the oracle

high elvhen - prince of avalon

[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.

[ikarosx]

"Would they? Or is that the pride of a dragon speaking?" Ikaros couldn't help his smile, something that he found came easily enough around Solon. It didn't feel like the light wished for him to be even remotely happy – nor did the future ever play out in pieces that he wished to see. Still, the prince pulled the other closer, like this moment wasn't one he'd seen, but planned to ensure it lasted – that he memorized every part he could before it ended.

He breathed a sigh against the other's lips, his hand coming up to rest on the back of Solon's neck, "I want you," he admitted finally, though an Elvhen could not lie – he knew how to circumvent the truth. He didn't wish to now, not with the pink dragon. Ever, perhaps, with someone that he'd let closer again. Ikaros had shied away from many things. The idea of soulbonding, the idea of any sort of connection, in the fear that one touch would send the oracle into the future, distant or near, and ruin all that happened in the present. "For as long as you'll let me."

[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'.

[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.

[temperednuvi]

Her family had headed to the Silverlands as soon as the news had spread, mostly on her insistence. Her parents were guides, so they had known the path to the Silverlands. Shenuvun had been confident that they would make it to Lórien'dal without much issue, but she had asked Harajatish to protect them to be sure. They had asked her to go with them, but she had decided against it. She had long since committed herself to see the world righted, and if she couldn’t, at the very least she could try and stop the infection from spreading. 

“My family is gone ahead, but I have chosen to stay,” she admits, with a small shrug. “I have been working all my life to try and prevent something like this. I couldn’t, so I might as well try and help stop things before they get even worse.”

If this is not stopped, it is likely the world would soon follow into the Dark, so if she is to die fighting, she would prefer to do so while there is still hope, and to die while fighting for her home.

[ikarosx]

"You think? Who will carry on the work with the Veil if you're gone?" Ikaros felt like he needed to point these things out to those who thought they could simply die for the hell of it. He knew he could not – Titania would assure that Ikaros was out of Avalon if Lusacan was ever meant to press through. The Prince had thought of himself at his mother's side – for if the Elvhen of Avalon were to fall, he would be the Prince of Nothing. Still, a crown meant little to him at this point, yet it was exactly what pushed him forward.

"Though I don't think preventing Lusacan from exiting the Eluvian was actually what you were studying."

[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. 

[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."

[supfag]

Matthew Daddario

Into the Deep (2022)

[temperednuvi]

who? @ikarosx where? Avalon

There is little they can do to stop the blighted remnants of the Dragon of the Night’s messenger, even less they can do to fully disrupt the shades slowly manifesting from the corrupted Eluvian. Nothing much beyond keeping watch, to ensure their leaders are made aware of any changes, to ensure the alarm is sounded when the standstill breaks and the nightmares come flooding in. So Shenuvun stands vigil whenever she has time, watching over the bubbling shadow with a racing heart but determined frown. She is terrified at the prospect of what it’s to come, but she refuses to bow down to the Dark. 

She doesn’t expect company as she watches, so the sound of steps comes as a surprise. 

“Prince Ikaros,” she greets with a nod, not bothering to ask how he is. No one is alright, not when their home is at the brink of destruction. “I have been watching for a while, and there hasn’t been any changes, if that is what you came to check.”

[ikarosx]

"Shenuvun," Ikaros greets the other back, though his voice is absent of most of its tone. Avalon was going through a dark time, as the blood of the tree itself began to bleed into every Elvhen that remained within. So many left, the branches emptier than ever, yet still – so many remained. Too many High Elvhen had only known the Laurelin, and would never pass through the Moongate without fighting for their home.

He looks at her again, the crown upon his head feeling heavier than ever. Titania would not leave, and she wished for her son to be safe, which left them in a constant stalemate. "When change comes, Nuvi, it will be sudden and brutal. We won't have any time to pick up the pieces." That was true – he'd seen it as such. Still, the prince looked at her, "You did not wish to leave? No one would fault you. If you took your family into the Silverlands."

[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.

[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."

[nylathriasoulseer]

Who: @ikarosx Where: Nyla's home in the shore

Even though she was grateful for all those in the haven, for their hospitality she was glad to be free from the place. From the claustrophobia gaze of their eyes. It felt like they were all walking on eggshells around those that came from the kossith vessel. It was understandable though, they didn’t know the horrors that were inflicted upon that ship. That hadn’t been a victim of the wheels turning this time around. Lucky for them. While in the haven though she couldn’t help but look at others, wondering what she would have seen if she had been forced to look at their soul, what had the wheel put them through? Did the wheel have to do this to them, to turn them into the people they needed to be to face the dark one? Maybe it was all par for the course? It didn’t mean she had to like the journey. It didn’t mean she would like the woman she would be at the end of it all; a line had been crossed. how many more would she step over to reach the finish line? 

The journey to Avalon had left like it had taken years but in reality it wasn’t true, the soul seer just didn’t want to admit to herself that even if her body wasn’t fatigued her mind was. Her grandmother Esta had taught the soul seer to fear crossing the line. Nylatheria could see that it was Esta who was scared of what she could do. Scared that the young elven would become detached from the world. It was a valid fear as that is what Nyla had done on the Kossith vessel to protect herself. If it wasn’t for Talisa, Agnes, Deja she would have remained numb to the world. Seen the souls of this world like pieces on a chessboard. Agnes had joined her on the journey, saying that Nyla wasn’t allowed to make such movements on her thanks to the kossith. Cute really. But she couldn’t enter Avalon, so she remained behind in her humble abode in the sliverlands. Nyla had told her she would be away for a few days as she needed to see family, it wasn’t exactly a lie as Lyra was family to her but it was avoidance of the truth. 

Entering a home that was so clearly locked in time now disgusted her. She could have done so much with her time. It was all wasted. What had she actually done to find Lyra? What had she gained? Her hand caressed what was her wife's cloak. Memories of her time with Talisa, how they laughed on the streets, how the other was childlike, flashed before. It had brought not only a smile to her face but tears. They weren't of happiness or grief but rage. A once gentle grip turned vice-like as it ripped that cloak from its stand, puncturing it as she did so. Nothing could stop the tidal wave of emotions as Nyla ravaged the home she had spent hundreds of years preserving. This was a home steeped with evidence of her betrayal. What she had done that night with Agnes fuelled her self-hatred. How easily she had forgotten her reason for leaving Avalon in the first place. She was disgusting, cowardly and weak. She wouldn't blame Lyra for never forgiving the indiscretions she had made.

The home appeared like a tornado had ripped through its core, ripping anything loose from it place, scattering it across the room. But every tornado faded, lost steam. As Nyla's body gave out, she curled up into a ball, wishing the world would take her way, swallow her whole as she heard a knock at the door. She didn't check who it was or even move to greet them as she used her magic to let them in.

[ikarosx]

Nyla was a dear friend, and what they had been through was something that Ikaros had not wished to necessarily trauma bond over. Yet still, here they were. Avalon had been a safe place for so long, and yet – it had always been sick. There had never been a moment where they'd truly been safe in their home beyond the Moongate, and how all dealt with that reality was to their own.

The Prince didn't normally make house calls. He was busy, recovering in his own time in some way – despite hardly taking respite at all. Still, Nylathria was one of those people that he wouldn't abandon, not now. It was the noise that drew him forward; word of the soul seer had gotten to Ikaros simply because he'd told them to keep an eye out for her, so finding her in her home had been relatively expected. The destruction that followed, however, was unusual.

Nyla was a gentle soul, yet he knew they all had their own pain to deal with. When he entered the destroyed home, the shattered pieces of Nyla's life were on the ground everywhere around them. Things she shared with her wife, the place that held whatever remaining vestiges there were – destroyed by the Elvhen. There wasn't a lot he could say, nor did he know what part of their present Nyla was upset over, but he could offer comfort. Slowly, he got to the ground beside her, on his knees, placing his hand on her back, "Nyla. Talk to me."

[fyrenxsolon]

"You spoke to a red dragon and are here to tell me the tale?" Solon tried not to laugh, though the action was mostly in surprise, looking over Ikaros as though there were any telltale signs of an attack he'd missed in a dramatic bit. "Some of the most rapacious and cunning of our kind, their breath could fell hundreds if some were reckless enough to stumble upon one." A bit of admiration for the Prince's tenacity was evident in Solon's gaze; it was clear that not only Mythal but seemingly dragons held a sense of dignity for the elvhen prince and what capabilities he held for Avalon's future.

Affirming what Ikaros said, about offering aid to Solon, well the pink dragon's appreciation went without saying. Solon shrugged, he was currently without the armor he'd normally wear in this form, and his shield had been safely secured elsewhere; dressing down felt strange and he held his hands to himself as though seeing this elvhen polymorph of his for the first time in many years. "This identity, he is a warrior, something strong and unyielding. But even my mind can fall prey to weariness - since you've welcomed me here, I've still treated myself as separate from you all as though I should not rest until I create a vision of what once was."

Solon finds Ikaros' gaze as he says this, shaking his head, "It's foolish of even me to create such barriers, when today's Avalon indeed holds many hidden joys within it." Balance was this important construct to Solon but the pink dragon betrayed such ideal each time he maddeningly focused on the past instead of looking towards the present, the future. "Wasting many hours by the shore, listening to the whispers of the lakes and rivers is something I've often found myself doing," a nod to Ikaros, "I can tell which bit of Avalon seems to be your favorite." Often it seems the prince could be found here in Mythal's Glade, but it was a remark that challenged if the claim was true.

[ikarosx]

"I'm very...persuasive," Ikaros gave a small smile, mirroring Solon's laugh. It was a melodic sound, something real, and the Prince found himself in the moment more than ever. Too often he drowned in the past, especially in the future, but the present felt all too tangible with Solon at his side. "Trust me, he wasn't impressed with most of us but – he did give me a crown." He'd show Solon the draconic crown he'd received, something very glittery and gold, though the Prince wasn't sure he'd get it back if he did. A small price to pay if it meant Solon enjoyed it.

"You are strong and unyielding, but I guess – like you've told me – sometimes we don't always need to be strong." Ikaros slowed his walk when they reached the Glade, Solon's observation something that he couldn't deny. "My father – he loved this place. It's where he became soulbonded, where Abelas was born. My mother resented him for making her out to be a fool." Ikaros thought of Yavanna, the one person who kept he and his brother together. "Oberon...I can't tell if he wanted to be king so badly that he put aside love until it was too late, or if...I don't know." Ikaros didn't like thinking of all what ifs. Abelas had gotten to see their father, deep within the Feywilds, and now he wore the former king's ring. Titania remained steadfast in her leadership, and Ikaros remained...unsure.

He turned to look at the dragon, studying the handsome features before he looked back towards the towering everglades of the branch, "I've seen what soulbonds do. They frighten me."

[fyrenxsolon]

"I cannot honestly say how many of my kind are left," his heart still feels paralyzed with such guilt when he recalls the various dragon bones and the one pink scale he'd recovered when they'd traveled into the eluvian to salvage the prince and his traveling party. "But I know we have not given up on Avalon," Solon could not say that the few dragons he knew would be enough to face this threat, but often the pink dragon was more optimistic as opposed to being a pessimist and he would not entertain any idea of failure currently.

"No one has, but maybe there is a way not yet discovered," stated far too simply when it came to the horrid complications of war which they were yet to face. Each day Lusacan's power seemed to grow as more leaves fell from the Great Tree, and each day was a promise towards their demise and his chilling ascension back upon this world. Solon liked to believe, in his own draconic delusions, that such way had not ever been discovered simply because Solon had not been there when the Cataclysm was at its destructive peak. Such was the mindset of dragons, but he'd seen the remains of those who had gone against the dragon of Night and failed; Solon could only wonder what ambitious fight they had within themselves before they had been incinerated beneath his great maw.

Ikaros stood, and for once the pink dragon was relived to be stopped in his tracks from yappening. Normally so boisterous and charismatic, even Solon was appalled at how dreary this reunion had become and only he was to really blame for it. "A walk would be refreshing."

[ikarosx]

"I have looked...and most are within Blackrock. Away from the rest of us. I spoke to a Red dragon there, when we were approaching an old temple to Mythal." Ikaros thought of the ancient dragon that had stood guard, that had nearly destroyed them for entering. But the place itself was a sacred site, and had proved worthy. "As for Pink dragons...I'm not sure. Abelas has studied many of the creatures who are left here. But I will help you, Solon. Whatever you need from me." The prince usually didn't speak this much, figuring the dragon had the effect on him – he was usually content to listening.

Ikaros led the way towards the Glade, turning to look at Solon with a hint of lightheartedness in his mismatched eyes. A weight had easily been lifted now, speaking of his inner turmoil, understanding what the dragon went through – this had all become so...heavy. Ikaros didn't wish to burden him with more of that. "Now that you've resigned yourself to a walk with me, I'd rather hear about what you have been doing. Or what has...brought you joy here. I know it's not the same as what you left behind."

[fyrenxsolon]

"There is much I could talk about, but have been restlessly refraining from doing so!" Considering the pink dragon had yapped the entirety of the flight here, Ikaros had a big storm comin', but Solon did love to hear himself talk. "If the all-mother has sought you out, spoken to you, I say it is clear the fate of dragons and the Elvhen are intertwined." A weak smile was produced; as excited as Fyren was to heal what was fractured within Falon'din's Hollow, within the Laurelin and Avalon as a whole, the pink dragon did not wish to get ahead of himself and promise things he could not deliver. When they'd ventured towards the fractured eluvian of his home, he had no clue what awaited them on the other side, but Solon had never imagined it would have been Lusacan feeding off of the blighted energy within, waning the power of the great tree and tainting it with his essence. Such fact changed everything, but it did not entirely extinguish Solon's hope, just... rearranged his priorities.

Ikaros had seen the broken and blighted bits of what his home had been transmogrified into, and Solon easily spoke of what it once was; beautiful and mystic, enchanted by the way it melded with their reverence and respect of the dead, "Falon'Din's branch was always dark, but there was this radiant fire which seemed to be the hearth which warmed it from within. With Falon'Din's support, his connection, this radiance was enough for us, but the Elvhen have always been there, Ikaros. Dragons, Elvhen, we cannot be without one another, it's simply what has been and what will be." Even if Lusacan and the other Old God's influence had ruptured such tether in this lifetime, Solon was convinced now, from Mythal's message to Ikaros, that such time would be upon them again very soon.

The restoration of his branch was precious to him, but for now such determination could simmer within as a guiding fire, awaiting quietly to lead him towards what was next for him. They had been unprepared when they had met Lusacan's blighted gaze last and Solon would not be so clumsy next time around. Ikaros was beholden to the truth and Solon tried to hide his own smile as the prince stated how he wished for the other not to go, "Then I will stay for I wish not to go as well." He was certain Talisa was ensuring Nylathria was settled in by this point and didn't wish to disturb the seer with his yapping just yet anyhow.

[ikarosx]

"I don't think Avalon can survive this without the help of dragons." It was a lot to put on one species, but it was also no surprise the state of Avalon as of late. One branch was hanging on by a thread, and it had been so long since one had fallen, no one alive could remember the chaos that ensued after a branch was cleaved from the Laurelin. But the Prince heard the words of Mythal in his head, his pleading to save his brother's beloved Owlbear, and the price paid for it.

Falon'Din was a shadow of what Solon described. Fill with dragons and spirits and Elvhen, of the drow who were cleaved from the Light, of the Blighted obelisk and its twin in the Underdark, so much cleaved and forgotten, path ways that were shattered, it felt overwhelming to promise Solon anything. Lusacan sat within Falon'Din's Hollow, his tomb and now his resurrection. "No one could ever kill the Old Gods. The Legion can trap them, but how do you kill them?" It was a thought he had that he spoke out loud, not expecting the dragon to have any sort of answer for him. Still, the conversation was borderline depressing, so much reminiscence and trauma that bonded the pair making the Prince feel less confidence and was sure his sex appeal was taking a massive hit.

Ikaros turned now, looking at Solon before he stood up. "Do you want to walk with me to Mythal's Glade?"

[fyrenxsolon]

"I find this to be rather tame of me, so if you are to brood around me you should get used to the fact I can be far, far, far more optimistic than currently!" Solon became rather theatrical then for he had a feeling, much like Talisa, that Ikaros would feel rather unenthused as Solon did this which would bring the dragon a strange sense of delight. He'd always been rather zany, had been fond of telling the best jokes, and was often impossible to dilute this nature from him. In typical dragon fashion, too, finding out that he was vexing to another seemed to only, somehow, further inflate his innate arrogance and pride.

"I don't know, Ikaros, many dragons had come to your aid when you'd fallen into the eluvian of my branch." They likely had their own pursuit not relative to Prince Ikaros but the dragon did not mind inflating the ego of another, especially that of the prince. "Gwaern had delighted in tormenting many within Haven," said as an aside for he hadn't been sure, through his yappenings on the way here, if he'd told the prince of Gwaern's antics beside a random comment wedged into his ramblings throughout. Solon grinned wildly as Ikaros stated this of his character, though it was splintered with a forlorn sense. He'd not been himself when trapped with Aetheron; spiteful and almost malicious, he'd tried to be the voice in Talisa's ear to watch the magocratic empire crumble. Vaeros had beaten him to the punch, however, granted them freedom and Solon would offer his aid to the prismatic eternally for this as gratitude. "Is that your way of trying to rid yourself of me? I do have dozens more stories I could find that would keep you sated and even silence this brooding you say you're condemned with."

[ikarosx]

"Tame?" He laughed now, a sound that even surprised himself. Still, Ikaros found the solitude plus the addition of the dragon was more than doing wonders for his wounded soul. He knew dragons enjoyed being praised, or perhaps awed and flattered, and he could see it in the shine of Solon's dark eyes. Those dragons had come for the branch and for Titania, Ikaros knew he had little to do with it, but still – he was one of them who were desperate to fix what had been broken between their kinds. Dragons were once the Elvhen's closest friends and allies, and Ikaros didn't want to ruin the second chance they could possibly get. "Mythal spoke to me, once. When we went to Blackrock, in search of a cure. There are waters there, a pool deep within a temple." He turned to look at Solon now, "She spoke about how the time of the dragons is near. Whether or not that includes the Elvhen, well, I guess we'll have to wait and see." It could mean the massive dragon that awaited them behind the Eluvian in Mythal's Glade, a damning thing to even think about.

Ikaros rubbed a hand over his grin to try and hide it, but he couldn't – not at the idea that Gwaern had caused Solon just as much as anxiety as he did Ikaros. "Abelas and Vallas are the only two who make him behave. Otherwise, he spends his time stalking Saleba in the bushes." His gaze dropped to his hands that rested in his lap now, "I don't want you to leave," only honesty could leave his mouth, and he was unable to stop himself. "But I wouldn't force you to stay."

[fyrenxsolon]

Solon found great comfort when Ikaros recited these words, a smile growing on his expression, nodding solemnly. "Each leaf which falls from the great tree does not have to mean the end, plenty hope still lingers, and so long as I stand, there is protection offered to Avalon and each branch within it." Solon did not promise this lightly, and he meant it beyond any political measure of a prince talking with a dragon; simply, he was talking to Ikaros with no titles attached to the elvhen's name. "There will be a day where we no longer will have to rebuild and my only hope is that it is well within your reach," he could not promise that Ikaros would see it in his lifetime, but even Solon had to hope that the next hundred years would be enough to vanquish what had crept forth and tainted the great tree.

Ikaros promised similarly in return, even going so far as to seal such promise with a lingering touch, something which surprised Solon considering Ikaros' ability. The gravity of the situation was shown in such vulnerability and Solon appreciated such candor more than ever before. "The fact you are a great friend of many dragons is already a good start," as a dragon, Solon couldn't help but make it about himself, but he quieted his innate pride as he offered his own further shred of vulnerability. "Fyren, the elvhen warrior, this identity - he's so young, built off of this form I was forced into. The name was meant to erase me, much like the Kossith tried to erase you. But I've been rather tired of hiding, a mere decade has been enough of this. If we are to be in pursuit of the same missive, you should see to it that you address me correctly. Solon - that is my true name."

[ikarosx]

He had fourteen hundred years, give or take, unless the blight caught up to him as it had Yavanna. His grandmother hadn't been old, nearing sixteen hundred, and still – it hadn't been enough. Never enough time, and Ikaros simply wished to walk into the Eluvian and bring her back so she could get the burial she deserved. As it was, dragons lived for ages – if not in Ikaros' time, then perhaps it would be in Fyren's. "Are you always this annoyingly optimistic?" There was a lilt to Ikaros' voice, humor finally settling back into his voice. He didn't think he'd have a chance so soon, but there was more than enough sarcasm to go around between himself and the pink dragon.

"A great friend of many dragons? I think I've only counted a couple, and Gwaern has to love me, I've raised him." Ikaros huffed out a laugh, bringing his hand up to rub at his stubbled jaw. This would be easier if he didn't have such a strange feeling in his chest. "Solon," he echoed, like the name was right – and it was fitting. Still, the other had trusted him with this, a name that felt like it should be treasured and not contained. Aetheron had tried, and in Ikaros' mind, they'd failed to stop the shine of the pink dragon. While Falon'Din's Hollow remained closed off for now, perhaps there'd be a way once more. "They could never erase you, Solon. I fear you'd talk so much, they'd never get the chance to forget," he smiled a bit more now, though his mismatched eyes held sincerity – he knew what he was entrusted with. "I release you from my brooding, by the way. I swear I'm not always this miserable of company."

[fyrenxsolon]

Solon stilled at that, three solemn words, which encapsulated the weight of everything Ikaros had witnessed and further endured. He did not think that Ikaros choosing to reside in Avalon for some time was the cowards way; community was important and so often Solon vied for more dragons to be discovered, for his community to grown as it had once been. The elvhen were an extension of a more harmonious past, but it was not truly the same and Solon was grateful to know that Ikaros had many throughout Avalon who would support him through each cruel sliver of darkness that tried to entrap the prince.

"If you can believe it, I quite admire the sound of your voice as well," a touch of humor though drenched in truth, for in this polymorph even Solon could not lie. It was as much gratitude as Solon could express without it feeling so heavy; to know that Ikaros trusted the pink dragon with these tenebrous secrets, was something Solon couldn't wholly express, but the pink dragon did his best.

When Ikaros gave him the floor to speak, of course Solon took the opportunity in stride, though his own smile was edged with a splinter of sadness, "I long ago made an oath to follow Light, long before the meaning of such principles became twisted. If I fall to despair, it only lets this wickedness triumph; the world cant be preserved if we let our own courage within die." The pink dragon paused; so much of this oath was indelibly tied to Falon'din, the spirits of the Fade, those who had indeed become corrupted simply because they let despair triumph. "The world is so different from when I first greeted it, darkness more rampant than ever. I did not choose this path because it was easy, I chose it because I can't let this hatred and this fury win. Those who hurt me, who hurt the other dragons, and corrupted this life, my story is not yet finished with them." A silent promise but one that would follow something emulative of justice rather than pure destruction that was hellbent on pain.

[ikarosx]

Ikaros didn't think that this was the worst anyone had ever suffered in their life. His time with the Kossith had fractured his mind, pieced together until he found himself again, in a dream state that he still didn't understand, and perhaps never would. The Elvhen crossed his arms over his chest, listening now to Fyren. The dragon had been through more than the Prince could imagine, made to suffer by being severed from his own time, his own home, and still – Ikaros felt like he didn't know the half of it. He'd give the other the space and time to speak about it if he ever wanted, a place reserved for a quiet understanding as the ever brooding Prince was known for.

"As long as the Laurelin stands...." he echoed something Abelas said often, "then there's hope." It was hard for him to believe it, but the sincerity of the pink dragon beside him seemed to ease the tension from his shoulders, "I can never promise safety in Avalon. Maybe once I could have." But the darkness crept from the Eluvian, a reminder of what they'd faced within, "But I would see that nothing and no one seeks to do to you and the others what has been done before." There was Gwaern to think of, of the other dragons that had been welcomed into Avalon, and the one who found him washed ashore, "I swear it, Fyren." He didn't normally reach out, someone who could activate his ability by touch alone, but he wished for it to be conveyed. Emotions swirled in Ikaros' chest, so many colors and visions, and the idea that he could hopefully build himself back up into someone that was worthy of the belief given to him.

[fyrenxsolon]

Ikaros had been on the fortunate side of this friendship until now - he'd never had the opportunity to hear the pink dragons many jokes! A disservice, but one Solon had made up for on the journey back to Avalon. This time, through the recovery of the prince, there was no Old God to sprout conflict and chaos, no intemperate eluvian that pressured them to make haste. Pockets of forests and Lysaran civilizations beneath them, Solon's wings were this massive fixture behind them. As Avalon greeted them, Ikaros was practically swept up in various reunions, all adamant to see the future Avalonian king.

Solon was to make his way back to the Silverlands, check if Talisa had made her way back from Haven, when Ikaros met up with him once more, even going as far to seclude an area for them to simply be. Maybe some small part of Solon had figured Ikaros would be bombarded with further royal duties, vie to see friends who had anxiously awaited his return, and a small part of the dragon, arrogance only lightly tempered when next to the prince, felt surprise that Ikaros had asked him to stay.

Silence had shrouded them in this little pocket of Avalon, a shocking thing considering how much Solon had yapped Ikaros' ear off on the journey; but even now, the pink dragon could see the exhaustion which lined handsome features and even he could practice restraint.

"Your sense of self is strong, Ikaros, even the Kossith cannot erase who you are." A testament of Ikaros' resolve, a trait that proved how worthy he was to bear the title of prince, even if it was something weary to continuously uphold. He did not envy Ikaros nor did he pity him, but what he felt bordered a line of reverence. "You may take mind not to walk this path alone so often, though?" A mild suggestion, offered with a faint smile. So many would come to fight for Ikaros if only the prince did not figure he had to venture by himself to handle things. "We cannot do all the good the world needs of us, but it certainly needs all the good we have to offer." Everything Ikaros could attempt or provide for Avalon - and Taravell as a whole -would always be enough, even if the prince currently did not feel such way.

[ikarosx]

Ikaros couldn't speak on how often he needed to be alone. How difficult it was to be weighed with what he'd seen, what he could possibly see, and how he'd just been measuring the amount he could take with the insurance that he could also suppress his ability. Even still, he was gentle and sparing with how much he'd put his hand on Solon. On the dragon's back, he'd sat up straight, his hands curved into fists as they'd rested on his thighs, sometimes slipping to feel the smoothness of the pink dragon's scales, other times worried he'd been too greedy and a vision of the dragon's future would haunt him.

"They did, Fyren," he said quietly, like he didn't wish to admit this to anyone else. He gathered himself and explained it all to the other beside him – every moment, the way he'd been blindfolded, the push of every vision taking over his mind and sense of self until he'd forgotten everything except what he was forced to know. It was not done for pity – the prince would hate that, but for a quiet understanding.

"I don't think I should leave Avalon for long," he murmured after his story had settled, but a tired smile finally pushed onto his features, "Thank you – for listening to me." In five centuries, he didn't think he'd been in a position like this before. Lusacan so close to their doorstep, and Aetheron outside of it, he didn't wish to press – however, he knew that Fyren would understand, far more than anyone else. "How do you do it, then? See the good in this world? When the past tried to take it all from you?"

[abelasx]

Abelas was running before his erratic mind could catch up to him - hat flying off in the distance as Violet was jolted awake from beneath it and made to hang on for dear life. Tearing through the crowd of stinky people, he threw his body around his brother. He'd been prepared to go to the ends of the earth to find him, whatever it took - but Ikaros came back of his own accord.

"It's gone," Abelas said as he held up his hand, "brother-" a pair of earthy eyes, so damp that Abelas might drown, found his brother's. "lets go home." Elris would be waiting, the entirety of Avalon would, in fact, be waiting and the work was not yet finished - but they had time enough to celebrate.

Abelas threw his arms around Ikaros again, this time with a grip so tight he might just squeeze the life out of him.

[ikarosx]

Ikaros held onto Abelas, the steady body and presence of his chaotic brother something that nearly filled the cavernous hole in the prince's chest. How often had he'd forgotten, how little he could remember, but he never truly let go of the feeling. He breathed in the scent of the woods, of the trees and the fey, it always clung to his brother like a second skin, no longer pushed away from his heart by the ring that was now gone from his hand.

"I missed you," he said after a moment, words quiet enough between them as he squeezed his eyes shut. He'd never be able to walk such a path laid out before him without Abelas. The path that he'd been forced upon as of late didn't bring him hope, knowing his brother was struggling with the weight of what had been on his hand. He pulled away after a moment, taking Abelas' wrist in his hand as he looked at the space the ring had taken up, "How? Are you well?"

[fyrenxsolon]

Solon hadn't been sure that Ikaros had actually known that word - please - so they were a touch surprised, nodding solemnly after a moment. "As you wish," there was always time to talk about it, though Ikaros was not often known for much talking, and he'd let the Prince have his secrets, his traumas, to keep for himself; the dragon would not force him to talk of anything for he was certain it would not unlock even the mildest truth about the Kossith who were still such a mystery to the world. Fyren stepped several paces back, and where once the handsome elvhen was, there a pink dragon erupted in his place, grand wings and iridescent pink scales coming forth. Solon spoke, though the pink dragon loved to talk, he was with little words now - though Ikaros' ears may bleed on the journey to Avalon for there was no stopping the dragon from yapping once they took flight.

[ikarosx]

Ikaros had listened to everything the dragon had said, every bit of information offered, every joke, every little hint about what Gwaern had been up to – it soothed the prince in a way that his manipulated soul needed. He drank it in, all of it, his hands steady on pink scales that were perhaps the biggest source of comfort the Elvhen needed. The return to Avalon had been loud – so much at once – it had been overwhelming. His rescuer, the dragon, hadn't been far off, and Ikaros found himself craving the steady presence. But as the world had quieted, after he'd done what he needed to – false smiles and the posture of a future king – he'd taken to the bench in the garden of Arvandoril that his grandmother had planted for her pegasus.

It was quiet, closed off on Ikaros' request, and saved for the dragon and prince who sat upon it now. Ikaros wasn't sure how long they sat, but Ikaros looked down at his hands, mismatched eyes fixed on the ground in front of him as he thought of all he saw. "There were moments I could remember. That I wasn't meant to be what they wanted me to. I saw so much, over and over again." Forced to speak it, say it so it could come to pass. Until he'd become himself again. "I'm not sure who or what answered, what broke me from it. Thank you for taking care of Gwaern. For talking with Saleba. I always have so much to lose, and so little power to protect it all."