ORIGIN - BY FIRE BE BIRTHED

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Dragon slogged his way through the swamp, huffing as he limped. His mind was filled with thoughts which ran in circles; it was more than possible that the encounter with Raheerah had damaged much more than his leg, in the end.

We must be strong. We must grow. We must have more numbers. More strength.

It had been explained to him--even demonstrated, briefly--that the mixture of magic and a portion of a Gembound's stone would create a new Gembound. And from the looks of things, that Gembound would be a hybrid of others.

He'd thought about asking Eve--she was intelligent and sharp, cunning. But she already had a young one, and by her explanation, she couldn't risk a repeat so soon.

That left the other winged ones--Willow, and Tal'at. Willow, however, was nowhere to be found; he had no doubt that creating a child with her would solidify their partnership-in-crime, as it were. But at the same time she would have something to hold over him, and anyway, she had feathers.

He wanted, subconsciously, he wanted to create a dragon. A true dragon. Not the limping wreck that he was--and without the blindness of Tal'at. He was a little worried that the young ones might indeed come out blind. Or worse, blind and wingless. He'd debated whether to simply kill them, if that were the case; it'd likely spare them worse pain, farther on. But then, he could find a use for them, maybe... They should make a few, he decided. Just in case.

That was, assuming Tal'at even agreed. He wouldn't force him, but he thought that the idea of a sighted child might appeal to the bat.

With a rumble, the alligator sloshed up beneath where he thought Tal'at might be--the last place he'd seen him, anyway. The bat spent a lot of time near his spider, yet he still often perched up high.

"Tal'at?" Dragon called, his hiss-bellow echoing over the black water, muffled by the mist. "Are you there? I have something to discuss with you."

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@Talat

Tal'at wished that the spider wasn't so keen on the swamp water. She was hunting-- again-- and he tried to remind her to set aside some for the big serpent that kept them all safe but it was always just a bit too much for her vermin mind to understand. He huffed, settled down on an overhanging branch over the hunting grounds that In'am loved so much. She once had a nest here, from what he could tell, and perhaps she had even had babies. She seemed to think she had, but the method-- and no doubt the sensation-- was bizarre and alien to the blind bat.

A rumbling voice woke him from his drifting conversation with the spider. It took him a moment to find words, so used to speaking in a non-verbal, idea-not-worded way with the spider. He swept his blind face towards the dragon, his ears coning to pick up the location of his leader. He shifted off of his perch, spreading his wings, and he dove down to the water, reaching out with his magic to pick out that sensation of heat and flame that felt so inappropriate in the marsh. He landed easily on the alligator, settling into a comfortable position.

"What is it? Happy to help," he spoke shortly when the words finally came to him, shaking off the fogginess from his brain. His heavy stone rattled his brain and always disoriented him when he shook it, but that was alright. A smile crossed over his features as he mapped out the lizard's body, crawling all over him as he found comfortable.

Hssssss, the mind of his spider hit his own, uncomfortable with how close he was to his friend as always. It is alright, he thought in return, sending soothing calmness to the spider. The poor thing was not at all anything more than a timid lesser gembound, no matter what he tried to do. It was a shame, really, because she was fairly alright company who believed in the Children of Rot's code more than she would ever know.

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Just like that, Tal'at had landed on him--his light, warm weight crawling all over Dragon's back. Dragon didn't mind; he simply lounged there, a "boat" as Bog would have called him, as he began to speak.

"Hello. You're all right? I'd come because I wanted to speak with you. It's about the Children of Rot--I spoke of how we must strengthen, find more? Eve created Oliver, from what I can tell. I wish to make more Children. I can birth true dragons, in flame; we could make small Raheerahs, perhaps. But I need someone with wings. Do you want to try?"

He rumbled all of this out at once, almost aloof from it. It wasn't an emotional request, but a logical one, and if the bat wasn't interested, he'd seek someone else.

He hoped that Tal'at would, though. Something about the bat struck him as intelligent, in his own way, despite how quiet he was. Tactical, perhaps. A strategic thinker? He seemed patient, observant, polite. In Dragon's mind's eye, he saw vast creatures like himself, but winged, with Tal'at's eternal patience and their intelligence, paired. And naturally, able to spew torrents of flames, as he did.

Of course, it could go horribly wrong, and end up nothing like that, but that was no reason not to aim high.

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@Talat

Tal'at listened as the great Dragon spoke all at once, a great rumbling ramble that left the bat still and silent. Pondering, considering... But above all else, feeling rather honored by such a suggestion. Dragon was, unarguably, the most powerful among them. When Eve had that child, he hadn't bat an eye at it (a bad choice of words, perhaps) but mulling it over now he found himself wanting to provide for Children of Rot in a way he hadn't considered before. That being said, Tal'at didn't see himself as a father figure and he knew all too well that his children would be much too unruly for him to take care of alone. They would likely end up like Dragon, starting out small but growing huger and huger by the cycle.

The bat crept back over to Dragon's nose, tucked up into a rather small shape on the scaly flesh. He knew immediately that he wanted to do this, that he could bring great honor to the Children of Rot by giving up a piece of himself. He was, however, a bit unsure about how to go about it. He hadn't spoke to Eve about in much, in fact, he had frankly avoided the curiosity of children in favor of his spider friend-- who now was filling his mind with thoughts on spider reproduction. He suppressed a shiver and spoke slowly, finally, in reply.

"On my wings, of your fire, we can create... Something better than... Us two combined," he commented, bringing his wings to his orb face, rubbing his thumbs across the smooth surface. "In their forms, we could become... That of immortals, our lineage forever... One of rot." His ears twitched and he twisted around on Dragon's nose, turning his blind orb towards Dragon's eyes up-snout. "I am ready. What must we... Do to bring... These children alive?" There was a slight hint of excitement sneaking into his voice, a barely noticeable tremble in his limbs. That smile on his muzzle was twisted up in the corners, showing off the gums of his mouth.

Yes, true dragons... It would be something. Tal'at was willing to serve the purpose of his home and family, no matter the cost. He reached out with one of his many magical senses, striving to feel the pulse of his life energy along side the fiery flames of Dragon's own spirit. His enthusiasm was mounting, his ears twitched forward, eager to hear the method in which they would create hybrids of one another. He focused as much as he could on Dragon, and not on the hissing, absently instinctive drive of his companion in the waters yards away.

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@Dragon

Dragon rumbled in thought, though the bat's excitement wasn't lost on him. Tal'at was not only willing, but eager, and Dragon found himself pleased--it meant that his idea had merit, perhaps. That the bat was vindicating his decision, in a way.

Children of fire, on Tal'at's wings... yes. That was what he hoped for.

"The way it was explained to me, one uses magic to remove a piece of their stone. And then the other parent breathes life into it. I intend to breathe fire. Perhaps you can find a way to remove a piece of your stone, or two--without harming yourself?" he asked. He certainly didn't want Tal'at to be harmed in the creation of new life; that would defeat the purpose.

He gave Tal'at a moment to consider, and during this time he continued to speak.

"I do hope for flame and wings, though I suppose it might come out... differently. But we can try. I think then the stone grows, and houses the new Gembound."

The alligator left it unsaid that the two of them had limited stone. He also didn't start questioning where his own egg had come from: he assumed Aquarian had made him, but with what?

Was he some sick mix of Aquarian and Raheerah...? And if so, what did that make Tal'at? Raheerah and... and a mouse?

Dragon eyed Tal'at, balanced as he was upon his head, and wondered at the image of a mouse making off with a piece of Raheerah's stone--wherever it was.

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@Talat

Tal'at listened to the explanation, doing his best to understand the process. Hopefully it wouldn't be painful-- if Dragon had to forcibly remove some of his face gem to make children Tal'at would do it, but he'd rather the baby making be easy and gentle. He was only a small, weak bat. There were lesser gembound bats that came in double his size.

"I will try," Tal'at replied to Dragon softly, reaching up to lift off of the boat-gembound, fluttering off to a stable bit of land. He sat upright as he ran his wing thumbs over his stone face, feeling the perfect smoothness of his gem. It would be such a shame to ruin it, he thought, but for the sake of progress he would do it. A quiet part of him thought it would be nice to have a nest-- a real one, with actual babies-- with Eve some day, but for now he knew she was busy with her child. The one who was larger, though he didn't know the creature well.

The bat breathed in softly and gently applied pressure to the stone on his face, tapping into magic as he always did. This time he did not reach out, however, and instead he reached in, as though he was trying to feel inside of his own gem. A blistering pain shot through his face and he grit his teeth, suppressing a whimper as the gem fractured and two chunks fell straight off of his face. Not that he could see-- but he heard the soft sound of pebble-sized rocks hitting the marshy earth.

He had done it, but Caves did it hurt. Pain wracked his whole body, and he shivered, suppressing the fear he felt in his chest. "H-how is this...? Did I do... Did I do... Do it alright?" He forced out the words, trying to hide the pain he felt from the leader of his group. Dragon was someone he did not want to disappoint.

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@Dragon

Dragon tilted his head, slightly, dragging himself through the mud to the patch of stable land that Tal'at had selected. The bat seemed to be in... pain? He was stuttering very slightly, but if it was pain, he was hiding it well.

He started to ask if the bat was all right--but if he wasn't, he wasn't indicating it. The alligator felt that it might be a bit rude to press it, so instead, he simply hauled himself over to the gems, snorting down at them.

"They are perfect," he declared. He couldn't actually see them, but he felt the bat might need a bit of encouragement. ...He assumed the stones were there, anyway.

With a huff, the alligator focused on the stones. He would give them life, now--breathe it into them with fire and fury, and create a new existence, a pair of dragons to guard Cetus, and the Children of Rot.

This would be their gift to them.

He hoped.

The alligator inhaled, eyes glittering, the air feeding into the stifled fire within his gullet. He eyed Tal'at, almost mischievously. This was it. This was when they combined what they were, and created something new.

His heavy jaws opened, and he felt the fire flow forth from his jaws even as something of himself--something of his magic, his flame, his life--coursed out and into the two rocks. And there were two--he could feel that now, for sure, even as he thought he'd heard the two quiet thumps.

Where Tal'at's attempts had been painful and borderline dangerous, Dragon's was smooth and powerful, the fire infusing the stones and making them briefly glow like coals. For a moment they pulsed, lit a dull red-orange in the darkness of the swamp--and then they went still and dark once more.

Yet there was a feeling, now, that they were more than they had been. Something of Tal'at the bat, and of Dragon the alligator, now dwelt within them.

The question now became, what would they become?

Dragon looked from the stones--and he had to tilt his head very awkwardly indeed, to see them--to Tal'at. He let out a low, rough and breathy chuckle, then nodded to the bat.

"What do you think?" he asked.

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@Talat

Well, the pain of shattering his own stone instead of carefully using his magic to produce small pieces of it was one thing.

Funny...

... It was probably leagues worse to be set on fire after doing that. As Dragon opened his jaws and breathed fire on to the stones, the blind bat felt the wave of heat wash over him. For a moment, it was almost pleasant. Until the smell of charring and the sensation of his body being torn away by small tongues of flames, he was actually sort of able to pretend he was enjoying this little adventure in baby making.

Uh, yeah. That went out of the window as he realized he was definitely on fire and his aeonian leader asked him what he thought. What did he think? The answer was a horrible, shrill squeal as he tried to scramble away and managed to take flight. He could feel the membrane between his pseduo-fingertips starting to shred and he knew he had to find safety somehow. If he could sense water, or have any acknowledgement of anything other than pain, perhaps he would have had the sense to do something about it.

The bat didn't get very far before he sensed something particularly familiar. He had spent many days with Czernobog as of recent and he knew the Black God's pulse in the marsh as dear as he knew his own thoughts and blood. It was only to be expected that he divebombed the poor boar-- still on fire. Maybe Big Bog would notice and get out of the way... Maybe, uh, help him find some water.

Tal'at didn't care. He wanted to find shelter and comfort and safety-- and Big Bog was all of those things, as far as he was concerned.

@Dragon
@Czernobog

Czernobog hummed under his breath, a low, rolling tune, fading in and out as he wandered through Cetus. His new tiny charges were safe, fed, and well on their way to becoming fierce warriors themselves. They made him proud, helped him feel a bit safer in his position within the Rots, even if he still couldn't quite get their language right. Now, he was simply exploring, stopping every other minute to nuzzle at a sprouting plant, silently encouraging it upwards. Even if he couldn't help his plant friends anymore, he could at least protect them, like the rest of his family.

Relaxed and off-guard, the pig nearly jumped out of his skin as a screech cut through the air. It had to be yards away, but Czernobog turned toward it on a dime nonetheless, wiry hair rising in alarm, ears perking forward, one front leg raised to break into a sprint - but in mere moments a shape, a body on fire, engulfed in it, rocketed out of the sky, landed clinging to his hock, and the boar couldn't care about the sizzle and snap of his own skin when Tal'at was burning. A thoughtless, panicked squeal escaped the pig's lips, and he twisted in place, barreling towards the nearest riverbank, skidding to a stop at the water's edge and trying to dip the bat into it, as if the murky depths alone would heal his friend.

And though his "voice" was gone, his voice certainly wasn't. Nie nie nie nie możesz umrzeć Przykro mi, co się stało, kto to zrobił ja je zabić będę ich wszystkich zabić, nie idź ty jesteś moja rodzina przestań! Mindless, grunting whines accompanied his frantic splashing, and he used his snout as a paddle, flipping more water onto the bat's burning frame.

Będziesz żyć będę cię uratować to jest w porządku, teraz należy być w porządku, że nie pozwolę ci umrzeć będę cię uratować, on and on, until he was wailing, hot acid water muddying his eyes, but he didn't stop. He couldn't. Not now.

The alligator stared bemusedly as Tal'at somehow managed to get into the line of quite literal fire. He stared even more bemusedly as the bat, continuing to remain on fire, spiralled off into the mist, a glowing receding ball of screeching light.

The bemusement turned to horror as the light sparked, flared, and the screeching was joined by a horrid squealing. Hurriedly he tried to scoop the two stones into his jaws, having to dig sideways to pick them up, only to find that they had already become fused with the dry earth below. Apparently, then, this was where they'd have to nest, to protect the eggs.

Damn it.

"Tal'at! Bog?" Dragon bellowed, charging off into the mist, following the distant glow of his own fire, and the pained cries of his family.

A few moments of frantic charging and he found them: Czernobog flailing, the flaming bat clinging to his hock.

HOW...?

All he'd done was try to breathe life into the stones, and somehow not only had Tal'at caught fire, but Czernobog too! AND BOG HADN'T EVEN BEEN THERE!

Dragon just stared at the two thrashing and squealing, sudden misgiving seizing him.

Maybe these babies weren't going to be mighty dragons, after all.

Maybe he'd just made a terrible mistake.

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@Talat @Czernobog

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