the start of how it all ends

[Lyra]

A feeling of emptiness filled Lyrielle as she watched the shooting start, seeing it vanish into the void and the endless expanse of the aetherium beyond. At first she wasn't sure what had caused it, but the smile left her lips completely as a realization struck her. The whisper she had left in Rickter had gone silent. Was he dead this time? Or was this him once again cutting her off from that small bit of her essence?

It would be no loss to us if he were to die. a small voice inside said, He was a broken fool, too selfish to see the harm he caused those who loved him. Death is too kind.

With a wave of her hand Lyrielle dismissed that voice, recognizing the thorns in the words and turning her eyes on Florian. She finally looked at him, truly looked at the man and what he had become. The soul of a divine was far larger than a mortals, and to her gaze Florian stood far taller than the mere 6 extra inches. Chains of iron waved broken and rusted around his body, and where they touched they fell to dust before reforming. At his back the nimbus of the divine extended in shards of violet and indigo, the symbols unreadable, but powerful despite their newness.

"Your mother is someone of note." was her off handed remark to Florian's lineage. When her eyes focused on Florian's mortal form the smile returned to Lyrielle's lips, "A great dragon surrounded by stars you say... Curious, and yet it seems fitting."

One hand touched her cheek as she gave Florian an appreciative look over, "So it was you who caused the rift to open in the first place. Franky warned me of the coming danger. His wife was marked a Seer by the little goddess Galetiral, and she foresaw the threat."

A thought caught Lyrielle's attention and she glanced away, distracted by the rubble that was once their manor. Smoke began to flow around her as she lifted from the ground, floating over the debris as she scanned the ground, searching for something.

"Really Florian, if you had warned me of your plan to ascend I would have had time to properly prepare. Then there might not have been quite so many... casualties." Her words did not carry even a hit of regret or sorrow.

[Florian]

Florian mused for a moment. He did not know Galetira, or Seers in any great detail. Galetira he did not know in any detail at all. Still, they knew, and they were safe from his actions. It was Lyra's actions that truly caused devastation in the city. Every time emotion began to brim to the surface he forced them back under. There was no time to think or contemplate, no time for emotional release.

"I didn't know it myself." He started, not knowing the full implications of Ascension yet, and again trying to push any emotional reaction out of his mind. It was all too overwhelming. "But more importantly, I visited Talon with the help of Killian a season ago. And Talon asked for you and Rickter specifically, Lady of Whispers. He's being held in a tower in the Gelerian Imperium. I promised twice now that I would help him, so I'm heading there."

Florian finally turned his gaze to the destruction of the city in the distance and the rift above. "I think we're running out of time."

He turned back to Lyra, his attention on her now. He tried his best to ignore her terrifying display earlier. "What happened to you? Your plan worked?" and then, "I'll need you to come with me to Gel'Grandal. I saw Rickter had survived the blasts, but I did not talk to him then. He knows he was requested."

[Lyra]

Her eyes scanned the scattered bits of what was once her home in Zaichaer. A broken table leg, a half-together chair, bricks from the fireplace... Everything mixed together in a chaotic blend of stone and wood and fabric. She trailed up what remained of the spiraling staircase, pausing from time to time to pull at a bit of debris before tossing it aside without pause.

She was listening with half an ear, but the mentioning of Talon made Lyrielle look down at Florian and raise an eyebrow.

"He summoned me? The Lady of Whispers specifically?" she asked, a frown drawing her lips downward. The name Killian meant nothing to Lyrielle, so she gave it little thought as she turned back to her searching. At last, she smiled, having found what she was looking for. In her hands, she held a black dress of fine fabric. She slipt it over herself, adjusting the form-fitting areas before smoothing out some of the wrinkles that had formed. She wished she had a mirror, but alas that was not to be.

Her attention fell on Florian once again, but quickly Lyrielle looked to the rift before floating down once more. She began a new search, this time floating close to the ground near where the study had been.

"To the Imperium is it..." She ignored his question about her current state, choosing instead to focus on the most pressing topic. A few scraps of paper and burnt covers of books were casually tossed to the side as Lyrielle began digging deeper into the rubble, "I will accompany you there, as it seems I am wanted. Though what will you do once you arrive?"

A small box was uncovered, and Lyrielle snatched it up with a grin. She undid its clasp, revealing a set of black shards similar to the one in her hand, which she placed with the others before looking up at Florian, "Have you a plan?"

[Florian]

Florian watched Lyrielle with mild interest. The changes that had taken place had yet to settle into him into his bones, and he simply rubbed the flesh of his arm with his doll-like arm, the feature kept still even after he recreated himself. "The Lady of Whispers, yes. And Rickter, the Wolf of Maze."

Lyra's next question brought an overwhelming sense of...unease to Florian. He never had a plan that was not devised by someone else. His life was a series of action and reaction to the circumstances bestowed upon him, and the idea of attempting to cut a path through the whims of Fate felt unnatural. He watched Lyra for a few moments, microexpressions of anxiety and stress and discomfort crossing his face and passing in instants as he was silent.

He barely knew who he was anymore, and he sought to save a man he had primarily only met in dreams? The enemy of his now ransacked home?

Yes. He thought. Regardless of his feelings on the matter, he had a hand in the entrapment of a god and now the Imperium was devising to use him. There was no other reason to keep a god in such a way if you did not have ideas on how to channel their power as your own. He knew well enough the danger the Imperium posed; everyone did, even if Zaichaer was a supposed friend, they had offered no assistance in the ongoing war that this city of brass had no resources to sustain any longer.

Florian ran a hand through his hair, releasing his arm from his grasp. "I have never had a solid plan in my life, Lyrielle." He spoke softly. "I will know when it is time." Both truthful statements. Florian had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, for better or worse, and Destiny tended to collide as it was meant to. The cosmic dragon he had met... some part of him felt that she knew this about him, too. Perhaps it was purposeful.

[Lyra]

"Rickter as well..." Lyrielle mused. Things seemed to be progressing quickly, a fact which was only highlighted further by the rift in the sky and the state of the city itself. Change came in a climactic fashion, all at once and with unstoppable force. Looking into the box Lyrielle wondered what would come of all this. What was it she had to do next? The shards were still a conundrum to her, but even as she stared at them she could feel their longing to be whole once more. She could relate to that desire, but as for how she would accomplish it... Well that would require time to consider.

The lid to the box closed with a snap.

"Perhaps a plan is unnecessary." Rising into the air the outsider came to stand a few feet away from Florian, her eyes falling over his body, lingering on his arm before finding his eyes once more, "It seems as though, for better or worse, you have a talent for twisting the world in your favor."

Reaching up to her head Lyrielle plucked a strand of silver hair and held it up to her eyes, "I have some business to attend to, so make your way to the Imperium ahead of me."

Focusing on the hair Lyrielle poured her aether into the strand, and it twisted itself into a braided loop. With a flick of her finger Lyrielle drew blood from her palm, which floated up and coated the loop. Then with a breath a stream of smoke circled the object, sinking in as whispers grew and then faded away. Lyrielle then held her palm out to Florian, resting atop it was a black ring with a faintly metallic appearance. It contained a sliver of Lyrielle's essence, and gave off a similar unnatural air to the outsider herself.

"Take this. Keep it on your person, and I will be able to find you wherever you may go."

[Chronicle]

Name: Florian

Knowledge:

• 13 Lores

Points: 15
Magic: These points cannot be used for magic.

Name: Lyra

Knowledge:

• 13 Lores

Points: 15
Magic: These points can be used for magic.

Lyra has gained the power of chaos through the reunion with her other fragment, she now possesses the Rune of Entropy upon her body!


Injuries: Nothing to report!
Loot: Nothing lost, nothing gained!

Comment: Sorry this took a minute for me to wrap up, enjoy your rewards you two, the both of you did awesome during this event.

Welp, that's everything I'm sure! If you have any questions, or feel that something actually was missed; please do pm me so we can talk!