Two drops

Sah

Sah hadn't intended to leave Halo to complete his quest, but a commission had come in at the exact same time. He figured he could complete both at once. Finding fire padds had been surprisingly tricky but he'd eventually found them. Harvesting them with telekinesis and air magic, he'd placed them in a sealed box an into his bag.

Finding a smooth rock nearby, he carefully took out the two pendent necklaces that he'd crafted with Deimos' advice. Placing them down, he took out a dagger. Both required his blood, but Safrin hadn't specified how much. After considering it for a few moments, Sah decided that a few drops each would suffice. It would coat the surface of the pendants.

Grimacing, he shallowly sliced is palm with the blade, and held his clenched fist over the two, watching as his blood dripped.

I think therefore I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

He seemed so focused on the work that she felt bad about approaching. It wasn't everyday she stumbled upon Sah though, and it wasn't an opportunity she wanted to miss. Scuffing her feet intentionally to give some warning of her approach, Maea sauntered up to the young man, hands behind her back and with a curious look on her face. "Hi Sah. What are you doing?"

The pendants told her little of their purpose, but the blood suggested a ritual of some kind. Magic, or some request from a god, perhaps? Knowing the kind of resolve it required to let blood for a cause, her nose wrinkled in sympathy. "I can heal that for you, if you'd like," she offered. "Once you're done."

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Sah

Sah's head snapped up when he heard movement, his fist still in place over the necklaces. Before lightning could even begin to flicker into existence, he recognized Maea. "Oh! Hey, Maea. How are you?" Still letting a few more drops fall he nodded towards the items, "I'm infusing these with some of my blood as part of a quest."

Her offered had a warm smile stretching across his face, "Thank you. That'd be appreciated." He could heal himself, but he didn't' want to be rude and deny her generous offer. When the surfaces of the pendants were sufficiently coated, Sah held his hand out to the Ancient, letting out a contemplative hum as he considered his words. He trusted Maea. As an acquaintance and as someone who he knew was truly against the Family. As such he was willing to elaborate on his quest a little.

When Sah spoke again, the words were quiet, "The Family attacked my family. These pendants are the start of two quests that Safrin is helping me with, to create a contingency plan." That was enough detail for Maea to hopefully understand the gravity of his actions and it was the maximum of recollection that Sah was willing to do at the moment. Focusing on his quest was keeping his mind busy and away from the lurking shadows of LongNight.

I think therefore I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

Ah, so it was a quest. Pleased to have guessed correctly she hovered near it, watching the droplets of blood coat the surface of each pendant. "I am well," she replied, and unlike last time they spoke, it was actually true. She looked better, too. A spark of light was in her eyes and a new surety steadied her steps, like she had forgotten to apologize for taking up space. "I've been spending most of the season in the Greatwood, and it looks like I will be staying there."

Accepting Sah's hand, Maea drew her chakram and was about to nick herself with the sharp blade when he explained more about the quest. A soft intake of breath hissed past sharp teeth; the didn't actually growl but the way Maea's tail thrashed behind her suggested it was a near thing.
"They have much to answer for," she grated out. Digging her blade into the pale flesh of an arm, the endured the agonizing pain to draw upon its dark powers. Probably she overdid it; there was no real need to spill this much blood for the simple nick in his hand. But she did it anyway, and if she was able to mend anything else along the way - fatigue, perhaps, or even the blisters of feet not suited to the ground of the Climb - then it was blood well spent. "If you or yours ever need anything, just say the word. I can't do much, but... I've been lucky with finding flora of all sorts lately." Catching his gaze, her half smile held a meaningful curve, hoping he would understand her meaning. "Perhaps I will be lucky again; who knows."

The ruby red glow of her magic died away, and with a far shallower cut to the base of the thumb, Maea healed up her own injury. Breathing a sigh of relief that the ordeal was over, she shook her head ruefully; "Looks like I need to practice... that was a bit too much."

------

Maea used
Magic: Bloodboon | Can injure themselves for mastered damage heal themselves or others at 1.5x their mastered level with a range of 30ft.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

In the near distance, around another bend and of caverns, a roar can be heard – loud, potent, powerful. And were those flames, rounding along the corner?

That could be a black dragon: a pernicious beast of legend, ready, willing, and able to defend its home for little to no reason.

Maybe it would be best to go another way?

---

You’ve encountered a Black Dragon. This counts as an uncommon creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements. (You may not kill this creature without admin permission. )

Black Dragon (uncommon/mythical) - Black dragons of average size. Highly aggressive with fiery breath that can instantly melt most substances.

Sah

Sah's eyes softened, "I'm glad to hear it." The mention of the Greatwood caught his attention. "You'll be staying there? Are you planning to revitalize it?" Being nomadic wasn't rare but permanently settling in part of the Wild certainly was.

Maea's anger on his family's behalf and the genuineness of her offer reassured Sah that he had made the right choice in sharing some of the details. "Thank you, Maea. That means a lot."

Sah wasn't sure if his eyes had gone wider from seeing the Ancient harm herself to heal him, or at the notion that she'd found flowers. "Truly? That's wonderful. I hope that you continue to have such luck." It was a relief to know that someone had spotted the elusive flora. He'd been half convinced that the Family had destroyed them all and that was why no one had been able to locate any.

Falling silent, Sah observed Maea work her magic. never seen the Ancient form of healing magic and it was certainly dark, but as he felt his skin knit back together and fatigue fade from his shoulders, he couldn't deny its effectiveness. "Thank you." He was almost about to offer his own healing magic in return, weaker as it was, but she also healed herself. It was certainly impressive.

Using a small burst of fire magic, Sah dried the blood on the necklaces so that they could be put away. As he did, he tilted his head, brow furrowed, "Will you be alright?"

Just then, an unfortunately familiar roar sounded in the distance and, the hybrid cursed under his breath, "Why do I seem to run into one of those things every time I'm in the Climb?" It was ridiculous.

I think therefore I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

Hesitating at first, her nod of confirmation was a bit tentative, almost shy. "Well... it looks that way. I met a retired dragoon over there - Liam Dawson? - and we are both looking for a way to make a difference. We have talked about taking up the guardianship... It will require a lot of work before it will compare to what the region used to be, though." But it was where they wanted to be, and if the alternative was to leave, Maea would do what was necessary to carve out a place for herself to call her own.
Staying in the Greatwood did also mean direct access to the miracle flowers so the chances of finding more of them were not nil. It was another reason to ensure the Woods remained free of taint; a very persuasive reason to boldly take up a mantle no one had desired for many years.

Nodding again Maea was showing Sah her hands, perfectly healed save for the puckered scars of some old burn, when a distant roar had her head whip up, suddenly alert. Sah's grumble brought on a quiet laugh; "I've seen them a few times as well. They must be thriving here. Strange, though, I only ever notice black ones. Do they cross over into Halo at all?"

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Sah

"I don't believe I've met Liam. Granted, I haven't met many dragoons." Having spent the vast majority of his life in Caido as an Abandoned, Sah had all but avoided the group. He smiled warmly, "I wish you both the best of luck in becoming guardians. If I can think of anyone who may wish to move there, I'll send them your way. If there's anything else that I can do to help, please don't hesitate to reach out." A region required a sustainable population, and although Sah wasn't ready to leave Halo, he still wished to help Maea with her goal.

Studying the Ancient's hands, the Wild Thunder nodded in satisfaction, "Good."

 The dragon's presence was more of an irritant at this distance. Maea's laugh was a nice surprise and Sah found himself feeling slightly less annoyed with the fiery creature nearby as he answered her question. "No. Halo has white dragons instead. I've only ever seen black ones here and I've never seen the two mix so I imagine they stay out of each other's way most of the time." The hybrid couldn't help but grimace, eyes dimming, "The white ones have a nasty habit of targeting people. Even I've lost loved ones to them."

Aino, and now Cordelia had both been taken from his family by the creatures. Not to mention the entire group of white dragons that had shown up at the Citadel during the war with the Voice.

I think therefore I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

It was a generous offer, and a kind thought for the sorely neglected region. Maea's smile was grateful as she inclined her head to the hunter. "Thank you, Sah. Anyone you recommend will likely be a great asset to any region; I'll do my best to ensure the place they come to won't disappoint." There would be time to meet and visit and get to know new faces in times to come – provided they all survived the trials ahead.

Sobering at the memory of people she had lost to the white dragons, she hummed in acknowledgement. "Perhaps we should be grateful then, that they don't mix. I don't know that the white ones need the temper that black seem to have. Better they stay reclusive." Beautiful and aweinspiring though they may be, dragons in general were better admired from a distance.

"Is that all you need to do with these?" she wondered, turning her attention back to the pendants. "I don't mean to rush you, but if there's one dragon around, there may be more..." And it would be wise to relocate before anyone had a close encounter they'd come to regret.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Sah

Sah smiled gently, "I know you will." He was still getting to know Maea, but it was clear that her heard was large and in the right place. He had no doubt that she'd turn the region into a place that people could happily call home.

He hummed in agreement, not keen on seeing an even dangerous more dragon in gray. Maea was right that they needed to get a move on. Sah picked up the necklaces and studied them. They were suitably bloodied and had dried by his fire and the heat of the air. Carefully wrapping them up in a cloth, he placed them in his bag. "Yes. Thank you for your help."

Glancing in the direction of the dragon he grimaced, "Let's get away from her." Turning to the Ancient he smiled warmly, "I'll see you around. Best of luck with the Greatwood.

-[FIN]

I think therefore I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?