[the promised 'tomorrow' could stand to come a little slower by Cecelia's reckoning, but alas. here we are. she tugs her shawl a bit back into place over her shoulders as she approaches the outer gates, her familiar -- a goat-sized unicorn -- quietly walking at her side.
best to get the most ominous-looking sorts out of the way first and foremost, yes? perhaps for the best, though she does wish she could in good conscience enlist a trusted bit of muscle to guard her this go-around...
ah, well. something to make note of for future, more outwardly bombastic and demanding sorts.
she passes through the gates to the outside road, shielding her eyes from the late morning sun and scanning the area for sign of that unsettling face, doubtless believing he'd likely already be present and waiting on her, rather than the other way around. she herself is easy to spot: that much bright, red hair is hard to miss.]
[She will spot him standing further down the path, a wolf-sized skeletal dragon curled at his feet. He is gazing around at the surrounding trees and shifting uncomfortably.
The air is crisp with the snap of spring, the light dances through the leaves and if it weren't for passing travelers and traders it would be a quiet morning.
He hates it.
The clamor of the morning caravans is the only thing that prevents him from setting the gate itself on fire just to create some sort of excitement.
When the dragon lifts its head to look at Cecelia he turns around, eyes gleaming beneath the shadows cast by his fedora.]
Now we walk a short distance, and converse. I'll not be activating the talisman so close to the city gates, just out of safety's sake. And in any case, [she waves her hand, already turning to continue on her walk down the road.] I have interest in hearing whether or not you have any previous experience with world-ending calamities prior to this one.
Mm. [that can cover a lot of things. magical, political, natural...all of them...she doesn't pry, because if it can't help in the context of this place, it's not worth mulling over.
instead:] Perhaps fortunate, then, that there's means to expedite everyone's awareness of our dire circumstances, hm? Perhaps more than a few will have some inkling of how to do more than simply bolster our protections.
[she won't name herself among those speculative few, partly because she's still gathering information, and partly because outing herself as someone who makes a living correcting multi-planar anomalies would have a lot to speak to that she's not ready to! because of the information gap!! gods. life is hard.]
Have you a fair handle on what magics you've been imbued with? Just in case. As I'd mentioned before, where we're going isn't utterly safe.
Patience. Not far. I'll be keeping the city within my sights. [gods. spare her the luxury of a bit of conversation before being thrust in front of the largest threat to reality, if you please?
she doesn't outwardly convey her exasperation, her features still almost unnaturally neutral and tone mildly pleasant, as if this were simply a chat before tea.]
Besides, I need to forewarn you of things before we get there. There is a precipice we will arrive upon, and I don't know whether or not you have means or impulse to fly...do not do so. I cannot save you, and you will not survive. Likewise, the desert you will find to our backs...I can't say I've traversed it enough to be certain firsthand, but given the brutal nature of all things laid bare, I'd advise striking out alone. I will not follow you.
Mm. [she then veers off the road, walking across the grassy field ahead. it's a fair enough space away -- perhaps more than she needs as far as casting goes, but she does want the comfort of the scenery before it all shifts.] It's like a little...mm. Kiosk? Of sorts? Lined with those little vendor machines? You've seen the sort in the city. But the king advised they not be meddled with, and I'm not keen to meddle. I'm told the consequences of doing so result in you being stripped of...well. All? Your belongings?
You are more than welcome to experiment with that, but I shall not.
Hm...I think I shall leave it alone.... I appreciate the warning.
[He doesn't have anything that a bandit would consider valuable but if he lost King Crimson he'd feel more naked than he already does without his powers.
Thinking about King Crimson he folds his hands, grasping his wrists to make sure the hilts of the two collapsible long swords are still tucked neatly in his sleeves.
When he follows her into the field he does not bother to look around at the scenery; it holds no beauty to him.]
[she makes a soft sound, looking back the way they came for a moment, then down to her familiar for a moment more. after an exhale, she turns to face the man, holding her hands out to him.]
[Yuber reaches out and entwines his gloved fingers with hers. At his feet the skeletal dragon's tail thrashes and he finds himself tensing. Whether the tension is from fear or anticipation he's not sure. Maybe it's both.]
[Cecelia nods, then closes her eyes. at her feet, the unicorn curls in close, its horn glimmering, awaiting to assist in the channeling of her focus.
upon her left wrist, she wears a bronze bangle with an uncut gem, and that gem begins to glimmer. the light becomes a soft glow that embraces the both of them before suddenly turning blinding.
she should've advised him to close his eyes. oops.
in any case, after the spots can leave his eyes, their scenery has changed quite drastically. instead of a verdant field leading up to the city of Camelot, Yuber will find himself just mere steps away from the edge of a cliff, whose drop is...infinite.
the view ahead is space -- a void speckled with a smattering of stars, glinting with the telltale sheen of a magical barrier which one could deduce is all that keeps them from being sucked out into that yawning expanse.
it is that near-suffocating sense of smallness that is the greatest impact at first, and Cecelia feels it too, well before she opens her eyes to it. she's lived countless centuries, traversed many realms...but the places in-between are always the most vast and terrifying. that never gets old.
she does not release his hands, though her fingers are slack, instead letting him hold fast or withdraw as suits him, letting him stabilize before she can even begin to point out what to see, where to look. one step at a time.]
[It's the blinding light, not the jump, that makes him squint and turn his face away. Leaping between realms is not an unfamiliar sensation to him. Even the physical realm of humans is one that he's normally had to be summoned into through magical means.
Once they land on the other side he releases Cecelia's fingers and creeps to the edge of the infinite abyss. He peers down, then out at the stars. The eternal sky with its hanging stars feels more dangerous to him than the drop. He feels like he could swept into that void, smothered by its stillness.
After a moment he draws back.]
So, this is what has made the True Runes go so silent that not even I can hear their voices...
[Part of him had wondered if being turned mortal had severed their connection to him but that seemed like too simple an explanation... Surely they wouldn't suddenly leave him alone for such a tawdry reason.]
And humans did this with their machine and the Excalibur, did they? ....Such wonderful, pointless destruction they are capable of.
[while Yuber ruminates (True Runes, hm? something to file away for later), Cecelia's eyes scan the expanse for the true point of concern. it's hard to see with the naked eye, even elf-blooded eyes, but now that she knows what to look for, it's easier to spot.
she suppresses a want to scoff at his remark about being impressed, instead moving from the edge, over to where a telescope and a pair of benches are affixed. it's almost like this was a viewpoint for stargazing of a different sort before things grew dire.]
This way. [she gestures for him to draw near before she bends to peer through and readjust the view within. when she can see the explosion point properly in the lens, she straightens and steps away, giving him chance to look himself.]
There. If you look closely, you can see how some of the edges of the explosion's halo seem to have an unusual quality? Like...pages of a book torn and pulled after being soaked in water. There are other realms in those tears.
[He steps over, brushes his hair from his eyes and looks through the lens. Chaos is what he sees...
Chaos that is now frozen in place before it can surge so violently that it destroys everything in its path then extinguishes itself like a fire with nothing left to burn.
Beautiful, but tragic.
He stares for a long time before he steps away again and looks towards Cecilia with a furrowed brow.]
And if time were start again now that explosion will tear through those realms and many others. Is that correct?
[she has had her eyes fixed on him as he takes all of this in, looking for cues and clues to his inner thinking based on years of seeing such plays across hundreds of other faces. his unpleasant demeanor is only a barrier to conversation, not action, after all, and she has hopes that sharing this will spur him and others to more diligent action where she cannot.]
The magics being cultivated by those of us drawn here are seem to be not only key to securing the barriers keeping us from destruction, but to developing a means to undo it before more damage can be done.
Perhaps to even reverse what damage appears to be done.
[Cecilia will see a hardness in his gaze, a resolute determination.]
I fail to see how my weak magic can resolve this. Nothing Avalon gives me compares to what I have lost...
If I had my true power I could fix everything.
Motion is my purview, after all. I fight for chaos.
[At this he looks meaningfully over at her, arms folding over his broad chest.]
But chaos cannot thrive in this stillness and if the multiverse dies, chaos dies with it.
[He will die with it.]
I've managed to convince a couple from my world to help me seek a way to rescue Excalibur. But, I'll admit without my power I don't know what I can do...
[A heat rises up behind his crimson eye. He won't die like this, he won't.]
though her expression remains stony and neutral, her eyes sharpen as she takes note of that. in better circumstances, she could laugh at that, but not now. one more thing to take note of, table for later.
her lips purse into a thin line at mention of some plan of rescue.]
The pathway to a resolution is not painted in a single stroke, unfortunately. Those of us who knew magic before this land will suffer that loss while trying to cultivate something in its place, as you must do so now. That is to say...whatever ambitions you may have had prior to this may very well have to wait...and chaos may need to bow lower to order than it is keen to.
[Yuber tsks, his lips curl back to show his teeth.]
If you think I am incapable of working with others you are wrong. I've fought alongside humans in their wars a thousand times in the past to spread discord and I'll do so now.
[He lifts a gloved hand and gestures out at the void..]
This time spreading chaos necessitates the rescue of the Excalibur. I will do what I can to start time and survive and thrive once more but...
...I will not kneel to order. You'd might as well ask me not to breathe.
[she gives him a flat look, but does not rise to prod him much further.
instead:] I'd rather ask you to draw upon your experiences and what is available to you now to discern your greatest and most valuable impact. Let this observation of the threat be your continued motivator, if anything.
...I will work with what Avalon provides only because I have no other choice. I have no intention of giving up on finding a way to restore myself meanwhile. If I am restored I am confident I deal with this.
[The lifted hand twirls then drops back to his side.]
I hardly needed more motivation to solve this problem, you know. The death of chaos is motivator enough.
...But I did need to observe it with my own eyes.
[Before now the Calamity had been something he was sure he could feel but which was otherwise vague. It had existed somewhere above and beyond New Camelot; a background threat that far too few people spoke of. Seeing it in person has brought it down to earth, made it knowable... And a threat he can know is one he can defeat.]
You have given a face to my proverbial enemy. For this I thank you.
[that's the thing about such concepts as order and chaos, good and evil...neither side of the scale is all-consuming, or a scale would cease to be. it behooves both sides to coexist just enough to maintain existence, and in that way...
well. Yubel says he won't kneel, but he certainly will bow, just as those who seek order shall to survive. dealing with such devils is not new, it is just the playing field that has changed.
in response to the thanks, she dips her head and gives a courteous curtsy. she then turns away from the viewpoint, toward the seemingly out-of-place little shop and the desert landscape that stretches out to an unknown distance. harrowing, dangerous, the King had warned her...for now, she's keen to believe it. perhaps if she were to bring company more trustworthy in their strength, then...
ah, well. such things can wait for later. she looks over her shoulder]
We shall return when you give the word...or when the limit of time has been reached, whichever comes first. Do tell me when your curiosity has been satisfied.
[He quietly watches her, then looks out at the desert, his own curiosity prickling at his skin. From where he is standing the expanse of dust is as infinite as the sky now at his back. It's a less upsetting sight to him, however.
The stars sent ancient wounds clanging along his sides, stirred emotions so old they almost felt like they came from another lifetime. The sky, bound as it was by the ordering cosmos, could swallow him whole...
The desert, however, is earth. It is as neutral a sight as his own hands.]
[she shakes her head slightly, her attention back on that horizon.]
Nothing in grand detail, citing that the exposure alone would be the killer before any creature or maelstrom could get to you.
[briefly, her gaze flickers down to her feet, where the ever-silent unicorn lingers against her skirts. it lifts its head enough to match her stare, but offers neither insight nor insult.
...it's better at the role of silent aide than she is.
after an exhale:] As with most things of such scope, I'm more apt to believing after seeing, but I'm not yet equipped to survey it myself. And unless something of import crops up or can be detected out there...I'm inclined to leave it be and keep my focus more on what can be seen.
[Yuber walks ahead of her to gaze further out at the desert, mind already buzzing with possibilities.
The current quiet makes him itch but if there are storms and monsters and magic... Well that could be more exciting than spending his days in Camelot preying on the foolish mortals that dared to walk the dark alleys alone at night. Their dying screams were satisfying but none of them had enough magic to be a real challenge... Not that Yuber gave them much of a chance to register his presence before he skewered them on his swords.
Dread monsters, however... A dangerous desert, a new experience... That could make his blood sing.]
If you decide to brave the desert I might come with you.
[airily, lifting her chin a bit:] If you think I'm keen on entrusting my safety to a devotee of chaos, your opinion of me is quite skewed indeed.
Yet even so...should the need arise, consider your interest duly noted. [and most likely ignored because she is not going to corroborate with crazy chaos-people more than necessity dictates.
she smiles blandly, holding her hands out to him.] Let us be off, then. You'll have time to record your impressions with the sight still fresh in your mind.
[The edge of Yuber's wide mouth twitches upward into a cruel smirk.]
Sometimes a little chaos is exactly what is needed to survive the unexpected.
[Which was something a few humans of his world understood. In times of brutal conflict he was not lured to the war by the scent of carnage, it was the humans who sought him out and called on him to fight at their side.
He misses it.
None of this passes his lips but she might notice something wistful in his gaze as he reaches out to grasp her hands.]
[wistful? sure. but she's not keen on picking at it when she's alone with him on the edge of oblivion, given all he's said to now.
she sighsheavily and closes her eyes. again, the glow reignites and just as quickly engulfs them in that same, all-encompassing flash. the bleak expanses of space and sand are swapped with the kinder greens of the fields leading up to the city, and the area once again feels alive...full of far more potential than the bleak abyss.
something to wax poetic on later; right now, Cecelia's hands suddenly twitch and grasp at Yuber's wrists when she feels exhaustion wash over her and nearly steal her balance. her eyes stay shut tight as she acclimates to it, releasing him when she's certain she'll not drop to her knees.
after an exhale:] Ah...unpleasant... But it could be far worse.
[she nods, straightening back up and combing stray hair back behind her ears.]
It was expected. The talisman provides the trajectory, but...the means of getting there relies on its bearer to be able to muster the strength to reach it.
[lightly:] So that will certainly rule out group visits in the futures, mm. Good to know before saddling myself with such a thing.
[her mouth tugs in a grim smirk for the briefest of moments as she lifts her eyes back up to him. she gives him a nod.]
The transaction is concluded; you're free to go along on your way. Take what you've learned to heart.
[For a long moment he just stands there, looking her over with an impassive gaze. When he glances back at the gates to the city he sighs warily, mentally preparing himself for the tedium of another day spent among humans. The anxious excitement of observing the Calamity himself is already wearing off, though he doubts he will soon forget what he's seen.
Maybe he can stir up some trouble in town... Right after he finds something to soothe the hungry growling in his empty stomach.
He turns back to her and bobs his head in a movement that is more than a nod, less than a bow, then he's off walking back along the path to town.]
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eightfoldfiend) wrote2021-03-07 10:15 pm
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[the promised 'tomorrow' could stand to come a little slower by Cecelia's reckoning, but alas. here we are. she tugs her shawl a bit back into place over her shoulders as she approaches the outer gates, her familiar -- a goat-sized unicorn -- quietly walking at her side.
best to get the most ominous-looking sorts out of the way first and foremost, yes? perhaps for the best, though she does wish she could in good conscience enlist a trusted bit of muscle to guard her this go-around...
ah, well. something to make note of for future, more outwardly bombastic and demanding sorts.
she passes through the gates to the outside road, shielding her eyes from the late morning sun and scanning the area for sign of that unsettling face, doubtless believing he'd likely already be present and waiting on her, rather than the other way around. she herself is easy to spot: that much bright, red hair is hard to miss.]
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The air is crisp with the snap of spring, the light dances through the leaves and if it weren't for passing travelers and traders it would be a quiet morning.
He hates it.
The clamor of the morning caravans is the only thing that prevents him from setting the gate itself on fire just to create some sort of excitement.
When the dragon lifts its head to look at Cecelia he turns around, eyes gleaming beneath the shadows cast by his fedora.]
You're late.
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...ah, he's just as pleasant in the flesh as he was with his eye shoved in a camera!
which is to say: not really pleasant at all. Cecelia smiles, though it doesn't reach her eyes by a mile. nice to meet you, too.]
I am not. A time was never specified beyond tomorrow. And it won't do anyone any favors to travel first-thing without a meal for strength.
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[He reaches up to adjust the brim of his hat and walks up to her.]
You're here. So now what?
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No.
[After a brief pause, he continues...]
At least not in the sense you are likely describing. The calamity threatening my own world moves so slowly most are unaware that it is happening.
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instead:] Perhaps fortunate, then, that there's means to expedite everyone's awareness of our dire circumstances, hm? Perhaps more than a few will have some inkling of how to do more than simply bolster our protections.
[she won't name herself among those speculative few, partly because she's still gathering information, and partly because outing herself as someone who makes a living correcting multi-planar anomalies would have a lot to speak to that she's not ready to! because of the information gap!! gods. life is hard.]
Have you a fair handle on what magics you've been imbued with? Just in case. As I'd mentioned before, where we're going isn't utterly safe.
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[The skeletal dragon walking at his side suddenly lifts its head to glare at him but he doesn't even spare it a glance.]
Where are we going?
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she doesn't outwardly convey her exasperation, her features still almost unnaturally neutral and tone mildly pleasant, as if this were simply a chat before tea.]
Besides, I need to forewarn you of things before we get there. There is a precipice we will arrive upon, and I don't know whether or not you have means or impulse to fly...do not do so. I cannot save you, and you will not survive. Likewise, the desert you will find to our backs...I can't say I've traversed it enough to be certain firsthand, but given the brutal nature of all things laid bare, I'd advise striking out alone. I will not follow you.
Then...[sigh.] There's the shop...
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I am not one to take unnecessary risks. Wherever it is we are going rest assured I have no intention of leaving your company...
[At her sigh he tilts his head in a curious, bird-like movement.]
...Shop?
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You are more than welcome to experiment with that, but I shall not.
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[He doesn't have anything that a bandit would consider valuable but if he lost King Crimson he'd feel more naked than he already does without his powers.
Thinking about King Crimson he folds his hands, grasping his wrists to make sure the hilts of the two collapsible long swords are still tucked neatly in his sleeves.
When he follows her into the field he does not bother to look around at the scenery; it holds no beauty to him.]
Are you ready?
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Take my hands, then, and we shall be off.
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upon her left wrist, she wears a bronze bangle with an uncut gem, and that gem begins to glimmer. the light becomes a soft glow that embraces the both of them before suddenly turning blinding.
she should've advised him to close his eyes. oops.
in any case, after the spots can leave his eyes, their scenery has changed quite drastically. instead of a verdant field leading up to the city of Camelot, Yuber will find himself just mere steps away from the edge of a cliff, whose drop is...infinite.
the view ahead is space -- a void speckled with a smattering of stars, glinting with the telltale sheen of a magical barrier which one could deduce is all that keeps them from being sucked out into that yawning expanse.
it is that near-suffocating sense of smallness that is the greatest impact at first, and Cecelia feels it too, well before she opens her eyes to it. she's lived countless centuries, traversed many realms...but the places in-between are always the most vast and terrifying. that never gets old.
she does not release his hands, though her fingers are slack, instead letting him hold fast or withdraw as suits him, letting him stabilize before she can even begin to point out what to see, where to look. one step at a time.]
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Once they land on the other side he releases Cecelia's fingers and creeps to the edge of the infinite abyss. He peers down, then out at the stars. The eternal sky with its hanging stars feels more dangerous to him than the drop. He feels like he could swept into that void, smothered by its stillness.
After a moment he draws back.]
So, this is what has made the True Runes go so silent that not even I can hear their voices...
[Part of him had wondered if being turned mortal had severed their connection to him but that seemed like too simple an explanation... Surely they wouldn't suddenly leave him alone for such a tawdry reason.]
And humans did this with their machine and the Excalibur, did they? ....Such wonderful, pointless destruction they are capable of.
I'm impressed.
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she suppresses a want to scoff at his remark about being impressed, instead moving from the edge, over to where a telescope and a pair of benches are affixed. it's almost like this was a viewpoint for stargazing of a different sort before things grew dire.]
This way. [she gestures for him to draw near before she bends to peer through and readjust the view within. when she can see the explosion point properly in the lens, she straightens and steps away, giving him chance to look himself.]
There. If you look closely, you can see how some of the edges of the explosion's halo seem to have an unusual quality? Like...pages of a book torn and pulled after being soaked in water. There are other realms in those tears.
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Chaos that is now frozen in place before it can surge so violently that it destroys everything in its path then extinguishes itself like a fire with nothing left to burn.
Beautiful, but tragic.
He stares for a long time before he steps away again and looks towards Cecilia with a furrowed brow.]
And if time were start again now that explosion will tear through those realms and many others. Is that correct?
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[she has had her eyes fixed on him as he takes all of this in, looking for cues and clues to his inner thinking based on years of seeing such plays across hundreds of other faces. his unpleasant demeanor is only a barrier to conversation, not action, after all, and she has hopes that sharing this will spur him and others to more diligent action where she cannot.]
The magics being cultivated by those of us drawn here are seem to be not only key to securing the barriers keeping us from destruction, but to developing a means to undo it before more damage can be done.
Perhaps to even reverse what damage appears to be done.
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I fail to see how my weak magic can resolve this. Nothing Avalon gives me compares to what I have lost...
If I had my true power I could fix everything.
Motion is my purview, after all. I fight for chaos.
[At this he looks meaningfully over at her, arms folding over his broad chest.]
But chaos cannot thrive in this stillness and if the multiverse dies, chaos dies with it.
[He will die with it.]
I've managed to convince a couple from my world to help me seek a way to rescue Excalibur. But, I'll admit without my power I don't know what I can do...
[A heat rises up behind his crimson eye. He won't die like this, he won't.]
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though her expression remains stony and neutral, her eyes sharpen as she takes note of that. in better circumstances, she could laugh at that, but not now. one more thing to take note of, table for later.
her lips purse into a thin line at mention of some plan of rescue.]
The pathway to a resolution is not painted in a single stroke, unfortunately. Those of us who knew magic before this land will suffer that loss while trying to cultivate something in its place, as you must do so now. That is to say...whatever ambitions you may have had prior to this may very well have to wait...and chaos may need to bow lower to order than it is keen to.
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[Yuber tsks, his lips curl back to show his teeth.]
If you think I am incapable of working with others you are wrong. I've fought alongside humans in their wars a thousand times in the past to spread discord and I'll do so now.
[He lifts a gloved hand and gestures out at the void..]
This time spreading chaos necessitates the rescue of the Excalibur. I will do what I can to start time and survive and thrive once more but...
...I will not kneel to order. You'd might as well ask me not to breathe.
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instead:] I'd rather ask you to draw upon your experiences and what is available to you now to discern your greatest and most valuable impact. Let this observation of the threat be your continued motivator, if anything.
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...I will work with what Avalon provides only because I have no other choice. I have no intention of giving up on finding a way to restore myself meanwhile. If I am restored I am confident I deal with this.
[The lifted hand twirls then drops back to his side.]
I hardly needed more motivation to solve this problem, you know. The death of chaos is motivator enough.
...But I did need to observe it with my own eyes.
[Before now the Calamity had been something he was sure he could feel but which was otherwise vague. It had existed somewhere above and beyond New Camelot; a background threat that far too few people spoke of. Seeing it in person has brought it down to earth, made it knowable... And a threat he can know is one he can defeat.]
You have given a face to my proverbial enemy. For this I thank you.
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well. Yubel says he won't kneel, but he certainly will bow, just as those who seek order shall to survive. dealing with such devils is not new, it is just the playing field that has changed.
in response to the thanks, she dips her head and gives a courteous curtsy. she then turns away from the viewpoint, toward the seemingly out-of-place little shop and the desert landscape that stretches out to an unknown distance. harrowing, dangerous, the King had warned her...for now, she's keen to believe it. perhaps if she were to bring company more trustworthy in their strength, then...
ah, well. such things can wait for later. she looks over her shoulder]
We shall return when you give the word...or when the limit of time has been reached, whichever comes first. Do tell me when your curiosity has been satisfied.
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The stars sent ancient wounds clanging along his sides, stirred emotions so old they almost felt like they came from another lifetime. The sky, bound as it was by the ordering cosmos, could swallow him whole...
The desert, however, is earth. It is as neutral a sight as his own hands.]
...Did the King tell you what was out there?
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Nothing in grand detail, citing that the exposure alone would be the killer before any creature or maelstrom could get to you.
[briefly, her gaze flickers down to her feet, where the ever-silent unicorn lingers against her skirts. it lifts its head enough to match her stare, but offers neither insight nor insult.
...it's better at the role of silent aide than she is.
after an exhale:] As with most things of such scope, I'm more apt to believing after seeing, but I'm not yet equipped to survey it myself. And unless something of import crops up or can be detected out there...I'm inclined to leave it be and keep my focus more on what can be seen.
cw: references to npc murder
The current quiet makes him itch but if there are storms and monsters and magic... Well that could be more exciting than spending his days in Camelot preying on the foolish mortals that dared to walk the dark alleys alone at night. Their dying screams were satisfying but none of them had enough magic to be a real challenge... Not that Yuber gave them much of a chance to register his presence before he skewered them on his swords.
Dread monsters, however... A dangerous desert, a new experience... That could make his blood sing.]
If you decide to brave the desert I might come with you.
[He twists around to face her again.]
Until then, I am ready to return to the city.
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Yet even so...should the need arise, consider your interest duly noted. [and most likely ignored because she is not going to corroborate with crazy chaos-people more than necessity dictates.
she smiles blandly, holding her hands out to him.] Let us be off, then. You'll have time to record your impressions with the sight still fresh in your mind.
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Sometimes a little chaos is exactly what is needed to survive the unexpected.
[Which was something a few humans of his world understood. In times of brutal conflict he was not lured to the war by the scent of carnage, it was the humans who sought him out and called on him to fight at their side.
He misses it.
None of this passes his lips but she might notice something wistful in his gaze as he reaches out to grasp her hands.]
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she sighs
heavilyand closes her eyes. again, the glow reignites and just as quickly engulfs them in that same, all-encompassing flash. the bleak expanses of space and sand are swapped with the kinder greens of the fields leading up to the city, and the area once again feels alive...full of far more potential than the bleak abyss.something to wax poetic on later; right now, Cecelia's hands suddenly twitch and grasp at Yuber's wrists when she feels exhaustion wash over her and nearly steal her balance. her eyes stay shut tight as she acclimates to it, releasing him when she's certain she'll not drop to her knees.
after an exhale:] Ah...unpleasant... But it could be far worse.
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When she doesn't he lets her go and blows out a breath.]
The crossing taxes you.
[His tone is more curious than accusatory.]
no subject
It was expected. The talisman provides the trajectory, but...the means of getting there relies on its bearer to be able to muster the strength to reach it.
[lightly:] So that will certainly rule out group visits in the futures, mm. Good to know before saddling myself with such a thing.
[her mouth tugs in a grim smirk for the briefest of moments as she lifts her eyes back up to him. she gives him a nod.]
The transaction is concluded; you're free to go along on your way. Take what you've learned to heart.
no subject
Maybe he can stir up some trouble in town... Right after he finds something to soothe the hungry growling in his empty stomach.
He turns back to her and bobs his head in a movement that is more than a nod, less than a bow, then he's off walking back along the path to town.]