He had seen it, many times. It always glimmered and caught his attention even for the briefest of moments while he was focusing the Occulus of Tar Eisalae. The barrier that protected the occupants of the outside world from the effects of Varaz. He had tried to do a little research on it. Turns out that there was even less on Varaz than there was on Bakulaw and that was saying something. And with a Void Storm sweeping across the Jasumin Plains, The Keeper wanted to know what it was that kept the barrier, an obviously magical construction, from fading with the withdrawal of mana from the earth. Tales had been told of strange magic. This excited him. He wanted to explore it. He wanted to discover what it was that made this land so dangerous. As the God of Magic and Knowledge it was his job to bring these things to light he felt. Strange how that worked. If he didn't know better, it would have seemed that Ivacus had given him a bit of a gift before he had vanished. A touch of motivation and the need to explore went a long way for someone who didn't want to stand idle in a tower all his days.    

He stood there for a moment in the brisk Glaciem air and looked up at the massive bubble that seemed to fade into the sky. Despite the lack of the crackle of magic in the earth, this barrier was rife with it. He was definitely impressed. Whoever had made it had meant for it to stay intact. And he wondered for the briefest of seconds what would happen if that bubble were to pop.    

Today was the day he would find out, but without the actual popping. He was about to pass through the barrier when he felt the telltale prickle in his senses that someone else was nearby. He glanced over his shoulder. “Can I be of some service?”  

Aqua had wandered into the area in such of some answers. Emiria had called to her for help during the colder months and she had almost died in the process. She decided to do some research rather then go head first twice, and In her search she came across a place called Komiteia. The two had at least two things in common: both had a magic barrier and both’s barrier kept the evil of the trapped land inside. So here she was in Komiteia looking for anything that she could use to help Emiria without being so close to the city and its people.Aqua as always was in her true form. Her white scales glowing slightly as she headed towards the supposed aria. Of course the trip had taken longer than she planned and as the smell of blood from some hurt animal filled her smell, hunger hit and hit hard. Her reason for being here was quickly forgotten as she started to track. Normally she would not hunt as she prefers plants but she was still a predator and hunger had a way of reminding her of that.She was quick to find the source of the smell and her glowing stopped. She hunkered and slowly crept up towards the young deer. Like said she was a bigger fan of pray that did not need tracked and was a bit out of practice, she broke a stick and startled the deer. It's scratch was not deep and not one that hindered movement as it was on the mouth. The deer ran fast and aqua was up and chasing it straight to the barrier. Aqua stopped right as it ran into a shimmering wall and disappeared. She walked back and forth for a few seconds as she struggled to not follow. Something was wrong with the area and she was not going in alone not even for her pray. Her scales again started glowing as she started to circle again.She stopped immediately when voice was tossed at her. Whatever he was was not human and was quite powerful. She folded her wings as she took a step backwards not knowing what to expect. Her skin would stop glowing as she spoke. “only if you have food”

The fact that he was now looking at a dragon did not perturb him much. He dealt with them frequent enough coming to the library for knowledge that it did not phase him so much. There was actually something slightly familiar about this dragon though he could not place his finger on what it was exactly.    

“I do, but unfortunately probably not enough to satisfy your hunger,” he admitted to her with a friendly and respectful tone. “I won’t bother you if you are here to hunt,” he added as he went to pass through the barrier. He paused and looked back at the dragon, unable to shake the thought that she had a familiar air about her. “Your aura is familiar, but I do not recognize you yourself. Have you visited Tar Eisalae at all to glean from the knowledge there, or am I in error?” he asked her curiously. He turned to face the dragon fully and began looking her over.     

“You do not by chance know a dragoness who goes by the name of Vinsue, do you? You remind me of her remarkably,” he said. “It has been some great amount of time since I have seen her though,” he commented. He walked closer to the young dragoness to get a better look at her. He kept his distance to keep from intruding on her personal space. “What are you called?” he asked as he circled around her. “And from here, I can tell you there is a sizeable heard of deer nearby that might satisfy your craving.”    

“Though, I do wonder what might actually be inside the barrier that would satisfy a dragons hunger. You haven’t been inside by any chance have you?” he asked. It was rather a silly question, almost no one had ever passed through the barrier into the Varaz region.  

Aqua was a little disappointed that he did not have enough food to feed her. Than again she did not expect him to have any to share anyways. “actually hunting was not my reason for being here.” She said as she tried to figure out why she was in the aria to began with. The thought was interrupted by her stomach. She turned to again resume the hunt but again stopped when he continued to talk. Her head tilted at his question. “I do not think I visited the Tar Eaissalla.” She said in a desperately bad attempt to repeat the name. She had messed up the name and had no clue what it was. She again stepped back and sat as he fully faced her and look at her.She was not comfortable being looked at and would maintain her distance. As far as she knew he was a stranger to her but when he mentioned her mom she was surprised. As far as she knew her mom had never left the pirate city except to go home and no one from that place would know that her mother was a dragon or that her name was Vinsue as she gone by Silvertail. “actually she is my mom. How do you know her?” the time thing made since but her mom did not seem like one that wandered around when she was young.She watched as he circled, keeping him in sight by moving her head. “They call me Aqua.” she said than her hunger again sung from her tummy as he mentioned food. Her ears perked up and moved in an attempt to hear what he had mentioned yet she did not find the sound or smell of deer. “How do you know that?” she asked now just as curious as to what was in the barrier and if it was eatable. The barrier, yes, that was why she was here to form a test and answer some questions but she was not going in there alone. “I have not. Something is very unsettling about it or I would have had my hunt. I wanted to test some theories but I do not want to go in alone.” She said looking at the shimmer of the barrier. 

"Ah, Vinsue's daughter. I might have come to that conclusion," Drae chuckled. "Yes, I knew your mother. She came to me to learn how to control her electrical powers, and then later when she ran afoul of a curse," he explained. "She was a good student, she learned quickly how to control those powers, but I do think that she learned quickly too not to give in to temptation when it comes to stealing trinkets from a deity of deceit. She may have mentioned the name Adraejen Porthyrius, The Keeper of Knowledge and Arcane Magics?"

"Aqua is a good name for a dragon. I think she named you aptly. As for the deer, I can smell them. A Were-bear's sense of smell is pretty keen. But I also saw them on my way here," he admitted to the dragon with a sideways smile. 

He looked back up at the barrier, and made an executive decision there and then. "I tell you what, my young scaly friend. You want to investigate but need food, and I want to investigate, but think it unwise to go alone. So, why don't you go gorge on that herd, and I will wait here for you. Then perhaps we can both go in and take a look around together?" he suggested. "That way we both have the opportunity to slake our curiosity?" In this way, both their needs would be met. In his head it was reasonable and agreeable, but he could not vouch for the young dragoness. He settled down in the grass to await the dragoness before he started thinking of how he was going to open the barrier enough to allow not only himself but a dragon inside. He wondered briefly if maybe Aqua was capable of taking a human form as he mother could. 

She had heard a little of mom's curse. Mostly the warming parts of it. One lesson being not to be too prideful to ask for help as that was the only way for the curse to be removed. That also meant that she had ran into the deity of knowledge. “She has mentioned you but I always thought that the curse thing was only a story to keep us out of trouble by using teamwork and wolf pack hunting." She said glad it was the friend and teacher of mom and not the other in the story.

She smiled as he complimented her name. “Although aqua is a paradox name for a natural flame spitter it is more complex than that. I was named after aqua aura, a rock that glows, because I tend to glow the light blue of the stone” she said as her skin again started glowing. She then stood up on her back legs as she sniffed the air. The air would carry the smell and allowed her to get the location of the deer that the Were-bear knowledge deity her caught wind of. She then went back to all for legs The suggestion he made was a good one in her thoughts. Get food so she could think then have someone to help stay safe as they see the other side. “sounds good, I will be back soon.” She said as she turned and started a run before taking flight and losing her glow. She was not gone long before seeing the deer he had mentioned. She looked for any weaker or younger pray as she glided. Finding one that still had its spots and looked weaker than the rest, she dove landing on its back and then took it back to the sky. She landed not to far away and ate all but one leg, the bones, and fur of it. She then washed off in a nearby stream.After getting clean she took the leg in her mouth and walked back to where she had left the man. She laid it down near him before she stepped back and laid down with her wings spread to help digest the food before she cramped up. “I brought you some. It's not cooked but thought you might want some.”