Killian flashed an impressive smile as he adjusted a few settings, lifted the brake lever and plotted the course through the void. “I know just the place.” He answered simply, as he danced around the controls. Wayfinder set, stabilisers ready. One thing was left – the purple topped lever. He moved a hand on to it and paused – looking for Ciaria. “You will want to find something to hold onto.”

As usual, he did not bother waiting for a reply. He brought both hands onto the lever and threw it back. The engines roared – the golden energy in the central column danced – and the ship lurched around as if it was being thrown down a staircase. Killian cackled until the ship came to a stop. Everything became still as he re-applied the brakes, checked the magic shields, and made sure his new friend was not a pile of scrambled egg.

A quick gaze into a random crystal and Killian was assured they had arrived safely, with all relevant parts attached. He threw on his overcoat and walked to the doors – pushing them open to reveal a deep purple sky, the stars twinkled upon it, and deep green clouds rolled over the moons.

“Veraz!” He announced as they stepped out of the ship and into the strangest forest in Revaliir. The ship had landed in a ring of blue ferns. There were not any trees here, just giant mushrooms as big as an oak tree. A flock of birds made of pure lightning shot above their heads. “Ancient playground for a group of mages. Until they scared themselves and surrounded this place in a magical field and abandoned it to time.” As he talked, he led her towards a small cave in the steel blue rock. Inside they could see a single egg, about the size of a melon stood in a small pile of animal bones.

“What do you think is inside?”

Ciara grasped onto the rails as the ship roared and the golden energy danced in the glass column. The ship shook and lurched tossing everything inside but despite this, the fae woman had a smile on her face. Suddenly everything had become still again as he re-applied the brakes and checked something. Ciara released her iron grip on the rails and stood up, looking towards Killian. Ciara didn't hesitate as she rushed out of the airship doors, into Veraz. She had heard of the place but never went to visit it. She always walked on foot despite having access to a magical portal. 

"Things abandoned to time are often the most fun." She stated. 

He showed her a small cave in steel blue rock with a single egg inside, the size of a melon in a nest of animal bones. Ciara reached in and carefully touched the egg, her eyes wide with amazement. The egg was covered in orange spots while the main color was purple. Such color combinations for eggs were almost impossible. Everything in this place was almost impossible. When people mentioned Veraz all they ever talked about was the danger the land presented. There was danger, of course, but there seemed to be unexplainable beauty as well. 

"A dragon?" She guessed, "Or maybe a bird?" 

The egg began to crack and a little nose began to poke out. Ciara quickly stepped back and watched as the egg hatched. A nose pocked out first, then a paw, and then the entire creature was born. She recognized the species. It was….a lion? Something entirely unexpected. It wasn't a chimera or any other sort of lion mash-up. Just a normal regular lion. The fae woman smiled at the surprise then stepped out from the cave, deciding to let the creature be. Instead she gazed up at the mushroom tree nearby and had a small thought. 

"I wonder what the view would be from the top of those mushrooms." She said out loud

Her form melted away as she shifted into a snow white owl. Spreading out her wings, she soared into the sky and landed at the top of the mushroom. The top of the mushroom was strong enough to hold a parade of people and even was a little bouncy. Shifting back to her human-like form, she gazed out at the land before her. Veraz was strange and ever shifting, but beautiful and held more color than almost any place else. This was the inspiration she needed for her work. This was what she was looking for! She looked back down to the ground and noticed that a large lion was drawing closer to the cave. The lion was a female and looked fairly pissed that it could smell two other people. 

"Hey Mama lion is back!" She called down to Killian, "Better be careful!"

Killian seemed like the sort of person who could handle that situation on his own. A swirl of violet magic circled around her hand as she summoned a canvas and painting tools. After setting everything up, she began to paint the scenery before her. The view on the top of the tall mushroom allowed her to see the sun's beautiful glow over the land and see all of the vibrant wildlife below. First she began with the color orange then moved onto a variety of other gorgeous colors. At times she would use the brush and other times she would take a part of her sleeve to create a texture on the paint that her brush wouldn't be able to provide. 

It was a wonderful day to be painting on top of a mushroom. 

Killian just smiled when she asked him what he thought was inside the egg. It wasn’t the first lion egg he had seen, but still this one was about to hatch – its why the landed where they did. Then, on cue, the egg cracked, and a lion cub was revealed. Killian scratched behind its ear before turning to follow Ciara out of the cave. “Be careful!” He called out after her as she transformed into an owl. His smiled to himself, she was an interesting one.

Then he heard her warning, the lioness was returning to her egg. Sure enough, he spotted a pair of angry eyes in the forest gloom. It was coming straight at him, ears draw back, teeth snarling. Killian didn’t panic, instead he started to walk towards it, he gave it a wink. Instantly the lioness’s demeanour changed, her ears shot forwards, and her teeth disappeared back into her mouth. She rose her tail and her eyes grew wider as she continued to approach Killian. She reached him, rubbing her head lovingly against his thigh like the world’s largest housecat.

The Novella stroked her head. “Go to him, he’s hungry and scared. Wasn’t expecting my face when he hatched.” His voice was calm, the lioness bounded past him and into the cave. Very simple magic, but it wasn’t the first-time charm had saved his life.

Now it was time to check on Ciara, it always made him anxious when they started wandering off. Without any fanfare he held a hand above his head – a thick vine extended from the forest and wrapped around his hand and wrist. A moment later it lifted him off the ground and carried him to the top of the mushroom before letting go of him and disappearing off back into the trees.

“Oh that’s not a bad view is it?” He said, inexplicitly holding a silver tea tray, complete with ornate tea pot and two teacups, there was even a jug of milk and a ceramic dish filled with sugar. He poured a cup and offered it to her. “You are quite talented.” He said as he poured his own cup and sat down beside her.

Ciara continued working on her painting, then heard the sound of Killian speaking behind her. He had gotten up here quicker than she expected, that lion must not have been any trouble at all. Perhaps the lions that hatched from eggs were kinder than the ones that were birthed. She placed the brush down on a rock and turned to him, receiving the teacup. The fae just assumed that he summoned one in and didn't treat that action as anything special. Instead, she took the cup full of hot tea. 

"Thank you, I really needed this." She said with a smile. 

Ciara flung out the tea and used the cup to paint a circle on the canvas to represent the sun in the sky. It never even occurred to her that the tea was meant for drinking. She continued working on the artwork and heard his compliment. Ciara didn't say anything in response and continued working on her piece. The result was a beautifully painted image of the landscape before her. 

"You know, you should never compliment an artist before you see the finished product." Ciara commented with a smile, "It will always seem like you are merely throwing out compliments, without any regard towards the artist's actual work."

She turned towards him with hands covered in spots of paint. Then she dipped her finger in a blue paint and lightly touched the stranger's forehead, leaving a blue fingerprint behind. Ciara smirked then cleaned up her work, sending everything back to the storage place far far away from there. The fae woman looked towards Killian and was quiet for a moment. 

"Since we are friends, I think it would only be fair if you finally listened to my song. It can't hurt you thanks to that oath." She said, "So what do you say?"