A Day at the Village [Lykos]

[Hilana Chenzira]

28 Searing, Year 123

[Closed - Lykos]

"This will be nice," Lia smiled up at Lykos as Hilana led the way down from the Citadel to the village of Red Rock that was below it. They had been a few times before, this was hardly new for any of them, as it was one of the few places where Lia and Lykos were able to freely go to out here in the Expanse. It wasn't a large town, but it benefited from being so close to the Citadel, and considering the activity that it held these days, it was garnering more and more activity. It was also an opportunity for Lykos to practice his Vastian, and they could enjoy the markets.

"I think so," Hilana agreed, Tiaz on her shoulders. Fiya was in her rucksack inside her own sack. The little female was for once not feeling particularly sociable, but Semblance had told Hilana before that she was getting ready to shed, so that was, at least, understandable. She hadn't wanted to stay in her terrarium just yet, as she wasn't quite there yet, but she would be in the next day or two. And since that meant her vision would be obscured, the little python sought the safety of the darkened rucksack.

"We'll get some goodies and see what's going on down here," Hilana nodded as they made their way towards the path. "We'll see if they have a goat for tomorrow, or maybe lamb." She was not shy about meat and where it came from, despite her love of animals. She loved cooking and eating far too much, and it was a part of the cycle of life and death. To be sustained, something else had to be sacrificed. Some might have been vegan or vegetarian for that purpose, but plants had lives and feelings too... whether those who preferred them wanted to admit that or not.

[Rickter]

Thread Title

Timestamp, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

It was not often that Lykos would frequent the township found nested outside the walls of Arx Rubrum Petram, if only because he found the solitude of the bastion a more comforting assurance in the end.

There had been the first time he and Lana left on a dalliance across the sands, but that was the need for escape at the time, and a chance to go some place where they were both free to let go of the world around them. Back then, he had felt certain that the chaotic period only brought them closer together, and even so, that did not stop him from appreciating the few trips they did make out past the rocky red walls that protected him.

The citadel was more than just his safe haven, of course, having spent much of his free time monitoring the cold room he'd put together. It had gotten to where there was sometimes a night or two, where he would remain so fixated on the projects going on, that he'd lose all track of the hours in the process. That was usually when the Vastiana sisters pulled him out of his own world, often grounding him back to the reality he unintentionally escaped into with his work.

This was, perhaps, one such occasion but one he did not fret upon. Having spent a lot of time charting out additions to the cold room, as well as concentrating on the purification aspect of his magic, the lupine demigod oft welcomed their interventions from his work.

"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."

[Hilana Chenzira]

The town was easy enough to walk to, though Hilana could have just used the Ring of Traversion that Talon had given her to make them a portal if anyone had been feeling particularly lazy. But all things considered, even Lia was content to make the walk from the citadel down to the town. Hilana had a camel on a lead all the same, one of the sporty females that she'd borrowed from the family estate in Tertium. She never knew when she might find something there that she might want, and this way, the means were there to bring it back. She would have preferred Hayima'el, since her massive bull could have carried the three of them and whatever else she could find at the marketplace there, but sometimes it was easier to just use one of the camels that she kept at the Citadel.

"Are you happy with the reinforcement layer you added to the Cold Room?" Lia asked Lykos as they walked along, following Hilana with the camel down the pathway. Where Hilana was in one of her barely-there blouses and her long skirts, dyed a mixture of greens and blues today, her sister had chosen a caftan of blue with grey trimming and adornments. What brief trips to the city had shown a a style of clothing that contained far less than either of Hilana's skirts or Lia's more flowing outfits, but such could be chalked up to their nomadic family history. Hilana liked her skirts and her arms unencumbered, Lia was content to be covered with material that protected one from the elements while still accentuating her form.

There was much activity going on in the bustling market up ahead, that much they could see as they followed the broadened trail down towards the town, and all of them could use the interaction. The women wanted to immerse Lykos more and see how well he handled the language that they had been steadily teaching him with, and he was proving a good learner. It could be fun, too - they'd see what they could make of it, and perhaps they'd even find some new goodies that were brought in from the explorers who wandered the sands and had them available for the right coin. Usually the Sentinels would check everything over, but there was something to be said for connections.

[Rickter]

Thread Title

Timestamp, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

It was almost uncomfortably warm had Lykos not acclimated to the dry air, though of course, the desert was never one to change so frantically when it came to the weather. Not since the Lupine Draegir had quickly learned to keep his being in check, and to tamper down his own aura to make it less revealing of his divinity. Even then, he kept the influence of his presence to a minimum, though since Searing had started it had felt less of a task than it used to.

The adobe redrock buildings that decorated the township outside the citadel had a quaint little charm to them, and to hear the bustle of living people nearby slightly intimidated Lykos a little. Not because he was afraid of people necessarily, but he certainly wasn't accustomed to being amongst them out in the open. Something he would certainly have to quickly grow to learn if he intended to visit or even stay in Solunarium proper. The words of Athalia though pulled him from his thoughts as they walked onward, and suddenly in that moment, such thoughts of his own self concern seemed trivial now that he had something else to focus on.

"Yes actually!" He rather enthused with a hearty grin spared to the elder sister, before his gaze shifted forward observe the children running along the manmade streets. "It was bit tricky at first, since the second tier of anchors weren't diverting enough aether through the flow." Had Decius not pointed out the flaws in them the other day, then Lykos would've certainly missed that detail a little too late, which would've only led to a couple of anchors shorting out in response.

Nothing dangerous or catastrophic at that point of course, but it would've been a minor setback he would've had to see the room recover from. As things were the progress remained slow and steady, and with the tertiary set of anchors etched into the glyphs now, the workload on the main points remained less stressful; all while the aether itself flowed evenly throughout the entirety of the room. Still, the glyphs were only in their prototype stage, and Lykos wanted to continue testing them out a while longer, before the real risky part of the experiment came into play with his own Divine aether.

"At the rate things are progressing though, I'm hoping to see the foundation of it all ready by Ash." Probably a lot more time than necessary but he wanted to do this all right, and not rush into the schematics of it without testing the limitations of his project as it were. Once he knew things were certain, then he could see to it that the Cold Room absorbed as much aether as it could, therefore adapting to preserve the energy long enough for every annual cycle to recharge the integrated wards.

But he was getting lost in perhaps what remained the science of it all, when the ladies had brought him out to get away from it for a while. Thus he could only softly smile, as he reflected on other things now that he was getting a taste of what life out in the Atraxian desert was like. "It impresses me how hardy and resilient the folk down here really are." Not just because of the heated sun or the dryness of the expanse itself, but also because of how difficult most resources seem to be to come by. Not to mention all the peculiar smells the wolf could trace as they walked onward, some of which he hadn't quite been able to discern just yet.

"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."

[Hilana Chenzira]

The sisters nodded along. This was a lot of learning for Hilana, and for Lia, it was enforcing what she already knew. She and Lykos had had a great many discussions about the topic, considering theories and outlining pictographs and layers, weighing options and making blueprints. The Cold Room was progressing as it was supposed to, at least, and that meant that they could relax a little bit in the meantime. The hardest part was done, now it was monitoring and maintaining. Inasmuch as Lia was considering Semblance, the aura lenses that she had gotten from a Sentinel did the job. "That sounds about proper, for the timeline," the elder sister nodded. "With luck, perhaps a bit faster, but all things considered, you are Lord of Frost, so if it comes into full bloom then, it comes into full bloom then."

"We are hardy because we must be," Hilana added to Lykos' next point. "Long ago, when our people were all nomads, only the strong made it. Those who could not adapt, could not survive. But things have changed enough, especially with the introduction of magic... It is a bit easier now. But it is still not so easy. Other places may be better suited for people to live, and there's a reason most of the villages and towns beyond the cities of Tertium and Solunarium proper are near the Vasta River or the oases in the land. But our tribes that still walk the sands must manage with what they have. And not all of them have taken up access to Runes. They depend on the land to make it." Hilana had spent years traversing the continent, though she now called the capital home. Vastii didn't need as much water to live as others did, and could go without much longer than the other races in this climate... but how they might fare in the northern reaches of Ailizane was something else entirely.

"But my little sister will tell you and show you how to make a gourmet meal out of some random cactus and beetles." Lia smiled at that as they were closing the distance towards the village that was below the Citadel, her crimson-red robe-like dress fluttering in the wind. Hilana's steps were light and deft as she all but bounced along, while the big python on her shoulders was clearly unbothered. Tiaz was used to wilder rides, it seemed. "Though you can make flour from roots of some vegetables in order to make things like breads... But not tonight, soror."

"Just so," Hilana was cheerful. "You don't know what you're missing, Lia."

"Oh, I do. How about a love cake? Surely you could make us one of those," Athalia attempted a very smooth redirection of her sister's tendencies - yes, she could live off of the land, yes, she could teach them how to out here, but what about something far tastier than roasted scorpions, and arguably more complex? It showcased flavours of the desert without being quite so... rustic.

And her ploy worked.

"Well, I could make one of those," Hilana agreed. "We can see what they have here, and then--" each of the Elementalists could hear the cries of a child and some adults, carried on the wind. Without pausing or breaking her stride, Hilana snatched up her long skirts with her hands and took off down towards the market row, leaving Lia and Lykos to hurry after her. "Cobra!" she shouted over her shoulder. Cobra bite. Lia lost all colour in her skin, her hands clammy and cold all of a sudden, but she hurried after her sister. Between Hilana and Lykos... maybe another little boy would not have to die.

A father was hurrying towards the market, carrying a little boy who was sobbing, his leg bleeding steadily, having already soaked a roughly-applied bandage. Lykos might well remember from the lessons - many venomous snake species had aspects to their venom that made the wound bleed - anticoagulants, Hilana had called them. And judging from the small size of the child, this could be bad.

[Rickter]

Thread Title

Timestamp, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

The Lupine Draegir had a rather pragmatic if not fundamental understanding with the estimation of time he'd spend on his projects. The Cold Room required such a length of time, if only due to the nature of testing different concepts of his magic in both nature and principle. Grasping the limitations of his magic and what that entailed with the applications, as well as grasping the influence the divinity within his own aether had, and then observing the impact that both had upon the environment around him all played an important dichotomy to maintain.

Athalia was one such other subject that required even further contemplation to consider, pushing the limitations of his knowledge with a sense of philosophy to balance it out in turn. Purification wasn't a typical power that a mage with Negation could pull off even with such exemplary mastery, yet he had found his approaches not only tested, but the challenges involved were met with interestingly bizarre results, to say the least.

What Lykos found himself able to do went beyond the knowledge of understanding with the Rune of Negation, that much he ascertained well enough, what kept him even more interested was the possibilities it allowed him if he pursued it further. Factuality and information were key components that further fed into this, naturally, as they were the backbone of understanding when he would approach a subject with the thought of cleansing in mind.

All of that would remain an afterthought for now, as the conversation between Athalia and Hilana kept him grounded once more. The sisters conversed about his observation with the village that resided outside the citadel, and sure enough, their musings could only lead him to inwardly chuckle as he listened. "Given everything she's sampled and shown me so far, I've not had any complaints as of yet." Though, of course, he kept that standard with an open mind but limited to the things he knew he wouldn't mind trying.

That usually excluded the 'finer' cuisines that had been mentioned before, such as charred scorpions or grilled tarantulas, or gods knew whatever else Hilana had mentioned made a decent meal to survive off of in Atraxia. "I'm with Lia," the Lupine Draegir quickly remarked at the suggestion, "cake would be divine right now!" Not that he didn't always have a sweet tooth, because Lykos didn't and wouldn't admit to it if ever proven wrong. But the sound of cake certainly tickled his tongue the moment Athalia's ploy commenced, and for a moment Lykos could tell it had started working too.

Except the moment did not last long enough, not when sounds of horror filled the air from the dusty graveled streets nearby. The moment they were registered across his hearing, the wolf's eyes widened and the smile he'd worn immediately faded away. This wasn't a situation where lives were threatened by some monster at large, but from the audible panic he heard, it was evident something terrible had happened not too far from their vicinity.

And with one word, Hilana already charged off into a quick dash, not wasting another second in the event she could likely help out anyone involved. As was just like her. Cobra? A danger to be certain! He realized as the very name made the hairs on his neck stand on end, causing his stomach to drop as he and Lia did their best to charge after Lana in earnest. They followed her after a man carrying a boy who sobbed painfully, his cries telling the depth of suffering the venom was inflicting on his flesh. Unless treated that child is going to endure tremendous suffering!

It wasn't lost on him the miracle he could potentially do here, what his magic could perform if given the chance to do so. To do that though, would require a bit more out of Lykos since it would be on a mortal subject instead of Aedrin's bountiful creatures. Mortal kind always had deeply rooted auras filled with convoluted complications, thoughts and ideas that often were a reflection of the soul's exposure to the environment, and extrapolated to both provide and conceal information that remained ever so intricately connected to the soul itself.

The Lupine Draegir hadn't quite had the chance or opportunity to thoroughly delve into these concepts, not experimentally to say the least, as much of his time spent on current projects have allowed him to only contemplate this much about it. Regardless, the wolf knew he had only a small window of time to figure it out, especially if he were going to help make a difference where Hilana might not have been able to.

"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."

[Hilana Chenzira]

Seconds counted with children this small. Cobra bites could easily kill adults within an hour of being bitten, and usually half that was the average. Children, especially if they got a full payload of the neurotoxic venom, had even less time before certain death. Hilana, with her bright skirts, was quite easy to keep track of, at least, for Lia and Lykos. It was hard to miss the vividly-dyed fabric. even if she had it gathered in her hands, and those long legs really carried the young woman towards where there were people gathering. Tiaz curled tightly around her shoulders and rucksack, not appreciating the sudden change from the leisurely pace to the rapid sprint, his tail wrapping around her bicep to make sure that he didn't come loose.

"How long ago was it?" Hilana asked the man that had been carrying the little one, opening her bag. She always kept glass vials of the antivenin on her; because seconds counted. Tiaz, thoroughly disgruntled for once by the sprint, quit her shoulders for the rucksack, which was already moving and complaining because the smaller female snake was still in her bag, though it had gotten jostled less due to the straps and positioning on her back. "How big was the snake?" She Manifested water around her hands to clean them up to start

"Ten minutes ago, maybe fifteen," the man was panting from the exertion as Hilana uncapped a needle, drawing up the antivenin within it. The herbalist-turned-medic-slash-doctor took out the jar of witchhazel, sluicing some on the child's arm, turning it upright. "Full grown, miss."

"This will hurt," Hilana sounded apologetic enough, and started to inject the antivenin directly into the vein. "Lykos," she called, looking for their Rathari Draegir. She was glad to see him and Lia coming up, and she motioned him forward with her head while she was steadily depressing the plunger as the boy wailed. "This is a chance for you. You know what it feels like, so let's try to remove it. But you have a few minutes otherwise." The antivenin was there to buy time for Lykos to pull the rest out - it would hopefully save the child's life. Damaged tissues could be dealt with, but the antibodies provided by the antivenin would help to counteract the damage... but Lykos, if he was diligent and thorough, could remove the rest of the venom before further harm could be done.

In the meantime, she would start cleaning and treating the oozing wound, disinfecting and activating her Semblance in order to inspect the boy's aura and observe the damage that was internal to better gauge her next steps and to track Lykos' progress. This was a lot different from a rabbit or a sandcock. This was a young child with his whole life ahead of him, and a family that would likely be grieving by the end of the night. Lia watched, paler than ever, her hands forming tight fists under her sleeves. Oh, Founders...