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Fantasy For Fumes puff puff

The Captain and the Storm Maiden listened intently as Everett posed his thoughts and concerns to the discussion. When he finished, both the duo glanced at each other as if communicating silently. Elheim nodded to Talyndra, before he spoke.

"We thought you might ask about your golems, not Aurums Talyndra... Go-lems" Elheim said sarcastically as he gave the elf a pointed look. "That being said, I think it's best if I let Talyndra field your questions, we've talked it through before this and she tells me there's something she'd like you to see first." Elheim ended with a smirk. "I'd watch out for your throat if I were you. They always try to get me in the jugular..."

The elf wordlessly approached the alchemist before reaching out to gently grasp his shoulder. "Everett.. come with me this way." Her voice was smooth and melodic as she bade the human to follow her.

Talyndra led the way wordlessly down to her room, where she retrieved her cloak. Securing it just below the hollow of her throat with a brooch, she walked back out and headed to the steps leading up onto the deck. Unlatching the door, they were greeted by a rush of wind as Talyndra stepped out under a star filled sky. As it was night, the Anarthiren was flying significantly lower to conserve energy, just over the tops of trees. Looming silhouettes of distant hills could be seen drifting past; if one looked carefully enough, they would see dark shapes in the far distance, a wall of blackness that was the Skyreach Mountains. Eweca was only just rising out of the horizon, her luminescence half obscured by patches of clouds. A glance to the east behind them, and they would've seen the fading crimson skies as Anara retreated, her sojourn for the day nearing its completion. Talyndra closed her eyes momentarily, savouring the rush of wind as her cloak billowed about her, occasionally clinging to her slim form.

Stepping away from the door, Talyndra turned left to climb the steps leading up to the bridge and the pilot's box. She half turned to look over her should as she walked, "Elheim and I had a brief discussion while you were resting. It was mainly about your Aur- golems..." She let the statement hang as they reached the top of the stairs. The pilot looked up curiously as they walked past and she exchanged a brief greeting with him. They were now headed to the aft of the Anarthiren, where several large supply crates were stacked. Making her way around them, the duo finally reached the very back of the ship where they beheld a large wooden platform. It was wide enough to hold three horse carriages side by side and was secured out over the back railings. The platform itself had no such security features, only several ropes anchored to hooks along the sides. Grasping the edge of the platform with her hands, Talyndra nimbly hoisted herself up onto the wooden decking.

"Come on up here." The elf turned, ready to offer a hand to help Everett up. Not that he really needed it but more out of politeness.
 
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'Alright. In my entire life, I've never witnessed anything sketchier than than this. You don't just listen to my questions and then nod at each other. What do you mean they try and get you in the jugular? I'm not opposed to hopping on Aurum and jumping right off this skyship..and even then.' He rolled his ankle, feeling his small utility knife rub against his foot. He generally used it if something needed, well cutting. But it was usually for something like rope. But it had put down a few feral hounds before.

When Talyndra told Leo to follow her, he didn't say anything. He hesitated before doing as he was asked. Where were they going, and why? 'This is for sure something I'm not comfortable with. Do I need to cut a bitch? I swear to Iolos I will if need be.' His foot steps were cautious, and his shoulders and back tense, his alertness and guard not even dropping for a moment. Their first stop was Talyndra's room. Leo didn't go inside, nor bothered to look. It wasn't anything important. When Talyndra came back outside with a cloak, Leo couldn't help but smirk, reflecting upon his initial thoughts about Talyndra's gown. But his brief lapse in tenseness only lasted for a moment.

Then after, they headed out onto the deck, the wind chilling Leo to the bone initially, but he quickly got used to it. Likely on account of his thick clothing. While Leo walked behind Talyndra, about a short stone toss behind her, he barely heard her words when she spoke over the wind. She said something about the boys. He automatically assumed they were on deck, and didn't bother to look. No way in hell any human could move them by their selves. Doubtful the entire crew could drag them anywhere. They had passed where the pilot actually did his job about a few seconds ago. Neat how skyships work. They run on magic instead of fossil fuels. But then again, from Leo's perspective, golems ran on stuff he called magic juice, or Nak, which was from a different plane. The fact that it wasn't from Materia made it magical, and that was an argument Leo could make, and back.

As they approached a raised flat of wood somewhere on the ship that Leo was unfamiliar with, it took him a moment to realize that Talyndra was actually offering to help him up. He made eye contact with her, before climbing up himself, without taking her hand. 'No thanks. Don't want to touch that.' He thought, before mentally kicking himself. He recalled saying something about respect on the way here, and now he was acting as if none of that had any meaning. He shrugged it off. It wasn't anything big, nothing to be upset over. "I'm up. What are we here for?" He asked. His guard was still up, but he was under the slight impression they were hear for something else. But still, why'd Elheim mention getting hit in the throat. Well, it was implied, not said, but Leo had a decent sense of self preservation. That was the enough to trigger it.

'Oh dear.'
 
She stepped back to allow room for Leo to pull himself up onto the platform. Whether she took notice of his refusal to take her proferred hand was not apparent. It did not matter to her.

"You'll see soon enough Everett. Might want to hold on to that." Talyndra nodded her head in the direction of one of the rope anchors that was fixed to the sides of the platform. She absentmindedly fiddled with the smooth murky white stone set in a leather choker around her collar. Where once it barely shone at all, the stone was now gleaming a soft pearly glow. "Might get a little more windier. Try not to fall," Talyndra had to raise her voice as she spoke to make sure the human heard her. Up on the platform, they were subject to the near full force of the wind, as there was nothing to obstruct the gale. Though her robes billowed about wildly, the elf seemed otherwise unaffected by the wind. Turning away from Everett, she faced out into the black void of the sky, and called out into the moonlit night.

"Elanti!! Nanwen`ana amin!"

Talyndra's cry was swallowed up by the windy darkness almost as soon as it left her lips. Despite that, the elf was seen with her head cocked as if listening intently for a reply. The seconds dragged on, as if her call was for naught. Till suddenly, there was an echoing screech. The cry was like that of an eagle's only many times louder and full throated. Almost like a roar. Even then, with the rush of wind filling their ears, the answering cry was almost missed.

"Here she comes!" Talyndra looked to Everett, her eyes gleaming under the moonlight in excitement. Then she stepped back until she was almost at the edge of the platform, on the ship side, as if making more room on the space. The soft glow of moonlight winked as a shadow flitted across the sky, causing the elf to look up. Then there was another screech. This time much much louder as the beast it resonated from drew nearer. A dark silhouette swooped down low, drawing just level with the Anarthiren though much of it was still shrouded in darkness. They had only a few seconds warning before they heard the rapid beating of wings, large wings as the hippogriff came in hot on the tail of the skyship.

"Careful..!" If the constant rush of wind was considered bad enough, what the two experienced up on the platform as the powerful beast came into view of the ship's lanterns was nothing short of a miniature cyclone. Even the elf had to steady herself against one of the rope anchors, though her face broke into a broad grin as the hippogriff (front half of a very large eagle and hind quarters of a horse) gracefully alighted onto the platform. Under the glow of the lanterns, the hippogriff ruffled its feathers, hawk-like gaze afixed on the elf as it let out a much softer screech.

"Elanti! Nae saian luume', amin mily`ile!" Talyndra exclaimed endearingly as she stepped forward to burry her face against the creature's feathery chest, her slim arms tried in vain to wrap itself around the hippogriffs torso. Body alone, the creature was easily one and a half times the size of a very large warhorse. The hippogriff flapped its wings excitedly, though its hawk-like gaze quickly located the human off to the side. The beast tensed up, and let out another screech but Talyndra stroked its chest calmingly. "Ro naa`mellonamin Elanti." At her words, the beast visibly relaxed, though it didn't take its eyes off Everett.

Turning, the Storm Maiden gestured to Everett to come over. "Meet Elanti, Everett. She's a hippogriff, would you like to give her a pet? Don't worry, she is very gentle."

. . . | . . .​


Nanwen`ana amin! - Return to me! or Come!

"Elanti! Nae saian luume', amin mily`ile!" - Elanti! It has been too long, I missed you!

Ro naa`mellonamin - He is my friend

(OOC: Feel free to gm Elanti, especially how it reacts to your character. She is not a major 'npc')
 
You know. When Leo agreed with the Aryan Lord to go on this expedition to the north, he expected to be on a sky ship, maybe on foot, and maybe have to fight a few animals on the way there. Nothing else could brepare him for a hippogriff to come flying down and land on the platform. 'Maybe it'd be better to walk away.' He looked off the edge of the platform. He might be able to live if he jumped into the forests on golem-back.

That was a what-if scenario. Leo wouldn't want to miss out on whatever this expedition had to offer. As an Alchemist, he knew that organic samples of uncommon creatures, and it was a well known fact that hippogriff feathers and fat were known to be somewhat toxic when mixed in properly with salt water. Toxic to bacteria and bugs, at least. Great for killing rashes and infections. He could use those, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to pluck the feathers and/or cleave the fat off of a wild hippogriff.

That could be a great analogy.

Leo let out a strange sentence that could've been worded differently: "I'm not good at animals. Or living things." Which was true, and his way of saying 'I don't want to pet the giant for legged eagle, thanks.' But he was right. He was good at living things. They broke way too easily, as and they were really hard and complex to fix once they're broken. He wasn't saying that a hippogriff could be easily broken - which some places can be - just rather, he's not an animal type of person.

He made eye contact with the hippogriff, not as if to stare it down and challenge it. More like Leo judging the hippogriff, trying to read it's mind like he does with many others. He wasn't surprised when he pulled a blank. He had a friend, Mercutio, who was a Skyguard Lieutenant back when he lived in the capital. They seldom talk, as Mercutio was new to commanding when he met him, and was placed in charge of a squad of other sky guards. They rode griffins, not hippogriffs, but they couldn't act too different from each other.. Could they? Mercutio taught him a spot that you could rub just right to make such a beast so relaxed they may as well have been asleep. He had never tried it himself, nor learned where such a spot was, and on top of that, he never saw it happen. He wasn't eager to try it.

What did this hippogriff, Elanti have to do with his constructs? He wasn't drawing any connections so far with anything that's been said. His jugular? A hippogriff? What?

"What do I need to see a hippogriff for? What is the relation between my golems and that ani-.. Elanti?"

Upon Leo nearly saying animal, he could see one of Elanti's talons shift forward, as if almost threatening Leo.
 
"I'm not good at animals. Or living things."

"Oh..." Talyndra let out an air of mild disappointment. She could see that the alchemist was a little reluctant to approach Elanti, but he did not outright scamper away either, which was a good thing. Hippogriffs were proud creatures, and they sized you up on sight. If one got too anxious or showed irrational fear, they'd sooner let you touch them than anything else. Elanti tilted her head sideways as she regarded the two bipedal creatures, letting out a curious hoot. Talyndra drew forth from the folds of her cloak a wrapped piece of dried meat, saved from their supper and toss it over to the hippogriff. The morsel was snapped out of the air in the blink of an eye, Elanti letting out another appreciative hoot.

Turning to regard Everett, the elf cleared her throat before she spoke. "Elanti will be taking us through the Swerdrun." Her chestnut brown orbs unblinking, as she answered his question in a rather matter-of-fact tone. "You might have assumed that the Anarthiren could make it, but even the smallest and fastest Skyship is too large to make the pass." Her eyes grew distant as she continued, as if recollecting a past memory. "There are many swirling currents amongst the jagged rocks. Only a hippogriff would be small enough to fly through the pass without getting caught in opposing winds... even then, it is very difficult. The winds shift, one wrong move..." She let the implications of such a costly mistake hang in the air. There was silence for a moment, only the rustle of feathers and click of talons as Elanti fidgeted on the platform. The hippogriff bobbed her head as Talyndra was speaking, as if she knew she was the subject of their conversation.

"Hippogriffs are powerful flyers... but I was not expecting to be guiding a... Nak Alchemist. Elanti definitely wouldn't be able to carry either of your golems." I guess I should have informed the messenger. Almost as an after-thought, Talyndra quickly added, "not that I wished you for any other, Everett. You have shown me much I find most interesting." and how wrong my people's old ways can be... but she did not utter the last bits of her thoughts.

"There will be four other hippogriffs, the rangers will be riding them. Elheim says you built your golems from metal pieces. Would you be able to break them apart? If we carried them in pieces I think the hippogriffs can manage. We can make camp and allow you to fix them up again when we reach the other side." She honestly had no idea how Everett would react. As far as she knew, the golems seemed rather important to the human. By Anara, even the fact that he had built them up himself was impressive. She did not know the workings of one, but they did not look like something any ordinary person could do.
 
Leo could feel the disappointment from Talyndra upon seeing that Leo didn't want to approach. It was a rational fear. It's not everyday you see a big flying animal, and it's also not very often you get the opportunity to hug one, much less see one up close, lest you be one of the skyguards that Arya employs frequently. Leo wouldn't mind seeing a griffin, though there were very little variations from griffin to hippogriff physically, their behavior couldn't be too much the same, could they? He knew very little about them, aside from their diets. It was somewhat of a cross between an average pigeons diet, and somewhat of a snakes diet. Small mammals and insects is what they enjoyed most, wasn't it? It had been a while since he studied an animal, because again, he wasn't an animal person. He was a mechanic, architect, engineer - and a few other things. He worked mainly with machines, but as a scientist as well, he had to study a few animals to figure out their properties. Making drinkable fire couldn't have been done without proper Feathered Serpent poison - which he did obtain, though Argentum still has puncture marks from the encounter.

He wasn't surprised when he heard that the Anarthiren wouldn't be taking them through the mountain pass. It already sounded risky, but now he knew that they'd be flying on something much more maneuverable, something that actually had to learn how to surf wind currents to fly properly. 'I'm not saying that the pilot on this ship isn't good though our initial take off could've been better, it's just that we're too big, too big to be able to reasonably make sharp turns unscathed. But the fact that we're flying on something that's not inclined to massive amounts of weight, I do see the problem present itself.'

"This only presents a simple division problem. We have five hippogriffs, counting ourselves. Two golems. I can try and dismantle them, though it hasn't been done in a LONG while, but I'm sure I have the proper tools. Each hippogriff should be able to reasonably carry two pieces. In example, one has two arms, one with two golem legs. I think the bodies might be an issue to carry. One will have to carry either two bodies and another one would carry the heads, or maybe one could carry one body and two heads, and another one would carry one body...This is in assumption that our mounts can handle it. I'm distributing more by weight than pieces, and trying to make it so that making turns won't be too hard when they're carrying equipment along with people."

He could break them into even small pieces, such as fingers, hands, forearms, elbows, and stuff like that, but that seemed unnecessary. But it may need to happen if this will go smoothly. Perhaps the hippogriffs could make two trips? One with humans and a few pieces, and then they go back and get the rest of the pieces. Leo voiced his idea, saying, "Perhaps I can break them into smaller pieces than just arms, legs, chest pieces, and heads. It would make the load lighter, and then maybe the hippogriffs can make two trips. One with a few pieces and humans, and then a second trip with the rest of the pieces."

"I just really, really hope that they won't be damaged on the way there, because if I can't put even one back together with the tools provided, I won't be a happy Le-Everett."

That last part came out strange. He almost said Leo, but then somewhat clumsily transitioned into Everett. Leeverett. An interesting result. But he finished quickly, adding on, "What say you to this proposition? This was made on the spot, so I'd like you to verbalize your concerns..please."
 
The elf listened intently as Everett laid out his plans, her eyes furrowed in thought. Making the trip in two rounds seemed like a more reasonable idea at the onset, but it had its own pros and cons. "In all honesty, I do not know exactly how much a hippogriff can carry... making it in two rounds seems like a good idea, however..." Talyndra took a breath and glanced in Everett's direction, "it is very tiring, to even fly through the pass once. Both for me, and the hippogriffs.." Her eyes shifted back to look in the direction of Elanti as she spoke, the bird tilting its head curiously in turn.

"We could rest of course, in between rounds. But resting could take a whole day, taking off and landing so soon might be too much for the hippogriffs to handle. If we rest a day, or even half a day, our opportunity may pass. Half your equipment may be stranded, not to mention that we may not be able to enter the Northlands again for a whole season until the wind abates." For the first time since she had left Aran`Fadrasil Talyndra felt the enormity of the task which they'd have to complete. She paused in further thought for a moment longer, carefully considering all their options, occasionally a sigh would escape her lips.

"I guess we'll have to see how much Elanti can carry before we decide on our next course of action." The young woman continued, turning to face the human once again. "Looking at the winds, we're making good time. I think we'll be arriving at the foothills around midday two days from now." Yes, that's what we'll do. It seemed like it was their best course of action. One could only stand idle and plan so much. Now that they had a particular set task to complete first, Talyndra felt a little better.

"Let's get started then!" Talyndra piped up as she promptly marched off the wooden platform. "I'll get the lanterns! I can help you dismantle the golems if you'd like!"The elf offered, in an oddly cheerful tone, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the night was barely starting. She had obviously not stopped to consider that the alchemist might be a little too tired and would need a night's rest.
 
A hippogriff had wings strong enough to support a little more than its own body weight, 'little' being relative to how much that hippogriff weighed in. He hasn't seen the other hippogriffs, but maybe instead of dividing them so broadly, maybe what a hippogriff should carry should be calculated by its strength. A stronger hipogriff should probably carry a body, while a weaker one probably holds hands, fingers, joints, those kinds of things. He could vocalize his other idea while he's dismantling, a feat that Leo had not done himself in a while. Now that he thought about it, he might need more tools. His bag only supplied basic tools such as hammers and nails. Possibly a wrench and a pair of crude pliers that he made somewhere.

"Let's get started..? Oh! Right! Let's get started." He said, not realizing they'd be starting so soon. It was still dark out and Leo wasn't done doing sleeping yet. Speaking of sleeping, he didn't know the average run time of a Nak burn, but his burn had faded over the meal. Maybe a decent sit-down-at-a-table meal was something he needed? He hadn't had one since he received a paper message he could've swore was rimmed with proper gold and had a nice dinner with a rich guy. That well enough sums up how Leo got to be here - on this sky ship - trying to complete an Iolos-knows how dangerous quest.

Out of all the things he missed, he missed his lab. All working Alchemists were given a standard issue lab and funds necessary to study or create a certain thing. At a certain paygrade, which Leo got to before he left, was probably the best few years of his life. He was granted independant study, but it was quickly revoked when he attempted to make drinkable fire.

A failure, but ultimately worth it.
He had those burn marks for life.

While he was reminiscing, he forgot to actually move to complete the task at hand. He might have a busy night ahead of him. Most other golems were basic creations that only had enough parts to function as maintence workers. Leo had decided to flesh Aurum and Argentum out. Joints that roll 360°, an experimental version of pistons in the legs for stronger legs. So many parts that made them a lot more energy efficient, faster, and stronger than most. Took all of his money too, including his emergency funds. That money alone only made Argentum. Aurum took a lot more work. Leo was pretty much the personal mechanic of a noble, but at the same time he made a weapon that fired projectiles through combustion. What'd he name it again?

'Gotta take apart the golems. Stay focused.' He began to follow. What'd she say? She could help? No, she could watch. "I'd rather dismantle them by my own hand, but you can watch. I'd like the company, though."It came out a lot more stern than he wanted to. He wanted to do this himself for the most part. He wasn't saying that Talyndra couldn't deal with machines like he could, but...that's exactly what he meant. Only those who had their blue prints seared into their mind after repeatedly looking over them thoroughly could actually take them apart the correct way. Though there was a time where an Acolyte of Iolos curiously took one apart. Luck or skill, it was still impressive.

He had a bit of food in his bag, lest he need a snack in the midst of his work. Some books as well. By all means, Leo could dismantle both golems quickly, but he enjoyed working slowly, especially when he had the entire night. He could take some time to practice his non mechanical hobbies, such as...uh.

Comical flute playing?

He could probably do that when he was done, if he wasn't too tired. It was a really short walk to the deck. He had almost forgotten they were on a skyship, which he was handling surprisingly well. He never once looked off the edge of the ship, nor did he stray too far to the edge. Though now that he thought about it, he did sway with dizziness upon thinking about it too hard. It was like he was suddenly charged into by a bull. By this time he was going down the stairs from the bridge, and it took him not even a second to grab onto the railing and bracing himself skillfully.

Skillfully is giving it too much credit for the act. It was..clumsily, to say the least.

You could tell by the way he tumbled down the stairs in the heap that he was disoriented and thus he fell. If he hadn't have gotten up so quickly, one might've thought he was seriously hurt. But nothing hurts Leo..unless it's a fist. Maybe a sharp knife. Or some really harsh words. 'Hopefully Talyndra didn't see that tumble. Let's walk it off, play it like it never happened. I'm just a guy going to take his golems apart.'

'This is gonna be a really long night.'
'Or maybe just a few hours. Who knows!'
 
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Through no fault of her own, or at least that was what she would've said herself, Talyndra actually did spend the majority of her time watching; with her eyes closed that is. She had followed the alchemist to the main deck, letting out a surprised tinkle of laughter when he took a tumble which ended prematurely when Leo gracefully rolled right onto his feet. He seemed quite self conscious about the ordeal, and hid his limping well. For the most part, Talyndra di help make up for the alchemist's lack of a proper workstation. The Storm Maiden retrieved more elemental lanterns from below-deck and fixed them to the masts, providing enough illumination to work through the night; as well as annoying the ship's engineer by waking him up from sleep to borrow what tools he had. Talyndra tucked herself with her cloak into a ball, and leaned against a small alcove of supply crates as Everett got to work. She watched with interest at first, though sleep inevitably overcame her.

The next day passed by uneventfully Talyndra spending most of her time writing in her journal, or memorizing spells, either in her room or out with Elanti on the decks. Occasionally she would drop by to check on Everett's progress or bring him food. Despite the lack of material's the alchemist was surprisingly efficient in his work. Talyndra tried not to disturb him, though her curiousity got the better of her every now and then and she would ask the purpose of a particular part, only to regret it a moment later when she had no either what the alchemist was talking about in his explanation. She ended the day with a final supper up on the avian platform, throwing bits of meatpie overboard for Elanti to play catch. All this while, the Anarthiren drew steadily on, making great progress.

Dawn broke bright and warm on the third day. Anara's illuminating rays, cresting the rocky ridges of a mountain range looming to the north, which by now, was a much more ominious pressence. By midday, they had arrived at the base of the mountains, the Anarthiren had set down atop a hilly meadow surrounded by snow speckled highland trees. There was a light sprinkling of early snow causing patches of white to dot the land. Nevertheless, Anara had still managed to find a break in the clouds. To their north, a giant crack in the wall of jagged peaks marked Swerdrun, the only passageway north if they wished to keep going. Surrounded on all sides by sheer jagged rock so high their tops disappeared into the clouds, they could hear the shrieking howl of the wind coming out of the break in the mountain range. It was an all to familiar sound. No wider than two medium sized skyships at its broadest point, the raging wind rushed through the break, carrying cold winds from the north. "Witches' Howl" Talyndra remarked offhandedly as they disembarked from the Skyship. An apt name indeed.
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"This is as far as I can bring you Talyndra. Any further and you'll have to take off with the hippogriff while we are still flying. I don't think your Master Mcgill would like that very much, especially with the air currents." Captain Elheim was saying as they stood on the grassy field, the vessel anchored behind them. Talyndra nodded her thanks to Elheim.

"Blandur, Ithrien, Melianne, Thurin..." Talyndra walked over to where the four rangers were readying their hippogriffs, tightening the metal pieces close to the beasts to avoid unnecessary counterweights. They would be carrying more than Elanti, as she had two riders. "Here... take these." Talyndra gave each of them a small crystal ball, inside each swirled an amber haze. "If any of you fall behind... touch the marking, call for fire and fling it as high as you can. I will try to return for you.."

"There is no need Arwenamin Farandir, do not risk your life for ours-" It was Melianne, the only female elf of the four.

"No Melianne, we have discussed it already.. please..."

"As you wish Arwenamin." Melianne returned, though the look in her eyes said that she still did not agree wholeheartedly. Talyndra offered the rangers a close lipped smile, and clasped each of their hands, before leaving them to finish their preparations. She believed they would be fine, it had to be that way. But she also knew the Swerdrun had no master, and would claim its victims as it saw fit. She only hoped today it did not thirst.

. . . | . . . ​

"This is Dazzleweed," Talyndra offered Everett a unwrapped piece of herb parchment. On it, was a bunch of dried dark green herbs and deep purple flowers twisted into a neat pile. "Chew it when we take off... it'll help with the..." Talyndra could not find the words but instead twirled her pointer beside her head and rolled her eyes. "It tastes awful mind you.."
 
The night was successful. Leo worked very, very efficiently, even by his own standards. It was helpful that Talyndra went through the trouble of illuminating the deck and occasionally giving him extra tools that he didn't even know he needed until they were presented before him. They didn't talk much, but Leo caught Talyndra half watching, half sleeping the few times he actually looked up from his work. He wished he could explain things in a simpler way to Talyndra, so she could hopefully enjoy the world of mechanics as much as he did. It proved difficult, probably because of a very thin, but very present language barrier, really big words, and the fact that sometimes, he didn't even know what he was talking about. Leo was educated very well, but he still had a hard time stringing certain words into comprehensible sentences.

Nonetheless, he still had fun trying.

He worked in more so silence, despite the loud clanking and scraping of his tools against machinery, occasionally attempting to make small talk with Talyndra, to no avail. By the time he even got the thought of doing so she was asleep. On sleeping, Leo's fatigue rolled away the more he worked on the golems. It was like doing anything related to being an engineer invigorated him and made him want to do more. He had hardly realized that his work was done on the first golem when he started dismantling Argentum's thumb (although he put it back together.) He took a small break after Argentum was done, and Talyndra was pretty much at the point of no retu- waking.

During this time, he decided it would be a good idea to further work on his biggest project. Emphasis on big. Out of his bag, he produced a rolled up sheet of paper, kept shut by a small woolen string, and further encased in a glass container that was only slightly bigger than the large piece of paper. He quietly removed the paper from it's container and undid the knot on it, rolling out the 8 x 7 foot piece of paper. It was a very very neatly drawn blueprint drawn with sticks of charcoal and specially dyed ink. All machines broke down, and he was 200% aware that Aurum and Argentum wouldn't last forever. While on this thought, he took out a smaller piece of paper from his back, which was neatly folded. He unfolded it many times before it was fully spread out. It held multiple mathematical calculations and unfinished equations that were the counter part for the blue print.

skyrim_dragon_skull_by_noellembrooks-d5uj40g.png

It was crazy. Even by Leo's standards.

__blueprint___0001__dragon_v1_0_by_dehlak-d4ebc45.jpg


dragon%2Bblueprint.jpg
Once his golems times were through, he decided to take a more exotic approach to his next machine. He had been working on this blue print for years, and he was closed to being finished. He only had few formulas to complete, including how evenly he should distribute the money and the specific weight of certain parts and pieces. He did not dare present this idea in front of his pears, for fear that he'd be laughed out of the capital, and his idea possibly stolen. This was by all means an idea he didn't expect to work, but as he said to himself about all of his other crazy ideas -

'To hell with it; I'll make it work.'

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Hopefully he'd get enough money by the end of this quest to make this work. He hadn't realized that the sky was faintly turning orange as the sun rose, so he quickly stashed away his work and went back to dismantling Aurum. That night he pretty much slept through part of the day in a clearly hazardous mess of sharp part, wires, and thinks he could choke on if he decided he wanted to sleep-eat. While he did wake up in the afternoon, he was still very tired, and could tell his sleeping schedule was a wreck as a bi-product of the all-nighter.

He found that Aurum was a lot harder to take apart without killing himself. He hadn't realized the heft and weight of just Aurum's hand until he had to take it off. Wouldn't be a good day if someone decided to drop it on their toe, much like Leo did. He could've swore he heard laughter from the crew, who occasionally looked to see what Leo was doing. He was dirty and greasy, his hands smudged with dirt that collected on the joints. He could stand to clean them every once in a while, which he did - every year or so. There was another engineer that took particular interest in Leo's work. A woman, who claimed her father was an Alchemist much like Leo, except he only had one golem with possibly the largest tower cylinder ever created on it's back. They made small talk, Leo clearly having a hard time splitting his focus between listening and working. Eventually they began talking about machinery. Then she left, and Leo barely took notice.

Leo didn't sleep well that night - he had to take a drug to help him fall asleep. Even then, by the time he was done with Aurum, the third day was approaching rapidly, and he only got about 4 hours of rest. But he was done. He probably could've taken them apart within a day and a half, had he the right tools, but he made do.

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He woke early on the third and final day, where they would actually be putting Leo's plan into effect. It was an improvised plan at best. But it may just work. He normally didn't pray, but then again, he normally didn't fly through a dangerous mountain pass on a hippogriff; so he prayed his heart out, an ink drawing picture of his mother and an assumed picture of his father in front of him in the grass.

'Hey, Iolos...I know that we don't talk much and I-I know we probably should. I should probably pray for safety before I even try any of my experiments..heh.. All jokes aside. I may not be the best person, especially after hard years of being an orphan and the incident with my mother. But, I'd like to ask if you could..watch over me, guide me, and keep me safe while I'm embarking on this quest. I'd really appreciate it.'

It was spotty, and done on the spot. He wasn't too much of a religious man, and he had a hard time trying to ask a god who doesn't respond to you to keep him safe in the most polite manner he could. He hoped Iolos liked improvised prayers. He briskly wiped a tear from eye before it fell and even swifter grabbed the pictures from the grass, hiding it in the folds on his coat. He looked at her as if nothing happened. He took the herb, not even hearing what she said about when to eat it. He only nodded and got off of his knees, standing, looking down at Talyndra. "Thank you." He said, then walked off further away from the ship - Elheim, the Rangers and Hippogriffs and all.

The only reason Leo ever became such a builder was the very reason that it was his mother's profession and occupation. He didn't even know what else he was good at because he had devoted so much time to becoming as successful of an Alchemist as he could before he died. He looked at the mountains, seemingly at an endless height. They poked straight through the clouds. He chuckled. Any time he got sad he'd probably look back on it and say 'That was bad.' As if to comically relieve himself. He took a few deep breaths and just sat, with his legs stretched out. He was admiring the mountains to take his mind off of his parents before he lost it.

'I need a nap.' He thought. He usually took those because chances are - he wouldn't remember why he was upset by the time he woke up. But, he knew better than the fall asleep in any measure of snow. Makes you wet. Wet and cold, and that's really uncomfortable in a windy environment.

He took a moment to wonder what's out there. The majority of his life had been spent in Aryan territory, especially the capital since that was his primary workplace. Occasionally he was transported to somewhere in Vanharen for extremely special work or projects that took a few months to build. Leo was by far the one sent to a different Kingdom the most, as compared to his fellow Aryans, he was the least xenophobic. He could assume that there wasn't any kind of plants out there. Especially if it gets colder the more North you go. There could be some sort of wild life out that have adapted to the extreme temperatures out there though. He looked forward to seeing giant balls of white fur running around in the snow.

'How do squirrels taste?'
 
"You will be heading back to Aran`fadrasil then?" Talyndra uttered without turning around when she noticed Elheim coming up to her side. Her pale green robe billowed in the wind as she stood watching the back of the young Aryan, as he sat facing the mountains. She wondered what he was thinking, mayhap he was offering a prayer to his god.

"Not yet. I need to retrieve Tanadaris... Trouble brewing on the eastern fringes, big enough that the Calenfari have to be involved."

"You'll watch her back won't you-?" Elheim detected a quaver in Talyndra's voice as she turned to face him abruptly. The morning light reflected off her watery eyes and he could see the elf's bottom lip quiver, but she did not break down. The big man took her into his arms and embraced her, patting her back with a reassuring voice. "I always do... You watch your own, my child.. I'm proud of you for doing this Tal."

Talyndra drew back from Elheim and took a long sniff, brushing locks of her golden hair away from her face and trying her best to smile through her tear filled eyes. She felt a mix of emotions, as she stood on the precipice of a journey such as that which she seeked for so long. She had lived for years in the background, the people around her treating her as if she did not exist or would amount to nothing. Only Tanadris and Elheim had been there for her, but she'd always felt like a burden to them. She did not know what to expect out there in the north, but the elf only hoped that she could prove herself worthy, an unwanted who had the capacity to achieve something. She took a deep shuddering breath and stepped back from Elheim. Back straight and chin held up and proud, she crossed her palm over her heart, bowed and bade him farewell.

"Ar`veruen Felariel lle`aina Elheim el`Naral."

"Aa' menle nauva calen ar' ta hwesta e' ale'quenle, tenna' san' Talyndra kaelas`Farandir" Elheim returned her salutation in kind. Talyndra lingered but a moment longer, before she turned and headed to where the rangers along with Elanti was gathered. On the way, she stopped by Everett as he sat and touched his shoulder. "It's time.."

The next few moments passed by in a blur, as the saddled up the remaining supplies and checked the fastenings. Finally, the elf took hold of Elanti's saddle and vaulted onto the beast's back. She turned back to Everett has she reached behind her and undid the leather fastening of the stone choker around her neck, slipping it into the folds of her cloak. "It's a mana suppressor, it is meant to limit my... magic." The elf volunteered the explanation, incase Everett was curious. Satisfied that all was well after a final once-through, she offered a hand out to Everett. "Come on up Master Mcgill," Talyndra tilted her head to indicate that he was to sit behind her. "Settle yourself in, when you're done, put your hands around my waist and lean in close... you don't want to get blown off!"


. . . | . . . ​

"Ar`veruen Felariel lle`aina Elheim el`Naral." - May Goddess Felariel grant you her blessings, Elheim el`Naral.

"Aa' menle nauva calen ar' ta hwesta e' ale'quenle, tenna' san' Talyndra kaelas`Farandir" - May thy paths be green and the breeze on thy back, until then Talyndra kaelas`Farandir.
 
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'Tch. I could've beaten Arthur in that foot race like it was nothing if I wasn't carrying a kitchen knife. I only needed that because uh...what was I doing then? I'm not surprised I don't remember. That was about 17 years ago. Man, those days were..full of interesting events.'

The text put on paper represents a flashback. Actions and words said in the flashback will not actually apply to anything done in the present time. The narrative will randomly shift through third, second, and first person inconsistently between past and present Leo. I've done this on purpose, to give a little more depth to the flashback.

My mother. Esperanza Maree McGill. By any standards, that woman was brilliant.She had a smile warm enough to melt the snow right off of the frosty tops of mountains, but a certain glare scary enough to scare a dragon out of it's own scales. Hah. She used that a lot on me whenever I was up to my usual shenanigans and stupid plots and ideas. However many times she punished me for my wrong doings, and however long I pretended to hate her, I know she still loved me. But, when you're such an intelligent woman, and even more than that, a royal alchemist, mechanic and engineer, as well as scientist, and an assistant to an ambassador who frequently went on missions to accompany a discuss things of diplomatic nature, she tended to be busy. Thus, not at home much.

I had a baby sitter. Someone who was paid well to look after me. Look after me, not keep me out of trouble. If anything she put me in more trouble than she occasionally got me out of. I think one time she tried to kill me. I don't remember all too well. I wasn't home much. Too many kids were outside to spend the day inside doing fuck all.

"Varys. I want my ball back."
"Don't count on it, Leo."
"Don't call me that."
"Or what? What're you gonna do? Hit me? We all know you wouldn't do such a thing. Your mom always said violence is never the answer."

The kids gathered around in a circle laughed, as a taller boy, with a corpulent build mocked Leo. He was taller than Leo. He was big in general, even for a child of 12 years, he was nearly at the height of most men. He was using his height advantage against Leo, holding Leo's red pigskin ball high above his head, above Leo's reach, even if he jumped as high as he could.

"Jump higher, Leo. Maybe if you jump high enough your father will come ba-"

Varys almost finished his sentence before he was viciously kicked in the groin. Varys let out a shrill squeak after the blow landed. Leo wasn't any good at fighting. It wasn't something he did. He was too peaceful in nature to fight. But there was a certain line that you could cross that could provoke Leo into fighting.

The children surrounding were shocked by the maneuver. Leo, being the impulsive child he is, realized that if he stopped there, Varys might recover and well..

Beat him up.

He wasn't very strong. His mother was somewhat wealthy, so he hadn't seen a lot of physical labor, but judging on previous experience through pranks, people fell when kicked in the back of the knee. As quickly as he could, which was pretty quick, he strafed around Varys and slammed his foot into the back of his knee. He achieved the preferred effect, and Varys fell to one knee.

I never actually thought I'dve gotten that far in the fight. I remember how I blanked in the middle of the fight. Now that I look back on it, I can laugh on that embarrassing moment when I lost my focus. That's a beating I'll never forget. Did I ever get that ball back? I really don't think so. Least I hope I did. Tch. I'm having a hard time remembering the events that happened to me. Who would've though, man.

There was that time that I threw a glass plate at a merchant, but that's not noteworthy.

Oh yes. I remember when I was put through some sort of training or evaluation course to become an official alchemist. With a title and all. It was pretty simple. They had me answer a few questions about chemical reactions, then had me make water exist at a solid, gas, and liquid state of matter all at the same time. Wasn't hard, but, I did get a few cuts when the beaker exploded and sent glass fragments everywhere. I think the overseer got one in his eye.

"Leo. Everett. McGill."
"That would be me, uh, sir."
I managed to stutter out. I thought it would be hard being an alchemist. I was ready for some extreme pressure and a psychological screening, physical exam, and mental challenges. But, at the time, I wasn't too smart. I didn't really know what to expect from the world. I mean, I wasn't surprised when I made the Triple Point of water with more than required equipment. Too bad I didn't get that kind of stuff when I was actually employed.

"Mr. McGill. I need you to make this water exist as a solid, liquid, and a vapor, all at the same time with the tools provided." The instructor told me, as he waved his hand towards a table, with a tray full of the needed equipment. Not limited to a beaker, a pressure pump, a hose, and a tool that measures the temperature of something. I forget what it's called, but it was a glass tube filled with alcohol. The idea behind it was that the alcohol expanded when it got hotter, and so it took up more space in the tube. There were certain points labeled with numbers that represented temperature. Ah, damn. Whatever it's name is.

I don't know if I did it a certain way. But the instructor looked confused with my methods. I didn't need the beaker. Apparently I wasn't supposed to use water in the atmosphere. But you know what, I think it made it even more impressive. After that came the physiological screening, which I feel like I barely passed due to my apparently unpredictable, but still tame nature? That's how the screener described it as, anyways. It kind of contradicts itself, since tame and unpredictable don't really go hand and hand. They're different. Exact opposites.

While we're on my crusade through short and inconsistent time set memories, I want to remember what I did last about two nights ago, on the deck.

I only just a now got off of that ship. Why is it so hard to remember what it looked like? Ah hell.

A dragon made purely of metal. Adamatine, mythril, steel. Hard materials. What he had sketched was just the concept, and not nearly fleshed out enough for him to make it reality yet. There comes many issues with trying to make a draconic golem. The reason humanoid golems are so easy to control is because an average techturgist knows how a human body moves, so it's easier to use your hands to make a golem move. A dragon is much different. Most humans aren-. No humans are dragons. They wouldn't know how it would move, and it'd be a mess to try and control with their hands. Perhaps a new form of control gauntlets could be manufactured. Perhaps...we could make the dragon move on its own...?

Hah. That's ridiculous.

It'd be much too heavy to fly. No amount of mechanical engineering and maybe strong enough leather or heartwood paper would make it fly. Though, if I gave technology a few more decades to advance, it may be possible. But that's a big maybe. But, if the idea were to come to life, then Leo would be able to quite possibly call himself the best engineer there was. It was an idea he could bet was thought of before, but laughed off, and the fact that it was laughed off was the reason that Leo wanted to do it.

I like to go against the tide sometimes. Change it up. Do things different. Have a little bit of variety in my li-

'Oh shit, I'm supposed to be getting ready to hop on a hippogriff through a dangerous mountain pass. Now's not the time for flashbacks.'

As if on queue, he felt a hand on his shoulder, accompanied by Talyndra's voice. It was time to leave. He had to actually, you know, focus on this super long expedition past the mountains to the north, blah blah blah. He wanted to get back to his reminiscing as quickly as possible. It wasn't the most professional thing to think about at the moment.

'Tch. Since when did I care about being professional?'

Before he knew it, he was following Talyndra onto a hippogriff, taking her hand and mounting behind her. He scarcely heard her say something about a mana suppressor. Leo didn't know if 'mana' was another word said in elvish, or if it was something he was actually supposed to know about. Then he heard something about magic, and put two and two together. It was a tool meant to keep Talyndra's abilities in check. Whatever abilities she had, at least. She really didn't look like much. Not as an insult, but just, to someone just looking at her, they'd see an elf who looked important.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't want to be this close to Talyndra. He wasn't used it to, or comfortable. It was an issue of the moment, and he knew he'd get used to it. But he sure as hell didn't want to touch her. It was a matter of physical boundaries. He didn't think she'd feel comfortable, but then again, she asked him to do it. That's as good enough as a green light he would get. He loosely grabbed her waist with much reluctance. "Right. Getting blown off would be...bad..for health, to say the least."
 
She stiffened slightly at the point she first felt his hands going around her waist, though she noticed Everett's hesitation with the lose grip. Part of her was glad that he at least had the decency to be embarrassed about it, as was she; but with her facing forwards, he likely wouldn't notice her cheeks reddening. In any event, it was necessary and she had determined not to make matters any more awkward by appearing uncomfortable about the idea. She reached down and adjusted his arms.

"Closer Master Mcgill... We need to ride-" She hesitated slightly, trying to find the proper words, "-ride as One." She splayed the palm of her left hand out wide (palms down) so he could see over her shoulder. With her other, she clasped the backside of her left palm tightly and mimicked a gliding motion. She hoped he understood what she meant. Any bumping around or unnecessary air resistance with a gale breathing down your face could send them hurtling to their doom. She looked to the other rangers who had drawn alongside them. They formed a line at the crest of a grassy hill, it sloped gently downwards for several hundred yards until it abruptly ended in a cliff, overlooking a forest of mountain pines. Talyndra let out a long drawn out breath.

"Lle merna aut Elanti!" Elanti let out a thunderous screech, which was quickly echoed by the four other hippogriffs. The beast reared back before it began charging down the hillside, broad wings flapping to build an updraft. Just as they were nearly over the edge, with a push of its powerful hind legs the beast took off, proud and sure. Talyndra squinted against the rush of wind, there was a momentary heart stopping drop, before Elanti's wings swept downwards lifting them above the canopy. They maintained the elevation, as Elanti's great wings flapped every now and then, propelling them forward as they glided over the treetops. They were flying reasonably low, about eighty feet or so above ground. Talyndra wanted to stay as low as possible, below the roiling air currents when they reached the rocky pass, which even now loomed up ahead of them. The dark grey, almost black rocks of the Swerdrun steadily grew larger as they headed towards what seemed like a shadowed valley. Trees, hills and clearings rushed beneath them and Talyndra squinted her almond shaped eyes against the rush of wind.

Despite the gnawing trepidation, she had always loved riding her flying mount and the sense of utter freedom. An exhilarating rush as the world blurred by her. The strong beating of Elanti's wings was a sure comfort to her; she had never felt more alive anywhere else . Elanti had been the one and only gift from her father. She had been but a crippled bird with a broken wing then (and had cared not even when the other kids teased her for her 'crippled' gift). But the elf had stoically nursed it back to health with the expertise of her sister. They grew up together, until Elanti eventually grew too big to be kept in her room. Those were fond memories, ones that drifted across her mind as the elf leaned in close to the feathered and furry back of her friend.

They had been flying on for about half an hour when Elanti's wings seemed to beat faster, as if in anticipation of the danger that loomed ahead. As they neared the last hundred or so meters from the mouth of the valley, a rising wail could be heard, as if a thousand souls cried out in agony. It was the rush of wind, storming through the valley. Twisting to look back at Everett, she gave him a meaningful look. The difficult part was about to begin. All pretense of shyness pales when one is about to face a matter of life and death.

"Close your eyes, it might help. This will be a rough one, even for me. Oh, and... don't let go." She smiled then, before turning back to lean down close to the hippogriff, whispering in it's ear.

The bird responded immediately, rising just a few feet higher. At the same time, Talyndra began whispering an incantation under her breath, her eyes briefly flashing a pale milky white. From somewhere just at the edge of her perception, she heard a faint giggle. Without looking, she knew that her summoning spell had worked. Barely larger than a hand, their flowing ephemeral forms vaguely feminine as they danced and twirled
all around them. Wind sprites. The other rangers had formed a long line, as they drafted in the wake of Elanti. With another whispered word, the Wind Sprites surged forward, twisting and dancing around Elanti's wings and forming a translucent blue protective air current of sorts. The mouth of the valley drew closer, the howling wind was near deafening now. The force of the gales also beginning to affect the riders, buffeting them about as the beasts drove on, and then they were in the middle of it.

The moment they entered the valley, a sudden drop in pressure caused the mount to almost literally fall out of the sky. Talyndra's heart leaped to her throat, but she urged the beast on. Frantically, its powerful wings kept beating even as the wind sprites swirled about them, until finally they levelled off. The momentary danger past, the currents were nevertheless merciless, tossing them about as if they were mere leaves in a storm. Weaving in and out of the rocky peaks, they surged onwards. Talyndra continually held the hippogriff in check, making sure it did not fly too high, nor too low though it seems almost as if her efforts were for naught as they kept getting blown off course. Below them, grey murky mist covered the valley floor, obscuring more jagged edges that must surely be waiting. Talyndra's knuckles were white, and her face had paled with the effort of tracing the wind currents and maintaining her protective winds. She did not know how long they had been traversing the mountain pass, but with each passing moment her strength waned. Still, she gritted her teeth and kept on.

Squinting against the rush of wind, the anarhin maneuvered the hippogriff through the winding valley. Twisting this way and that, one less experienced could quickly get lost in that bleak mountain pass. Each turn, each rocky ridge looked no different to another and even Talyndra found difficulty recognizing landmarks, and had to navigate from feeling the rush of currents. It was no easy task, as to one less adept, any air current could have been the Northern Winds.


Doubt began to creep into the vestiges of her mind, but all of a sudden, she felt a change in the air. The current was stronger, but clearer. The crimson glow of a setting sun was far to the west whenthey burst around a corner and was greeted with a breathtaking view of the Northlands. Even in the twilight, the forests and distant snow-capped mountains seemed magical.
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A thick blanket of snow drizzled pines spread out before them and Elanti gave a weary squawk, the beast eager to set down and rest. Talyndra reached out and patted the side of its face, urging it on, "Just a little more..." She was so, so weary... Talyndra allowed herself a moment of respite, relaxing her hold on the tenuous grasp that was her summoning magic. It proved to be a fatal mistake. In the blink of an eye, the wispy sprites seemed to struggle as if they were being suffocated, then they faded into nothingness. There was a sudden billowing wind. Caught by surprise at the loss of her protective draft, Talyndra could only stare frozen as she heard the devastating gust of wind bear down on them. The force of the wind crashed into the hapless riders, sending them hurtling out of control as they plumeted out of the sky.

It happened all too fast. They were tumbling. She dimly remembered desperate shouting Was it a spell? A cry of horror?. The tops of the snow caped pines rushed up to them, and her vision dimmed. There were muffled shouts, and she heard Elanti screech in pain. Her arms flailed wildly and she felt a flaring pain stab at her forearm, a hard bash to her forehead. Her vision went dark just moments before she landed in a tangled heap, crashing into the snow covered grounds.

(OOC: So... based on dice roll. Elanti and Melianne's hippogriff crashes and loses some equipment. Elanti will survive because of plot armor xD The extent of your injuries is up to you. Try not to be dead fish though, that's my job. Jk.)
 
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Leo caught her meaning quickly. With the quick winds rushing about, Leo bouncing around would make flying difficult. That with the fact that the wind would find any space to get in between, and he'd probably be flung off of Elanti with a loose group such as his own. With that thought in mind, he knew he could stand to grasp just a little tighter. He didn't enjoy being this close to Talyndra. He didn't enjoy being this close to anyone, actually. He had a strong belief that valued a personal bubble, which represented physical boundaries that weren't meant to be crossed without consent. Even if Talyndra did say it was fine, it didn't change anything that he felt like requesting his own hippogriff.

With some sort of command, in a foreign tongue, presumably elvish, Elanti, and the other hippogriff..hippogriffs? Hippogriffi? 'What's the plural for hippogriff? Hippogri?'

Like said, all five of them formed a choir of screeching eagle-horse-hybrid noises, which wasn't so different from that of a normal eagle. He closed his eyes, for he may cry from...the wind getting in his eyes. Not because he's afraid of high places or anything...haha. Even then, Leo couldn't help but feel his heart and stomach switch places as they took off. The pressure hadn't changed too much, so they couldn't be more than a few score off the ground, but his eyes were kept shut tighter than an oyster's mouth. Their mouths are shut tight, right? Leo couldn't help but think, 'I'm probably missing out on a lot of sight seeing..Oh well! I'll get enough of that once we're safely off the hippogriff and on the ground. I'd think so. I mean, it can't be JUST snow passed the mountains, can it? There has to some sort of life that's sentient over there. I'll have a scientific heart attack if that's the case.'

Leo forgot why he had agreed to do this. Yeah, there could be stuff up North. Stuff that's never been seen before. But was it really worth quite possibly, maybe, by chance, dying? He has enough things that could kill him back in the capital or in the wild as well. What made being in the North so much more confidence shaking? Leo normally loved answering questions, finding out a way give an accurate answer, but, this time he couldn't bring himself to even try and come to a conclusion. It just wasn't...worth it.

Leo smirked when asked to close his eyes. They had never been open. He might as well have fallen asleep, and he probably would've, had the ride gotten any smoother. Talyndra leaned forward, he could feel it. Then he heard her say something under her breath. Then Leo got his wish. The ride got smoother. It was as if the wind just decided that it was having a good day and left the two alone. Then Leo's ears popped, and he thought he was about to die from the hippogriff crashing. Thank goodness they didn't crash.

He had relaxed, as he realized that they had been flying for a while. They were almost there, they had to be. He hadn't realized how long his heart was in his throat until he ceased to be tenser than a copper wire.

That tensity was well deserved for the task at hand.

He felt Elanti shake violently, and some other shouts that were lost in the wind. His eyes flew open, but were immediately shut again as the air shot into Leo's eyes. He barely had anytime to process what was happening before instead of clinging tighter to Talyndra, he clung to the hippogriff as well. If anyone did, Elanti probably had the best chance of living. He felt bad for not even thinking about Talyndra, but with any luck, she'd live.

His vision went black for a moment. The last thing he saw was the ground rushing up to meet him.

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

'Well..that's certainly..pretty.'

Leo thought dully to himself as he watched his blood seep into the snow. His ears were ringing, and there was a dull, but still very much present pain in the back of his head. He felt as if he got the brunt of luck after the crash. His tactic to hold on and pray for the best seemed to have partially worked, but he was flung off a few seconds into the crash. But still, it felt like Leo could've been hurt a lot worse. His body felt like it was made of lead. Heavy. He was bleeding from somewhere on his body, probably his head. That's where most of the pain was concentrated. He didn't want to move. Even if he did get up, what would he do? Where would he go? There was just..no point.

'Tch. I wonder how Talyndra...fared.'

'Oh damn.'

He shot up, like a dead man revived. The pain was still there, in fact his entire body burned with the urge to lie back down. Even with the cold, he was just too numb to feel his skin, but he sure as hell felt the pain in his muscles. He wanted to call out for her, but he knew that the wind wouldn't allow it. They'd steal the words in a single gust of wind. He saw an indent in the snow, where Elanti had crashed and slid to somewhere. He couldn't see. Elanti, but he could find Talyndra in it's wake. She couldn't have held on, much like how Leo failed to do, could he?

'There. She's there.' She was in between two trees. She didn't look too much on the conscious side of the spectrum. He hobbled over to her, much like an old man who longed to be able to run, but was restrained by age. He got on his knees and examined her. Her head had blood leaking from it, but it wasn't much more than a big bruise than a gash. Still, any trauma to the head couldn't be good. He grabbed her by under her arms and began to drag her. He would've picked her up, one hand under her knees, one wrapped around her shoulders, like any hero saving the damsel in distress in story books described. But, he was much to weak. Dragging would suffice.

Thankfully, Elanti wasn't too much further than a few score away. She was... he? It was leaned up against a tree, which was likely what prevented it from sliding any further. As he got closer, he could hear that Elanti was still breathing, and very much alive. But much like Leo, he was weak. 'How many other Hippogri-ffs? How many of the others went down?' He thought as he got closer to Elanti. He propped Talyndra up against Elanti's flank, and grabbed its wing to cover her. It wasn't much cover, but if she stayed asleep in the snow like she was, she'd likely not wake. Most who slept in the snow tended to sleep for a while...well, forever.

He stood there, his earlier fatigue somewhat wearing off. He realized he was fucking cold too. He slid in next to her, disregarding any morals of personal space he had. He kept most of Elanti's wing over Talyndra, but saved some room for himself. As if he couldn't make bad decisions, he took off his coat and used it as a blanket, covering both Talyndra and he.

'Hah. I think Iolos actually saved me. I think this was my punishment for such an excuse of a prayer, though. Oops. But hey, I lived.'
 
~*~
"That girl is a hazard!" It was spoken contemptuously. The tall elven male, long wavy blond hair shimmering in the amber glow of the elemental lamps, moved suddenly to grip the edges of the large desk littered with scrolls; even in the intensity of his actions he kept up the air of haughty confidence and grace that so often enshrouded his tall immaculate form. The other two figures in the room, one seated behind the desk with his hands clasped to his chin in the shape of a triangle was leaning forward slightly, a frown on his face. The other stood a little ways beside the first, her flaming red hair framing a delicately angular chin as it cascaded over her equally fiery designed robe. The third figure stared at the Master Conjurer's sudden outburst, lush ruby lips slightly open in annoyance. Despite her soft feminine features, the intensity and burning passion in her amber coloured eyes was more than enough to let anyone know she was not one to be trifled with.

"Watch your tongue, Lord Calarharn.. you're speak-" she snapped but was quickly cut off.

"She nearly killed everyone in that class with that summoning, but by Anara's grace, I was around to dismiss the elemental-!" Lord Calarharn unconsciously reached up to gingerly touch the bandage around his left arm where he had rolled up the sleeve of his robe.

"Of course you had to be around, its your class... and maybe if you were as good as you claim to be.."

"And you think you could've done much better, eh!? Mistress Illuvathir." The Master Conjurer retorted, nearly spitting out the other's name.

"That's enough..." The quiet but penetrating voice of the seated figure suddenly cut through the air like a hot knife through warm butter.

"I have heard enough... More than enough.." The figure gestured to the piles of letters bearing the seals of over a dozen noble houses, parents demanding to know why their precious snowflakes had been put in such danger. "This girl... Her father, is the Highlord Tasaldan, Councilor of Defense?"

"Pfft..! An aging old man from a past age. Looking for an excuse to be rid of his undesirable larle-" Lord Calarharn snorted with such an air of aristocracy that the Ladies of Court would've blushed (sarcastically speaking). The other two immediately trained their eyes upon him at his derogatory tone. Aerwynne Illuevathir's eyes flared in anger with the disrespect and was about to retort in no small volume but backed down when the seated figure shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, the students of Hearthfire Academy are in danger so long as this girl remains uncontrolled in this school." At this, a smug grin grew on the Master Conjurer's annoyingly pretty face.

"You will expel her from the Academy then?" He eagerly cut in.

If any of the three would've been paying more attention, they would've heard a tiny gasp coming from the barely open doorway. As it was, they were too enraptured by their discussion to notice.

"Talyndra has shown me so much potential-!" The redheaded anarhin protested but the third figure held up his hand.

"I did not say I will expel her... she shows too much promise to be simply be let off. Besides, from what I have heard about her, I fear that ruining her chance of proper tutelage in the arts would result in much more severe consequences than scaring a bunch of school kids in a classroom... sometime in the future."

"So what do we do? There is no teaching this girl.. she is uncontrollable-! Volatile!!" Lord Tasaldan cried, nearly losing his composure which he worked oh-so-hard to protect.

The third figure sat up straight slowly, running his steely gaze between the two Stormlords before settling his gaze upon the female. "Matriarch of the Flamespirit, Mistress Aerwynne Lorelyia al`Illuvathir... I knew your Master once.. before he.. vanished." Aerwynne narrowed her eyes, unsure of what to make of the sudden change of focus. "You are hereby relieved of all teaching duties... except for one."

"But Grandmaster I-"

"You of all know what it feels like to have your abilities unappreciated Mistress Illuvathir... I believe that if we put this young girl under a mentorship, she might be able to control herself before she reaches her full potential. Afterall, I think you are the only one here whom should recognize the signs of those who are One with Them..."

. , ; ' ` ~ * ~ ` ' ; , . , ; ' ` ~ * ~ ` ' ; , .​

full

Pain. It was a sharp stabbing pain. It was perhaps the thing that pulled her back from the brink. That and the creeping cold that seemed to seep in from the tips of her toes. But there was a comforting warmness, at her back, and to her side. Warmth that drove the chill away. A barely audible moan escaped her lips as she shifted herself closer to the source of heat. The warmth reminded her of a faraway memory. Perhaps not so far because of her dream. Did she dream? Why was she dreaming?

"Illuvathir..." It came as a whispered mumbled. Her breath puffing out small wisps of vapour.

As her subconscious mind was drawn back from the vestiges of oblivion, she slowly became aware of a brightness that filled her vision. Why was there light? Why can't I see anything else? For a brief moment, she felt panic set in. Was she blind?! Then her eyelids fluttered open, long lashes dusting off the snow crystals that had fallen on her eyes. The first thing that struck her was the stark whiteness. Pure white snow, contrasting sharply with dark trees (pines?), their trunks sticking out of the puffy mounds of snow like toothpicks on a frosted dessert treat. It reminded her of those birthday parties they used to hold at Heartfire Academy, back during her schooling days. Of course, she hadn't been invited even then, but that didn't stop the young Farandir from sneaking in for a treat.

As full consciousness returned to her, the elf became more and more aware of the stabbing pain on her forehead. She reached up with a snow covered hand to gingerly check on the pain. Though the icy flakes jolted her senses, it did much to
numb the pain. Simply keeping her hand up proved too much effort, and Talyndra allowed her hand to fall away. She looked at her hand then, noticing the crimson stain that trickled out the dye the snow covered ground.

"Oh... I'm bleeding..." She remarked flatly, her voice cracking from a dry throat.
 
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"Blast, this is why I hate flying."

The amount of times Leo tried to shun the thought of crashing, to just, act like he never had a gnawing feeling in his stomach that something bad might happen were most definitely in vain. He was wet, cold, and tired. Not to mention any sort of light reflecting off of the snow into his eyes only made his headache worse. He might have a concussion. Head trauma and trying to control a golem may have untold, but presumably harmful effects. Maybe if he could use his gauntlets to bring individual pieces to himself? No, that'd take too much time, especially when he didn't know where the pieces were.

It was said that Nak Techturgists could actually see through their golem's eyes, and that's what made them so adept at control. That was not the case. It's not hard to learn how to control a human body, because most - nay, all Techturgists had a humanoid anatomy. The learning curve wasn't too sharp, but it was very much present. Trying to control two golems was a bit more difficult. Especially when you have to split your focus between both golems, lest you want them to act in tandem and mimic each other's motions. For Leo, it was very much easy for him to switch between how he wanted to control both golems, and in that sense, he was adept in control.

Back in his lab days, he and his few, very small group of friends would have competitons to see how many golems they could control at once. They were control group type golems, as in, just iron. Cheap material and relatively the average human height. He never always won. There were about 4 of them participating, and he always fluctuated between coming first and second. His only real competitor wasn't exactly his closest friend, but he served as the group's comedian. He was extremely funny. It was always interesting how he was able to switch up his type of humor to appease different people, different audiences. He often used golems in his comedy skits that he'd do professionally, or just for friends. The most he controlled was 4 golems that didn't act in tandem.

Leo only peaked at 3.

He looked at Talyndra. What he would give to have an Acolyte. Maybe a Regali- something knight. From a crash like that, Leo was surprised that he even got up. He was no good at healing. He didn't have any holy affinity or whatever. Maybe after this was over he could try and see how that works. There had to be some sort of science behind magic, right?

Then he heard Talyndra shift, closer towards himself and Elanti, who was breathing steadily, but weakly. It hadn't moved very much since Leo posted up on her flank. Talyndra whispered something. Maybe she was just breathing. He only saw her breath come out of her mouth instead of her nose, which signified that she might've said something. He said nothing as she felt her forehead, taking no note of Leo's presence at all.

Then he realized, a wound on the head will continue bleeding unless you seal it. He didn't have any bandages, and if he could find any dirt under the snow to rub on her head, he would. Too bad he didn't have anything to do it with that was anymore sanitary. He'd rip a strip of his clothes off, but, he wanted as much as that as possible, especially in this cold environment.

"We just crashed..and all you can say is 'Oh, I'm bleeding'..? I can see how well you prioritize your issues now." He said. It hadn't been more than a few minutes since they leaned up on Elanti, and she was already awake, which was good. "But, now that you're awake..are you okay?" He inquired. It was more important than the next question that Leo could probably answer himself:

What do we do now?
 
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As it was, Talyndra was too weak to be startled by Everett's voice breaking the silence. She still felt very disorientated, the throbbing ache from the gash on her forehead not helping one bit. She ignored, or perhaps didn't catch on to his incredulity of her remark. She felt a certain warmth of gladness in her heart, knowing that she at least wasn't alone. A weak squak from somewhere behind her indicated that Elanti was at the very least, alive. She painstakingly craned her neck to look up at Everett, her half lidded eyes found his own brown orbs.

"W-Well..." Her voice cracked again. So tired... "I thought I was dead... but you look more alive than how I feel..." tired... "So I guess I'm alive, which makes it okay?" The elf let out a hacking cough at her wry joke, causing her to wince as a splitting pain wracked her skull.

"By Felariel... that hurt..." She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. I should rest... so tired... She fought against it, but was slowly succumbing to her tiredness. It may have been the loss of blood, couple with the fact that she had expanded a huge amount of mana and energy to get them through the pass. She was silent for a few seconds... seconds that seemed like an eternity. Then her lashes fluttered open. Gingerly, she reached within the folds of her cloak. Her pale hand emerged from her pockets grasping something small. A glint of amber. She moved to pass it to Everett, but her hand fell short as her eyes closed once more. A small smooth crystal ball rolled out from her open palm and fell in the space between their bodies. A flamesprite orb, one she had passed to each member of their group just before they took off.

"Aim it to the skies and crush it Everett, it'll help the others find us." She told the Alchemist, but with a sudden panic, realized that she had said those words in her mind. Tired... dark... so cold... its getting colder...

As snow slowly drifted over the duo, draping them in pure white flakes, a faint voice suddenly broke the stillness. It's echoes resounding faintly, but gradually getting louder.

"TALYNDRA-!"

"Save your breath Melianne. You're hurt. Let us find her." The dark haired male elf told his compatriot, as she sat astride him on a hippogriff. The female elf cradled her sprained arm, and she had one blackened and puffy eye. They were flying low, as low as they could without crashing into the treetops. Several yards out to their left and right were Blandur and Thurin who were both calling out to their friend.

"TALYNDRA!!"

"Keep looking Ithrien... I fear for her..."

"We will not stop... Rest Melianne, do not worry. I saw Elanti bank sharply at the last minute, hopefully it broke their fall just enough..." Ithrien let his sentence hang. Truth be told, he did not know if Talyndra or the human made it. But they would keep looking, even if it meant they find her dea- No! She's alive. I know it.
 
'She's in a bad condition. I should leave her alone. Best I can do is wait for help.' He thought as she did not respond immediately after he spoke to her. He was about to go to sleep and rest himself, despite himself thinking it was a terrible idea that one would sleep in the snow. But then he heard her weakly stutter out a response. Keeping his eyes concentrated on her as she spoke, he felt a bit relieved that she was awake. The expedition wouldn't be worth much if he came back alone. The worst could happen. He could come back alone, be framed for killing his elven partner, and some more conflict could happen. Perhaps her escort would get to him first?

"Tch. Being alive is the greatest thing you could be right now." He gave a dry chuckle, that had little force behind it. It sounded more like a stuttering sigh. Like a golem that had a wrench thrown in the joints, so it wouldn't work correctly and instead made grinding noises instead...

That's a bad analogy.

Leo stayed silent, mainly. She stated that obvious. Something so obvious that not even Leo could've even began to think saying. That it hurt. Leo was surprisingly not as hurt as he would have expected. Then again, speaking of, he wouldn't have found the energy to stand up off of that wall if he hadn't been concerned for Talyndra's well-being. It was surprising to himself how quickly he had considered Talyndra a friend, even after the rough beginning when they first met..he still had yet to find out what Edan.. Sedan? What was it again?

As Talyndra said nothing and closed her eyes, Leo feared that she had went back to sleep - he wouldn't be surprised. She was hit pretty hard by the looks of it. It'd take them a while to bounce back from this. If they survived. Would they? If Leo left, Talyndra may get too cold and die, and if he left, he may get too cold and die as well. He couldn't stray too far, because he wasn't too sure that Talyndra would be able to take care of herself while she was in an unconscious state. Probably the same as he would. He'd like to see anyone try and survive when they couldn't move. He watched as she removed a small orange orb from her cloak. It was small, but it looked like it contained some sort of fire within. Instinctively, he took it, not knowing what quite to do with it. Soon after, she fell limp once more.

He looked at the orb, confused on what to do with it. He sat there in silence, rubbing the orange ball in between his fingers, looking at it from all angles possible. He wasn't even sure what to do with it. Was it a gift? Had Talyndra given up and decided to give him this as a parting gift? No, that couldn't be right. He still saw the clouds of her breath coming from her nose. He gave a single laugh. "Dear me. If only this was a machine. It'd probably be the last thing I took apart. If I weren't any smarter, I'd say you gave this to me for a reason." He said to no one, but looked at Talyndra as if she could actually make out what he said and give an intelligent response. He took his coat and put it back on, nevermind Talyndra.

Then he heard it.

Voices. Voices coming closing, picking up in volume. He heard the beating of wings and knew that someone had came. They weren't screaming his name, so obviously it was one of Talyndra's number. One of her escort sent with her. 'Why didn't I get an escort? I'm important too, right..? Right?' He thought as the wind picked up. He would yell, but he would fear that the wind would steal his words and he'd waste his breath. They were concealed by the trees, but in his white coat, he wouldn't be too easily spotted, especially with the wind blowing the snow about.

He had one shot.
One opportunity to get this crazy idea to work.

He waited. He had to get this right.

He arced his arm backwards and throw the orange ball with all the might he could muster. He felt it roll off of his fingers, and watched it's faint glow disappear into the white. He heard a resounding and faint thud, much like when you throw a pebble from a stream at a tree, and an annoyed squawk. The same orb presumably bounced off of the hippogriff into a nearby wall, or tree, or something before exploding somewhat gracefully and sending a light into the sky.

'Oh hey, look at that. I hit.'
 
"ITHREN THERE-!"

"I see it!" The male Calenfari had already pulled on the hippogriff's reigns, bringing it in an about turn. Heading in a beeline towards a fiery beacon, the two elves noted that their compatriots had both seen the released fire elemental flitting about in the skies above a particularly dense copse of pines; it was not hard to miss, even with the blistering snowstorm.

Elanti sensed something, as her neck suddenly craned upright, as much as the weakened bird could. Letting out a weak screech. A few moments later, the tops of the large pines shifted as if a burdened by a large weight. Shouts could be heard from the canopy, as branches rustled. A deluge of accumulated snow and pine needles rained down below, disturbed for the first time in years as it was followed by muttered curses.

"Slow down Melianne! Your arm-"

"My arm is nothing compared to what they might be- By Felariel!" There was a light flooomp as two figures dropped down to the snow padded ground below. One was a female, who seemed to be cradling a bound arm and a bruised lip. The other, a taller male was carrying a backpack. They immediately caught sight of the piled up survivors leaning against the base of a tree. Breaking into a run, Melianne reached them first, seemingly uncaring about her own injuries.

"Talyndra! Talyndra!" Falling to her knees before them, she reached out instinctively to grab the unconscious elf, but hesitated at the last minute when she noticed the girl wasn't moving. Her sapphire orbs filled with worry, they shifted to the human beside her, noticing that he was conscious.

"Is she... are you... what happened?!"

Ithren came up beside Melianne, took one look at the fallen storm maiden and immediately began rummaging into his pack.

sheesh sheesh
 
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"Haha, yes!" Leo exclaimed. Though, after that throw, he felt kind of weak. Standing was suddenly harder, and his eyelids felt more like eyeleads. (you see what I did there?) He wanted to sleep more than anything else, and all the willpower he had to stay conscious suddenly left him. He did not sleep at that moment, nor did he cease standing. He was happy, yet he lacked the energy to express it.

Leo did nothing as big lumps of snow and a shower of pine needles threatened to cover him, though he did find himself spitting out a few pines. He smirked when even the big bird had to look up. They would all be relatively safer soon enough. Though, he couldn't shake the feeling of the fact that his neither Aurum or Argentum would ever be whole for the time being of the quests. What a waste.

"You see..what happened was - " he pointed to a random spot in the sky and drew an invisible circle. "Right around there is where we fell out of the sky. And we hit the ground somewhere over there, and then Elanti slid over here to this tree," He continued, using his finger to trace an imaginary path, "Then I wound up on that rock formation over there. Elan- I mean, Talyndra wound up in the wake of where Elanti slid. So like, I got up and dragged her over to Elanti and Elanti literally took us under her wing," he chuckled before continuing, "I did it so we could be warm before we either died or got saved. Talyndra woke up and gave me an orange glowing rock. I heard you guys coming along, so, my first thought was to throw it to get your attention. It definitely worked. We'd love some help right about now."

Lekiel Lekiel
 
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