brave_kreyu | OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part 11

They are camped in the woods not too terribly far from a road.

Sometime early in the morning, Skellig hears a horse drawn wagon accompanied by men going down the road. He hears a wheel come off the wagon, hears the guards curse, hears wings the size of his own slam against wooden bars.

The wave of despair from the winged one is almost palpable.

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From:

brave_kreyu

"Hard to sleep before an exciting day," she murmurs. She can sense his nervous energy. "Would my telling you a tale help?"

From:

27_53

"Probably would," he says, voice a little sheepish. "I am relaxed but at the same time, the thoughts in my mind are moving so quickly I feel as if I can hardly lie still."

He exhales.

"Your voice calms me in ways I cannot explain, so yes it would likely help."

From:

brave_kreyu

"I know I have spoken briefly of the Earth dragon Silur, whose work I think we found on that pirate ship. Her greatest work once stood near where we met Ajax, and it might have helped bring about an end to a war."

She runs her fingers through his hair. "This was long before I took my first breath, so I know of it only secondhand from my brothers. The dragons and the titans were at war with one another, the strife taking a terrible toll on the world and the participants."

"She found and partnered with the titan Antaîos, who was also weary of the war. Together they sought to make something grand, a true wonder of the world."

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27_53

Sighing as she starts to run her fingers through his hair (such a 'weakness' of his, though he has no shame in how much he enjoys it) he settles down and listens as she speaks.

"Even though I do not truly know how old I am...I still find myself in awe at moments when you speak of these things, knowing what you have experienced, what your brothers have witnessed. It makes me very...grateful, that I am able to learn from you."

He is definitely older than a standard human! But nowhere near as old as she is...and while that makes him feel incredibly young, again there is no shame in it.

From:

brave_kreyu

She flushes a little when he says he is grateful to be able to learn from her. "There is always more to learn, for all of us. You have taught me much, you know." She kisses his forehead.

"The work they built together was...enormous, to hear my brothers speak of it. Far taller than I am long. Silur shaped the base out of many kinds and colors of stone, a giant apple tree that one could ascend through ramps that wound through and around the tree. Elihu told me that he thought it WAS a real tree until he touched it, so realistic was her work."

She smiles softly. "But that was only the base, the supporting structure. When one had ascended to the crown of the tree, there was a kind of theater there big enough to hold a dragon, its ceiling many different half spheres of stone that could rotate freely. Silur had carved spheres for the sun, the moon, and the great stars that could move across the ceiling." The 'great stars' are what Skellig's world would call 'planets'

"Antaîos gave her work what she could not, motion. He tapped the ley lines where it was built to enable the spheres to move. Elihu said it could be commanded to show the positions of all the celestial bodies, even the least stars, for any date one wished. They even glowed, in the darkness."

Something like a combination of a planetarium and an astrolabe.

From:

27_53

Even as tired as he is, Skellig listens closely to her tell the tale of the creation - it sounds simply incredible! A true marvel of skill and magic, and to be able to visualize the sky - ANY sky - would be something he would greatly appreciate.

"Your brothers have seen it, but you have not? What became of it?"

He knows the sphere they found is quite a valuable piece - and that is tiny compared to what she is describing.

From:

brave_kreyu

"The Procession of the Stars became a wonder of the world and thus a magnet for human conflict. Fought over by kings and warlords for the right to claim it. And it became a magnet for karma, which drew covetous supernatural eyes from dragons and other powerful creatures."

"It was last seen during a battle between three dragons over it when I was very young. All three dragons perished from wounds they dealt to one another, and when the few human survivors of the city came out of hiding the Procession of the Stars was simply...gone. Perhaps destroyed, perhaps hidden somehow. If anyone knows for sure they're not telling."

From:

27_53

"While that is a shame that it could not be used for the greater good by all without conflict, it is understandable why such a treasure would be fought over."

Not that it is right by any means, but understandable, given what he knows of human behavior (especially those who hold positions of power) and their tendency to be greedy.

"Maybe one day it will resurface somehow," he adds quietly, another yawn threatening as he snuggles closer to her. "If it survived the battle."

From:

brave_kreyu

"Perhaps," she murmurs sleepily. "I should like to see it with you, one day."

Being sprawled on top of Skellig helps her body settle in for sleep like nothing else, it seems!

From:

27_53

And having her body sprawled on top of his also helps him settle in for sleep, content and safe in this 'nest' they've made.

The next morning the skies have cleared, and once the sun has dried the moisture off of their shelter (with a little help from Kreyu's spell arsenal to speed up the process) and they've eaten breakfast, Skellig glances to Tyr and Fenris as they all finish packing the last of the gear.

"Is there anything specific that we should know about the People, before we arrive?" He has heard Tyr speak of them at length, but he and Kreyu are still technically outsiders...

From:

brave_kreyu

"Our customs are much the same as people everywhere," Tyr replies. "Treat others as you believe they would wish to be treated and all will be well."

Fenris smiles reassuringly at Skellig. "You will be honored guests, no one will expect you to know all the minutiae."

"We would ask that you not speak of what you might learn of us with outsiders," Tyr suggests. "You know how the world can be, to those who are winged."

From:

27_53

Nodding, Skellig smiles faintly - a bit wry. "Yes, we do know, all too well..."

Which is why his coat was custom tailored to fit them, hide them if needed... but in this instance, there is no reason to hide them, or who he is! Once their gear is ready and they have put out the fire, Skellig feels his energy shift slightly - there are still nerves, of course. But also a hint of excitement underneath all of it, at the prospect of meeting others like him.

To Kreyu, softly. "I look forward to this very much, love."

From:

brave_kreyu

"Me too, love," she says, gently squeezing his hand.

To Tyr's frustration, they do need to stop and go on foot for a while several times on the journey. Skellig hears Fenris speak softly to his husband "It will come back, with time."

The crude road they have followed through the woods curves sharply at the river, follows it down. But they stop to gaze across it and see the very tip of a mountain range. More than human eyes might pick out arrow slits carved into the stone, cunningly hidden. "Almost home," Tyr tells them, voice cracking a little. "Will have to fly, to enter."

From:

27_53

"Tyr, I know that distance is a bit daunting," Skellig says as he follows the younger man's gaze to the Ridgeline. "If you would allow it, I could aid you slightly by shifting your weight with some of my Light. I would just need to weave a few feathers of mine into your wings?"

He knows that Tyr has been open to pretty much any assistance so far, but he has held back this offer to allow him to 'recover' on his own, build his own strength back up. It will still take him time to fully recover, but may aid him enough to get them home.

From:

brave_kreyu

Tyr nods after a moment of thought. "Please. I want to be home."

Fenris grins. "It is a good thing we are not of the Ice Dancer tribe that lives farther north, you'd be proposing," he informs Skellig cheerfully.

From:

27_53

Laughing, he reaches up and finds a few feathers along the leading edge of his wing (that were due to molt off soon anyways) and carefully plucks them free, smoothing the edges as he walks over to Tyr.

"While you are a fine man and clearly a good mate," he says with a nod in Fenris' direction. "My soul belongs to just one." (A small part of him is amazed at the thought, however - there is another tribe!)

It only takes a moment to intertwine his feathers into Tyr's wings, preening them into place carefully before stepping back. "That should be enough."

From:

brave_kreyu

The Winged Folk are a whole KIND, although there are far less of them than there are humans, there are quite a few tribes!

Tyr chuckles. "And my heart wants none other than my husband." He breathes in, tests his wings, finds it easier to get himself aloft than he expected!

Once they are in the air, the trip is relatively straightforward, though Tyr ducks into a gap between some rocks that is invisible from the ground. An entrance is cut into the rock, barred with a heavy wooden door. From beyond it, Skellig can hear the noise of people celebrating. And wings, many, MANY wings.

From:

27_53

Skellig can hear the wings - SO MANY wings - and it is enough to make him both incredibly eager and also slightly anxious, as his mind simply cannot fathom the idea of seeing so many others. But he manages to contain most of it for now...

"They will have more reason to celebrate when you walk through that door," he offers encouragingly.

From:

brave_kreyu

"When we walk through the door," Tyr replies, smiling. He knocks in a very specific pattern on the door, and a winged woman with reddish brown wings opens it. "Who's coming back this..." she begins, clearly a bit annoyed to be on 'door' duty. Then she sees who is on the other side and her jaw drops a bit.

"I found him," Fenris offers. "And these two rescued him," he says, gesturing to Skellig and Kreyu.

Shock turns to joy, and she laughs. "Come in, come in, all of you!"

From:

27_53

"When we walk through the door," he echoes, 'correcting' himself. And as much as Skellig is anxious himself, he is even more looking forward to seeing Tyr's reunion with the other members of his tribe. After all - that is the true victory, here!

He allows Kreyu to walk through the door first, then reaches for her hand.

From:

brave_kreyu

She takes his hand, squeezes it gently. "Tyr's back!", the woman yells down the hall.

Clearly, she was heard, as Skellig can hear the excited murmur of voices, the shouted news, FEEL the joy rising like a flood as word passes from person to person.

They make their way down the hall and into a truly MASSIVE chamber carved out of the mountain. It's big enough for multiple dragons and their treasure! In fact, certain slopes of the stone suggest a kind of dragon 'furniture', places to lounge and rest one's head at a comfortable angle, display showpieces of one's hoard. The People have built smaller structures inside the room out of wood, leather, and fabric, though most of the space is still open as a great gathering spot.

Winged folk are perched at all levels of the room and some are even flying through the air as they enter. MOST of the tribe is in this room and for all that there are less than a hundred people in the tribe, that's still a large number of people to be looking your direction!

From:

27_53

For the moment they first enter the room, the focus is on Tyr and his return - which gives Skellig a valuable few moments to shift his hearing a bit to account for the actual echoes that are occurring naturally in such an absolutely massive room.

His hand grips hers as his eyes sweep the space and he sees just how many other tribe members there are. And now they are excited to see Tyr, Fenris, AND the newcomers!

It is going to take him a moment to find words, so it is good he is not expected to say anything right this instant!

From:

brave_kreyu

Kreyu wraps an arm around him, gives him the support of her presence.

"Uncle Tyr!" A young girl shouts as she LEAPS from high up in the room to dive down right at Tyr's head. She is perhaps five years old, still some 'immature' feathers in her wings. Her glide is a little wobbly, she really SHOULDN'T be trying to glide this far at her age! And landing is....a work in progress. Greta hasn't thought that far ahead yet.

From:

27_53

Landing plans should also not be dependent on her uncle's current ability to catch her, but there's no way that little Greta might have known to take that into consideration - especially in the fraction of a second that she paused before leaping into her glide.

Or attempt at her glide.

Greta knocks solidly into Tyr, pushing him over - and into Skellig, who on instinct shifted closer (pulling Kreyu with him) and they are most definitely going to all end up in a heap, Fenris included as it was HIS hand that Tyr grasped at when he started to go backwards...

From:

brave_kreyu

They all tumble to the ground in a cartoonish pile. No one is seriously hurt, but Greta is on the verge of tears because she hurt her uncle and his friends and she didn't mean to!

"I know love, but that's why Fenris told you not to glide like that," Tyr tells her, voice soft, as they untangle themselves.