Memory Closed Anyone Home?

[Caelum]

Fall 40 123

More and more people seemed to be moving to Paradise nowadays. Caelum had made so many trips with Flora to recruit that it felt like he was spending more time travelling than actually developing the town. The inhabitants were a cheery bunch nowadays too, thanks to the caettle wreath. There were enough people for it to actually feel like a community and Caelum no longer had to do the brunt of the labor. Things were going well… all aside from the attacks from elementals which could be relentless at times. They weren't an issue when he was around… but it wasn't uncommon for him to return to see some buildings destroyed.

Clearly, the town needed better protection. A couple ideas had been floated around, but the one that stuck to him the most was one that Abraia brought up – build a wall. It was simple, in theory, but the only material he could readily work with was wood and that wasn't exactly what one wanted to use to defend against fire elementals. So, he needed to go bond with a metallic tree. Thankfully, he knew just the one.

So, he'd flown back to proper aelven society, asked around, and before he knew it he'd found himself in front of an aetumetal tree. It looked strange, kind of like a bonsai but with leaves that didn't so much as budge when he touched them. He shrugged, wrapped his hand around a branch, and within minutes he knew the bond had been made.

Caelum ought to have went back north at that point, but he figured he might as well enjoy his time away from it all for a while. He had an itch to visit AEhti most of all to see if he ended up surviving the initiation they'd spoken about… so it was no surprise that he ended up walking up to Velho's place of business.

He'd knock on the door and if AEhti wasn't the one to answer he'd ask, "hi, I was wondering if I might speak to AEhti. My name is Caelum."

345

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ October 10 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

It had been a few months since Æhti acquired Aqua against his will, and while his progress with it and Terra had proceeded apace, he couldn't help but find practicing magic to be more and more of a bittersweet experience as time went on. In the purest sense, he loved spellweaving, he liked developing his skills as a Galsterei, making progress, gaining power, and so on. What he did not like, however, was the fact that it had been forced upon him– his apparent total lack of autonomy in Själasalr was beginning to weigh on him.

Still, he couldn't fight it, and he knew that.

And though it was not Æhti's job, if he heard a client knock on the front door and he was closer to it than anyone else, he didn't mind being the one to open it. Usually, he welcomed the distraction of interacting with potential clients– it was a small social outlet, if nothing else. So when it was that there was a knock and he happened to be the one to answer, he was surprised to see Cælum, a dragon he'd met some few months back, on the other side of the threshold.

A wan smile crept over his lips. "Welcome back, Cælum– is anything amiss? Or did you come looking for something?" he'd ask.

 

[Caelum]

"Hi there!" Caelum said with a broad smile plastered across his face. "It's good to see you alive! I take it your initiation went swimmingly? Assuming it already happened, of course." He stood at the doorway, unsure of whether he ought to ask to come inside or invite the Faelnir out on a walk. He decided to shove his hands into his pockets and lean against the frame.

"I've been over in the firelands lately and finally ended up getting some time away from all that… so I figured I'd swing by and see if you were up to anything interesting. To be honest I half expected you to be gone on another one of Velho's tasks."

He thought for a moment then added, "I'm not interrupting anything am I? I suppose this is a place of business and I haven't come here to purchase any services." He wondered for a moment if AEhti even wanted to see him. Their relationship had been completely business-related last time. Caelum naturally took a liking to humans he spent time with, but he had no idea of knowing if they felt the same way about him.

193
538

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ October 10 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti squinted at the use of the word 'swimmingly' in reference to his Aqua initiation, but then his features twisted into something bemused and he almost chuckled.

"It did go…swimmingly. Enough, at least– I did live," he began, shifting to the side slightly to show Cælum his left shoulder. Æhti was wearing a sleeveless tunic, and both the mark for Terra and the one for Aqua sat one then the next down his deltoid muscle on that side.

"It…wasn't a pleasant experience, that's for sure, but Velho healed all of the physical trauma within a day, so at least I didn't have to deal with that damage and Mageburn simultaneously like you normally do." Despite his own conflicted feelings, his answer betrayed his natural predisposition towards optimism– always looking for silver linings, he was.

"But Veiðrbrand, huh? I'd heard some of the ælves that come and go speak of a settlement of a sort having been erected up there for the first time since it was scorched. Big news to them, apparently. That you?" Æhti's features looked a combination of surprised and impressed.

But as Cælum continued, Æhti realized that the dragon had genuinely come to check up on him and for no other reason. The thought confused him, because, well, why would a dragon with a whole village to run care? He wasn't quite sure how to react, but it did make him feel some semblance of genuine happiness– rare, these days.

"No, but actually, you've come at an interesting time in that regard. I was going to get ready soon and be teleported to Iskrona– in Myrkvior's Frostlund– soon. Velho wants me to subdue a Felinog and get it back here alive, somehow. You, uh…busy?" The question, be thought, implied well enough that he'd appreciate company on such a journey.

He could reasonably handle a Felinog or so, he thought, but anything could happen up in those mountains.

 

[Caelum]

Caelum realized why AEhti gave him that look and his grin widened. It was an unintentionally joke, but he was glad to have said it. His eyes made their way to the mark that assumedly represented that the human had indeed been initiated successfully.

"Good to hear ol' Velho hasn't lost his magic touch. Someone needs to sneak into that operating room of his and see exactly how he's doing it," he said only half jokingly. He was curious, but he wasn't so much so that he'd risk getting caught. The obvious choice would be to turn into some kind of small creature but that wouldn't do much good if there were talismans around to counteract that sort of thing. He would expect nothing less from such an important aelf.

"Yes, I've been putting together a town of some sorts over there. I'm surprised you've heard of it since it's really not much yet… although we have been putting in a lot of effort into spreading the word. You should come by sometime! I think we will have most of the essential construction done in spring. There's plenty to do in the area, if you're the adventurous sort."

"Oh? Another task I see. This one sounds more dangerous than the last… A Felinog? Hmm…" He thought for a moment, trying to place the word. "That the big four legged creature? Kind of a mix of a cat and a troll? Sounds familiar, but I've never actually seen one. Wait, did you say bring it back alive? Surely Velho doesn't expect you to be able to freeze it and single handedly transport it all the way back here? That sounds like a suicide mission…"

Something told Caelum that AEhti's successful initiations and missions as of late only spurred Velho to assign even harder tasks to accomplish. It felt like the man was going to be pushed until he broke. The dragon ought not to get involved for the sake of his own affairs, but he didn't see how AEhti was going to complete the task without adequate help. So, he said, "no, not busy at all. I'm more than happy to tag along and see this beast in person. On that note, I might even be able to imprint its form… This might be a mutually beneficial trip."

Caelum tried to think about whether he would have difficulty with one. If the creature was stuck on the ground and lacked ranged combat capabilities then he could simply breath flames until it died… but bringing it back alive was a lot more difficult. It was the situation with the inari all over again but multiple times more difficult to execute.

986

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ October 10 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Cælum's surprise at his own accidental joke made Æhti smirk, "...and here I thought you were trying to be a comedian."

But about Velho, "I'm glad for that too– 'least he's good at his job," the young mage nodded.

"Good luck sneaking in, though, as the doors to his operation room and laborator…ies?" Æhti wasn't quite sure if Velho had more than one; he knew there were parts of the towering tree that he'd not been in– particularly the entirety of the fourth floor.

"...click loudly when opened or closed. I think that was an intentional part of their design, too– alerts him to anyone's coming or going." He imagined this was more for convenience than anything else, but it did make him wonder. "That…and sneaking around a Draoidh's domain never really goes well, so I hear."

"Speaking of 'old' though…sometimes I wonder how old he actually is. I'm almost afraid to ask because ælven ages can be…dizzying, and from what I've gathered he's hundreds of years old, at least." The Fælnir blinked at the thought; in some ways, he did envy the ælves for their long lives– but there was no benefit to lingering on the thought when he could do nothing about it.

About Cælum's settlement, "...oh, the Æld'Norai do love their gossip– anyone doing something as novel as choosing to make a settlement of any sort in Veiðrbrand is bound to spark their interest. I'd love to visit, see what you've got built sometime, though. I just wouldn't want to intrude if you're still setting up or something," he said. "I never imagined myself being one for 'adventuring' but, ah…Velho's sort of turned me into one, I suppose. Sends me out on all of his errands of the sort at this point, whether he goes with or not."

Æhti sighed. "Maybe that's why he keeps me around? Having a powerful Galdr as a 'pet' I suppose has its benefits," he said somewhat darkly.

"But as for transporting the thing, um…he told me to 'figure it out.' My plan was to have the Exodii that's gonna teleport me out there wait in a nearby village 'til I subdue it, then I go back to the village and tell him I'm ready, and then we make our way back to the Felinog in stasis and he opens a portal that takes us all back. Bit obnoxious, but it'd work," he said with a shrug.

There was visible relief on his features at the notion that Cælum would accompany him. "Much less danger in subduing it, though, if I'm not alone. I need to change into my armor, though– won't take long," he said.

Æhti would give Cælum a chance to respond to him before leaving to both change and alert the Exodii it was time to go.

 

[Caelum]

"Gah, sounds like he really knows what he's doing. I'd expect nothing less." Caelum took the precautions as confirmation that something strange was going on in there. But so long as he stood to benefit from Velho's services, he supposed there was no reason to open that pandora's box. Though he couldn't say that he particularly liked how he was treating Velho. It wasn't his place to comment and he knew other aelves were much worse but it still made him uneasy. Caelum had to remind himself that what he was doing up north wasn't exactly good either.

"Hmm, do you really think of yourself as a pet? Whenever he brought you up, he referred to you as a ward or an assistant. Those sound like a step up from a pet but… I can't deny it's a bit unusual to send you into danger repeatedly."

He thought a little about the Faelnir's plan. "It sounds like it'd work in theory, but I worry about your ability to keep something so large frozen for a long time, especially if other dangers arise. All the more reason for me to come along. Alright, go get your armor then, I'll be right here."

Caelum figured that he'd much rather go while in his full dragon form if he was to tackle such a large creature but it still took him the better part of a day to transform. He wondered if it was even worth trying to make wooden armor. He had little doubt that the felinog would have no issue whatsoever in slicing right through it with its natural weaponry. Feeling that it would still make him feel a little safer, he still formed some bark along his body starting at his neck and working its way down along the rest of his body.

1289

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ October 10 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

"He does. I suppose you don't get that old without at least learning the optimal way to do things…" whether or not one actively applies such knowledge to their lives is what's wont to vary, he supposed.

But the next question made Æhti bristle a bit. "Do I think of myself that way? No," he sighed.

"...but do I believe Velho thinks of me like that? Yes. He certainly treats me like one, however confusing his motivations may be," he'd pause for a moment.

"As for why he sends me out to do errands of this nature? I don't know– I've yet to fail, so perhaps he thinks not utilizing my talents in this way would be a waste. Certainly convenient for him, at least, that he has somebody at his beck and call capable of going out and collecting this sort of thing for him."

Stil, Æhti would nod when Cælum told him he'd wait there. The mage would leave and, after about twenty minutes, he'd return wearing his armor and with the Exodii beside him– a deceptively young looking Æld'Norai man.

"Alright, I suppose we're as ready as we'll ever be," Æhti said.

The other Galdr nodded. "I'll teleport us near an inn in Iskrona and wait there…not sure how far the two of you'll have to wander to find much," he said before drawing a small rectangle in the air before him with a finger. Then, there was a flash of light and that little rectangle resized to a doorway big enough for any one of them to walk through.

After Æhti walked through, the Exodii would wait until Cælum followed before closing the portal. The environment on the other side was a stark contrast to Hespæria– they'd traveled from bog to snowy mountainside in an instant. Iskrona was primarily stone architecture built into the hills and walls of Myrkvior, and they'd ended up in front of an inn along the road out. The Galdr nodded to them before going into the stone building; he did not want to linger outside for long.

 

[Caelum]

Caelum inclined his head in thanks, appreciating the further insight into their relationship. It was interesting to see how complicated human relationships could be. He had no advice to offer, so he chose to say "hmm" pensively while he reflected on what he was told.

When it was time, Caelum was more than ready to get going. Twenty minutes - was that really how long it took to put on armor? He'd never actually put on a proper set before.

"Nice armor," he'd comment as they walked through the portal, "maybe this time I'll be the one who needs mending."

It took a few seconds for the cold to hit him, then he instinctively breathed a small stream of fire onto his hands. "It's freezing out here!" He said with a shiver. This definitely wasn't his element.

"So," he said, flames licking his lips as he talked, "any idea on how to find this thing?"

1443

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ October 10 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

It only took about 10 minutes or so for Æhti to actually don his armor, the rest of that time was spent moving throughout the tower looking for the Exodii and then making their way back to the lobby. The other mage had taken him a second to find, large as Själasalr was.

Once they were through the portal, Æhti would respond: "Thanks– I got it from a craftswoman in Græntún named Abraia; she did a great job with it. I hope neither of us'll really need much healing."

Regarding the cold, "...at least you embody Luxium, eh? That should help keep you warm." The Galsterei's armor was insulated enough that he would be fine for a time, at least.

"Um…tracking it properly? No, but Velho did instruct me to follow the road a ways away from Iskrona due east 'til we find a sizable outcropping of trees. There were a couple of 'em spotted holed up in the woods, apparently." He figured this was accurate, though he wasn't quite familiar with the migratory patterns Felinog had– if such a concept was applicable at all.

Æhti would lead the two of them along that main road down the mountain for about a mile, and then they'd take a smaller fork in the path for another mile or so until they started to come across the snow-capped, evergreen trees of Ælheim's boreal forests. Rather than a proper forest, however, this was what Æhti had described– a small outcropping of trees tucked into a yawning mountain valley.

"I think this is what Velho described," the mage would say to Cælum. "I…guess we just wander in? And hope we find one?" Æhti was far from an experienced hunter.

 

[Caelum]

Caelum smiled at the mention of Abraia's name, wondering if he ought to say anything. There wasn't much to say without going into a whole conversation about how they'd met and exactly what he was doing in Paradise. Those were details he felt he wanted to avoid because he felt like running a breeding operation was a plenty embarrassing thing to admit to a human male. Though, AEhti could very well have known some details.

So, he merely said, "a good crafter, I could use one of those," and left it at that.

"Yeah, real warm," he said as he fought to keep his teeth from chattering. He produced a torch-like wooden pole from his hand and lit the top of it. It'd have to do.

"Oh, I forgot that Velho can get information from the wisps. That simplifies things… I hope." He was content with walking by the faelnir's side for miles. "You know, when Velho eventually makes you become an exodii that'll make getting back home a lot simpler. It's probably one of the best magics to keep you alive on these little expeditions. Though I get the impression that you aren't in a position to make requests."

When they finally arrived at what was supposedly the Felinog's location, Caelum looked at it grimly. "Do you smell that?" he asked. The closer they got the smell of a Felinog's territorial boundary would intensify. It was as clear a warning as any that they ought to turn back. After several minutes of walking past the smell, it would vanish and be replaced by fairly obvious sights of conflict. Chunks of trees had been torn into with massive claw marks and even some tufts of hair scattered about. If there were indeed multiple in the area, they had clearly been at odds. Likely competition over a mate, given the time of year.

"How do you think your armor would fare against something that can rip into a tree like that? I think that much strength could tear me in two with the bark I've got on me," Caelum joked while glancing at his torch. He wasn't sure if it was more of a hinderance than a help at this point. He extinguished then tossed it to the side so that they wouldn't be so easy to see.

1830

 

[Velho]

<notes>

"Yeah, I plan to go back to her to get it upgraded as Velho allows, too– might be worth going to Græntún and asking after her by name if you're looking to have something made," Æhti suggested.

Æhti knew little about Cælum's settlement aside from the fact that he'd apparently been having children with a lot of the women there– some of the Æld'Norai he'd overheard talking about it had mentioned theories about a dragon's impact on Fælnir bloodlines, the uses of Fælnir with Grist and so on. From that, Æhti made a few reasonable assumptions; for what other dragon would've been responsible for such children? He supposed it wasn't all too strange given what he'd heard of Cælum's Three-Among-Many, though he did have some…ethical concerns. That topic, he supposed, could wait until he saw the living conditions there, at least.

Æhti would look to Cælum sympathetically as the man-shaped dragon shivered. "Does your affinity to Luxium not allow you to, er…fortify yourself with the heat aspect of it? Turn up your internal temperature with, um…what's it called…" he trailed off for a moment trying to think of the word.

"Uh…Inner…Alchemy? That it?" he'd ask, not sure if that was the right term. The mage didn't really understand how Grist worked even though Velho had explained it to him before.

When the subject shifted to Velho and his wont to string Æhti through Galdr initiations, "...ugh, honestly I was hoping he'd stop here…but I suppose you're being a bit more realistic to assume he'll foist Exodus onto me, too. At least the silver lining is that each Galdr is really useful once I learn how to use 'em…"

He chuckled awkwardly, "...maybe he'll listen if I make the suggestion for that one next. Would make my traveling for him infinitely easier, even in the early stages where I can't go far. Perhaps he'll see the pragmatism of it."

Æhti winced, "...plus he mentioned if he gave me more, the next one was to be Fulgur. Nothing against Luxium, but…um…the initiation is basically self-immolation. I'd…rather…push that one off, maybe just die to something else before I get there." He realized how dark that was only after saying it, but the point stood.

By now, they'd made it to the small wooded valley. "I do…that the Felinog's scent markings?" Æhti recalled being told of such a thing, but of course, he didn't exactly have any frame of reference for it 'til now.

The area was ravaged, clearly torn apart by a duel of sorts, with blood and fur left behind as remnants. A few trees had even been cracked so much that they'd fallen over. As the young sorcerer continued forth, he'd come across the ravaged and nearly entirely eaten corpse of a fallen Felinog. "I think this one lost…" he'd say, as if that wasn't abundantly clear.

"Uuhh… but to answer your question, chainmail is surprisingly durable to even the sharpest of blades; it's the blunt force trauma that worries me. Felinogs are pretty strong, so…" Æhti didn't get to finish that sentence, though, before hearing the snap of a branch somewhere in the woods behind them. Something had tracked the scent of these two intruders and, perhaps, was none too pleased to have its territory trespassed…again. As it neared, Cælum and Æhti would hear heavy, lumbering footfalls accompanied by slow, ragged breathing. Obscured by the densely packed trees, it would not yet be visible.

"Brace yourself," Æhti warned. He took a defensive posture and muttered an incantation, hardening his skin and calcifying his bones with Stoneweaver's Embrace– imbuing them with the fortitude of myrksteinn.

Mere moments later, the colossal, ten-foot tall beast of muscle and sinew would launch itself from the shadows– its target, this time, being Cælum. Despite his wings, the dragon was of a much slimmer build and the beast's brain, perhaps flawed in logic, assumed he'd be the easier to kill target. The thing's goal was to grapple him and then proceed to tear him to pieces, but it appeared the beast failed in this endeavor; it narrowly missed its target. Still, the force and speed with which it moved caused a gale of wind strong enough to stagger a man.

 

[Caelum]

"I don't think it works like that," Caelum said in response to the inquiries about his governed three-among-many. "I'm damn near immune to flames and the effects of bright light, but I don't think it warms me up inherently. That being said, producing some flames to keep me warm is pretty simple at this point."

"Self immolation you say? Sounds like I might actually be confident in surviving that one, given the immunity I mentioned," he would say with a smile, "maybe it'll feel like a nice warm bath." He would have offered to lend the powers of his grist through dragon binding, just for the purposes of the initiation, but that would also pose a large risk to the faelnir's life.

Caelum chortled when they came across the corpse of the Felinog. It looked far too gone for him to think about imprinting on though, which was a shame because he really would have liked to attack the Felinog on equal footing. Then again, that was wishful thinking. He doubted he even could imprint on one yet, and he had made absolutely no efforts into accustoming himself to the extreme sensitivity that transforming brought on.

"Good to know," he'd say when chainmail was explained to him. He knew nothing about that kind of stuff and he'd keep it in mind for the future.

It was AEhti who heard the beast. Caelum was told to brace himself, which he did by spreading his wings out and being ready to take off into the air at a moment's notice. His natare made him quick, but he was not the best flier so his agility suffered. Moving straight upwards though? He could do that.

Caelum's heart rose to his chest when he saw the creature come right for him. It was far too fast to pull off an attack to stop it in its tracks. He zipped into the air, just barely missing its claws. The thick hairs of the creature brushed against his clothing. The dragon was intent on soaring higher but a gust of wind battered his wings, sending him parallel to the ground, right into a tree. It wasn't a hard impact – in fact, he appreciated this turn of events.

He swung himself onto a branch some ten feet or so above ground and perched on it like a gargoyle. The felinog was hardly deterred. It came to a quick stop on the ground before turning its head right to Caelum's position. It started to run at him once more, but Caelum's mouth was already glowing. A thin beam of light shot from it but to his surprise the Felinog shunted itself out of the way, causing the light to do little more than sear off some fur.

"This thing can move!" Caelum shouted as the cat-troll leapt right for him again.

Velho: 2343 wc
Caelum: 2303 wc

 

[Velho]

<notes>

"Well, I suppose you'd know better than me," he responded. Most Glamours were rather esoteric in Æhti's mind. "As long as you're fine, though, it works out, at least."

He hadn't thought about that aspect of Elemental Grist Governance. "Oh– yeah, if you wanted Fulgur to augment or expand your command over Luxium I suppose that initiation wouldn't pose much risk to you, then, would it?" The mage wished he could borrow some of that immunity, but alas; such a thing was unfeasible. "Might as well if you ever wanted more firepower; Galdr are great to have it's just…not always worth the risk."

That was the biggest conflict for Æhti, really. Once he had the Arcana, it was difficult to stay upset about it– he liked spellweaving for the sake of it, not to mention the power. And yet, he would stay angry at the principle of having been robbed of choice; these conflicting perspectives coexisted in opposition in his mind, ever clashing in the miasma of his thoughts. Still, now was not the time to stew on anything, was it?

Soon, the massive feline, all raw muscle and fur, had flown through the trees and narrowly missed barreling directly into Cælum. The dragon's dodge was haphazard, and perhaps due to the wind of the felinog's movement, he'd found himself crashing into a tree. It didn't take long for the cat creature to right itself and reorient, managing to dodge Cælum's counter before moving in to attack again.

Only this time, the hit connected– as the beast and Cælum tumbled into the hard, snow-covered ground, the felinog grappled the dragon by what was, essentially, a crushing bear hug and bit into his shoulder. It would've continued to try and rip him apart, though Æhti was not content to just stand by and watch this unfold.

It took a master's cast, but with arms outstretched and a finished incantation, Cælum would feel the beast's grip on him begin to falter, giving him the chance to roll away before its body fully locked up from Inermanteia. Given how hardy the creature was, Æhti could only hope that the spell would hold– though if necessary, he could cast it again. Having three Galdr and taking care to utilize Sovereignty did expand his casting reserves enough such that he could get away with at least two master casts before he'd feel strain.

"Cælum! Are you alright?" he called out to his downed companion as he rushed over to him, positioning himself between the dragon and the felinog.

"I, uh…these things are tenacious, I think the spell will hold, but if it doesn't you'd best heal yourself before I have to potentially cast again," the mage warned.

He supposed he might be able to put wounds into stasis with Abation, but he certainly couldn't heal– at least Cælum was a Draoidh. Assuming, then, that the dragon would apply such magics to himself, Æhti turned to inspect the felinog in stasis. Seeing it up close like that, even though all was perfectly quiet, still managed to fill him with a great sense of foreboding– as if it would reach out and rend flesh from bone despite what defenses he'd elected to apply to himself.

"I…may have underestimated how big these things are," he started, punctuating the thought with a nervous sort of laugh.

"I don't think either of us would be able to carry it back to Iskrona as-is, so I suppose we should remove some of the limbs, as…uncomfortable as that makes me. Um…Luxium can make lasers, right? I think that would work a lot better than any sort of cutting implement I could make out of Terra– and would also be more conducive to, uh, keeping the thing alive." Æhti was strong, but not inhumanly so; cutting the creature apart appeared to be the only option.

 

[Caelum]

Caelum had not expected the Felinog to be so fast and powerful. And above all, he hadn't expected it to react as it had. The way it had so effortlessly moved out of the way of what ought to have been a direct hit… it replayed over and over in his mind even as the cat collided with him. He let out yet another beam even as it pinned him to the ground, but the light was plenty warning for the cat and it moved its head out of the way. In the same motion it sunk its teeth right into his shoulder.

The dragon screamed. It was an unnatural sound, a mix between the voice of a dragon and a human's. He'd never heard himself sound like that before. It was the sound of someone who was about to die, someone who couldn't do shit about it. Caelum regretted holding back in that moment – he'd had ample opportunity to sear the shit out of it but he'd wanted to keep it alive. Now, he didn't give a fuck if there was even a piece of fur left. Though, it was impossible for him to even turn his head in his current position so all he could do was scream.

The words that AEhti said as he came to the rescue barely made it to Caelum's brain. The dragon was too occupied with stopping the immediate bleeding and leaping out of the way of the beast as it was frozen in place. He'd nod to the Faelnir as he suggested he slice off some limbs. He was already planning on doing that to give the creature a very painful death.

"Take off its limbs, got it," he managed to say as he focused saol into his throat.

Caelum opened up his mouth again and out spewed a stronger laser than he'd ever produced before. He shot it right at the creature's right side, where the arm and leg met the body. He had expected to simply slice right through, but the felinog's hide was stronger than he could have ever imagined. His breath could slice through steel and yet piercing this hide was proving to be difficult.

It took all he had, but he was able to slice through the limbs. Not remove them completely, but with enough intense heat he was able to slice through enough to make them unusable. He repeated the process for the other side, leaving a cat who was temporarily unable to do much of anything except gnash its teeth even if it were unfrozen. It couldn't exactly heal quickly either, as the cauterization made it hard for its special healing blood to flow where it needed to go.

The beams he'd produced easily amounted to over a master cast worth of saol which nearly put him at his limit even with his dragon blood. Then there was staunching the bloodflow which easily consumed the rest of his available saol. He found himself unable to even move his arm despite the lack of bleeding.

"What the fuck was that?" he asked after the combat was all said and done. "I've never, never fought against something that was tougher than my breath. Velho wanted you to fight this thing alone? He's insane… If you hadn't been able to hold it still I wouldn't have so much as been able to give it a hair cut!"

He finally let his breathing slow enough to reassess their situation. "I can't even move this arm but I guess I could use my other arm? I could also make one of these to see if it will keep him calm…" he held out his hand, inviting an unusual chilly feeling, one of the symptoms of lesser draoidh mageburn. A thin flurry of caettle wreath vines wrapped around the creature, its blue flowers making the cat look quite beautiful if one ignored its angry face and its grotesquely disfigured limbs.

"This should help calm it if your magic fails. Also, I suppose we can pull on the vines instead of physically lifting it." It was the best idea he had. Unlike the Inari, he couldn't simply fly the cat back to the teleport point. This would have been a really convenient time to have an exodii mage on retainer.

3000 wc

 

[Caelum]

Thread Title: Anyone Home?

Thread Summary: Caelum and AEhti hunt a Felinog

Expected Rewards:
+30 Caelum + trauma
+30 Velho

Thread Link: https://antarok.net/threads/anyone-home.140/#post-871
​

 

[Khafra]

Canonized