The damp air of the swamp embraces the little witch like a long lost friend; the weight of it does not bother her even after the hug has been long-outlived. The gentle tug of the stagnant water on her hocks reminds her of home, and she cannot stop herself from advancing further into its depths. She has spent far too much time travelling through foreign territory, and the familiarity of the place is comforting. Yana expels a faint cough before skimming the layer of green algae with her muzzle. The humidity will do me some good. She raises her head again to cast her gaze behind her. But what if you are already inhabited?
The witch's senses return slowly as she surveys her surroundings. She keeps her body as motionless as the trees standing guard while she searches for foes, but there is no one around to disturb the silence. A large stone monolith is barely visible between a pair of ashen trunks. Curiosity has taken hold of the mare, but she doesn't proceed until another minute of silence has passed. Yana's past experience with swamps is as incredible as they come: according to her dam, her past home had had certain magical qualities about it that made it seem alive. It had also been a fairly loyal being -- for a swamp at least -- and would have devoured any trespasser as soon as they set foot in its murky depths. Perhaps this one was simply more mild, but it was more likely that it lacked magic instead. The little witch wasn't sure if she was more disappointed or relieved by this fact. One day we will breathe life into you, friend.
A trail of porcelain hair drifts across the water behind her as she approaches the towering stone figure. It stands at an impressive 7 feet tall, and from this side it was about 3 feet wide. Its surface is nearly as black as her own hide, but instead of being marked by stars it is adorned with runes. Yana can recognise a few -- her aunt had had a crazed fascination with the old languages, including runes -- but they are nonsensical. Whoever had been trying to mark the stone was clearly an amateur. Or could they mean nothing? Grey-green eyes scrutinise the obelisk in an attempt to make sense of the etchings. Another cough explodes from her maw whilst she circles it. Could they really just be coincidence?
{This thread is open! Also, the obelisk doesn't have to mean much of anything! I just figured that since no one has discovered this place maybe we could add some more info about the surroundings? c: Yana will most likely spend lots of time here, so she would have made some kind of marker hehe. ^^}
It was a nice swamp. Despite the swarming mosquitoes, the squelching muck and the looming, twisted trees, he had to admit it had a certain charm. The warm water spiraled away from his hooves in eddies, and every slight disturbance in the water frightened away groups of tiny fry, that would zip away into the murk, their scales iridescent in the water. The first time he saw this, he watched them, fascinated by their speed and the way the sunlight played off their slick bodies.
He breathed in - the air was soft and warm, and it seemed to press on his lungs and leave a slimy feeling in the back of his throat. He had never felt anything like it. He paused, inhaling deeply once more, the musky aroma of rotting foliage tickling against his nostrils. For a moment, he allowed himself to enjoy the sensation. Then, a light wind gusted between the forestry, and the diamond of his pendant rattled against his jugular.
Recalling he was here for more than simple sightseeing, Kaladin took up his undertaking once more at a lax pace, climbing out of the swamp onto a patch of earth, then back down into the cool waters. This was the kind of place witches were found, he mused as he sauntered on. He'd learned that that witches and the magical folk had a tendency to favor eccentric places such as these. After all, they must have some spells against the damn bugs. He shook his mane, dispelling a pair of gnats that had taken an interest in top of his neck. If it weren't for the cursed collar, he would have simply vaporised the pets. But instead, he was forced to endure.
Soon, however, he was habituated to the nuisance. The trees began to grow denser, their creaking bark becoming pock-marked and lined with fungi of various medicinal properties. He was tempted to pause and examine them, but it was not the time - there were greater things at stake, and it seemed like he was closer than ever. Indeed, with the deeper, muskier quality taken on by the ancient groves, his eyes began to glimmer with expectation. It was dark here, with only the occasional patches of sun piercing through the trees to lighten the dark evergreen. A jay screamed above, and something scampered overhead. He did not pause, however, until he emerged out of the forestry into a small clearing, ringed by willows bowed with age. In the center rose an obsidian obelisk, it’s peak gleaming high above the tree-crowns. It was carved with intricate runing – a language he recognized from five-hundred years past. He could make out vague meaning in the etchings – it was a prayer to some obscure deity.
Before he had the time to begin considering the prayer’s meaning and decide if it was linked to the relic of his questing, another shape entered the clearing. Kaladin immediately shrunk back, weaving himself between the boughs of two ancient boughs and peering out from between their thick foliage. It was a black mare, skin marked with specks like stars, not quite unlike the obelisk herself. A witch? Kaladin thought immediately. He would wait and see – it was possible this peculiar mortal might hold the key to translating the obelisk, and finding the relic thereof.
Disturbed by eight equine legs suddenly invading their habitat, a school of miniscule silver fish flee to the shelter of a nearby aquatic plant. The sunlight catches their slippery bodies just before they disappear beneath a large leaf — something flashes in the thick of the muck.
It is up to you what the items are at the bottom of the swamp. Both @Yana and @Kaladin can redeem two common items of their choosing or 250 signos! Simply post in the Signos Redemption Thread with what prize you'd like to claim and a link to this thread.
Happy writing!
To tag this account: @*'Random Events' without the asterisk.
Please be advised, tagging the Random Event account does not guarantee a response!
For one so fascinated with fish, it seemed he had been too late to watch their display. Creeping softly among the reeds (though really was making an awful ruckus) Damascus was soon to emerge from the mud, waist deep in what really only appeared to be sewage and a muddy leaf slopped between his ears. Immediately he recognised Kaladin - he was everywhere, and it only caused the dark boy to grow suspicious. Did this man know how to teleport? Or something? "Follow me you?" the Dusk court warrior pressed, glancing about the swamps of his western abode with even more suspicion as he noted the other present who he did not know but he felt he had seem about the grounds of the dusk court.
Dohv clambered to his place between the lad's ears, carefully peeling away the muddy leaf so he had a less slipper surface to stand upon as he too eyed the other two lurking in the swamps. Damascus was only here looking for fish to watch (he loved watching fish), though it seemed he had missed them. If Kaladin was here no doubt the cranky lad was insearch of the relic, the one that apparently already belonged to him. Perhaps Damascus ought to have a look around too. It struck the dark brute though, that this fierce and confronting stag was here in the dusk court - a place of his jurisdiction was it not?
"Doing here what you Kaladin?" the coal-coloured one grumbled, eyes narrowing upon the man of he dawn court and then looking to the lady of Dusk. She was slight and small compared to his eighteen-hand self, though it was the twinkle in her coat and ivory of her hair that draw his eyes open from their snivelling glare to one of curiosity. He wished to know more about that woman, what sorts of things she liked, what her favorite smell was. He'd never been so interested in anyone else before just by looking at them, though as his virgin eyes wandered the pair of them a pang of jealousy hit his chest. A little crush was swelling within Damascus for the first time - thank the gods he was not see-through, or anyone might see his blush from a mile away.
The murky water laps at the vixen's slender legs when she comes to a halt before the towering figure. Her gaze is focused on one of the runes scratched into the obsidian, and she is so transfixed by the image she forgets all about the whining mosquitoes. Could this be? The witch tentatively touches her nose to its surface and takes a hasty step backwards just to be safe. No change occurs, no brilliant spectacle of light or burst of telekinetic force, and the small patch of water that had cleared from her movement slowly regains its thin blanket of algae. The little witch frowns at the obelisk, perhaps you have been inactive too long. I expect more of you. Her disappointment is interrupted by a cacophony of coughs, and the loose bun at her crest falls against black ears as her head swings down towards the water.
It takes a few moments for the hag to catch her breath, but in the midst of her coughing a bright trail of light below the water catches her eye. Fish. Yes, I am not alone. Her black crown raises immediately, and her eyes follow their gleaming scales as she pulls herself onto the muddy bank. Strange. I thought that fish were smarter than that. A patch of water further up from the bank shimmered with the same silvery sheen as the fish had. With the obelisk momentarily forgotten, the little witch makes her way towards it. Her hooves leave deep impressions in the earth while she skirts around the trunks of ancient willows.
The witch loses her footing only once before plunging into the bog again. A coal-black hoof paws at the silt beneath the water to free the bundle of gold and silver coins lying below. Rather than risk disease by grabbing them with her mouth, Yana takes the time to drag them on land with her foot. With that task settled, the hag stands hunched over her prize as if to protect it. But from what?
A voice sets the witch to full alert, and her black crown rises swiftly to maximum height. Grey eyes lock onto the winged figure first. A man dusted in gold as I am in stars. And some kind of adornment on his muzzle... Interesting. She drags her gaze from the ring in his nose to his wings, noting the size of them. Large wings for a large man. And a lengthy tail to suit. Yana is careful to keep her face neutral as she studies the black stag, but her feet betray her discomfort as they trod the ground. Even without his wings he dwarfs her in size, and his gold-dusted coat does not hide the lean muscle beneath it. What is even more disconcerting is the manner in which he speaks: he is like a child in a man's body, or perhaps foreign to the land, as I am. She would have to tread carefully with this one.
"Greetings, soldier. What brings you to such a place?" She is careful not to verbalise her claim of the swamp. The witch cannot hope to win a battle against this behemoth. And by the sounds of it he may have brought a friend.
When the starry creature moved, he followed. Skulking behind, hooves giving a gentle sloshing noise, quiet enough to be drowned away from the woman’s ears. She was tracking the fish darting beneath the murky waters, their silver hides like lighthouse beacons calling to safer shores. He heard the doe begin to cough, and his ears twitched to the sound. Weather he liked it or not, Kaladin was a Caretaker first and foremost, and such sounds as came from the woman’s mouth were seldom a good sign. His eyes became worried, and he decided that he would approach the woman should need be. But first, the relic. The relic and his collar. The two things most important in this world – and for it.
A glinting far off in the water caught his eye – the wrinkled water shone with unnatural glimmers, signifying that more lay beyond the surface then algae and deep muck. The woman did not miss it, either – her keen eyes caught it on well, and she immediately moved in that direction. Kaladin had to bite back a growl of worry – was it the relic? Was she taking it from him? He had almost lost it, once. He had vowed not to let it happen again.
He began to move faster, steps slowed by the muck, which seemed eager to devour his hooves and drag him downwards. He fought it off, but his mortal body was rendered clumsy by its shorter stature and weak legs. He watched as the star-clad creature began to paw at the water, the splashes glinting in the low light. His heart began to pound, an unfamiliar feeling that sent his body quivering with every beat. However, this brief moment of panic led to release, as the woman’s hooves brought up naught more than glinting coin.
Kaladin released a breath, allowing himself to move freely now that there was no need for stealth. He approached the woman with caution, amberglass eyes glinting with sudden interest as he eyed her pelt. How does her coat glimmer with stars? he wondered. Bioluminescence? Or perhaps iridescent markings caught by the sun? he tipped his head, curiosity acting as a blade, cutting down his usual hostility. He did not speak a greeting – he was far too preoccupied to think of mortal customs. Instead, his eyes trailed the water whence the doe had stood – searching for the spot where the gold had rested. Sure enough, he found further coins buried deep in the sand, and grabbed telekinetically. They came free, trailing muck and algae and causing eddies to burst to the surface. Pleased with himself, Kaladin tossed them towards the woman. “You missed a few.” He grinned. Then, his gaze darkened, and he tipped his head worriedly. "I heard you coughing. Are you alright?"
In that moment, the reeds about them broke apart and crashing, clumsy mess called Damascus emerged from between the willows, lengthy tail tangled in muck and wings outspread. Frightened fish tumbled away from his feet, desperately trying to escape the youth’s heavy strides. Kaladin’s ears flicked back immediately, recalling their last encounter. The wounds were still fresh, the shame of defeat and the fury he had felt upon losing his trail, the feeling that he had lost any chance of regaining his former glory. And yet, here the boy stood. Clearly with the same purpose as Kaladin – which could mean only one thing.
Kaladin grinned wickedly, eyes flickering from a warm golden to a sharp, predatory amber. "Why would I follow you? So you could shoulder me aside?” there was unspoken hurt in his words. "I’m looking for the relic, seeing as you do not appear to have found it." he glanced back at the starry woman, realizing how frightening he must appear to her, some wild thing covered in muck and growling ferally. He forced his chest to still its panting breaths, gathering all his strength to push down the hurt and hatred that danced within. His words became quiet, then, but laced with pain that he could not conceal, try as he might. "Was it worth it?” he asked. ”Betraying my trust after I handed it to you on a silver platter?"
@Damascus @Yana i'm pretty sure thread happens after 'eyes to starlight', but if i'm wrong i can still edit my post uwu
With suspicious eyes but a head full of stars, Damascus took his slit-like gaze over Kaladin once more as the shorter man gave a booming dismissal of his question. Damascus shook his head slightly and took a step back defensively as the stout male began to boil over before his eyes. The magical woman who had truly captured the colt's attention was soon to speak, and her voice was what truly caught him in a snare. Damascus's silver eyes interlocked with hers and painfully he dribbled out an answer, almost choking on each syllable as he pronounced them. "Search I be relic for" he had stammered, though when he recalled than his nemesis in the relic-hunting department was standing right beside him he quickly snapped an agitated gaze in the gentleman's way, onlto to get a wingey, whining sonnet about betraying his trust?
"Trust of you never have been gifted to I" Damascus soon protested, stomping a hoof agressively and slightly hildishly. He had little to no intention of actually using those hooves to hurt anyone, let alone Kaladin. "Says you wishes taking relics yourself for! Using relic for badness does you!" the colt accused, taking another step back from the mottled stag. Soon his silver eyes turned once more upon the woman who had already begun to capture his heart, his eyes glazing ever-so-slightly as he looked upon her, but qickly he remembered the imporance of the conversation at hand.
