[Hopetoun] In Regent Memory

17th of Saun 723

A small island with an active volcano, Faldrass is the home to Saoire's school and to the Faldrass Induk.

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[Hopetoun] In Regent Memory

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Arc 723, 17th of Saun
"Shh."

Lars lifted a finger to his mouth, and Darius nodded in silence. The wilderness man had heard something and was eager to see if it was what they had been looking for.

The two men were partway up a rocky escarpment with Lars leading the way. Ostensibly, the excursion was a hunting trip, and both men had brought bows with them, but neither was particularly proficient with one. In truth, it was Lars doing Astra a favour, by giving Darius a mental break from the rigours of leading Hopetoun in the wake of the pirate attack and his reaction to it.

Lars knew Faldrass' trails well and had insisted that he should take the lead, and Darius was perfectly happy with that.

He carefully placed his feet in the same places as the huntsman to avoid slipping, and within a couple of bits, they were both peeking over the top of the escarpment.

And then they heard it again.

A few trills of searching passed, before Lars pointed at something in the distance and whispered: "There!"

Darius strained his vision. Initially, he couldn't see anything, but then a flash of movement caught his eye. It was a flapping of wings, and though he had never seen an etchwing before, he recognised it instantly, based on the descriptions what he'd been told.

They were beautiful creatures, he decided as he watched it settle down and nestle into its perch on a rocky outcrop, but he knew they were also dangerous. More than once, cadouri had been attacked by the giant birds.

There were no cadouri to be seen this trial, which meant no rescue mission needed to be launched, but the etchwing was still a danger to any of Saoire's childrenCadouri who naively travelled through the area.

It was also an opportunity for Darius to use his new bow.

The longbow had been gifted to him by Liathen the Guardian, a wholly unexpected act of generosity from the Pirate Lord. He had been in possession of her sword knot for quite some time, and when they had met, he had been concerned that she might be angered. In truth, she had been grateful, and the bow was an unexpected reward for returning the lanyard in good condition.

What he did not have with him was a quiver. But - much to Darius' continual amazement - that did not matter.

Surmounting the escarpment, he freed the weapon from its position strapped over one shoulder, held it directly towards the etchwing, and drew the bow. As he did so, an arrow appeared, notched to the string, and Darius let it fly.

The sharp missile did indeed fly, but not for long. It caught a gentle headwind and fell well short of its target. Being so distant from the etchwing and downwind of the creature meant the bird didn't even stir. Unperturbed, Darius tried again, pulling further on the bowstring and raising the angle of his shot. This time it flew much further, and though it still didn't reach the etchwing, it did at least get close enough to draw the bird's attention. As the arrow clattered harmlessly against the rockface, the etchwing squawked and fluttered above its perch for a few moments before properly taking flight...

...at least, that's what it tried to do, but Lars and Darius watched on as a flash of orange light fell from the sky. Looking like a tiny comet, the flaming object struck the etchwing at an incredible speed, and with devastating effect. The bird was killed in a blur of speed and flame, and then the small orange light spread its wings.

"Katara," Darius gasped.

He had not seen the diri for more trials than he could remember100 trials.. The bond between them had been severed during the pirate attack and they had been apart for so long that Darius had begun to wonder if he'd ever see Katara again. And yet, here she was, in all her flaming glory, rising like a phoenix - though her form did in fact embody that of a hawk. She flapped her wings and within a trill had closed the distance between the dead etchwing and her ward, who, along with Lars, stood motionless.

"Greetings, youngling."

Another surprise. In all their time together, Darius had never heard Katara speak. The diri spoke again, as if having read his mind.

"I've always used words, youngling. You just haven't understood them in your native tongueThis is intended to be a reflection of Darius' relationship points with Katara.."

The two men listened in silence. Lars, to his credit, had managed to close his gaping mouth and not interrupt a conversation that he knew he was not a part of. He had seen Katara before at a distance, but her flaming form and the tendrils of smoke that flowed from the tips of her feathers were a sight to behold up close.

"Faldrass seeks your presence."

At that, Darius managed a nervous swallow. He had done his best to protect Hopetoun - and, by extension, Faldrass - but neither the settlement or its inhabitants had remained unscathed.

"Aye," he nodded. "When?"

Katara flapped her wings and turned away.

"Follow me."

Darius turned and, seeing that Lars had already begun his descent from the escarpment and was returning to Hopetoun, he took a deep breath and followed Katara's lead. He knew that in doing so, he was taking his first steps towards Induk accountability.
Last edited by Darius Baer Bottom on Fri Sep 29, 2023 3:18 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 922
| Skills used (4)
  • Combat: Ranged: neither was particularly proficient with one
  • Leadership (Grand Master): perfectly happy with that
  • Field Craft (Competent): carefully placed his feet in the same places as the huntsman to avoid slipping
  • Combat: Ranged (Novice): raising the angle of his shot
| Knowledges being claimed (3)
  • Leadership: Letting someone else take the lead.
  • Field Craft: Trusting someone else's steady footing.
  • Combat: Ranged: Changing the angle of your bow can affect the range of your shot.
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        Re: [Hopetoun] In Regent Memory

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        Enter the Induk
        Katara led him and, as they rounded a corner, Darius would see that there were spiralling steps carved into the stone and earth beneath him. Now, while Darius undoubtedly didn't know every inch of Faldrass island, the fact that these steps were carved into the sides of what seemed to be a very large and very deep hole from which flames flickered, he could be fairly sure that they had NOT been there before.

        If he needed telling, Katara would point him to the stairs.

        Assuming that he made his way down them, it was a hair-raising journey. Each step was carved into the side of the steeply descending chasm that he walked down. The steps felt like stone, but seemed to be solid lava - they were large enough for him to step on, but no larger, and they were entirely safe but didn't look it.

        They were steps created by someone (or, of course, something) who never used stairs.

        Down, down into the darkness where the only thing to be seen was the flickering of flames, Darius reached the ground. He was, he would guesstimate, well below sea-level at this point and he was in a large circular chamber. It was one he would recognise, in all probability, from the time that Faldrass had been freed - although he'd reached it by quite another way then.

        It was dark here, the only light in the place was from the flames and, should he look up he would see that the ceiling was very much there. Katara would be quick to reassure him that the steps would reappear for him but as he descended into the realm that Faldrass called home, he got his own sense of homecoming.

        He belonged here. He felt it in his bones.
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        "You belong here," Faldrass said and, while the Induk spoke softly its words reverberated around the place to the point that Darius felt them vibrating even on the floor on which his feet stood. "And so, you are welcome."

        Katara fell silent, allowing Darius the time to be with the Induk himself but Darius would know that her presence was once again with him - she was lost to him no longer.

        "You are forged in the fire of Faldrass and we have seen your strength grow," the Induk said. It didn't say that it was pleased with him - it wasn't. Such emotion was beyond it, entirely. But what it did feel - if feel was the right word- it spoke. "You make us proud that you are Forged in Fire."

        Creatures like Katara (and very unlike her) were coming into his view. A fire-wolf, more than one fire-bird, even a fire-snake slithering into the darkness. The place was alive with life.

        "You have reached the pinnacle of Fire Forged," Faldrass said. "And so we offer you the chance to take the next, step. To become Life Forged or Death Forged, as you wish. We promised you that choice when you released us all." In the Forging they had all been promised the chance to choose. The Induk turned to look at Darius -tilting its head to get a better view of him.

        "You may stay as you are, if it is your wish. You do not need to grow more in power. What we offer you now will bring us closer to you," how an Induk viewed the word "close" of course, was potentially up for interpretation. "And you, closer to us."

        Faldrass was not known for being patient or persuasive. Faldrass was fire and fury and passion and pride.

        And so, Faldrass looked at Darius and said, simply. "Decide."

        There was no sense of urgency in its voice and, should he consider it he'd realise that there was no sense of such from Katara either. It might even be alright to ask questions.

        Or, of course, it might not.
        word count: 659
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                  Re: [Hopetoun] In Regent Memory

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                  Having bid Lars farewell, Darius only turned back to look at the wilderness man once. It was a brief turn - little more than a glance, in truth - but it was enough to reassure him that the huntsman would have no difficulty in safely finding his way back to the settlement. There, he would surely tell Astra what he had seen: that Darius had been summoned, and was in safe hands. Darius was confident Hopetoun would have its leader back in good time, and in one piece.

                  Buoyed by this confidence, the bearded blond was able to focus on the journey Katara was taking him on. Having unstrung his bow, he tried to remain calm as he walked, but his heart was racing almost as fast as the thoughts in his head. He was nervous, of course: induks were awe-inspiring creatures that could be intimidating without even trying, and Darius had never been alone in Faldrass' presence.

                  But he was also excited to be reunited with Katara. Upon the diri's return, he immediately realised just how much he had missed his fiery-winged guardian. If the occasion was not promising to be quite so sacred, he might have tripped over himself trying to catch up with Katara and learn what she had been doing since their bond had been severed.

                  He also felt a pang of guilt for that severance, and though he hadn't said anything, the diri seemed to sense his remorse.

                  "I will not forgive you, youngling," Katara spoke, her words catching her ward off guard, "for there is no need for you to offer an apology."

                  The creature cocked its head to look at him as she flew, tendrils of smoke floating upwards from her feathers.

                  "What you did was painful," she explained, "but that does not mean you were wrong to do it. The attackers knew you are gifted with flame, and so they sent rain to put out your embers. So a different strategy was required."

                  Darius nodded, taking the diri's insight on board, though he still felt guilty.

                  "I missed you," the Scalvorian admitted.

                  "And I you, youngling."

                  They reached the staircase and began their descent. The steps were somewhat awkward, so Darius had to be careful, especially as his eyes adjusted to the darkness that accompanied them as they stepped out of the light of the twin suns of Saun. But the darkness was offset by Katara's presence, who ensured each step was lit in a flickering, orange light.

                  There was an unusual sense of familiarity with the journey, despite the fact that Darius knew he had never made his way down the staircase before. But the natural walls of Faldrass, forming a cavern of cooled lava, were undeniably Faldrass. He had been born and raised in Scalvoris Town, and he had never been down this walkway inside the island, but there was no doubt that he was where he belonged.

                  As his feet reached the bottom, Faldrass' voice echoed around the cavern, and the Scalvorian stood still and listened. It was a voice that he doubted he would ever get used to, for it was authoritative and intimidating and reassuring all at the same time, with each word not stopping when it reached his ears, but moving through him.

                  Darius was presented with a choice; an opportunity of unknown magnitude. Almost immediately, his mind was filled with questions. It was an honour, he was sure, but - Fire-Forged or otherwise - he wasn't going to blindly leap into the unknown. After all, it was not long since he had asked to be excused from the Barony, so he was cautious to not take something on that would become to too burdensome.

                  "Thank you for your generous offer," he began with a deferential bow. "Before I respond, I would like to ask a few questions, so that I understand it fully. The Induks speak of balance. Would me accepting this offer impact the balance in a way that has a negative impact on Scalvoris? And would it mean my gift of fire is taken away from me?"

                  Darius had one other question, but before he asked it, he cast a glance towards Katara. The diri had said nothing since Faldrass had spoken, and even now she watched on in silence.

                  "And...would Katara continue to be my protector? We have a close bond, and I would like to safeguard that."

                  He had only just been reunited with Katara, and he was in no rush to lose her again.
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                            Re: [Hopetoun] In Regent Memory

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                            Enter the Induk
                            Induks were not - in any way - mortal or akin to mortals.

                            Now, that was arguably true of Immortals, but as Darius stood, surrounded by fire-creatures and before the Induk Faldrass, it was perhaps obvious that while both Induks and Immortals were not mortals, Induks were much more ... alien, for want of a better word.

                            Induk Faldrass was Faldrass. It was Scalvoris. It was nature. What it was not was in any way like him or any of the other mortals who walked on its lands. It was not unchanging, but change happened very slowly when it happened to a volcano island, it was not unthinking, but it thought very differently. As it spoke, as it answered Darius' questions, there were pauses. Considerations. A sense, now that Katara was once again with him that she was somehow translating between the two of them.

                            Because they spoke different languages. Saw different worlds. Even heard different sounds and perceived different realities and yet, in this place they stood on common ground.
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                            "You belong here," It repeated. Katara let him know what that meant - it meant that he could ask any and all questions he wished. Yet, Darius would also know that it meant that he could ask any and all questions - until the time for questions was done. No one knew when that would be, but THAT it would happen was inevitable.


                            "We do not fully understand your first question," it said after a moment. Katara felt a pang of almost-amusement at that. It wasn't so much that it didn't understand the question, after all, as it did not understand why he would ask it or how it could be considered a possibility. "But what we offer brings you - and thus, us and thus, Scalvoris - more balance. To be forged by one is not balanced at all." the Induk explained.

                            "Fire is - if you wish it - your first forging. But as we are Scalvoris, as.... " it paused and, when it spoke the next word there was a sense of unfamiliarity to it, "I am Faldrass, but I am also Scalvoris and Scalvoris is us all. We are each individuals because of the whole. The one is part of the four, the four are one."

                            Katara understood that this was deep and metaphysical and philosophical stuff for Darius, but there was a sense from Faldrass and what it said that it was, to it, obvious.

                            "You are, always, Forged in Fire. Unless you are unforged, that is unchanging." That was clear. Unless he got booted, he was keeping his powers. The Induk looked at Katara and there was a momentary wave of heat between the two - Darius could see it in the shimmering air.

                            "It is Katara's wish to stay with you," the Induk said. "And so, that will be. If you decide to be what mortals once called Spirit Marked, be it Life or Death Forged, then your abilities will grow. They grow slowly and are from all of us, not one. Life and growth or death and decay are the choice."

                            Katara glanced and made sure that Darius considered it. After all, she understood. Growth was not always good, she reminded him, nor was death always bad. Malignancies grew, surgeons cut and killed the malignancies. Medics dealt with death as much as life. Warriors protected life by learning to kill. It was not a choice between light and dark. As though it was intrigued by the conversation, Faldrass added.

                            And so, Faldrass looked at Darius and said, simply. "We usually assign Death Forged to those forged in Fire and Soul, Life to those forged in Ice and Song. But we have - in times long past to you - granted both Life Forging and Death Forging to those with all original Forging."

                            It was, Katara reassured him, entirely up to him. She was clear that more questions were ok as Faldrass looked on him, it's face expressionless and its thoughts unknown and unknowable.
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                                      Re: [Hopetoun] In Regent Memory

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                                      Josef Baer had a penchant for storytelling. For many of Darius' earliest arcs, the elder Baer had captivated his son with tales of fantastical adventures. Some of them were clearly made up, while others Josef had sworn were true - but nothing he had said could come close to what Darius was experiencing in that moment.

                                      Induks were curious creatures. The didn't seem to be either male or female, and they very clearly weren't familiar with the ways of the mortal inhabitants of Scalvoris. But with Katara acting as an interpreter, Faldrass and Darius were able to have a conversation in order to - it was hoped - reach a new agreement.

                                      The revelation that accepting this offer would not detract from the Induks' balance, but only strengthen it further, eliminated any lingering thoughts Darius might have had about refusing outright. He had already politely declined Saoire's invitation, but it would not be the same with Faldrass.

                                      The bearded Scalvorian listened on as Faldrass spoke and, when needed, Katara interpreted. The diri was quite right in her assessment that some of what was being said was not nearly as obvious to Darius as it was to Faldrass. The blond mariner had to take a few moments to get his head around how the Induk was...were...talking about itself...themselves? It was all a bit confusing, but he tried to keep up.

                                      Even the prospect of receiving powers from the other Induks, as Faldrass appeared to hint at, wasn't enough to dissuade him from wanting to take this next step. He had twice braved a power that was not forged in flame. Both times, it had severed his ties to Katara, but the diri's desire to stay with him suggested she did not hold a grudge.

                                      Red light flickered across the cavern walls as this most unusual of interactions took place. Induk, diri, human, beneath the surface of a volcanic island.

                                      Breathing quietly so as not to miss anything Faldrass had to say, Darius heard the options. There was life or death, but as Katara explained, neither one was as simple as it sounded. That was like fire, he supposed: it could cook a meal and keep people warm, but it could also destroy buildings and lives.

                                      Unconventional was one of Darius' traits. He had learnt that, ever since he had caught the eye of an Immortal. It was the first time he had experienced anything like that, but it was not the last. And now, he realised, his response might seem just as unconventional, especially considering Faldrass' explanation of what Fire-Forged would usually choose. But he had trusted his gut in turning down the offers of Immortals, and he would trust it once again in this moment.

                                      Grateful and humbled to be offered such an honour, Darius cleared his throat and announced: "I choose life."
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                                                Re: [Hopetoun] In Regent Memory

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                                                Oh, make that four Induks .....
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                                                When Darius chose Life(!), the Induk bowed it's head.

                                                "You have chosen .... ," the pause was there, and it hung between them for a moment as anticipation might have built. ".. wisely." it said.

                                                It did not seem to be inclined to tell him more than that, but there was a sense from him - and from Katara - that the Induk Faldrass had hoped that Darius would choose how he did. It turned it's gaze upon the mariner and spoke again. "Entropy corrupts balance." the Induk explained, as though that explained anything. Should he need it, Katara would let him know that this meant, basically, that Faldrass liked a rebel.

                                                "We name you as First-Forged " it said and then, before Darius' eyes there was not one Induk, but there were four. All four of them, standing where the Faldrass Induk stood. All four of them, one being and four beings, occupying the same space and speaking with the same voice, but different. So very different. "Mountains have moved and seas have boiled since last we named a Life Forged and thus we name you Darius Baer. First-Forged among our Forged."

                                                All four voices worked together. All four of them were unique. All four of them were Faldrass.

                                                "Forged in Fire and Life, you are Spirit-Touched." they said. "The world opens to you and you see. We thank you for your service to Faldrass"IshallrSweetsongScaltoth" the Induks said. The four names were one word, but four words.

                                                "You belong here." They spoke again and then - just for the briefest of moments - Darius saw himself through the eyes of four beings. He saw himself grow and change and become more like them.

                                                Of course, he didn't grow. But he did change, albeit in initially small ways.

                                                "We accept you as our Forged," they intoned. "Our gift to you is the world, as is your gift to us. For Scalvoris."

                                                And Darius became, in that moment, Life Forged Your powers will manifest in the seasonal (just have in fact!). This thread will give you a boost! He saw the world in a new way and he felt his connection to the four Induks - and to Katara - changing, strengthening.

                                                Growing.
                                                word count: 374
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