#barume

[willxia1]

@UmeBurger Double Ume Burger Signature Double #Beef Pattie, #Wagyu #MinceSauce, #Bacon, Truss Tomato, Onion, Mayo and Double #AmericanCheese You gotta pop into #BarUme as they are the #Winners of @timeoutsydney Food Awards 2017 for Cheap Eats and I gotta tell you, it’s totally worth it. #UmeBurger #MealForAMeal #OishiiBoys (at Bar Ume)

[markhor-fr]

A Walk in Darkness (Part 1)

@silverspun-fr @fr-lutielle

Conrad had set out months ago to find Irene, afraid she had been swallowed up by some terrible fate. The resistance he met when he found her new clan did nothing to allay his suspicions.

He had been rudely greeted by their border patrol and removed of his weapon before he was allowed to enter. Now, after a long wait he was given an audience with a grizzled old pearlcatcher whose pearl had been formed into a heavy mace, a young female pearlcatcher with a windchime hanging from one ear, and an enormous black imperial. He was flanked by two large wildclaws, and off to his left, parallel to the young female pearlcatcher was a heavily robed skydancer with his sleeves rolled up. 

The imperial was the very image of suspicion, but the grizzled pearlcatcher was the one in charge, and he was far more relaxed.

“Please explain to me how you know Irene and why exactly you are here,” the pearlcatcher asked him.  

The question was spoken in such a way that Conrad felt inclined to answer him, rather than continue his more aggressive arguing.

“I am from a small whale hunting clan in the Southern Icefield. Some seasons ago I was lost at sea and washed up on the shores of the Starfall Isles. Irene was the one who found me and convinced her clan to nurse me back to health and send me home. During that time we became close and I told her I would seek to come and visit her. We traded letters for some time, until suddenly the letters stopped, save for one from her old caretaker saying she had moved to another clan. 

They refused to tell me exactly where she had gone, only that she was. They had never thought all that much of her, so I was concerned for her well being. I scoured her letters again for clues of where she may have gone. I ran across a reference to your Everlasting Circle and their willingness to train battle mages.

Rather than being comforted I was naturally very distressed at the thought of her being sent out to battle and traveled as swiftly as I could to find her,” he explained to the pearlcatcher. The pearlcatcher nodded in understanding. Conrad noticed movement out of his left eye as he told his story. The skydancer was making hand motions to the female pearlcatcher as he spoke. 

“That is a very noble reason to come calling. We will speak with Irene and verify your story. You must understand that we are very protective of our members, especially the more vulnerable ones, such as Irene. So we must be sure that you really are who you say you are. Can you give us something to help her verify your identity?” the pearlcatcher asked. Conrad had no trinkets and Irene’s blindness made using his appearance cumbersome.

“My name is Conrad, but Irene always called me “Kurdie”. And if that is not enough, I explained to her that the strange sound she loved so much was the clattering of pigeon wings,” he said, voice rising from a hesitant confession to a passionate declaration.

A glance from the old pearlcatcher sent the female and skydancer out of the room.

“They will speak with Irene. If she verifies your story, she will be brought to see you. If not, you will be sent away and if you try to return, you will not get as far,” the imperial warned him on behalf of his leader.

Conrad sat in brooding silence for what seemed like an eternity. If he had been a fighter no doubt he would have been hatching an escape plan, but he was not and these dragons all were. He had been told more than once that he was bold to the point of foolishness, but he had not believed it until now. His pensive brooding was shattered by a hesitant call.

“Kurdie?” came the familiar voice. He looked up and saw Irene being assisted into the room, her smaller, three fingered arms clutching at her cloak like they always did when she was nervous. 

“Irene!” Conrad rose to his feet, but checked when he remembered his guards. They stepped aside wordlessly and he ran over to her. “Irene,” he said again as he approached her, warning her of his approach. She looked very well cared for, happier than she had been when he last saw her.

He took her hands, guiding one up to his face. As she stroked his face, her own lit up in recognition. Her smaller hands dropped her cloak and instead pressed against his chest in a gesture of joy.

“It is you!” she cried. 

“Yes, yes it is. I came to find you when your old clan wouldn’t tell me what happened to you. I was worried they had sent you somewhere terrible,”he whispered, holding her tightly.

“They must have burned my last letter, and refusing to tell you the truth on top of it. I sent my first letter from here only a short while ago, it must have arrived after you left your home,” Irene considered.

“I am glad to find you in good health, do you like it here?”

“Oh yes. They treat me very well and are trying to figure out how I can pursue my dream of becoming a battle mage. I refuse to let them lower the standards for me,” she bubbled happily.

“I do worry a bit about that, I will admit,” Conrad said.

“Don’t. We won’t put her in any situation she can’t handle,” her guide said to him. 

“Oh, this is Dyad,” Irene introduced Conrad to the female Guardian, “she helps me with anything I need.”

“Not that she needs much help,” Dyad commented.

“I’m grateful that you look after her so well,” Conrad thanked Dyad. Dyad inclined her head in response, but said nothing else. 

“The real question though, is are you going to stay here?” Irene asked him. Conrad had not really considered the possibility that Irene would be happy where he found her. His head been so filled with visions of terrible fates and fear for her well being he had not thought about what he would do if he found her well. But he did not need to think about his answer.

“If they will let me, I will stay.” 

[willxia1]

@UmeBurger Double #Bacon #CheeseBurger Double #Beef Patty, Crispy #Bacon, Onions, #AmericanCheese, Rice Vinegar Pickles and Umes Special Sauce Throwing back to when we feasted at Bar Ume and was presented with this beauty. #UmeBurger #BarUme #Zomato #ZomatoAus #mealforameal #OishiiBoys (at Bar Ume)

[markhor-fr]

In light of the Q&A answer about scrolled PC pearls, here’s a quick rundown of the interesting pearl lore in my clan.

Barume is natural born and uses his pearl as a mace in battle. He’s even formed it to have spikes.

Tracery is natural born and uses his pearl to scry the future.

Serenia is scrolled and her initial object for her pearl with the remains of the scatterscroll that made her beautiful.

Visia is scrolled and her pearl is sort of misshapen and pockmarked because of her alchemy accidentally getting splashed on it.  

Orphne is scrolled and her pearl is abnormally small because she is so timid she rarely makes memories and therefore rarely adds to her pearl.

Stelt is scrolled and doesn’t have a pearl because he didn’t care to make one.

Ravenea is natural born and has actually split his pearl into several and does juggling tricks (including the kind you see in the movie Labyrinth) with them. He does this mostly to play up his image.

It’s rumored that Sylvestrin leaves his pearl with Benedictine because it’s too hard to sneak around the way he does with his pearl. Benedictine may or may not allow the clan hatchlings to play with it.

[markhor-fr]

“And the wind and the rain

sing songs to the flowers

beneath the silver skies-”

Safir was reading poetry to Tracery, trying to put him in a positive state of mind before the news was finally broken to him. What she didn’t know, was that the announcement was already old news to him. That was the life of a prophet, you knew even what you didn’t want to.

Visia and Barume entered the Infirmary. Visia was all aglow. She had been blessed with a primary today and this was the first time she was seeing him since he was injured. She hugged him and nuzzled him gently. Safir primly closed her book and set it aside.  Barume waited for the lovers to calm down before saying anything. After they had settled down, he spoke,

“Lalea was sent away to live with a group of exiles yesterday evening. She will not return. Your grandsons grew up yesterday too. Two had their Exaltations, I’m sorry you couldn’t attend. Moonrise is a promising boy though.” Tracery could feel the growing tension as everyone waited for Barume to tell Tracery what he already knew. He decided to break the tension himself.

“That is good news. Perhaps Moonrise will be willing to help his flightless grandfather get around.” His attempt at lightness fell flat. There was stunned silence. Visia tried not to cry and failed. Barume looked sharply at Safir.

“You let him have his pearl?” Safir looked incensed and gestured towards Tracery’s cot.

“Of course not. Does he look like he has his pearl? We kept it away from him just like you asked,” she said. Tracery was stroking Visia’s head as she cried. Barume looked at Tracery sadly.

“I forgot how powerful you really are. How long have you known?” He asked.

“Since a moment before the first strike landed. I’m sorry the rest of you had to wait so long to find out. I’ve already grieved it in my heart, but now I have to watch all of you grieve too. I will assure you all that I can live with it. It is better than what would have been,” Tracery said. Visia made an effort to calm herself. If he could live with it, so could she. 

“It is my understanding that you are well enough to start sleeping in your own den again. Although I would encourage you to continue to rest, if anything just to help the rest of us adjust,” Barume said. Safir nodded in affirmation. Tracery got up, Visia followed suit. 

“I will be glad to be back in more comfortable surroundings.” Tracery said, then added to Safir, “Not that your company has been unenjoyable. In fact, may I have that book of poems, I rather like them.” Safir smiled and proffered the book. Visia took it before Tracery could.

“I’ll carry it, my love. It’s the least I can do for you,” she said. He smiled and they left the Infirmary together. Barume watched them go, then remarked to Safir,

“I can’t imagine what it would be like, knowing the consequences of every action or inaction and constantly waiting for reality to catch up to what you know.”

 In response, Safir recited a poem,

“The devastation precedes the wildfire,

eggs hatch before they are laid,

petals fall before the flowers bloom,

and I cannot love you,

for you have already broken my heart.”

[markhor-fr]

Barume went down to the Infirmary to visit Tracery, who was still recovering from his recent attack by Lalea. He chatted with him about the day’s news.

“So the last Nocturne hatchling from Trandafir and Larimar’s clutch found a new home,” he said and paused when Tracery showed considerable interest in this tidbit.

“What Flight is the new clan?” He said, sitting up as much as he could. Barume blinked at him, since this was a question Tracery never asked.

“Nature, I’m pretty sure. The emissary wasn’t Nature, but...” He trailed off as Tracery visibly cringed.

“What? What’s wrong?” He asked, wondering if his friend had hurt himself trying to sit up. Tracery covered his head with his hands.

“That hatchling is going to kill me,” was all he said. Barume couldn’t get any more out of him and when Larimar saw his patient was distressed he chased him out anyway. 

“What on Sornieth did Tracery mean by that?” Barume asked himself as he left.

[markhor-fr]

Tracery had awoken with the feeling that today would be special, but he wasn’t expecting it to be nearly as eventful as it became. He rose early, knowing that there was a nest hatching today and in this clan, the nest always hatched early in the morning.

The gathering for the presentation was quite small. Most of the clan was either still sleeping or out attending to their duties. He had a strange, out-of-place sense of foreboding. He tried to reason out why, surely there would be nothing wrong with hatchlings? His pearl told him that wasn’t it. Would the parents not accept the results of his scrying? No, this was Larimar and Trandafir, perfectly reasonable dragons with plenty of experience with every scrying result. He didn’t have time to pursue more lines of thought, it was time. 

Trandafir was abuzz with excitement. Her primary had recently been changed thanks to a blessing and this was the first nest since then. She flew ahead of Larimar, who was carrying the hatchlings on his giant snout. Four of them. Trandafir landed and Larimar touched his chin to the earth, allowing the hatchlings onto the ground in front of Tracery and Barume.

The first to approach him was a female Imp and he did not have to scry her future. She was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. He looked at Barume and merely tapped his pearl once, not bothering to trace any of the grooves. Barume nodded in silent agreement. The navy, pink, navy female would do the clan proud. Although Vesmir would be disappointed to learn she had no magical aptitude. 

A male Nocturne and Imp followed, both had similar colors and shared similar fates. They would find new homes. Tracery felt that for certain.

Tracery turned to the last hatchling, never assuming that two exceptional hatchlings would be born in the same clutch. He also had never assumed that a second rebirth would occur in such a short time. He looked at the tiny Nocturne for a moment before realizing he was entirely wrong. This was none other than Tomalet, their progenitor who had left them when the clan grew too peaceful for her tastes. He was about to announce the wonderful news to the clan when her fierce, old eyes, so incongruous in her young face, caught his. She stared him down and dared him to announce her rebirth. She wanted to go to another, fiercer clan and serve a fiercer god. "Is something wrong, Tracery? You haven't begun scrying," Barume asked, looking at him quizzically. Tracery shook his head and made a show of scrying the hatchling's future. He tapped the pearl three times and since this was the last hatchling, Barume took his cue, announcing the fates of the hatchlings. The wise, old eyes looked satisfied. Tracery vowed to keep this to himself. However, there was one other who was also aware of the truth. The retired clan leader, and Tomalet's old mate, Ennessar. He looked at the hatchling with sad eyes. He knew it was her, but he also knew that she had never intended to stay. 

Then, after Barume had announced the female Imp’s fate he began to tell Trandafir and Larimar how they ought to be proud to have such a beautiful daughter. Tracery reacted to the sound of Lalea’s outrage and jealousy before he actually heard it. He leapt on top of the female Imp to protect her before he could comprehend his own actions. 

Lalea came tearing in from one of the passages, where she had been listening. Her words were incomprehensible, but her actions were not. She began tearing at Tracery’s wings and back, trying to get to the hatchling. Apparently, Trandafir having such a beautiful daughter so soon after her own failure was too much for her. Barume, being a battle veteran was the first to react to Lalea’s actual appearance. He grabbed his staff (for his pearl is set in a staff for battle) and with brutal accuracy swung it with a crack into Lalea’s side. She went flying and Ennessar caught her in midair, pinning her gently between his huge claws. He held her, awaiting Barume’s orders. 

It was another moment before Tracery, bleeding from serious wounds on his back, lifted himself off of the hatchling and allowed her to run to her mother. Barume ordered the hatchlings taken somewhere safe and for Larimar to attend to Tracery’s wounds before he turned his attention to Lalea. He addressed her as she struggled in an attempt to free herself from Ennessar’s hold.

“I’m very disappointed, Lalea. I was going to order that a mate be found for you, like we did for Hortensie. However, I cannot let an attack on my second in command go unanswered. Much less an attack on a helpless hatchling. You no longer have a place here. I still wish to give you every chance, so I will seek a new clan for you first, before I do anything else. For now, you will be held in the cell that was never intended to hold a member of our clan. Ennessar, please take her there now. Larimar will attend her later.” With that, he turned away to go and check on his best friend.

Tracery was in excruciating pain. Lalea had managed to tear his wings in several places. Larimar was trying to keep positive, but had doubts about whether Tracery would ever fly again. Instead of saying anything about that though, he thanked Tracery for the selfless act of protecting his daughter. Maybe when Riallainn arrived and could ply her magic, the prognosis would be more positive.      

[markhor-fr]

On the very rare occasion Tracery did not need to refer to his pearl to determine the future of a hatchling. Every time this had happened before it was due to a very unfortunate coloration or because the hatchling already desired exaltation. The result was the same either way. However, this time was the exception.

Riallainn was presenting her offspring, Tracery had just turned to the final hatchling and was reaching for his pearl. Then he stopped and retracted his hand. Then, surprisingly, he spoke.

“I see you decided to come back to us. This time, it seems obvious you are here for good. Welcome home.” The clanmembers sat in stunned silence, looking from the hatchling to Tracery and then at each other. All of them hoped someone else knew what was happening. Barume questioned him,

“What do you mean, Tracery? Who is this?” Tracery smiled a rare smile and stroked the hatchling’s head.

“You remember those two dragons who came to our borders, wanting to be trained and exalted to Glade Mother? A Mirror and a Skydancer by the name of Grape. This is Grape, she’s come back to us. The Glade Mother sent her back to stay,” he explained. The room exploded with chatter and excitement. Barume silenced the room with a single gesture and turned to the hatchling.

“Welcome back. Do you wish to retain your old name or do you want a new one?” 

“New one!” The hatchling squeaked. Barume smiled and remembered that Grape had always felt a little dislike for her name.

“What would you like to be called?” The hatchling scrunched up her face in deep concentration for a few moments before smiling wide and squeaking her new name.

“Maiden!” Barume nodded approvingly and looked over at Riallainn, who was slightly awed by the whole situation and just a little proud. Riallainn noticed his gaze and nodded in agreement that the name was a good one.

“An excellent name. Everyone, we must celebrate the return of our beloved friend and clanmate. Please welcome, Maiden!”