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+---- Thread: [SE] rein in the rain (/showthread.php?tid=12589)
RE: rein in the rain - Deimos - 04-06-2026
[say]Probably both[/say], Deimos answered, having thought and mulled this over with others from the last few days – mostly with Ru, and considering the layers and depths she’d been willing to place within herself, and subsequently let go with her broken remnants of Sunjata. And though this was in a different context, it didn’t quite alter much course; dangers had all sorts of connotations. [say]We withstand much in Halo to exist within this region. I would say the same could be said about most places in Caido.[/say] Torchline and its monsoons. The Hollowed Grounds and its flooded isles, haunted eaves of prior wars and barriers. The Climb and its extreme heat. King’s End and its ghosts. The list could go on and on and on, and each land could be picked apart for its transgressions, rather than perhaps what they endured for. [say]If there is a place you find suitable, you find ways to make it work.[/say]
He shrugged his long, sloping shoulders, figuring it was that simple because it had been for him. The thought; not the actions themselves. He’d given and granted and done many things to ensure their wintry world was something utilized by those who chose its lot. Perhaps it was simply all about perspectives.
His strides took them underneath the great icy awnings of the Palace, with infirmaries and shelters tucked within its boundaries, alongside council offices nearby (that he’d have to go occupy at some point, if his paperwork was ever going to be accomplished).
RE: rein in the rain - Lyra - 04-08-2026
Trotting alongside, Lyra nods. [say]Of course,[/say] she agrees, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world. People go to great lengths, she knows, to survive, even to thrive, in a place of their choosing. It might be a matter of what they're willing to deal with, but everyone has a list of pros and cons in their mind, and when the former outweighs the latter... that's when homes are made.
They find themselves meandering beneath the awnings of the Palace, and Lyra looks up with no small amount of awe. [say]This is really beautiful architecture,[/say] she comments. [say]Has it always been here? When was it built?[/say] Curious, now, about the origins of such a masterful building within the tundra, where surely the materials and labor to create something like this are harder to come by than in warmer regions.
RE: rein in the rain - Deimos - 04-08-2026
Deimos had always found the Palace a bit much. Ostentatious, perhaps, striving to make itself known and proud and prospering. While past leaders had utilized it for their own quarters, the Ignatiuses had done the opposite, altering it into something that could be utilized for the masses and greater good. [say]It was here well before I arrived. Might have been a blessing from the Eirachi all those years ago, when deals were struck.[/say] A theory; uncertain if it was a story passed down through bars and libraries or just a collection of myths inscribed into the ether.
He stared at it absentmindedly; he saw it each and every day, after all. Had done his inspections as eagle and man, continued and worked on repairs when it was necessary. It would’ve made far more sense for a seasonal deity to have created and contorted the works – but he wouldn’t put it past any Halovian’s natural instinct to strive, stubbornly or otherwise. [say]We use it for a variety of things now. Shelters. Storage. We had to make more room for patients when Starfall arrived.[/say] Subsequently flooding the bay, and causing multitudes of injuries and rescue missions for trackers lost out on the tundra’s sudden inclusion of waters.
RE: rein in the rain - Lyra - 04-09-2026
The Palace soars overhead, towering into the dreary sky. For all that it may be a bit much, it's still pretty, and Lyra finds herself admiring the lines of stone and ice. It doesn't surprise her to hear that it predates Deimos - or anyone else living, for that matter - and she twitches an ear as she considers that it might have been a blessing from Eirachi. She hadn't thought that the seasonal deities gave many blessings - they seem content, mostly, to leave that to the other gods - but perhaps things were different, all those eons ago.
In any case, she considers the offered information before nodding approvingly. [say]It would be a shame for all that space to go to waste,[/say] she comments. [say]I'm glad it's used for purposes that benefit all.[/say] Thinking back, she adds, [say]Starfall affected Halo quite a lot, didn't it? I think I remember hearing so at the time.[/say] Perhaps she should have come then, to see what she could do - but Torchline had had their own problems to solve back then, and her efforts had not been wasted there.
RE: rein in the rain - Deimos - 04-11-2026
Deimos wasn’t the type of leader to hoard his riches or never aid the masses; his whole point of coming into the Warden role was the mantle of responsibility, duty, protection, and shelter; the extension of his own capabilities to ensure others’ were secure and provided for. Buildings, properties, and portions would have a purpose suitable for all; from marketplaces, barracks, to shelters and sanctuaries, weapons at the ready, defenses managed.
Her statement about Starfall managed to unfurl a snort, then a long sigh, as he drifted from the buildings and down another long pathway that extended towards their training grounds. [say]Caused a lot of flooding almost instantly across portions of the Bay and extended into the Tundra. We had to rescue quite a few lost out there.[/say] In ordinary circumstances, just as she’d participated in, the missions could be infrequent, depending on seasons and those traversing out amongst the wilderness. But even experienced trackers had no way of dealing with the sudden onset of water scraping across the land. [say]Then there was the Family’s way of trying to infect us too. They destroyed the first springs so that no one else could be healed by those means.[/say] Amongst a number of other circumstances - including have to be in multiple battles, the figments of war always settling across his shoulders. [say]Have you been to their island?[/say]
RE: rein in the rain - Lyra - 04-13-2026
Following along, Lyra continues to look around, adding to her mental map of the Citadel as she goes. There is so much more to Halo than she might have assumed, even just within the city itself; she looks forward to exploring it more as time goes on. It reminds her not to make assumptions about other regions and their capabilities - something she already knows, but apparently needs to recall.
In any case, she listens to Deimos's explanation of the flooding, her brows raising at the magnitude of it all. [say]That must have been challenging,[/say] she says. [say]I imagine flooding isn't something you see often?[/say] Nor have to rescue unsuspecting citizens from, if she is to hazard a guess. Water rescues, as she well knows, are very different from tundra missions.
And then there is more, the destruction of Halo's healing springs. [say]I remember hearing about that,[/say] she says. [say]Terrible thing. But at least you've been able to rebuild.[/say] Not to discredit any pain or trauma caused by the destruction the Family had wrought, but simply to find a bright side amongst all the bad.
As for whether or not she's visited their island, Lyra shakes her canine head. [say]No. I haven't quite gotten up the courage, and I don't want to go alone.[/say] It seems ill-advised to the woman, but then perhaps she is being overcareful.
RE: rein in the rain - Deimos - 04-14-2026
His eyes narrowed and a long breath unfurled through his chest, one ear twitching back and forth as they roamed closer to the barracks, purposefully putting his attention and focus on the sights and sounds he heard going on within; content when he could hear the soldiers working on their maneuvers. Clashes of metal. Surges of magic. [say]No,[/say] he responded in kind, shaking his head and moving onward. [say]I used my bakunawa shift to get those we could find out of the water. [/say]
The flattened portions of the springs remark might have stung a year before – when they’d been left with nothing in the aftermath of Deepfrost. He wasn’t certain if there were brighter aspects to be held, or simply a notion of how largely determined Halo was; to rise up from those individuals who’d desperately wanted to squash and diminish and tear apart, and steadfastly holding onto their tenacity.
So he said nothing of it, gaze finding pathways instead of melancholy. [say]It has been much improved with the lack of monsters now,[/say] by way of dry humor and sarcasm; having visited on many occasions through battles, skirmishes, and then his own explorations – needing to see what would’ve been on the other side. What they might have faced.
RE: rein in the rain - Lyra - 04-15-2026
Lyra isn't entirely sure what a bakunawa is, so she tilts her head to one side as she admits, [say]I'm not familiar with a bakunawa, but I'm glad you were able to rescue so many.[/say] What kinds of challenges must they have faced, to not only deal with the flooding itself, but also its aftermath? People pulled from frigid waters would have been subject to hypothermia and other ailments. Recovery - as a region and as individuals - would have been significant, particularly when the mental trauma of it all is considered. Halovians, Lyra decides, must be a strong and hardy people, to have bounced back from all that seemingly none the worse for wear. But she also knows that it has taken hard work and determination to get to this point after such destruction, and she's not one to discredit that, either.
As for Starfall, Lyra snorts a laugh at Deimos's dry humor. [say]I'm sure,[/say] she says, amusement evident in her voice. [say]Is it relatively safe, then? Perhaps I'll visit, one day, so long as no monsters are lurking beneath the surface.[/say] Or at least limited monsters, in any case.
RE: rein in the rain - Deimos - 04-16-2026
Some they’d been able to preserve and rescue, but not all; and those fragments still haunted him. When individuals were lost, couldn’t be reached, no matter how hard they might’ve tried. Halo had suffered, but so had most other lands – Deimos would never believe nor discredit the rest of the world into thinking they had been the once laden with the largest tragedies. Caido knew trauma, trials, and tribulations; it was how they managed to not succumb through the mires and deluges that kept them running onward.
His attention went from the barracks and back to Lyra, though only at her inquiry about Starfall. [say]It appeared to be. We had cleansed some of it before they left, and then as you go further in you can see remnants and ruins of what they had to leave behind.[/say] Or hadn’t bothered with – shells of vessels, pieces they likely couldn’t take or snag on their imminent departure. He probably didn’t need to warn her of any careful platitudes; she struck him as someone cautious, but experienced in the wakes of aftermaths.
RE: rein in the rain - Lyra - 04-21-2026
To hear that Starfall has been partially cleansed, at least, is something of a relief to Lyra. She's not so well-versed in their world that she knows all of the details of what made the Family withdraw - only rumors and stories passed on through word of mouth, half of which she isn't sure are true. The end result has been that she's unsure whether or not they will return, and a part of her remains on edge that they haven't seen the last of the Family, even though it's been seasons now since their departure.
[say]Is what remains dormant, as far as you can tell?[/say] she asks, a frown in her mental voice. [say]Or do you think they will ever return?[/say] Perhaps with reinforcements, if their initial invasion had been so firmly shrugged off. Not to say that there weren't wounds left behind - certainly, she's heard whispers of folk killed and brought back, of sacrifices made to oust the Family from power - but Caido had won, in the end, hadn't they?
RE: rein in the rain - Deimos - 04-22-2026
[say]Nothing is ever certain in Caido,[/say] he granted with a muffled snort; things he’d learned over time spent within the world. The best they could do was prepare for some inevitable wakes, line their kingdoms with defenses and weapons and healing properties, strive and try and buckle down when calamity struck again. To think the Family would return wasn’t something he’d like to recall – not with how many times they’d been dealt blows by the vicious parasites, how many times they’d been threatened, the way their leader waltzed his way into the Sword’s own office, striving to make a boon or a gain or a deal. [say]None of it, as far as we are aware, seemed to be in working order any longer. Though I suppose we could always blow it up.[/say] With a shrug of his shoulders in casual decree; imagining the edifices and island simply disintegrating into pieces.
This likely wasn’t what Lyra wanted to hear; but Deimos had dealt with so many ominous wakes in his lifetimes that it all seemed par for the course. [say]We know their weaknesses and limitations now though. So if you ever come across Vi’s Roses or Rae’s Lilies, they have important healing attributes, and were very potent against the Family.[/say]
RE: rein in the rain - Lyra - 04-26-2026
Nothing is ever certain in Caido, while true, is perhaps not the reassurance that Lyra is hoping for from the Warden, but she carefully tucks away the unease that rises in her stomach. Starfall is nowhere near here, and there's no need for her to visit it as yet. She can remain in Halo for a time, travel the rest of the world, grow stronger and more prepared - and then, perhaps, she can venture to the Family's island.
Still, at least the island seems to have fallen into disrepair. Notions of blowing it up have Lyra snorting with amusement, wholly unaware that it is not necessarily a joke. The sheer magnitude of such a thing would be a sight to behold, though.
She files away the knowledge that Deimos imparts on Vi's Roses and Rae's Lilies. It seems strange to her that both of those gods should have a flower, and yet she's never heard of Mort's anything. Perhaps that is simply par for the course for the god of death. [say]I will keep an eye out for them on my travels. It's always nice to have access to things with healing properties.[/say] She thinks of her ring, and of the use it has already been to her. [say]Especially given the dangers throughout Caido.[/say] Lurking at every turn, it sometimes seems.
RE: rein in the rain - Deimos - 04-27-2026
The Sword had no intention of lying. He wasn’t the type of individual to create false narratives to ease troubled minds; living in ignorance didn’t serve many well. Caido had gone through a number of calamities since he’d lived there – multiple wars, visiting parasites, diseases…to pretend something else wouldn’t ever occur would air on the side of foolishness. Which was why he prepared his land so thoroughly and as best he could – plans already coming back into fruition once the season altered and changed. Even in all this though, he’d want individuals to enjoy the peace and sanctity they had now; well-earned and reflected in their actions every day. He was simply always looking towards the horizon, vigilant for the next onslaught.
The notions of Starfall billowing outward seemed to have softened some of his statement though, so he shrugged, a rippling motion through massive dog brawn and shoulders, before moving onward. [say]We have used them in the past against disease as well.[/say] For an additional bonus; so it hadn’t been to cease infection, but also the spread of the Voice’s reaches into more and more individuals.
Glancing towards another portion of Halo unfolding before them, he knew his time was short – more duties called upon. [say]I must head elsewhere but thank you for the discussion and the stories. And enjoy yourself,[/say] motioning his head towards the threshold of the Citadel, granting a wry, but inward smirk, and then long limbs were carrying him onward, intertwining into the region’s necessities.
[FIN]