Awakening: The Great Guardian

[moustre]

Miles beyond Aefenglom, past the ruins healing with the help of Mirrorbound and Wilders alike, lies a particular outpost. While they will be first to know, the news quickly spreads--

But not as quickly as the wings of a dragon herself, pieces of stone still falling as she lands outside of Aefenglom's Bright Wall, and makes herself known at the high of noon with a mighty voice that resounds across all the city:

"Thou who hath been born unto this world and whom shall die in it, thee who hath found thineselves in the midst of a land succumbing to ruin -- wherefore art thou, for I much desire to speak with thee."

Nessie, ever curious and vastly unaware of the dragon who speaks, will certain meet this entity later, as will much of the Coven... but Mirrorbound seem to have first speaking rights, as the house-sized emerald dragon ignores all but they, apparently having a sense for it. Her eyes gleam a vibrant, summery green, and the air around her smells like various earthy, tree-ish smells, such as pine and dirt. Waiting until there's a gather of all sorts of folk, she turns her head down politely and speaks again, her voice low and yet still heard no matter how far one may be within this crowd.

"I bow to thy tenacity, for thou hath done what many tried an eon ago -- and with more luck than they, for thou art not of this land. Thine presence on this earth gives us hope, and for that we will thank thee.

"I am called Créia, guardian of that which is called the Wilde. It has been too many seasons since the fall of the Court, and among thee who bear resemblance to such ancestry I see many changes, families mingling and becoming one with others unlike thine own. For this I admire thee, though I can see how it hath change ye -- and how it has taken thine power, weakened by mixed blood.

"There are many questions I would ask thee, and many more ye would ask of mineself; I implore thee to speak not over thineselves, and to fear no ridicule. I shall answer any question, however inane and trivial, and seek to give thee counsel in what is yet to come. I, Créia, have only one thing to request of thee, and it must be done before I am cast unto darkness once more..."

Créia, peering over the crowd, lets her strong gaze falter into something more grieving, wings tightening against her shining body.

"Seek out mine kin, and reunite we three."

––

Below is a short list of general information she will give, to lessen repeat questions regarding her request:

- The kin she speaks of are not of true blood relation, but of role; Créia will give their names as Uisce and Aer, though will admit that they may have changed them with time if time gave them such an opportunity.
- One is in the north, and the other is yet unknown to her; Uisce was always something of a wanderer, as per the nature of their essence, and Créia will admit she knows not if Uisce even remains in the form they were seen last.
- It is not necessarily urgent to find the two, as Créia will hold off yet, and she would encourage them to think of it more as a request to keep in mind as they cleanse the world. Her kin, should they live, will show themselves when ready, of this she has no doubt.

Otherwise, please feel free to ask her anything. Créia will not be a readily found NPC after this, seeking to return to her paths in order to cleanse the Wilde as she can herself, though one may still come into contact with her by chance. Simply reply to the investigation post for any contact past this date, and you will have a randomized encounter.

As a note, Créia is said CRAY-ee-ah, Uisce is ISH-kuh, and Aer is simply ayr.

Comments

Maria Makes Friends Easily

[whomthebelltolls]

Last Iuneril, a red sky portended an ill omen for the people of Aefenglom. I remember it was around their celebration of the holiday they call Litha. It seems what the ill omen foretold was a dream, shared by the entire city's population that showed the end of Aefenglom entirely. The Coven had been laid flat by an explosion - likely a magical one - the Bright Wall fallen, the citizenry as wailing, damned spirits. And in the ocean, a giant leviathan swam, infected to the gills with Cwyld. It did not seem to hear or understand any words spoken to it, at least that I could tell, but it reacted to being attacked. [She definitely went with 'attack first, ask questions later' back then. So uh... progress??

Still, Maria inclines her head slightly, watching for a reaction.] Certainly, such a thing has not yet come to pass - Aefenglom itself still stands, but I have seen one of your kind, of a sort. I simply wondered if that was the one of you who guards the sea.

[moustre]

[There is one, and it isn't even slight; Créia tucks her chin to her neck, almost like a recoil, and she trembles slightly. If Uisce fell to such a fate, then... What of Aer? Of herself? Would they become the same, unable to be spoken to and react to what hit their hides?

No; whether or not that came to pass, she had already sworn to become enough. If Uisce fell, if Aer refused, then she would do what must be done. With this resolve in mind, Créia seems to tentatively relax more, though her claws remain tense against the earth.]

Yes. Yes, that is Uisce, they who inhabit the waters and have seen all there is to see among the tides. I am thankful it was only a dream, as I do hold great affection for my kin, and the thought of their mind forsaking them grieves my heart terribly.

Thee said it was a shared experience among the whole of thy fellows? I had not known such a thing was possible by normal means, though I am no stranger to dreamwalking. My own was stepped into previously, after all. Has such a thing always been the case?

[whomthebelltolls]

I see. [Well, there's the confirmation she wanted and couldn't get out of Eren. That would be the dragon to look for - if the dragon is still in its dragon form.]

Fellows... [She frowns at the term. She is one of the Mirrorbound, yes, but she... doesn't particularly care for most of them.] Mm, the Mirrorbound frequently share dreams. At first, they were quite frequent - nowadays, I see them less, but they are not nonexistent. I was among the first brought here, and it started with a dream, in fact. This dream, however, was unique, in that almost all the citizens of Aefenglom proper were pulled into it - natives and Mirrorbound alike. I recall hearing the Coven leader calling for order and for people to gather near her to address the dream, but I was busy attending to other things.

Though that is the long answer. The short answer to your question is yes, for as long as I have been here, the Mirrorbound have been receiving dreams from some source or another that, to my knowledge, none have discerned.

[moustre]

[Interesting. Very, very interesting.]

Then thee and thy fellows may be of much more use than one could have imagined, should thee be able to see that which others cannot. Have thee found connection to them with the world around thineselves, or is that yet shrouded in mystery?

[whomthebelltolls]

Oh, we've found a connection. We've dreamt of cities that we didn't even really know existed until we saw them in a dream. The reality is rarely much like the dream itself, but we saw Dorchacht, before we were made aware of it in the waking world, as well as a cave we later explored, at least I believe. The dreams are never quite as accurate to reality as what we actually find, but they do give an idea of it.

However, there are dreams of what may have been the past... and those that may have been of the future, as well, if that destruction dream was anything to go by. Of those... we're not quite sure what to make. Or, rather, I am not.

[moustre]

How peculiar. I have known naught of any who could claim the same...

[She draws off a second, as if remembering something, before humming again.]

... No, I do suppose Uisce once mentioned something of the sort. Aer and I put it down to one of their fanciful thoughts, as they were wont to have them, but they became oddly angry at our disbelief. I cannot say I looked anymore into it, as I did not walk the path of mankind.

However, they do sound of great use to thee. Dreams have always been a powerful thing, proven by mine standing here this day. Know what to make of they or not, you cannot deny that, no?

[whomthebelltolls]

[There's a slight change in Maria's expression - just the barest touch of a shift in her expression, that seems to be both a bit distant and, perhaps, a bit pained.] No, I cannot deny it. Dreams, and nightmares both can be... very powerful indeed.

[She moves on, before she's interrogated about it.] So then, perhaps, Uisce may have had dreams, as well? You think, perhaps, that may be a trail worth pursuing?

[moustre]

[Créia watches Maria for a moment, as if she's going to press anyway, before answering the latter.]

To seek mine kin, any would be worth pursuit. But this more than others, perhaps, as it is one thing that has come to mind regarding they. Maybe they can be found as I was... Should ye find anything, I implore thee to walk the paths I have, to tread where I have tread, and speak to me first-hand.

[whomthebelltolls]

Very well, we'll talk to the dream walkers and see what they can discern about your kin. [She's sure Eren will be able to do something with this. He's a tenacious sort, and he has connections that, frankly, Maria lacks. Mostly because of her antisocial tendencies.]

I assume it will not be easy to find you... if we can follow along your footsteps, did you say a specific way we could get your attention again, should we get close? I've little interest in chasing a dragon all over the Wildes.

[moustre]

[Fuufuu. A more certain way to find her past treading through her tracks...]

Whilst I cannot promise to come when called, you may have better luck in song. Mine kind are particularly weak to music of any sort.

[Learn an instrument, Maria.]

[whomthebelltolls]

... I'll keep that in mind.

[Sounds like a job for Someone Else, actually.]

Have you any questions for us then? You said you were curious, and I suppose I am full on asking you your information.