((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
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Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
The giants seemed to look at one another thinking about what they should do, the concept of freedom intrigued them...but it also frightened them. The largest one shook it's head and remained standing near her.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
"Very well," she said finally. "And now we are one and all aligned with each other, my friends," she began. She raised her voice into a more official and formal tone.
"You all know that I am Caeriadne, daughter of Sapphire. My home lies south of here. The seat of my domain is a tiny city called Brighton, which I will be the first to admit is not impressive when one looks upon it. But, my friends, that is where our reign begins. BlazeHill Hold is now the second of my conquests, but I dare say upon danger of offending you brave denizens of its halls that it is not much suited to serve as a home just now. Fires burn not in the hearths, but within your homes. Ruins have been made of your once-great walls. It may take time to undo the damage that has been wrought by your wicked enemies, and I would stay here with you at once to aid in the repairs, but I fear that something urgent has brought me north to you in the first place...something I must tell you of now."
"The great Blue Dragon Darilith comes southwards," she began grimly, "and I fear that he seeks to cull any opposition even before we may establish ourselves. He is among the greatest of the Chromatics and all of dragonkind, and if it is his will to conquer, his first task since awakening will be to destroy any other dragons that he sees as a threat. He brings with him wicked monstrosities, fiends and abominations of necromancy and dark magic. And, my friends, his path leads to Brighton. Whether or not he knows that I intend to forge a great kingdom of my own, free from the tyranny of the likes of his kind and their oppressive follies, I do not know. But I return to Brighton, the humble seat of the new seed of my empire, and I ask you to come also, that we may stand together against Darilith if he so chooses to seek me out. I do not ask that you abandon your home, only to leave it for awhile, that we may reunify with others who share a loyal cause under me and regroup our strength so that we may rebuild this place as a bastion of our new dominion once the time of our threat has passed."
"You all know that I am Caeriadne, daughter of Sapphire. My home lies south of here. The seat of my domain is a tiny city called Brighton, which I will be the first to admit is not impressive when one looks upon it. But, my friends, that is where our reign begins. BlazeHill Hold is now the second of my conquests, but I dare say upon danger of offending you brave denizens of its halls that it is not much suited to serve as a home just now. Fires burn not in the hearths, but within your homes. Ruins have been made of your once-great walls. It may take time to undo the damage that has been wrought by your wicked enemies, and I would stay here with you at once to aid in the repairs, but I fear that something urgent has brought me north to you in the first place...something I must tell you of now."
"The great Blue Dragon Darilith comes southwards," she began grimly, "and I fear that he seeks to cull any opposition even before we may establish ourselves. He is among the greatest of the Chromatics and all of dragonkind, and if it is his will to conquer, his first task since awakening will be to destroy any other dragons that he sees as a threat. He brings with him wicked monstrosities, fiends and abominations of necromancy and dark magic. And, my friends, his path leads to Brighton. Whether or not he knows that I intend to forge a great kingdom of my own, free from the tyranny of the likes of his kind and their oppressive follies, I do not know. But I return to Brighton, the humble seat of the new seed of my empire, and I ask you to come also, that we may stand together against Darilith if he so chooses to seek me out. I do not ask that you abandon your home, only to leave it for awhile, that we may reunify with others who share a loyal cause under me and regroup our strength so that we may rebuild this place as a bastion of our new dominion once the time of our threat has passed."
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Mil'drucht thoughtfully ran his hand through his substantial beard. "Darilith...we have legends about a blue monster with that name, our legends referred to him as the storm so we assumed he was an elemental of some type, some even though he was a lesser deity. But a dragon...that's troubling news. When will you be leaving? I need time to discuss such a migration with the Elders among my people, I may be king, but my people have a voice that deserves to be heard."
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Caeriadne consulted the sun for a moment. She was now on the second morning of her journey, and she had until dusk the next day to make her return in a timely manner.
"I will have to leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I will help you prepare for your journey. I shall go ahead of you and you may take several days to make the trip. Take what time you need to discuss with your Elders; I respect your peoples' voice. Do take into consideration that I would not hold you against your will, but this may not be the safest place for you now, and Brighton will be a better base of operations until we can gather the resources to rebuild here."
"I will have to leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I will help you prepare for your journey. I shall go ahead of you and you may take several days to make the trip. Take what time you need to discuss with your Elders; I respect your peoples' voice. Do take into consideration that I would not hold you against your will, but this may not be the safest place for you now, and Brighton will be a better base of operations until we can gather the resources to rebuild here."
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Mil'drucht nodded "By tomorrow morning we will have an answer, and if the people want to leave, we will be ready to leave. It is my hope that the elders choose to go with you, until then my lady Caeriadne." He bows his head for a moment before turning back to his people, speaking in Dwarvish to them.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Caeriadne nodded, and let Mil'drucht address his people without interruption. She turned then and spoke directly to the giants. "Do not go inside the Hold yet. They still cannot trust you entirely because the people you were with hurt and killed their people. But you will make friends with them in time; until then, please make your camps outside. Do you have a leader among yourselves?"
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
The largest of the giant stepped forward and nodded with a loud grunting sound that seemed to be affirmative. It would seem, that though giants could speak common, these didn't know how to speak, though they did understand. Which meant these giants had been raised as slaves, probably by the Orks that Tchazzar had under his command.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
"Can you speak, my friend?" Caeriadne inquired. "What is your name?"
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
He shook his head and then pointed to himself and then signed the number zero. This giant was named, zero. They were numbered.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
"Zero?" She asked tentatively. "That would mean you are nothing, my friend. You are not nothing to me. You all have numbers instead of names?" She glanced across the other giants. "You will all have names of your own, in time. You are not slaves any more. Now, I ask that a few of you come with me. We have stone to gather and trees to fell. Some of you shall stay to build the carts and wagons for traveling."
With that, Caeriadne lifted up into the air and glided slowly so some of the giants could follow. She headed towards the nearest forest and swept in, swiping at the trunks of the thin trees on the outskirts with her talons to fell them at their base. She worked quickly and soon had a decent amount of timber for the giants to haul back up to the hold.
With that, Caeriadne lifted up into the air and glided slowly so some of the giants could follow. She headed towards the nearest forest and swept in, swiping at the trunks of the thin trees on the outskirts with her talons to fell them at their base. She worked quickly and soon had a decent amount of timber for the giants to haul back up to the hold.
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Zero turned to a few other giants and signed at them a few rudimentary words, that even in english would have been a broken sentence. The few giants he motioned to walked over and began following her, with some basic tools crafted from stones tethered to logs.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Caeriadne took down about a dozen more trees, which she thought should be sufficient for the journey. She then gathered some loose stone from the service and piled it up in a great mound for the giants to carry back. It took her several hours to gather everything and then she helped the giants with taking what was left back up to the top of the hold. It was late afternoon, and the giants and dwarves would still have hours of work ahead of them to prepare for the march down to Brighton.
During a pause in her labor, Caeriadne sat upon an empty clearing by the Keep as her giants worked behind her. "King Mil'drucht," she called, "I await you outside, if you have had time to speak with your people."
During a pause in her labor, Caeriadne sat upon an empty clearing by the Keep as her giants worked behind her. "King Mil'drucht," she called, "I await you outside, if you have had time to speak with your people."
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
The giants would work well, at the very least Tchazzar was not a liar, his giants worked just as he had promised they would.
Mil'drucht came out of his keep and smiled "My lady Caeriadne, I have had time to speak with my people and the elders, and a number of about twenty of us have decided they simply can not part with the keep, so they will be staying as an honor guard for the keep. But the rest of us, over two hundred BlazeHill Dwarves, will be joining you."
Mil'drucht came out of his keep and smiled "My lady Caeriadne, I have had time to speak with my people and the elders, and a number of about twenty of us have decided they simply can not part with the keep, so they will be staying as an honor guard for the keep. But the rest of us, over two hundred BlazeHill Dwarves, will be joining you."
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
"This gladdens me. Tell your Honor Guard that I afford them all respect, and they will do a great duty by remaining here to keep watch over the Keep to protect it from any dishonorable vagabonds and scavengers in our absence. See to it that they have all the equipment and provisions they require, and we shall correspond via a weekly report during times in which I am not able to personally travel back here to check on them. Perhaps, in time, there will be another regiment of you to return and begin the repairs. But for now, I ask that you all pack your belongings and prepare for the journey - nearly two hundred and fifty miles, and at great haste. Your wagons will be ready soon, and I leave now to hunt for you, that you should all eat well."
Caeriadne swooped herself back up into the sky once more and circled the fringes of the Hold, surveying for prime hunting spots where she could collect some good game.
Caeriadne swooped herself back up into the sky once more and circled the fringes of the Hold, surveying for prime hunting spots where she could collect some good game.
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
The dwarves got right to work preparing for their long journey, they were very quick in doing so.
When she was surveying the ground around the hold, she would notice that there were quite a few dead animals, but coming across living game was difficult after the years of roaming hordes. She would find a few larger bears near some wooded areas, and a few wandering axe beaks, but besides that there werent many other animals.
When she was surveying the ground around the hold, she would notice that there were quite a few dead animals, but coming across living game was difficult after the years of roaming hordes. She would find a few larger bears near some wooded areas, and a few wandering axe beaks, but besides that there werent many other animals.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Caeriadne decided not to deplete the area's traumatized resources any further. At this rate, it would already take years for the animals to replenish themselves. She went out a few miles further, looking for other populations which weren't so damaged.
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
As soon as she got some miles out, the game in the area increased immensely. Axe beaks, bison, horses, and various other creatures roamed the area in large herds.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Caeriadne chose to skip over the axe beaks for now, since she had more than her fill of them in the southern plains. She picked a couple particularly beefy bison and horses. Scooping them up one-by-one with her back talons like a great hawk, she made a small pile of about a dozen carcasses before flying them back to the hold and depositing them for the dwarves and giants. She took only one for herself. She tossed it up into the air, spitting a shard of crystallized sapphire breath into it before catching it in her great maw and chomping down on it hungrily, bones and all.
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Once she returned with all the food, the preparations to leave were pretty much completed, and the dwarves all began loading and preparing the food for the prolonged journey. The 20 dwarves who were staying already stood resolute at the main keep, with gleaming silver and gold armor, wielding mighty war axes and war hammers. Prepared to defend their ancestral home from raiders and vagabonds.
Mil'drucht made sure to tell her that they were prepared to leave once everything was prepared and ready to go.
Mil'drucht made sure to tell her that they were prepared to leave once everything was prepared and ready to go.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
By now night was beginning to fall, and it had been a long day of hard labor for everyone - Caeriadne was no exception. She finalized plans for them to all leave in the morning at first light, though Caeriadne would take the lead and make it before dusk that very day; the dwarves and giants likely had three to four days' walk at least, according to her estimation. She had taken care to ensure Mil'drucht that she would send some of her own forces northwards as soon as she reached home to assist them with the rest of their journey and bring extra provisions so they needn't stop.
Her final act of the night was to pay a short visit to the giants' camp. She shared with them a particularly choice bison that she had held back as a little extra act of kindness, reminded them to be ready to march at first light, and then retired to a clearing within the courtyard of the keep where she curled up to rest for the night under the torchlight of the Hold.
Her final act of the night was to pay a short visit to the giants' camp. She shared with them a particularly choice bison that she had held back as a little extra act of kindness, reminded them to be ready to march at first light, and then retired to a clearing within the courtyard of the keep where she curled up to rest for the night under the torchlight of the Hold.
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
As she fell asleep, she would dream.
This dream was a rather lucid one as well. She could feel, the rays of the sun on her back as her sapphire scales glittered in their warmth. She was on a hill surrounded by wild flowers that were as vibrantly blue as she was. She could feel she was...stronger than she remembered being outside of this dream. A rolling breeze came up the hill from the west, as she faced towards the south. It was the perfect day it would seem, hopefully this dream would last some time..
This dream was a rather lucid one as well. She could feel, the rays of the sun on her back as her sapphire scales glittered in their warmth. She was on a hill surrounded by wild flowers that were as vibrantly blue as she was. She could feel she was...stronger than she remembered being outside of this dream. A rolling breeze came up the hill from the west, as she faced towards the south. It was the perfect day it would seem, hopefully this dream would last some time..
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Caeriadne felt her unconscious self flutter in and out of wakefulness. She felt herself rising, looking around, peering at the landscape around her...
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
A feeling of happiness and contentedness would suffuse itself in the air around her, in her very being. She hadn't been this happy in a very long time, she hadn't felt this happiness since long before the prison world. She would feel herself surrounded by those she was closest to in life, those who had brought her happiness before.
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
She basked in the warmth and happiness; it had been eons since she felt those emotions truly well up within her. It was like an old feeling that had been locked away for so long that she had forgotten the sensation...not just the happiness, but the ones who had brought it. Then, something else bubbled up in the back of her mind. It came slowly and from deep within. Paranoia. Something was...wrong? Was this some sort of trap? Her unconscious mind played at her, making her put her guard up. She remembered the pains of betrayal when she had felt so happy before, and that shadowed what she was experiencing now. She could not allow herself pure and unguarded peace, even in her own dreams. She shifted restlessly, her mind in turmoil over whether to give in and accept the happiness for what it was, or to rebuild her walls and retreat so as not to be vulnerable.
Caeriadne- Posts : 344
Join date : 2016-05-26
Re: ((Caeriadne)) Ripples in the Night Sky
Her weariness, her paranoia, allowed her to feel something that was being hidden before. This dream was of no danger to her, but it was sent her by someone, more accurately by something. She was being shown something, whether it was a lesson to be taught or perhaps a warning, maybe a vision of the future. She could not yet tell. All she knew, was she would never gleam the full meaning or imagery of this message unless she allowed herself to be swept up into it.
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