Outside: Grass touch place

[Halae]

[Well Training]

"To me, fighting is about self-mastery, capability, and security," Emily explains as she reaches down to untie the knot tying her cape around her waist, "It's to prevent myself from being incapable of acting on the world around me, and achieving my aims. If I'm too weak, if I lack the control over myself that I need, I won't be able to protect myself or those I care about. Though, I admit, I also just find it damned fun."

This rings like something Emily's been asked before, that she's had time to consider an answer to.

Once the cape is untied from her waist she'll hold it out to Thariza, though she won't prevent Ambrosia from touching it if she seeks to as well. The cape is exceptionally well-made, being durable enough to shrug off bullets and is clearly hydrophobic as any liquids simply slide off it without gaining purchase. It also appears to be sized for someone much smaller than Emily; it'd cover their whole body in a red shroud, but around the massive crocodilian woman it can only cover her waist and the base of her tail, "Go ahead and grab this, see if you can feel the power in it. If I'm right and you can, then I should be able to help you train your funky spirit magic."

[Rebonack]

[Tower of Oujet]

If it makes Laz feel any better all of the other zombies have been reduced to ashes, so at the very least finding her down there wouldn't be very hard.

But yeah Anika should probably grab Laz before she goes splat.


[Terrible Ideas]

Okay this isn't making any sense at all.

Wizard making an axe?

Okay, yeah, sure maybe. Azazel DID show humans how to do this stuff, right? Taught them how to work metal and so on. Maybe if someone was good enough at enchantments they could weave that stuff into an axe themselves rather than getting it as a gift from a god. Just because YOU don't know how to do that doesn't mean nobody else does.

"I've never heard of that god before."

Wait, goddess?

There are, well... a couple of those, right?

Sons of Elyon is a title as far as you known. But they're mostly guys. Or at least you're pretty sure they are. And all the ones that came down and banged mortal humans were DEFINITELY guys.

"...you aren't just messing with me, are you? Just making stuff up to confuse me?"

[bc56]

Terrible Ideas
One might expect Kothar to admit his prank. Or vehemently deny that he's making anything up.
But instead, he remains calm and collected and gestures to the space outside the tent, where water pours down from the sky. "Rain made up?" he asks. He has a point. Nua's understanding of the world is clearly questionable if she's never heard of rain.

[Rebonack]

[Terrible Ideas]

Not a joke.

Not a prank.

There's something seriously messed up going on and you can't quite figure it out, can you?

"I... guess it isn't, is it?"

It sure is loud.

Why does it have to be so loud?

"So is... the ground here broken or something? Is that why the sky is leaking, because the earth isn't making fog like it's supposed to?"

[Morty]

[Well Training]

"The kind of research we do is dangerous. I need to be able to defend myself." Thariza doesn't mention that Ambrosia angered an ancient fey, but she's sure her friend remembers. "Besides, it'd be a waste to let them atrophy." That's not a word she'd have known before meeting Ambrosia. "They're part of who I am." As she speaks, she grasps the cape.

[Gathering Place]

Silent Feathers steps in to back Sekhmet's words up.

"Indeed. Your lady has a plan, and allies such as myself are a part of it. Working with me and my own followers will let you learn more. There is much to do, but your goddess is confident you will see it through."

[Shadowcaller]

[Well Training]

Ambrosia isn't touching the cape. After all she isn't supposed to have 'spirit powers' as Emily puts it.
"I don't aim for it to be dangerous, but that's besides my point anyway. All skills have useful applications but we only pursue those that really interest us. I believe it's healthy to have those choices we made questioned occasionally. Gives us a new perspective on things even if we don't stray from it."

[Halae]

[Well Training]

Within the cape, Thariza is going to feel a Legend.

It's flashes of a heroic man with his blond hair cut into friendly mutton chops. The fighting he did against planes and tanks and lines of guns, in a world at war with itself. Of him operating on street corners to pull criminals out of their hiding places. Of him fighting against powerful spirits, undead, and humans with incredible power. Of him giving speeches to crowds as he's honored for his accomplishments...

... Of a quiet life shared with another man. Of friends that stood by him through thick and thin. Of a daughter covered in scales, already grown to the size of a normal adult despite still being a child when he adopted her. Of a life seeking quiet retirement, before it was abruptly ended by a gunshot.

"So? Can you feel anything?" Emily questions.

[Shadowcaller]

"AAAAAANNNNNNNIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKAAAAAA!"

Does screaming count? I hope screaming counts, because it's about all Jenette has the energy for right now, along with wildly flailing her arms about in the air. She's reasonably certain she'll survive this fall on her own, albeit with pretty much all of her bones broken, but at the same time, she really, really doesn't want to break all of her bones. She's not sure she can count on Anika to stuff human flesh down her zombie throat until the damage fades away, which just leaves lying in a broken heap amidst hundreds of other nameless, faceless, grotesque zombies in a field of ruin if this goes the way she's thinking it might.

What was that?

At first Anika assumes it's the sound of the blast still ringing out but there's an odd quality to it. Almost like a s-

-shit!

The druid looks around wildly and finally spots the tiny falling dot in the sky.
"Uh, COMING!" Anika feels like she has the time to shout back somewhere in-between going out of her bear form and turning into a falcon. Then she catches the wind with her wings and start to dive in an attempt to catch the zombie knight before she gets a date with the ground.

[Murkus]

[Hog Heaven]

Dena gives the oni a curious look. Titling her head to the side as Tsumi moves closer. She seems to have a understanding of the 'game' they were playing and doesn't seem to mind it. Which is why she isn't backing off. Showing no fear at all. Her serpents however appear to be more on the cautious side. All looking at her like they can't quite be sure if there was an friend or a foe approaching.
"Sure, try me. What's the request? I think you technically won that exchange after all, despite the butt-slap." The gorgon smiles.

[Hog Heaven]

"Do I only get the one?" Tsumi considers carefully, like telling a genie her wish. She taps her bottom lip with one indelicate finger.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hog Heaven]

"Okay, now I'm concerned." Dena remarks when she sees how seriously Tsumi was taking this. "Not gonna ask for anything weird are you?" She inquires with a smile.

[Thursday Violist]

Maids on a Train
"My brother and I are co-owners of our own company," Jade answers. "Technically we don't make the holo-TVs and such ourselves, we make the projectors and sell them to the other companies that do."

[Maids on a Train]

The mermaid acts disappointed: "Eh. Bragging to some guy that I know his sister is much less exciting, 'cause he'll say something like 'I know her better' or whatever and I won't have any way to refute that." Well, there goes that plan to pretend she knows someone famous.

She leans the back of her neck on the armrest, and audibly groans.

The mermaid suddenly sits up.
"Oh, wait. If I'm lying down complaining, then I can't watch out the window at the landscape."
Instead of looking out the window, though, she looks at Jade: "Hey, where are you headed to? How far is it?"

[bc56]

Terrible Ideas
Kothar shrugs. "Always this way." He's not sure why Nua is unfamiliar with rain. His best guess is that she's from a desert, but she says she isn't. "I know not anything you speak. You from very far away?" He asks again.

Gathering Place
Sekhmet frowns a little. She could've said that, and it would have given her more authority in front of her followers if she had. "For the benefit of my followers here," she indicates the gathering, "What artifact are we seeking?" She doesn't actually know either, but it's important to make it seem like she's on top of things and has some authority over this partnership.

Maids on a Train
"I'm headed to Inside," Jade answers, "The end of the line."

[Rebonack]

[Terrible Ideas]

"That can't be right."

Can it?

Maybe there's just part of the world where the sky leaks water instead of fog coming up out of the earth like things are SUPPOSED to work.

"I don't even know at this point. You haven't ever heard of Eden or Nod so I mean... where am I even supposed to start?"

Oh! Wait! Now you've got an idea. The four rivers run over the whole face of the world. He's GOT to know about those right?

"Which of the four rivers are we closest to? Last I checked I wasn't that far from the Pishon."

[Morty]

[Well Training]

"...I do." Thariza's surprise is evident. She didn't know what to expect but it wasn't this. Not this kind of similarly. "I feel a man's life. Your sire's. It's... a lot like when I contacted other legends in the Mists. Maybe exactly the same."

[Shadowcaller]

[Well Training]

"And this item only work for those 'spiritually attuned'?" Ambrosia inquires as she sees Thariza's reaction, turning to Emily. "What is it exactly?"

[Halae]

[Well Training]

"It's my dad's cape," Emily says as she pulls it back to tie around her waist again, "When he died, he left it to me in his will. He spent something to the tune of eighty years fighting, and except for a few times, he was wearing this every time he went into battle."

"Have you ever had a tool that, as you use it, it seems to take on a personality? Perhaps it's a vehicle that only works right for you, or that favorite cup that tastes just a little different and better than every other cup? It's the object that's been with you so long you've come to see it as dependable, and it fits into your hand as well as you fit with it."

She finishes tying the cape around her waist, a firm knot to keep the durable material in place even in a fight, "In my home, we call that a Soulbond. It's when part of what makes you yourself seeps into what you use. Those with spirit magic can tap into that power; it's not as strong as fully incarnating a legend like I think you do, Thariza, but it's let me do a few things my father used to, to a limited degree."

[bc56]

Terrible Ideas
Kothar shrugs. "I know not river name. I not from here either. We ask in village." Evidently there's a village not far away. "We go after rain." That will probably (not) clear things up.

[Morty]

[Well Training]

Thariza nods in understanding.

"There's a reason I'm still using this battered old hammer instead of getting something new." She taps her claws on the weapon. "I don't have this kind of personal connection. One of the legends I'm channeling is some jackass demon I'd never heard of before. I think I might have found him because... well, demons killed me." She already told Emily that she'd died and come back, might as well be open with it. "The other is Kalla Schorchrazor, a Charr hero from long ago. It's why you saw me summon Charr spirits."

[Shadowcaller]

[Well Training]

"Curious. Since my sword actually happens to be 'soul-bound' as well. Your description matching what we call a 'living tool'. Of course, we know them to be infused with an actual spirit, hence their personality. Wouldn't be the first time two worlds have extremely similar items though." Ambrosia observes as she looks at the cape with new interest. "Usually one just have to be accepted by the tool in question to develop a bound to it. Not any special powers required."

[Halae]

[Well Training]

"Everybody's got a little access to it, but the tool isn't sapient or even has a will; it can't help you with what you're choosing to do. It's very much a tool in that way," Emily explains, "But it takes training to actually use any abilities related to that fact. I've dabbled in a lot of different skills, so I at least have an idea of what I'm doing with it, even if I wouldn't call myself a proper spirit mage."

[Rebonack]

[Terrible Ideas]

What.

No.

No way not a chance. You've got to stop talking to this guy or you're going to lose it. Just get up and get the hell out of here.

"No. No village I'm done. Thanks for the save but I'm getting out of here. I'll figure this out on my own."

Just stand up and walk. It probably isn't another stupid idea

[Morty]

[Gathering Place]

"Ah, yes. Let me tell them what I've told you," Silent Feathers Drifting says, catching on. "The artifact you seek is a leaden cage inscribed with forgotten runes and sigils. A marvel of dwarven sorcery and artifice, now lost to time. It can be used to catch dreams and desires within. They made it to protect themselves against fey in an age long past."

[Well Training]

"My abilities are more or less entirely self-taught." Thariza's tail swishes behind her in mild frustration. "If anyone else in Tyria has used such magic, I've never heard of it."

[Shadowcaller]

[Well Training]

"So not entirely similar then." Ambrosia observes as an idea occurs to her.
"But Thariza, perhaps you should attempt to touch gieok and see if you gain anything from it too?" Ambrosia holds out her hand and the tome that she always carried with her floats up and puts its back into the palm of her hand and opens up to an illustration of a ssangsudo.

She touches the hilt of it and the two dimensional object suddenly bents upwards into her waiting hand. Yet even outside the page it was drawn on it still seems illustrated. Unreal. Like a drawn picture projected onto the real world.
It's not until the entire sword has been pulled from the pages that it seems forced to become an actual third-dimensional object that realistically can fit in the scholars hand.

The book then resumes floating next to Ambrosia as she holds out the sword with both hands. Offering it to the charr

[Halae]

[Well Training]

Emily watches curiously. If this is the case, Thariza has self-taught abilities that are very hard to come by, and should absolutely be nurtured.

[Morty]

[Well Training]

Thariza, of course, has seen Ambrosia retrieve her sword from her book more than once so it's nothing unusual for her. However, she hasn't held it before. She does so now, gripping the hilt in both hands.

[Shadowcaller]

[Well Training]

As Thariza settles her hands on the hilt it almost feels like something is struggling against her grip. The sword isn't actually moving but it feels as if she's holding a limb or neck of a creature that that is trying to escape her grasp. "It's alright." Ambrosia remarks, seemingly addressing her own sword. "She's a friend."

At that the feeling of struggle ceases and suddenly it is as if the weapon is one with her. Like a particularly unwieldy limb as she still hasn't mastered this kind of weapon. But that's probably the least of here concerns since she can feel as if another two limbs are added to her as there's a rush of fierce emotions. Like a tidal wave erupting within her that she either has to take control of or let out. There's no other choice.

OPTION 1: If she attempts to wrestle control over it the wave becomes like a gently flowing river and both she, and Emily, will feel strangely at peace. Suddenly being able to center themselves and be one with this moment. The world around them becoming much easier to grasp as they can easily shift their focus between what they see and their own thoughts without feeling any stress. As if everything suddenly was so simple and easy to accomplish. Like a wool was pulled from their eyes and they suddenly could see everything clearly.

OPTION 2: If she let's it out however Thariza will find herself unleashing a torrent of flames from her mouth, in a direction that isn't where her friends are as she has enough presence of mind to at least do that. But the flames will consume everything in their path. Scorching the earth and all the plant-life before her. In that moment both she and Emily will both feel a great burst of anger against the injustices of the world and feel particularly protective about those they hold dear as memories of them will flash by their eyes. Driving out any doubt or hesitation they might be feeling right now.

If Ambrosia is effected by this isn't clear. But what is clear to Emily, and to a lesser degree Thariza, is that a pair of enormous golden wings has sprouted out of the charr's shoulders. They appear semi-translucent and likely spiritual in nature but if Thariza would attempt to she could fly short distances with them before they flicker out. In addition, Thariza's fur now has a golden shimmer to it. Making her shine like a beacon even in broad daylight.

[Murkus]

[Hog Heaven]

"Okay, now I'm concerned." Dena remarks when she sees how seriously Tsumi was taking this. "Not gonna ask for anything weird are you?" She inquires with a smile.

[Hog Heaven]

"Depends what you mean by weird," Tsumi says mysteriously. She reaches up to rub the back of her neck, flexing one tone, smooth arm. Almost a little self-conscious in the gesture. Her head cocks slightly as she finally asks, "Wanna come upstairs with me?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Hog Heaven]

Dena let's out a giggle. "You really like leaning on the whole 'mystique' thing, huh? But alright, I'll bite. You've already had me fight a duel after all. Whatever you got planned upstairs can't be nearly as exhausting, right?" She winks. "I can't even recall, why did we have a duel again? What was it supposed to determine?"

[Morty]

[Well Training]

Thariza has been doing her best to stay controlled lately. Keep focused on her new goal in life, being a scholar. Think instead of doing as she's told and smashing things.

But talking about her magic brought back some unpleasant memories and frustration. She's been dealing with it better since that visit to the ruins of old Vigil, but there's still... a lot of it. She'll never forget the sight of her bandmates dying in front of her. Never forget feeling like she should have died there too. The resentment over Jaccalish bringing her back for the sake of scientific curiosity when she did die. Sometimes it can be good to let it out.

After she does, she stares at the path of destruction left by the torrent of fire, blinking.

[Halae]

[Well Training]

Emily is leaning away from the blast zone when it happens, watching with a casual sort of air that manages to maintain even as her eyebrows raise, "You, uh, got some pent up frustration there, Thariza? Nice wings, by the way."