Author: Jazrael, Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 5:56 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

As they entered the healer’s igloo, Jazrael felt the warmth from the fire wash over her. She wasn’t one to get cold, but with how drained she felt after trying to heal herself, the cold was affecting her a bit. The various medicines and herbs scattered around the igloo certainly made her feel as though they had made the right decision in coming here.

Jazrael did as the woman silently instructed and sat on one of the large pillows. She frowned as the healer told Rhydian to leave since he was not injured. ”Can’t he stay?” she asked, but the woman looked at her sharply and she retreated, not pleading any further. She watched him as he exited and turned her attention back towards the healer, who immediately got to work on her arm.

The salve the healer applied felt and smelled good, and soon the actual healing was under way. It was an odd sensation, the feeling of her bones putting themselves back together, her fingers straightening themselves out… but in the end, looking at her arm, you would have never known she had been so injured. ”That’s amazing,” she said, twisting her arm back and forth.

She turned her attention back toward the healer when she made a comment about being careful to keep Rhydian, as most lovers would not treat one another in such a manner. She was frozen for a moment, taken a bit aback by what the old woman had said. Had they appeared as lovers when they arrived? ”Um. He’s not my lover,” she said, almost defensively. ”We were in the temple not far from here, looking for mana,” she said, trying to explain. ”I got injured, and he just helped me get h-“ The old woman held up a hand and cut her off.

“You don’t look at one another the way you do unless you are lovers,” the healer said, lowering her hand slightly. “You didn’t want him to leave you, and from the look on his face, he didn’t want to leave you,” she added.

”That’s because we’re friends, and we’ve gone through quite a bit together in the time we’ve known one another,” she said, thinking back to the different situations they had managed to get one another into, and how they had helped each other out.

“You’ll see, soon enough,” the old woman said, with a knowing smile on her face. “You never know, until you know, and then, you know,” she said. Jazrael just looked at her with a bit of confusion on her face. The woman was a healer, not an oracle! Or maybe, she was both. Either way, it was time to go.

”Right, well, thank you for fixing my arm, what do we need to pay you?” she asked her, getting up from the pillow, a bit wobbly from the draining feeling of being healed. The old woman waved her arm again.

“You can pay me back by holding tight to that young man, there, and not denying your truths,” she said with a wink as she walked Jazrael out of the igloo and over to where Rhydian had made his way to help the hunters. “She is healed and ready to go, but she will be a bit tired for the next day or so. Do not leave her alone,” she said to Rhydian rather sternly. She turned to Jazrael and gave her a wink before turning back to go back into her igloo.

”Let’s get back to the mainland,” she said, grabbing onto Rhydian’s hand and starting to drag him in the direction they had come from. The old woman turned around and shouted something at the pair of them.

“Remember what I said!” she called, before turning back around and entering her igloo.

When Rhydian gave her a look as to ask her what the old woman had told her, she shook her head and tugged on his hand a bit more tightly. ”Just some aftercare instructions, let’s go,” she said, and the pair was off in search of their destination once again.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 5:08 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

Her words partially made him feel better, but there was a part of him that still felt the lingering guilt. The mood was lifted a little when Jazrael cracked a joke and it brought a little smile to his face. Eventually they made it at the nomadic village. The village consisted of several igloos and people covered in thick wool coats. The villagers spotted them and instantly ran to get the healer, since most visitors were only interested in the healer. Rhydian shifted his arms and carefully set her down on her feet so she could walk around. She mentioned how he was so warm and comfortable, his face grew slightly red at that. He resisted the urge to move the hair out of her face and focused instead on the healer, who was steadily approaching them.

The healer was an old woman with dark skin and black braids decorating her hair. She motioned for the two to follow her to the healer's igloo. The inside was massive, more than enough for them to fit into. The ground was covered in a thick warm carpet that prevented the cold of the ground from entering. The ceiling had a small hole for the fire's heat to escape. The fire was in the center and built lower in the ground to help avoid the heat reaching the walls and instead directing it towards the hole. A simple bed was attached to one of the walls while herbs were tied to the ceiling. Jars of medicines and baskets of medical equipment lined the circular edge of the room. The entire place smelled strongly of lavender and sage. The healer beckoned for Jazrael to have a seat on one of the large sitting pillows provided for guests.

"Are you injured too?" The healer asked Rhydian.

"Oh um, no mam." He responded.

"Then you can wait outside." The healer woman responded, "Go help one of our hunters with the cooking."

Rhydian gave the woman a simple nod, not daring to disrespect a woman of such an elderly age. The healer carefully removed the arm from the sling and began applying a unique salve to the scratches and scrapes. The salve would feel cool to the touch but have a relaxing scent of pine forest trees. The old woman moved on to the rest of the arm, using a special healing touch to fully mend the bones. The room lit up with a radiant blue glow as the bones cracked and shifted back into place. Her arm would feel as good as new but Jaz’s body would feel a bit drained.

“You should be careful to keep him. There aren’t many out there who would carry their lovers to safety.” The old woman commented. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 1:41 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

She had seen it happen before, but Rhydian’s transformation back into his human form was still quite the spectacle to her. She was fixated on him until he was back to his normal self, and then tore her gaze away rather quickly. She didn’t want to be rude, after all.

”Thanks,” she said, wincing a bit as the sling was tightened around her to hold her broken arm in place. She accepted his help, catching his gaze when she was back on her feet. She looked at him for a moment as he apologized and tilted her head to one side. With her good arm, she reached up and placed her hand on the side of his arm, squeezing gently. ”Don’t be sorry, Rhydian – you did protect me. I’m still alive, aren’t I? If you hadn’t stopped it, that golem would have killed me,” she said softly.

She could tell he felt guilty, but she didn’t know how to make him not feel that way. She frowned, her eyes still fixed on his face even as he looked away from her, looking around the temple. She felt bad, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to go on. ”Leave it to me to get injured and mess up our mission,” she said under her breath, though if he had been listening closely, Rhydian would have been able to make out what she was saying.

A moment later, however, Rhydian had scooped her up in his arms, and she made a little sound as he did so, taken slightly by surprise. She hadn’t been expecting that – and it was astonishing to her how easily he seemed to be able to pick her up. She didn’t weigh all that much, but the way he had lifted her so effortlessly made it seem as though she weighed nothing at all. Her cheeks turned a little red, and she wasn’t sure if she could chalk it up to embarrassment or what had caused it. ”Guess I’m going wherever you do,” she said with a crooked smile, trying to make a joke as Rhydian mentioned the village with the healer. ”And a not broken arm sounds great,” she added.

As they traveled along, at some point on the way out of the temple Jazrael had realized just how drained and exhausted she was from her injury and attempting to heal it. She had drifted off, and at some point before they had reached the other village, she had nuzzled her face into the crook of Rhydian’s neck and shoulder. When they arrived to the nomadic village, she woke up as she felt Rhydian shifting her around to set her down. Her face reddened again as she got to her feet, and she pushed her hair back out of her face, revealing just how red her pale cheeks were – hoping to the gods that Rhydian would think it was from the cold.

”Sorry, I think I drifted off,” she said, realizing how painfully obvious that was. ”I’m not well versed in healing magic, and that really drained me,” she added. ”And, I was just really warm and comfortable…” she added, absent mindedly. After a second she cleared her throat, her cheeks reddening even more. She looked down, causing some of her hair to fall into her face again. ”Thank you for getting me here safely, though,” she added, glancing up at him briefly. ”Now where do we find this healer?” she asked, looking around, hoping it would be near them so there wouldn’t be the opportunity for her to embarrass herself even further.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:07 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

The dragon didn't speak a word and just looked at her with her broken arm. Even when she touched his scales, he kept his eyes on her. A soft green light swallowed her injured arm then vanished, revealing a less broken arm. It still was injured but now it resembled an arm. Seeing her seem less injured, he turned his orange eyes to the rest of the room. Some curious small lizards were drawing closer. In an instant, Rhydian's powerful jaws parted and a stream of fire hit all the lizards, burning the entire group to a crisp. They never got close but Rhydian stayed circled around Jazrael. When she spoke again, his attention returned to her, though he was carefully listening for any other threat that might try to attack them. She thanked him for protecting her and he lowered his head to her. Very gently, he gave her head a little nudge, as if to say your welcome. 

After a few moments, he stood up and carefully unwrapped himself. Taking a few steps back from her, the dragon was engulfed in his flames and shrank back down into his human form. The flames flew away, revealing Rhydian in his human form. He quickly ran up to her began securing the sling on Jazrael. His fingers worked fast and he adjusted it to however Jazrael wanted it. Once they were done fixing up the sling, he helped her to her feet and looked her in the eyes. 

"I'm sorry." He said before looking away, "A powerful dragon like me should have protected you from that thing. You should have never been hurt…" 

A look of guilt lingered in his eyes as he gazed at her sling. A small sigh escaped his lips before he looked at the rest of the temple. With somebody injured, they wouldn't be able to gather the mana necessary. This would have to be left up to other mages and warriors. Rhydian carefully scooped Jazrael into his arms, carrying her like she was some sort of princess. His eyes scanned the temple for any other sign of threats before he even moved. If anything came near her, he would know in instance. Besides… she could slip on the icy floor and damage her arm even more! 

"Lets get going." He said, "There's a nomadic village on the island with a healer who could help." 

His first priority was to get her patched up. The idea of her becoming sick from her injuries or worse made his mind fly into a small panic. The rest of the temple and their mission was forgotten in his mind. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:17 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

Knowing that the golem was about to smash its fist into her head and end her life, Jazrael weakly closed her eyes, Rhydian having been the last thing she could see as she looked at him, halfway pleading out for help, the other half of her possibly saying goodbye. With her eye closed, she waited for the final blow to come – but it never did. What she sensed instead was a larger presence in the room, and when she opened her eyes again she could see that Rhydian had changed into his dragon form. Just in time, he brought his jaws around the golem’s fist to stop it from decimating Jazrael, and she breathed a sigh of relief. The sigh of relief, however, was shortly followed by a gasp of pain as she attempted to move.

Jazrael rolled over and briefly looked at her pulverized arm. It was contorted oddly and bloody all over, and she couldn’t move it – she assumed that every bone in her arm had been smashed to nothing by the golem. There was nothing she could do about it right that second, so she turned her attention back to Rhydian and the golem, and it seemed that the golem was doing everything it could to beat Rhydian down, but the dragon wasn’t taking it. Within moments, it had doused the blue glowing light with its flames, and the golem had been vanquished.

Jazrael managed to sit up, even with the pain wracking her entire body. Her injured arm hung limply at her side. The damage went from midway up her bicep, all the way to her fingers (or at least, what used to be her fingers). Shattered bone and hints of torn muscle were visible throughout the ripped flesh and seeping blood. While she had been struggling to sit up, Rhydian had come to lay down next to her, his large form creating a protective barrier around her from any would-be attackers. ”Thank you,” she said to him, her voice broken as she struggled to speak through the pain searing down her arm. She reached up with her uninjured arm and laid her palm across the dragon’s skin, in a show of gratitude.

As Rhydian focused on their surroundings, Jazrael looked down at her arm. She knew a few healing spells, but nothing enough where she would be able to mend it completely – even if she had been capable of something that powerful, she had already used some of her energy and it would take a while to reaffirm itself. She closed her eyes and focused her mind, and a soft green light surrounded her injured arm. A few moments later she opened her eyes and looked down. The bones had seemed to realign themselves enough where her arm at least looked like an arm again. The bones were still broken in several places, but she was able to bend her elbow enough to shift her arm’s position. There were still several cuts and gashes. Her fingers seemed mostly healed – she chalked that up to their smaller size.

”That’s as good as that is going to get for now, I’m afraid,” she said to Rhydian, knowing well that he wouldn’t be able to respond to her while still in his form. With her uninjured hand she reached down and drew a dagger out, and cut the bottom portion of one of her pantlegs off. Struggling as she really only had one hand to use, she fashioned it into a sort of sling, something that could support her arm at last somewhat, perhaps hold it tight against her body. She wouldn’t be able to put it on until Rhydian was able to assist her, but it was at least ready.

”I’ll need your help when you change back to secure this, but I know it might take some time,” she said with a deep breath, the pain in her arm at least somewhat more bearable now. ”But when you do, I think we need to get out of here as soon as we can. I don’t think I’m going to be much use right now,” she admitted. With that, she scooted herself back so that her back was resting against Rhydian and leaned back, closing her eyes. She was comforted by the fact that he seemed intent on protecting her. ”I know I said it already, but thank you…” she said once more. She closed her eyes, not falling asleep, but taking a moment to let her body at least partially recover as she waited for him to change back.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 4:06 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

Just as the golem was about to strike Rhydian down with the icicle, a powerful stream of fire destroyed the icicle before it could touch him. Rhydian felt the melted liquid instead of hard ice and gave Jazrael a thankful smile. The Golem growled and advanced on her. He shot the creature with another ball of fire but the golem's attention never moved from her. After another attack, the golem seemed to be ignoring him and focusing on the person who had destroyed his weapon. 

Something inside Rhydian's chest grew stronger as fire enveloped his body. He refused to just sit there and watch as she got attacked. Scales grew from his skin and his eyes turned a shade of orange with black slits. In the place of Rhydian stood a massive black and purple dragon with folded wings. His powerful jaw snatched the golem's icy fist just as the monster was about to hit his friend. The dragon flung the golem at the opposite wall then rushed towards and slammed into the creature. 

The golem tried to push the dragon off and began whacking him with full force. The fists pounded down on his back but Rhydian refused to let the golem free. Bright orange flames erupted from his mouth and swallowed the light blue orb, finishing what Jazrael had started and melting it down into water. The golem screamed in pain as its body cracked and shook. Striking the dragon with its fist one more time, the ice golem shattered into a million pieces. Rhydian turned away from the beast and rushed towards Jazrael, laying down next to her. He was still in his dragon form and seemed unable to shift back for the moment.

He wrapped himself protectively around Jazrael, unwilling to let anything else get close. Rhydian ignored his own bruises caused by the golem and focused entirely on Jazrael's injuries. He wasn't a healer and had no knowledge on healing herbs. Seeing he couldn't help her heal, especially in this form, he focused on keeping everything else away. A smaller lizard came within two feet of them. The dragon opened its maw and shot powerful flames at the lizard, burning it to a crisp within a second. Anything that came close was burnt within a second. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 2:30 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

Jazrael frowned as Rhydian confirmed that what they heard advancing towards them was most certainly a golem. She had fought many creatures over the long course of her existence, but she wasn’t sure that she had ever crossed a golem. Of course, Rhydian had mentioned that they needed to be on the lookout for them, as he had with the lizards, but she was hoping that they would have been lucky enough to avoid running into both… she was wrong. It seemed that Rhydian had perhaps been just as hopeful that they would have been able to avoid it.

Jazrael froze for a moment as the golem came into view. She took in its appearance as quickly as she could, noting its large stature most of all. Her eyes caught the glowing orb in the center of its body and she took a mental note of such. She couldn’t focus on its appearance much longer, however, because it had already advanced further towards them.

Rhydian had already unleashed a stream of flame at the creature, which it easily blocked. That was not promising, nor did it give Jazrael much confidence that this would be an easy enemy to dispatch. She had to react quickly as the golem grabbed one of the jagged icicles from the ceiling, and she felt a pang of panic course through her. She hopped sideways to put herself out of the icicle’s trajectory, grateful when she saw that Rhydian had managed to dodge it as well. They were further away from each other now than they had been as a result of their dodging, no longer presenting a united front. That was okay, she told herself, and they would be fine.

She readied her own magic as Rhydian struck out with flame once more, this time managing to inflict at least a small amount of pain on the creature, though it didn’t seem to slow it down much, if at all. ”Got it!” she called back to Rhydian as he told her to find a weak point while he worked on distracting it, and it dawned on her – the glowing blue orb in the center of its chest – that had to be a weak point! It was way too obvious to not be anything of importance.

She thought for a moment on how she would get access to attack that point on the golem, but her thoughts were struck short as panic raced through her again as she watched the golem swing its arms down at Rhydian. ”No!” she yelled, but she felt a rush of relief as she realized that he had dodged the hits. The relief did not last long, however, as the golem wrenched another icicle free of the ceiling. ”Oh no you don’t,” she said to herself, aiming a stream of flame at the icicle as it flew through the air, speeding directly towards Rhydian’s head. She wasn’t about to let the golem end them, not that quickly at least.

She was lucky, and the flame caught the icicle, melting it so that it dissipated before it had the chance to reach its target. Jazrael saw this as a win – until the golem turned its attention on her, letting out a low growl as it now advanced towards her. The golem reached up, wrenching another icicle from the ceiling, and sent the jagged chunk flying towards Jazrael’s face. She sidestepped quickly enough were it was deflected off of the stone wall behind her, shattering into shards on the floor. ”Nice try,” she said, smirking somewhat.

With the golem facing directly towards her, she could clearly see the glowing blue center of its chest, and focusing all of her energy, she began to focus a blast of flame at her target. The flame crackled with green streaks in it as she focused the bit of strength she could still muster from Inferos, imbuing the flame with Hellfire. The golem kept advancing on her, but was slowing – she could tell that she had certainly found its weak point, and she had to keep going, but she could feel the magic draining her much faster than normal, as she was focusing so much strength to pull the Hellfire. ”C’mon… just a bit more,” she said, backing up until she was nearly against the stone wall.

The golem was now within reach and it raised its arms above its head just as it had when it had gone to hit Rhydian, and it swung them down. Jazrael stopped her flame and made to duck out of the way, but she slipped on the shattered shards of ice that were spread across the floor. She rolled almost out of the path of the golem’s fists, but not far enough: one of its strong fists smashed down onto Jazrael’s left arm, crushing it between the fist and the floor.

Jazrael screamed in agony, feeling her bones being pulverized under the pressure. She couldn’t get away, as the creature had her pinned by her arm. Well, this is it, she thought to herself, gasping in pain. This is how I’m going to actually die.

The golem made a sound that almost sounded like victorious laughter transposed into its rumbling growl as it raised its other fist back up, aiming directly for Jazrael’s head. It seemed as though the creature was quite slowed from the amount of damage she had inflicted upon it, and it seemed to almost be moving in slow motion at this point. Jazrael rolled her head to one side, her eyes searching out for Rhydian. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t call out to him, just gasp in pain as she waited for the golem’s fist to come down once more.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:51 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

He smiled at the fact she was still able to joke around. It showed she wasn't too nervous about the temple or the many creatures that could be inside it. Keeping a sense of humor in desperate times usually made their problems seem smaller. Once the lizards were taken care of, he followed Jazrael deeper inside the temple. Rhydian observed the walls and ceiling of the temple and admired the powerful stones mixed with ice. Whoever made this place knew exactly what they were doing. Rhydian reached up and touched the runes with his hand and he could feel…something. He wasn't skilled enough with magic to understand what it was. The sound of Jazrael's voice snapped him out of his thoughts as he turned towards the direction of the rumbling footsteps. 

"Yep… Its a golem." He sighed. 

A massive creature made of silver ice stomped into the temple and glared down at the pair. Ice spikes covered its shoulders while the hands of this creature were large enough to hold someone's head in one hand. Freshly fallen snow covered the golem's back and its eyes were dark and empty. In the center of the ice golem's chest was a light blue orb, contrasting with the rest of the creature's white icy body. Rhydian knew there were going to be golems, he had just been hoping for more time before one showed up. The more they fought, the less time they had to collect mana.

Flames enveloped his hands as he shot a blast of hot red fire at the beast. The golem blocked the attack with his right hand and with his left hand, yanked one of the massive icicles from the ceiling. The giant golem threw the giant icicle at them with all of its strength and roared loudly. Rhydian jumped away from the icicle, barely avoiding the attack then pushed himself to his feet and sent another fireball towards the creature. This time the fire caused a little bit of damage but nothing that would cause the great golem to fall. Gritting his teeth with frustration, he sent another stream of fire at it. 

"Jazrael! I'll keep distracting it. Find a weak point!" He shouted loud enough for her to hear among all the chaos. 

The ice golem held up his two fists and slammed it down towards Rhydian who dodged the attack right before it hit him. Keeping the golem's focus wasn't difficult, as long as he was the only one to attack it. Rhydian sent another fireball at the creature, chipping a bit at its icy body. The monster collected another giant icicle from the ceiling and sent it hurling towards Rhydian's head. 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:51 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

Jazrael’s expression was most certainly not one of amusement as Rhydian laughed at her predicament, though she was grateful that he had come to her aide. While her companion seemed unaware, she found herself momentarily entranced at the absolute force in which he threw the small creatures. She knew that Rhydian was strong, considering he was of course a dragon, but she hadn’t taken into consideration just how strong he would still be even while in is human form. It was a little mesmerizing to her, if she were to be completely honest.

She folded her arms across her chest as Rhydian worked to untangle the last of the little lizards out of her hair. The act was both a combination of embarrassment and discomfort. She wasn’t exactly a fan of how the small lizard let while it was constricted by her hair, squirming around on her head. The embarrassment however came more from the fact that Rhydian had now seen her in several not-so-flattering situations, even after she had made the revelation that she was, in fact, a demon – a fact of which he seemed to have accepted quickly without much hesitation at all. She obviously didn’t come across as a threat, which she supposed was a good thing when trying to make friends.

Jazrael watched while the lizard was torched, turning her nose up slightly at the smell, as though someone had left meat on a spit over a fire for far too long. She nodded in agreement at his suggestion to take out the rest of the lizards, and she readied the flames from her fingertips as well. While Rhydian sent the first blast of fire, she took aim at the stragglers that had managed to escape the path of his first stream of flames.

When the lizard fell from above and landed in Rhydian’s mouth, Jazrael let out a giggle. She shot a burst of flame at the creature as he flung it aside, dispatching it rather quickly. ”Maybe you shouldn’t have laughed at me!” she exclaimed in a joking manner, giving him a playful nudge in the arm with her shoulder. ”Come on,” she said with a crooked smile, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to smooth out the dishevelment that had been caused by Rhydian removing the lizard that had taken up residence in her hair.

Jazrael took a moment to admire the architecture of the temple as they made their way deeper inside. ”This place truly is remarkable,” she breathed as they ventured further. She couldn’t translate what any of the runes seemed to mean, but they were worrisome to say the least, clearly having been an effort to create protection from some sort of impending devastation.

”So I know the general idea of why we have come here,” she began, speaking just loud enough for Rhydian to hear her. ”But I’m not going to lie, I don’t exactly know what I, or we, are looking for,” she said, hoping maybe he would be able to elaborate a bit further.

[]b]”I mean, I know…” She trailed off suddenly before she could say anymore. A faint rumbling sound was coming from somewhere ahead of them in the temple. Instinctively, she readied the flames in her hand. ”What do you think it is?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure that Rhydian would have any further of an answer than she did.

They didn’t have to wait much longer to find out, however, as the sound drew closer, revealing itself as more or a thudding noise than anything else. In the distance, Jazrael began to make out a shape. She shifted her eyes to complete black, the demonic nature allowing her to see a bit further and more clearly in the darkness. She squinted, making out the bulky form. ”Uh… Rhydian? Is that a golem?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly as she awaited the inevitable validation, not looking forward to dispatching the large monster ahead of them.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:33 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

The icy temple was a beautiful sight to behold. The walls were made of pure ice and stone while the floor was covered in freshly fallen snow, despite the fact it was inside. The center was surrounded by four massive pillars covered from the top to bottom in ancient runes carved into the stone. The runes had faded away overtime and lost their power. Rhydian reached up towards the half faded runes and began imagining what it would have been like all those years ago, carving these for the first time. The devastation was the same as then, which meant they must have been desperate. 

The piercing scream reached his ears and he turned around, both his hands holding powerful flames. She was covered from head to toe with little blue lizards the size of turtles. It took him a few moments to process what was happening before his fire died out and laughter took over. He walked to her and began pulling off the lizards, throwing them against the wall. The lizards were thrown with enough strength to crack their skulls, though Rhydian seemed to be unaware of this fact. He was just pulling them off as fast as possible while suppressing his chuckling. Then he approached Jazrael's hair and began carefully untangling a lizard from her hair. 

"Looks like they gave you a surprise attack." He said with a smile, "Now we know there are little lizard assassins." 

He managed to get the last lizard out without loss of her hair. Rhydian inspected the small lizard for a while before burning it with fire. The smell of freshly burnt lizard filled the air as he flung the little creature to the side. He hadn't found any useful parts to the creature, so he didn't mind killing it. Gazing up at the ceiling, he saw at least thirty or fifty little lizards looking back at him. 

"It's probably better to take them out before they cause even more trouble." He suggested. 

Looking back up at the ceiling, he held out his hands towards the ceiling. Fire erupted from the palm of his hands in little shots, hitting the lizards on the ceiling. Some of the creatures jumped out of the way while others were too slow. Just as he was about to speak to Jazrael again, one of the lizards fell from the ceiling and landed in his mouth. He yanked it out and began spitting out the disgusting taste of the creature before giving a grossed out look to Jazrael. 

"Okay, I hate these things now."

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:02 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

”It’s not so much that I don’t feel it, as it doesn’t bother me at all, if that makes sense,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. She had assumed it wasn’t really an uncommon thing, since all demons she had known felt the same – but further examination of the subject showed that, it probably was uncommon among those who were not demons.

She nodded at his comment on fire magic being useful. ”All that time I spent in Inferos with Dalanesca was, well, helpful in obtaining some pretty decent fire based magic,” she said with a grin. ”I’m probably not as good with it as you are, since, you know… dragon… but I’d consider myself skilled,” she added. Granted, she was much better with black magic style spells such as necromantic ones, but she wasn’t about to go into too much detail. After all, necromancy wasn’t going to come in handy until after the monsters were already dead, if at all. ”And it’s a good thing I can run fairly fast,” she added, though she wasn’t sure she could outrun an ancient titan dragon, even with her demonic powers at full strength (which they were not).

She could see the trepidation on Rhydian’s face and hear it in his voice, and it was certainly mirrored in her own face. Not being of any sort of draconic lineage, she wasn’t as well informed on the matter as she was sure he was, but she had heard enough thus far on how dangerous these titanic dragons were. However, it did give her just a bit of solace when he said the dragons had been last spotted in Onnen, and that they would most likely be able to avoid them. She returned his smile as a form of reassurance and trekked on with him.

The barrage of snow had been more of an annoyance to her than anything, but she was covered in it as well when they reached the temple, icicles having formed in her hair as well. ”I see that,” she said, stifling a laugh at his expression and reaching out to flick at one of the icicles in his hair. As he let his flame die out, she focused her energy to the tips of her fingers, flames being able to spring forth at the ready. She watched as he seemed to check the ground, whether it was for scent or for tracks, but took heed at his cautionary warning about the ice lizards and golems. ”Got it,” she said, and a few small flames danced at her fingertips, just to show him she was prepared.

As the pair began to move on into the temple, Jazrael let Rhydian take point. She hung behind just a bit, knowing it made more sense than the pair walking side by side. After a few minutes, Jazrael felt something tugging at her hair, and she assumed that the icicles had begun to let loose and were pulling at the strands as they fell out. After about another minute, however, the tug felt a bit stronger. ”What the…?” she questioned quietly, reaching back to feel the area on her head. What she felt was not an icicle, however, as much as it was a small version of the giant ice lizards Rhydian had warned her about, about the size of a turtle.

She grabbed it easily and chucked it down on to the ice without causing a fuss, not wanting to make herself look ridiculous, and shot a small stream of flame at it. It keeled over, sizzling and crispy after just a moment. ”Hmph,” she said matter of factly, glad that she had taken care of it on her own without even bringing Rhydian’s attention to her.

A moment later, she felt something drop onto her head, and reached behind, expecting to pull another lizard off. However, as soon as her hand touched its scaly back, about a dozen more small lizards dropped from the ceiling with enough force coupled together to take her down to the ground. Jazrael let out a shriek as she was overwhelmed, her arms being held down by the weight of the creatures. She attempted to stream the flame from her fingertips, but the angle of her arms caused it to miss the creatures. ”A little help here?” she called frantically as the little creatures swarmed her, crawling all about her.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Mon Jan 4, 2021 4:52 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

"Wait, really?" Rhydian asked, "You don't feel any of the cold? If I could have an inch of your luck…" 

The sky was grey and filled to the brim with dark clouds that made the world seem like it was night. The winds howled in the distance, tearing at anything in its path. The darkened land before them was covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice, even with the tops of the icecaps melting, the land was still hostile to any sense of the world warm. Every word they spoke echoed into the distance, emphasizing their isolation. Everyone who once lived there had abandoned the place when the ice started to melt. 

"The smaller monsters and dragons should be ice-based. If you have any fire magic, I'd recommend using that. If we run into water elementals….well we can worry about that later." He said, "As for Roarik and the other two. If we see them, we run. We drop whatever we are doing and run for our lives." 

The humor from his face dropped as he talked about the ancient dragons. His voice wavered for a moment when speaking Roarik's name. The old stories of Roarik described how he turned a third of Revaliir into an ice wasteland. Even elder dragons knew to stay out of the ancient one's way, lest they become a victim of winter's wrath. For a moment, for one tiny second, Rhydian considered turning back. Swallowing his doubts he took a step forwards into the darkness. 

"We shouldn't have to worry about them. Onnen was the last place they were seen. As long as we are fast, we shouldn't ever have to worry about meeting any old ancient dragons,"

Whether he was trying to reassure her or himself was a mystery. Holding out his right hand, a flame erupted from his palm, giving them a light in the darkness. He gave Jazrael a small smile before moving onwards. They traveled through the harsh winds that were trying to beat them back and the snow that barraged them every step of the way. When they finally made it to the forgotten temple, Rhydian had a pile of snow on him. His hair had icicles and the majority of his clothes had a layer of snow on them. 

"I hate snow." He declared, gritting his teeth. 

He shook off the snow and ice then let his little flame die away. The doors of the temple were massive and wide open for any creature to enter. Rhydian squatted to the ground and sniffed for the trace of other creatures. He could barely pick up some traces of giant ice lizards and a few golems. Everything else was unfamiliar to him or too small to pick up, probably because the cold temperatures were messing up his normally perfect sense of smell. 

"Be prepared for ice lizards and golems." He said, "And maybe some other creatures." 

Author: Jazrael, Posted: Mon Jan 4, 2021 12:59 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

When Rhydian had extended the invitation to Jazrael to join him in seeking out one of the dragons that was now terrorizing Revaliir, she had accepted almost instantaneously. While she did not entirely understand what it was that made him feel the need to undertake such a task – she would have been perfectly content minding her own business, with only a smidgen of guilt that she was not helping take out the dragons – it now came as a second nature for her to help him. While their friendship was still new, she had enjoyed the adventures they had come to undertake thus far and was more than content with continuing them. It was nice to have a friend that knew what she truly was and did not think any less of her for it.

She wasn’t necessarily a fan of boating, but she boarded the small vessel that it seemed Rhydian had secured for their travel to Itjivut. She didn’t mention this dislike of large waves and open water to her companion, as she had already revealed her fear of heights to him. It was embarrassing enough to be a demon who was afraid of heights let along a demon who also had a touch of thalassophobia. Instead, she just kept her mouth shut and rode it out, and fortunately the journey hadn’t taken too long.

She was out of the boat as soon as they touched land on the island. Fortunately for the pair, even though monsters had taken over the melting island thanks to Raorik’s power, the small inlet they had ended up landing their craft in seemed to be at least somewhat quiet, which Jazrael was grateful for. It gave her an opportunity to regain her footing and pull herself together before discussing anything with Rhydian.

”Oh, I’m positive,” she said rather matter of factly. ”Fact of interest: I don’t really feel the cold. One of the perks of the whole demon thing, I guess,” she said. ”I like warm things, I guess, but for some reason the cold has never really been a problem for me,” she added with a shrug. Her words carried on with the lightheartedness of the conversation, but her expression mimicked that which Rhydian had. After discussing with him a bit about what was happening, after she had decided she would not just keep to herself, she realized that this was an important task they were attempting to assist with.

”I’m ready,” she said, firmly. No hesitation was audible in her voice. ”Before we venture into the island, have you any pointers on dealing with these dragons, if we happen to be so unlucky as to actually come across one?” she asked. ”Or is this a completely unknown, hope for the best and hopefully we don’t die situation?” she asked with a grimace. She operated under the assumption that perhaps Rhydian would have a suggestion since he himself was draconic, though she was well aware that these titan dragons operated on a heavier scale than the average. Perhaps it would translate to the smaller foes they would come across on the island. As she waited for Rhydian to offer any suggestions, she toyed with the hilt of a dagger at her waist.

While she was adept at many different forms of magic, there was something about the hellfire imbued dagger she carried that gave her a sense of peace. After all, the weapon had been a gift from the late Dalanesca, and within it burned just a bit of power.

Author: Rhydian, Posted: Sun Jan 3, 2021 2:12 PM, Post Subject: Winter's Wrath [P][Event][R?]

When the dragons were freed from their prisons, every creature across Revaliir felt it, whether they realized it or not. The species of dragons felt it most of all. Legends of these terrifying creatures had been passed down to generations and made into a fairytale. Becoming as strong as the titan dragons had always been a goal for dragon kind. Young hatchlings were told that if they behaved, they might one day grow as powerful as these ancient dragons. However the reality was nobody wanted as strong dragons like them. The titan dragons were fighting each other, tearing the land apart. The majority of dragons either chose to work for one of the ancient dragons or they joined together to stop the beasts from destroying everything. 

Rhydian felt partially responsible for his own kind. As a half-dragon, these ancient dragons were a part of his species, though far older and stronger than he would ever be. And this species was causing massive destruction that would be difficult to repair. Not to mention the people who had died from the storms. How many had died already? The numbers were ever increasing and there wasn't a safe place for people to hide. All of Revaliir was suffering. With a new-found determination, he decided he would travel to one of the prisons, fight whatever may stand in his way, and harvest the mana. 

He had already told Jazrael that she was welcomed to join him, but it wasn't required. This wasn't her responsibility and he didn't want to drag her into something that would end up killing her. Yet, strangely enough, she agreed to join him. Rhydian wondered if it was to save the world, if she was bored, or if she just didn't want to be alone. Either way, he traveled through the massive waves and past the stormy oceans in a little boat until they finally made it to the island. The ice caps had melted, cause severe flooding and the island was covered in monsters who came to hide under the power of Raorik. 

"We're almost to the temple." Rhydian said, "Are you sure about this? Its going to be a bit chilly down there."

He had a joking smile but his eyes were serious, looking for any sign of doubt within Jazrael. If he felt she was unprepared or hesitant, he would insist she stay somewhere safe. There had been too many deaths already. If she wasn't ready to fight tooth and nail for survival, then she wouldn't have a chance among the many monsters and ice dragons who would be guarding the temple for Raorik.