( Prophecy - pafp. )

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    Branwyn shifted her weight from one foot to the other, despite her best efforts she seemed to have drawn his attention to her. The best she could hope for was that he wouldn’t notice her lack of focus. It didn’t seem she was lucky in that regard though. The young woman did her best to keep herself from frowning at his clearly mocking question. He was on to her and out of spite she was very tempted to reverse the little spell she’d done. Avoiding the petty route she merely nodded. “It would seem it is. It’s still rather uncharted territory.” She lied, or more accurately made her best attempt at lying. Even as the excuse came tumbling out her lips she knew he would be able to see right through it. Despite her abysmal attempt at lying she fell silent tugging at the hem of her cloak hood pulling it as far over her face as she could manage while he confirmed her suspicions that he was indeed the figure she had seen carved in stone.


    The old mage nodded scratching his beard in very contemplative silence. The young mage blinked in shock as he very casually mentioned the destruction of his kingdom She didn’t feel brave enough to do anything other than a rather meek nod. The knight prompting them for their names in return didn’t break the old man’s silence. The young woman waited for him to give an answer, but instead he seemed perfectly content to stay silent. Quite reluctantly she peered out from under her hood to look at the elf. “Grandmage Freyr,His Majesty’s most trusted advisor and the Chair of the High Commission of Socery.” The young woman mumbled out his long list of titles blinking several times as her headache became substantially worse. “Oh and I’m Branwyn Hill, if you care to know. I think I need to sit down for a spell.” She quickly added before tugging at her hood again.


    “Thank you Miss Hill.” The old mage chuckled with a bit of amusement in his tone turning back to the dragon knight. “I don’t think its a bad idea for us all to sit down a spell.” Freyr looked to his apprentice who was practially swaying on her feet at this point. “We do have quite a lot to discuss.” He directed Branwyn to take seat on a pillar that was laying on its side.

    ( Sorry about the inactivity, I was on temporary hiatus while I moved into university & got settled. Are you up for continuing this thread? I understand if you've lost muse for it. )

    ( Okie dokie! I'm kinda busy tonight, but I'll reply when I can & my responses might be a little shorter than usual while I'm getting back into writing things. )

    Judging by her reaction, she didn't lie very much, and was overly nervous when doing so. He ignored the grandmage for a moment and turned his full attention to the young woman. "you are talented, I'll give you that much, but I'm perceptive enough to know that the aftereffects of magical stasis don't fade that quickly, and that if you keep up that spell, you will hit the ground in less than fifteen minutes. I didn't ask you to do that, so I ask now; transfer it back." What he said was an order, and much could be read into it. He wasn't ungrateful, but perhaps he wanted to suffer and saw himself deserving and saw no reason for the girl to be in pain for his sake, perhaps he was wary of magic being used on that level. Most likely, it was a bit of both.


    He would wait for her response before getting the specifics on the giants and whatever it was they needed him to do.

    The young woman ground her bottom jaw trying to relieve some of the growing pressure in her head. It wasn’t helped by the elf’s order to reverse the little spell she’d done. She squinted against the harsh light being cast by the torches around them. She was practically scowling at being ordered around by the knight. On that note, she also felt like the room was starting to move in and swallow them in. “Alright, I’ll reverse it, I need to sit down first.” Branwyn’s voice came out of as a rather hoarse whisper, with a noticeable edge to it. as she slowly made her way towards the small huddle of tents clustered together. The older mage shook his head following at a much slower pace then his young apprentice set. Branwyn didn’t make it far, only making it to a tipped over stoned pillar. She sat with her elbows on her knees with her face cupped in her hands. As the old man shuffled closer her hand fell away from her face into her lap. The muscles in her jaws were tense as her fingers subtly moved in a very slow circular motion tracing serval very slow deliberate circles. The pressure in her skull slowly seeped away, she forced herself to keep the transfer slow and almost a drip. Rushing would probably knock him out cold, it had almost done that to her. She sighed when the last of it disappeared.


    Freyr frowned standing beside his assistant. “I hope you aren’t hiding anything else Ms. Hill. “ The old mage gave the woman a rather pointed look before moving his attention back to elf waiting a few moments. Branwyn pulled her hood away from her face hair spilling out from her hood. Her face was rather flushed and her expression was still clearly unhappy. Rather bitter she was left in her own thoughts. Whatever his reason for wanting the pain back she had her own reasons to try and keep it.

    He was trained to deal with pain - endurance was a necessary part of the combat training he had gone through. As bothersome as the pain was, he didn't want to burden others with it, and it would fade after a couple of days, he guessed. It was simply a pragmatic decision, right? He could deal with the pain easier than she could, and so it made sense that he should have to cope with it. Feeling the pain slowly seeping back into his own skull, he managed a smile and a word of "thank you", apparently rather pleased with himself.


    Cal would have to give her a minute to recover, but he could speak with the Grandmage for the moment. Still perched upon the throne that he had no right to sit upon, he spoke again. "So you need my help. As much as I would like to, with the threat that you face... That isn't something that can be done by just one dragonknight, no matter how powerful the dragon. Vigil had an army at her back and-" he began, stopping dead in his tracks when he realised that he had mentioned his old mentor. It took him a couple of seconds to compose himself before he spoke again, to ensure that he didn't say too much. Not until he knew the status of the situation. "My point is that it takes at the very least a year or two to train a dragonknight to an acceptable standard. Preferably more. How long would you say we have until the giants attack?" he asked. He needed to know his time-frame, and he could work with what resources he had from there. That was what Vi taught him; 'Do not be caught unawares by the enemy. Know what time you have, and use it efficiently'. This, and many other tenets were what he would have to teach others if they were to stand a chance at facing the giants.

    She had to stifle a sigh of relief when the pressure was released out of her head right before she was going to explode. Branwyn quietly grumbled in response to his clearly self congratulatory look before she ducked her head back under her hood until she could shake off the side effects of her meddling. She would be fine in a little while, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she developed a migraine of her own. She hated seeing people suffer, even if they were rude like Cal had been. That and she also liked being able to do something more useful than tallying up columns at the end of day.


    The younger mage’s head perked up however when the elf mentioned the name Vigil. She made a mental note of that and frowned a little when he caught himself and didn’t say anymore. She sighed, everything he knew was basically unrecorded history that they could save for future generations, that was if he was willing to share it. “I certainly can’t guarantee two or more years. If I were being optimistic I would say we have a year and a half before we’re at the mercy of the tides.” Freyr’s voice shook her out of her thoughts. Branwyn frowned, but nodded. Realistically they might not even have that long if they were underestimating the giants in anyway. Drawing in a deep breath she got to her feet, now that they were stable underneath her again. “I know you’re only one man, but you are here for a reason. Every vision I’ve seen of what’s to come has had a bleak outcome, until you came into them. That is when they started to change.” She was trying to be positive and encouraging, but it didn’t occur to her that it might not quite not come off that way.

    Taking this information in, he thought back to his own training, trying to calculate how long it would take to train someone to maybe not an 'acceptable' standard to the old dragonknights, but well enough to counter an emergency. He would have to explain the process of becoming a dragonknight to them wouldn't he? Close-kept secrets of the order, betrayed to these mages he didn't know but would have to trust. That was until the girl spoke up, apparently trying to boost morale, though it only really made him feel more isolated than he did already. "I am no saviour." he practically hissed in response, glaring at the young mage for a moment before realizing that that likely wasn't he intention. Composing himself once again, he spoke, this time far calmer in tone. "I apologize. I- It's been a long day and I haven't been awake even an hour." he clarified, trying a rather weak attempt at humour before continuing with his original train of thought.


    "I suppose, if you trained practically every waking moment and managed to find a dragon to bind to, someone could be trained within seven or eight months. We weren't even allowed to attempt the binding ceremony until six months of training had passed, but if you did it earlier and then used the rest of the time for aerial training someone could be trained for an emergency at that time. There are tenets to memorise, rituals to do, combat stances to teach-" The elf sighed and shook his head, as if not quite sure of himself or whatever poor soul would have to be his student. "I know where there might be dragons who hadn't flown east. Their numbers were always low, there might be one or two left even if they hadn't been sighted in centuries. But I will need my dragon if I am to help you. Another can be taught and bound to a dragon, I cannot because I already have a bond." he said. It would require meditation to use his bond to his dragon to try and figure out a vague area where she was, and that certainly couldn't be done with this headache. He didn't regret taking it back, probably simply out of sheer stubbornness or some similar facet of his willpower.

    Any confidence she’d gotten try and speak up was completely evaporated with his sharp retort. She’d managed to screw things up even more, lovely. They were laying a lot their hopes on him, maybe unfairly, but she still believed in what she saw. The young mage would just have to get him to see that. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you, I got too much ahead of myself.” She coaxed an apology out of herself, but she had lost some confidence in her own ability to say anything with just serving to make everything worse. You don’t know how many breaths you get in one lifetime, make sure not to waste them all on meaningless words. That is what her mentor before Freyr would have advised at least. The older mage twirled his fingers through the splayed ends of his long bushy beard.


    “It will not be easy I’m sure. There are companies of men being sent to the locations of where a few dragonnests are still believed to be inhabiated. They might only be able to tell us where there aren’t dragons, but that may save precious time. This temple was only very recently unearthed so, I don’t know how much help we could really be in finding your dragon. That was unless you had a scale or something that could be used. Even then it might not be enough..” Freyr rambled on a bit as he seemed to be oft to do. Luckily for Branwyn this was one conversation she didn’t have to scribe herself. She blinked suddenly, why wasn’t Freyr making her take notes now that she thought about it. This was far more historical conversation then most she had recorded. “Anyhow,” He paused for a breath gathering his thoughts back up, “I also have a hunch who might be a good candidate to become a proper dragonknight, but of course I am not an expert on the subject myself.” Freyr was stil fiddling with his beard thoughtfully. They both were clearly contemplating what to do next. While Branwyn stood there a little intimidated by just how focused the two of them were. She was still aware of pain the elf was in and considering the fact she didn’t think she could contribute much to teh conversation at the moment she decided to do something productive at least. Turning on her heel she left the two men for a moment walking back to the wall her pack was leaning against bending down to rummage through the contents. Freyr watched her leave shaking his head briefly. “I would have to loose a rather competent assistant if that were the case.” The Grandmage hummed with a small bit of humor in his voice when she was out of earshot.

    Perhaps he shouldn't have been so harsh on the girl, but he couldn't take back his actions now, he would just have to make up for it at a later point in time. At the mention of sending people out to look for dragons, he realised how desperate they must be; to look for legends without knowing how to tame them, so it made a little more sense why they were looking at him like that. "If I could get a map, I can try to orient myself and give you possible locations. Vials of a dragon's blood was sealed and sent to the archivists in the silver city, Amiternum. If it still stands, that would be the place to start for an accurate location. If not, I can use my bond to seek her out. That would take longer, and won't be possible while I'm still... affected by the magical stasis." he explained, trying to choose his words carefully to not make himself seem any weaker than he appeared currently. He doubted that he would ever be completely comfortable to speak as he wished in this strange new world, but there were more pressing matters to think about.


    Upon the suggestion, Calindan turned slightly to look at her, to try to see something that a dragonknight would see in a prospective student. She was willing enough to learn, if her eagerness to write down every word out of his mouth was anything to go by, she was a powerful mage and had enough willpower to make her own decisions. Considering that he knew no-one else, and that her mentor clearly thought highly of her, Cal thought that it was an idea better than any other they had at present. There was, however, one key fact he didn't know. "Do you think she would agree?" he asked, keeping his voice low enough that she wouldn't hear the question.

    The Grandmage watched Branwyn as she was practially pulling everything out at this point. “I believe she will. Maybe not immediately, but she certainly was excited when she learned about this temple. She might leap at the chance to experience it all first hand.” Freyr seemed rather certain in his assessment that Branwyn would take the opportunity. “Miss Hill, bring a map would you?” He called to her when she stood up seeming to have found what she had been looking for holding a pouch close to her chest. She waved her hand in acknowledgment putting her hands on her hips as she looked down at the several rolled up scrolls looking for the one she needed. Freyr turned his attention back to the dragonknight still seated on his throne. “Amithernum does still stand. I wasn’t aware they had dragon blood there.” Freyr seemed more then a little perturbed by the fact he hadn’t been made privy to that information, huffing a little to himself he shook his head briefly. “Judging by the effect it had on Miss Hill, I imagine it won’t be an easy thing to simply shake off. I’ll see about sending word ahead to Amithernum to find out if they do indeed still have the dragon blood we’re looking for.” As he spoke Branwyn came over a rolled up map in one hand and her little pouch in the other. She held the map out to Freyr who only waved her on towards the elf. Branwyn then turned Calindan holding it out to him.


    Once he’d taken it she cleared her throat drawing attention to herself. “I think I might have something that might help with your head. At least a little hopefully.” Branwyn said holding up her pouch clearly still a bit nervous, still completely oblivious what the two had been discussing or that it involved her possible future. Shifting a little she looked to her mentor expecting him to fill her in. Instead he continued to twirl the end of his beard to which she quirked her brow briefly, but didnt’ confront him directly.

    Well, that seemed to be the best course, and although he didn't know Branwyn that well, the confidence of her mentor spoke volumes. The same mentor who wasn't privy to the dragon blood. "It was a well-guarded secret, a duty taken up by a specific family of archivists who served the order." he explained. Even if the family had died out, the vials should still be undisturbed in a secluded corner of the archive, or he hoped they were at least, he didn't know what major conflicts or political matters could have disturbed them.


    Taking the map and opening it, the topography of the land seemed similar, and his gaze went straight to a familiar valley in the east. "This. Here, what is this?" he asked, pointing to the marker in the middle of the forested valley. They couldn't have thought to build where Liandrin once stood, could they? As nice as it would be to see life where he witnessed destruction, it wouldn't be his people, it wouldn't be his home, seeing the ruins of what once stood would be better than seeing an unfamiliar sprawl where he once knew every detail. His mind wasn't in the place to think about what solution the mage was offering to the pain in his skull, he needed to know what had happened to his homeland first.

    The mages stepped closer to see exactly where he was referring to. When they both saw his finger hovering over a large wooded area in the east they both quickly looked at each other. Branwyn’s expression was rather blank seeing as she didn’t know that had been where the elf’s home kingdom had once stood. Freyr seemed to know this and sighed a bit to himself. It was going to take a while for him to reintroduce him to a world he was a stranger to now. Branwyn cleared her throat catching on to the fact that it was at least probably somewhere that had been important to him. She took another step forwards looking down at the wooded area. She was a preturbed that he didn’t bother to give her an answer on her offer to help, but put it aside for the time being. Freyr didn’t offer an answer, instead standing back and still looking at Branwyn. Apparently she was the one who was going to answer his question. “That is Romul, the sanctuary city.” Branwyn paused when she heard a snort from a small cluster of men clearly trying to listen in on their conversation. The older mage noticed as well, making his way over to the small group, most likely to give them an earful judging by the preturbed look he had as he walked away. “That’s one some call it at least,” She clarified pointing her finger towards two markers far off in the foothills surrounding the valley. “It is said there was a curse that was put on these kingdoms. Half their people fell victim to this curse and to try and keep it from spreading they were chased out of their homes. They settled there to hopefully live in peace. No one bothers them there because the ruins are...um....” Clapping her hand over her mouth she caught herself before she started to go on about how the ruins were supposedly haunted by the spirits of those that lived there before, right before she remembered who she was talking to. Clearing her throat briefly she looked down at the map dropping her hand back from her mouth, searching for something else to talk about.


    “Oh, I should probably explain what the curse did. People started to spontaneously transform into almost amalgamation creatures of sorts, human bodies with wings or lion’s manes and tails, becoming chimeras in a sense.” She was rambling on a tiny bit to try and move conversation to what she’d left off about the ruins, of course it was her fault for even brining it up. She chanced a glance over her shoulder and sighed when Freyr finished with the men sending them away with their metaphorical tails between their legs. She retreated a couple steps and as soon as Freyr returned she turned the reins of the conversation back to him. “I’m sure the Grandmage can answer your questions much better than I can.” She motioned to him sheepishly smile drawing back a bit more.

    Being so closed off emotionally from his current situation, the emotions he felt after hearing her explanation were like a wall had been broken down somewhere in his mind. Anger, loss, a tinge of elven pride. Calindan refused to react too much, but he did seem to be struggling with himself as he stared at the symbol on the map he had pointed to. He desperately wanted to go home, but there was no home to go to. If he survived this, no-one would stop him if he insisted on leaving for his homeland. Perhaps he could rebuild a part of the palace...


    That was if he survived, and the odds right now were awfully stacked against him.


    He had originally been given the map to point out potential sites where Haleth might be sealed, hadn't he? Seeming to remember where he was, and that he was needed, he came back to his senses, his eyes scanning the map once again. "I see. he replied, an offhanded response to all she had said at best, but better than no reply at all. "I was trained in the sanctuary at Dalgadarn, here-" he said, indicating a place on the map in the plains to the south. "If Haleth would be anywhere, she is most likely there, and if I am to train anyone, that is where to start." he explained. Then remembering that the young mage had offered some help, and he had been awfully rude and shrugged it off; "If what you have will help, and isn't your magic, I'll take it." he said, grateful for the help, but not entirely sure how to go about accepting it.

    Branwyn could see that he was clearly struggling with the information. Of course he was, he’d been asleep for lifetimes and the place he used to call home was now called something else entirely. Shifting her weight uneasily from one foot to the other looking down at the pouch in her hands which her hands were clutching tighter then before. His stubborn pride seemed to keep him from actually expressing this emotion, his brief answer noticeably curt and restrained, at least it was an acknowledgement she supposed. She perked up as he seemed to remember the purpose of giving him the map to begin with. She made sure to take notes as she followed his eyes to where he pointed. Despite herself she was a little excited to see more of where the dragonknights had been. A chance to see history rediscovered first hand. Distracted by her own excitement she almost missed him actually accepting her help. She blinked coming back to the present, clearly happy to be able to do something to help finally. “It’s not my magic, well entirely anyway.” She untied the strings closing the pouch and drew it open. She reached her hand, scooping out a black ashy powder. “It can’t completely take away the pain like my magic could. Still, it’ll help take some of the pain away for a day or so.” She muttered as she took the ashy powder and dusted both of her hands with it. She stepped in front of him crouching down a little carefully studying his features. “I’m going to have to put this on your face.” The young mage didn’t wait for permission before touching her hands to either side of his temple briefly, leaving small ashy prints when she pulled her hands away muttering aloud to herself all the while. She did the same to the hinges of his jaw and the top of his forehead, leaving large black marks along his face. He might look a little strange, but she doubted it would matter if it took away some of his pain.


    While Branwyn was dusting of the rest of the powder from her hands Freyr was still stroking the end of his beard in thought. “It seems as if Dalagadarn is our next destination.” The older mage suddenly yawned rather loudly. “I need to see that word is sent out as soon as possible. Miss Hill, would you see that he is taken care of in the meantime?” Freyr briefly addressed his apprentice who nodded briefly and with that he turned to walk away without another word, leaving Branwyn to it.