A constant storm was rumbling overhead, and the darkness from the thick clouds was more foreboding than he would have expected. Currently, he was poised in a runner’s crouch at the edge of a ruined field. He could see the remnants of golems in the distance and was keen on getting to them as quickly as possible. Thunder boomed above him and he counted off: one…two…three… Crack! Lightning bolted mere feet away from him. Deity or not, this was light he didn’t always trust: it had a mind of its own. But he was here for a reason and wouldn’t leave until he had something to show for his efforts.

Crystal eggs of every color dotted the ground, some struck from lightning and lying in lovely shards, still giving off their glow. It warmed him to see that his cleansing had spread as far as this. The cracks of light spread like veins across the landscape, combated in strength only by the lightning. Another roll of thunder sounded overhead and he darted forward: teleporting quickly to help aid him in getting as far as possible. He counted off to three in his head and jolted to the side just in time for another bolt of lightning to strike against the deepening scar of the ruins.

This place was so dangerous, but there were so many mysteries and things to discover that he couldn’t help himself. He picked up his running again, drawing closer to a cluster of golem about a mile ahead, and made sure to stick close to one of his light paths. Not only did it offer protection, but it boosted his strength and pushed him to go even faster.

Keeping his pace, he bent just enough to scoop up one of the hundreds of eggs and pushed it into his satchel. He had plenty of these back in Suisho no Kyuden since that’s where they were sourcing from, but he wanted this one in particular to be struck by lightning if he could help it: that charge along with his own personal energy would give it immense power. With luck, he could get four of them done: one for each of his children as well as his wife.

For now though, he had bigger game to hunt…

She quietly hopped through the trees, adjusting herself every time it felt uncomfortable. Last thing she needed was falling out of a tree, being silly. She looked around with a small smile and stopped to relax for a second. She never gave herself enough time to stop and relax for a while, due to her wish to continue traveling and avoid any other humans who tried to pick a fight with her or flirt with her. She rolled her eyes at the memory and lightly chuckled. She only met one person who caught her heart and she just hoped he would be okay. She straightened up and continued to jump through the trees.

The sound of lightening caused her to stiffen up and looked around. Out of safety, she jumped down to the ground and looked up at the sky, trying to determine when the next strike would occur. She brushed her hair to the side and crouched low, taking the time to listen to her surroundings. She loved to take every shortcut she could to see if anyone dared to sneak up on her. She now could tell someone was nearby. She got herself ready to pull her bow free and fight her way out. But, she would want to get closer.
 
She snuck her way through the grass, thankful for the cover it offered her. She occasionally looked back at the sky, in case more lightening would come down. She lightly bit her lip and stopped, remaining quiet for a few seconds.  After some time, she began to walk  again forward, listening every few minutes.

His heart pounded harder in his chest and he felt fire begin to burn his lungs. It wasn’t often he ran for so long without teleporting to urge him further, faster. But then, he might miss one of the lightning strikes should he do that. He was only a little nervous about taking that brunt of power, but it would be worth it…At least he could comfort himself with the fact that he wouldn’t die from a strike. The thunder grew louder, the strikes coming in much faster succession. Here we go… Despite the danger, his eyes lit brighter as he raced towards the scar.

Just as he got to its edge he had only enough time to get out one count before he felt the electricity. It was coming, and his markings blazed with hot white light as he lifted his arm into the air: egg held safely but firmly between his fingers. The bolt connected perfectly, running from the top of the crystal and down through his arm. His lips parted with a shaky exhale, his eyes pure white as his own power melded with this mighty force.

It was over as quickly as it had come, and he brought the egg down to his eye level now. It was hotter, but still safe for his touch; tendrils of electricity flurried inside of it like a contained storm and he grinned with pride. Yes, this one would be for Mica, his son. Now he had three others to get. Moving the egg into his satchel, he teleported to the edge of the tree line, taking some time to catch his breath. There were many more here and he’d find the right ones in time. As he turned passed a tree his eye widened immensely.

Right in front of him was a woman who looked about ready for a fight. On impulse he rose his hands up to show he had nothing in them, lips parting quickly to speak, “W-Well…hello?” He smiled nervously, though his ears still paid close attention to any nearby strikes. With this many trees they were really taking their chances: it was as if walking among an expanse of lightning rods. And now that he had a charged item on his person, it would only draw the strikes to him more. For that reason he took a healthy step back from her, not wanting to bring any unintentional danger to her person.

She tilted her head curiously as she looked over at him. She lowered her bow a little bit, but still held it ready in case. "Who are you?" She demanded, looking over at him. "Forgive me, but I feel comfortable with this between us." She said, nodding at her bow and briefly looked around. She brushed her hair away from her face and said, "You seem human, but there's something….off." She looked back at him as she tilted her head again.

Nervousness began to edge into him. If she was this nervous around what she perceived to be another mortal, he worried greatly how her reaction might be should she know he was a god. Hopefully it would go more pleasantly than his currently pessimistic mind was making it. His eyes softened and his lips barely curved into a smile, thinking about how even in his mortal life there was barely any human in him at all. All of it had been smudged out with his ascension, try as he might to feel the same connection to it he had once had,

“My name is Naota, and I won’t harm you.” His hands slowly lowered back down to his sides, thinking of the crystal egg he had in his satchel, “I’m here to do research actually, on the golems of this area. Though,” He smiled a bit easier now, “I’ve been distracted by the constant storm. One doesn’t often get the opportunity to charge items with that much strength.” His eyebrows softly rose, realizing only now how coincidental that he should even run into another soul in a place so dangerous as this,

“And yourself? What are you called?” He made sure not to move from his spot. No matter how many times he could tell a person he wasn’t a threat, it was much easier to get the point across if he kept himself as mild as possible. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to come across another person here.” Most didn’t come here without a definitive reason, but he didn’t want friendliness to come off as intrusive, so he kept his lips shut at least enough for her to reply back.

She lightly nodded and tilted her head. "Research out in a storm? That must be dangerous." She swung her bow onto her back and said, "I'm Leodrisa. I kinda pass through, but this storm certainly has kept me near the ground." She lightly chuckled as she brushed her hair away from her face. "You could call me a storyteller, traveler, nasty elf, I've heard it all." She said as she crossed her arms and looked up at the sky cautiously with a small sigh.

She chuckled at the sound of the golems. "They seem like slow beasts. At least from the trees. I don't dare to climb down usually, force of habit I guess." She looked back at him and said, "What other types of research do you do?"

When her bow was on her back he felt himself ease more, not that he felt particularly threatened by a bow and arrow but he preferred when people could be on more friendly terms. He smiled, his face becoming the portrait of youth as he did, “Oh it’s incredibly dangerous, I love it.” Not an exaggeration. “They are quite slow, but very powerful.” He lifted his eyes to the sky as he continued, “I believe the ever striking lightning here may have something to do with why they’re still able to move and function. We’ve come a long with electricity after all.”

She spoke and he looked back down from the heavens to her again, “Well I certainly wouldn’t call you a nasty anything.” He laughed just a little, “Though I must say, it’s not often that I come across a storyteller, much less in a place like this.” Her next question was a bit of a broad one, ever since his ascension he found himself travelling more than he ever had. An endless life tended to have that effect on a person, and he wanted to use that blessing to learn as much as he could, especially if it could benefit Revaliir in any way.

“Other research?” his eyebrows rose, mulling over the question briefly, “All kinds, normally for healing, anything beneficial…Though for calmer excursions like this one that tend to be more or less a scavenger hunt of sorts, I find myself getting distracted.” He patted the side of his satchel, “I guess you could say that’s where this newfound goal came from.” Echo would have his head for not bringing her along, but she’d be there for the next go around.

His lips pulled in, eyes widening as he brought attention back to Leodrisa, “And yourself? What brings you here today? If you don’t mind me asking. Where are you ‘passing through’ to?”

She tilted her head and sat nearby on a stone. "Really? You're not like other humans, then….you're a bit ridiculous. I mean, its beautiful to look at, but I prefer to be inside. But hey, its my view, everyone has their own. She pulled an apple out of her bag and tossed it between her hands. She leaned back to look at the clouds with a small sigh, noticing that it wouldn't be long before it would get dark. She looked back over at him. He certainly interested her.

She lightly smiled and said, "Well usually, storytellers stick around town and cities to keep warm, get food on their plate, and so on. However, sometimes I just cross great distances for a few good reasons. The quiet out here. Sometimes silence is relaxing after being with little children for many days." She lightly chuckled, it seemed that every town she stopped by, the little children crawled all around her. They loved her stories and always begged her to take a few of them along with her. She lightly shook her head and said, "You'd want a break too when you see how many children want to hear things about dragons, orcs, and thieves."

She listened curiously and said, "Interesting. You must travel a lot then." She brushed her hair away from her face and said, "No offense, but it seems like many humans can get distracted." She bit her lip and said, "Just around for now. But, there is someone I wish I'll see on my journey again." She looked down with a light sigh.

He chuckled softly, his lips pulling in once more only now it was to keep his smile from widening too much. There were many things he was, but human was not one of them. Even in his mortality he’d only been half so, but his eyes softened as she spoke about stories and children. He too lowered down to the ground, sitting up with ankle crossed over ankle as he listened to her. He laughed softly, thinking about his own children and how even in their infancy they held an unquenchable thirst for everything around them. Usually outlined by grabbing hands and fast crawls towards things that such small hands shouldn’t be touching.

“Yes I imagine the constant attention would begin to drain and wear on you…” He knew that last bit quite well. After all, it always seemed as if there was a group traveling a great distance to get to his temple, or a weary traveler in need of counsel or just someone to talk to. His ear was always ready for a story or quest of guidance, but he’d be lying if he said there were never days that he found himself psychologically exhausted. “Yes,” he said “I travel quite a lot. I guess I always have, even in my youth. Once you live the majority of your life out of a backpack, being stationary becomes strange.” Not that he’d give up his life for anything in the world.

His smile returned with a gentle laugh, “No offense taken: I’m not human.” But his smile faded with her next words. Usually when someone spoke about another in such a way it wasn’t a good thing. “This person, are they a friend? Ally?” Either way they were undoubtedly important. Hopefully in a positive way. He wasn’t one to pry too much though, he tended to let people come to him in their own way when they were ready, and she would be no different.

She uncrossed her arms as shook herself out of her own memories. "Yes, and sometimes it does get boring. The times when you have nobody to speak to or see for a while." She chuckled again and said, "Then you see someone and they begin to shoot at you. That's happened……so many times." She smiled and sat on a nearby rock. "I've gotten used to it, so it doesn't really bother me."  She brushed her hair to the side and took a quick drink of water.

She shook her head and said, "He's not an enemy, nothing like that. Just……a man I love. We had to go our ways since he believes he's not worthy of me just yet." She lightly smiled at the memory and said, "I accepted it for now, and for now I'm kinda wondering around, just hoping and waiting to see if I'll find him again. See if he's ready." She lightly closed her eyes again, almost wondering before opening her eyes and looking back at him. "You have any family of your own then?" She curiously tilted her head and said, "Just curious."

She got comfortable on her rock and brought her knees up to her chest. "What are you then? You're not an elf. And you're a bit too tall to be a dwarf!" She laughed and smiled. "And you seem to be way too nice and friendly to be any dark creatures."