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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 13:30:09 GMT -6
Shallow enough to only merit ending up to one's knee at best, and from the decorations of various talismans, both crystal and bone around it, most likely intended for more ritualistic use rather than recreational. Even so, he feels a slow spike of flaring anger on the edges of his mind, as the manticore spots the water as well.
"Settle down," the man's head turns over the shoulder, taking quite a bit of effort to avoid barking that out. The anger fades, as slow as it was to rise, but what gap was left behind is quickly filled with suspicion. (There are drawbacks to certain designs of particular plans. For the beast, it was a certain aversion to water. Not from fear of any extinguished flames or similar, for it did not carry that kind of spark.. No, instead its merely due to the simple fact of being unable to swim).
. 121 . Irascor: 24 (1/5) May: 21 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 13:33:31 GMT -6
A fact of which he doesn't honestly blame it for, though one would be hard-pressed to find a way to drown the manticore in so shallow a water. Of the rest of the space, the crystal formations continue along the walls, some still looking to act as lighting fixtures in their own right and bringing into the space a kind of hazy soft glow. Not enough to block out the night sky entirely, but enough to make most things visible to his eyes in colour. There's even a flat piece of rather broad crystal to the very back of the room, with slabs of stone to either side and back (Perhaps some dragon's approximation of a divan or 'couch') with some slabs of stone acting as tables.
The walls aren't only home to crystals either, as hollows seem either formed of carved deeper in, to act as places for storage.
. 122 . Irascor: 24 (2/5) May: 22 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 13:37:07 GMT -6
Some are shelves, looking to have more of those clay tables in crude script, while others contain more of the pots and vases, likely to include either types of foods or materials, such as a dragon might need them. As crude as the general accomplishment of a living space is, there's a certain degree of care added here, as something or someone has certainly sought to decorate it beyond simple utility. The charms and chimes hanging over the pool are not the only ones of their kind in the room, and there's some larger clay pots even containing a mixture of plants.
Considering the air is a mixture of both dry and humid, it doesn't seem as though the plants are lacking in care either - A few of the vines from a selection of pots have in fact grown throughout the walls and across the open ceiling, forming a kind of intermittent sun roof.
. 123 . Irascor: 24 (3/5) May: 23 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 13:42:00 GMT -6
Indeed, it could be considered a home, if one were to ignore the fact that it would hardly be kept convenient come the first rainfall. Then again, perhaps the design of the place is rather built with that in mind as well, now that he thinks about it.. There's hardly anything to water-log when your materials are mostly clay, crystal and rock. The shelves are sheltered underneath the faintest of overhands from the walls, as they lightly dip inwards, and whatever excess water there is could easily absorb into the sand and be carried to the pool.
It's a rather bold assumption to make, though more in the fact that he's thinking this in terms of dragons as the inhabitants (By and larger, he's not in the habit of giving them that much credit, even if the ones here are that much different. Intelligence can be used a number of ways, good and bad).
. 124 . Irascor: 24 (4/5) May: 24 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 13:46:10 GMT -6
The pressure within the mind ebbs and flows in tune with the manticore's fluctuating state of calm (Which, he suspects, is in turn influences in large part of his own. What a spectacularly disastrous feedback loop to create.. And out of the two of them, he's the only one with the mind to be able to pick it apart and stop it). Thoughts constantly drifting towards dragons seem to hardly help on the matter, as the pressure feels particularly strong in that moment.
Briefly leaning against the glaive, the knight spies the pool and walks over, feeling that cooler air drift closer from it. One hand fiddles with the latch of the faceplate, while the other rests the glaive against the cave wall, and eventually he pulls it free. The blue haze of crystals light up the pool in a particularly sparkling fancy, making the water there feel even colder than it looks.
. 125 . Irascor: 25 (0/5) May: 25 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 14:05:47 GMT -6
It's quite tempting, to simply remove the helm entirely (Quite, but not enough. The manor might seem oft abandoned, or merely occupied with the passing small beast or two, but that's not always the case. And slighter mistakes have created bigger problems). Instead, he pulls off the glove (The lesser of two evils) and dips the hand into the crystal pool's water. As is expected, the water is quite cold, though not so much as to feel icy. At the cool sensation, the edges of the mind steadily settle further out, allowing more room for more concrete thoughts to trickle back in.
That's more like it.. Of all the magics within the city, it never occurred to him there could be a point and a time in the future where he'd need to find a way to prevent emotions. Much less the emotions of a beast who barely understand itself well enough to know it has some.
. 126 . Irascor: 25 (1/5) May: 26 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 14:09:44 GMT -6
The hands cups and pulls up, bringing some of the water out and up to the face. The splash across the face could be better orchestrated, but given the narrow span of the visor, even with the faceplate removed, it's as good an attempt as any. And if he though the coldness felt good against the hand, it's that much more refreshing against the face. Somewhere distantly he can sense the manticore settling even further, as it's spikes lower back down, and the wings tuck closer to its sides. All the while it's felt uneasy about something it could not even name, but now at last that particular grip seems to loosen on it almost as much as the emotions have on the man's own mind.
As he sits down on the flat crystals near the pool, he has to wonder which of the two of them was even carrying to anger to begin with.
. 127 . Irascor: 25 (2/5) May: 27 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 14:14:45 GMT -6
A clearer mind makes for sharper insights, even ones that he might not necessarily want to admit. The water's quick to dry off the warm skin, but the cooling effect lingers that much longer, as he breathes out. One some level he does understand the stance against dragons is perhaps not the most.. productive. And it runs deep, deeper than perhaps he's realized up until this point, until the manticore's sudden bond tore the truth that much closer to the surface.
The knight watches the manticore wander the room, head in the air and along the ground, tracking whatever scents it can, for lack of anything to focus its ire upon (And, well, he rather just took away one more of those, didn't he?) There's a subtle shift in the expression at that thought, but one he's quick to dismiss - Whatever the rules are in one place or another, no assumption comes completely from nothing.
. 128 . Irascor: 25 (3/5) May: 28 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 14:19:57 GMT -6
Dragons did cause problems back home. They did cause destruction and bloodshed. The fact they no longer exist in a blessing. The fact they continue to exist here, in one shape, form, or other, does not negate that fact. And like as not, there's no such thing as complete innocence, particularly for those with any power. To assume otherwise is to only create a lie sweeter than honey, that inevitably pulls you deeper into that trap.
The knight turns back towards the pool and dips the hand in again, but pausing as he notices something along the bottom. Now, most of the pool is a rather singular tone of hazy blue, the same hue as the crystal, and while the surface is also irregular as one, intermittent with smooth facets and jagged points, it doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for anything to be hidden within it. (Perhaps that speaks more to the previous state of mind than anything else).
. 129 . Irascor: 25 (4/5) May: 29 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2022 14:23:39 GMT -6
An easy things to miss for most, though not something which would usually slip his notice as easily. The knight stands, head tilting towards the odd spot of colour. It's dull and grey, perhaps more stone than crystal, but quite clearly not meant to be there. Reaching for the glaive, he carefully leans in to dip the blade into the water and try to reach for it.
The glaive barely looks to make it even a quarter of the way. The knight's brow furrows, brining the manticore to turn about in its own search as it senses something to be up. He pulls the glaive back out, giving it a few brief swings to dry, and instead reaches for a pebble on the ground, dropping it into the water.
It plops in, and falls.. and falls.. and fall.. for several seconds, before it finally finds rest on the pool floor.
Huh. Alright, perhaps the beast did have reason to be concerned of this pool after all.
. 130 . (added) Irascor: 26 (0/5) May: 30 Day of Dreaming
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Post by Jack on Jun 11, 2022 20:03:11 GMT -6
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Post by Èdan on Jul 15, 2022 13:47:00 GMT -6
The clarity of the pool so pristine as to bend and deceive one's vision. Whatever the object at the bottom might be he's certainly not looking to dive for it in full armour, much less considering the chill temperature. But something does drop into it, making a soft blop as it breaks through the water and begins to slowly descend in gradual loops and circles. The knight's head snaps towards where it fell, only to see another tumble forward and fall after the first - A crack in the wall slowly eroding away as if made from quicksand, the dust smoothly running down the wall. The dust part is silent, noticeable only when he's turned to look at it, but the louder sounds are made by strange grey coins tumbling forth from the space it creates and falling into the water.
His hand reaches out to snatch one just before it hits the water and brings it into view. The inscription upon it hardly complicated, but it offers one irrevocable source - dragon writing.
. 131 . Irascor: 26 (1/5) July: 1 Maredian
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Post by Èdan on Jul 15, 2022 13:57:06 GMT -6
A fact which is hardly surprising (Yet causes a brief spike of the annoyance all the same). He lets the rest tumble into the water without much ceremony, keeping the one only as reference to the find (And perhaps as currency for bartering with any dragon they happen to come upon. One can disagree with the existence of fickle creatures with prideful nature and fire breath, but it didn't mean one could not be pragmatical about approaching them). In many ways that might have all he'd find, if the crack in the wall hadn't widened up into a whole other room. Beyond lays more treasure and trinkets, as if a whole trove uncovered by some magic switch.
As it happened with most magic switches in fables and tales, particularly ones who featured in uncovering seemingly untouched treasures and discoveries, however, it turns out to be not quite so simple a windfall.
. 132 . Irascor: 26 (2/5) July: 2 Maredian
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Post by Èdan on Jul 15, 2022 14:06:57 GMT -6
The cascade of sand from the wall opening has stopped, and though the displacement was enough to cause the water level in the pool to rise, it seems the water rather missed out on that note and continued rising. In slow trickles and streams it pushes up and past the crystal rim of the pool, starting to slowly creep along the dust-covered floor of the cavern itself, as the very air in the room takes an odd shift. The knight turns again, staring down as the water seems to go from trickle to stream, to a steady rush, as if a bath running over. Even as he takes steps back it's already starting to lap at the boots, and the unease of that feeds back into the loop of fear-to-anger-to-fear between the man and the beast.
Irascor remains far enough that the water has not yet reached there, but it would only be a matter of time. And yet the manticore is already growing agitated, as it pick up the emotions from its master.
. 133 . Irascor: 26 (3/5) July: 3 Maredian
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Post by Èdan on Jul 15, 2022 14:10:57 GMT -6
The beast has little concept for physics or how it might pertain towards a floor becoming increasingly flooded. Nor does it have the foresight to realize that, should it continue to do so, the cavernous space offers little in the means of escape. But what it does understand is that its master is all too aware of both scenarios and spending a considerable amount of his effort in quickly finding a solution. Irascor doesn't need to know what it can simply feel. And it feels things that directly contract with what little it does know. Namely that deep water means death.
A sudden surge of searing emotional escalation nearly knocks the knight off his feet, as he has to brace against the wall clutching his head. "Knock it off!" he snaps at the beast far angrier than intended, but only because there's anger and rage being fed into his own mind by it.
. 134 . Irascor: 26 (4/5) July: 4 Maredian
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