of the dreamers

in elgar sa vir mana in tu setheneran din emma na take spirit from the long ago but do not dwell in lands no longer yours. fyren. the pink dragon of dreamers. solon.

[ikarosx]

"Avalon needs me, despite what my mother wants to tell me. She'd rather have me leave, ensure we are still able to be there for those who will be here if Avalon were to fall. Perhaps that would make me the Prince of Ashes, like I saw when I was on that ship." The vision that came to him, a crown of thorns, it all was vaguely familiar. The Oracle was used to this feeling, of knowing something that he'd already seen, but this? This feeling was different. He looked over his shoulder at Solon, "I think much weighs on whether or not I do."

He looked at the dragon's hand, wrapped around his own, worrying for a moment that the gift wouldn't be accepted. A small bit of relief as the necklace was taken, something more than just a discarded jewel from the prince. He knew it'd be appreciated, by one who had spent so much of their life ripped away from their home. Ikaros still wished to ensure that retribution would be the dragon's, in any way he could help. The Prince gave a small smirk, though he was not one to be shy, or perhaps hesitate at all. "I have an idea," he murmured, pulling Solon close and pressing a kiss against the other's lips. Soft, a reminder that their time was not promised – not even now.

[fyrenxsolon]

"Prince of Ashes would imply there are none left to rule; even if Avalon was reduced to cinders, all would still follow your namesake." Solon did not wish to think of a world in which Lusacan succeeded in tearing Avalon to nothingness, but indeed the dreaded dragon of the Night was so close to achieving their dark aspirations that Solon could only look towards a future where Light would prevail despite. Avalon had not been his true home for some time, he'd made many dwellings along the way, and he hoped to inspire many elvhen with this idea; that their core beliefs could not be singed and burned much like their home may come to be.

The Avalonian prince had always proven to be far more brazen than the pink dragon - settled in his feelings, often displaced and lost within them - but as the prince spoke of an idea, even then, Solon almost foolishly spoke in question of it before Ikaros' lips were upon his. A softness in which the pink dragon was unfamiliar with, something foreign to him, but something which pulled at the very fringes of his marred soul. He wanted more - and he hadn't wanted for anything in so long, a creature normally forged of sacrifice, absent of gluttony. Still, he did not wish to abstain and his lips parted as though their souls would bleed into one another, as if when the prince was truly gone, that fragments of this moment would still remain.

[temperednuvi]

“You are not the first to point that out, and if Mythal is willing, you won’t be the last,” she says, easily admitting to her own oddness without much trouble. Her own character is one she is fairly familiar with, as well as how people view her. She is an eccentric, a kook, seeking answers to a question long forgotten. It’s not skin off her back to know she is seen this way, as she is sure of her path, and she will not stray from it. “And if we are even luckier beyond that, those oddities will help us beyond that.”

If the gods are watching, if Fate ordains it, there is a possibility that they will still win. It might require sacrifice beyond their imagination, it might require suffering like no other, but if there is a light at the end of the tunnel, she is more than willing to take the burden. 

“There are lessons that can be learned from the harshness of life, and I have always proven to be an excellent student.”

[fyrenxsolon]

“If Mythal is willing,” Solon repeated this with a nod, however somber his tone may seem; the pink dragon is not keen to let despair win over light and joy, but the blight is festering around them and he can witness how unsafe this is simply for Shenuvun to be standing here currently. Solon is not as concerned for himself, dragons are almost immune to the Blight, resilient against it in comparison to that of elvhen. 

Despite this, he cannot help but feel his heart sink in his chest at the mention of Mythal, knowing her statue is now fractured and tainted, leeching blight upon the rest of Avalon. “We should get you out of here as of now, though you have consigned yourself to this missive, your battle is not finished today, Shenuvun. And Mythal be damned if you are to be taken out by blight before the war is to truly greet us.” Solon had not wanted to leave but the longer they stood here, the more susceptible Shenuvun truly was to it's affects no matter how deeply she had chosen it and dedicated her life to the craft. 

[ikarosx]

"I have a way with words," Ikaros spoke once more, and it definitely wasn't a lie. Still, he had meant his words. It was nice. For very specific reasons. For one, the dragon was here with him, and no one else was. That was definitely a perk in the prince's eyes. He looked over his shoulder at the door, and eventually, he moved towards the window to see the view. "I can't stay long," it was one of those things he always felt like he had to point out. Ikaros, dragged from place to place, moment to moment, trying hard to grasp the present. It always felt out of the oracle's reach.

Still, he didn't want to ruin everything by stating the obvious. So much chaos around them, he clenched his hand around something in his hand. "I have something for you. I guess as a thank you for putting up with me. I know I've...been less than exciting company at times." He holds out a necklace, one he'd worn many times, with the shape of the Laurelin at the center. It seemed to shine on its own, even in the dim lighting of the cabin. "It says to reflect the light of Laurelin, no matter how far you are from it. So you remember that there is always a place for you there."

[fyrenxsolon]

Solon cared little for the titles assigned to the prince and even if Ikaros was some common elvhen not marred by his duties for the crown and Avalon, there would still be something entirely magnetic about him. As such, where Ikaros wandered towards the window, Solon slowly followed, eyes panning outward as though he could witness what Ikaros saw through the prince's eyes, “Where are you to next?” He couldn't be sure he'd get a clear answer, though he'd never minded that Ikaros' path was twisted and winding much like the branches of Avalon which once kept him. Despite this, perhaps with the weight of everything crumbling around them bearing on him, Solon asked, “And what if you had stayed after all?” 

He could feel this sense of inquietude often burdening the prince but Solon never knew how to speak upon it. There was a mild smirk as Ikaros spoke with a detriment to himself, the pink dragon raising a brow in surprise. He would not say he recognized the necklace, but the familiarity came instantly; having seen it draped around the prince's neck on one occasion or the other. “There will be a place for all of us left if I'm to do anything about it,” his hand balled around Ikaros' rather than the necklace, he wanted to pull him close but had always been strangely aloof on the matter as though no time had been correct. As such, his hand fell from Ikaros' to hold such imagery in his palm, the dragon delighted by such light it refracted currently. “I'm unsure of how to thank you," it took a lot for Solon to wrench his gaze away from such brilliant light, but they finally fell back on Ikaros'.

[talisa-the-steel]

What had she been thinking, to come to Solon of all people? Apparently he knew nothing. Talisa’s expression twisted with anger as her eyes cut at him. What a rude thing to say to her! “I’m foolish for playing with things I don’t understand? That’s not supportive, I thought he was an elvhen!” she shrieked before assaulting Solon with one of the silky pillows that had been placed around the couch. She sat up, her arms crossed and her expression wounded. “Maybe he shouldn’t have played with me, did you ever think about that? How was I supposed to know?”

Talisa just short of turned her nose up at Solon when he spoke further. Lyklor was hardly the life of the party, but he had noticed what things instilled excitement or joy in Talisa. And he had not stoked or reveled in the things that didn’t. This further cemented her stance that she was the innocent one in this situation–she had no way of knowing. And Lyklor was just as likely to have forced the severance of their blooming romance even if she wasn’t a dragon. But if that was the reason he ended things, after a lifetime of the faults and shortcomings of dragons being socialized and lectured into her worldview, that made it hurt worse. 

Her head snapped in Solon’s direction, springy curls bouncing before they came to rest. “What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded, although she didn’t much feel like talking to Solon any further when he did not unwaveringly and unquestioningly take her side on the matter.

[fyrenxsolon]

Solon let the pillow strike him, giving Talisa a look of ridicule as only any sibling could truly encompass. There'd been many times in the past, those which he was not proud of and often looked upon with regret, where now would be such a time where Solon would explode on her in return. It was honestly such a gift that he'd come to temper his own draconic flare when dealing with Talisa, though he did frown as his words were repeated back to him and therein lay how unkind they truly felt despite his lack of intention to strike. “You're right, you couldn't know,” and Solon sighed momentarily as a result, “As Aetheron bled into this modern world, so did we, but as did these daemons. There are likely many others we are unaware of, posing as elvhen amongst us; they can be dangerous, but they also may simply be trying to find their footing as well.” 

Solon also understood that Talisa did not give two dragon's tails about relating to the daemonfey, especially with how scorned she currently felt and Solon did his best to backpedal on what he'd just stated, “However, that does little to excuse what they have inflicted upon you.” It was not up to him to measure such wrongdoing and Solon could see the rage glint in Talisa's eyes to know she witnessed this all as a huge injustice to her socially and emotionally. “You'll have to forgive me for my own callousness towards this.” Locked in this form, he could not lie, and he meant this apology, though it did little to stoke the flames he'd inspired elsewhere in their conversation. 

Solon stared right at Talisa, as though through the soul she tried so hard to knit and obscure behind this Steely wall, “Look at how you view this world, what matters we've been subjected to - don't you think you may look upon them with your own twinge of despair?”

[supfag]

Nassim Lyes

[ikarosx]

Saleba had set one paw inside the cabin, felt the dust on her paw, and promptly announced she had somewhere to be. Ikaros knew that was a lie, perhaps they all knew that was a lie, but fey couldn't do that – so it must've been a spur of the moment truth after seeing the state of the cabin.

Ikaros, however, was more or less relieved to have a place that was more set with silence and not the reminder of what he'd seen in Avalon. Of what he was always seeing, now. The visions had gotten stronger, bloodier – darker. Everything had multiple endings, and Ikaros had already seen so many of them because of the Kossith.

Still, there was a lightness about the Prince. He carried himself solid and put together, but in the presence of the dragon, his shoulders relaxed, his features softened, and his eyes met Solon's with a quiet gratitude.

"This is...nice."

[fyrenxsolon]

A smile manifested as Saleba attempted her best effort to enter the cabin only to inevitably excuse herself. A laugh came next, bubbling forth before Solon could stop it, as Ikaros gave some shred of a compliment at the living space. It had been neglected and falling apart when Talisa and he had found it, and though they had fixed it up over the last decade, the last few months had been impossible to retreat back to it and it had fallen into a small but of disarray. 

“I did not know as a Prince you were granted the ability of such lies,” upon entering was the main living room of the cabin, a stunted and broken hearth the centerpiece of the room; a kitchen was conjoined to it but despite any litany of sweets that Talisa had once collected within it, there was no signs of life within the cabin and indeed silence took over with ease. 

“But I am confident that if none have ever come looking for the elvhen warrior Fyren that none will come looking for the prince of Avalon in such quarters.” There was relief in his own smile as he said this, for it seemed Ikaros had relaxed somewhat for the first time since they had chosen to step foot from Avalon as it crumbled. 

[freydis-freydat]

She was silent at Fyren’s statement. If given the choice knowing what she knew now, would she turn over those same stones and glimpse into the history of her own soul? It changed her in indelible ways, restructured her belief system and values, altered how she valued some lives and shattered misconceptions that had previously led her to undervalue other lives. It changed her down to the marrow. “I just hope it makes sense in the end,” Freydis responded in a quiet tone, “and that I will be worthy.” Her eyes lifted to meet his again, and it was true that Freydis felt a certain flame swell within her chest when it came time to draw her sword and shield. Many nights she had evaded sleep wondering was she Tove herself, or was Tove the embers within her ribs that roared to flames within her like some sort of passenger making Freydis small when she was not what the world needed? 

“Unfortunately, it’s likely precisely what you suspect it is,” she sighed in acknowledgment of Nintra. The sigh was a tired and anxious sounding emission. “I made a bad deal, unintentionally. And the terms are as rotten as you would expect… another matter for another time.” She was fearful of the pact, of the likelihood of the wreckage the unintentional consequence could bring about. But she was powerless to act upon it as things stood. “I’ll figure it out eventually,” she insisted, deflecting and making herself busy clearing the emptied tea kettle from the table to avoid meeting his eye, “you don’t need to worry about it.” She turned back to him, the ceramic vessel still in her hands. Freydis wished Solon did not feel the need to apologize. “Perhaps the most we can ask of the Wheel is the comfort of friends to salve the difficulties as it pulls us along,” she said quietly, referring to him and many others. “It’s more than some souls are afforded.” She was still close enough to Solon that he would be able to take her hand and speak of her spirit and heart. A moment after he had said his piece, her back was to him again for a few moments, but a dragon as old and wise as he would easily recognize that she wiped no small amount of tears from the planes of her cheeks while she pretended to be wholly occupied with emptying out the used tea leaves from the kettle. Tove was the soul that was imbued with the legendary status of Daughter of Manetheran and ally of King Hrimthur–but it was Freydis who strove to matter in the here and now.  Freydis rejoined him at the table, slightly more composed and eager to tumble headlong into the subject of dreaming. “I might more accurately argue that I have one basic: souls in the dream world can be sensitive to emotion and… I have…. Many… many… many emotions,” she recounted.

She did not look afraid of the concept of lending herself to practicing further. A sort of dreaminess, an apt description, overtook her features when Solon spoke of all the dream world could offer, but a look of dread, shame, and familiarity found purchase on her features as he spelled out a warning. “I have found such things in my dreams before. And worse, found I am not immune to them or their strange thrall.”

[fyrenxsolon]

"You still hope that you are worthy without ever considering that you already are. The fates, the stones, they have chosen you to bear this responsibility, do not get caught in the measure of worthiness, for you would not even be at this stage of contemplation if you were not." This was something he would stick to no matter how often Freydis seemed to lean strongly in the other direction, but as a more human-aligned creature the shieldmaiden would indeed always fall back on questioning things instead of being firm in such convictions. She had lived her life within such a mortal viewpoint for so long, trapped within these more finite ideals and it was only recently that Freydis had been set free from it and forced to stare at the longevity and past lives of things she could still barely cling to in reality. Solon felt for her, such compassion and understanding, but he also knew she could bear it, withstand it, come to stand tall and face it. 

His eyes studied her as Freydis browsed over the weight of the archfey and how they would inevitably come to collect. This was just another example of the mortality she and her wisdoms had once been funneled into; but the world had cracked open for her and Solon would not let her wince and look the other way. "You made this deal out of foolish whims, based on things you had not yet the capacity to understand," his tone was never critical, just steeped in conscious understanding. “These fey are tricky, they know who to prey on, but I am certain that the Freydis of today would not even contemplate such deals of the fey as the one who had first met them.” There was this humored lilt of his expression as he stated this, though his eyes were full of mourning. It was something reckless and silly she would have to bear, but Freydis was much more knowledgeable about the arcane and the wilds than she once was. 

Solon nodded as Freydis clarified what could be asked of the Wheel, his countenance molded into something solemn. He had always known the shieldmaiden to be accepting of her fate, even if she sometimes looked upon it with wild eyes imbued with fear; it was the brunt of both their stories and though it hurt, they would take it in stride as the Wheel tormented them. Freydis was greeted with his decree and he took no offense as she turned away, her back hunched over where the kettle had been, emptying what leaves had steeped their brew. He waited patiently for her return to delve into the aspects of dreaming and the erratic world within such concepts and fragments. 

“You are right about that, emotions are powerful within Dreams, they have the ability to overtake everything and rewrite the path you are drifting down.” He said this not to instill fear in Freydis but rather confidence, a clear mind was vital to navigate the dreamworld and there would be many things within that would test Freydis to withstand their evils. “I see. There is much for you still to learn, Freydis, but I already understood that of you. Your mind is not yet the fortress that your body is, but we can mend that.”

[talisa-the-steel]

The young Steel was truly the image of a pathetic, wretched creature beneath Solon. Was some of it a production? Certainly. Was some of it self-manufactured? Well, yes! But Talisa felt any slight to her pride keenly, and she trusted Solon to be a safe presence in which to come undone. Her gaze shifted up to Solon when he spoke again and her brows lifted dramatically as she took on an expression of utter betrayal. “Are you defending him? You're supposed to be on my side,” Talisa demanded loudly, sitting up and staring at Solon.

“Well, maybe he should have thought about reflecting on his true self before he came sniffing around me.” Her arms crossed and she remained utterly indignant. Her nose wrinkled at the idea of joy, not that Talisa was necessarily devoid of the emotion. But she certainly wasn’t… joyous. “I hope he never feels joy again, he hurt my feelings,” she muttered petulantly.  

[fyrenxsolon]

There were sides now? Solon understood relationships and the emotions surrounding them were rather unpredictable and tumultuous, but his soul often sought to understand instead of condemn. It had certainly not been the response Talisa had hoped for nor expected but Solon answered truthfully,  "I am on your side and if you wanted me to say something in support of you I would call you foolish for playing with things you do not understand." A daemonfey could be dangerous, spirits who were transformed into more insidious concepts rather than the purity they once were. 

Solon raised a brow at Talisa, there was this mischievousness as though about to vex her further with sibling-like banter, but of course there was true worry in his heart, however obscured in the moment. "A daemon of despair would certainly have made these feelings of their true self known. To them, there is no joy of their former selves, no curiosity where envy now roams." Solon frowned then, his desire to annoy her in their sibling ways vanishing momentarily, “It worries me what he may have seen in your reflection then.”

[temperednuvi]

“That is my name, don’t wear it out,” she tries to go for a jest, but it falls flat at the face of such destruction. The blight spread surely and insidiously, desecrating their home with every second, and it felt like a tight grip on her throat, drawing the air out until she could no longer breathe. The statue of Mythal, cracked and corrupted, is just another reminder of how dire their situation had become, and once more, she berates herself for not getting an answer as to how the Archfey had cured them from the Blight. Such knowledge would have been essential for a moment like this, and yet, she had failed to get it when it mattered most. 

“And it will be worth it, I have no doubt of that,” she says, voice contemplative but self-assured. She had known this to be the truth since she had been old enough to understand that the Sundering had broken the world. Shenuvun’s life was one of adventures and joys, yet it had also become a life of dangers and sacrifices. She had once been told she would fail more times than she would succeed, and for as difficult as it had been to hear, it also meant that she would succeed. She could only hope that it meant now, that she — they — would succeed when it mattered most. “Everything that has been broken can be mended, and by fixing this we will make a better world for all those who come after.”

[fyrenxsolon]

Her jest captured Solon's attention, the pink dragon turning his head to finally face Shenuvun. His expression is confused, though he understood the jestful remark it was indeed baffling, but he had come to learn from Atheron that everyone dealt with trauma in a myriad of ways, none linear to what one was supposed to reveal on the outside. "You are a strange one, Shenuvun, though I have come to appreciate that we need such oddities now more than ever," he did not mean to insult as he stated this, the compliment stemming from the dragon of dreamers was clear, despite the blank and frangible expression on his face.

Solon simply nodded, it was a grim realization for someone to come to terms with, but it seemed that Shenuvun was one who was so tangled with the Weave and such death surrounding it that she no longer feared what could come next. This was important; those who flinched from destiny and the Fates only prolonged the inevitable. "Wiser beyond your years, it seems too."

[fyrenxsolon]

starter for @ikarosx.

where: silverlands, at the dinky lil cabin that fyren lived in ala hiding from aetheron

when: current timeline

note: you have forced my hand (i have free time and had this idear)

Fyren was solemn, he had stayed within Avalon long after many had fled, but there was currently not much to be done but simply wait for Lusacan to truly creep forth and shatter their realm completely. Dust had collected within the small cabin within the more wooded and obscured area of the Silverlands; it had been some time since both he or Talisa had truly been within it, marking how much had changed since they'd entered Avalon and embraced what they'd once been hiding from.

This time, however, the Steel was not beside him but Ikaros was, and he knew the decision to currently leave was not one taken happily or without some sense of remorse. He tried to breathe some levity back into the situation, difficult considering the blight and darkness which loomed, but Fyren braved a small smile, gesturing for Ikaros to make himself comfortable.

"This has been my home away from Avalon for some time now. It's not much but I trust that no one will bother you here unless you wish them to." The burden for the prince was higher than anyone else as the dragon was certain many would be seeking him out for guidance, advice, or any litany of worries.

[valshirathelight]

Though she was the Lady of the branch with the Moongate, Val'shira was sure that she had never been so busy in such affairs. Her uncle was stuck to Titania's side, as were many of the other old advisors their Queen kept. Val took the mantle of leadership in stride, managing to wrangle up as many workers and volunteers as she could to make the mass exodus as efficient and calm as possible. But it was hard. The fear was palpable: seen in every eye, heard in every voice and felt in every touch. The High elves came to Elune's Veil in droves and left the Moongate, left Avalon, left their home with the knowledge they might never see it again. Unless there was a chance that time could be bought and something could be salvaged in a fight, Val'shira would be among the refugees. Pointless life lost was against her family's creed.

"A part of me has wanted to leave Avalon most of my life," she admitted quietly, siding up to the dragon. "I always took for granted it would be here for me if I wanted it." Her head shook. "We've got mostly everyone out, but we're looking for stragglers still." She tried to meet the dragon's gaze. "How do you know that the cost of your life is worth whatever time you might buy this place? Fyren, you are needed for more of what is yet to come."

[fyrenxsolon]

Even if the darkness had not crept out, tenebrous and tangible tendrils that sapped the life from even Mythal's statue, their world was bleeding, staunchly, lethally. Solon had only just found it again, freed from Aetheron's grasp, from the countless years of torture to become this fear-instilling machine for such cruel mages. They had turned the pink dragon of dreamers into the very antithesis of what he once was; jovial, boisterous, mischievous but with a caring heart. He'd only gotten a mere taste of this world before it imploded once again, a wound that flooded each elvhen and dragon that had remained within Avalon as blighted chaos trickled towards them until it burst into this catastrophic river.

"I lived in a time where the tree was still considered youthful," he teased this with a bittersweet, nearly grim tone, "The blight had not yet become, we had no worries of this taint." Such grim regard turned to borderline fury, restrained with clipped words that held such grief, "My dream had always been to go home, Val'shira, but I believe my oath now holds me to ensuring you all have a home to go to. This Avalon, I have come to respect it, love it even, but if the wheel is to will it, then it will see to it that the fade has me, for that is all I have left of something that seems lost to this darkness for good." He had not let despair win, but he seemed to make peace with it; if he could fix this fractured world, even if he could not see the result, he would be okay.

[temperednuvi]

The worst had come, and Shenuvun finds herself unable to do anything but stare in despair as the corruption of the blight spreads. There is no full cure for such illness, none that they know the details of, at the very least. The ones taken had been cleansed, once upon a time, but the mechanics of the process had not been given to them. Instead, they have been made unique, but not unvulnerable. She could still get the blight, could still contract the sickness slowly devouring her home. Yet, despite the dangers, her feet remain firmly planted in Avalon as she steps through the devastation. 

“I have been working my whole life to fix this broken world,” she begins slowly, words dropping as heavily as lead as she speaks. Her eyes take in her surroundings, grief unspoken clear on them. “I would have sacrificed my life for such a solution, so putting everything in the line to prevent further destruction? That is a cost I am willing to pay.”

She takes a deep breath and shrugs. 

“I should have died from the Blight months ago, if I fall to it now it is just claiming what was taken from it before.”

[fyrenxsolon]

Mythal's statue had cracked and blighted, once stately and well kept it nearly crumbled beneath the dark taint which leeched into their world. "Oh, Shenuvun," this is said in greeting, he may have once been surprised at her presence where darkness was so prominent, but she had wandered into his home branch without any selfish indication for her life and that alone allowed Solon to witness her in higher regard. This was, from what he'd learned of her in small bits, something she studied - her life's work even - but surely not to this catastrophic caliber.

The tone of the pink dragon's voice sounded like mourning, but his mouth moves to offer the briefest smile at her presence, even if such feat feels impossible to do so. The shades which had carried Lusacan's haunting message seemed obscured once again, for now, this temporary dissolving despite the way their message lingered.

"Some are not meant to walk this world in the serene joy it is meant to have, we are only meant to fix it and know our sacrifice will be worth it." Shenuvun is young, so very young still, and his words feel like a condemnation of their lives, but in some respect it is freeing to say it.

[nylathriasoulseer]

How was she meant to say that something had changed on the kossith ship without causing more concern, guilt and pity. “It’s been sometime since the hollow, my magic, my soul has changed.” Hopefully that would be enough to not make the other feel guilty. “Talisa has been very generous with her time with me.” She had grown a fondness for the steel dragon. “I’m grateful that you both came, I saw you there as well in your pink glory.” She been so focused on trying to change the subject she forgot to hide her ring of the damned.

[fyrenxsolon]

"Your magic shifts with the time, but your soul bleeds," Fyren glanced upon her, but the dragon only noted this of her for his own soul was tattered and mangled and he'd be a fool not to recognize this within another. Easily distracted as any dragon, he would not pester Nylathria with questions of her well doing for he'd never wish for the same to be given to him when he'd first been freed from Aetheron's grasp. "Talisa was insistent she have the credit in being your savior," in a way it was true, though it was not with such narcissism as Fyren teased.

[freydis-freydat]

“There were many ways,” Freydis admitted. “They have come in fractures rather than all at once.” She explained to Fyren how she had learned of her long life and lineage within the Veil when she and the other women taken were lost to the world. Then came the visions of war in one of the Arches, when she had been married to Signe and aged from a warrior to a sick woman who watched her family die and who left her own son when the gateway opened to her again. She discussed the time spent on The Road–those six months spent before the cataclysm wrought its chaos–and all that she had seen in the dream Vaelin helped facilitate. “It may be the tether to the Veil more than the druids… and an arch fey.” Her hands were folded in her lap, “I’m not sure it’s forced revelation as much as a thread I won’t stop following. I feel like I have to, to have the best chance at defending the world as it is in this age.” 

She continued to listen quietly, nodding every so often. “From what I can tell of my past life, I was made to fight for that balance. I think that’s what it means to be a Veil Maiden–to be its sentinel and shield. No matter what. But I want to live too.” And there was the heart of it, at the center of all of her fears. She wanted to be more than a purpose incarnate, and though she would die for the cause and her destiny without a second thought, she was just as hungry to live in a world where balance was restored as she was to help bring about its restoration. 

Freydis nodded gently and explained to Fyren all she knew about what she was. A magic ignited within late, but for a higher purpose, an extended lifespan, and she suspected the source of her deep sense of vocation. But much remained unknown to her still–how to harness the whole of her potential, how to best use it to the benefit of the world she loved, and what truly sparked the power within her being. 

“She guided me in waking moments and it allowed me to slowly learn to navigate tel’aran’rhiod on my own over time.” Vaelin had provided Freydis parameters and advice, and then sent her into the dream world to learn as she went. Her guidance was not lofty or lengthy, but it had been critical. Freydis stumbled through the learning not on her own, but independently. “I only learned the most basic fundamentals, only managed to observe when I dreamt of my past life. But when I am near a rift in the veil, I find I have lucid dreams.” She was quiet for a moment, studying Fyren's face. "What was it like? When you could dream fully, uninhibited?"

[fyrenxsolon]

"Sometimes the memory of something is too much for the soul to carry. It may seem cruel that this has all been obscured to you till now, in these fractured waves, but fate has always had a sense of humor I've found." The dragon understood such double edged sword and he could only hope that Freydis did not walk towards this feeling some melancholic essence of unfulfillment. A life that could not be lead, a thread which could not be followed; it was not Freydis' fault nor her actions in this lifetime that permitted this path to be withheld, it was simply, and unfortunately, what was meant to come to pass. "Your spirit has been forever etched with this fighting passion but these things often come when you are most ready to utilize them." Again, he knew the double-edged sword of the fates was not so simple but he had made an oath against despair and Solon would never let such pessimistic feelings prevail.

Often Solon rambled to such degree but the dragon of the dreamers was constantly listening even if his mouth took a moment to catch up to what his brain had processed. His brows crinkled and his eyes truly looked at Freydis before one brow arched in a near critical manner, "What is this about an arch fey?" His heart hurt, nearly a fatal wound as Freydis spoke her utmost fear; such anguish in her eyes was lethal and even Solon could not hide the way he winced. Solon understood, more than anyone, the manic need to survive and withstand all the sacrifices made, but even he could not recklessly promise that she would withstand this, even if her heart was strong enough to bear it. "We are all pawns in the Wheel's design, Freydis, I'm sorry I cannot offer something more kind to you."

The pink dragon reached out and squeezed her hand, a small show of his commiseration, "I will think of your spirit and your heart every day, while you are still here, long after you are gone. Your story will bleed out into hundreds of lifetimes even if I cannot have you here alongside me as my dear friend. That is the weight and the truth of your fight, a testament to everything you have done in your past life, in this one, and the next. If you cannot see a world that has been restored and shed of this blighted Dark, then I will see to it that such world has a chance to glance upon you." Solon smiled then, even if it hurt deep within his heart.

"If you have the basics, then you have what is needed, for I know you are an adept warrior even in a world unknown to you." He would never instill the shieldmaiden with false confidence and Freydis would know his word as genuine, "But, as always, the more practice and time is given to something, the smoother all shall go." Solon contemplated for a moment; the dragon was not foolish and even one like Freydis could be instilled with a wanton for hearing what their soul wished to hear and not the crux of truth. Still, Solon continued, the timbre of his voice telling of how he yearned to go back to what had once been. "Such vivid landscape of memories bent to my own wanton, the spirits then were welcoming - borderline guides - and I could fly within the endless drift of the skies or swim deep within the fragile depths of oceans, those made of the most palpable and arduous memories. There's no true geography within this map of dreams, it is something constructed of our will. It's why the dangers are more focused for a beginner as yourself, they know that you are not quite a master of it and the Dark bleeds even within such Dreams."

[talisa-the-steel]

“Yes! The very one!” Talisa confirmed, pouting a delicate, thin finger in Solon’s face before dropping her arm again as if she possessed nary a bone. She was able to recognize something in the edges of Solon’s expression, but she wasn’t entirely sure what. “Never. And trust me, I tried to talk him into it–which is not romantic. It’s humiliating. And he refused to even listen or try.” She pouted, but the emotion was genuine before she shifted her gaze back to meet Solon’s gaze. “Well, yes. Obviously,” she confirmed without a hint of brattishness or irony, because it was the truth. “He isn’t without reason, I know that–he’s a daemonfey.” And technically he didn’t even have a face, but Talisa could have found a way to overlook it! “Of despair apparently. Like that makes a difference when I don’t really know what he is to start with. Except a coward.” She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows still laying across Solon’s lap where she had pretended to faint moments before. 

[fyrenxsolon]

Not only was Talisa openly writhing and lamenting in her own pity party but she felt it to such scathing degree that any draconic pride had seemed to bleed out of her and be left back in Haven where such moment had occurred. Solon would have no trouble standing tall for her and scouring the elvhen in a breath of fire before he was stopped only by the all too casual mention of them being a daemonfey. Though he cared greatly for her troubles, Solon was still a dragon would could be easily distracted by treasures and indeed - despite the despair which directed the daemon's pursuits - a daemonfey was something similar to a glinting ruby or jewel. "They are at the unfortunate mercy to the despair which corrupted their true spirits, a cruel reflection of what the Dark has done to this world. I am sure it's been a long time since he's reflected his true self," he eyed her almost warily before he admitted the truth of such despair, "-a spirit of joy." He was certain that Talisa of all dragons would find this notion to be almost humorous, that something that once resembled joy had crawled into her life even if he was now befitted with hopeless despair.

[fyrenxsolon]

starter for OPEN, for elvhen/dragons.

where: avalon

when: current timeline

note: womp womp

The dragon of night will not be silenced. The dragon of night marches once again.

No matter the construction of such message, it started low with this cruel array of wisping shadows that lured out from what was once known as his home. Such message rose to a deafening chant as it spread like wildfire through Avalon and blight crumbled statues and plagued soil in it's wake; no stone would be left unturned as tenebrous blight, hungry and unwavering, stole life in it's swift rampage. Elvhen were most susceptible to this rampage but still Solon could not relate to those who chose to flee; the balance of life and death would not end here, it would trickle out unto the world until everything was coated in such cruel miasma and took all with it.

He heard a crunch of footsteps on blighted soil and though his heart was bleeding with such pain at what was to come, Solon's tone was clipped, "I take it that since you are still here, you know the cost." Just as he had promised the Steel dragon, the cost of his own life was worth a tomorrow where all else could live without such gaping maw of darkness over them.

[cynlis]