A small mountain range known for its black colored rocks and mineral ore deposits. Many mining caves have been dug through the mountain but not all of these are safe. Bears and mountain lions guard the hills and many unsafe tunnels collapse without warning.
The shadows danced with the starlight as the sun hid away in the western sky. Eon would find himself walking through a forest of evergreens, their branches shivering in the breeze blowing in from the east. Beside him were wisps of light to guide his way. Eyes peered at the path ahead, studying it - had he been here before? He wasn't entirely sure he was familiar with this forest, and he wasn't sure how he got here, either. He could feel the cold chill of anxiety trying to make him shiver like the branches overhead. It was warning im to take a few deep, calming breaths. Tsillah had brought him here for a reason, and it was up to him to decipsher it.
On the breeze, there was a familiar scent. Enya…? She was here too, or at least had been here recently. He felt calm, the anxiety replaced with curiosity as he started down the trail. As he traversed deeper into the treeline, their branches began to block out the starlight. The wisps that floated beside him were now the only source of light—still, he continued deeper, compelled to find where it would lead him.
Moments ticked by as he paced himself, there seemed to be nothing but darkness ahead until - a spark of light? Huh? He'd move forward, paws careful not to trip on the winding roots that now littered the path. Had he imagined it? No, there was another - and then, another.
Soon, he found the path lit by what must have been a million fireflies…. In winter? Something wasn't right here. Was he dreaming?
He felt his only option now was to follow their lights. He'd hide his own and follow the twinking insects further down the winding path until - bam! He hit a transparent wall of… glass? He stepped back, confusion washing over him as he stared ahead momentarily. Why was there a wall here? How far up did it go?
Spreading his wings, he'd begin to fly skyward to investigate. It seemed the glass kept going higher and higher until - he'd hit the top. He was trapped.
He began gently fluttering back downwards until he felt his paws hit the frost-bitten ground. He'd release another deep breath as he tried to collect himself and his thoughts. He knew two things for sure. 1, this was a dream, and 2, some message needed to be deciphered, … but what?
The wisps of light were subconsciously summoned to his side, and he saw its light reflected upon the towering glass wall. He stared momentarily at their hazy reflection before a cold breeze blew in his direction. He could make out the voice on the wind -
"The enemy wants to capture an ancient power - we cannot let them. Find it before they do. "
---
His eyes shot open to the familiar sight of his cave. Relief washed over him, but he couldn't allow himself to relax completely as he thought over the dream he had just been given and all the little details, searching for clues that could help him. He then remembered Enya's scent within the forest, and he instantly knew she was important to this quest somehow.
Despite the exhaustion clawing at him, begging him to curl up and sleep longer, there was no time for hesitation. He'd pad himself over to the edge of the cliff, overlooking the darkness wrapping the world in its soft blanket. The intensity of the shadows told him dawn would be breaking within a few minutes, bringing with it light and color to the world—not that he had a moment to spare and wait for it.
Spreading his wings, the canid leaped off the cliff, catching a breeze that elevated his pace as he scouted the ground below for any scents of the Monarch. He wasn't entirely sure where he could find her at this time, but he knew he had to try.
Night had taken hold of the lands with creatures of the day resting peacefully in their homes, while creatures of the night prowled. Enya was largely a creature of the day. On this day, however, she'd been kept awake through the night. She'd caught brief bits of sleep here and there as she laid besides Caedwyn, tossing and turning as she shuffled around their den. When she knew that morning would come soon, she gave up the idea of sleep and left quietly, looking back over her shoulder to see if Caedwyn would be woken by her leaving. It looked like he wouldn't be, based on the slow rising and falling of his chest.
Enya peered out from her den cautiously before stepping out of it entirely. Something was wrong. She could sense it. What it was, though, she couldn't pinpoint. Her forked tongue tasted the air several times, searching for unknown scents, while her mind reached out to feel for others. Since learning her mind magic, she'd tried to secretly learn the touch of everyone's minds in the kingdom. After all, each one was different and unique. It would let her know if others were around, using magic to deceive the eyes, ears, or nose. How many would think to hide their mind as well?
After deciding that there was no immediate threat to her den, Enya stepped free of it and shook, feeling the brisk cold of the night embrace her. Her head lifted upwards to the sky instinctively. She sought out the moon, and when she let her gaze land upon it, her mind was taken.
A great figure moved and crashed through the wilderness. The scenery shifted with each step it took, going from a forest to a prairie, shifted from snow covered terrain to dry grasslands, and lingering on odd visions of mixed moshes of the various individual environments. It bellowed, the ground shook, and timbers fell. Avalanches rolled down the mountains. Great winds bent trees around the creature looming in the distance - illuminated by a shining bright light behind it. No. The light was not behind it. It was guiding it.
"It is your duty as my herald."
The voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere, neither feminine nor masculine. Enya recognized this voice. She was here.
"Tsillah?" she spoke in her vision, "What is my duty? What do you mean?" Suddenly, the light that guided the creature was taken into shadow. Momentarily, the vision went black, then a bright light was illuminating once more, blinding her as she looked on.
Her mind returned to her and she realized that she was shaking as she stood. It wasn't because she was cold. "She-" her voice cut off, just as she became aware of a familiar mind approaching. Her eyes lifted to the moon once more, having drifted off of it as her vision had occurred, and stared for a moment. What did she mean?
With Eon approaching, Enya moved away from the mouth of her den. She didn't want to wake Caedwyn in case Eon stopped by to chat. Actually, why was he up at this hour? The feeling of something being wrong bred dread into her. Was there an invasion? Had she somehow missed an alarm call? Was someone terribly hurt? Her mind raced with possibilities as she moved further, finding a nearby clearing on the rocky ridges. It was a good vantage point to survey the territory from. It allowed her to see above the forest tree line and beyond to the lake. Coincidentally, she saw Eon in the skies circling, searching. She called out to him with her mind. 'Eon, what is it that you are looking for at an hour as early as this?' She didn't want to give her position away in case he brought news of an infiltration or attack.
'Eon, what is it that you are looking for at an hour as early as this?'
A voice echoes in his head, catching him off-guard.
He lowered himself onto a nearby branch and scanned his surroundings. All he could see was darkness. Taking a deep breath, he summoned a golden wisp of light to his side, illuminating the trees, yet there was still no face in sight.
'Enya?' He thought, though the words were not spoken aloud. Was she somehow communicating with him telepathically? "Are you—are you in my head?" he wondered. Could she hear his thoughts too?
He recalled a strange power he had wielded before; he could send mental energy to others, causing headaches and distractions, but he had been unaware that he could also use it to communicate.
It was time to test his theory.
"I think Tsillah wants us to find something—something powerful and urgently. I think Verdantis is already on its trail," he directed his thoughts toward her. He didn't want to shout into the dark void surrounding him; this was a personal conversation between him and Enya, and he still wasn't entirely sure where she was.
"Where are you?" he questioned, realizing now that the mental energy she projected gave him an approximate location. There was still so much he needed to learn about this new power, but finding what Tsillah wanted them to locate was his top priority.
Eon disappeared down into the treeline, hidden from her gaze and no longer illuminated by the stars and moon. She started to wonder if he had heard her. It had been quite a distance, after all, and this magic was still new to her. Boundaries had hardly been tested. She started to wonder, but then heard her name echoed back to her. A grin came to her muzzle, feeling giddy that her attempt had worked. A question came, then, and Enya remembered why she'd revealed her magic to only one. "Yes" she sent back to him as she stood perched on her ledge.
There was a pause in communication before an explanation was suddenly provided to her. Tsillah? Her gaze shifted from the tree's canopy where she'd seen Eon dip down into up to the moon once more. Tsillah had visited him too? The dread that had lived in her earlier crept up, making her chest ache. Tsillah wanted them to find something. Verdantis was already on the move. Of course! Verdantis was the light luring the thing, and the temporary darkness had been Tsillah's attempt to show her what had to be done. The light had to be snuffed out.
"I'm on my way" She stepped backwards several steps, then ran forwards in a sudden dash. When her paws reached the edge of the ledge, she coiled and jumped, leaping into the air. Her figure shifted as she fell through before large wings snapped open, pulling her up and into the sky. After shifting into a dragon, she quickly winged her way towards Eon's location. Thankfully, he'd had a light glowing around him to help her find him. She landed on the forest floor, breaking branches as she descended through the canopy, and settled to shift back into her natural figure. Being a dragon was freeing, but it was so clumsy. "Eon, what do you mean Verdantis is already on its trail? Do you know what it is, or where it's at? Did She show you?"
“I’m on my way,” he could hear her voice echo in his mind as he scanned the ground below, searching for the familiar wolf to reveal herself. There was nothing, and Eon began to question whether he was going crazy. Suddenly, a large reptilian creature descended upon the area. What? Startled, the small canine stretched his wings and flew higher into the tree, hiding behind a thick branch covered in pine needles. What the hell was that? Anxiety clenched his chest, and he took a few deep breaths before peering back in the direction where he had seen the beast. It was gone—he really was going crazy, wasn’t he? His gaze fell downward, eventually landing on Enya.
“What—huh?”
"Eon, what do you mean Verdantis is already on its trail? Do you know what it is, or where it's at? Did She show you?" Enya spoke as if she hadn’t just seen the beast that had been there a moment ago. “Wait—did you not just see that?” he called down to her, desperately searching for signs of the creature he had just witnessed.
“It was just here, like a second ago.” He stretched his wingspan again and leaped off the tree, landing beside her on the ground. “I - I swear I saw it, but then it vanished. It must have turned invisible or something.”
The wisps of light continued to circle around him, illuminating their surroundings as he desperately searched for clues. There was nothing - it was as if the beast had never been there at all, like it had never shown itself to him. Worst of all, he probably sounded crazy in front of Enya. There was no way she couldn't have seen it, right?
Enya lead the conversation with her onslaught of questions. Instead of answering them, however, Eon seemed bothered and upset as he searched around the area, glancing around like he was expecting some creature to suddenly emerge from the shadows. He asked her his own questions. See what?
Wait.
Was the beast here? Had he witnessed it?
Enya felt panic rise inside her and started to mimic Eon's actions, glancing about quickly to try and keep her eyes on everywhere at once. Her tongue flicked quicky from between her jaws, trusting her sense of smell with it far more than she trusted her own nose. At the same time, her mind reached out to search the shadows.
Eon mentioned that the creature had just been here - perhaps now invisible - and her heart quickened. Where? Where was this creature? She picked up nothing out of the ordinary. There was no strange scent upon her tongue. There was no significant unknown presence revealed to her. A growl rose in her throat, warning whatever it was to reveal its self, else fear her wrath of anger. Eon swung his light around, searching through the area. It illuminated the canopy above, the same canopy she had crashed through when she'd landed ungracefully.
Wait...
The growl vanished from her throat as realization hit her. If it was what he'd seen, then the immediate threat she thought existed was nonexistent. If it wasn't what he'd seen, then she would have confirmation. "Eon" she called out to grab his attention and focus and to pull it onto her, "Don't be alarmed. Is this what you saw?" She closed her eyes and pulled at her magic once more, her figure shifting from a wolf into her dragon shape in a bright white-green glow.
OoC: Note about Enya's dragon form: looks like this. Is approximately 7ft tall at the withers.
It seemed that Enya shared his concern, glancing around as if waiting for a presumed beast to show its face.. His ears perked up at the sound of his name, and he looked over in Enya's direction. Had she spotted something?
"Don't be alarmed. Is this what you saw?" Eon watched in astonishment as a green glow began to envelop her, eventually shifting into—wait. It was her?
“Enya… you’re a dragon?” Shock washed over him, and he took a few steps back. How had he not known she had a dragon form? Was it a new power?
He shook himself back to his senses, feeling relieved now that he realized the threat was just her. “Yes, you’re what I saw,” he finally replied, a bit embarrassed by his earlier reaction.
“Well, I guess what we’re after isn’t here then.” He began to pace, trying to recall the dream he had in search of any clues. “The vision I had was in a pine forest, but I’m not sure it relates to where we should look. My dream was kind of cryptic.” He huffed, frustrated by the lack of guidance he had received. Why did it always seem like Tsillah spoke to him in riddles?
Her glowing figure faded as her dragon form was revealed. She nodded her head yes as he questioned if she was a dragon. He stepped backwards and she let her magic fade away. As quickly as her figure enlarged and shifted into a dragon, it returned back to her wolf form. She sat and panted softly, catching her breath after the repeated transitions. Shifting over and over quickly sapped her energy. He confirmed that she was what he had seen and she felt relief. Thank Tsillah.
Eon paced and Enya watched him with sharp eyes. She listened closely to what he described. Of course it had been a cryptic vision. "Sometimes I think the gods just like to toy with us" she muttered as she thought back onto her own vision. "We can't let that deter us, Eon. If we both had a vision, we can't ignore it, no matter how cryptic it was." She frowned as she thought to herself, trying to remember the details of her vision. Already it was fading from her memory. "My vision, I saw a thing marching across all sorts of terrain. Everywhere. Destroying everything. Guiding it was a bright light. It was momentarily engulfed in darkness, but the light shined through. I think Tsillah is trying to stop it and She needs our help." She paused, trying to think if there was any details she was missing.
"We need to rally the Kingdom. Gather the guards. At dawn, those willing should be sent in pairs to search, perhaps trios even, if Ohr's followers are after it. Can you help me spread the word? I'll let Caedwyn know, and we can all rally the Kingdom together." She paused again in thought, considering her options and trying to make sure she was picking the best one. "I don't know what this means, but I don't want to suffer another Akrasia. One was more than enough for my lifetime." A flood of emotions rushed through her. She had survived, but not everyone else that she loved had survived. "We have to stop it from happening."
"Sometimes I think the gods just like to toy with us," Eon would nod in agreement. While it could be fun to decipher riddles, not when urgency was involved, and certainly not now. If there was something important they needed to know, why couldn’t the gods just tell them directly? "We can't let that deter us, Eon. If we both had a vision, we can’t ignore it, no matter how cryptic it was." Enya was right. Tsillah knew best, even if her messages sometimes didn’t make sense to mere mortals. They would have to do everything they could to follow her guidance.
Eon listened intently as Enya explained her vision, then her plan. They had to find this beast and quickly—too much time had already been wasted, especially since he had been distracted by Enya's dragon form. "I’ll help gather everyone," he replied, though fell silent at the mention of the akrasia. He had lost a lot during that time as well, and he understood how crucial it was to prevent another occurrence.
"We won’t let another one happen. Not without a fight." The situation was urgent, and time was running out. "I’m going to fly around the territory. With my siren song ability, I can hopefully warn the others in a mass. I’ll meet you—" He paused, uncertain where Enya wanted to gather. "Uh, where did you want us to meet?”
Eon reassured Enya that he would do what he could to prevent another Akrasia from happening. He explained his next actions to her and Enya nodded her head firmly in agreement. As his words faded with a question, she picked up quickly, "Meet at the clearing between the rivers in the Emerald Grove. It should be central enough for everyone to reach quickly." Some might complain about the time of day and how early it was. She would listen to their complaints and she would inform them of what they could do with them afterwards. She was one of the Monarchs and the Council was summoning the masses. If anyone had words for Eon or Caedwyn, they'd hear from her.
"I'm once again grateful for your wings." without them, it would have been much harder to summon the pack together as they stirred in their dens and caves. "We'll meet again soon." She offered him a grateful smile, reassured and knowing that he took this as seriously as she did. When he took wing, Enya watched for a moment before turning back into her own dragon form and winging her way back to their cave. "Caedwyn" she whispered as she landed and was a wolf once more. "There's news."
