A Mutual Exchange

[Hikami]

龍 4th of Searing, Year 121, A.o.S 龍
Company: Unknown old man| Thoughts: How dare you| Mood: Suspicious, Angry

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龍 Thelius has a point, nothing about this made sense to him, it just didnt add all the way up. His words both hurt but stirred a need for answers. When told things happened for a reason, Hyo couldnt hide giving the elder male a side-eye. "Tell that to the innocent people that were killed because of those reasons." he hissed, the wind coming to caress his form with a gentle breeze.

This was a lot harder to accept than he first realized, and the more the old man spoke to him the more difficult it became to fathom anything he knew before. Calling upon the earth beneath them, Hyoga fashion something to sit on, thanking the element for its help before sitting. When Thelius asked him of his next plans, Hyoga shook his head. He didnt know. He wasnt sure himself what there was to do next.

"My path was clear I thought, finally get my revenge for my village, but now, now I'm not even sure if that's possible. To think my father was an inquisitor, and his father before him. I come from a line of avialae responsible for killing their own. It's a hard reality to accept old man." he groaned, his eyes looking to the ground beneath him before turning to the elder.

"Any suggestions?" he inquired, the wind kissing his face as it came back for another breezy hug. In his ear, he heard it whisper be careful which caused the kathar to form a tight fist with his hands. He was suspicious of the old man of course, but now even the elements were concerned of his true intentions.

"What do you hope to gain by telling me any of this?" 龍

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"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Mirage]

Thelius simply shrugged and continued to smile at Hyoga's words, though not quite as broadly. He watched the younger man as he prepared a seat of stone, and Thelius contented himself with leaning against a tree. In the distance there was a rumbling, not uncommon in this area so close to the Astralar mountains. Some distant rubble shifted and clacked as it slide partway down into the now abandoned village, and Thelius watched it fall with a curious expression.

"As a matter of fact..." he said slowly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as his eyes flicked back to Hyoga, "There is something."

From a pocket he produced a small crystal, a Illumite shard though its coloring was slightly off. Thelius examined the crystal for a moment before tossing it to Hyoga, "There are strange things happening around this area. As I said before, I am just a traveler passing through, but I have seen some things that are quite interesting." His eyes moved to look up at the top of the mountain that was closest to them, and when he looked back at Hyoga he raised an eyebrow, "I didn't choose this path by chance. Inside of this mountain is a series of caves and tunnels, many of which are filled with Illumite shards and other crystals. It is common knowledge of the mines existence, but few actually mine here."

Pointing down at the village he continued, "Even odder is this village. The fact it was inhabited by your family is a curiosity, but that it even exists is even more odd. This area is known for vicious land slides and falling rubble from the peaks, yet someone thought it a good idea to build a village here. Then the village in its entirety gets wiped out."

Stroking his chin once more Thelius smiled, "I get nothing from any of this, but I am an old man who waited past his prime to start adventuring. I guess you could say I am making up for lost time in a way." He nodded at the off color dragonshard, "If you are curious, and if you have no other direction to turn, take that dragonshard to the top of that mountain. There is a large cave there that leads deeper in. Those who have harvested dragonshards did so there. You might find something worth your while."

[Hikami]

龍 Time Stamp 龍
Company: ???| Thoughts: ???| Mood: ???

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龍 The old man seemed to be diverting his attention to something. He may have stated he gained nothing from this, but Hyoga wasn't too naive to know when someone was using him for other means. He looked curiously at the dragonshard handed to him, turning his gaze to the particular mountain in question. It seemed the old man wanted him to find something up there, masking it under the guise of it being something the kathar would find useful.

"Very well" he began, scooping the elderly man up into his arms, his wings flourishing outwards. "But you are coming with me, so hold on tight cause it's going to be a fast acceleration." he warned, tapping into the elementalism rune and offering his aether to the wind. Not too long after the wind began to dance and swirl around his wings. With a mighty flap or two, they ascended into the air.

With each flap of his wings, the wind amplified his flight propelling him faster than normal. The good thing was that there wasn't much to obstruct his flight path or cause him to change course as it was a straight shot to the aforementioned mountain. With thank you whispered to the wind Hyoga was able to fly the rest of the way as they were practically right above a clearing on the mountain top. Though Hyoga was used to the cold air he wasn't certain if the elderly gentleman could handle the drop in temperature especially with it being so sudden.

To accommodate him, Hyoga offered his aether once again, thought his time reaching out to the heat of a fire, watching his aether ignite into flames. "Stay close to me if you want to stay warm, can't have you freezing to death on my account." he said, as he took out the dragonshard and started towards the cave mouth. "Well are you coming?" 龍

---

"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Mirage]

What protests Thelius might have had died on his lips as he was swept away, mouth agape as he clutched at Hyoga's shoulders as if afraid to fall. When they finally landed he breathed an audible sigh of relief, rubbing at his balding head and ruffling in his robes for his pipe once more.

"You are the direct sort I see, but I suppose I knew that." He eyed the pipe critically for a long moment before putting it away once more with a shake of his head. He then eyed the mouth of the cave before looking askance at Hyoga, "Really, dragging a frail old man to a mountain top? Well fine, lead on then."

Thelius motioned for Hyoga to lead, and with just a moment of hesitation followed after.

The cave was... a cave. As ordinary a cave as could be expected, if larger than its entrance would lead one to believe. Deeper in, a dim light could be seen where several small Illumite shards were embedded into the wall, left there to light the way deeper into the mouth of a tunnel that led downward at a steep slope.

"This was one of the first mines that were established years ago, back before Kalzasi existed. Before the Synnekar had fled Gel'Grandal." Though he stayed close to Hyoga the old man still shivered and folded his arms over his chest, his breath visible with every word he spoke, "This one was abandoned for less treacherous mines closer to the base of the mountain, and few bother coming this far up."

The stone in Hyoga's hand glowed a soft steady light as the darkness of the cave deepened, but notably, its color was slightly off from the shards in the wall. Darker, with a violet hue.