if he had to be.
"Ankou!" he tried again, then set off in the direction the other god had run, the errais and Aoidei following with nervous glances. Zero Dream The Guide did not stop at the worldshield's call - perhaps even so focused on that one foreign voice breaking the silence that he had never heard him at all."But only I recount the tale of the end of all..."Closer. Uphill. And that was the direction he took, until he ended up in a small hut, worse for the wear but still mostly standing - inside what was he had been looking for. A lone woman, her features pointed and delicate much like an elf's, see-though to his vision and invisible to the rest, the 'edges' of her being frayed and unraveling into loose mist.
A lone ghost, who did not react in any way to his arrival. Instead, she continued to sing, as if unaware."The worlds is at an end, hear me so
All sentient dancing to the tune of a deathly force unseen
We were not spared the strength of those strikes
But the deadliest of all...
These beings came, varied in shape
but all angry and seeking to feed
They took us, one by one, starting from the far away capital to the north
followed the rivers southward, crossing the whole length of the continent
Women and children, none were spared
Eating both soul and bones, these inhuman fiends
would stop at nothing to get what they want
And then they left, they fled
Be wary, any who hear this
For this land is cursed
And you and your own may very well be in danger
Flee while you can..."From there, she simply started her song anew, eyes unblinking and looking over the Guide's shoulder. He did not say a thing to her, did not ask questions - for he knew that there was no consciousness left to her. Most of her soul had been Eaten, this being the only thing that remain... perhaps she had been strong-willed and protective in life, that last fragment anchoring itself there to warn whoever might pass.... In vain.
Demons. That was Ankou's first thought of the matter. All signs seemed to point to exactly that. Not many creature ate both the souls and the bodies of their victims... Even the bones, which explained the lack of anything much too drastically.
The influence of the weeks likely had ended most animal life - and then the demons had came, finished the job, and then fled... where ? Who knew. But with the entrance of the world tree so close by...
He finally moved, one, two steps, ending up in front of the ghostly woman, raising one hand to touch lightly on her forehead, causing a sudden surge in his mana. "Is is not necessary for you to suffer more of this, young one..." He whispered, even if he knew she likely never heard any of it. He Looked into her, and, at last, silenced her warning song and let the rest of herself disperse into faint mist, glimmering to his companion's eyes now only due to his use of his own mana. Her song had truly been the only thing left of the bard - there was not enough of her to try to bring to the Underworld and save.
She was lost to the circle of life and death... As was the rest of her kind. Perhaps this was exactly what hit him the most, what caused both pain and anger to surge in his chest.
He had not wanted to see another world like the one bearing Karsch, but apparently this was exactly what he was seeing. Sosiqui Tian Yue finally caught up to his companion, hesitating in the doorway of the damaged hut as he watched the other god raise one hand to... the empty air.
Or so it seemed, to him.
He waited a long moment until the other god's demeanor changed imperceptibly, then cleared his throat, the quietest of sounds. "Ankou... what was it?" Zero Dream "A ghost." He said, calm at the surface though some part of him indeed seemed... bothered. "Or rather... a shard of one. A broken soul, mostly eaten." He turned to face the dragon again, the traits of his face heavy, and his eyes betraying some of his inner anger and sadness.
"After most of the influences unraveling... Hell fell on the mortal planes, as I believe I might have told you. Some worlds were obliterated outright by the force." Again, he spoke as if he had seen all these things for himself. "Those who did not.... suddenly had a demon problem, to say the least, most likely varying in number depending on how many remained on the mirror-part of Hell. Most demons are rather malevolent - the ones who are not at the exception - eating soul and body of their victims for subsistence - and sometimes even simply for amusement. The only thing left of this one was one lone song - a warning, a tale of strange beings coming from the north of the continent and to the south... Where we seem to be. I do believe these were likely demons... Since there are no remain at all. If it was not for the influences of Creation and Gaia... this world would have likely been completely barren."
Behind the dragon, he could see Jinx suddenly tense - and, mostly, hear her hiss. "They are likely long gone, but... we should remain vigilant. I do believe... We will not find any native life on this continent at all."
If there was any other continents to this world... he did not know. But it did not look good to him. "...So many lost..." He shook his head. This was not right. Sosiqui Tian Yue let out a long, hissing breath. "I see. That... that explains much..." He felt vaguely ill at the thought. And yet this world was still here, not Eaten... still viable.
At least in theory. With even insects gone, it wouldn't be long before the remaining ecosystem began to collapse, even with the inflow of mana from Creation's rebirth. "I hope you were able to grant that soul peace..." He hesitated, then let one hand fall onto Ankou's shoulder into what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Sometimes, he did not envy his friend what gifts were his to command.
This was definitely one of those times. Zero Dream He did not shy away from the touch, though he tensed a little. Yet, after a moment, he rose one arm to rest his hand on top of the dragon's for a moment, not wanting his reaction to be misread as him wanting the other away from him just yet. He was not a physical person, for the most part, and such interaction outside Cosine and his family still tended to puzzle him.
The dragon, however, he did not mind.
"There was not enough left to save." He shook his head, for once looking pained, before letting go. "Her song was the only thing left. She... likely repeated it, over and over, ever since it happened. At least... there is no more suffering for her now."
Peace in non-existence was better than a broken existence. At least... he hoped so. He hoped he had made the right choice. His Sight was not yet perfect - what if he had overlooked something... ?
...No, now was not the time to start doubting and second-guessing himself. Not here, and not now. "What do you want to do, now ?" With the asset of flight, they could see if there were other continents to this world, see if they had been spared any - though... he doubted it. He doubted the concentration could vary this much from world to world.
There must have been so many, to do something like this. Sosiqui "The world is whole," Tian Yue said, quietly, "at least... in theory. It supports life, and could do so again were life introduced once more. It remains viable... and I admit, I am loathe to spend too much time here. The silence is too sharp for me." It was far different than the silence of the now-vanished heavens, where to his ears even the stars hummed and sang. Here there was nothing but the startling, terrifying purity of plants.
Plants that would soon begin to die without insects to pollinate them, without worms to stimulate the soil at their roots. Zero Dream Ankou nodded along to that. To be honest, he... was not so keen about staying here for too much longer, at least not on a ground level. There was the off-chance that the demons were still around, and while he was quite certain Tian Yue would make sure none of the group would become a tasty snack, he would much rather avoid such a run-in if at all possible.
And so, instead, he fetched the notebook from the old, tattered messenger back at his side and noted what the dragon said down. This world could easily bear life again, if He willed it so - as is, even the faintest influence had managed to get it going once more... at least for a little bit.
It would require a little more attention, but it seemed likely that one day, new civilizations would walk and build upon this very earth. If Creation wanted it so.
"Let us go, then..." Sosiqui "I believe I would like to rest," Tian Yue said, shaking his head, slowly. They had had a long journey to get to Yggdrasil's protrusion into their own world in the first place, not to mention traveling through the immense Tree itself was somehow... draining. Everything about it made one feel small. And then this place...
Well, it hadn't helped at all.
"Let us return to the Tree, and rest within Gaia's coils."
Gringolet had never come to his side so quickly, it seemed; Tian Yue was not loathe to climb onto the erras' back. Zero Dream "I agree... That would likely be best." Safer, too. Less of a span to watch - the branches were very wide indeed, but linear. It was easier to keep track of.
Ankou followed, and settled himself on Athanasius' back. The younger errais seemed just as every but unsettled as his elder - he could not blame them. He had felt something like this before, erriely similar, and in a sense this was slightly more comfortable because of the wandering ghosts he felt, saw and heard. Even they seemed rather nervous, talking of demons and danger and hiding. These were very eager to follow him, he could tell.
But such small comfort were not one that applied to the other travelers by his side, then. "Rest, then - I will keep watch, just in case."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:40 pm
Second Watch
They had settled in a small alcove, perhaps the interior of a great knot or burl in the wood, a dry space. The floor here was smooth to the touch, almost polished. Tian Yue sat at the edge of the pool of light, keeping watch; beyond the illumination created by the light-pearls Ankou had brought, the root they were in twisted away into total darkness.
No doubt it had served as way-station to other travelers in the past.
The others were all sleeping; Tian Yue could hear their breathing, slow and regular. The errais, particularly, were exhausted - they had no immortal strength to carry them on, as the gods or even the Aoidei did. And while the equines were used to running through the spaces between worlds, the Tree was different altogether.
It was both Space, and Filled.
Tian Yue rested one hand on the nearest wall, pressing his palm flat against the wood. If he concentrated, he could feel the life in it, the mana and power that permeated the living Yggdrasil. It was of a level few could comprehend; even he could barely grasp it, and he was a Dragon King, and once-lover to the only deity besides the Twin Crown who could hope to equal Gaia in her splendor.
Not for the first time since entering the Tree, he felt overwhelmed.
Oh, Empress - perhaps this is folly after all, to climb through Your bones and attempt to map the infinite- Yet his Lord would not have made an impossible request.
Miles and miles of root and branch, stretching far beyond conception... He could feel them around him, on every side, a labyrinth. Curling inward, outward, upwards, stretching out into root and branch. Flowering, fruiting. Whole worlds dangling like sweetest fruits from each branch, like richest tubers from each root.
And he the one to number them all.
There were no echoes here in particular, not as there had been in the Ancient Pantheon; there had been Court, something Tien Lung was intimately familiar with. These pathways had not been his; why should he travel the Heartwood when he was Celestial? More likely to find Qian Lung the Black here.
But the heavens were gone, and Tien Lung pressed into the pathways of Gaia to renew the skies he had once so cherished. A strange sort of irony.
If only we had met under better circumstances, my Empress.
... Even gods can be small, impossibly so.
He glanced at the precious bundle to one side; Ankou's notes. They had brought a great deal of paper with them, not trusting to mechanical means; too easy to damage or break. Paper was easy to lose or damage as well, true. There was no perfect method of recording. They had to protect what they had.
Slowly, the Dragon King unwrapped the first bundle and began to scan the map; impossible to commit the whole thing to memory, but he could at least place the basics in mind. Here a great branch has died; here a mighty root lies fallow. He wondered if they hurt Gaia, if she could feel their rotting weight, if she cried as they broke away.
He hoped not.
And I hope you cannot feel this. Carefully, he began scratching into the smooth root-walls; he had carved markings into the wood before, indicating if a path had been traveled or not. This burl, and any others he could find, would be their backup - their secondary map. A place they could recover if their primary works were lost.
The sound of his scratching echoed quietly in the root.
Yes. Better circumstances indeed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:42 pm
Poison in the RootsSosiqui The sound reached Tian Yue's ears as they paced down yet another tunnel; they'd decamped that morning (or so he thought; time was largely meaningless within Yggdrasil's massive form) and moved onward for several hours, mapping and making notes and placing markers to avoid getting lost. Currently, they were moving down a large central branch that bore no outlets to worlds along its length, merely to branch upon branch, root upon root.
It would be very, very easy to get lost here.
The only sound was that of their movements, of hooves and feet on wood. Or it had been, until a faint scraping sound made Tian Yue freeze in his tracks. Gringolet stopped immediately, his ears lifting up with curiosity, then tilting back, wary. Lord?"Quiet," Tian Yue murmured, then glanced at Ankou. "I hear something. Something that's not us." Zero Dream 'Something ?' Athanasius asked in turn, but was quickly silenced by Ankou raising his arm. He was silent, likewise staying alert to the sounds around them, one hand preemptively going to grasp at the bone mace tied to his belt. What... or rather who... could be down here with them ? His first thought had been Echo - though... no, most likely not. The distinct harmony given off by the goddess' wings was missing. That, and hooves would also accompany her...
scratchscratchscratch...
The ghosts following them seemed equally antsy, but another silent hand gesture kept them from dispersing in panic. No harm would come to them that would not need to come though him first.
Or, more accurately, him, a clawed aoidei, and most notably an irritated dragon king. However, he could only hope that, whatever it was, it was actually friendly. Sosiqui Tian Yue gestured sharply for Gringolet to stay where he was, then took a few steps forward-
- and something fairly flew past him, whipquick, something thin and sharp and all sinew, bones, teeth, claws. The Dragon King let out a strangled roar and whirled, transforming even as he moved, but his head cracked into the too-low ceiling and dizzied him for a moment. Only a moment.
But it was enough for the demon, impossibly emaciated yet still grinning with every sharp tooth, to throw itself at the Spirit Guide. Zero Dream Perhaps it was the experience gained in between the then-and-now that made the difference, or maybe it was that he was more settled into this body that had now initially been his own, or that his constant moving around ruins after the ritual had honed his agility. Or an odd mix of all of the above, but this time, the Guide seemed more matched to his attacker - raised the mace quickly and stuck it down just at it charged for him - or perhaps for the tasty souls that accompanied him - with a much harder hit straight on the head that he had previously done on his travel with Oath's host.
He moved on pure reflex, to hit again while the creature was down, wing-tandrils fanned out and trying his hardest to look as big and dangerous as he possibly could manage to look like. He could not afford to spare a look to see if Tian Yue was allright, not with the demon so close.Jinx, for her part, let out a sharp hiss and lunged alongside her master. Sosiqui There were more.
That much became obvious instantly; they flowed past Tian Yue, scraping under his legs and calling wildly to each other in a sort of insane glee as they flung themselves at the errais and the Aoidei, ignoring the dragon's hard scales in favor of easier prey.
Or so they thought. One of the creatures was met by a flurry of hooves, one sharp strike from Gringolet's rearing movement easily driving in its skull with a wet thunk. Xing Yun made for another, pivoting on one hoof and slamming one elbow into the thing's chest, winding it. "My Lord! Are you well?!"
"I'm fine!" Tian Yue's words sounded almost exasperated; of course he was fine! He lunged downward, long neck twining, and snapped up the demon Xing Yun had attacked. It struggled against his tongue, then stilled as he brought his jaws together, bones crunching under his teeth, releasing a flood of truly foul stench into his mouth. Zero Dream Perhaps the Guide would have made a wise-crack comment about demons not being for eating had he not had his own problem to deal with.
Or perhaps own problems was more accurate. There were indeed more, some of those who had managed to claw their way past the dragon also going straight for him - after all, he was a great deal more squishy than his companion, even as Jinx made short job of the first who had dared to strike, clawing her way trough it's face, visibly content as the creature who had dared attack her lord writhed in pain - though all sound from it ended quite suddenly.
A pair, visibly having learnt from the demise of their predecessors - charged right for the Spirit Guide - and while he managed to dodge one and land a strong hit in it's midsection, followed by the sicking crunch of weakened bone snapping, he was not so lucky with the other one - it buried it's sharp teeth into his main arm and Ankou screamed as pain coursed though him, causing him to drop his mace.
That scream, however, had been enough, and the cat abandoned her previous toy to charge at this new challenger, though she was not quite enough to tear it away from the god, it's feeding frenzy apparently rendering it stronger. It only clung more tightly, sinking it's claw into Ankou's arm as well. Sosiqui Tian Yue roared, the sound not any recognizable word, simply a visceral wave of fury. A moment later a wave of power surrounded the god, flowing over his skin like scales, and the demon's jaws were forcibly snapped upwards, out of Ankou's flesh as Tien Lung's shield covered the Spirit Guide in its protection. The demon shrieked as the force snapped its lower jaw, staggering backwards. "Take him, Aoide," the dragon snarled, the fur on his back rippling all the way down his spine.
"And yyyou," he added, reaching back with one clawed foot and grabbing something - a larger demon, bulkier and adorned with bones that chimed and clanked dully as the dragon slammed it down in front of him, claws digging through both arms as the creature writhed and spat. "Hold your treachery."
The demon - the leader, by the look of it - made a terrified, high-pitched screeling noise, then quieted. The remaining demons stood still; Gringolet slammed the one nearest him into the root-wall with a sickening crunch. Zero Dream That order, even though not from her own lord, was one the feline seemed rather over-eager to carry though - she leaped straight for the the creature as it was forcefully released from Ankou, and after a few seconds of blood-curdling scream, it's head flew carelessly in the other direction.
Which left only one, the one Ankou had snapped the spine of as it had flown by - writhing in pain, certainly, but alive. The Guide was too busy clutching his open wound with his valid hand to bend over and retrieve his weapon - such a death seemed almost too quick and painless, anyway. So, instead of that, it was his boot that went down hard, snapping it's neck with a sickening crunch.
And then... All was silent, and Athanasius peeked out of the branch-path he had ducked off into, too scared to even think about fighting those... those things, whatever they had been. Upon seeing the state of the god, however, he regretted his reaction. 'Lord !!!'"I-Im fine." The Guide hissed though clenched teeth - blood was starting to sweep out from in between his fingers. The statement was mostly right - nothing seemed broken, at the very least. But it was not exactly pleasant. If anything, this was a sharp reminder that he needed to learn how to fight properly... At least, as far as physical combat went. Sosiqui "Jinx, are you versed in medical treatment?" Xing Yun said quickly, taking a few steps towards Ankou yet clearly loathe to lay hands on a god not her own patron, especially with an Aoide of his own near at hand. Tian Yue shot Ankou a look of deep concern, which shifted to blazing anger as he tilted his head down to glare at the demon pinned between his claws. The creature was twitching everry so often, yet still lifting its chin to glare a thim, prideful to the last. "You. You smell.. you reek of dust and..."
... and of the faint tang of familiar evergreen.
"Did you come from that world?" the dragon spat, pressing his claws deeper into the demon's flesh.The creature began to laugh. "That world, oh - that place? It's so quiet now, so empty, so beautiful - our bellies were full then, so wonderful... full and none for you, God-thing, none for you. No strength no power no nothing-" Zero Dream "M...Myaaa.... N-No." Jinx shook her head, apparently having some issues shaking off the surge of adrenaline - and of former base nature. "Not really..." With her claws, she might end up doing more harm than good. However, when the demon spoke, she let out a sharp, nearly-painfully high hiss. "Fool !" How dare it speaks to a god with that tone ?!? Ankou, for his part, said nothing - simply let himself fall back against the root 'walls' and slide into a sitting position, bloodied hand reaching to first return his weapon to his belt, and then motioning to rip off part of his shirt to be able to use as bandage. If there were more demons around, the blood would only serve to lure them...
He did not even bother giving an answer to the pinned demon - proud beyond even folly - though his eyes were locked on the scene as he worked. It did not mean that he would not enjoy what was bound to happen, sooner or later.Sosiqui "Void devour you," Tian Yue hissed, his eyes narrowed to slits - and then the demon's laughter shifted to a scream, then a gurgle as the Dragon King shifted his weight, pressing downward with a sudden rapid pop of bones and flesh. He felt the thing squish under him, the shift from living being to pile of meat, and felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever.
And then there was silence, except for their breathing.
"Tend him, Xing Yun," Tian Yue growled, fury still running down him in waves; as he spoke, the protective power fell away from Ankou's form. The Aoide darted to his side, reaching out her hands to examine the wound.
"By your leave, Lord, there may be poison," she whispered, tearing away a strip of cloth and binding it around his upper arm as a tourniquet. Without waiting for further answer, she leaned down to press her lips to the wound without answer, sucking at it, drawing up blood and whatever else the demon may have passed into it. Zero Dream "..I don't think that will b-" ....Well, alright then. Ankou's expression was downright priceless, and Jinx had to bite her lip to keep herself from giggling at the mix of shock and surprise on her master's face, turning to look away in pretense of surveying the area.
Oh, well... Xing Yun looked like she knew what she was doing, so perhaps he should not worry about her if there was, indeed, poison. He was not sure what would such thing to do him, so perhaps it was better to simply not take the chance. He left his arm as limp as possible, held away from him for her ease, and looked at Tian Yue.
"We should not stay here too long... if there are more, the scent of blood will likely lure them in." Sosiqui Xing Yun turned her head to the side and spat, making a face. "Demon-stench... tastes terrible," she hissed, then examined the wound. "If they had venom, it should be gone now. I do not think there was, though... but it is best to be sure. My apologies for my forward actions, Lord Ankou..."
"Thank you, Xing Yun." Tian Yue couldn't help but agree with her assessment of the taste. The one he'd crunched between his jaws had tasted foul to start with, and as time went on the aftertaste was even worse, even though he'd spat it out. "I don't think there are any more. But, to be safe..."
The dragon crouched, then concentrated, expanding his shields to hover around this small area. Then he knelt and scooped up the bodies with one forepaw, scowling as the one he'd squashed stuck messily to the floor and had to be scraped up. A few steps brought him to the edge of the shield, and he flung the corpses headlong, uncaring where they landed.
Then he transformed again, between one step and the next, not caring for now about his own nakedness. "... ugh." He wrinkled his nose and worked his jaw, thoroughly disgusted, and aware that there was demon... goo... between his toes still. But there were more important concerns than his own comfort.Xing Yun was bandaging Ankou's arm now, with fresh strips of cloth. "Jinx, there's salve in the bag there," she murmured, tilting her head in the direction of their scattered belongings. "It should numb the pain." Zero Dream "Better to be safe than sorry." Ankou voiced his thoughts out loud. "And well... I figure there has to be a reason not many things try to eat them...
Hopefully his companions would forgive him for not wanting to experience the stench for himself. He could smell it and that was enough for him.
He continued to hold out his arm, wincing a bit as Xing Yun started to work on the more sensitive sections. "That... would not be so bad..."Jinx did not answer, per-se, but she moved forward, grapped the bag and whatever else she could carry, then brought it back to Xing Yun, croutching at her side. "Myaaa... Is there anything else I can do to help ?" Sosiqui "No - I am nearly done, thank you." Xing Yun carefully applied the salve to the edges of the wound, then bound the whole tightly in cloth. "That should stave off infection; though, Lord Ankou, you may wish to wash the wound thoroughly when next we come to a realm with clean, flowing water." She bowed her head, then got to her feet and took a few steps back, regaining respectful distance.
"A thorough wash sounds like an excellent idea for everyone," Tian Yue said, bending down and retrieving his fallen clothing; his robes, despite their seeming complexity, were designed to tear as cleanly as possible should he have to transform at a moment's notice. There were tears here and there, but it had survived well enough to cover himself again. "Ankou, are you well?" Zero Dream "I should be fine." The god answered, working his way to his feet once more since Xing Yun had finished - the bandage looked like it would hold nicely, and he could feel the tingling of the salve starting it's work. It was a little annoying, but it was better than the pain from before. Already that was starting to subside slightly. In a sense, he had been lucky - if the demon had decided to go for his leg instead... That likely would not have been pretty at all.
Not that his main hand was much better, but it was definitively less disabling. He could still write, but he was not quite sure he would be able to defend himself if the need for it came again. At least not able to hit as hard as he had just done. Wide movements seemed to make the pain flare anew, in spite of the salve. The bite and claws much have dug pretty deep. "I should still be able to write down..." Of all that introspection, however, it was the only thing he said out loud.
He turned to look ahead - it seemed his little group of ghosts had gotten though unharmed, at the very least, and there was no increase of their numbers. After all, demons with true souls were uncommon. Perhaps it was why they hungered for them so much.
"Shall we continue, then ?" Sosiqui Tian Yue sighed, then smiled and shook his head at Ankou. "I could make the notations if I had to - what's more important is that you're all right. I was careless. We've met no-one else here... but of course, others can enter this place. And did, often, in the old days." There were reminders here and there of those ancient travelers, cart-tracks scraped into the floor or knobbly protrusions in the bark worn glossy and smooth by the touch of hands.
He wondered, for a moment, what it felt like, if Gaia was distantly aware even now of their presence, like the clamber of tiniest insects within her bones. The thought was somehow worrying. "Can you ride? I would not rush you. The task is so monumental, I doubt that taking time to rest again will add much to our labor." Zero Dream "I should be able." As long as he did not fall over on his injury.... Tian Yue was right, of course, but Ankou was not especially keen on holding the group down. The task at hand was, indeed, monumental enough on it's own.
The Guide clacked his tongue and Athanasius came to his side, from where he had been hanging further back in order to not be in the way of either gods or aoidei. Lifting himself to saddle up pulled at the cuts, but he ignored the pain the best he could. "I do promise I will tell you if I start feeling worse, if that would make you worry a little less ?" He said with a grin. Having others actually be worried about his well-being was a rather new thing, and he was not quite sure what to do with it. Sosiqui "Of course," Tian Yue said, with an amused yet understanding smile. "But we will be on our guard... I will maintain shields around us." It was impossibly foolish of him not to have done so from the beginning.
Gringolet nudged up to him as well, as Xing Yun began to re-pack their things and gather their supplies from where they had been scattered. Fortunately, it seemed they had not lost anything to the demons; the attack had been meant to kill, not steal. "At least this happened early on. Had we been tired..."
Well, the demons still wouldn't have killed them; killing a god took more than what a mere demon could dish out. It could, however, have been a great deal more unpleasant. Zero Dream Ankou was not so keen on thinking what would have happened then. Especially to him - fatigue affected him moreso than his companion after all. He was not keen on more physical pain, no he was not.
Jinx brought him his notebook - likely he had dropped it along with his bag earlier - and he accepted it a nod, flipping it open once more to the page he was at, leaning to the side sightly so that the cat could sling the messenger bag over his head and let the strap lay over his shoulder.
The shields would hold - he held no doubt of that - but the sooner he would get away from the acidic stench that hung in the air, the better he would be. Another defense mechanism, no doubt. Sosiqui Xing Yun brought over a clean, whole robe for Tian Yue; once the Dragon King had dressed again, he once again mounted Gringolet. "Let us ride, then." He was grateful for the Aoidei and errais' presence. Without their aid, this would have been more difficult.
Gringolet whickered softly at Athanasius, then tipped his ears back in his Lord's direction. Do we continue?
"We do continue, yes." Tian Yue took a deep breath, trying to scent out the area, but his senses in human form were muted, and the demon-stench still over-rode everything. "If only I could pinpoint a friendly world... what I wouldn't give for an entry to The'ta'naa about now..." The avians, and that ancient Aoide - if he yet lived - would be a welcome site. Alas, he had no way of knowing which direction that world lay on the World Tree's roots and branches. Zero Dream "The'ta'naa ?" Ankou asked, idely, as the black catgirl slide on the errais' back in turn and the two resumed their path, leaving the gore behind. Perhaps a world the dragon had visited before...
The group passed another branch, this one literally sealed over as if it had been cut and the wound scarred over - the Guide made another X on the paper at the basic location of that branch. The map already spanned across quite a few pages, going from the top of the tree to the bottom - he could only hope that it would all make sense in the end.
And that he would not have to somehow cram all this on a single page. He was no experienced map-maker, after all. Neither a very talented artist, but it looked like a tree and the branches where clear and visible, and he was also noting whatever small detail he noticed that might help in identifying what laid... or what once laid... beyond. Sosiqui "A world that Zhijian and I visited shortly after the Wave," Tian Yue said, turning his head back to focus on Ankou even as he kept part of his attention on the shield around them. It was very easy to keep it stable, allowing it to bend and flex along the curves of the root they traveled, sinuous and strong as if they were his own literal scales. "An ancient Aoidei dwelled there - it was he who told us of the stones that prophesied the Answer to the End. I hope he yet lives..."
The dragon shook his head. "But those matters do not concern us now. Let us continue on..." And on, and on, and on, until... until we reach the end.
A terrifying prospect.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:43 pm
Toothpaste and Aftermaths
The taste would not leave his mouth, no matter what he did - water did nothing, food did nothing, even toothpaste (old habits died hard) barely put a dent in it. Demon-foulness was something to be reckoned with. Even now, transformed back into human shape, resting with his back against the wall as the others slumbered, he could still taste the blasted demon at the back of his throat.
It had made a satisfying crunch, at least.
But the price for their lack of care had almost been dear - Ankou's injury was not so severe as to cause permanent damage, even if he hadn't been divine, yet it could so easily have been otherwise. While it was unlikely that anything here could have killed either of the gods, the errais and Aoidei were more vulnerable, and there were a lot of things that could happen to you before you died...
If you died.
We were lucky.
His shields were up now, fairly bristling; he could feel the mana of the Tree poking at it in an almost sentient confusion. My apologies for another intrusion, Empress, but we really must... He would let no such creatures past him again. At least now they were perfectly safe from all attackers; there was no power save Void that could slip through or break his shields.
He should sleep, he knew; should keep alert and ready. He knew from past experience that his shields would maintain even as he slept. And yet he couldn't quite bring himself to do so. My first battle, is it? How... anticlimactic.
Stepping on things had worked well, but not quite as well as he had hoped - and, recalling his conversation with Zhijian, the idea of attacking the Grigori that was was probably not a good plan after all. Void probably stayed in your mouth a lot longer than mere demon-stench.
You're rambling, dragon.
Tian Yue shook his head and settled back, his shoulder-spurs and horns clicking lightly against the wood as he did so. At least nothing had dared poke at his shields. The demons probably were dead, all of them.
No more than they deserved.
The movement and life of the Tree around him had not changed at all, but it seemed almost more sinister now. An innocence, broken. How many other beings had lived within Gaia's coils? How many yet lived?
Hopefully, not all of them were as antagonistic as the creatures who had spilled through from the silenced world.
The Dragon King sighed, his tail curling up around to hug his calves.
It could have been worse.
It could have been better.
I will... take it as it comes, and learn from it, and discard regrets. He smiled dimly at that, remembering himselfShaiming and the promises he-they had made to each other-selves at their final joining.
"Foolish dragon," he murmured, with a wry smile, and got only a particularly loud snore from Gringolet in response.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:44 pm
Here... Kitty, Kitty?Sosiqui It was hard - beyond hard - to keep track of the cycle of days within the Tree. The living worlds they passed held no answer; some had spans of daylight quick as an eyeblink, while others had days stretching on so interminably long that the surface was parched as if inside an oven. Any accurate reference point they had was now lost, replaced with instinct and sheer guesswork.
It was both good and bad, to lose track of time like this.
This morning - or, more accurately, after waking after a long period of sleep - they had continued on their way, having thus far reached the terminus of several living branches and worked their way back. Tian Yue had no idea how far they'd come, only that Ankou had filled an astonishing number of pages with notations. It had been long enough for the Spirit Guide's arm to begin healing, long enough for them to need to refill both water and food from the worlds they passed.
And yet, even after so long within Yggdrasil's depths, there were still moments of astonishing wonder, when tiny tight labyrinths opened up into soaring chambers echoing with the remains of plants that had found a home within the Mother, or a river flowing through the branches, polishing the wood it passed to an exquisite luster. One could not remain blase for long... even if, for the most part, they were confined in those small branches, winding their way through single file, with their footsteps and the ever-present scratch of Ankou's writing their only companions.
Tian Yue was in one such tight squeeze right now, wincing and shoving at a root protrusion that seemed determined to snag on his horns and shoulder-spikes. "See? I told you... oof... that your size was an advantage," he called back at Ankou, pressing against the root again. It cracked, but did not give completely. "Damned... thing..." Zero Dream It was hard not to be amused when such things happened - in fact, it was nearly impossible, but he was good at keeping his amusement to himself. The Guide did not have any problem sliding though the tangle of roots, as he lacked horn, shoulder spikes, and other similar adornments. His wings did not get in his way much, being simply tendrils at the moment.
Still, he turned and headed back, retracing his steps and helping the dragon pull at the roots with his valid arm. His right was healing along nicely, but he still was not quite ready to use too much force with it unless he had no other choice - it was still rather sensitive and painful if he forced it, and there was also the worry the barely closed wounds would open again. He took hold and pulled back as far as he could at this angle. "Can you slide though now ?" Sosiqui "I think- there," Tian Yue grunted as he pushed, and the brittle root finally gave way with one sharp crack that resounded down the dark root-tunnel, almost like a gunshot. The Dragon King stumbled forward and tripped on a burl of dense wood, letting out a most undignified yelp as he fell to his hands and knees.
"My Lord?" Xing Yun called, swinging the light in his direction. "Are you well?"
"I'm fine," Tian Yue called back, sighing. His palms stung, but that was all. "How-"
He stopped as he heard something - a new sound, not a reverberation of their own voices or footsteps. A low, hissing noise...
The Dragon King stared into the darkness for a long moment. Was it just his imagination, or had there been a flicker of light further on? Dim and sickly, but...
"I think there's something back there..." He inhaled sharply, trying to scent it, but he had been in man-shape for quite some time now, as they passed through roots and branches far too small to house his dragon-form. Any especial sensitivity had long since left his nose. "Something...""MYAAA~!" Tian Yue jerked backwards as something moved in the darkness, then launched forward - only to hit his shields and fall back with a hiss. Something small, something... feline?It blinked at him, bristling all down its back, eyes reflecting the light as Xing Yun ran forward. "Mrrrrrrrrr... whooooo?" it spat, after a moment, crouched, tail lashing wildly. Zero Dream Ankou pulled some more, and was caught in mid-movement when the root unexpectingly snapped, nearly sending him down as well, though the Guide stumbled a few steps and managed to regain balance in a somewhat more gracious fashion than his companion, reaching out with his unwounded arm in an attempt to help the dragon stand upward once more.
Though, his motion stopped short when he, likewise, heard the sudden sound. "What..."
Jinx very nearly hissed right back by pure instinct as the creature did, but one sharp movement from Ankou was enough to let the sound die in her throat before it could leave it. No need to pick fights if they could be avoided, after all, and the feline creature might have likely taken at as aggression.
Ankou moved forward alongside Xing Yun, though his movements were a careful stroll rather than her running, arms clearly visible to show that he was holding nothing threatening. "We are simply travelers passing though." He said, calmly and evenly, eying Tian Yue - perhaps... it would have been a better idea to have let the dragon do this, it occurred to him belatedly. His words... were often misinterpreted. Sosiqui The felinoid dropped to all fours, still bristling. "Mrrrrr... vissss...itorrrrr...?" The words were broken and thickly accented, only just recognizable as an attempt at speech. If it hadn't been for the few indications of civilization - a thin leather strip braided around its wrist, and the blade held under one paw-like 'hand'. From here, it looked to be made of wood... but that was impossible, wasn't it? Surely wood couldn't hold an edge... "Yes, visitors." Tian Yue slowly slipped into a crouch, not yet standing up - he'd tower over the creature, and might scare it worse. What is it? Guardians, guides... there were beings living here in droves in the Old Days... There was a faint prickle of memory, but no more; he couldn't have entered Yggdrasil more than a dozen times, even before the Fading. "We're not going to hurt you, we promise. I am the Dragon King Tien Lung, and my companion is the Spirit Guide.""Mrrrrrr." The felinoid glared at them all, but sat back in a slightly more relaxed manner. "Mmm. 'mere. C'mere!" It darted back a few feet, then forward again, tail lashing. It swallowed then, and stretched its jaw wide open as if trying to force words out. "Commmmmee, mrrrr." Zero Dream Ankou looked rather puzzled, though he seemed at least smart enough to present that expression to the dragon than to the creature itself, one eyebrow raised in silent question. Should they follow ?
He had to admit being somewhat... curious, though, as to what the feline wanted of them, and with Tian Yue's shields up, there was very little potential for danger.
Eventually, the Guide seemed to make up his mind, and stepped forward to follow the creature, his pace still slow in order not to agitate the cat-like being further. Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded and got to his feet carefully, deliberately slouching a bit so as to seem less intimidating. Which probably didn't help that much, but... well. He was making an effort, at least!
The felinoid darted forward again, then back, grumbling very quietly with every movement. The erratic, quick dashes didn't seem to tire the creature at all as it led them deeper into the root, past a few world-entrances. Yet as they moved, Tian Yue's ears flicked upward just a little as he caught another sound on the edge of hearing.
Water..."Mrrrrr - rrrrrrrrivervoice, comecomecome," the felinoid yowled, and ran. "Hey! W- damn it," Tian Yue swore as it zipped out of sight. He did his best to run after it, but the low sloping ceiling impeded his movements. Yet they passed no fork in the root or world-entrances, and the sound of falling water increased to a rumble, the humidity going up noticably the further they went.
And there was light at the end of the tunnel...
Tian Yue nearly tripped as he squirmed through the last crushing bit, almost too small for him to fit through, then gasped audibly. All around them was a space so high he swore he could see clouds at the top, with a great waterfall crashing down one side of the trunk, its movements having polished the wood to a high luster on every side; while its fall did not seem to end here, at least some of its flow was diverted into a pool and narrow stream that flowed away down another thin branch. There were ledges and protrusions in the wood as far up as he could see, all dripping with greenery. The light came from two large orbs set high up on root-protrusions of their own.A sudden burst of laughter drew the dragon's attention away from the astonishing scene, and he turned to see the felinoid perched on a burl of wood. "Mrrrahahaha, visssssss-itorrrrrs liiiiiiike?" "It's astonishing," Tian Yue said, shaking his head. The air was damp and warm, though not unpleasantly so. When he focused on small areas rather than trying to take in the whole, he could make out rope ladders on the walls, connecting ledge to ledge, and small domed structures resting among the greenery. "Your home?""Mmmmrrrryessssssss." The felinoid's words ended in a pleased hiss, and it puffed up its chest with pride. Zero Dream Ankou followed along, though he only broke into a run when the creature darted off. "H-Hey !" If it decided to dart off in one of the worlds, they'd never know it !"MyyyyYYYyyAAAaAAAAAa !!!" Jinx darted after her master, clearly startled by his sudden take off. For a moment Ankou almost checked back to see if the feline creature hadn't somehow made it's way behind him.
This was getting a little ridiculous.
Unlike the dragon, neither of the pair had much of a problem squeezing their way though those narrow spaces, and managed to keep up with the creature a little better - in the end, however, Ankou came to a sudden stop, which caused the aoide to smack right into him, only to skitter off to the side mewling apologies and looking rather embarrassed.
The Guide might have found time to be amused if he hadn't already been busy being amazed.
A place like this... right here. So green and full of life. How was this possible.... ?
...This was the World Tree.... if it had been possible anywhere, this had to be where."Myaaaaa..." The cat aoidei was also clearly in wonder, peering at the area around her with wide eyes. Sosiqui "Comecomecome," the felinoid chirped, bounding away again; Tian Yue started forward quickly, his claws digging into the damp wood. He could hear the errais struggling free behind him, heard their twinned gasps. Lord, I fear for my footing on this dampness. I will remain here for now, Gringolet called, a moment later, as Tian Yue moved carefully over the slick surface. It was not flat, but ridged and whorled, with dirt ground into the cracks. "This whole area... perhaps it was a garden? A food source?" Tian Yue murmured. He could pick out more and more of the little structures on the surrounding ledges, but many of them had caved in at the top or were otherwise clearly damaged. As they drew closer to a cascade of greenery, he could make out fruits and flowers... yet at the base of the wild fall of vines was a moldering pile of leaves and fruit that had rotted where it fell.
Beautiful, but in decay.In front of them, the felinoid raised its voice into a catlike yowl that contained no discernable words whatsoever. The sound echoed against the walls. A moment later, an answering yowl came. "Mrrrr... sister, brother, mother comeee," the creature muttered, scratching at itself with one hind leg. Then it sat upright and thumped its chest with one forepaw. "Mrrraya. Sss'me. Mrrrraya." "Mrraya?" Tian Yue tried the word, and got a toothy grin in response. "Hello, Mrraya. My name is Tian Yue.""Xing Yun," the Aoide said behind him, her arms spread slightly for balance as she clopped across the uneven, damp wood. Zero Dream Likewise, it seemed like Athanasius did not dare come any further - that, or Gringolet had stopped him. It was hard to tell from so far away. Ankou did not have the added stability of claws, like the dragon and the cat did - so his descent was slower, his shoes all to eager to slide on the slick surface. He would have rather went barefoot, but that had seemed to be a rather bad idea given his overall... fragility. One step on something nasty and things would have turned rather unpleasant. "That might have very well been the case..."
When the names came out, he figured he might as well add his own. "Ankou." He said, without much formality, as he was mostly focused on not falling on his face."Myaaa.... Hang onto me." Jinx said, offering her arm for added stability. That kind of surface had to be rather unpleasant on hooves... Then, she tilted her head. "Im Jinx !" "Mrrrrmcoming." Came a voice from nearby, a tad higher in tone, and a small pair was visible in the distance, the two darting to meet with their sibling with the same ease the previous one had. "Mrrrr what that ?" The second, a little younger than his big sister, said, but one good look at the dragon send him darting behind his sister for protection. She let out something in between a hiss and a laugh, clearly amused. "Stopthat ! Mrrraya not bring scary here." One paw went to settle on the boy's head, and she looked at her elder sibilings. "Mrrrrr... Butwhothey ?" Sosiqui Mrraya bounded over to her siblings and drew them close, into a little furry huddle, whispering in hushed tones. Tian Yue couldn't make out exactly what was said, and suspected that they weren't speaking a tongue he knew in any case. Tian Yue glanced back at Ankou, a bemused look on his face. "What are they?" he whispered, quietly. "Do you know?" He could see faint traceries on the nearest walls, scratches scored deep into the bark, but most of it was covered by encroaching moss or trailing vines. This close to the wall, the scent of rotting vegetation was rather unpleasant.Zero Dream The only thing somewhat understandable that came out of the little group was the other girl's amused giggles, every now and then. She seemed like a rather cheerful one by nature, where their younger brother looked to be rather sky and skittish. "I..." He paused for a moment, trying to think. His shards of ancient memories, however, refused to surrender their secrets. "I am not too sure, to be honest... Perhaps they are of some kind of tribe that dwelt into the World Tree ?" But for that reason... ?Sosiqui "They seem friendly, at least," Tian Yue murmured. "If... a bit primitive. Perhaps they are remnants of a once-greater population?""Mrrr..." Mrraya scratched behind one ear again, this time with a forepaw. "Dam will know, will yesmrrrr. Know know know." She perked up, as if pleased with herself for remembering the words. "Here herrrrrrrrrre. Sit." She bounded to a small lump in the vines, then reared up, tearing away greenery with her claws to reveal a slightly slumped 'hut' within. "Sitsit. Will come." With that, Mrraya bounded up to a ladder and scurried up it, moving more rapidly than Tian Yue would have thought possible. He looked at the hut - it looked damp, but he didn't want to risk insulting their 'hosts'. "Shall we?" he murmured, picking his way over to the hut. There was no way he could even get his shoulders inside it, so he settled for sitting just outside. He sank down somewhat in the moldering leaves, and the dampness soaked his robes through at once... but, well. It wasn't terrible. Zero Dream "That does indeed seem rather likely." Ankou admitted. After all, if there were others, certainly they would have come ? They seemed like rather curious by nature. Likewise, he eyed the small hut and decided it was probably better to sit outside rather than to try to slide himself in there - while quite a bit smaller than the dragon, the hut wasn't big enough. Or fitting would require a whole lot of bending he was not inclined to do. The dampness did not seem to bother him in the least, or at least nothing was visible outwardly.The girl and her brother remained behind, the former shaking her head a bit, a smile still on her small face. "Not long, mrrrrr." After saying that, she gently poked at her brother. "Stop, Nyarrra. Gogogo~" Nyarra did, at least, peek from behind his sister, and let out something akin to a mewl, whatever word that had been being mostly incomprehensible. The girl did that hisslaugh mix again, but then something occurred to her, and she pointed to herself. "Sanyrra." She announced. "Visitorrrrrssssss.... hungry ?" Sosiqui "Hungry? Ah... yes, of course," Tian Yue said, after a moment's consideration; turning down their hospitality might be considered rude. Though he certainly hoped the meal wouldn't be composed of the rotting fruit. "Thank you. Ah... have you been here very long?"
As he shifted, he realized there was something hard beneath his tail; he carefully reached back and unearthed a small, round figurine from within the leaves just inside the hut's tattered entrance. It bore a very vague resemblance to the cat-creatures, so he held it out to Sanyrra. "Is this yours?" he offered. Zero Dream "Longlong, mrrrr." Sanyrra answered, rather vaguely, patting her little brother on the head and mewling something or other the gods and the aoidei could not really decipher. Nyarra mewed right back and bounced off, climbing the same ladder his eldest sister had skipped off to, though a little more slowly. "Mrrr !" She exclaimed when the dragon unearthed the figurine, though it seemed more out of surprise then anger. "Visitorrrrrrrrfound !" She skipped over to the dragon then, carefully taking it away from him. "Thankthank. Mother happy, mrrrrr, yesyes. Manymany more needfound, mrrrr." On Ankou's part, however, he looked a little puzzled when Tian Yue held out the figurine for Sanyrra to take. Was he seeing things... ? A more direct look revealed that no, he was not - and neither was he confusing it with some assembled ghosts.
There was a soul in there.Sosiqui "Many? What are they?" Tian Yue tilted his head to one side. The cat-creatures seemed friendly enough, even gregarious, but he couldn't entirely figure them out. "You're searching for them?"His questions, however, were interrupted as Mrraya came down the ladder again, not so much climbing down as engaging in a controlled fall. "Rrrrrrrrrope-" She bounded off the last rung and fairly dove into a pile of vines, coming out with a tightly-braided rope of dried vines in her mouth. "Visitorrrrrr.... mrrrr. Hollllld." She dragged one end over and waved it around at them. "Brrrrring down." Tian Yue followed the rope upward - it seemed there was a basket up there, or some woven construction. As he watched, it swayed slightly and creaked, as if something unseen had climbed into it. Zero Dream "Mrrrr. Verrryyyyy imporrrrrtant." Sanyrra answered rather vaguely once more. "Asleep." The basket swayed and creaked once more, as if another little form had taken place in it, and then it went completely still, and remained so. "These..." The Guide mused to himself. "...There was a soul in that figurine." He explained, and was eying the scene as well, and figured he just as well might. Working himself to his feet, he took the wine and started to lower the basket, carefully. It was a little heavy, but not unbearably so.Sosiqui The basket descended smoothly, despite the creaks from vine-rope and basket both; as soon as it was a foot above the ground, a paw slide out over the edge. A moment later the rest of the creature emerged, larger than the others and moving much more slowly, as if moving too fast was painful. "Mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." The eyes were clouded, fur more thin and turning pale around the face, but the feline's attention on them was sharp and clear. "Visitorrrrs." Mrraya hopped over and sat next to the matriarch, whispering something in that feline language. She nodded, then lifted her head again. "Nnnot had for long." Tian Yue nodded respectfully to her. "Greetings to you and yours. My name is Tian Yue, the Dragon King Tien Lung, and my companion is Ankou, the Spirit Guide. We travel with our Aoidei and our mounts on the Crown's work."One tattered ear flicked back. "Crrrrrrrown. Long, llllllllllong since hearrrrrrrrrd the name. Mrrrrr." The matriarch's tail twitched and she stared at them both with eyes bright and hard as diamonds. Zero Dream Ankou continued to maneuver the basket carefully, eventually ending up in a gentle landing, and the Guide let go on the cord, and nodded in agreement to his companion's words. He was not quite sure what to say, to be honest, so he remained silent for the time being.Nyarra's head peeked out of the basket after it had landed, and the younger boy climbed his way out, pulling at a smaller basket full of fruit - thankfully not rotten, though perhaps a little over-ripe - and dragging it out in the open the best he could, before skittering off to nest against the older one's side once more. "Motherrrrrrr." Sanyrra hopped over next, still carefully holding the figurine. "Visitorrrrrrrrr found, mrrrrrrrr." Sosiqui "Ahhhh...." The matriarch exhaled slowly; she reached out and took the figurine from the younger feline with an air of reverence. "Wellll brrrrrrrought, visitorrrrrrs with ollllllld names." She carefully tucked the figurine between her paws, then looked up at them again. "Mrryna I am. These arrrrrrrre my childrrrrrren." She spoke slowly, carefully, her accent thick. "These..." She licked the figurine between her paws. "Arrrrrrrrrre my kin. We awake. Prrrrrotect, guarrrrrrd. Old names." Her tail curled lightly around her flanks. "Why arrrrre you herrrrrrrre?" Tian Yue reached forward and picked up a fruit - he did not recognize it, but it tasted strangely salty, the juice running thick and sticky down his fingers. "We are on the Crown's business," he repeated, pausing to lick away juice that threatened to spill on his clothing. "We are.. making maps. Of which worlds live and which do not.""Mapssssssss." The word trailed off into a hiss, and the matriarch gave them a look that could only be described as calculating. Zero Dream With that done, Sanyrra settled at the basket as well, sitting at the opposite side of her sister, and watching - silently and curiously - her tail wagging back and forth like a metronome and betraying her interest in the situation. Ankou settled down again, beside Tian Yue, and took one of the fruits in turn. That one seemed to be more on the sour side of things, though not unpleasantly so. Though... he was not sure if he liked that look.
"Those carvings... These are maps as well, are they not ?" Maps, maps carved in the wood of the world tree. Old maps, damaged by decay though the careful work could still be seen. The realization seemed to be the last thing that finally stirred memory from him. "Nyanko... You are nyanko, correct ?" Though, that seemed to be all he could recall.Sosiqui Myrrna chuckled, in a way that was not entirely friendly. "They arrrrrrrre... sacrrrrrrred trrreasurrrrrres of the Nrrrrrryanko." A faint smile twiched at the edges of her mouth. "These maps you may sssssssee. If... iffffffffffff." Her mouth opened, long pale tongue lolling out in silent laughter. "Brrrrrrrrrring us meat, Crrrrrown-serrrrrvants. Meat. Fissssssh. So much dangerrrrrrr in this worrrrrrrrld, this trrrrrrrrree." She rolled the r-sounds luxuriantly. "My little childrrrrrrrren have never had such things. The worrrrrrrld smells like waterrrrr. Brrrrrrrrrrring. Then maps. Perrrrhaps morrrrre. Zero Dream To be honest, he had expected that there would likely be a demand to see these maps, but what the demand would be he had not been able to quite guess.
...And, apparently, the demand was fish.
He turned to give an inquisive look to Tian Yue - this could either be very easy or very difficult, depending of the state of the world Myrrna was referring to. Though, he figured catching a few fish on the way to check it out would not be such a bother if there was indeed water.... and life. Sosiqui Fish? Of all the strange requests...
... Well, they were cats. Or feline-ish, at any rate. And while it was true that they could go on ahead, copying those maps or gaining allies that knew the pathways could be a big help in completing their task.
"Is this world near?"
"Mrrrrr... yess. Nearrrr. Down the path of waterrrrrrr. The strrrrrrrream flowssss."
Tian Yue glanced at the stream's path; it did indeed go down a root, small and... no, no, it wasn't a root. It was a world-protrusion. An entrance.
He raised one eyebrow as he looked back at the matriarch. "It's right there, and you cannot go in?""It is of waterrrrrrr, Crrrrrrrown-serrrrrvant." Her tail lashed once in obvious disdain. "Nyanko cannot." Zero Dream Clearly, Tian Yue had never seen a cat fall in a body of water. Clearly.
Though, that was unimportant to the matter at hand. "We will bring you fish, then." He said, without hesitation. Seeing these maps would give him a good idea of how to arrange his own and have it be clear... Those nyanko were likely much more skilled map-makers that he was.Jinx was silent, though she was staring at the water with just a hair of disdain herself. She would follow, loyal as she was, but it did not mean she would enjoy the journey. Sosiqui "Very well, then." Tian Yue inclined his head in agreement. "It would hardly be fair to ask treasures from you without bartering in return.""Mrrrr. Good." Mrryna closed her paws over the figurine again. "Barrrrterrr is fairrrr." With that, she laid down again, pulling her tail close around her and watching the gods with silent regard; the other Nyanko drew close around her, adopting identical, very feline poses. Quiet watchers. "Er..." Tian Yue got up, slowly, brushed leaves from his robes, then glanced down at Ankou. "Shall we, then?" Zero Dream "Yes." He nodded, working himself standing once more, but not even bothering to brush the leaves off his pants and shirt. Or rather, what was left of his shirt after he had ripped out bandages from the lower half. That hadn't seemed to bother him in the least. "Let us go, then.""
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:44 pm
A Paen to Water, Part ISosiqui The nyanko had, at least, allowed them to rest within the confines of their 'garden', and provided a little bit of fruit here and there, though the matriarch of the tiny clan had not permitted the children to speak with them further. Not until the promised fish was offered, or so Tian Yue presumed; while the aged nyanko was physically frail, she had a very sharp, potent presence that Tian Yue had to respect.
They've been alone, lost, abandoned, for a very long time indeed.
It was agreed that the errais should remain behind, as would the Aoidei - that last a gift to Jinx, who hadn't seemed keen on going into a watery place. While the dragon was quite certain she would have accompanied them had they asked, the servants deserved a rest as well. Perhaps moreso; they were not mortal, but neither were they divine, and could not take quite as much strain as the deities themselves.
And watery this world indeed seemed to be. Tian Yue had followed the offshoot root, with its little stream, all the way to the base; the stream-water was cold, and washed around his toes and made the way treacherous, as the wood it flowed over was crusted with slimy, slick water-moss. He had to dig in his claws to maintain his footing, and offered his hand to his companion whenever it was needed.
The root bore no other worlds along its slim length, merely turned upwards at the end where a deep pool formed as the stream ran out. That, too, was cold and clear. But more water was oozing down the walls as the root shifted shape, walls merging gradually from wood to fibrous membrane that let light - and drops of salt water - through.
"They weren't kidding when they said this was watery," Tian Yue murmured, looking at the way up; instead of clean stairs, the wooden platforms gave way to odd bulbous shapes that bumped upwards. It reminded him powerfully of seaweed. Zero Dream Ankou followed his companion closely - the wood under his feet was certainly slippery, and he had no claws to aid in his stability, so that task felt mostly on the dragon's hand and shoulders-spike, if he suddenly started sliding.
He was the one that was carrying the fruits the nyanko had given them, into his old, ratty messenger bag. He had left the maps with Jinx - if there was water here, and there definitively seemed to be a lot of it, they were safer... and it would allow the two aoidei to map the nearby roots while their master was gone, if they wished to do so. He had not especially given any order to do so. They had their own ration, but the elder nyanko had insisted. Said they just might be handy.
Like Tian Yue, Ankou was not too keen on potentially insulting the little creatures. Not when there was much to earn by gaining them as allies.
The slick surface suddenly send him forward again, and his reflexes kicked in, grasping at the dragon's arm for balance. "Sorry..." How many times had he said that word, so far ? So many. He had lost count.
But after his first fall had ended up with him landing directly on his wounded arm, he figured this was the better idea. The closed wounds had not seemed to re-open anew, but the surge of pain in the still-sensitive area was still rather unpleasant. Yet, he could not afford to hold it in order to try and diminish the pain - he needed both free hands for balance.
"Indeed..." The god mused, looking as the material that formed the wall slowly seemed to shift and become... different. More so like plantlife than actual wood. And all that water... "Maybe the entrance is in the bottom of a lake... ?" Sosiqui "It's okay," Tian Yue responded automatically to Ankou's apology - the other god wasn't even heavy enough to pull him off-balance. He tilted his head up and tried to look up the 'root' above them, then gave the weird bulbous shapes that formed the remainder of the ascent a dubious look. They seemed... fragile.
Well, he didn't need to use them, did he? "Ah, Ankou, would you mind if... I'm not sure those things will carry my weight, and they appear fragile... I could fly us up and out...?" He could see what looked like open air in a pinprick high above. Now that he was high up inside the fibrous, flexible part of the root, he could see that the whole thing was swaying, back and forth in a clean rhythm. Zero Dream It seemed better for his wobbly balance for his grip to remain on the dragon king's arm, so he let go of his pride and did just that.
Likewise, the god gave a rather uncertain look, looking around him. He agreed about the stability of the... thing they were inside of, or rather the lack thereof, but... was the dragon honestly going to shapeshift in here ?
In theory, he very well could, but it would probably be rather unpleasant... for him and the root. But, if the dragon had a plan... "Allright." Sosiqui "Alright... er. Here, one moment - hold on!" Tian Yue turned quickly and scooped Ankou up bodily, flipping his companion into what might be charitably described as the 'rescued princess' pose. "Er. Hang on-"
With that, Tian Yue jumped into the empty center of the 'root', flying upward with ease; while he didn't often fly in human form, he was absolutely not going to risk transforming in here! The undulating, translucent 'walls' of the root grew thinner and thinner, pressing closer on each side the higher the Dragon King flew. But he could hear water now, waves, smell fresh air, and-
He did, inadvertently, destroy the very tip of the 'root'; the opening was simply too small, but the 'walls' were so thin by now that it was easy to tear through them and enlarge the exit point. "There we..."
His worlds trailed off as he took in their surroundings. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but open ocean, the root visible below them only as a massive trunk of seaweed, huge leaves spread over the ocean's surface, each one the size of small boat.
They were also, other than a few shadowy visible here and there above the waves, the only thing remotely resembling solid ground.
"... They weren't kidding when they said this place was watery." Zero Dream Ankou allowed himself to be lifted and carried - he was, indeed, just as light as his build would hint at, and thus easily carried and flipped about, especially as he did not resist any of it.
When the dragon took off, he stiffened a bit, clearly a little surprised. Well, he had not known about that, and yet felt rather stupid. He could not help but be a little jealous, though he hid it. The dragon could fly without wings, and his own were all but useless...
That thought was cut off, however, when they emerged, and after managing to pull off the root material from his face, he looked.
And for a moment, was completely silent, his jaw growing slack.
"...Well." He said, flatly. "...We will not have any problem finding fish." Sosiqui "No... I think not..." Tian Yue slowly descended until he hovered just above one of the massive, rubbery leaves of the Yggdrasil-'root'. A tentative poke proved the thing sturdy, if slippery and shifting with every wave, like a slick raft. "Here, I want to fly high and see... what there is to see." It was true that their lights would yield little in comparison, but his vision in dragon-form was attuned to the celestial. There was - had been - the greatest extremes of darkness and light in the skies. He should be able to make out the vague form of the land around him.
If, indeed, there was land to see.
He put Ankou down with care, then quickly took off his robes, careful to drop them onto the huge leaf rather than into the water. "I will go check-"
He leapt into the air again, feeling awfully self-conscious, then transformed in mid-air. His tail unfurled into the sea, and he grumbled as he pulled the tip free, the massive fan dripping water in a trail against the waves. He looked down, marked the location of the Yggdrasil-'root' - even were it not for the lights Ankou carried, the vague feeling of mana-flow would help him find it again - then surged upwards.
He could no longer fly into space; there was no space to fly into. Still, he could go to the very limits, until his claws scraped at the edges of Being; this the dragon did, flinching as he hit that barrier, turning his scales aside. For a moment he pressed his coils against it, wishing, yearning for something beyond...
With a shake of his head, he tore himself free from that reverie, and looked down.
All he could see was water, wavelets dancing, barely visible even to his eyes, yet it was clear enough that there were no landmasses anywhere below him. A watery world in truth, then - yet, Tian Yue thought as he descended, why should all worlds resemble the ones he'd encountered? Surely there were worlds made all of air with no ground, made of pure energy, constructed in any way the imagination could conceive...
The descent was swift, and Tian Yue let himself fall for part of it, taking a distant pleasure in the rush of wind and tug of gravity. It was easy enough to find Ankou again... but there were other lights. Dim pinpricks, glows hidden by the shifting waves, but light.
"No land anywhere," he rumbled as he stopped his own fall before he hit the water, lowering himself gently into the cool - but not unpleasant - endless sea, so as not to swamp Ankou with a small tidal wave. "But there are lights here and there, below the water. Faint." Zero Dream The Guide did not seem embarrassed or even affected in any way at seeing the dragon naked - doing no particular motion to either look or not look, though Tian Yue's self-consciousness was not lost on him - the god, however, only allowed himself an amused smirk when the embarrassed dragon turned to jump and transform.
Though, that was a little too close still - and the movement of the fan tail was enough to create a small wave of the water. Ankou was swift enough to turn, to shield the lantern and most importantly the candle within. Though... that did not stop him from getting drenched.
The god let out a soundless sigh, pulling at the torn, wet shirt that now clung to his form and discarding it on the leaf-raft. Nothing at all seemed better than thorn-up and wet, honestly. He let the lantern lean against the harder part of the alguae they had made their way out from, carefully picking up the dragon's robes and folding them carefully, draping them against his left arm before picking up the lantern again with his right hand. He looked up in the darkness, but even with the lantern, there was no sign of the dragon anymore.
At least, he was not the only thing drenched from head to toe. The dragon had inadvertently splashed his own clothing quite nicely.
And so, he waited. And waited. There was only silence. And then...
Something, so distant, below, below, much like a siren's song but lacking the true lure of such. Though even with no effect from the distant voices, the Guide was still compelled to look... But no, he saw nothing.
Yet, something seemed to call. Deep, deep into the water. Thankfully, the dragon was back before he could even think about leaping right in, and he rose from his crouched position.
"Lights..." He echoed. "...Did you hear anything ?" It was the only way to know. The distance was too great for him to be able to tell, for certain, if the voices had been alive... or echoes. Sosiqui "Hear?" Tian Yue tilted his head to one side, ears flicking upwards; he held the listening pose for a moment, then ducked his head under the water. He could not see as easily below the water; it was clear, but not that clear, and the movement of the waves warped and distorted what little he could make out. There were lights, definitely, distant - and places of greater darkness. But that was all.
"Nothing," he reported, surfacing again. "Not above the water, nor under it. Only the sound of the sea..." Zero Dream "I thought as such..." The god nodded, peering into the water once more. He could not see any distinctive shape, ghostly or not. The ghosts... had to be rather far down. Much too far down for his call to reach them, he could not help but think.
How was he supposed to reach them... ? He could not just leave there without at least taking a few. He was here now, and leaving them to wonder behind, not knowing that they were heard, and that someone was coming for them, even if not right at this instant... It felt wrong.
The deceased spread messages, quickly. Once they knew of his existence... They would likely calm. And wait. And give some respite to the living,
"So there is no ground to be found, then ?" He returned to the subject at hand. He would figure out something... somehow. Sosiqui "No. As far as I can see, there's nothing but water... and a few things poking out of the waves here and there. No significant landmasses." Tian Yue paddled idly around to bob by the edge of the leaf; the water wasn't terribly cold, and it was actually rather comfortable to float on the waves. "I can probably dive without too much trouble, considering I can manage the vacuum of space without harm..."
True, the heavens were part of his own domain as Tien Lung, but the ocean could hardly be more oppressive than that. He gave the waters under his paddling feet a dubious look. Thus far, he hadn't spotted any fish, either. Maybe they stayed away from the Yggdrasil-'root'; he wouldn't be surprised if there were some subtle protection magic to keep the protrusion intact. "So you do hear something? ... More ghosts?" Zero Dream "Yes... But I cannot see them. They might be rather far down... Their song sounded rather far away." Ankou was still peering down into the water... But yet, he saw nothing even move as far as his eyes could see. Nothing beside the dim glimmers of those lights.
"I do not think this place was flooded. This... may very well be just what this world had always been." He reached to slide his hand into the water - it was cool, but not unbearably so. Sosiqui "It makes sense... this whole world is a marvel of Water. I wonder if he knows of it?" Tian Yue had never met the Water-god, only knew of his existence. "There are likely worlds stranger than this... 'strange' depending solely on our reference-point, of course."
"Of greater concern to me at present is the lack of fish." Tian Yue ducked his head and squinted into the depths, but if there were fish present they were adept at hiding in the shadows. Zero Dream The mention of Water made the god stop for a moment, to think. Water... he had not seen him since... Well, techinically he had never seen him. It was Adrian that had. And their relationship... had been an interesting one, so to say.
Perhaps, just like with Shadow, it was best that their path had not yet crossed again. Not when he still resembled the man they both had cared for. "I do not know. I have not heard of him in quite a while indeed..."
He had been about to say something about the fish, but the dragon had already ducked his head inside the water once more. He let the lantern rest against the root-alguae safely one more, took his bag off his shoulder, and dived right in. Sosiqui "Ankou-" Tian Yue blurbled the words into the water, then frowned. The sounds barely made sense as coherent words. Will you be able to breathe?
He supposed that gods wouldn't technically need oxygen, but Ankou was still young in his ascension. Zero Dream The Guide did not seem to recognize Tian Yue's words as that - actual words - and instead continued to head downward - trying to get a better look at either fish or the lights underneath - but he did not manage to go very far. He was quick to turn back and head back up, clinging to the side of one leaf and gasping for air as his head emerged out of the water.
This would, indeed, most likely be very complicated. Sosiqui Tian Yue hurriedly surfaced again, bringing his tail up underneath Ankou's feet to give the other god something a bit more stable to stand on. "Are you okay?"
Well, that answered that question.
"If you wait here, I could dive and find something, catch it, bring it back... it doesn't have to take long." Zero Dream "I figure so." The god did seem somewhat disspointed - in himself, most likely - and he used the lift from the dragon's tail to settle on the large leaf once more, still regaining his breath and raising an hand to clear wet gray bangs from his eyes.
"I will... wait here, I guess." Not like he had anywhere else to go, after all. Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded. "I will take a light, then." He carefully reached out and pinched one small orb between his claws, then pondered. Where could he carry it...?
Well, it is traditional.
He gently wove the thing into the fur of his beard, then snorted in amusement at the effect. Well, dragons of myth had long carried pearls and things in their beards, had they not? He supposed this worked as well.
"I'll return shortly, with any luck." Tian Yue nodded, then ducked his head and dove - straining against the water. This was not the same as flight, but it bore enough resemblance to it that his actions weren't entirely clumsy. No doubt Ti Lung would mock my laugh of finesse... were he here to witness it.
But he wasn't.
Down, down, down... Zero Dream With nothing else to do, the god sat back, leaning against the side of the large root-algae they had emerged from...
And waited.
And waited some more.
Certainly, not much time had likely passed in truth, but to be sitting here, doing nothing at all beside waiting, and still hearing the call of those mermaids... While any lure they might have had did not take hold on him, it still remained that they were dead spirits. It still remained that he had to tend to them, take them back with them - have them spread the word to those he could not take with him that they would be cared for, and that he would return for them.
That they were not forgotten. Not by him.
They were his responsibility, and he could do none of it, thanks to all that water and this half-mortal shape of his. He gave the pool of water the best glare he could muster, one hand reaching into his messenger bag to pull out a string of bright red berries, almost akin to cherries but just a bit too small to truly be so, and their color too vivid a red. Just like he did with cherries, he plopped about three of them in his mouth, only to have his senses greeted by a wave of sour, like he'd just starting munching on three lemons at the same time, making a face and just barely resisting the urge to spit them out and swallowing the whole instead.
Yeesh. The rest of the grape-like string wasn't looking too appealing after that one, so he let it fall down beside him, getting up once more to try to catch some water to drink in hope of making the taste leave his mouth. After kneeling right over the water, though, he hesitated, and watched. The pearl-light that the dragon had attached to his beard was now but the slightest glimmer, and he again got another pang of guilt. Really, he had not been making himself very useful so far, hadn't he ?
He had not thought about needing air underwater - he was a god, he should not need to worry about anything like that - and therefore hadn't really been prepared. If he did hold a breath... Surely he just might be able to get down, enough, just enough... to call the ghosts to him.
Surely.
His mind made, and rather unaware that his actions could likely be considered as more reckless than determined, he tore another strip out of his once-shirt and tied one end to his wrist, separating the other end into three strips and weaving pearls into the braid. Now armed with a source of light, he took as big of a breath as he could and dived straight in once more, ignoring the chills the cool water sent up his spine.
Down, down, down... Sosiqui Tian Yue, heedless of his companion's dive, continued twining downward, sweeping his head around in vast arcs to move the light about; air escaped his nostrils in roiling bubbles but he as yet felt no need to draw breath. Hopefully the same power that let him move safely through the emptiness of space would allow him free movement here.
As he descended, he became aware that the darkest shadows were not rocks, but structures - submerged, arched and beautiful things unquestionably built by sentient architects. They had a strange organic, almost wavelike form to them, and the Dragon King had the sense that they were uniquely designed to work here and here alone - that if the design was mimicked above the water, it would collapse to rubble at once. There was a certain mastery of forces, of building material pushing against water pressure to maintain stability, that Tian Yue could not help but marvel at. If Gianfar could see these...
Something moved; Tian Yue whipped his head around to catch a scaly, bright [i[thing dart past. Aha- here, fishy.... fishy... He lowered his ears and moved more slowly, eyes bright. He was not so good at hunting as a god of such would be, but his size and power tended to make such things not matter. At least for normal game. Zero Dream Ankou slid though the water very quickly - his lean form seemed rather suited for quick swimming, even though his half-fire elemental host had been loathe to have anything to do with water. That dislike was completely gone - the body was no longer such. And it had not been in quite awhile.
The Guide saw the buildings as well, and this was where he headed, out of pure instincts. Ghosts in ruins were not a rare thing, though there unusual shapes retained much of their beauty, broken as they where. A closer inspection proved the material to be not concrete or any other kind of material... No, it was mostly coral, along with some other structural additions that the god could not identify.
The lack of knowledge did not make the sight any less breath-taking.
He angled to swim into the structures proper - this was where he would start his Look. He felt no urge to go back up for air yet, and what he failed to notice was that he had already been swimming down for a few minutes... Sosiqui Come here, you-
It took only a quick swish of the tail, then a snap of jaws, and...
... the fish was reduced to a smear in the water, and then gone entirely. Tian Yue put his ears back reflexively. So... he could kill fish, yes. That much was clear.
Killing them so that their bodies remained whole... was another matter, apparently. He was simply too big for them. A net. Maybe I could make a net out of vines, or seaweed, or... He rolled over in the water, let out a few more air bubbles and watched them rise to orient himself up...
And spotted lights, moving ahead, near the structures.
Ankou?!
The dragon let out a roar that came out as a torrent of bubbles and muffled sound, then kicked upwards. Zero Dream Ankou did not notice any of the dragon's movement, or the torrent of bubbles that his underwater roar unleashed. Both his senses of hearing and his sight - at least as far as souls were not involved - were nothing truly special, and both of those were dulled by the water - his vision was indeed blurred, but the waters were still thankfully clear enough that he did not have trouble seeing where he was going.
He stopped a moment to cling against one of the spire, his breath completely spent and accidentally getting a breathful of water in. And yet...
.... ?
And yet the sensation of burning in his lungs did not return. All seemed well... oddly enough. How... ? But then, the sour aftertaste in his mouth reminded him of one point he had overlooked.
The berries... ? Well, the elder nyanko had said they would come in handy.
Not wanting to push his luck as to how long the effect of this underwater breathing would last, and not questioning his pure dumb luck, the god resumed his descent. Sosiqui Ankou!!
Tian Yue watched in horror as his friend opened his mouth, gasped for breath-
-and kept going?!
The Dragon King rumbled again, the sound resonant and traveling through the water, unmistakable, to alert the other god to his approach, unsure of how to communicate in this place. He was deeply nervous about going inside the structures; what if there was a sudden need for air and they were trapped within walls, under a ceiling? Zero Dream The sound, this time, reached his destination, as well as sent a small school of rather frighted fish dart past him, as he the less scary thing in these waters at the moment. For a split second he feared that something big and nasty was darting his way, looking for lunch, but then recognition settled in.
Big, sure, but not particularly nasty nor out to turn him into dinner.
Ankou stilled for the time being, turning over to look at the dragon, his expression making it still apparent that he'd about scared the living daylights out of him for a split second. What the hell was he freaking out ab-
...Oh.
Right.
He tried to speak, but nothing really legible came out due to the water, and he frowned. The language barrier was going to get a little interesting right about now.
In lack of any other way of expressing himself, he shrugged. At least he was not looking like a panicy drowning person by any stretch of the imagination. Sosiqui Tian Yue gave Ankou a piercing look, then brought his tail around and flicked the fan at Ankou's feet, jerking his head upwards as he did so.
The message was clear - Up. Now. Zero Dream
Ankou frowned a bit, but did indeed comply, using the movement the dragon's tail caused as momentum, though the situation was starting to look a little reminiscent of a child being caught doing something he should not be doing by his guardian and it was just the slightest bit irritating.
At least he knew where the voices were coming from now - indeed, from these structures.
He emerged from the water first, and the sudden re-entry of air in his lungs, he was reminded that he had, indeed, 'breathed' quite a bit of water - which was now not exactly agreeing with him, and sent him in coughing fits until it all came out.
At least the sour aftertaste was gone... replaced by salt and a raw throat.Sosiqui Tian Yue surfaced immediately after Ankou, sucking in deep breaths of air before turning under the water, bringing up his coils under the other god so that Ankou could stand - or sit - on his back. "Are you alright?! What was going on down there?" There was nothing of lecture in his tone, just of curiosity and concern. Zero Dream Ankou did neither, at least at first - letting himself fall limp on the dragon's back until the last of the coughing finally was done, before he stood up slightly, suddenly dizzy,
"Im fine..." Oddly enough, he had felt better underwater. Stupid coughing. "I thought I could... get low enough to try to call the spirits of the dead to me." He started to explain, throat still aching. "I didn't notice it at first... But I ate some of those berries the nyanko gave us before deciding to come down, figured I might just eat while waiting, but... I think they had an effect. I was breathing the water... just fine."
And now his body was not agreeing with the notion very much. Sosiqui "Ah... I apologize, I had worried... going inside a structure without an air source would not be good." Tian Yue's ears flicked back. "So the voices you heard are ghosts, then?"
He gave the nearby seaweed a sour look. "And I am not so good a hunter as I supposed. I am excellent at squashing fish. Not so much at catching." Zero Dream "I got close enough to tell, yes." Finally, he lifted himself up completely to sit, his braid of lightpearls dangling off the side. When the dragon looked over at the seaweed, he did so himself... And let out a light chuckle.
"What did you try to do, swipe at them ?" For some reason, he had no problem fully believing the 'squashing' part. "I am sure you are yet a skilled hunter... for bigger things. Too bad we did not think of bringing fishing poles. Or, perhaps, I figure you would like me to try to weave a net ?"
...He had never really done anything like that before, at least not that he remembered - but... it couldn't be too difficult, couldn't it ? It did not need to last forever, just long enough to catch some fish... Sosiqui "Yes," Tian Yue said sourly, almost pouting. However, he brightened a little at Ankou's question. "That would be... an excellent plan. I could trawl with a net, and perhaps... perhaps the brackish pool at the base of this root could be used as a catch-pool? It could sustain a small population for the nyanko. A renewable resource. With a net, I could make live catches." Zero Dream It was hard not to laugh. It was, honestly, very had not to laugh, even for him. But somehow, the Guide managed, only shaking his head instead.
"I have never done anything like this before." He warned, launching himself from the back of the dragon to land smoothly on the leaf where his bag and the lantern awaited, undisturbed. "So I do not know how successful this will end up being, but... I can try."
Which did not mean the dragon would not have to work for his net. "Could you bring me some of that seaweed, then ? Longest strands you can find." Sosiqui "Hmmm... I wonder..." Tian Yue carefully paddled over to the main 'trunk' of the Yggdrasil-protrusion and peered down. Sure enough, there were other, lesser seaweeds tangled around it further down, like penitents in worship to their supreme ruler.
Without another word, he dove, reaching his claws out to grab the toughest strands. The seaweed was soft, and supple, and peeled easily away from the Tree. Strong, yet flexible...
He had to bite the tangle to get it back to Ankou, his feet all needed for swimming. "Mmmf mmft?" he mumbled through the mouthful, hefting the lot high, dripping. Zero Dream ...Well, he figured that also worked just as well. Perhaps even a little better, who knew ?
Ankou seemed to make no attempt at decoding the dragon's mumbling, heading toward the edge of his own leaf to catch the tangle as he dropped it. "Let us see..."
He wandered a few steps back, plopping down once more and working on untangling the stripes of leaf first. They were, indeed, rather flexible, yet durable at the same time.
This might actually work...
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:45 pm
A Paen to Water, Part IIZero Dream He was not quite sure how long he had actually sat there, carefully separating and weaving strands together and working knots to hold it all in place, working with only faint lantern light and his weaving of cloth and light-pearls attached to his wrist to guide his moment - likely quite a few hours - enough that, once he got up again, his legs felt rather tired.
But he had something vaguely resembling a net, with the biggest pearls he could find woven at each corner to add weight and the unplanned benefit of light - though, of course, the net, while large compared to him, remained rather minuscule compared to the dragon that was swimming back and forth, ever-so-patient. Sosiqui Tian Yue was indeed paddling back and forth, keeping moving; while the water wasn't freezing, it did sort of get into one's bones the longer one was in it, and movement made it easier to deal with. However, as Ankou tied the light-pearls into the corners, he stilled his movement and drifted to the Spirit Guide's side with the last of his momentum.
"An exquisite piece of craftsmanship, truly - are you sure you haven't done this before?" There was genuine curiosity in his tone as he carefully lifted one side of it. He could easily drop this over the fish and then bundle them up... hmm.
But, first things first.
"What about the ghosts? I... I don't want to leave you to the ruins alone. It could be dangerous." Tian Yue swung his head vaguely over Ankou in a protective fashion. "Jinx would have my hide." Zero Dream "Not in this life, at any rate." He shrugged. "Though, I have always been rather good with my hands. As long as you have a basic idea how a net needs to work..."
At the last few words, the Guide gave a light chuckle. "I am not sure she would even know exactly where to start. Though... You could come with me, if you are worried something might happen." He was not... But if it made Tian Yue less nervous, than so be it. It was not like he had not seen what he was about to do before, or that he had anything to hide, so it did not bother him. Sosiqui "Of course. You do have more of those berries, don't you?" Tian Yue carefully bundled the net up and slung it over his neck to carry it, hooking a few strands together so it would stay in place. "I don't want you to end up in the depths of some underwater labyrinth and need to breathe..."
Though, if that did happen, Tian Yue could do... something. Break through the ceiling, something, anything. Zero Dream At the mention of the berries, Ankou frowned a little. Yes, that meant he had to chow down on more of those little sour bombs, did he not ? "Yes. They gave me quite a few."
He didn't mind sour, not really, but these things were off the scale. But, it was enduring the taste or stay here and leave the spirits behind - and the second part, in his mind, was not even an option.
So, indeed, he reached inside his back, plucked three from the vine - he was not sure if three was the magic number or not, but Tian Yue was worried enough as is, so he did not quite dare to add more unknown to the situation. So, he ate all three - again just barely resisting the urge to simply spit them out - and, after about a minute, dived right in. Sosiqui Tian Yue followed, resisting the urge to scoop the smaller god onto his back again - but they couldn't really communicate clearly here, underneath the water. Light haloed the dragon now, from both the light-pearl in his beard and the pearls attached to the net that now hung around his neck. Fishing would come later - for now, catching Ankou's ghosts came first.
Or whatever it was he did with them.
Still, with practice the dragon was getting a bit more nimble in the water - but only a bit. His massive size made sneaking impossible, and he wasn't sure if he'd even fit within the buildings. Still, as Ankou kicked towards the ruins, Tian Yue realized their scale was larger than he'd first supposed.
The seaweed of Yggdrasil had been massive...
... were the beings who build these places similarly sized? He had no idea, but the thought made him a bit nervous. Zero Dream Ankou, on the other hand, was fairly agile and nimble in the water, able to re-orient himself at a moment's notice, and, most of all, completely fearless, in spite of being the one in greater possibility of danger. Drowning was still a possibility - neither had any idea how long the effects of the fruits actually lasted for - but yet nothing of it really showed. Perhaps he had not even thought about it.
When it was about his duty, it would take more than this to stop him. He would not turn away when he had been so close.
The Guide slid in between two of the large coral spires, reaching toward the ocean floor. This... this was where he could call. He could hear them now, singing - no, from closer in, it was not simple singing, neither was it the kind of songs meant to lure sailors to their doom, if the myths held true.
It was a lament. Forgotten, forgotten...He had not. He was here now. His feet finally touched the sea bed and, gathering all the mana he could wield, he Called.
Silently. Without a word, without a wave, without any bubbles. Without any sign to his companion other then the sudden spike of mana.
They heard. And they came, one by one - pale blue skin and scaled tails kicking small waves as they moved, hair made of seaweed carefully braided in an ornamental fashion - not only mermaids but their masculine equivalent. They heard, and they came, wondering just what it was that had remembered them, after the survivors had abandoned this city and their bodies. It was not one of their own, but something else - something much different indeed. But yet it did not matter. He had called and, instinctively, they had came to answer it. He was here, he could see them and... perhaps, they already knew what he was here for.
The Guide smiled. He could not speak, not underwater, but there seemed like there would be no reason to.'It had been a long time... Since someone last came for us.'Ankou knew, simply by the look on their faces. Some circled about the dragon, rather curious of this strange beast that could not see them, and was even more foreign than the Guide of the Dead - curious but not hostile. Perhaps even a little playful. As their scales brushed against his own, the poor dragon might very well feel a little haunted indeed. Sosiqui
The light from the pearls rippled and refracted strangely in the depths; Tian Yue only followed his companion silently, pausing and keeping at a respectful distance when he felt something begin to happen.
Something he couldn't see, couldn't put a name to, but that made the waters around him feel... occupied. The ghosts. There were no eldritch signs, no mysterious light - maybe the water felt a little colder here and there, but he couldn't be sure. All the dragon knew was that Ankou was definitely looking at and interacting with something. Someone.
Multiple someones, probably.
A little chill ran down Tian Yue's spine, unbidden. Just as in Yggdrasil, the idea of the dead moving past and around him was a bit unnerving. It seemed worse here, though, with the darkness and the weight of the water pressing down on him, rippling and distorting.Zero Dream Again, at the opposite side of the spectrum, Ankou seemed rather comfortable with all those presences around him - perhaps it helped that he could actually see them. It was easy to notice his friend being uncomfortable - and with another small spike of mana and a gesture of the hand, the curious merpeople slid back toward him, as if he'd risen his voice and ordered them to follow, hopefully leaving the dragon less unnerved.
They knew what he was, instinctively, especially with his mana spread around these waters. No explanation seemed to be needed - they knew what he did, if not that he was a god - and what he was here for. At the moment, it was all that mattered.'It has been a long time, since we have started to sing.' The one who had spoken slid closer, her face fair and her reptilian eyes so bright a blue that it rivaled with the clear water around them. 'We thought ourselves to be forgotten... The cycle of life and death broken, doomed to haunt these waters forever. This city has been cursed ever since plague overtook it - no one dares swim these waters anymore, in fear that they shall die as well.'Ankou shook his head and then, slowly mouthed words. I do not forget. Not of these things.That seemed to work well enough, as far as communication went. 'So we see... Oracle of the Dead. It is good that you are here. You will show to way to I and my people. The paths of legends did not work for us when we tried.'The Guide, suddenly, looked a little puzzled. The paths of legends ?'Tunnels along the coral and the earth, leading lower and lower... These paths, according to legends, are the ones our ancestors followed to reach the sacred ever-after. I have gone, but... they lead nowhere.The sacred ever-after... The Underworld. Yes, it made sense, and the more sense it made the more he thought of it. Connections so direct, as after all, the borders had always seemed to 'ghost' along the living realms. It made it... easier to jump toward destinations. He remembered clearly.
Before, there had been Rivers.
This water, of course... had to come from somewhere. And now, there was a need to find these connections again... remember them. And use them.
The old pathways had been cut off.' He mouthed again. 'Until... recently. It is very likely that these same path will be open to us now. I wish to see them.'Very well, Carrier of the Dead.' She paused, however, giving the dragon a long - and equally curious - look. 'I fear, however, that your strange companion will not be able to navigate these narrow pathways.'I figured. What is your name ?'Ecletia, Lord.' She said, never once bowing, but her voice constantly eerie and respectful. I will go speak to him, then, Ecletia. In the meanwhile, I want you, your sisters and your brothers to sing, as you have sang to me - sings to the others like you, the dead. Tell them that they are not forgotten. Tell them that, no matter how long it takes, I will come for them in turn. Tell them that the remains of one of your own will be a jewel on the crown of the lord of the Dead Himself. Tell them that they will never be forgotten again.The siren paused, surprised, but then... she smiled, and her silent tears mingled with the water of the sea. 'We shall, Lord.'Ankou nodded, and mouthed one last thing - I will return. - before turning and swimming toward the dragon, this time the one to gesture toward the surface. Just as he did that, the merpeople's voices filled his ears once more - their song no longer a lament of their doom. Sosiqui Tian Yue waited silently as Ankou gestured and moved his lips, conversing with the unseen, the unheard. He wondered what it was like to see and hear the dead, to feel words torn from fleshless ... what it would be like to die in a way that left something behind, an afterworld to look forward to.
He had died once, and there had been nothing until the gem. The re-collection.
When Ankou turned and gestured to him, Tian Yue nodded quickly and ducked his head down beneath the other god, so that Ankou could cling to the dragon's fur. Air bubbles once again indicated up, and Tian Yue kicked upwards, his fan-like tailtip giving him extra purchase against the water.
He took a deep, grateful breath as soon as he surfaced, then tilted his head back as best he could. "What... who was down there? I know you were interacting with something, but not what..." Zero Dream Again, there was the matter of water and lungs not exactly agreeing with each other, but at least this time, he knew it was coming - there was still a few minutes of coughing before the Guide could answer the questions asked to him, his grip remaining strong on the dragon's mane.
"Ghosts." He said, finally tilting his head to look at him, throat rather raw from all that couching, but he bared it. "They have been calling... ever since they died. One of them mentioned a plague." So long, so long ago...
But unfortunately, he could do nothing about it.
"She mentioned a path that I think might actually have a direct connection to the Underworld, and this is probably the best course of action. They are merpeople - even dead, nothing's gonna make them walk though the roots of the World Tree very well. But she said you probably won't be able to slide those those passageways."
What the dragon would do now, he did not know, but it was plainly evident that he very well planned to go. Sosiqui "Hmm." Tian Yue tilted his head to one side; he had winced when he felt Ankou shaking and retching on his back, but it seemed best not to fuss over it too much. The other god had his dignity, after all. "To the Underworld, then...? Nergal and presumably Echo are there as well, correct?" At least, he devoutly hoped Music had found her way to that eternal home... and not by way of dying, either. Zero Dream "Yes." He nodded, waiting for the dizziness to subside before sitting on the dragon's back once more. "There were often little parts like this, that connects the living world to the Underworld. I have used them often... and I believe what she was alluding to to be one of them. Water for the rivers."
This world, after all, was not lacking in water.
And, to be honest, he had promised Cosine he would watch out for Echo and Nergal... perhaps, seeing this path firsthand would at least be able to qwell some of her fears - that he had seen the place exist first hand rather than go on to guesses and intuition. "I figure you could fish while I do this ?" Sosiqui "Actually, I think having some more berries would be good... you don't know how long this will take, do you?" Tian Yue paddled over towards the floating Yggdrasil-leaf where they'd left their clothing. "I can catch sufficient fish in one sweep if I find one. If you can help me... we can put them into the pool in the Tree itself. A renewable resource." The water here was sweet, not salty; with the runoff into the Tree from the entrance, the pool should be sustainable. Zero Dream "I still have a few... I believe it might be enough, but better to be safe." Ankou nodded - now that the spirits below knew that they were not forgotten... They would likely be rather patient. Time did not matter for the dead, after all.
At least most of them.
"If you catch a large school, then it would likely be a possibility..." He mused. That was miles better than just bringing 3 or 4 dead fish, was it not ? Sosiqui "I would feel better about it - ah, I am sorry." Tian Yue chuckled and submerged himself most of the way, keeping Ankou dry as he paddled up to the leaf so that the other god could step off his back right onto 'dry land'. "My duty has always been protection, so I am, perhaps, a bit of a... mother hen?" Zero Dream The Guide let out a light, amused chuckle, hopping off to the leaf once he had gotten close enough to do so. Base natures... He could understand that, and did not begrudge the dragons any of his worries. He knew himself relatively vulnerable, but was not used to truly care for such. Not when it came to himself, at the very least.
The spirits of the dead... Yes, it seemed he was rather protective of them. So, somewhat... he could relate.
"You are lacking in feathers, I find." He said with a grin, reaching for his bag. Sosiqui Tian Yue snorted. "Perhaps a bit. Speak with my brother Zhijian if you wish feathers, he has plenty." Still, his ears tipped up with amusement. "One moment, then, and I shall return..."
Carefully, he untwined the net from where he'd left it draped around his neck, holding it carefully in his mouth. Then he nodded at Ankou and dove, down, down, down... into the depths in a halo of light. Zero Dream Again, Ankou found himself alone on his little leaf, though this time, with some process accomplished, he was much less likely to go off and be reckless. Instead he took the lantern in his hands again, checking the flame of the candle - it was still going though, but the candle had burned down significantly. They must have been here for quite awhile indeed... The net alone, it seemed, had taken him quite a few hours.
Or at least, this was what the cramps in his legs afterward had told him.
That done, he slung his bag on his shoulder again, and stared up at the starless, inky black sky.
He could only hope that the work they were doing here would result in it being filled once more. Sosiqui It took some time, but after about fifteen minutes, the surface rippled and the dragon emerged once more - with a net filled with wriggling fish clamped between his teeth. "Mrrfmf," he mumbled, unable to talk clearly with his burden, then flicked his tail towards the Yggdrasil-root.
He paddled a bit further away from Ankou and his leaf, then rose up into the air, dripping water like an angry raincloud. A few fish squirmed free from the net, but most remained within as the dragon rose over the entrance to Yggdrasil. He could see the pool below...
Here we go...!
Carefully, the dragon squirmed down into the root, the tough, flexible walls protesting his intrusion. There was no way he could get his shoulders past the entrance, but he extended his neck as far as he could to get the precious fish as close to the pool at the bottom as he could. They had to survive the fall... and then, with luck, they would live, and breed, and provide the nyanko with a sustainable supply of fish.
Finally, when he could squirm forward no more, the dragon released the net. Watched it fall and hit the pool with a splash...
... watched the fish flop free and move into the water.
He let out a sigh of relief, then transformed, shaking himself as the painful constriction eased with his rapid decrease in size. It was the work of a moment to dive from the top of the root into the water again, then to paddle over to the edge of the leaf where Ankou waited. The sea seemed so much more vast and dangerous in this form.
"Please tell me my clothes are still there?" he asked, shivering slightly. Now that he didn't have scales to cover himself, the water seemed colder, too. Zero Dream Ankou did not dare follow - it seemed like a very bad idea, mostly due to the sheer size of the dragon - but he watched, and hoped that this would work out as Tian Yue had planned. That... was a rather high drop, and if he missed the water below...
Do not think of it. All will be well.
He tilted his head back when the now human form of his companion landed in the water a few feet away from him, kneeling down to pick up the robes he had discarded earlier and moving to the edge of the leaf.
"I cannot promise that they won't be wet, but they seem to be in one piece." He nodded. "How did it go ?" Sosiqui "I believe they are fine... and the Tree none the worse for wear," Tian Yue added, dryly. It was quite awkward, squirming up onto the slick, flexible surface of the leaf, but he made it after a few rather ungraceful kicks, reaching out one hand to wrap his clothing around him. "Thank you."
It took a moment to get dressed properly again; his clothing was damp, and the Dragon King fought the urge to shiver as a breeze seemed to cut right through him. "Scales was much better," he muttered, then shook his head. At least these oceans were sweet water, not salt, so there was no salt-stickiness to contend with.
Satisfied, he looked over at Ankou. "Are you ready to go back in? I will carry you again - I confess, I am looking forward to resting somewhere warm and dry... ish." The nyankos' 'garden' was humid, true, but it also had dry land. Of a kind. Zero Dream Ankou seemed to hesitate for a moment, glance locked on the depths below. It was evident what he was actually thinking about. He was not ready to go back, yes, but...
But the dragon was right. Better to be safe than to be sorry.
"Whatever plant that happens to be seems... rather elastic." He admitted. He had been very certain that it would break under the strain, but it had not been so. Then, before he could give in to any urge to simply jump back in the water, approached the dragon so he could take hold and carry him.
I will return He promised, silently.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:46 pm
Services Rendered
Ankou had spent only a little time with the nyanko after their return; Tian Yue could tell his companion was eager to be off, to fulfill the promises he had made to the invisible dead. I will miss him, the dragon realized as he watched the Spirit Guide vanish again down the tunnel, heading for his own duties, his own destiny.
But the Dragon King had duties of his own - largely, satisfying the pointed glances of the nyanko matriarch. "It is of waterrrr," Myrrna had insisted as he tried to coax them down the root to see the pool he'd filled with fish for them; Tian Yue fought the urge to just scoop up the exasperating feline and fly her there himself.
Diplomacy had to be observed.
Fortunately there were plenty of vines, and Aoidei with quick hands to help him with his craft. The odd walkway they'd created was a little rickety, but it worked for nyanko, and Tian Yue had no need of the ground. He hovered easily above the water as the nyanko peered down into the deep pool at the base of the world-protrusion, fascinated.
Finally, Mrryna straightened, though her children remained transfixed by the darting silver forms swishing through the water below. "Fish, indeed. Boldly done, drrrrrrragon-lorrrrrd. To brrrring the fish here that they might live in numberrrrs..."
"Provided you do not eat them all, they should breed and keep you and yours well fed for quite some time," Tian Yue said with a smile. "That's our part of the promise paid," he added, giving the matriarch a meaningful look.
Myrrna laughed, the sound rasping and breathy. "Indeed, indeed. Come, come." She yowled something at her kittens; the young ones immediately jumped up and trotted down the shaky walkway, tails held high.
Tian Yue followed, obedient for now - how very like a cat, to order even gods around! - as the nyanko darted out of the root and into their vast garden sanctuary once more. The Aoidei and errais glanced up as they approached; the nyanko ignored them, focusing their attention on the vine-covered wall.
"Herrrrre, Crrrrown-serrrvant-"
In one swift movement, more rapid than Tian Yue had thought the elderly matriarch was capable of, Myrrna reared up and tore at the vines with her claws. As one, her children followed her, shearing through leaves, pulling all their weight against the vines to dislodge the tangle from the walls. After a few minutes of being attacked, the whole tangle gave way, snapping away from the wall and tumbling down. The nyanko scattered, darting out from beneath the vines as they collapsed...
And the map was revealed.
Tian Yue landed then, heedless of the squish of rotting fruit under his toes as he reached out to run one clawed finger along the lines of the map. They had been carved into the bark long ago by smaller cat-claws, deeply, designed to last...
"How far does this map go?" He could recognize bits of it, saw how they matched up with Ankou's own maps at the edges.
"To the next villages, drrragon-lorrrd." The matriarch curled her tail around her feet. "We have not spoken forrr generrrations. The paw-shapes marrrk them."
Tian Yue scrutinized the map, then nodded slowly as he made out the paw-print carvings amongst the others. "And our position is where...?"
"At the lowerrrrr left. The paw and leaf and drrrop, for garrrrden, waterrr, and nyanko."
Tian Yue searched and found the three symbols. "I see. Lady Myrrna, I need to study this map carefully... how accurate is it?"
She puffed up as if insulted. "Made by centurrrries of my people, Crrrown-serrrvant. It. Is. Corrrrect."
"Ah. Yes. Of course. And... recently updated?"
"We arrrre but fourrrr."
"Of course..." Tian Yue studied the map a moment longer before turning back to the nyanko. "May I set up a small enclave here? I must compare this with the maps we have made, and determine how accurate this map is... the ways that yet live must be marked. There has been a great rending of the Tree."
"We hearrrrd trrrumpets' blast, drrragon lorrrd. We hearrrd," Myrrna said, quietly. "You are welcome herrre. Make yourrr bowerrr. I am old, too old to trrrraipse about. Yet my childrrrren arrre not. They will guide. Trrravel. Point the way."
"Thank you," Tian Yue said, bowing to her; her ears flicked back as if amused. "There is much to be done."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:47 pm
The Dragon's Bower
Tian Yue looked down at the breathtaking view below him; the Dragon King was perched atop the highest ledge in the garden chamber, holding a small stack of the woodier vines in his arms. The waterfall tumbled into the chamber here, water flowing through a large gap in the woody 'ceiling' from a source even higher up in the Tree's trunk.
From his high perch - Tian Yue judged it to be at least twenty stories from the waterfall's entrance to the chamber's floor - the scale and scope of the Tree was astonishing.And this room is contained quite easily within the Whole... oh, Empress, what glories have been lost to us! He imagined vast chambers like this, networks of roots and branches now dead and gone, their worlds fallen away to Void and mana Eaten.
So easy to think of clinically from a distance; so hard to consider up close.
The Aoidei moved far below, orbiting the wall where the nyanko map was carved. The map itself lay close to the waterfall's spray; the Aoidei were building a curved wall, a shelter to protect the map and those studying it. Tian Yue himself had explored the walls of the chamber, looking for forgotten maps or pathways that branched off from the garden. There were exits here and there, though they all seemed to lead to individual worlds rather than longer branches that could hold multiple worlds and yet more branching.
It was, the dragon had to admit, somewhat of a relief.
Enough introspection, dragon - they can hardly build your shelter without materials! Tian Yue shook his head and steadied the load of wood in his arms, then let himself fall off the ledge. He fell through the mist of the waterfall, smiling to himself as the waterfall's roar rose around him, using just enough of his own power to keep himself stable in the air. I remember, I remember falling, burnishing my scales on starfire, tumbling entwined to the surface of moons...
Memories of a time, person and place that were now gone.
It would have been more dramatic if he'd had wings to snap open and catch the air; in their absence, Tian Yue simply slowed his fall as he approached the ground, exerting control at last. He landed easily next to the Aoidei, who stopped their work and bowed. "How goes it?" he asked, placing his burden gently on the ground.
"Well enough, Lord," Xing Yun responded; Jinx merely nodded. The feline Aoide seemed somewhat aloof, though not to the point of rudeness.
She misses her Lord, wishes to follow him, cannot. It is more than understandable. "Thank you." Tian Yue rested one hand on the structure; it was very nearly finished, and the vines and branches he'd brought down would likely serve to complete it. The wall was curved slightly like the nyanko's own little hollows, though much larger. The Aoidei had even placed light-pearls here and there, dangling in tiny woven baskets - nyanko handiwork, perhaps?
"It looks well."
The voice was unexpected; Tian Yue turned to see Myrrna watching them with interest, for once unaccompanied by her kits. He nodded to her in acknowledgment. "Does it meet with your approval?"
"It does. Yourrrr serrrvants arrre canny crrreatures." She gave him a prim look, then got to her feet with a long, feline stretch. "You will study the map?"
"Yes, and send out my servants to find what parts live and what parts do not." They had to figure out some more effective way of tracking the mana, something better than physical observation. Still, after being inside Yggdrasil for so long, the Dragon King felt a heightened awareness of the way the Tree's mana flowed and moved. The breath and life of the tree was easier to comprehend.
Though only just. These creatures have lived here all their lives... perhaps they, too, have that sensitivity. It could be a useful tool.
Myrrna chuckled. "My kittens will go. They must trrraverse the ancient ways. Perrrhaps the otherrr settlements can be rrreached. And theirrr maps plunderrred... forrr the Crrrown."
"For the Crown," Tian Yue murmured, and bowed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:48 pm
Nyanko Tales
Tian Yue was studying the map when it happened - without warning, between one blink and the next, the lights went out. The dragon, startled, drew back sharply and very nearly tripped over the vines coiled at his feet. "Myrrna?" he called out, squinting past the light-pearls' glow into the sudden, vast darkness.
The response was immediate. "Nyahaha!" Feline laughter echoed against the walls, audible even over the ceaseless roar of the waterfall. "Is night, drrragon lorrrd." A small shape hopped into the pool of light; not the matriarch, but her daughter. Mrraya.
"Night, is it?" Tian Yue stepped outside the shelter and peered upwards; after a moment, his eyes adjusted, and he could see the great light-orbs sitting inert overhead. "I had no idea."
"Sometimes day, sometimes night." The nyanko shrugged in a ripple of movement. "Inside is like that, yesss?"
"Inside?"
"Inside," Mrraya confirmed, trotting a few feet away and pointing one paw at the root that led to the watery world. "That way isss inside. And otherrrr ways too, yesyes?"
"Ah..." I suppose, in a sense... that while we are Within, we are also Without. "I see. How long will the 'night' last?"
Another shrug. "A night-time, drrragon lorrrd." It was clear from the impish tilt to the nyanko's ears that she thought the question rather foolish. "No morrre, no lesss."
"And what do you do during the night-time, Mrraya?" He could hear others moving now, saw lights swinging in the direction of one of the entry-tunnels; probably the Aoidei. "Do you climb and garden and explore?"
The small feline shook her head. "No, mrrr. We sleep. Not too much, orrr become small." She sat back on her haunches and framed a small shape, awkwardly, between her paws. "Like ancestorrrs. Sleep some. Stay awake more. Tell storrries."
"Stories, is it?" Tian Yue looked thoughtfully at the nyanko. "Will you tell me?" There was enough light in the shelter to keep the map visible; he could continue his work of copying down the nyanko map. He had to give the Aoidei an idea of where they were to go, what they were to explore. "I would welcome the company."
"Mrrrrr... 'kay." Mrraya hesitated at the edge of the shelter, then crept inside, curling up close to the entrance and tucking her paws under herself. Tian Yue smiled and padded quietly back to the map and the papers he'd been making notes on, perched on a rickety makeshift 'table'. "Mrrrr..."
"Please, go ahead. I promise I won't bite."
"Nyaha... mrrr. Storrries arrre told in nyanko-language. Not godtalks, mrrr..." She fell quiet for a few minutes, then let out a purring sigh. "So. ... So. Once... therrre wass a lady. Fairrrr she was even though she was no nyanko, as grrraceful as nyanko she walked, as sweetly as nyanko she talked."
Tian Yue risked a glance back; Mrraya was sitting up now, her eyes closed, a faint crease between her eyes as she concentrated. "The lady lived alone in herrrr bowerrr; feeling alone, she began to dance. She danced so prrrrettily that a voice answerrrred herrr, frrrom Outside-Outside... mrrr..." Mrraya made a discontented sound and than yowled a nyanko-word. "Worrrrd in godtalk... is wrrrrong."
"I think I know what you mean," Tian Yue said, reassuringly; indeed, this was begining to sound a little familiar. "Please, go on."
"Mrrrrr," the nyanko grumbled, then settled down again. "Voice answerrrred, said 'let me in, yourrrr dance is fairrrr.' But lady was afrrrraid, said 'learn noble ways, speak noble worrrds, then come, but not beforrrre.' Voice made herrrr bowerrr rrrrock and sshake! Lady cried out!" Myrrna's voice rose dramatically. "Then allll stopped. Lady peerrrred out and sssaw... Voice. And Voice was fairrr like nyanko, grrrraceful as nyanko, sweet-speaking as nyanko."
Tian Yue smiled inwardly, and tried not to betray his amusement. Such... humility.
"Voice and Lady danced then, such a dance, even grrrreaterrr than the grrreatest and most grrraceful of nyanko! And when Lady danced with Voice, she rrrrose up, strrretched up, grrrrew and grrew laughing and singing! And herrrr song is in the waterrrrfall. In the plants. In the trrrrrree. She became Inside. And once she walked among nyanko-kind. Rrrremember, kits, rrremember. And dance for the Lady when she comes!"
A faint noise drew Tian Yue's attention; he turned, and saw Mrraya.
The nyanko was dancing, leaping in the air, a movement that was simultaneously parodic of human dancing and yet wholly feline. Her eyes were tightly shut, but her paws still landed true despite the tangle of vines beneath them. "Dance for the Lady..."
And then she realized he was watching, and stopped, shaking slightly. "Dance," she told him, almost accusing.
"She will come again," Tian Yue said, quietly. "She will."
"Mrrrr... rrrreally?"
"Yes. I promise."
"Mrrrrrr."
The nyanko appeared to consider this for a moment, then nodded once and darted away.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:49 pm
Departure
All was ready.
The Aoidei, errais, and nyanko were gathered at the edge of the garden chamber; ahead of them, the three major tributary-roots branched out. The nyanko kits bounded in and out, between the legs of the errais and over Tian Yue's and Jinx's tails, making yowling noises. The Dragon King could make out a few words in 'godtalk' here and there - rrreally going? farrr away? trrravel in the darrrk? paths of the ancestorrrs?
All of the above. This was a momentous day for them; a day of true exploration, of guiding.
Of leaving their mother behind.
The matriarch sat behind them, a stoic expression on her pale face. Three kits, three traveling parties - three groups. He had hoped for four, but Ankou had not yet returned; he had to believe that the Spirit Guide was safe, that Jinx would know if her Lord was in trouble. But it remained clear that they had to explore further, that they had to split up and map... perhaps other abandoned nyanko villages would hold their own treasures of knowledge as well.
There was only one way to tell.
One nyanko, one errais, and one Aoide... except for him. He would go with Mrraya alone.
And I pray all will be well.
He took a deep breath. "Are we prepared, then?"
A chorus of agreement, the kits' excitable and accompanied by extreme raptures of movement, answered him.
"Well, then. Let us be gone... my protection to you both," he said, quietly, focusing on Xing Yun and Jinx, Gringolet and Athanasius. "Travel well, and safe, along Her pathways. Bring yourselves home if you find it, or back here if you do not."
"Yes, lord," Xing Yun said, bowing low. Jinx likewise bowed, letting out only a small mewl as an answer. It was obvious that her mind was... elsewhere.
"And Jinx - should I encounter your Lord, I will try and send him to you. To find you within my scales."
That, at last, seemed to be enough to make the black cat smile. "Myaaa... Thank you, Lord."
Tian Yue gave her a smile in return, then turned to the other lady Cat among them. "Thank you, Lady Myrrna. For your hospitality, and your guidance." For your children.
The matriarch bowed her head. "Dance for the Lady... and guide Herrrr childrrren. Such is the duty of the nyanko."
And then she was gone, bounding away over river and vine to vanish into a hut; Tian Yue smiled almost sadly after her, then turned to the others.
"Let us go, my friends."
And so they went.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:50 pm
  and so they traveled
through the echoing spaces
the vast and labyrinthine
heart of the world
marking, mapping,
measuring the infinite
hearing distant sounds
of ancient glories faded away
the timeless tunnels carried
secrets and wonders beyond price
yet still they continued on
seeking, searching
learning
knowing
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:50 pm
Return to Riversong
Chambers so tall that they have their own weather systems, veritable seas held within the wood, protrusions of amber so pure you could see your reflection in them... and the bodies of the creatures encased therein. Ancient paintings, carvings, storehouses, treasure-troves... the glories and wonders of a thousand Ages held in Gaia's bones.
And yet, after seeing all that, somehow this... feels like coming home.
Home...
"Hoooooomee!"
The young nyanko fairly danced in front of him, the light-pearl tied to her 'collar' blurring in the air with the speed of her movements. "Smell it, yessss... rrrriverrrsong, hearrr it! Home, home, home!"
How long had it been? Tian Yue honestly wasn't sure. The days had blended into each other more than ever before as he and Mrraya traveled through Yggdrasil, the young nyanko using her skill and instinct to guide and assist with his mapping. Even now the pack on the dragon's back was filled nearly to bursting with paper - and leaves, obtained when the paper ran out.
But they'd done it - or, at least, they'd come to a terminus when all routes led only to places they'd been, or dead and rotting roots. It was as close as they could come through these means, having no especial gift for tracking mana - Tian Yue had tried to use his shields, but the powerful thrum of mana that naturally permeated Yggdrasil made it deeply uncomfortable, and a gap in the mana-flow wasn't necessarily a dead limb. It could simply be a massive chamber... and he'd seen plenty of those.
But, by the Crown's grace, perhaps it will serve.
The Dragon King's clothing was tattered now, worn and dirty, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that they were almost to Mrraya's garden, almost home again after - weeks? months? Not years, he didn't think, but hell, it was possible.
A long time, certainly.
"Sssso closssssse~" Mrraya exulted, her whole body trembling. She had done well, little nyanko-child, used all her natural gift and instinct to their utmost, pushing herself hard even when Tian Yue had to carry her. "So... so... close..."
Please, please. Be there. Xing Yun, Gringolet... Jinx... Ankou. Please.
He could hear it, he realized. The edge of sound.
The waterfall.
"Myaaaaaaaaaa~!!"
Mrraya could contain herself no longer; she sprang forward, bounding into the darkness, forcing the Dragon King to chase after her. But the roar of the waterfall was getting louder all the time, he could feel the humidity going up, and-
"Myaaaaaaaaaaa-"
Light, and sound, and warmth.
And the matriarch rearing up at the side of the river.
And Xing Yun and Gringolet and Jinx and Athanasius and-
Ankou...
There was no sign of his companion. Tian Yue took a deep breath, made himself be calm. Jinx seems well enough, I have to believe she'd know if something happened to him. Yes. She'd know-
And then Xing Yun threw her arms around his waist, laughing in sheer joy, and he had no more time to be maudlin.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:51 pm
Once More Into the Breach
We can't wait any longer.
The decision had been a hard one to come to, very hard indeed - Tian Yue had even entered the watery world once more, flown around and dove deep in search of Ankou, and found nothing. No sign of the god, anywhere.
Which most likely meant he had taken the mer-ghosts to their final rest so successfully that he, too, had made that journey, like Echo (hopefully) before him. Which meant he might not even come back to the water-world... he could even have gone home, directly. That was possible; the Underworld had to touch many worlds too, at least in a sense. Otherwise, how could the Dead find their way home?
Surely he is well. He must be well.
But they couldn't wait any more. Already it had been five periods of waking and sleeping, since 'day' and 'night' held no meaning here, and the artificial light-pattern of the orbs was attuned to the needs of the plants in the garden, not the needs of mortal or god. The Aoidei had arrived staggered, Jinx first, then Xing Yun, and Tian Yue last. All bore the same story - gone as far as they could in every direction until they'd overlapped the marks left by others, or run into dead ends and decayed branches.
And all bore the burden of their research.
Now they were all preparing by the entrance; Jinx seemed ill at ease, though Tian Yue could certainly forgive her. He wouldn't have been surprised if she'd insisted on staying behind and waiting - yet here she was, ready to go with the rest of them.
"Nyahem..."
The Dragon King turned from his preparations at the soft sound from behind him - and there, crouched in a line, were the four nyanko. "Ah, Lady Myrrna... thank you so much for your hospitality. We are nearly ready to depart, I think."
"Drrragon-lorrrd." The matriarch sat up straight, something clutched between her paws. "This, take it... pleassse."
Obediently, Tian Yue bent down and held out his hand; the elderly nyanko dropped it into his palm. It was, he realized, wrapped in a leaf, dried to the consistency of leather. "This is...?"
"An ancestorrrr," Myrrna said, as the leaf fell away to reveal the figurine within. "If the gods arrrrre rrreturrrning and the Lady lives again, then... we must send ourrrr people to serrrrve. I am selfish and wish my childrrrren arrround me, yet... this one will serrrrve as well. You found it. It is fated."
"Lady..."
There was a soul in that figurine. He remembered Ankou's words.
"... I will treasure it, and should it awaken, number it among my most trusted servants."
The elderly nyanko bowed. "Speak of us well to the Lady, drrrragon-lorrrd. And thank you forrrr perrrmitting my childrrren to serrrve their duties."
"We will guide you again!" That was Mrraya, unless he missed his guess; the other kits joined in chorus. Thank you, thank you, good-bye...
Tian Yue bowed to them. "Thank you. I will sing your praises to the Lady, when I meet her next. She will know the faithful still dance within her."
"Then my life is well-spent, drrragon-lorrrd. Well-spent."
Tian Yue straightened, the figurine seeming heavy in his hand, moreso than its size would logically permit. "Indeed. Thank you so much for what you have done. And should the Spirit Guide return..."
"We will set him on the rrrright path."
"Then I can ask nothing more of you." Tian Yue smiled, then turned to the Aoidei and errais. "Are we prepared?"
"Yes, Lord," Xing Yun replied; Gringolet tossed his head in anticipation. Jinx nodded, not seeming particularly enthusiastic about the idea... but, well. He could not hold that against her.
"Then we go... once more, into the long dark."
"The Lady's footsteps guide you," Myrrna called as the errais began moving forward, their hoofbeats echoing against the wood. "May She guide you out into eterrrrnal happiness."
Can it be so? Perhaps...
The only way to find out is to go.
"Farewell," he called, and was answered by a wild cacophony of goodbyes.
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