middaeg | Awakening: The Great Guardian

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Awakening: The Great Guardian

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.

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As the first rays sprinkle across the chill of the Wilde, the more summery-like atmosphere of the tree swells and pushes further into the Cwyld surrounding the clearing, coating the air thickly with the smell of... pine? oak? perhaps some sort of flower, though few could rightly say.

The burst lingers, and then it beats almost like a heart; with each beat comes with sound of wings, but a look to the sky bears no answers; it is the forest line which trembles, and as the beats slow so do the sound with it. From the trees a radiant emerald dragon the size of a house emerges, not a lick of the Cwyld against her scales, and she saunters forward enough to give those who impose on the outpost breathing room.

"I owe thee mine gratitude," she begins with a bow of her head, voice strong but gentle. "I am called Créia, guardian of these paths, and I would allow thee to ask whatever thy mind desires."

Elliot had been alongside Eren through this, helping out when he could spare the time to with clearing the corruption. Still, even if he had...it felt so unreal that they had actually managed to pull it off and that the dragon was actually awake.

Thus when prompted to ask questions, he feels like his mind is drawing a blank. Great timing Craig. So he can only do what he knows how to do best: be a nice boy. He'll walk up to the dragon and offer a friendly little wave.

"H-Hi Créia! It's nice to see you awake! Um....feeling better?"

What a small, polite young one. She inclines her head, a trace of amusement evident in her tone. So that side of humanity, that they cannot think of what to ask when the moment presents itself, remains the same... how charming.

"I am, thanks to thine efforts as well as others. Though I am not fully rested, as battling the plague within this body of mine took much of that from me, even in slumber, there is nary a doubt in mind that I am much better than if I had not all of thee to rely on in the first place."

It'll remain the same forever and ever. He rubs the back of his head a little sheepishly, but looks a little relieved.

"Well, that's good to hear...be sure to take it easy for awhile though. It'd be rough if it happened again."

Though, that does seem to remind him of why he wanted to know.

"Oh- is that why you fell into slumber? Because of the Cwyld? Or was it for another reason and the infection happened after?"

"Nay, t'was due to that plague."

Créia's gaze shifts across the outpost, how it blooms amidst the winter of the Wilde (be it in celebration of her wake or due to it), and then back to Elliot, tail curling around her as she sits.

"I do not recall all of that which occurred, but this memory of mine is not so old that I do not know what befell me; that which is called Cwyld swept rapidly throughout this land, the paths I strode and woods I held order in, and despite mine efforts I fell victim to its strength. Long I fought its influence, and long did it hold tight to my mind -- in an effort to keep my thoughts my own, I fell into a slumber, and allowed the world to move on without my guidance.

"I see that is was both a blessing and a curse, as though the world has not healed, nor has it fallen into despair. There is hope yet in these lands."

"I see..."

He looks at her sympathetically. It must've been hard confronting such a thing like that, feeling like it was her duty to protect the world only to fall victim to it. He could relate just a little, but he'll not mention that.

"People...can be pretty resilient." He says, nodding to that hope. "Do you...know why Cwyld started? There's a story that said it has something to do with the Fae courts- is that true?"

Ah.

It is only natural they would wish to know, and Créia draws her wings to her sides as she closes her eyes, head dipping slightly before it lifts again. Why, where, how it began. How to start herself, when there is so many centuries between her birth and the moment she stands before them presently. The years blur, and finally she speaks, tentative as she recalls.

"The Cwyld came from within the depths of the forest, that much I know. I had no visitors of the Court in some time since they fell, for reasons which are yet unknown to me, but it can be assumed the story true. They, who were as close to this worlds' life as I am, must have been the source of this crisis, or at very least a warning for what was to come.

"As for the plague itself... It has always been a part of life, much as any infection in wounds left to open air. It simply was not something that was thought a threat, something that would pass with time, and yet it managed to do such damage to this world... It begs the question on if it simply bided its time, or if there was something else."

Where there is good, there is bad; where there is light, there is shadow. Happiness cannot exist without all that upsets it, and nor can magic exist without something to counter it. So it would seem.

He listens to her words, taking them into consideration. So she wasn't completely sure either, but had the same notion that the stories held. It wasn't just anti-fae rhetoric, from the sound of it.

The part of it always being around though? Catches him by surprise, and it shows.

"Wait, it was around before it became like this?" Here Elliot had always assumed it came to be and immediately started spreading. "I-In that case, something must've happened to make it act this way. A mutation, or or..."

He trails off. What if something had been holding it back, but then someone caused it to unleash it's full strength? Just like home. The thought made his stomach twist.

Elliot clears his throat, trying to shake those thoughts away. No point in trying to draw parallels right now.

"T-The dreams...people who are infected with Cwyld all tend to have the same dream. Where it's dark and there's some plant? And a heartbeat of some kind....does that ring a bell?"

"A plant... and a heartbeat..?"

Créia tilts her head slightly, turning to look back towards the woods beyond. There's a pause as she seems to consider something before turning forward again with a shake of her head.

"The Fae and their kind birth, sleep, and die within plantlife, such as trees, flowers, even each blade of grass, yet... I cannot say for certain if it has any connection to these dreams thee speak of, as mine were of a different sort. Thou would do well to seek what dryads may still have their minds intact and inquire they the same, as they may hold more answer than I. I regret I cannot be more help to thee in this."

There is a slight chance the invisible hand that controls Elliot couldn't find the information post about the dream to refresh their memory. But yes. That.

"Oh no, that's okay! Seeking out the dryad is a better clue than I had before." So it was helpful there. He tilts his head curiously. "But in that case...what kind of dreams did you have?"

Then he feels a wave of nerves because boy that might be personal. "I-I mean, only if you don't mind me asking!"

Mikasa wasn't here for the first outing, too new, too inexperienced at dealing with what was in the Wilde. But at hearing they needed people to general work, she'd tagged along, like with the Northan Outpost. Then learned this one needed her area of expertise(even if the dumb plants in this place weren't like the ones the farm girl was used to)

She'd only come out for a short visit. To check the plants she and Maria had put in the area around the boulder. She couldn't stay long, she had a dog who'd get antsy without her and Tater the puppy to look after. She also wanted to see if she could still sense that pulse of the Ley Lines as she had in the roots and in the underground. It should take too lo-

Then the rock explodes into light. Her large black eyes stare at it narrowed. Arms raising ready to throw down. Blinking...She only understood about 60% of that Créia.

"How...How did you get infected?"

It's possibly a dumb question. But given she was told the dragons might be the source of a cure...

Worry not, this invisible hand is much the same. It does sound right though, for your sake.

In any case, Créia huffs a bit, though it doesn't seem like she's bothered by the question.

"A moment frozen in time. Unlike many creatures suffering much the same, my and mine kin hath the ability to keep our minds better than thee; by clinging to memories of joy, we are able to recall ourselves. Perhaps thee will see what I saw then, should thy life lasts long enough, young one."

Well, if it isn't one of the Fae... nay, something alike to them; there is none who resemble the True Fae, but Créia finds herself bowing a tad lower in greeting as Mikasa speaks, rising after a moment.

"I and mine kin are to this world just as thy form is; we are close to its life, to its magic, and thus can be overcome just the same... It is shameful for a guardian such as myself to hath knelt against a foe which threatened all that which I hath strove to protect, yet it claimed me as it did all else; as the Wilde tired, so did I."

As far as Créia seems concerned, there is no dumb question. Perhaps it's her age, but she does seem ready to entertain all manner of it.

"Clinging to memories of joy..." He considers that. Could that really override those dreams? Though she makes it sound like it'd take a long time.

"Ha...only if it's a skill that you can learn in under a century. Humans don't last much longer than that."

Her arms slowly lower, in part because...If Créia wanted to kill her, being on the defense probably wouldn't save her ass. And she wouldn't be talking.

So the tree dragon was tried.

"How long did it take to get that bad?" From how long the dragon appeared to have been trapped, and that most she'd spoken too didn't know of a time before the Cywd, Mikasa wasn't sure if anyone would remember that far back. It was a long shot. "And what will you do now you're out?"

"It is unfortunate that thy kind cannot live as long as we," she agrees. "But there are those who hath found ways to do just that."

Though she doesn't explain it further, simply leaning down to look Elliot more in the face. The scent of earthy plantlife is stronger now, all kinds of leaves and summer fragrance mixed in... Hello there. The first question, notably, is audible, but the second is not, save to Elliot alone.

"I gave mine name unto thee, but I hath not been granted the same courtesy. What do thee hail as... and why have thee allowed thyself to be soil in which poison grows?"

Should Elliot feel uncomfortable continuing the conversation, she will certainly back off, but it'd be silly to think she couldn't sense it in him.

[ he's waited months for this, with only the voice of créia from the much earlier dream waltz— the first time they spoke and now it just feels like a phenomenon that make his spines from his back to his tailtip rise like gooseskin in the cold when there was no cold around the enchanted outpost protected by the witches keeping constant watch of the guardian's new garden. there's just a massive amount of energy. big mom energy.

the smaller, now more human shaped dragon can only bob his head with awed greeting. she's well again and the nature burst his tongue keeps catching in scents of pine and green are all proof that this had been the right thing to do. the wilde is alive. ]

I'm glad. [ greetings out of the way, though, he'll certainly step as close as proximity can lessen. ] You said Courts. The Fae Courts?

"I know not how long it took, only that it was more than a few seasons... Though even they began to twist, and with it mine own sense of time. I did what I could manage then, yet it feels as if all was for naught the more the leaves changed and fell when they should have been budding and blooming."

Of course she tired. Of course she exhausted herself, trying to defend all that she could. At the second question, Créia seems to regain her confidence and sit straighter, a pleased sound in the back of her throat.

"As for what I plan to do now, I shall assist in thy efforts to cleanse the forest, to push back the plague as I have always done. There are many old paths I once tread, and I vow to have them traveled upon by all; it is of great importance that we draw lines, to reclaim that which was once ours, in order to contain that which must be, lest we fall once more."

[What a familiar taste, an old scent she recalls from dream; Créia takes care to show little favoritism, though there's a noted warmth in her gaze as she looks over the more human-like dragon who sought her out so long ago. So this is his form, outside of that fantastical space.]

Indeed. Two sides of the same coin, yet either would have cursed thy tongue for even suggesting the idea; t'was they who resided above all in these woods, though I would not have called them the most welcome nor friendly of folk. Outsiders were prohibited from their haven, save for those they... invited themselves.

[One can get the feeling that "invited" is the nicer term.]

Oh. Oh the dragon is leaning down to look him in the face. Even if he was used to dragons, she was much bigger and much more dragon-like than the ones in Aefenglom - so it's definitely a little nerve-wracking. Especially when she calls out that.

He gulps.

"A-Ah, s-sorry! I'm Elliot! Elliot Craig." As for answering that second question, he definitely looks conflicted and shaken up. He's not supposed to talk about it, but she can clearly sense it. And if he doesn't say something, it'd make him suspicious wouldn't it?

And that seems like a bad idea when talking with a massive dragon. Even if she seems like a nice dragon. The chances of him getting set on fire or eaten were not completely zero.

Swallowing, he unconsciously puts his hand over the arm that has the mark, hidden under a sleeve.

"I...S-Some healers do it to train their body to resist it, so we can treat others." Which wasn't a lie, even if it wasn't the entire reason he did it. But it wasn't like a dragon that's been asleep for centuries would know much about Coven-infirmary policies.

The standing makes the near fae crane her neck, still trying to meet the much larger dragon's gaze. Why did they all make that purring noise?

"By paths, do you mean the Leylines? Like the ones in the tree and near the cities?" That would be very helpful if they could get clear trade routes. Though she wasn't sure if that would help. Her first expedition here had been to help cleanses one after all.

"How long would you be able to keep that up without getting infected again?" There's a little, teeny tiny bit of concern in her black eyes. Because this was probably one of the most knowledgable beings on these topics they'd met. It'd be their luck that they'd find her, then lose her right after.

"... Interesting," she says, eyeing his arm a moment, and her golden gaze softens slightly. "Should thy ever wish to see it gone, thee need only to seek me out. Such a small bud is nothing, and thee hath gained more than one favor for thy kindness in setting me free."

But she'll sit up after that, a purr in the back of her throat. All she wanted his name for was to thank him, so..!

"My gratefulness is beyond spoken word, Elliot Craig. Thank you."

He can still ask her anything he'd like, of course, and... she does have many things to ask he and the others, but Créia is admittedly unsure of how to bring it up. Centuries alone will do that to you.

Créia nods, then plants her claws in the ground and twists to make a deep cut in the soil. A circle. She lifts just her claws, allowing the mark to stay, and draws lines around them. As a note, they aren't always perfectly circular, and some of them are more elongated than others, like mountain levels of a flat map.

"I walked paths on which magic was strongest beneath my feet, what you call Leylines... Though I recollect little regarding cities, I sense the magic they pull from the earth and how they do, and do not, return it in kind. There were such small pockets before, and now I feel they are somewhat greater. I will cleanse these paths for thee, so that thy feet will find safety among my green.

"As for how long I can last 'fore I succumb once more-- Thy worry is unneeded, ye chosen by this world, for I have not rested this long to simply roll over once more. I have bided my time, and I shall not falter." A beat, and then Créia leans down so Mikasa isn't trying to hard. "Tis not forever. But I will not make the mistakes I did centuries prior, so long as I have all of thee relying on my breath. I can vow to that."

Nothing concrete, unfortunately, but she is fairly confident.

"Really?" Well he wasn't expecting an offer like that, so he's caught off guard by the kindness. He breathes out. An actual out if he needs it. "Aha...maybe some day. I still need it for now...but thank you."

He really did appreciate it. He would remember if, if it ever became necessary.

"And really, I'm just glad to see you're okay!" Eren was the one who really pushed things along. He just helped. "And since I've asked you so much...is there any questions you have? You have been asleep awhile."

That was interesting, she'd have to let someone who understood more about magic than she did know. Because she was still a beginner in all aspects. Most of her knowledge had been little things she'd picked up trying to learn about herself, or from Sokie.

"The settlements are draining them..." Or that's what she takes from that. And it didn't sound good if that was what protected them. "Is there any way to put magic back into them?"

Thank you dragon mom. At least this is one area her shrinking had no effect on. She'd have still been a runt that had to peer up. Instead giving a questioning tilt of the head.

"Mistakes?"

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Awakening: The Great Guardian

First Dibs: The Outpost

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The mantis dance

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