Fantasy Mountain Magic Mayhem (Luc/Sazz)

[St. Clover]

"Probably not," Milly started as she moved over to where the others went. "But she likes to have a little space. I've never seen a resurrection spell done before, but I've heard they're a pain in the ass to do. Takes a lot of power to pull it off, even for the lesser ones." She then looked back to Lier, intent on answering his question. "No, actually. Anyone can do it, all you need to know is how. I didn't do anything to those plants or the rocks, that was all the magic's doing. All I did was invoke it, cause it to work how I wanted it. You should be capable of doing the same thing."

Over in the tent Aela set to getting herself ready. She sat her sword off to the side and removed the gloves she wore, placing them nearby. Once that was done she quickly set to retrieving a small stone from the confines of her coat. It was a small thing, only a few centimeters across and made of polished jade. She crushed it and sprinkled the dust across Diger's corpse, cringing at the sight once again.

"Lord Sudis, Lord Sudis," she chanted, voice low and adopting a hallowed tone as she spoke. "It's me, your not so humble servant. I've got a problem here, one I'm not sure I can handle on my own. Some help would be appreciated. Hello? Are you listening?"

The fire flickered once again, this time briefly shaping into the form of a tiny man. There was her answer.

 

[Anshelical]

"Ha," Lier pointed, "Should be."

"He does too much slacking," Vine said. "Should have had that down."

"No, it's not slacking, it's just hard work. But... yeah. I should know how to do that already. Would be really useful to have so I could summon materials too for other spells. Heard of how they worked, tried it, but haven't mastered it yet enough to even know where to start." He took his stance beside Milianor, eyeing the darkened surroundings distanced from the flame. When he looked up again to the scene, there was the flaming man before the Archon. "Whoa, where'd that come from?"

"While you were talking, she said his name a few times," Erro said, "Lord Sudis. And then the rest is history." His outer demeanor showed no awe for the summon unlike Iso, whose hands were frozen over his mouth. However, within the historian's skeptic shell was a trace of belief, especially that he could see a miracle before him.

"T-That's the L-L-Lord Sudis?" Iso shook. "Lord Sudis?"

 

[St. Clover]

Milly said nothing as the tiny flaming man appeared, instead clamping her hands over her snout. She did her best not to break out laughing, and did quite well at first, only letting out the occasional squeak.

"Lord Sudis, Lord Sudis," the Archon continued to chant, drawing in power from her lord's name.

This caused the fire to grow in intensity, escalating from a small bonfire to a bright and full sized campfire. The man grew in stature along with the flame, soon reaching almost three foot in height. He gained more definition, too. His definition turned to one of an armored knight, complete with a helmet plume of flaming matter. He stepped out from the fire pit and surveyed his surroundings. After several seconds he nodded and made his way over to the tent, and the Archon within, leaving tiny burning footsteps in his wake.

 

[Anshelical]

Branches set about the expanded campfire held no longer, charring and burning as some of the tent above melted. "T-T-Taack!" Iso reverenced the flame now, falling to a grovel. Erro crouched, about to retreat to the jokey cluster nearby, but he held his position to behold the emergence.

Flame guardians, Lier thought. Obviously the Lord Sudis' divine manifestation was far from a Dragon's morphing capabilities with elements. With his fire spell he could possibly call forth the same someday, perhaps even speak with gods. Yet, if he could not get his fire spells in check first, he would have a long way to go. Then Milly's held squeals pulled him back to reality. "Huh? What's so funny?" He noticed Vine was smirking, too. "What's so funny? Are you laughing at the..." He pointed. "At the god?"

 

[St. Clover]

Despite her efforts to control herself, Milly couldn't help but snicker occasionally. She nodded, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I-I can't," she tried to say, only to clamp her mouth shut once again. She didn't trust herself not to burst out laughing if she opened her mouth again. Instead she settled for nodding towards the figure. It was the figure she was laughing at.

That very figure paused before entering the tent, glancing upwards to the branches. It couldn't have paused for more than a few seconds, and by the time it was moving again, the melted parts of the tent were patched over, golden silk stitching over the missing portions. The flames died down as the figure vanished into the tent, where the Archon's chanting came to an abrupt stop. It was soon followed by a loud, unearthly groan.

 

[Anshelical]

The shivering of the young lad continued, bowed down before the groaning figure. Never before had he seen an immortal figure in real life, let alone heard of it walking the planet. He had won the favor of an angel in a matter of moments, and was able to see the sight of a lifetime.

"Whoa..." Shock surpassed Lier as well. Vine was just about to run up to the figure and kiss its feet out of mad excitement. Yet, the reverence remained among them all, even for the silencing nature about them.

 

[St. Clover]

Wandering over towards the tent, Milly paused outside the entrance and craned her head to the side. Her ear fin twitched, straining to listen to words being exchanged inside. Her grin flared up again, and she clamped her hand over her mouth. To anyone listening in, the conversation between the Celestials would sound like a song. A song who's notes were sung by angels, complete with chimes and everything. Aela motioned to the corpse multiple times, always getting a head shake from the Avatar. She motioned outside, furrowing her brow. Still nothing.

 

[Anshelical]

Iso's fear kept him bowed flat, letting his breaths tremble with the dirt and grass brushing his nose. "Please... P-Please..."

Chordal conversation among the divine soothed the night about them, the skies as dark with the stars bearing their dim radiance against the swelled fireplace against the rock wall. Renewed sections of the tent laid strong with their golden touch. Critters explored the unusual environment about the healed trees, rocks, and weed patches. This was enough time, despite the anticipation of discussion, to think hard on what was next for the travelers. Of course, Iso wanted Diger to be helped as best possible; nothing else mattered. Vine's own life didn't seem to matter, for he wished to listen close and learn the hymnal language of the Celestials, and with the money, power it could bring. Erro just wanted the best outcome, but it wasn't looking good from what the Avatar was displaying. Lier couldn't help but think the same, along with how far they had come and what to warn the city, especially for the sake of the Seconds, of the Stones buried in the mountains.

"Hey," the knight watched Milly step ahead, nudging Vine, "We can still get the letter together for 'em. If we end up, you know, gone for a while, he'll still have something knowing our whereabouts."

"Who's saying we're going anywhere? Besides, we'd have to have someone deliver it, right?"

"Well, I don't know how all this stuff's gonna turn out. Plus... I think we should treat Milianor for helping us. Never complained at all."

"Yeah, slopes-mc-falls-a-lot, she didn't," the leader smirked. "But seriously, slipping up with the Chief won't be pretty. He told me last time he's not gonna take excuses, and of course he means it. Once we get this stuff taken care of, let's say we leave the Stone alone. Just ditch it. We already got into deep shit with the Dragon Order. Just gotta tell 'em what happened -- in person." He did want to treat Milianor, though. "As for Scales, we should consider what she would want to do with us. She does deserve it. But we got to let the Chief know first before we just go all out leaving our job."

"He should understand."

Erro frowned. "Chief'll never understand a damn thing. Probably won't even believe we met up with a so-called god." The others didn't seem to argue with the afore said about the Chief either, but perhaps not the "so-called god" part. And if the Avatar could not bring back Diger to life, not even repair him, punishment could await them.

 

[St. Clover]

Inside the tent the debate between Archon and Avatar continued for some time. Words were exchanged at an increasingly elevated level, growing louder as the minutes ticked by. Aela became visibly frustrated at one point, gesturing intently towards the others, and at one point even giving the Avatar the bird. The entire time the flaming figure shook its head, sending waves of glittering flame off of its plume. Towards the end of the conversation, neither seemed willing to give any ground. No words were needed to understand the situation. At least, not entirely.

It was about thirty minutes later when the flaming form of the Avatar exited the tend, meandering over to the campfire that spawned it. There was a brief glance at the group outside, then it was gone in a flash.

Aela appeared outside a few minutes later, her silver hair frazzled and her cheeks red from exertion. She cast Milly, who by then had taken a seat by the entrance, a sour look. The dragonborn merely snickered in response.

"So!" the Archon began, throwing her hands up "Who wants to know exactly how that went?"

 

[Anshelical]

To their dismay, they were all quite aware what may had happened. Withdrawn pity captured their faces as they read every aspect in the Archon's frustration. Grass rustled as Iso raised his head, leading the other three to glance at him. All they could think was the robbery of hope, wondering what they had done wrong. Especially for Liernoine, who was most directly involved with the Dragon Stones, it was hard for him to fight the arising guilt that he could had been a reason.

"Yeah," Erro sighed, "Please insight us. He looked pissed."

 

[St. Clover]

"Well he wasn't happy, that's for sure," the Archon began with an unamused grunt. She reached out and her sword flew out from the tent, blurring into her awaiting grasp. Stabbing the blade into the dirt, she leaned on it as a support. "Said I should know better than interfering with another world's natural order. Divine intervention is one thing, practicing it in another deity's domain is another. He refused to even step foot here in person, or even in a Semblance."

She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, sighing heavily. Despite her pristine image, she looked tired. Very, very tired. "Unfortunately there's nothing I can do for you here. I'd hoped to convince him to lend me the magic, but he's adamant about staying out of this. I don't blame him. So, we're left with only two options."

Milly glanced up from her Chatter at this, closing the game she'd been playing. Here it came...

"I can either try and preserve the body with some basic spells, keep it from decomposing further and restore its looks for burial." The Archon paused, leering over at the dragonborn. "Or I can do what our mutual friend here's been banking on... And take you someplace where I can get the magic needed to fully revive him."

 

[Anshelical]

Someplace, the skeptic exchanged a look of doubt to his leader and back to the Archon. To him, this was more like a goose chase in trying to revive a dead person, troubling the Celestial masses. Well, at least he could admit he met some sort of higher power.

Thrashing grass whipped upon Iso's stand in disappointment. "But he... th-they..." His glossing eyes searched between the dragonborn and the Archon. "D-Diger... Is there some other way?"

"Missed what she said?" Erro said. "She said there's two opti--."

"Two? What are they? J-Just please..." He stepped. "Please help Diger if you c-can."

"They can restore his appearance for burial," Vine said. "Or, they can find the magic to revive him elsewhere." Though the second was what he wished to do, it would mean more work to submit to the Chief. A lot more. "But, it's up to you, Iso. I'll be okay with whatever you feel like going with." While he expected what the lad was going to say, the lad's silence almost worried him. The travelers looked among themselves and their new comrades, considering consequences in both cases. It was either accept Diger's fate and lose Huujar's brilliant jewel, for themselves to take blame for his fall, or it was to explore into the unknown world, to bring a miraculous story to the people and hope it would reap positive ramifications.

"I-I-I... I have to s-save Diger. I have to. I have to."

Liernoine observed the Archon's behavior, considering her conduct with the Avatar. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding. While this was another world, surely there had to have been some sort of agreement between deities of this one. Somehow Milianor ended up here by accident. And this accident was becoming intentional. His curiosity for traversing other realms kept his reasoning at bay, however.

 

[St. Clover]

Besides the sidelong look the Archon gave the now grinning dragonborn, nothing in her body language stood out as particularly abnormal. Her posture was relaxed, her shoulders slumped, and her features at ease. If anything she just looked tired. She turned her attention back to the others once Iso made his decision, sucking in a deep breath. "Figured that'd be the case," she sighed out a moment later. "Fine, fine. I'll go get him ready for the trip, then. Just be warned, this'll take a bit. I suck at this, and the spell isn't entirely foolproof. Cross your fingers."

With that she pushed off her sword and made her way back into the tent, flipping the fire the bird as she vanished inside.

 

[Anshelical]

Vine smirked to the relationship between the dragonborn and the Archon, knowing there was going to be a lot ahead of them. Erro disagreed with the decision within himself, but knew if he walked all the way back to Huujar on his own, he would only return to scorn. Liernoine gave his leader the hanging "Well..." and felt at the tip of the sword at the side.

"W-Whatever can be done," Iso followed for the tent also, "Th-Thank you so much for doing this, Archon. Really. I-I-It's a... it's a shame..." He didn't finish, wishing not to hate on the fire and what became of it.

"Well what?" Vine shrugged to Lier.

"Nothing. Just... What about the letter?"

"Taa, don't worry about it. I'll think up something."

"Gotta think quick," Erro said. "'Cause if we don't give 'em something, who knows what we'll return to."

"Right, like we were returning to anything. Probably will get paid shit anyway." The leader had no response in argument. He was right about that. Yet, he knew this sacrifice on his terms with the Chief would roughen up a bit. "Hey, Mil. Where is this place that she's talking about? How far is it?" He was serious, despite seeing Erro smirk to the second question.

 

[St. Clover]

"My apartment," the dragonborn said simply. She hiked a thumb over her shoulder towards the pool. "Once we're all done here, we're taking the gate over there back to my place. Only place I know well enough to risk a teleportation to. Anywhere else would possibly put us anywhere between one to a thousand miles off target. And since New Light's a port town... I don't wanna risk being dunked down to the seabed. Or in it."

From the confines of the tent the Archon could be heard chanting once again. Her words were harsher this time, however, and carried with them a sharp tone. The language of Celestia was being put to the test, it seemed.

 

[Anshelical]

"Wait, it's in the water?" Erro said.

Liernoine was more than thrilled to know exploration was just under his nose, not caring if there were dangers of tides, either. Water voyages was the way to isolation, the way to connect with nature and mankind. Yet, to realize the purpose of this travel was another reason to remain focused; Diger, whether it be his dignity or his life, had to be saved.

"It's a port town," Vine groaned. "Not in the water." He scoffed to Erro's realization. "Need to listen more, man."

 

[St. Clover]

"We actually have an underwater city not far from New Light, actually," Milly remarked. She rolled her shoulders and crouched down, holding a hand out. Blue mist pooled in her palm from her fingertips, slowly taking the shape of a tiny ethereal dome. "Aquatic City Station 17." A grin came to her lips as she held another hand over the dome, conjuring a swarm of tiny fish around it. "One of about two dozen underwater cities across the world, all made with the assistance of the Merfolk Kingdoms."

 

[Anshelical]

"Well shit," the historian took mental notes. "Merfolks, eh? Never have any accidents?"

Looking from the tent, Vine nodded to this. "I think they'd probably have all that around there for a long time, so there'd be no fear for an accident." But, then again, considering what happened with the Siege of the Seconds, maybe he was wrong about that. He glanced to the Second refugee, wondering if he asked the question intentionally. Their territory had nothing to do with water after all.

Liernoine continued to rub the handle of the longblade, also considering what kinds of monsters would wait in those waters.

 

[St. Clover]

A look of contemplation crossed the girl's features as she considered the question. From what she recalled, there had indeed been a few incidents when the cities were first being built. Riots between traditionalists in the Merfolk Kingdoms and the progressives against land dwellers making permanent structures in their realms. She didn't know the full story, as aquatic environments were never her forte. She nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah," she said, dismissing the dome as she stood up. "But they were solved in the end. You'd be better off asking my dad, he's been just about everywhere you can imagine. Knows almost anything about culture and history."

Back in the tent baleful lights flashed against the canvas walls. Sickly silver and tarnished gold were accompanied by the clashes of thunder and rapidly rising tones of an inhuman tongue.

 

[Anshelical]

"Yeah, your dad," Vine said, "How's he doin' anyway?" Possibly her species allowed longevity, or so he thought. Better yet, perhaps their fathers were involved with their children as well. Sounds enchanting the atmosphere nearby, he and Liernoine glanced in its direction, while Erro did not quite show concern.

"Is he okay in there?" Liernoine watched the tent. Something great was about to happen, he thought. Excitement already bonded him to his not-so-composed demeanor with all the bustling activity waiting to happen, rocking back in forth to remain in the conversation. "What's she doing?"

 

[St. Clover]

Milly threw a look towards the tent, squinting a the light. "She's about to finish up the ritual, looks like," she announced. "As for my dad, he's been doing good. Talk to him every couple of days, he's out near the southern borders of Tel'Nar right now. Apparently the hoard of an old Copper was found, his team was assigned by the government to check it out. Rumors have been flying around it may have an old relic dating back to the Nightmare Crisis."


Within the confines of the tent, the Archon was indeed finishing her work. The newly reconstructed body of the young Diger was awash with celestial energy. Lines of holy text flew across his form, bending and curving into intricate patterns. His wounds had been fully healed and everything was as it should be, all thanks to the divine power of the ritual. The hardest part would be to somehow coax his soul back into his body. She frowned as her hands waved this way and that, forming symbols in the air as the spell drew closer towards completion.

 

[Anshelical]

"Well, how about that?" Lier eyed the tent. "So he's out looking for some treasures or something?" No wonder Milly was so good at what she did; it started with the kin -- the blood. And for he, Lier, to be like a part of his own tradition of the government, he could relate with his travels. To that thought, he nodded to Vine excusing himself to the tent.

"Nightmare Crisis?" There's no way people name their historical periods like that, not like the Seconds, Erro thought.

Iso couldn't believe it. That contorted form he saw before was no more; Diger was back. With a caress to his face, he could feel the life already within, the formulas, the explanations, the well of knowledge flowing throughout. "He's..."

"He's what?" Vine strolled in. "He's alive now?" Before him was the Diger he knew. "Or not?"

 

[St. Clover]

"Big incident that happened... A few centuries back, I think. Right before the big merger between the Empire and the Kingdom of Citiria," Milly explained. "Lasted the better part of a decade, if I recall. One of the three lunar deities, the eldest, tried taking over the kingdom. Summoned a bunch of monsters from the Shadow Realm, and caused this big outbreak of Sapphire Chiroptera Vampirism. Was only thanks to the efforts of the Sunset Legion that she was able to be stopped." She looked over to Lier. "Yeah, sort of. He's more of a historian than anything, leaves the treasure hunting to the real lunatics of the world. Like me!"

"Well he's not a zombie," Aela remarked with a huff, lowering her arms as the lines across Diger's body faded. She reached down beside her and drew up a small olive branch, holding it over the young man's head. "But he's not entirely alive either. Best I could do was bring some of his soul back and stuff it in the body. It's not a wholesale fix, but it'll do for now. Still need to get the rest of him later on, but that can wait."

With that, she snapped the branch and produced a small explosion of light.

"Wake up! In the name of Sudis I command ye to awaken!"

 

[Anshelical]

"Haha, like father like daughter," Lier relaxed his face, despite his racing thoughts. While learning about Milianor's world and waiting for exploration, he also was worried about Diger's further condition thereon, hearing the Archon's summon inside. "So you hunt vermin and search for treasure. Hey, that's a big job on you, to have versatility, too. We definitely need some more well-rounded explorers in our land." That would take some time for the Governor to fathom anyhow.

"Huh? How the hell does that work?" Sounded like one of the childhood monsters made up in a story to Vine. "Sounds like a zombie to me."

Command honored before explanation. As soon as Aela's voice ceased, the mathematician rolled his eyes within his lids, tensing at his chest in struggle to redeem his long withheld breath. Crust about his pale skin shivered with his movement, as a moving, crumbling stone. Then instinct forced him to exhale, letting out a low croak, and other bodily processes escalated in performance as it pulled itself awake. Still, he seemed pale, half-dead.

"W-Wait..." Iso neared Diger. "D-Diger?" Though he was glad to see life, he was spooked also at the reaction, to see a deceased, horrifyingly wrecked form wake to live in a matter of moments. He stayed near Diger, but could not touch him just yet, to make sure he was to believe what he was seeing. "He's..."

 

[St. Clover]

"He's alive!" Aela's cry could be heard from inside the tent, as the Archon threw her head back, laughing triumphantly.

Milly held her response in order to finger gun towards the tent. A coy smirk spread across her expression, which she emphasized with a clicking of her tongue. "There we go," she remarked. "Was waiting for her to finish. Your friend should be back in the world of the living, now, if that shout's anything to go by."

Pulling herself off the ground, the dragonborn motioned to the others as she sauntered over to the tent. Poking her head inside, she watched with relief as Aela turned to face her. Both exchanged a silent look that spoke volumes without words. Then, at the end, the celestial visitor gave her friend a thumbs up. "Told you I could do it!"