I had been fading in and out of consciousness for a small while now, but I was never really alert enough to focus on where I exactly was. I didn’t notice until I felt very cramped in a crystallized cocoon that things were changing. I was beginning to feel trapped now.

That realization seemed to hit my mind in such a way that I suddenly became very alert and focused. I started kicking and pushing on the walls at first, but it didn’t seem to give. I tried harder, straining my muscles in an effort to escape, still no sign of anything happening. I felt no fear though, I was only becoming desperate because I literally felt like I was squished, that I had become too big for this crystal container I was in. It was a very uncomfortable feeling and I found it rather hard to breath well and change position.

Some distance away a bright blue figure stood upon back two legs staring intently at a spiky black wall. His breath was shallow and his expression troubled as he forced himself to face the source of his pride and fear. No longer did it speak in the minds of those around, but its black and green epidote surface still held a repeating series unknown runes. With his act of summoning this stone into existence he had been named the champion of magic within these caves, yet the title still felt stolen. Had it been his imagination at that time? Had there really been some other force behind the maddened voice the crowd had heard at that contest? Perhaps it had just been an oddity in the flow of magic itself; Polaris was full of magic fluctuations, right?

The gryphon's breathing became heavier as he took a light step forward, reaching out with hand-like talon hovering inches away from the dark surface. It was safe. Surely. There was nothing to fear here. This was just a regular summoned gem. Why then did the stone make every feather on his body stand on end? Why did it feel like there was still something inside just waiting to cry out with words unknown?

Closer and closer his talon hovered. Would there be a wail of madness? Would touching it cause him to fall under its sway again? Would the lack of anything happening dispel the fear and regret he felt? His heart raced as the moment of truth approached.

Though in the end never came. He couldn't do it, not now. Not with memories of the competition still so fresh on his mind. Perhaps one day he would be able to face the wall again, but for now it was a step in the right direction that he was able to at least come back to this room.

The gryphon took a couple steps back and shifted his wings from resting behind his back to folded by his side, which in turn altered his center of balance enough that he fell back to rest on all four limbs. Another time, but for now he needed to check on the river.

He didn't get far though as his travels brought him right by a pink gemstone stuck in the ground, one that he could have sworn had just moved. A new life? It certainly seemed too small to have been someone emerging from stasis unless they had been a small gembound to begin with.

The gryphon kept his stance low as he approached the shifting gem, silver eyes almost unblinkingly tracking it. How long had they been there? Were they about to emerge?

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags: @Croix
notes: None

I struggled, running out of energy, there still didn’t seem to be anything happening and yet I felt some other presence with me, coming closer. It somehow encouraged me to keep trying, so that’s what I did...

Seconds passed as Amras watched the chrysalis continue to shift. Whatever kind of creature was inside had certainly become active, but was it still too soon?

Thoughts shifted to his first moments of life, surrounded by thick walls of quartz and the sounds of howling winds. Sounds which had told him of the world outside and in his case what to expect as the cloister crumbled around him. Barring a problematic gem placement like Envy had come into the world with this one would likely have a much more forgiving emergence.

Amras's stance softened as he settled into a sitting position, knowing his investigation into the river's flow could wait for just a little while.

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags: @Croix
notes: None

((As a note, you can tag someone by typing @CharacterName, though due to the way the code works you have to make sure there is a space before and after it.))

( ok :) )

I had stopped, hoping I could regain enough energy to finally break out of this tight cocoon I was in

@amras

The movement stopped without warning, leading Amras to relax a bit more. Perhaps this one was soon to hatch but had not yet reached the proper time yet.

Then again perhaps they were having trouble getting out, or they had little reason to believe there was a world outside the crystalline shell? "Hello?" he spoke softly, uncertain if he would be heard.

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags: @Croix
notes: None

I took a deep breath...

And I pushed, wiggling and moving around as hard as I could until finally there was crackling, then the shattering of the crystal cocoon. I was free, on the ground and exhausted.

Amras stayed still as the gem cracked and broke, revealing under its pink surface the shape of a small pup. This certainly wasn't one of the older residents of the cave awakening from hibernation but a brand-new life waking up for the first time.

"Welcome to the world, small one." he voiced softly, not wanting to spook the child too much.

---

Pouch 1: Baubled talc rods x12	Pouch 2: Charcoal dust (50 in3)	Pouch 3: Dried Mothers Tear mushrooms (25 in3)	Pouch 4: Charcoal chunks x7 (medium)
Back bag: Empty

Take hold of the power within
"And shape the fabric of reality around you"
tags:
notes: None