[SE] Catch the fire burning out your soul

// I've been trying to fix my pride //

Iskra traded his normal axe for a pickaxe since he'd be playing miner for the day instead of logger. He adjusted the pack on his shoulder that had some general supplies and room to put the ore he was planning on carting back. The pickaxe he held swung freely as he carved a path down slopes and rocks that threatened treachery with complacency. Goose, steadfast as ever, weaved a pattern alongside him, paws much better adept at the work, though the hound was still cautious with placing them on anything cutting. His tongue lolled freely with a near-constant pant, the ambient heat not being his preference, but then neither was staying home while Iskra went off.

"Know anything about mining?" he asked the dog, who stilled his panting long enough to partially close his mouth and look back at Iskra expectantly before resuming. "Was that a yes?" Iskra asked with a quirk of his lips, shaking his head at the dog.

"Well I don't," he continued, a long sigh breaking free. He paused on a flatter portion of ground, glancing around at the architecture of ruin, 'brow pinching in thought. Where to start? It was all rock, but was it all good rock? He rather thought he'd like something pretty to make after his mother.

Iskra

// But that shit's broken //

please remain calm, the end has arrived. we cannot save you, enjoy the ride.
this is the moment you've been waiting for, don't call it a warning. this is a war

It’s a small little pit stop on the way to Frey’s Breath, just to take another quick look and see if any lilies would appear and give them just that much more of an advantage over Starfall. Sticking to as much shade and darkness as he can, sweat still clings to the Flood’s skin as he drifts through, dressed down thanks to the heat. The Climb at Longheat was almost insufferably hot, enough that each intake of breath felt humid and sweltering, but having practiced his water magic with Deimos he at least can make his water colder now – enough that he doesn’t have to worry too much about overheating and dehydration.

Rounding a corner, he hears the low hum of a voice before he approaches, then the brief scrabble of claws on stone. A bit on edge, unsure what to expect but prepping himself anyway, the Flood turns the corner only to come face to face with someone familiar – and most importantly, not void touched. “Hey Iskra.” Sunjata calls out over to him, offering a wave from his lightning scarred hand and a crooked smile. “Hi Goose.” He adds, diverting his attention to the canine. “What’re you guys doing all the way out here?”

SUNJATA

// I've been trying to fix my pride //

Goose picked up on Sunjata long before Iskra did, his movement stilling as he stood stiff on a rock. Iskra took a hint from the hound and gave pause behind him, glancing over the direction Goose stared, ears strained, nose twitching. "Wha—" Iskra's voice is cut off as Goose gives a low bark as the Flood rounds the corner on them. His hackles are lifted, the effect of the nerves from trying to figure out the sounds he could hear. There's no residual threat in the dog as Sunjata calls over to them though, the fur already starting to soften back to flat.

Relieved to see a familiar face and not the void, the tension in Iskra slackens, his own hand lifting in welcome. "Hey Sunjata," Iskra says as the distance vanishes between them, Goose straining forward to sniff at the other man, tail wagging the faintest bit. "Looking to mine some ore for a new weapon," Iskra says as he lifts his pickaxe as if in proof. "I asked Ludo to help me make a greataxe, so he set me on a quest. Almost done." Iskra doesn't dwell on his one remaining task, perhaps the hardest thing of all that Ludo assigned him—honoring his late mother.

He's got enough to keep his mind busy here with heat and dangerous footing all striving to wear him out before he's even swung his tool into the ground. "Yourself?" Iskra asks, glancing over at the Archon's seemingly bare hands. Then, as an after thought, "I've never actually mined ore before...you got any tips?"

Iskra

// But that shit's broken //

please remain calm, the end has arrived. we cannot save you, enjoy the ride.
this is the moment you've been waiting for, don't call it a warning. this is a war

As Goose drifts closer, Sunjata’s smile widens a touch as he breaks the distance, reaching out to let Goose sniff him before scratching lightly behind his ears. Crouched as he is, he tilts his head up toward Iskra with that same pleased smile. “Oh, yeah?” He asks, contemplative for a moment. “Funnily enough, I’ve never really met Ludo.” Aside from the times where it had appeared for events like the Festival of Lights or that one game of hide and seek it played ages ago.

But that’s neither here nor there, really. As for himself? “Just was heading to Frey’s Breath to look for lilies.” Shrugging a tattooed shoulder, the Flood straightens up and peers past Iskra to the wall he’s been hovering by. “You’re gonna wanna look for a vein if you don’t want to spend all day digging.” Stepping past the abandoned, he reaches up to the too hot wall, running his fingers along the dark volcanic hue of it. “Is there a certain kinda ore you’re looking for?” Turning his attention back to Iskra, he raises a scarred brow with his question.

SUNJATA

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.

// I've been trying to fix my pride //

Goose is always happy for ear scratches, and even leans into the motion, a low groan rumbling free as a back leg lifts up and kicks at air in tempo with the fingers working through fur. Sunjata found the spot.

"Don't ever call Ludo where it's cold," Iskra warns swiftly, like its gospel he's been tasked with spreading far and wide, to Ludo-worshippers or not. "It hates the cold, and is not above cursing you for it, even when there's a perfectly good blanket," Iskra mutters, eyes wide with the seriousness of the risk, and the haunting memory of it.

Iskra nods along with the idea of lily hunting, making a mental note to himself that he needs to head back either there or to the Greatwood soon to resume his hunt. He'd let Ludo's tasks keep him busy thus far, but with it almost done, he needs to get his hands dirty again with the search, the one way he can assist.

"Right, a vein," Iskra mumbles, glancing back towards the planes of rocks like now he's got something better to look for as Sunjata steps in closer. Iskra glances over at him, mimicking the touch of hand to stone, grimacing at the searing heat of it. "I figured something strong, like iron, but maybe something a touch pretty too. Something blue. Maybe crystals that get mixed with it?" He feels rather out of his depth, talking about mining, blacksmithing, weapons as a whole. He maybe should have asked Ludo a bit more about this.

At the roar of the distant dragon, Goose drops low, whining between his teeth as the heat of his land brushes his belly as he creeps to curl around Iskra's feet. Iskra's gaze is also skyward, wary with the pickaxe held a bit firmer in hand. "S'alright bud," he croons to the dog, patting the fluffy head reassuringly. "Might not have the time left to be picky," Iskra laughs nervously.

---

Absolutely malding at these fucking serendipities

Iskra

// But that shit's broken //

please remain calm, the end has arrived. we cannot save you, enjoy the ride.
this is the moment you've been waiting for, don't call it a warning. this is a war

A low rumble of a laugh leaves Sunjata at the mention of Ludo and the do’s and don’ts. “I think if I ever need to go and see it, I’ll prolly just beg my niece to take me.” Waggling his brows playfully, he turns toward the rock to step closer. “She’s it’s demigod, so.” Not realizing what kind of bombshell it would be for Iskra, the Flood’s attention flicks to the wall, asking more scientific questions based from his experience in having to mine varying metals.

“The crystals are prolly gonna stick out in the Soulfire Reach, but we might be able to find some here. Iron, though, is gonna have a red kinda hue.” Running his hand along the heat of the stone again, it comes away ashen when he finally spots a promising and surprisingly smooth portion of the volcanic rock. It’s about that time that the roar of the dragon echoes through the Climb and Sunjata’s steel gaze tracks it as Goose hunches low and Iskra’s nervousness is nearly palpable in the air.

Turning back toward the two, Sunjata takes a moment to partially shift, letting his dragon wings flare out from his back. “If it decides to stick around I’ll convince it to leave.” He promises Iskra with a wink, before his wings tuck in tight and he prods at an almost blood red looking line through the stone. “Try digging here. I think it’s probably iron.”

SUNJATA

// I've been trying to fix my pride //

Iskra snorts in response to that, "yeah well, I went with a Ludo demigod too and she didn't tell me about the cold until it was too late." So take heed. He didn't actually have any hard feelings about it though, and well her company had been a favor, he's the one who didn't bother to ask and just trudged to the shrine in silence. So he shrugs, smile light that fits along his features. "But, that's Mel for ya." Implying, that maybe even if he had asked, she still might not have actually told him, just to see for herself what might come of the blunder. She'd certainly found the curse amusing enough.

Sunjata seems to commune with the volcanic rocks for a minute, hands finding more than heat. Iskra's poor attempt to copy him only comes up empty handed, other than reddened skin and black smudges anyway.

The flare of wings that serves as a warning to the distant roar unsettles Goose. The dog spins to his back, belly exposed with a quiet lick as he tilts his head back, accepting his death. Iskra glances down with a sign, toing the silly mutt to rise. "Shoulda fucking called you Chicken," he mutters with exasperation.

"Thanks," he says with appreciation for the Flood's quick capabilities, and the tucking of his wings which rouses Goose back to his feet. Glancing at the red seam Sunjata motions to, Iskra hefts up his pickaxe, squaring up to strike. "Alright, let's give it a shot. Hopefully no lava sprays back and sets me on fire," he jokes, kinda. This place feels like it could manage to do just that. With a grunt Iskra brings the point of the pickaxe down on the red shine of ore. Some rock crumbles away, and he works the tool free to set it's edge against the stone several more times, carving it out like a face taking shape in clay.

Iskra

// But that shit's broken //

please remain calm, the end has arrived. we cannot save you, enjoy the ride.
this is the moment you've been waiting for, don't call it a warning. this is a war

The bright rumble of a laugh leaves the Flood as Iskra ends with precisely the same thing Sunjata would say, too, that’s Mel for ya, and he twists his attention to the woodworker, his smile lopsided with the air of the end of his laugh. “Yeah. She’s good at that, huh?” In case it wasn’t clear yet, the glimmer in his gaze suggests that Mel and his niece are one in the same.

Ah, but then there’s dragons and mine to be collected, and his gaze flits to Goose briefly with equal amounts of amusement and protection rippling through his wings as he ensures the dragon won’t come back to fuck around. Which leaves them perfectly capable of finding the vein of iron for him.

He steps aside to let Iskra start prepping to mine, his grin brightening. “I’ll put ya out, don’t worry.” Waggling his fingertips with a glimmer of summoned water, Sunjata flicks it up into the air to let a bit of rain fall upon them, cooling the heat of the Climb momentarily. But what a momentary reprieve it is while Iskra works.

Iron ore begins to spill slowly but surely from the vein, the reddened hue making it appear more like clay in the low light of this particular outcropping, and with it Sunjata makes himself busy collecting the pieces for the other man. "Hey look, no lava."

SUNJATA

// I've been trying to fix my pride //

Iskra does indeed catch the word choice Sunjata uses, and pauses everything to glance pointedly at the Flood, surprise drawing everything in his face to a subtle skyward lean. "Mel is your niece?" he asks for confirmation, though the slow drawl of a chuckle is breaking free with disbelief at the irony of fate. "I've known her since we were young. Used to play together all the time at Torchline. Caused hell for both our families, and the town," he laughed with a boyish ease at the old thoughts of them giving chase amid sun, sand, and sea.

Sunjata has offered Iskra a lot in the short time he's known him, likely more than the Flood realizes. The weight of their woodland talk surely did not register as anything meaningful for the Archon, but for Iskra, it had helped rouse something that had long appeared dead inside him—hope, and a strength to try and do something other than regret. Yet in this moment, there's perhaps no greater gift than that brief shower Sunjata produces, the blessed rainfall a cool respite among this heat that Goose and Iskra both are unaccustomed to even marginally.

"You are exceptionally handy to have around," Iskra laughs, pausing to hold up a palm to the drizzle produced by the Flood. With certainty now for the task at hand, Iskra carves the ore from the rock, thankful to Sunjata's assistance with plucking it up and placing it into his bag. The work is similar to his usual, but pulls on some different muscles that begin to ache, and the hard bite of the stone rattles against him differently from the wood.

Pulling back to assess if they have enough, Iskra wipes his 'brow against a sleeve with a sigh. About to ask Sunjata something, Iskra's voice dies beneath the low growl that rumbles free of Goose. The dog had remained closeby, watchful, but otherwise quiet with the nerves the dragon left him. Now however, he's lifted from the ground with a slow curl forward, bristling against the threat that steps around the slopes as two voidforged fyrhunds approach. They do not take much heed of Goose's warnings and after a lift of their own lips, they charge forward with all the devious intensity of the void's destructive nature.

Iskra swears under his breath and sinks into a low, prepared stance with the pickaxe. Drawing from nearby flame that edges along the lava pools, he coats the end of the pickaxe with the fire, though it feels like it might have little impact on the hounds, at least it adds an extra something to the meager tool at his disposal. "Here they come," Iskra grunts as he braces and swings at the approaching head of one that snaps for Goose, the other unwisely targeting Sunjata.

---

Uses his fire manipulation, drawing from the lava pools, to add it to his pickaxe swing at the void fyrhound 

Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate flames. Must be within a 5ft radius, control is weak and unstable and requires concentration.
Type: Dark | Rank: Basic

Iskra

// But that shit's broken //

please remain calm, the end has arrived. we cannot save you, enjoy the ride.
this is the moment you've been waiting for, don't call it a warning. this is a war

“Yup.” Sunjata answers bluntly, offering a smile to hear Iskra’s laughter bubble through and an explanation of what they’d done when they were younger. Perhaps that’s what happened when he was too busy fucking everything up with Safrin and Nate and Phoebe, back then. It does do him some calm to know that she hadn’t been completely and totally alone. “Her father was… married to my sister for a time.” This is said a touch more delicately.

Graasvoel had given all of them their trauma one way or another. And Sunjata had much preferred to show her what a Korofian could be as opposed to the snake her father was. Going so far as to teach her their language.

But those thoughts meld with a version of him that no longer exists, with the help he can offer, the good he can do. So he calls upon the rain to cool down the woodcutter and his canine (and himself in the process), wings flaring a touch to offer a bit of a fan for a breeze amongst the dampness of their skin and fur while Iskra works and he collects the ore. "If you need water or a multitude of random shifts, I'm your guy." He jests lightly while they work.

It’s Goose that immediately has Sunjata’s attention, too. And he stares back at the dog before suddenly spotting the void fyrhunds with a curse of a language Iskra would not understand. They look worse than they had before – the infection rendering him seeing dog-like beings, made completely out of eyes and tentacles rather than what Iskra would see. And it’s that discomfort that has him acting immediately.

One charges him – a mistake, he’s sure, because what erupts from him is clearly an indicator of overreaction but also his namesake. Sunjata unleashes a wave of water from his feet, like he’d drawn it up from the gods themselves, and it rushes past Iskra and Goose leaving their feet and legs wet but otherwise unharmed, before slamming first into the voidforged fyrhund that aims its attack on him, before slamming into the one that’s attempting to take a bite out of Goose.

---

He uses his riptide!

Magic: Riptide | Creates an explosive wave that travels 60ft. Allies in the radius are uneffected, and enemies on the ground within 15 feet are knocked down.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered

SUNJATA

// I've been trying to fix my pride //

The void-hounds gnash and snarl as they race for them, woefully underestimating the supereffective torrent that is Sunjata in action. Iskra's flaming pickaxe swings against molten teeth that flash towards him and Goose, and it deters the beast marginally. Iskra rallies to swing again, willing every bit of strength he has into it, but Sunjata's wave is cresting over his opponent and drives into the second hound as well. The conjured wave is a force they cannot reckon with as it soaks their fire-wrought hide without mercy. There's a mangled outcry from the infected creatures as their flames sputter and finally extinguish, stillness settling into them as the force of the wave knocks them down and drags them away with a rumble.

Iskra watches them depart with an open-mouthed gawk that he steadily turns to Sunjata once he's certain they're snuffed out for good. "Holy shit Sunjata, you don't get your name for nothing I guess." The fire on his pickaxe disperses as he leans its head on the ground, his weight pressing into the handle as he regards the Flood. "I think I owe you two favors now," he says with a light laugh that doesn't remove any of the sincerity to his words.

Goose leans against Iskra's legs for comfort, thoroughly done with this hot, dangerous region. Iskra rubs idly at the dog's head. "You think this is enough for an axe?" he asks as he tests the bag of collected ore.

Iskra

// But that shit's broken //

please remain calm, the end has arrived. we cannot save you, enjoy the ride.
this is the moment you've been waiting for, don't call it a warning. this is a war

The water flares from him like he’s Poseidon himself, mastered control, nailing the voidy fyrhunds like it’s nothing more than simple, easy target practice. They get pushed out, the wave strong enough to carry them back wherever they came from, and only then does Sunjata’s tense shoulders begin to relax, glancing over at Iskra to see the open mouthed gawking. “Sorry.” He almost mutters a little, his smile apologetic because it had definitely been an overreaction. But regardless, it’d worked, and at the mention of owing two favors now? The Flood laughs, a warmer, thawing sound.

“Nah, you’re good. Trust me.” It wasn’t often he panicked like that, but when he did it often came with those eruptions of his power. It just so happened Iskra had been there to witness it.

Taking a deep breath, Sunjata runs a hand through his hair before he looks back to the bag of collected ore, flashing an easier smile to Iskra as he steps over to inspect it and the bulging sides, clearly full of plenty of iron to make something at least. “Looks like enough to me.”

SUNJATA

// I've been trying to fix my pride //

Iskra laughs, shaking his head, "don't be sorry, that was awesome. We should train together sometime!" Not that it seemed like Sunjata really needed it, although even the strong have to keep their skills honed, right? "I'm trying to get stronger now," he admits a bit more quietly to the Flood. "Finally decided keeping my head buried and in the dark wasn't doing anyone any favors, me included. So I could use all the practice I can get." His smile is small when he offers it, but it's still there, willing to find something of happiness amid the shadow of all his failures.

"Great," he says with clear relief. "Much as I always enjoy spending time with you, one dragon and some void hounds later and I think I'm ready for home." Not to mention the way the heat makes it feel like certain parts of him might liquify and slide away into nothing, or all the sweat darkening his clothes now. The tidalwave had actually been nice. Swinging the bag up around his shoulders and gripping the pickaxe at his side, Iskra claps Sunjata on the the shoulder with both hands. "Appreciate all your help Sunjata. I'll find some way to help you back soon," he grins, ignoring whatever refusal Sunjata might offer as he and his dog set back home, hand lifted in farewell.

[FIN]

Iskra

// But that shit's broken //