Mountain Musings & Molten Meditation

[Vega]

8th Trial of Cylus during Arc 718

Things had changed, and changed for the better a lot since Arlo had appeared in front of her up here. He'd insisted on setting up camp properly, and she had slept. Arlo had used an aspect of his mark from Cassion and they had been comfortable and warm, even up here. He'd hunted, too, and cooked so it was fair to say that things were better, much better than they had been. Vega had learned that the thing to do was to focus on the scar on her hand, not the sword and so she was, slowly, learning to control the fire which raged inside her, it seemed. The voices were a different thing, they fell in on her every time she made contact with that power, whispering to her insecurities, her worries and fears. That she was not good enough, not enough for him, for her father, that she was stupid and scared, that she killed or pushed away those who loved her. She hated it, but it was what it was, and the voices did one of two things; they spoke to her inner fears and insecurities, or they did not. The ones which were accurate didn't tell her anything she hadn't already considered and the others were just noise.

Fundamentally, they were getting to her, but far far less than they had been. Because she wasn't alone and terrified whilst also being freezing, exhausted and starving. Things looked a lot less positive when one was in that situation, Vega considered and she kept looking at the palm of her hand, focusing on the scar as she pushed the molten effect into it there. The voices all spoke, so many of them telling her things which she either already believed or feared to be true.

As he walked back into the camp, carrying what he'd caught, Vega looked up and her eyes lightened at the sight of him. The voices she heard fed on her fears and Vega hated that, but they did. As she looked at him with the black in her eyes receding and giving way to her more usual colours, Vega held out the dagger in her hand. It glowed the vivid molten which he'd seen a lot of times, by now. "Hey, look at this." Vega was quieter, more subdued than usual and had been that way since this thing had started, but she was pleased as she showed him that all the fire was in the dagger, none in her hand. It took effort to maintain, though, that much was obvious. "That's the first time I've managed that." Inevitably, she was cautious in the extreme around him and she would be yelling at him to get out of the way at a moment's notice, but she placed the knife down and then took her hands off it before picking up a twig and putting it on the knife. When the thing didn't explode into flames, she stood.

It was strange, the feeling of being awkward, unsure around him. She hated him seeing her fighting those voices and they always made her reticent. He loved her, she did not doubt that and nothing they said could make her doubt him, but it wasn't her opinion of Arlo they worked on. "I'll make some tea, you must be freezin'" That was what she would do, get them both a mug of hot tea and bring his to him, putting it into his hand with a smile. "It'll warm you up. How'd you get off?" Cradling her own cup in her hands, Vega just allowed herself to let the voices leave her, and she looked at him with a slight smile. "I think we'll be able to go back down to town soon, I guess. I jus' need to be sure it's completely under control. But, no more carpentry for me." It involved wood and weaponry and those two were no longer mixing in her world, she said with an attempt at a smile. Also, they were going to have to get a flame resistant scabbard, or something.

[Arlo Creede]

When Arlo had first realized, after receiving Cassion's blessing, what he could do in regards to outdoor living, he hadn't been sure just how useful he'd find the ability. Safe camp, that was. Most times, the ability to sleep out under the stars, in the open air had been preferable to him. In most cases it still was. But the weather up here in the high mountains was much more bitter than that at the base. More unpredictable. More miserable. In this case then it had proven to be a blessing in the truest of terms. It kept them warm and comfortable. But most importantly, the arrangement provided Vega with a greater sense of safety, his own as much as hers, and allowed her to rest. So able to focus much better when need be.

Each safe camp lasted just a trial. But he'd create the things as frequently as he needed to. Or at least as often as he could. Without actually being in her head, he wasn't sure if she was becoming more able to impose her will on the voices inside her head, or if in reality she was simply getting better at training her mind to quiet or ignore them. He guessed in the end it didn't matter, so long as they came to plague and torment her less. In the meantime, he did what he could. He kept their camp in good order. He hunted. He kept them both fed.

He'd returned with two hares that he'd caught, and dropped them on the ground before joining Vega. She was changing, much different than she'd been during the trials before, but much more herself. One look at her eyes alone convinced him that it was the case. The blade in her hand, the one she showed him...Well, it looked like hot liquid metal just as before. But not the hilt, and not her arm. It was progress. "It's working," he said, smiling as he sat down beside her. He'd hoped, as good as known that it would if only there was focus, time and patience to allow it.

The truth was, all of this he'd have taken onto himself in order to spare her. And it bothered Arlo more than he could say, that he wasn't able to. It was their struggle, still, but in learning to control it the lion's share of the effort by design, was hers. "I couldn't be prouder of you, you know. You're the strongest person I've ever known." Tea would be good, but he was alright. He had the chicken's peg leg, he reminded her and it kept him warm from head to toe. Still, Arlo got up and grabbed the rabbits he'd brought back from his hunt and showed her. "We could have done with one, but two is better." Some things didn't change after all once done. Thanks to Casson's gift, he was starving.

[Aegis]

Date

Text Here

It started with a whisper.

"They're coming..."

It was the friendly, helpful voice Vega had heard that first night since she'd touched the Death Forged Rose, the one that had actually been nice to her. It sounded worried for her, and also that it seemed to be struggling to communicate, as if being held back. And while this voice was nice and helpful, being able to hear it within the cacophony of the other voices would take extreme concentration. So much so as to cut off the rest of the world beyond Vega's own mind.

"They will burn his soul... just as they are burning yours..."

Almost as if to prove his words, she'd feel a burning in the core of her being, igniting every nerve within her. All of the voices, save one, laughed as she burned from the inside. And while Vega was occupied with that, Arlo would feel the world shaking, violently. The ground around them shifting and shuddering. Rocks tumbled down the mountain around them, though thanks to his safe camp ability, it seemed that they were positioned in the only spot on the mountain to not have a boulder roll through.

Then the snow began to melt all around them, rapidly, sending slush and water downhill. The glow from Vega's scar grew over her skin, racing up her arm, fractured lightning in shape, not the slow, full glow as before, burning a streak in her clothing as it went. The bolt raced up her neck, and pierced into her eyes. The bolt faded to a dull scar, and her eyes held the same molten glow that her skin and weapons had held before.

And still, the mountain shook, heaved, bounced, and bobbled with them on it, and every speck of snow and ice melted away. A massive fracture cracked its way down the mountain, splitting the camp in half, separating Vega and Arlo. It wasn't particularly wide, Arlo could probably do multiple extra fancy flips over it just for fun, if the moment called for it. A warm glow emanated from within the fracture. A creature rose out of it slowly, levitating, eyes locked on Arlo.

In a low rumbling voice, "The Death Forged must come to us. Interfere, and I will burn you."

With a crack of lightning, a whip formed within its hands. It seemed that the creature was made of solid fire, though not near as solid as Vega's own molten glow. And it was more than ready and capable of defending itself. Should she look around, she'd see, through her molten eyes, two important details. The first is that within the creature was a solid, spherical core, low in its stomach. The second was a set of molten stairs that seemed to walk downward, right through the mountain itself. She could see that the extended far further than her own vision would allow her to discern.

The friendly voice within her spoke up, "It is time."

[Vega]

He sat next to her and Vega leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder and she smiled the most genuine and uninhibited smile she had since he'd appeared. When he said that he was proud of her and that she was strong, the strongest person he'd met, Vega's smile turned almost shy but she was pleased. "You're such a dweeb, Arlo Creede," she spoke quietly, "if I'm strong it's cos I love an' am loved. This right here. Us. You. That's where my strength comes from, an' that makes me invincible." Curling into his arms and lifting hers to bury her hands in his hair, she kissed him. "I love you," she whispered and then pulled herself, regretfully, away.

Vega was determined to keep focusing, to ensure that her concentration was absolute on controlling this and she was concerned about extreme emotions breaking that focus. Consequently, despite the occasional slip up as she saw it, she was doing everything she could to just stay on an even keel, which was driving her mad with frustration. So, she concentrated on what he said, how it was getting better and she grinned when he said that they were better with two. "Old ever-'ungry. You cook them, an' I'll keep goin' here." She said and sat, on the rock which had become hers.

Sitting, cross-legged and focusing, Vega heard the voice and she breathed in to say something. So lost was she in her concentration, so wrapped up in it that she spoke only one word, "Arlo," but in that word she sounded suddenly unsure, afraid.

And then, it began.

The very thing which she had been so afraid of, the reason that she shouldn't be near him and the reason why she'd left. It all came true right there as she felt the center of her being start to burn. She didn't feel the world shake, she was too busy focusing on her own, internal struggle and she felt herself burn from the inside. It began to consume her and she felt it, as she had imagined it would be in every nightmare she had experienced, both the ones which fell in on her before he found her and the ones he had chased away with strong arms and a gentle kiss in the middle of the night. Nightmares pulled not from the depth of her subconscious but from what she had feared to know, but known still, since the moment this started.

It would consume her if she let it. If she was not strong enough, then she was lost.

The scar on the palm of her hand glowed and Vega bit down a cry of pain and surprise as the fire shot up her arm, burning her clothes as it went and then, the mountain split apart and whatever this was, whatever had created this, the creature who wanted her soul rose up and then spoke to Arlo. "Yeah, 'ang on a minute, there, Chuckles." Vega said and she looked at it. "That there core of fire, the one right in the bottom of your stomach, does that need feedin'? You talk to 'im again an' I'm gonna get testy." She stepped forward. Not far, but towards it just a step. "It's me you want, not him." Another step.

She looked at the creature and she kept her eyes on it. She didn't want Arlo seeing her like this, she hated it, but there were bigger fish to fry, she knew. "If you 'arm him, I'll never come to you. Never. You know, I've been thinkin', why these voices? It's cos you want to break my spirit, innit? Which must mean you want me to voluntarily give myself up, like. Are you sufferin' without me an' the boy? Does it 'urt? Is it makin' you right testy? I hope so cos I've 'ad the crappest few trials, I tell you."

She stood, defiance in every part of her and the fire-filled eyes were unwavering. "An' come to that, Chuckles, where do those stairs lead?" Vega asked, trying desperately to pull its attention to her, away from him.

[Arlo Creede]

"Our love makes you invincible?" Arlo asked, teasing Vega when she said it. "Now who's going sappy?" He teased, and yet the sentiment wasn't an unfamiliar one, considering that he felt the same as her. But it was how they were together, and it warranted teasing. Who would they be if not? He loved her, no question about that. But it was always good to be reminded, and he did while he worked at preparing the rabbits, and she focused on what she needed to do.

But then of course everything changed in an instant. Except that unlike Vega, Arlo didn't realize it at first. After all, the voices that plagued her were hers alone, they rounded in her head but not out loud. He'd have remained completely ignorant of them, if not for her reaction. There was a sudden, new fear in her eyes. She tensed up. Something was happening and Arlo was instantly on alert. He dropped the rabbit he'd been skinning in order to focus better on her.

He didn't draw his sword in spite of feeling there was a very real threat afoot. After all it wasn't something he could see, or touch, and so an ordinary weapon would do him no good at all. "Vega?" It was happening again, no doubt about it and he whispered, "Don't let the bastards win." And then of course the earth shifted and moved beneath his feet. Some of it even broke loose and came tumbling past them on its way down the mountain. And Vega burst into flames.

If not for his knack for balance, all things acrobatic, he might have been knocked or toppled off his feet when the ground split in two. But he knew how to ride with the movement, not against it. And above all, he was determined that he and Vega wouldn't be separated and so Arlo took a little bit of room to leap across the divide, rolling into a forward somersault in order to extend his reach, and then rolled back to his feet.

What rose out of the abyss, however, Arlo could see and hear as well as Vega did. "Just like that," he said the fire...thing defiantly. "You think because you say so, I'm going to go away or stand idly by and do nothing? Not a chance." He wasn't going to stand idly by, any more than he'd allow her to go with that thing, or wherever it wanted her to go, voluntarily, by collusion, by force or any other way for that matter.

[Aegis]

Date

Chuckles, as Vega so adequately named the fire entity, turned away from facing Arlo, and only faced her now. She asked of it many questions, many of which it had not the answer for. This being was simply the errand boy. "My core does not feed." He paused, unable to give her much of what she wanted, until she asked something he could answer. "Those are the stairs to the Heart of Scalv."

The being's whip dissipated from existence before it continued, "I can only guarantee safe passage to the Heart for the Death Forged. The companion must protect himself." It waved a fiery hand toward the stairwell, and the glamour disappeared, revealing the molten stairs to Arlo. A few snowflakes fell, some drifting toward the revealed depths. They melted before they ever reached the surface of the stone. Hot, just as hot as Vega's sword when in hand. And while she would be immune to them, others would not be.

But Arlo was not without allies it seemed. A large specter appeared behind him, transparent, one that both him and Vega would recognize. It was the man who'd died during the Derby, Biffuno. He smiled softly, his control over his voice a bit shaky, and it seemed, he was unnoticed entirely by the fire entity. "I-I-I wanted to thank you. For helping my sister... find some closure. I am a protector of this mountain now. And I give my thanks."

Arlo would be able to feel a tingling in his feet, and for a moment, they seemed to glow, covered in crystalline ice, before it disappeared from view. "Be safe." The spirit of Biffuno faded away with a wave and a smile. And Arlo would find that as long as he kept moving, his boots would be protect him from the heat, and would not melt. Staying too long, however, would be an entirely different story.

The fiery being spoke once more, "We must go. There is not much time." It floated over to the stairwell, and led the way, assuming he would be followed. For Vega was right, it seemed she could not be forced to do anything. For her, it would be comfortable, no different than a stroll through the woods on a crisp Vhalar evening. Arlo, on the other hand, would have to endure the sweltering heat that rose off of it. The air was thick and acrid, smelled of sulfur, hazy. Breathing was a chore at the best of times. And the stairs descended so incredibly far into the mountain.

Finally they spilled out into a well lit cavern. It was massive, circular, far enough that Vega wouldn't be able to hit the other side with a bow shot and a clear mind. Vega and Arlo found themselves on an outer ring stone, that ended in a ledge that dropped off into lava below. It seemed this mountain was more than a mountain. It was a volcano. There were multiple concentric rings of stone, spaced twenty or so meters away from one another, without any visible sign of a bridge connecting them. And in the center of it all was the source of all of Vega's pain and anguish recently.

A large, metallic series of thorned vines, some thicker than a person's torso, were wrapped around appeared to be a large crystal, reminiscent of fire. Fire that seemed to be frozen, made solid, held in place. It's coloring was faded, a dull yellow and orange, similar to that of the final gasps of a camp fire. The vines could be seen moving slightly, adjusting, squeezing a bit more on the crystal. As it did, the fire entity screeched in pain, it's flame extinguished, and its solid, molten core dropping to the stone, cold, and dead. And Vega would feel the pain too. Every voice inside her head could feel it, and they were all screaming and relaying the pain into her. They were begging for it to stop, to be over.

A few other entities similar to the one that greeted them could be seen flitting about the cavern, after the screaming stopped. They approached the metallic vines, occasionally would launch a fire ball at it, only to disperse harmlessly against it. A single, large rose on a vine curled up over the crystal, and twisted to look right at Vega and Arlo. It began to glow, that haunting molten glow that Vega knew oh so well. And the voices within her all shirked in fear. Save one. That calm, friendly voice who had helped her as best it could. The voice of the hero.

"It is consuming our souls. As it will yours... and soon, the Scalv Flame will extinguish."

As the flower "looked" at them, the vines from the base, steely and thorned, began to slither out, extending over the lava, spreading through the concentric rings of stone. They reached out to the walls, the ceiling, down into the lava itself. The vines in the magma began to drink the magma, spreading the heat through the rest of the vines. And in doing so, seemed to invigorate them. They began to wriggle and swing through the air, and to Vega's hunter eyes, would seem to be a threat display, much like a wolf baring its teeth.

Off to the left along Vega and Arlo's ring, were several series of stalagmites and a stalactites, some connected, others not. Off to the right, there was an alcove set deep into the wall, with a fair abundance of the fire entities huddled within, floating about nervously. And right in front of them, a single, molten vine whipped downward toward them, only to stop suddenly. As it did, dozens of the molten thorns were flung from the vine toward Vega and Arlo. It seemed the fight had begun.

[Vega]

It was time. People, or more precisely, disembodied voices and flame-creatures kept telling her that. But it was, she could feel it. It was time and she needed to go down there. But it could only protect her, "well, that's an issue, Chuckles, cos I'm not goin' anywhere without him." Vega stood, straight backed and lifted her chin in an expression Arlo undoubtedly recognised. She could be the most stubborn woman in the world and yet, a solution presented itself. In the shape of a ghost. First, one a date, now here? "'You've been 'anging round with that woman what leaves her hair in my spices entirely too much, you 'ave." Vega muttered to Arlo and then looked at Biffuno. "I'm sorry. I really am." Her actions had killed him, after all, although not by design or intent.

"It's the right thing to do, to go down there." Vega said and she looked at him with fear in her, but stubborn determination too. "It's enough of this nonsense, now. Lets go kick it's butt an' show it who's boss. We are." More than anything she wanted to reach out and touch him, just hold on to his hand for strength, but Vega didn't dare risk it so instead she spoke. "Stop lollygaggin' or yer feeet'll melt, qau'ma." It was the last word which was important, of course. But he knew that. To the creature and his urging, Vega snipped. "Yeah, alright Chuckles, don't get yer flamin' hot panties in a bunch, we're havin' a moment. It's done now though."

So, down the stairs into the Heart of Scalv.

They'd probably call it the Scalvart, she thought. This place with the oh-deer and the aye-aye. Where flunnies and scalvuffies took to the air. Was this where she was going to die, she wondered and Vega realised that she did not know. Maybe. Maybe it was. Maybe here was where her death happened and if so, that was fine. Because while she did not know where, she did know one thing ~ it wasn't to-trial.

Down the stairs and she could see he was suffering so she sped her feet as much as she could, but other than that, she didn't know what she could do. For her, it was comfortable and not an issue, so she just made her way forward and got to where they needed to be as quickly as possible.

And what a place that was.

She looked around at what was here, drinking it all in in a moment and then as the vines squeezed the crystal, Vega cried out and lifted her hand to her head. "Arlo... Arlo Creede." Just saying his name helped, as the pain hit her and she felt it. But then, in less than a beat of her silver heart, something in Vega changed. Or, perhaps more accurately, stayed resolutely the same. "Stuff this. STUFF THIS!" She had been trying for trials now to remain calm. To focus, to control it. But here, in this place, Vega felt rage build within her and she shook her head. "Shurrup. Just.... all of you shurrup! It's not eatin' yer soul, and you're not lettin' it. We're fightin'. All of us. Every voice, every person, every weird assed lookin' fire dude." poor Chuckles, Vega thought and she bent, swiftly, picking up the core if she could, although she wouldn't if it burned her, of course. "We are fightin' an' we're doin' it cos I am too in love an' too happy an' living my Immortals damn life too much to be beaten by a fekkin' weed. Death forged rose, my pert ass. More like Wilma the Wonder Weed. It isn't beatin' me, an' I'm just a 'alf breed who can't even read. You all know my fears, what I'm scared I am, what I'm scared is true. Yeah, they're there. Whoopsie doo an' up yours. It's not winning. You all know it. So come on an' help us fight, cos you've got nothin' to lose!" Would it help? Would they help them? Vega truly didn't know but she was tired of being afraid.

The last nine trials had been hellish, and Wilma the Wonder Weed had caused it.

Arlo had suffered, she had suffered and it was enough, so as the thing looked at them. "All of you. Protect us. All of us. Attack the rose." And as the vine moved to above them, Vega glanced once at Arlo to make sure he was on board and she grinned. Every emotion she felt was in that look and then, she looked to see where was best and began to acrobatically, jumping over the lava or climbing the vines, however she could, make her way to the rose itself. She knew, or she believed, what they had to do was to get there and once there she had a very clear idea of what to do, but they would have to get there first.

They made their way towards the rose and Vega knew that it was a very bad idea to hit it with her sword, because her sword was fire and this thing fed on fire. So, she worked defense and stayed close to Arlo who, if she knew him at all, was about to do something wonderfully clever, and she protected them both with her sword, defending them from vines and thorns as much as her skill would allow.

[Arlo Creede]

When the fire...thing responded to Vega's insistence regarding any number of matters, Arlo figured he probably ought to be grateful that this wasn't some sort of maniacal, homicidal thing that last out indiscriminately. If it had been, he could have easily been incinerated on the spot and not much he could do to avoid it. But nonetheless, where Vega went, he'd go.

The Death Forged, that was Vega Arlo guessed, and he was the companion. That seemed clear enough but less clear was how he'd be able to follow her into a place mostly made of fire, including the path along the way. Since inadvertently picking up the ability, it was a rare occurrence if ever that Arlo actually thought about his knack for seeing and hearing spirits. Truth was, it tended to unnerve him. In this case though? It was good to see a familiar face. There was still some guilt regarding the man's death. If only Arlo had been looking behind him at the time, he might have been able to save the man.

Biffuno was the forgiving sort though, and provided him with the means to go with Vega. "Thank you," he whispered as he shouldered his bag. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow no sooner than he'd taken the first step. Vega was right though, they'd had their moment, and now it was time to go and finish this business. Down to the heart of Scalv, apparently. She didn't need to tell him twice to hurry. After all, too long standing in one place and things got heated fast.

Where they'd found themselves, Arlo would never have willingly gone, except for side by side with Vega. His expression when he looked at her, there i in the thick of it said all that he needed to. He couldn't be prouder of her courage and her scrap. Attack the rose. And he thought that he might have an idea of how to go about it. But first they needed to get closer. They both had it in them to do it, to get closer while avoiding the vines, and stopping themselves from plummeting into a fiery abyss. Never had he been more grateful for his acrobatic skills.

Arlo's sword or bow, he figured would be useless. But just as Vega imagined, he had an idea. Reaching into his sack, just a trill's worth of searching and his hand emerged, clutching a snowcrystal that Faith had given him. Looked like a snowflake, but according to what Faith had told him, it would freeze anything[/], except for exposed skin. Not instantly, but close enough. Course, there was hot, and then there was hot. But there seemed like no better time than now to find out, so Arlo aimed carefully and tossed the crystal into the center of the rose.

[Aegis]

Date

The grapefruit sized core was warm to the touch, and while in hand, Vega could feel that Chuckles, while severely injured, was still alive within it. But he was dormant, recovering it seemed. And as Vega gave her rousing speech, she could feel hope from the orb. He'd heard her. As did the others. The alcove of nervous entities paused as they listened to the Death Forged. If anyone could free them, it was her. And so, they joined her, a dozen or so in all. Just like Vega, they were tired of being afraid. It was fight or die time. Either way, they'd be free.

And so, as Vega, the lesser of the acrobats, leapt over the lava between rings, a vine was on the sideways swing to pierce her ribs and throw her into the cavern wall with enough force to shatter her completely. But three of the elemental beings threw themselves in the path, super heating the air in a pocket, creating just enough resistance to slow the vine, allowing the woman to land successfully on the next ring. Two of the beings, though, were reduced to cores, and those spheres fell into the lava. And so, there were ten.

Arlo, on the other hand, was making it look easy. Vines swung at him, only to find that he hung in the air just a hair longer than expected, forcing several misses. Molten thorns were thrown at the man, and yet, it seemed that he was unable to be hit while moving. And so, his throw of the snow crystal went uninhibited. Like a ninja star, it spiraled toward the stranger creature, or was it a plant? Both probably, very much unclear at this time. But the creature was playing offense, and as such, the crystal struck the base of the vines, a round mound, almost like tree for sale with its roots tied up in a burlap sack.

The crystal shattered into a million glittering specks against its skin, and ice slowly began to spread around the 'sack'. It seemed clear that it was overpowering the heat of the chamber, and of the creature itself, but it was slow progress. The creature shrieked loudly, like a lobster being boiled alive, and clearly didn't appreciate the chilling attack. Of the eight vines that were waving about in the air attempting to fight off the dynamic duo and their brigade of fire elementals, four more plunged down into the lava, to absorb the life giving heat. That left four remaining out and about, with a total of eight absorbing heat.

It swung at Vega heavily, as she was playing defense of the hatted hero. Her sword skill stopped the vine from ripping her open, but it was driving her back to the edge of her ring, attempting to shove her into the lava. As the creature continued to absorb the heat, it distributed it amongst itself, its entire body molten now, save the slow spread of the ice crystal's touch at the base. The spread was slowed further, but still progressed ever so slightly.

While Vega was preoccupied with one of the four remaining vines, the other three focused on the buzzing pest that was Arlo. They swung at him from every angle, crashing into the stone often, causing it to crumble away into the lava below. Arlo would feel the heat of the passing vines, more than hot enough to destroy him in a single strike. He was accompanied by six of the elementals, flitting about, trying to run interference, distraction, so that not all efforts were focused on the man. It was clear that the creature was attempting to destroy him, and the ground which he landed upon, simultaneously. The alcove was far out of reach of him, the stalagmite and stalactite collection closer.

Four of the remaining ten elementals rushed to Vega's aid, providing a heated cushion of air at her back to keep her from falling backward into the lava, but not enough oomph to push back against the unyielding strength of the vine. Vega could see that her sword was only slightly biting into the creature's flesh, but it was in fact biting into the molten metal. The thorns on it began to glow a bit brighter, several of which were right in front of her.

One of her four elementals rushed forward, just as the thorns were shot out, point blank range at Vega. Most of them missed, one passed through the elementals less than solid body. It glanced along the side of Vega's neck, slashing it and cauterizing in a single motion. Two of the thorns struck the being in the core, though. The sphere was thrown into Vega's gut like a punch, where it then fell and rolled into the lava. As it sunk, the cracked sphere detonated with the force of a powerful grenade. The blast was behind Vega, and gave some momentary oomph that was lost when the now dead elemental had broken ranks.

And still, the icy touch spread.

[Vega]

...

They didn't need words, the two of them. He knew her and knew that her passionate and furious speech was born of fear and an absolute determination not to give in to that fear. In turn, she knew how proud of her he was, how her tenacity impressed him. There were a hundred things they shared in that single glance, not one of them needed saying and certainly not here.

And so, in the heart of Scalvoris, by all accounts, they fought together against a common enemy. They made their way, the two of them, to the central area and, whilst he made it look like skimming stones across water, she got there with a little help from her fire-dude friends. She was more relieved than she could say that they had rallied, because Vega really didn't feel like killing all of them and this thing. Because that was what they were going to have to do if the flame-dudes had been tricky but, thankfully, they weren't. So, Vega pulled her sword and she heard the voices fall in on her.

Except.

Except they didn't. They were there, yes, but they were no longer what they were. They had changed.

The voices she heard now, they were softer, less harsh and they wanted to be free. They wanted to be out of this. They were on her side and there was a shifting tide, Vega realised. She knew, suddenly, that what Iris had done, what Iris had told her had been true. There were voices in there for whom she was a strength, a hope. "In yer face, Wilma!" Vega responded with a whoop, determined more than ever now that this thing would not beat her. Would not beat them. It was, and had been, very much a joint effort between her and Arlo and the same was true here. Over the last trials he had protected her, nurtured and kept her safe. He had allowed her every opportunity to do what she needed to do and she would do the same, here.

So, she defended them, and she knew that she was being pushed back. The elemental fire-dudes were helping, but it was more than tricky and Vega cried out in pain as the thorn cut her and cauterised the wound in the same movement. Damnit but that hurt. But she couldn't, couldn't give into it. "The thorns glow just before they shoot out!" Vega yelled that for two reasons. First and most important, it was to tell him that, because it could be important, but also it was to let him know that she was alright. She'd bleed to death and scream with pain later, but right now, she had something to do.

"Come on you lot!" she said, to the voices in her head. "HELP US!" Together, she knew, they would be stronger. Just as they had once made her weaker and so she opened herself up to them, with the intention of beating this thing once and for all. "The first one to the last one. It's tortured us all, an' we're not takin' it no more. Help us beat it!"

But all of that was thought and word in moments while she defended. That was what she did, more than anything. She defended Arlo and she defended herself, gripping the sword with the scarred hand as she opened up her mind to the voices, rather than try to control them and beat them, she fought alongside them. Those vines were bad news and she didn't doubt it. But they would win. So long as they could stay alive long enough.

Off Topic

The thread with the familiar is unfinished, but that bit has happened. It's here.

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