Sarye and Imtithal 7
Mar. 26th, 2010 03:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leticiaThis was going to be the funniest log ever, but it was too long for a single post. So the funny part will be tomorrow's.
Imtithal soars upwards, not yet wrapping herself in the shadows the armor can produce. She only goes maybe thirty feet into the air, flapping her great white and gold wings to follow Sarye on the ground.
The ground is uneven, a slightly weathered flow of lava. Vents and the openings to lava tubes hiss steam and sulfurous smoke to either side. Imtithal avoids the columns of foul air as she flies forward.
Sarye carefully threads the vents, occasionally leaping Corona and Aurora over one. The deep instincts of the mighty simhata allow them to dodge and weave further and further in. Sarye opens his mind to the singing and the Song, harmonizing as best he can with the volcanic terrain.
The heat intensifies as they ride deeper in, and ahead, a ring of coarse pillars - oddly, basalt, out of place among the more slowly cooled rocks that are native to the desert - granite, gabbro, and diorite. Open vents of lava and flame surround the structure. As yet, no beast has shown.
Sarye tunes the filters of his battle armor carefully, compensating for the flashes of flame, as he scans for unusual leavings or movement, watching the violent earth and flame dance with wary desert eyes.
There are definitely tracks of something large... trailing bits of igneous rocks in and out of the magma pools, like the water at the edge of a bath, marking long, serpentine paths away before fading back to the 'native' stone. Something large likes those lava pits.
Sarye increases the volume of his song, singing the verse containing the "beast's fiery lair" repeatedly at Imtithal's absence, hoping to cue her in as he turns back towards Aurora, and whispers for her to wait carefully to close the trap, as he and Corona begin to circle the pits. Aurora will be relatively safe in the shelter he left her, and will be available to turn a flight, if need be.
Aurora snorts indignantly at Sarye, pawing the stone where she waits, ears at full alert. Imtithal hovers briefly over her mount, then flies ahead, dodging at the last moment a flare out of one of the vents she's soaring over.
As Sarye moves forward, still singing, Corona bucks a little, reacting first as a great lizard's head starts pushing out of one of the magma vents.
Sarye continues to circle around, hoping to be able to create a linear lock between where the beast is emerging and where Aurora is waiting, alert. Despite his caution, though, he is incautious as to his intentions. He sings high, and strong, the flame of the sun crackling in his voice. An impudent welcome, to be sure, but a welcome-- a calling for a creature of flame to feel the warmth of the all-giving sun, to feel the strength of fellowship under the bonds of essence and friendship-- cousins, to be sure, but kinship of a sort.
The salamander, if that is what it is, sheds red hot stone, droplets which cool as they strike the surrounding stone, as it clambers out of the lava pool. The dripping magma reveals its lovely scales, of many igneous stones, arranged in colorful patterns. It pauses at the edge of the pool and looks at Sarye as he sings.
If it is an intelligent being, if gives no sign now, uttering a piercing, screaming high pitched roar, and pulling its hind legs and long tail slowly out of the pit.
Sarye holds the Cutter in low guard, but leaves it Warhymn off for the moment. He sings again; sings off the inspiration of flame. Not the consuming flame of the wild and broken earth, but flame as humans have made it-- generative, life-giver. Spawner of civilizations, master over cold night and light-source in the first darknesses. He sings, in hope, for hope, too, is a flame under the sun-- to hope to see and hope to hear some response-- some hint of what his compatriot has said is the true nature of the Salamander.
The beast's claws scrabble on the stone, like enormous obsidian knives cutting grooves in the rock. The tip of its lashing tail bears a barb, almost like a scorpion's sting, and its eyes are deeply glowing orbs of fire. It has a loveliness to its sinuous form and its incredible scales, but that ends with its eyes. As Sarye continues to sing, it screams again, sound almost ...pained, and as fire flares from the vent behind it, it glares at its 'tormentor'.
Whatever it is that bothered the beast about Sarye's song, it charges towards him, the tail lifting overhead. Though its scales are made of stone, it moves swiftly and with no evidence of stiffness, the overlaying rocky scales sliding over each other with barely more than a whisper.
The creature itself, however, continues screaming repeatedly as it charges him, and tries to rear up and pull him off Corona with its front claws, a pair of swift grabbing motions with the obsidian pincers. Its tail lashes up over its head as if to sting or buffet him - if it can catch him.
Sarye sweeps the Singing Crystal Cutter out of low guard to high, a careful distance from his helm, but aligned with the bridge of his nose. Corona rears back, and Sarye ignites the fury of the Cutter's Warhymn. As its song joins his own, they cry forth to the Unconquered Sun in his aspect of Battle-Master as the power of the holy radiance of Sarye's armor envelops him in crystallized polygons of glittering essence, distraction and guard, while his blade slashes through the air, the whirring crystal blades humming defiantly in response to the creature's assaults, whistling as it defends.
The beast did not strike Sarye, but this does not stop it; as its forefeet land heavily on the stone again, the heat of its body almost softening the rock it lands on and leaving imprints as in snow, it reaches out with the front claws again, trying to cut Sarye's mount from under him with one vicious blow.
Sarye's song grows somewhat fever-pitched; Sarye is far more worried about the safety of Corona than himself. He wheels his broad orichalcum kite shield down desperately to intercept as Corona leaps with feline agility, using a toxic vent of an especially particulate nature to twist away from the beast's attack, clouding sight.
Imtithal, at the same time, shrieks and aims her flamepieces down from the sky, shouting, "Leave them alone!" She doesn't have catchy battle slogans yet, but at least it's heart felt, and she fires as the beast moves; flame may do little good, but this is solar-essence generated flame, and she hopes it will do ...something
Corona skitters to the side, avoiding the claw entirely with the help of Sarye's sword, but Imtithal, as usual, can't hit the broad side of a salamander, and her flame lances just score the earth.
Sarye quietly urges Corona to baffle the beast with speed and cleverness, whistling for Aurora to join them now that they have the beast's full attention. With multiple attackers, the clawed queen might be able to strike without it knowing. As Corona rides back and forth, darting carefully to confuse the beast's motion, Sarye sings forth with the Cutter once more. He strikes at joints and stabs at the layering of scales, seeking weaknesses to end the battle swiftly. His voice rises with the attack, pitching to add controlled dissonance and deadly tempo as the mighty blade cuts out four times across the scaled hide.
Imtithal snarls; from her vantage in the air, she can see the beast attacking the simhata; she's not worried about /Sarye/ in his massive armor, but Corona is another matter. To improve her aim, she dives sharply, falling from the sky like a stone just to snap her wings open and fire from 'point blank range' of only a few yards, again using both guns, and, in the same motion as she fires, soaring back up.
The salamander has been balked at both its targets, and it hisses before lashing with its tail at the rider again - and following that, this time, with one claw swipe; if the tail is venomed as warned, perhaps it hopes to snag a weakened target from the saddle.
One of Imtithal's shots manages to graze a scale, letting burning blood leak out. No other blows meet their targets in meaningful way.
Sarye nods as his sword cuts from side to side, forcing the beast to open wide when its tail slash is parried. Coming up and around, the scything arc of the Singing Crystal Cutter lashes for the right flank of the Salamander, flashes of his brilliant Solar aurora melding with the constant, steady heat of the Celestial Battle armor. Corona still defends himself primarily, but makes a sudden lunge when Sarye thrusts, adding weight and speed to the Exalt's solitary strike. The roar of power around Sarye, though, is anything but subtle. Crackling above him, a second simhata, like to Corona as a father, roars silently-- a phantom of essence. But its claw strikes hard along with Sarye's, its fiery motions following him, guiding him towards the beast's hind leg with the fury of a crusading juggernaut.
Aurora reaches the scene at the same time as her mistress makes another dive. The charging simhata syncs her motion with the flying Night, and for a moment, as Imtithal flies horizontally to the ground towards the back of the monster, she could almost be riding the simhata. Then the Exalt fires, and breaks upwards, turning towards the sky as swift as the flame jet to her left, while Aurora rears up and tries to strike her claws deep into the back of the beast.
The furious beast lunges with both claws, as if it would bodily bear Sarye off the simhata's back and into a pool of magma beyond. It lashes out with both claws.
Although his skills are sufficient to ward off the first assault for the moment, Sarye takes no chances. Essence surges and the mighty sun-simhata roars again, gladdening his heart and Corona's as impenetrable essence forms around his blade and casts back the claws of the massive beast back towards its owner.
Sarye recovers from the momentary burst of energy, and dances around with brilliant skill, singing to the enraged monster as Corona faithfully charges this way and that, baffling. Only a momentary surge in the muscles of his simhata betray the moment when Sarye twists to carve with his blade-- another barrage of scything, slicing cuts, first slashing for the neck joint-- to the left, then to the right, and when its guard moves high, he cuts low, sweeping up with a bass tone pure and deep from the Cutter as he assaults the belly, then slices in between the salamander's pectorals.
Imtithal soars in a vast loop through the sulfur-stained sky, roaring back down with the golden thread on her wings leaving streaks of light from her speed. The desert air tugs at her robes as she soars -through- Sarye's iconic anima, firing down as she emerges from the mouth of the enormous simhata, the jets of flame looking for all the world as if the simhata was breathing flame upon Sarye's enemies.
The great beast is sorely wounded, and yet has a strange madness in its flaming eyes; though it moves at a fraction the speed it did before being cut and burned and slashed, it still, again, makes one more, much weakened try, to tear Sarye from his saddle.
Sarye continues to cut, left and right, continuing the blizzard barrage of the Cutter's ever-slicing crystal spines. They flex and slash in his defense, snapping into the attacking claws even as Corona continues his dazzling feline dance, bursts of equine speed allowing the partnership to trap the Salamander's attacks within their combined defense.
Aurora dances back to make sure her mistress is fine as she loops back up, leaving the wounded beast to Sarye and his mount for the moment.
Imtithal lands on Aurora's back as the simhata races under her, letting the wings fold down at her sides and guiding the lovely lion-horse back across the treacherous ground towards Sarye and Corona, her flamepieces up and ready to shoot as she aims over the back of Aurora's head.
Battering away the beast's defenses, Sarye makes use of Aurora's distraction. Like an enraged sirocco, Corona picks up speed and dashes around the beast. Sarye levers the rapidly spinning spines along the Cutter's length to slice in a wave motion with the spinning, flensing at the igneous flesh of before him. With each circulation he cuts closer and closer before Corona and he actually slam into it-- not another attack, but using the beast's body to lever out and away.
Sarye's fury slices clean through the scales, again and again, as he all but chops the salamander into bits. The tail slides backwards, lashing in the beast's deaththroes, and slips down into one of the magma pits.
Sarye breaks his song, cursing. Corona, however, is piqued-- that's a TOY that's getting out of reach. Before Sarye can stop his irritated mount, the massive lion-horse rushes forwards, attempting to hook one of its foreclaws into the tail and grasp it at the last second, while his hind legs push off and take air to surmount the pit and leap to the other side.
Imtithal lowers her flamepieces as Sarye hacks the maddened beast to pieces. She looks somewhat sad. "A pity," she says, as she gets closer to him. "I would have loved to talk to a salamander, had it been anything like the stories said."
Sarye shakes his head sadly as Corona drags the tail over, batting it back and forth. The Cutter cleans itself easily, and he sheathes it behind himself. "I sang for a moment, and there was something there... but my song failed."
Imtithal shrugs. "It is what it is. Tell Corona to stop playing with it, and let's have a look at these pillars, shall we? I suspect that's the manse." She shrugs and sticks her flamepieces back into the silk armor, urging Aurora a little forward past the males.
Sarye leaps down from Corona's back and swats gently at the great beast's paws. After sternly rebuking Corona's rebelliousness, he retrieves the tail and coils it, careful of the stinger, around one gold-clad arm. He walks alongside Corona to follow her this time, whispering quietly to the tall simhata.
Imtithal looks over her shoulder and shakes her head one last time, then rides forward. "Trophies?" she comments, dryly, as she cautiously edges Aurora to the edge of the pillars.
The area surrounded by the pillars is flat; the pillars are transplanted basalt, more belonging on a volcanic island in the West than here in the desert, but standing nonetheless. Not one has tumbled. In the center, a low, dark altar of the same stone rests on the bedrock. Between the pillars flare regular jets of flame, and runes are carved into the pillars, flicking occasionally with ruby light.
The only marking on the altar stone is the empty low depression in the center, as if a sphere would rest there.
One pillar is larger than the others, southwest of the rest of the ring, and the carvings there glow steadily, though less runes and more diagrams and abstract patterns.
"Mmm, no," Sarye says. "Every part of such a beast is valuable. The hide, the eyes, the teeth, the claws-- once we are done here, we should field strip it. Providence of creatures of magic, especially powerful ones, is rare. I only hope that some of it can be preserved, once we return." He scans the mighty pillars and the altar, frowning. "Is that one the keystone, do you think?" he asks, pointing at the larger pillar.
Sarye, this manse was clearly damaged by the salamander, and to be functional again, part of its body should be fed to the flame vents around the 'altar'.
Imtithal frowns. "I'm... really not sure. None of this seems to make much sense. The manse appears to be functional, but the essence is snarled every which way.
Sarye ponders the manse. "I wonder if it requires a sacrifice to ignite once more. The Salamander was here-- perhaps it fed off the essence and distorted it, growing mutated in turn. If, instead of stripping it for valuables..." He uncurls the tail, and Corona yowls in protest. "Perhaps we should sacrifice it back to the manse, and see if it feeds back to the power?"
Imtithal ponders the idea. "It might not /hurt/," she says. "I'm not sure what's wrong with it. The flows are /all wrong/." She hops off Aurora, pacing out the distances between flame-vents and pillars and counting, with a furrowed forehead.
Sarye and Corona bicker as they start heading back to the the corpse of the Salamander. Angry Corona refuses to help, trying to snatch away limbs as Sarye is forced to haul the flame-bleeding body alone back towards the center of the manse. "Any... idea... where it would fit best for geomantic purposes?" he asks through he filter.
Imtithal frowns. "There's the altar, but it wouldn't accept it into the manse. There's the flame vents..." She shrugs and paces out the distance. "If I was trying to feed the manse, paying no heed to the snarls..." She pauses at a flame vent right behind the altar in the center. "Here, probably. The central energy field should be under the altar and reach to here.
Sarye nods, and continues to haul the beast forward. He engages the Essence sight as he looks towards the central field, analyzing it to see where the burst of the Salamander's essence will do the most good. Eventually, as Corona continues to harass him, he eventually promises to hold onto the tail for now-- the venom sac may be quite valuable, if nothing else, and Corona seems to want to play with the tail. Once he has the promise made, he goes back to scanning, comparing the essence of the salamander to the essence of the manse.
With Essence Sight on, Sarye can see the jumble of which Imtithal speaks; though the majority of the Manse's own lines seem clean, where they join to the adjoining desert and magma vets, they twist and take sharp turns, sometimes flowing in entirely unnatural directions to reconnect. That kinking in the lines does seem to be 'starving' the manse, and if there is one place where it could use an infusion of energy, it would be at about the altar, where the network of internal dragonlines cross and knot.
With Essence Sight on, Sarye can also see the fading heat of the salamander radiating through its skin.
Sarye puts his back to the Salamander and pushes his feet into the dirt, hauling hard. It's a waste of good material, but rebuilding a manse could be even worse. With a mighty heave, he gets the Salamander over the edge and then leaps forward, rolling away from the vents with the tail secured against Corona's wrath.
The salamander's corpse sinks into the lava, and the flame-vent flares. Essence sight shows a small burst of energy traveling out along all the dragonlines, and smoothing the sharpness of the kinks slightly, but even more, a warm ball of fire-essence under the altar itself. The larger stone southwest of the altar dims, and the other stones stop flashing randomly.
Imtithal blinks and moves forward to examine the altar. "I think the hearthstone would form here," she says. "Do you think it's safe to attune to?
Sarye carefully coils up the salamander's tail, and pulls some rope out of the sacks on Corona's saddle to tie it against itself for good measure, using the scales of the elemental itself to prevent the poison or stinger from having anywhere to bite before putting it-- to Corona's satisfaction-- away among the more durable supplies. "I do not know, lady of the Radeen. Would you care to inspect the new essence flows first before we attempt? Or see if it is in some manner linking to the gem?"
Imtithal paces out the manse's diameter again, stopping to check each pillar, placing her hand against the stones as if taking their temperature. To both Solars, both equipped with Essence Sight now, the Essence flows resume, energy flowing more freely with the kinks reduced in severity. The ball of flame-essence under the altar continues to visibly build, though slowly.
Imtithal walks forward, standing by the altar, and reaches up to remove the boiling fire-stone from her cloak, weighing it a hand, before leaning over. "I think we should place it in the socket," she says, "I'm -positive- it forms here, then see what happens, then attune."
Sarye nods thoughtfully. "It is your stone; do you wish to attune first? Or perhaps," he says as he walks up, warmth surrounding the quiescent aurora of his battle armor, "We should attune it at the same time, and try and filter its power?"
Imtithal frowns. "I do not think it will harm either of us," she says, confidently. "It is not... poisoned, for all the toxic surroundings. The air is clearer here than outside the circle, had you noticed? It is simply in a snarl."
"Interesting," Sarye says. "I had not noticed, no." He bows his head to Imtithal. "Then I shall stand watch as you join stone to heart to hearth. The manse is yours."
Imtithal inclines her head slightly. "I imagine you will attune as well," she says. "There is no reason not, but I can not imagine what use you would have from the stone." She smiles dryly, moving to lower the stone into its socket.
"In a moment, in a moment," Sarye insists cheerfully, as he watches, glad that the brilliancy of the helm conceals his face. He must grant her both the honor and the respect of attunement first; it is the right way. But in his heart, he is still F'meeqi, and this manse worries him.
The stone sparks, its light spreading down hidden channels in the altar, Essence flaring along the edges of the altar. The top rim of the altar's sides light with runes - Old Realm, with a prayer to the Sun-as-Furnace on it.
The linguistic style, Sarye will note, has much in common with the poem that was written at the lesser entrance to the temple, and in several other spots around the temple.
Imtithal watches the spread of light curiously, walking around the altar a couple times to see the extent. "It's certainly the right manse," she comments, her eyes scanning the runes.
Sarye blinks. "This manse must be connected, somehow!" he exclaims as the essence flows. Happy to have _something_ to do, he recites the old poem from the temple manse, seeing if it has any resonance.
Imtithal raises her eyebrows. "That's the poem from the temple," she observes. "You think they're connected?" She bends closer; the altar stays ignited, but nothing else seems to happen. "Interesting. Few hearthstones stay in their manse, so why decorate only when the hearthstone's there?" she asks.
"If I remember, when we were working with the Temple, it had some odd connections and dragon line modifications going out. They might be connected, like strands in a tapestry. They may have some greater function together.
Sarye translates the runes for Imtithal, explaining what he thinks is the linguistic connection as well.
Imtithal raises an eyebrow. "They could certainly be connected," she comments, kneeling beside the altar. "It IS also praising Sol Invictus. I do not know poetry and song as well as your people do..." she shrugs. "So I will take your word for the stylistic similarity." She places her hands on the hearthstone, focusing on the manse's essence, harmonizing it with her heartbeat through the stone, bringing it into line with her will. The essence lines flicker, visible to Essence Sight, and as she raises her head, a moment later, with the stone still under her hand, "Well, I'm attuned," she says.
Sarye exhales, calming from tension he was only barely self-aware of. "And over to me," he says cheerfully, and moves towards the altar, kneeling before it in prayer. When he completes the harmonious call to the flame of sun, he asks formally, "Have I your permission to attune, Jeweled Blade of the Desert?"
Imtithal inclines her head. "Of course," she murmurs.
Sarye chuckles happily, as he feels the geomancy stabilize around him. "Then our motley is complete, my lady. But is it enough?" he asks seriously. "This seems an... unusually... basic manse. Is there anything we need to be aware of?
Sarye frowns. "I wonder if we are finished at all. There seems to be some binding here... I cannot make it out precisely. Whether it should have been the Salamander, or... something. A living entity, though-- so how could this be?"
"The altar, I think-- can you use your control through the hearthstone to disturb the dragon lines beneath the altar? See if you can get it to come out?" Sarye queries.
Imtithal waves a hand at the circle of stones as Sarye asks what she can detect about it. "The large plinth there serves as control center," she says, "And with the hearthstone, I should be able to control it from anywhere." She reaches down and plucks up the stone, setting it back in the setting on her cloak as the altar deactivates. "I think it has some control over the volcanic vents around it. I'll have to play with the control center to see what it can do with them." She blinks at his request. "Get what to come out?" she asks. "A living creature?" She turns her gaze down, where the knot of fire Essence still roils under the altar. "That, you think?" she asks.
Sarye looks on in puzzlement. "I believe so. I cannot make it out while it is beneath the altar. Do you believe you can safely call it forth?" he asks, as curious as the pacing simhata. Corona, especially, wants to know what ate his kill, below.
Imtithal shrugs and rubs her fingers over the stone. "Let us see," she says. "At worst, if it is bound to the manse, I should be able to control it, or I suppose we can destroy it." She closes her eyes for a moment, sending pulses along the dragonlines; the boil of fire essence moves sluggishly.
Sarye ponders things for a moment. If whatever comes is corrupted, it may require his blade. If it is not, it may be offended by the blade. The Zenith, clad in brilliance as he is, has time enough for the quandary, and simply decides to shift his stance, ready to sling an arm back if there is danger, but otherwise, leaves his sword in his sheath as he awaits.
Imtithal opens her eyes, still teasing at the hearthstone with delicate fingertips. "It's moving" she says, "It's fire, it's bound to the manse, for sure." She shrugs. "I assume it will come out of one of the lava vent." She moves back from the nearest, watching it.
Sarye nods, letting his senses flow outward into the geomantic flows of the manse, trying to follow the process as Imtithal summons it out. Behind his visor, his eyes are bright and ready.
Imtithal soars upwards, not yet wrapping herself in the shadows the armor can produce. She only goes maybe thirty feet into the air, flapping her great white and gold wings to follow Sarye on the ground.
The ground is uneven, a slightly weathered flow of lava. Vents and the openings to lava tubes hiss steam and sulfurous smoke to either side. Imtithal avoids the columns of foul air as she flies forward.
Sarye carefully threads the vents, occasionally leaping Corona and Aurora over one. The deep instincts of the mighty simhata allow them to dodge and weave further and further in. Sarye opens his mind to the singing and the Song, harmonizing as best he can with the volcanic terrain.
The heat intensifies as they ride deeper in, and ahead, a ring of coarse pillars - oddly, basalt, out of place among the more slowly cooled rocks that are native to the desert - granite, gabbro, and diorite. Open vents of lava and flame surround the structure. As yet, no beast has shown.
Sarye tunes the filters of his battle armor carefully, compensating for the flashes of flame, as he scans for unusual leavings or movement, watching the violent earth and flame dance with wary desert eyes.
There are definitely tracks of something large... trailing bits of igneous rocks in and out of the magma pools, like the water at the edge of a bath, marking long, serpentine paths away before fading back to the 'native' stone. Something large likes those lava pits.
Sarye increases the volume of his song, singing the verse containing the "beast's fiery lair" repeatedly at Imtithal's absence, hoping to cue her in as he turns back towards Aurora, and whispers for her to wait carefully to close the trap, as he and Corona begin to circle the pits. Aurora will be relatively safe in the shelter he left her, and will be available to turn a flight, if need be.
Aurora snorts indignantly at Sarye, pawing the stone where she waits, ears at full alert. Imtithal hovers briefly over her mount, then flies ahead, dodging at the last moment a flare out of one of the vents she's soaring over.
As Sarye moves forward, still singing, Corona bucks a little, reacting first as a great lizard's head starts pushing out of one of the magma vents.
Sarye continues to circle around, hoping to be able to create a linear lock between where the beast is emerging and where Aurora is waiting, alert. Despite his caution, though, he is incautious as to his intentions. He sings high, and strong, the flame of the sun crackling in his voice. An impudent welcome, to be sure, but a welcome-- a calling for a creature of flame to feel the warmth of the all-giving sun, to feel the strength of fellowship under the bonds of essence and friendship-- cousins, to be sure, but kinship of a sort.
The salamander, if that is what it is, sheds red hot stone, droplets which cool as they strike the surrounding stone, as it clambers out of the lava pool. The dripping magma reveals its lovely scales, of many igneous stones, arranged in colorful patterns. It pauses at the edge of the pool and looks at Sarye as he sings.
If it is an intelligent being, if gives no sign now, uttering a piercing, screaming high pitched roar, and pulling its hind legs and long tail slowly out of the pit.
Sarye holds the Cutter in low guard, but leaves it Warhymn off for the moment. He sings again; sings off the inspiration of flame. Not the consuming flame of the wild and broken earth, but flame as humans have made it-- generative, life-giver. Spawner of civilizations, master over cold night and light-source in the first darknesses. He sings, in hope, for hope, too, is a flame under the sun-- to hope to see and hope to hear some response-- some hint of what his compatriot has said is the true nature of the Salamander.
The beast's claws scrabble on the stone, like enormous obsidian knives cutting grooves in the rock. The tip of its lashing tail bears a barb, almost like a scorpion's sting, and its eyes are deeply glowing orbs of fire. It has a loveliness to its sinuous form and its incredible scales, but that ends with its eyes. As Sarye continues to sing, it screams again, sound almost ...pained, and as fire flares from the vent behind it, it glares at its 'tormentor'.
Whatever it is that bothered the beast about Sarye's song, it charges towards him, the tail lifting overhead. Though its scales are made of stone, it moves swiftly and with no evidence of stiffness, the overlaying rocky scales sliding over each other with barely more than a whisper.
The creature itself, however, continues screaming repeatedly as it charges him, and tries to rear up and pull him off Corona with its front claws, a pair of swift grabbing motions with the obsidian pincers. Its tail lashes up over its head as if to sting or buffet him - if it can catch him.
Sarye sweeps the Singing Crystal Cutter out of low guard to high, a careful distance from his helm, but aligned with the bridge of his nose. Corona rears back, and Sarye ignites the fury of the Cutter's Warhymn. As its song joins his own, they cry forth to the Unconquered Sun in his aspect of Battle-Master as the power of the holy radiance of Sarye's armor envelops him in crystallized polygons of glittering essence, distraction and guard, while his blade slashes through the air, the whirring crystal blades humming defiantly in response to the creature's assaults, whistling as it defends.
The beast did not strike Sarye, but this does not stop it; as its forefeet land heavily on the stone again, the heat of its body almost softening the rock it lands on and leaving imprints as in snow, it reaches out with the front claws again, trying to cut Sarye's mount from under him with one vicious blow.
Sarye's song grows somewhat fever-pitched; Sarye is far more worried about the safety of Corona than himself. He wheels his broad orichalcum kite shield down desperately to intercept as Corona leaps with feline agility, using a toxic vent of an especially particulate nature to twist away from the beast's attack, clouding sight.
Imtithal, at the same time, shrieks and aims her flamepieces down from the sky, shouting, "Leave them alone!" She doesn't have catchy battle slogans yet, but at least it's heart felt, and she fires as the beast moves; flame may do little good, but this is solar-essence generated flame, and she hopes it will do ...something
Corona skitters to the side, avoiding the claw entirely with the help of Sarye's sword, but Imtithal, as usual, can't hit the broad side of a salamander, and her flame lances just score the earth.
Sarye quietly urges Corona to baffle the beast with speed and cleverness, whistling for Aurora to join them now that they have the beast's full attention. With multiple attackers, the clawed queen might be able to strike without it knowing. As Corona rides back and forth, darting carefully to confuse the beast's motion, Sarye sings forth with the Cutter once more. He strikes at joints and stabs at the layering of scales, seeking weaknesses to end the battle swiftly. His voice rises with the attack, pitching to add controlled dissonance and deadly tempo as the mighty blade cuts out four times across the scaled hide.
Imtithal snarls; from her vantage in the air, she can see the beast attacking the simhata; she's not worried about /Sarye/ in his massive armor, but Corona is another matter. To improve her aim, she dives sharply, falling from the sky like a stone just to snap her wings open and fire from 'point blank range' of only a few yards, again using both guns, and, in the same motion as she fires, soaring back up.
The salamander has been balked at both its targets, and it hisses before lashing with its tail at the rider again - and following that, this time, with one claw swipe; if the tail is venomed as warned, perhaps it hopes to snag a weakened target from the saddle.
One of Imtithal's shots manages to graze a scale, letting burning blood leak out. No other blows meet their targets in meaningful way.
Sarye nods as his sword cuts from side to side, forcing the beast to open wide when its tail slash is parried. Coming up and around, the scything arc of the Singing Crystal Cutter lashes for the right flank of the Salamander, flashes of his brilliant Solar aurora melding with the constant, steady heat of the Celestial Battle armor. Corona still defends himself primarily, but makes a sudden lunge when Sarye thrusts, adding weight and speed to the Exalt's solitary strike. The roar of power around Sarye, though, is anything but subtle. Crackling above him, a second simhata, like to Corona as a father, roars silently-- a phantom of essence. But its claw strikes hard along with Sarye's, its fiery motions following him, guiding him towards the beast's hind leg with the fury of a crusading juggernaut.
Aurora reaches the scene at the same time as her mistress makes another dive. The charging simhata syncs her motion with the flying Night, and for a moment, as Imtithal flies horizontally to the ground towards the back of the monster, she could almost be riding the simhata. Then the Exalt fires, and breaks upwards, turning towards the sky as swift as the flame jet to her left, while Aurora rears up and tries to strike her claws deep into the back of the beast.
The furious beast lunges with both claws, as if it would bodily bear Sarye off the simhata's back and into a pool of magma beyond. It lashes out with both claws.
Although his skills are sufficient to ward off the first assault for the moment, Sarye takes no chances. Essence surges and the mighty sun-simhata roars again, gladdening his heart and Corona's as impenetrable essence forms around his blade and casts back the claws of the massive beast back towards its owner.
Sarye recovers from the momentary burst of energy, and dances around with brilliant skill, singing to the enraged monster as Corona faithfully charges this way and that, baffling. Only a momentary surge in the muscles of his simhata betray the moment when Sarye twists to carve with his blade-- another barrage of scything, slicing cuts, first slashing for the neck joint-- to the left, then to the right, and when its guard moves high, he cuts low, sweeping up with a bass tone pure and deep from the Cutter as he assaults the belly, then slices in between the salamander's pectorals.
Imtithal soars in a vast loop through the sulfur-stained sky, roaring back down with the golden thread on her wings leaving streaks of light from her speed. The desert air tugs at her robes as she soars -through- Sarye's iconic anima, firing down as she emerges from the mouth of the enormous simhata, the jets of flame looking for all the world as if the simhata was breathing flame upon Sarye's enemies.
The great beast is sorely wounded, and yet has a strange madness in its flaming eyes; though it moves at a fraction the speed it did before being cut and burned and slashed, it still, again, makes one more, much weakened try, to tear Sarye from his saddle.
Sarye continues to cut, left and right, continuing the blizzard barrage of the Cutter's ever-slicing crystal spines. They flex and slash in his defense, snapping into the attacking claws even as Corona continues his dazzling feline dance, bursts of equine speed allowing the partnership to trap the Salamander's attacks within their combined defense.
Aurora dances back to make sure her mistress is fine as she loops back up, leaving the wounded beast to Sarye and his mount for the moment.
Imtithal lands on Aurora's back as the simhata races under her, letting the wings fold down at her sides and guiding the lovely lion-horse back across the treacherous ground towards Sarye and Corona, her flamepieces up and ready to shoot as she aims over the back of Aurora's head.
Battering away the beast's defenses, Sarye makes use of Aurora's distraction. Like an enraged sirocco, Corona picks up speed and dashes around the beast. Sarye levers the rapidly spinning spines along the Cutter's length to slice in a wave motion with the spinning, flensing at the igneous flesh of before him. With each circulation he cuts closer and closer before Corona and he actually slam into it-- not another attack, but using the beast's body to lever out and away.
Sarye's fury slices clean through the scales, again and again, as he all but chops the salamander into bits. The tail slides backwards, lashing in the beast's deaththroes, and slips down into one of the magma pits.
Sarye breaks his song, cursing. Corona, however, is piqued-- that's a TOY that's getting out of reach. Before Sarye can stop his irritated mount, the massive lion-horse rushes forwards, attempting to hook one of its foreclaws into the tail and grasp it at the last second, while his hind legs push off and take air to surmount the pit and leap to the other side.
Imtithal lowers her flamepieces as Sarye hacks the maddened beast to pieces. She looks somewhat sad. "A pity," she says, as she gets closer to him. "I would have loved to talk to a salamander, had it been anything like the stories said."
Sarye shakes his head sadly as Corona drags the tail over, batting it back and forth. The Cutter cleans itself easily, and he sheathes it behind himself. "I sang for a moment, and there was something there... but my song failed."
Imtithal shrugs. "It is what it is. Tell Corona to stop playing with it, and let's have a look at these pillars, shall we? I suspect that's the manse." She shrugs and sticks her flamepieces back into the silk armor, urging Aurora a little forward past the males.
Sarye leaps down from Corona's back and swats gently at the great beast's paws. After sternly rebuking Corona's rebelliousness, he retrieves the tail and coils it, careful of the stinger, around one gold-clad arm. He walks alongside Corona to follow her this time, whispering quietly to the tall simhata.
Imtithal looks over her shoulder and shakes her head one last time, then rides forward. "Trophies?" she comments, dryly, as she cautiously edges Aurora to the edge of the pillars.
The area surrounded by the pillars is flat; the pillars are transplanted basalt, more belonging on a volcanic island in the West than here in the desert, but standing nonetheless. Not one has tumbled. In the center, a low, dark altar of the same stone rests on the bedrock. Between the pillars flare regular jets of flame, and runes are carved into the pillars, flicking occasionally with ruby light.
The only marking on the altar stone is the empty low depression in the center, as if a sphere would rest there.
One pillar is larger than the others, southwest of the rest of the ring, and the carvings there glow steadily, though less runes and more diagrams and abstract patterns.
"Mmm, no," Sarye says. "Every part of such a beast is valuable. The hide, the eyes, the teeth, the claws-- once we are done here, we should field strip it. Providence of creatures of magic, especially powerful ones, is rare. I only hope that some of it can be preserved, once we return." He scans the mighty pillars and the altar, frowning. "Is that one the keystone, do you think?" he asks, pointing at the larger pillar.
Sarye, this manse was clearly damaged by the salamander, and to be functional again, part of its body should be fed to the flame vents around the 'altar'.
Imtithal frowns. "I'm... really not sure. None of this seems to make much sense. The manse appears to be functional, but the essence is snarled every which way.
Sarye ponders the manse. "I wonder if it requires a sacrifice to ignite once more. The Salamander was here-- perhaps it fed off the essence and distorted it, growing mutated in turn. If, instead of stripping it for valuables..." He uncurls the tail, and Corona yowls in protest. "Perhaps we should sacrifice it back to the manse, and see if it feeds back to the power?"
Imtithal ponders the idea. "It might not /hurt/," she says. "I'm not sure what's wrong with it. The flows are /all wrong/." She hops off Aurora, pacing out the distances between flame-vents and pillars and counting, with a furrowed forehead.
Sarye and Corona bicker as they start heading back to the the corpse of the Salamander. Angry Corona refuses to help, trying to snatch away limbs as Sarye is forced to haul the flame-bleeding body alone back towards the center of the manse. "Any... idea... where it would fit best for geomantic purposes?" he asks through he filter.
Imtithal frowns. "There's the altar, but it wouldn't accept it into the manse. There's the flame vents..." She shrugs and paces out the distance. "If I was trying to feed the manse, paying no heed to the snarls..." She pauses at a flame vent right behind the altar in the center. "Here, probably. The central energy field should be under the altar and reach to here.
Sarye nods, and continues to haul the beast forward. He engages the Essence sight as he looks towards the central field, analyzing it to see where the burst of the Salamander's essence will do the most good. Eventually, as Corona continues to harass him, he eventually promises to hold onto the tail for now-- the venom sac may be quite valuable, if nothing else, and Corona seems to want to play with the tail. Once he has the promise made, he goes back to scanning, comparing the essence of the salamander to the essence of the manse.
With Essence Sight on, Sarye can see the jumble of which Imtithal speaks; though the majority of the Manse's own lines seem clean, where they join to the adjoining desert and magma vets, they twist and take sharp turns, sometimes flowing in entirely unnatural directions to reconnect. That kinking in the lines does seem to be 'starving' the manse, and if there is one place where it could use an infusion of energy, it would be at about the altar, where the network of internal dragonlines cross and knot.
With Essence Sight on, Sarye can also see the fading heat of the salamander radiating through its skin.
Sarye puts his back to the Salamander and pushes his feet into the dirt, hauling hard. It's a waste of good material, but rebuilding a manse could be even worse. With a mighty heave, he gets the Salamander over the edge and then leaps forward, rolling away from the vents with the tail secured against Corona's wrath.
The salamander's corpse sinks into the lava, and the flame-vent flares. Essence sight shows a small burst of energy traveling out along all the dragonlines, and smoothing the sharpness of the kinks slightly, but even more, a warm ball of fire-essence under the altar itself. The larger stone southwest of the altar dims, and the other stones stop flashing randomly.
Imtithal blinks and moves forward to examine the altar. "I think the hearthstone would form here," she says. "Do you think it's safe to attune to?
Sarye carefully coils up the salamander's tail, and pulls some rope out of the sacks on Corona's saddle to tie it against itself for good measure, using the scales of the elemental itself to prevent the poison or stinger from having anywhere to bite before putting it-- to Corona's satisfaction-- away among the more durable supplies. "I do not know, lady of the Radeen. Would you care to inspect the new essence flows first before we attempt? Or see if it is in some manner linking to the gem?"
Imtithal paces out the manse's diameter again, stopping to check each pillar, placing her hand against the stones as if taking their temperature. To both Solars, both equipped with Essence Sight now, the Essence flows resume, energy flowing more freely with the kinks reduced in severity. The ball of flame-essence under the altar continues to visibly build, though slowly.
Imtithal walks forward, standing by the altar, and reaches up to remove the boiling fire-stone from her cloak, weighing it a hand, before leaning over. "I think we should place it in the socket," she says, "I'm -positive- it forms here, then see what happens, then attune."
Sarye nods thoughtfully. "It is your stone; do you wish to attune first? Or perhaps," he says as he walks up, warmth surrounding the quiescent aurora of his battle armor, "We should attune it at the same time, and try and filter its power?"
Imtithal frowns. "I do not think it will harm either of us," she says, confidently. "It is not... poisoned, for all the toxic surroundings. The air is clearer here than outside the circle, had you noticed? It is simply in a snarl."
"Interesting," Sarye says. "I had not noticed, no." He bows his head to Imtithal. "Then I shall stand watch as you join stone to heart to hearth. The manse is yours."
Imtithal inclines her head slightly. "I imagine you will attune as well," she says. "There is no reason not, but I can not imagine what use you would have from the stone." She smiles dryly, moving to lower the stone into its socket.
"In a moment, in a moment," Sarye insists cheerfully, as he watches, glad that the brilliancy of the helm conceals his face. He must grant her both the honor and the respect of attunement first; it is the right way. But in his heart, he is still F'meeqi, and this manse worries him.
The stone sparks, its light spreading down hidden channels in the altar, Essence flaring along the edges of the altar. The top rim of the altar's sides light with runes - Old Realm, with a prayer to the Sun-as-Furnace on it.
The linguistic style, Sarye will note, has much in common with the poem that was written at the lesser entrance to the temple, and in several other spots around the temple.
Imtithal watches the spread of light curiously, walking around the altar a couple times to see the extent. "It's certainly the right manse," she comments, her eyes scanning the runes.
Sarye blinks. "This manse must be connected, somehow!" he exclaims as the essence flows. Happy to have _something_ to do, he recites the old poem from the temple manse, seeing if it has any resonance.
Imtithal raises her eyebrows. "That's the poem from the temple," she observes. "You think they're connected?" She bends closer; the altar stays ignited, but nothing else seems to happen. "Interesting. Few hearthstones stay in their manse, so why decorate only when the hearthstone's there?" she asks.
"If I remember, when we were working with the Temple, it had some odd connections and dragon line modifications going out. They might be connected, like strands in a tapestry. They may have some greater function together.
Sarye translates the runes for Imtithal, explaining what he thinks is the linguistic connection as well.
Imtithal raises an eyebrow. "They could certainly be connected," she comments, kneeling beside the altar. "It IS also praising Sol Invictus. I do not know poetry and song as well as your people do..." she shrugs. "So I will take your word for the stylistic similarity." She places her hands on the hearthstone, focusing on the manse's essence, harmonizing it with her heartbeat through the stone, bringing it into line with her will. The essence lines flicker, visible to Essence Sight, and as she raises her head, a moment later, with the stone still under her hand, "Well, I'm attuned," she says.
Sarye exhales, calming from tension he was only barely self-aware of. "And over to me," he says cheerfully, and moves towards the altar, kneeling before it in prayer. When he completes the harmonious call to the flame of sun, he asks formally, "Have I your permission to attune, Jeweled Blade of the Desert?"
Imtithal inclines her head. "Of course," she murmurs.
Sarye chuckles happily, as he feels the geomancy stabilize around him. "Then our motley is complete, my lady. But is it enough?" he asks seriously. "This seems an... unusually... basic manse. Is there anything we need to be aware of?
Sarye frowns. "I wonder if we are finished at all. There seems to be some binding here... I cannot make it out precisely. Whether it should have been the Salamander, or... something. A living entity, though-- so how could this be?"
"The altar, I think-- can you use your control through the hearthstone to disturb the dragon lines beneath the altar? See if you can get it to come out?" Sarye queries.
Imtithal waves a hand at the circle of stones as Sarye asks what she can detect about it. "The large plinth there serves as control center," she says, "And with the hearthstone, I should be able to control it from anywhere." She reaches down and plucks up the stone, setting it back in the setting on her cloak as the altar deactivates. "I think it has some control over the volcanic vents around it. I'll have to play with the control center to see what it can do with them." She blinks at his request. "Get what to come out?" she asks. "A living creature?" She turns her gaze down, where the knot of fire Essence still roils under the altar. "That, you think?" she asks.
Sarye looks on in puzzlement. "I believe so. I cannot make it out while it is beneath the altar. Do you believe you can safely call it forth?" he asks, as curious as the pacing simhata. Corona, especially, wants to know what ate his kill, below.
Imtithal shrugs and rubs her fingers over the stone. "Let us see," she says. "At worst, if it is bound to the manse, I should be able to control it, or I suppose we can destroy it." She closes her eyes for a moment, sending pulses along the dragonlines; the boil of fire essence moves sluggishly.
Sarye ponders things for a moment. If whatever comes is corrupted, it may require his blade. If it is not, it may be offended by the blade. The Zenith, clad in brilliance as he is, has time enough for the quandary, and simply decides to shift his stance, ready to sling an arm back if there is danger, but otherwise, leaves his sword in his sheath as he awaits.
Imtithal opens her eyes, still teasing at the hearthstone with delicate fingertips. "It's moving" she says, "It's fire, it's bound to the manse, for sure." She shrugs. "I assume it will come out of one of the lava vent." She moves back from the nearest, watching it.
Sarye nods, letting his senses flow outward into the geomantic flows of the manse, trying to follow the process as Imtithal summons it out. Behind his visor, his eyes are bright and ready.
