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[SE] Memories of Fire - Hadama - 05-05-2023
He had known little of the Ascended, but a War had been fought in their name. One that had changed the face of the world, lifting half of Haulani into the sky and cracking the continent into pieces. Now they were gone, but there was a new race that walked the lands of Caido. Or rather, a very old one. A race of fire and blood, if the rumors were to be believed...
Hadama had a habit of not believing rumors until he'd had a chance to investigate them personally. The maps in the Underwater palace showed a body of water in the Climb - the region from whence the spade-tailed people were said to originate.
The maps had not mentioned that the spring was filled with blood.
Somewhere high above the caverns and the burning Crust the moon hung full and bright behind the pall of smoke that swirled over the Climb. Hadama, after aquaporting into the ruddy Mountain's Roar, had pulled himself onto the shore, preferring to beach himself rather than remain in the bloodied pool. And because the moon was full, his tail had split into legs and he had shakily stood, summoning clean water with his newly-Mastered magic to rinse himself with before he moved with careful dignity further into the tunnels. His hips were wrapped in a dark grey skirt that dropped to his calves and his trident was in his hand, glowing faintly of starlight to light his way in the dark and steadied his slow, uncertain steps.
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RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Sohalia - 05-11-2023
Sohalia knew very little about the Ancients, having heard only rumor and not having actually met one, herself, so it was with some trepidation that she had set out for the Burrows, hoping to mine some rubies or obsidian per the rumors that were circulating. While she'd managed to find some rubies with Jude, it couldn't hurt to find a little obsidian, too, right?
What she was not expecting to find was a wet, half-naked man.
But at least it was someone she recognized - sort of. The last time she'd seen Hadama, it had been when she'd been helping Phoebe to secure the banks of the Stone Symphony, and he had been decidedly waterbound. To see him on legs, walking through the tunnels of the Climb, was a bit jarring. Still, she smiled in her cheerful, friendly way and, studiously ignoring the fact that he wore only a dark grey skirt, said, [say]"Oh, hello! I don't think we met properly in the Greatwood, but I'm Sohalia. Are you here for rubies and obsidian, too?"[/say]
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Hadama - 05-15-2023
The voice that greeted him belonged to no Ancient, of that Hadama was relatively certain. The slip of a human who appeared in the tunnel was distantly familiar, though he did not recognize her at first. Not until she introduced herself and mentioned the Greatwood did the Tidebreaker blink and then tilt his head in greeting, memory jogged. "Sohalia," he repeated in his low rumble of a voice. "I am Hadama. It is a pleasure to meet again." However unexpected it was to be meeting her here.
He moved closer at his slow pace, his steps wobbly but supported by the trident he used as a walking staff, considering her question as he approached. "Hmm. They are beautiful," he agreed, his artisan's mind already twisting the minerals into something lovely. A torque, perhaps, with obsidian hippocampus heads and eyes of ruby...?
"Why are you gathering them?" His question was curious, having largely missed the rumors in the slew of work that threatened to raise his head above water as Torchline's leader.
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Sohalia - 05-16-2023
Hadama. It was a nice name, and his greeting made him seem like a nice man. [say]"It's nice to be properly introduced!"[/say] she said warmly. She had regretted not exchanging names that day; it was the courteous thing to do, and Soh was nothing if not painfully polite. Still, the wrong had now be rectified, and Soh was content with that.
Soh practically skipped alongside Hadama, excited to be foraging for stones and minerals. It was a grand new adventure, and she couldn't wait to see what they could find. [say]"Oh, there's been a rumor going around that there's supposed to be some big festival hosted by Dygra!"[/say] Soh shared in an almost-squeal. [say]"There's supposed to be a lunar eclipse and everything! We're supposed to wear jewelry made of ruby or obsidian, or so the rumors say."[/say]
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Hadama - 05-16-2023
"Yes," he agreed, inclining his head courteously. He was usually quite good with introductions and manners, or at least he tried to be, but the nature of their work that day had not encouraged idle conversation, especially between those working on the land and the one in the water. He, too, was glad that they had exchanged names now as he walked alongside the spritely young woman through the hot, dark tunnel.
He listened with curiosity, his expression remaining calmly stoic in counterpoint to her enthusiasm. "Mm. I came here tonight to learn more about her," he revealed slowly, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. "But I can wait a month. Do you know where to find the rubies?" He'd had some experience with underwater mining, but he hadn't brought the right tools and he wasn't entirely certain if mining in air was the same. Still, though he preferred a deft touch he wasn't above using brute force if that was the only option. "And do you know much about Dygra?"
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Sohalia - 05-17-2023
Spritely was a good work to describe Soh as she practically danced along through the dark tunnel, seemingly unbothered by the oppressive heat. In truth, she would have been quite a bit happier if it was cooler, but there was nothing she could do about that. The only thing she could control was herself, and she had determined long ago that it was better to be happy than to complain.
[say]"There are seams scattered throughout the tunnels,"[/say] she advised. [say]"We should look for stone that looks rusty, and then use a pickaxe around it to pop the gems out from the wall."[/say] She kept an eye on their surroundings as she chattered on, watching for the telltale gleam of red. [say]"I don't know much about Dygra, no. Just that she's the Goddess of Entropy and that she's the patron of the Ancients. But I don't know much about them, either."[/say]
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Hadama - 05-18-2023
He listened to her wisdom and experience and nodded thoughtfully. His emerald eyes began to roam the walls of the lava tube tunnel as they followed along. He didn't have a pickaxe, but he'd found a powerful blast of water could often serve the same purpose. And, failing that, there was always his trident. Being made of magic, it was far tougher than it looked.
"Hmm. They are... mysterious," he murmured, thinking of the recent party that one of the Ancients had thrown in Torchline. He hadn't learned much about them there, either.
A crack in the wall that seemed ruddier than the black and brown stone around it caught his eye and he paused to examine it more closely, prodding at the reddish discoloration with a finger. "Is this a ruby seam?"
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Sohalia - 05-18-2023
Unlike Soh, Hadama did not appear to be particularly talkative, but that had never bothered the young woman in anyone else, and it did not bother her now. His comment on the Ancients was met with vigorous nodding. They were indeed mysterious; even the many books she'd read gave little more than the basic information about them. [say]"I read somewhere that they're the oldest race in Caido,"[/say] she shared. [say]"I wonder why there seem to be so few of them. I hope there will be some at the festival!"[/say]
Seeing the stone that Hadama referred to, Soh peered at the rusty red rock with a keen eye. She was certainly not an expert, but it did look more red than the surrounding stone. [say]"I think it might be!"[/say] she said excitedly, stepping back from the wall. She hefted the pickaxe she'd been carrying off her shoulder and offered it to Hadama. [say]"Would you like to do the honors?"[/say]
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Hadama - 05-19-2023
"Yes. They have been gone for a very long time," Hadama acknowledged, a single tilt of his head matching Sohalia's more vigorous nodding. "My people have no records of them left." And the records of the Mer went back through many generations, passed down in oral form rather than soluble paper and ink. His own father was a historian-bard and even he had not known of any tales relating to Dygra or her children.
Further comment was held back as he considered the wall of the tunnel and sought Soh's opinion. She was at least more expert than he was, and he had no shame in admitting it. Her offer of the pickaxe was met with a thoughtful tilt of the Tidebreaker's head and a slow nod before he reached for the tool and tested the grip in his webbed hand. "Hmm. Thank you. It is strange, doing this without a tail," he admitted, setting his trident to lean against the wall nearby and then taking the pickaxe in both hands. His balance was unsteady but improving the longer he was out of the water, and he raised the tool carefully over his head before bringing it crashing down against the wall - and sending sharp shards and large chunks of stone flying as a seam of glittering carmine was revealed behind the newly-widened crack in the old lava.
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Sohalia - 05-19-2023
Sohalia was just as curious about the Mer as she was about the Ancients, having met just as many of each race in her travels - which was to say, Hadama was the first Mer she'd encountered. She wondered how they differed from the land-walking peoples of Caido, but it felt rude to bombard the man with questions about his culture. Perhaps, if she spent more time in Torchline, she could learn for herself.
She handed over her pickaxe willingly enough and took a step back, allowing Hadama plenty of room to maneuver. His movements were slow, measured, and perhaps a little unsteady, but it didn't seem to deter him. He was more than capable of swinging the pickaxe hard enough to send rock flying from the wall. In between swings, Soh said, [say]"I can imagine it's quite different. Do you often leave the water?"[/say]
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Hadama - 05-20-2023
It was shockingly easy to mine on land. There was no water to slow the rise and fall of the pickaxe, and brute strength had never been something Hadama had lacked. There was more danger in overbalancing when he drew the pick back than anything else, but he only needed a few swings to shatter the seam wide enough to reach the bounty within.
He paused to consider the crack before politely offering the pickaxe back to Sohalia in case she wanted to take a few swings of her own. "No," he said, simple and direct. "This is the third time." The first having been in a dream with Remi, and the second having been at the masquerade ball at Wrenzoak's Refuge, under Frey's influence. Perhaps dreams did not count for much, but the Ball certainly had... even if he had been in a body that was both human and female at the time.
"What will you do with your rubies?" A genuinely curious question that would, he hoped reveal a little more about his cheerful young benefactor.
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Sohalia - 05-22-2023
Soh had no underwater mining experience to compare with, but her land-based attempts had been somewhat less successful than Hadama's ventures now. While the Mer had brute strength, Soh was decidedly lacking, and she'd only been able to chip away, little by little, expending far more energy than was entirely necessary for very little payoff. So when Hadama offered her the pickaxe, it was with some level of trepidation that she took it back. She turned to the wall, squared her shoulders, and took a few swings. Only a few pebbles rolled from the crack that Hadama had started, and she peeked over her shoulder sheepishly.
It was far easier to talk about rubies, and she smiled as she lined up her next swing. [say]"I was thinking of a necklace and some earrings, perhaps?"[/say] she mused, grunting slightly as she swung the pickaxe at the wall. This time, the crack widened marginally, and she grinned with triumph. [say]"Inlaid in gold, I think. What about you?"[/say] she asked, holding the pickaxe back out for the Mer to take, should he wish to.
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Hadama - 05-23-2023
When she looked back to him the large Mer simply tilted his head to the side in a nod of approval for her efforts. They were, perhaps, not as deep as his, but she was more accurate - and less likely to shatter the very rubies they were attempting to collect. Sometimes a softer touch was called for, and until he became more used to moving about in the air it was something she had a better grasp of than he did.
Sohalia's ideas for jewelry eased some of the stoic lines of the King's face, a flicker of agreement in his eyes as he carefully took the pickaxe back and considered their progress so far before choosing his next swing with care, a little to the right of where they had been striking.
"A warm gold would match them well," he agreed. "It will be elegant." True, he might have matched her more with sapphires or emeralds, but when in Rome the Climb...
It took two swings for the chunk of wall to crack free, fracture lines running back to the seam until a triangle of rock fell away to reveal the red bounty within. Flipping the pickaxe around, Hadama began to pry more chunks of stone free to widen their gap and make it easier to retrieve their treasure. "Mmn. A torq, I think. Gold, as you said. The terminals carved from obsidian into hippocampus heads. And rubies for their eyes," he added, a thoughtful consideration as it seemed their seam was rather small. But his ruby chips could be small compared to what Sohalia would need. Even so, the discussion of jewelry seemed to draw more words from him until he paused to determine that they now had a nest of raw rubies they could begin to dig out.
Once more he offered Soh the pickaxe, determining her lighter touch to be what was needed next. "What region are you from?" He didn't recognize her as a fellow Torcher, though her bubbly good nature would have fit in well on the tropical beaches of his home.
RE: [SE] Memories of Fire - Sohalia - 05-23-2023
Hadama's approval was well-received, and Soh smiled happily as she passed the pickaxe back to the Mer. His own idea for a torq intrigued the young woman, his description so thorough that she couldn't help but picture the piece. [say]"It sounds very intricate!"[/say] she said. She wondered if there were ways to work metal underwater, or if he would be reliant on landfolk for the actual development of the torq. Either way, a good metalworker would be able to craft the beautiful piece that Hadama had described. She looked forward to seeing it, were she to see the man again at the festival or elsewhere.
She took the pickaxe back when it was offered, tilting her head to size up the hole that was beginning to form. It would take more precision to pry the rubies loose, and care not to strike them and break them into useless pieces. [say]"I was born in the Hollowed Grounds, but I left after the barrier came down. I live in Stormbreak now."[/say] She took up her stance and carefully struck at the wall, digging a crack around the ruby so that they might be able to pry it free.