Pride gave a soft laugh at Azizos' mention of aim, and then grew thoughtful. "I could take you around the caves--or if you feel the need to travel alone, then of course you're at an age where you can do so. Perhaps you can take your brother with you, or perhaps not--whatever you two prefer." He stepped daintily over to he water's edge, again--still chilled with its cold, and dripping--and eyed the stone that Azizos approached. It skipped, and quite far, too, bouncing off over the surface quite a bit before sinking. "Impressive," Pride said, and he meant it.

Again he tried to grip the stone with his mind, before it sank too deeply. This time he felt his mind slip smoothly around it, his magicka lifting it dripping from the water and slowly levitating it back over to them. He hovered it, for a moment, as he spoke further. "There are more things you can do with magic--I know I've showed you some, but it bears remembering. There are some in the caves who try to categorize magic, to give it names and neat slots--but I think the truth of it is, it does whatever you can form it in. That being said," he added, gently letting the rock clatter back to the shoreline, "it certainly seems that everyone has differing affinities for various magical types. There are those skilled with fire--with learning it, with using it--and those who use storms, and those--like you and I--who use our minds, and the energy around us, manipulating it in what may well be its purest form."

He turned his silver gaze to Azizos. "But you are limited only by your imagination."

@Azizos

Azizos looked away from the rippling lake, paying mind to Pride ears-first. After a few words, he turned his head. Brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, he considered: on one hand, he was well within his ability to hunt and fend for himself; on another, either of his fathers could serve as excellent guides in the caves. Despite his inherently careful nature, the element of danger and surprise made his mane prickle with anticipation. "I should brave the caves alone, I feel —" the lion-stag began, yet paused to watch as Pride (seemed to) effortlessly retrieve the second skipped stone. "I wish to go alone. I won't be gone long, I don't believe."

What he did believe was that magicka was a shapeless pool which relied on the Gembound to give it being. Some were more skilled in different shapes of the source itself, and others seemed well-versed in any manner of it. "Father — Mercurius — and Arsu are skilled at plants, right? Who, or what, decides our affinities, if it is anything but ourselves?" Ooh, tough question. "And... where does magicka originate from, if anywhere? Or has it always been?"

As to limits, Azizos could only nod. The ends of magicka were one's own mind, and the lion-stag wished his own wasn't so quick to fly south at one failure. It was difficult to break habits, especially those that had clung to his bones since childhood.

He'd work on persistence while he was out and about, perhaps.

@Pride

Pride turned, a little, to face out over the Eyes.

"They are skilled with plants, yes--and Mercurius, with light. He taught me this magic--" and here Pride paused, focusing for a moment. Air, light itself, seemed to coalesce into glittering unnatural mist, glowing with light. It formed, slowly, creating an image that hovered, perhaps stag-sized, over the water a few yards away: a vast blue crystal, jutting out upward.

"I believe our affinities are passed down by the one who gives life to the other's stone. Have I ever told you of this?" he asked, glancing curiously to Azizos. "There is magic to give a piece of stone, and then, magic to grant life to that stone. The child born of the rock holds the stone of the stone-giver, and the magic of the life-giver. So it may be tied to our very essence, in some form, though of course it doesn't bar you learning other magics. You are from Mercurius' stone, and my magic; Arsu is from my stone, and Mercurius' magic." All of this was explained calmly. "I do not know where my stone, nor my magic, came from. I was born from the walls of Orion, and have never known my creators."

He then looked back to the image of the Spire, so patiently waiting. "Now... There is a cave called Polaris. In this cave, there is a great blue spire of crystal, which most of us do call the Spire. Polaris is full of magicka--you can feel it in the air, and it tends to make spellcasting rather chaotic." Well, that wasn't quite right--Pride couldn't feel it floating around him, but he could feel it gathering to him more easily. "It can be very hard to cast reliably--magic can lash out, backfire catastrophically, or succeed with astonishing results. But the Spire itself seems to be the source of this." The image slowly rotated, now, Pride focusing heavily and feeling the faint drain on his magicka as he spoke. "I linked my mind, once, to the Spire. There was a great deal of emotion in there--loneliness, I suppose, regret or failure--I'm uncertain. It was quite traumatic and my memories mostly faded, soon after. I--do not wish to upset you," he continued, glancing a bit worriedly to Azizos, "but I will tell you that the message it broadcast through my mind was this: 'Death is a lie, pain is eternal.' I do not know if perhaps our beings return to it, in death, but I am still investigating this. The effects of magic on our minds--why Lesser Gembound are capable of neither speech nor magic, where Magicka comes from, precisely. These things are things that--despite our fanciful stories--we do not actually know the answer to, Azizos. And we must always seek those answers, for we must understand the world around us to ensure our own survival."

He paused, letting the image of the Spire fade, before adding--with amusement--"I would not recommend trying to mind-speak with the Spire, however."

@Azizos

Moonlit eyes followed Pride's gaze, finding a behemoth suddenly manifested over the Eyes. Light glowed softly, mimicking the shape of the Spire that Azizos's father spoke of. "I don't believe we have talked much of where magicka actually comes from," the lion-stag murmured, gazing in wonder at the enormous gemstone. His stag-father knew not of his origins, which was a curious thing; he always presumed the pale deer was the result of some other hybridization. Azizos mused quietly, "perhaps the caves themselves gave you your stone and magic. Yet, for what reason?" Everything in the universe occurred for a reason, yet that necessity was left for fate and entropy to decide.

Anyways, the Core, Polaris. His first expedition into the caves, he decided, would be to see this Spire for himself; not to link himself to its mind, though --- his father was clear in explaining why that was a bad idea. Regardless, Azizos did not particularly like being left out on the details of what the Spire thought. "It speaks and thinks like we do? Death is a lie, and pain is eternal? I--- if it is alright with you, I would like to know what you remember seeing, feeling." A flurry of theories began to spiral out of his mind, and the lion-stag was determined to uncover this reasoning. Such a landmark had to be ancient, perhaps as old as the caves themselves. To host such a powerful statement, it would have endured a lot. Was there nothing after they died? Only life, again and again? The unspeakable chaos of living and surviving? Was that fate itself?

When the Spire disappeared, fizzling out of existence, Azizos turned to his father. A fire glinted in his eye, the half-light of the orbs above sparking at the edges of his pupils. "I would like to study and learn with you, if you go back and will have me," he grew somewhat ecstatic by the end of his sentence, "perhaps, we could corroborate and compare our ideas and help figure things out for the rest of the Greater Gembound."

It would be a method of getting out of Eridanus, but also to further learn about the caves from his father --- and, even, from them.

@Pride

Pride glanced at Azizos as he listened, surprised and pleased. He hadn't expected to find an ally in one of his children--an ally in his own quest to unearth the cave's knowledge. He'd wished to bring more life into the world, but Azizos was turning out to be as keen-minded and curious as he himself--not to mention as skilled with magic.

Pride flickered through him and he inclined his head, before turning his mind back to his child's questions "Well, as I said, I do not remember most of it," he began--and it was the truth. His remembrance of the incident was vague and clouded, at best. "I'm unsure if it was the fear and stress of the situation, or if it was simply something too large for my mind to properly comprehend. It's possible that the Spire's magic is what grants us both life and sentience, and magic. Lesser Gembound have neither of the latter. It also stands to reason that had I been further infused with its power, I might have... I do not know, ascended, somehow. It's possible that I took a step into that, and when I broke free, that higher state of being left me--and took with it my abilities to comprehend whatever I had learned. Like a rat, briefly granted the wisdom of magic and language, but unable to remember the words when both are taken from him a moment later," Pride went on, glancing to Azizos. He hoped that he was being relatively clear.

"And I would always be glad to have someone with which to seek knowledge. I think it extremely important that we do so," he added. "Until we truly grasp the meaning and origins of our world, we risk being at its mercy should catastrophe strike. Or even its own, natural cycles. As for my memories--what I do remember is a sense of..."

The stag hesitated, brow a little furrowed. His memory of the incident truly was quite blurred, and he couldn't be certain that his impressions, now, were the same he'd had back then. "I think a vast sense of being cast adrift. Apart from everything else--incredibly lonely and maddeningly eternal. Then came... something else, I think I remember comparing it to drifting up on shore after being adrift in the water, but in truth it was more like falling down through the water and into a dark cave below. But I could not tell you why I thought that--... I was with a friend, called Amras. He's a blue gryphon, and he tried to physically pull me free, with magic, the way I moved that stone a moment ago. His magic went chaotic, as it often does near the Spire, and he ended up sending me into--well, into rapid orbit around it. Any of the thoughts in my head were lost fairly quickly when I realized I was flying, at high speed, high in the air, around and around in sickening circles. Luckily, he was able to regain control and put me down," Pride finished, glancing at Azizos with amusement. "But by then, the fleeting feelings and imagery I had seen were lost."

@Azizos

Azizo's ears swiveled forth, rapt and at attention. Those big sonar dishes captured and clung to every word his father spoke, ideas spinning through his own mind. The Spire could, perhaps, be existing at a higher state of being than even the Greaters do. If one could temporarily join the stone in that state, then... would it be possible to maintain that? "Could we, somehow, pool magic? If some number of Greaters came together and --- again, somehow --- threw their magicka at one source Gembound, that one could retain their abilities to comprehend what the Spire would share with them; and they could tell the rest of us."

Here he was, already ecstatic by the prospect of adventure and knowledge-seeking. Inwardly, Azizos felt as if he were going to burst at the seams. His external reaction did this no justice; his tail simply swayed side to side, and his head lifted slightly. "I'll be ready whenever," he assured, puffing out his chest.

Back to the Spire; "it seems like there's something --- someone? --- trapped inside of the Spire." Azizos furrowed his brow, silvery eyes going dark with consideration for a moment. "Is there anything above Polaris? Another cave? Nothing? Could the trapped --- er, thing, have fallen in like Naskital did in Pisces?" Considering the details were vague, they were confusing. The lion-stag wished he had more context to go off of, more ideas to spitball with. He'd have to investigate far more than he planned to, and be more attentive to every little detail.

@Pride

Pride gave a small tilt of his head, akin to a shrug. "I do not know, on either front. I had tried, for a very long time, to grant magicka to Lesser Gembound. It never worked, though I did manage to form a link with Mischief, this way. But her mind is not particularly sharp--she cannot comprehend words, but thinks in sensations, images, and emotion. Nor can she cast magic. It may be that if enough of us pooled it, it might do something, but I do not know how to do that. Perhaps we can find a way. As for something falling through the roof--that I do not know. I have heard stories of a black dragon that flew up into the roof, there, so I suppose it is possible. It is certainly possible that the Spire originated from a single, trapped being."

Then, he felt troubled. He was tempted to keep his thoughts to himself, but he looked to Azizos, and realized that he could not shelter his children forever. He did not deserve censored ideas, half-hidden concepts. So Pride spoke his thoughts. "The idea is troubling--if the Spire truly were a single being, trapped and suffering, and yet freeing it would remove sentience and magic from all in the caves... I do not know what should be done. Let us hope it is not the case."

@Azizos

"Hm," he hummed, silvery eyes drifting back to the Eyes as he thought. Some Lessers he had seen lacked stones entirely --- he had eaten a number of them, finding not even a single bone replaced by such a vital source. Additionally, he had never actually witnessed the emergence of such creatures. "Perhaps, Lessers were not meant to be conduits for magicka. I don't believe they need magic to create new life... and some don't even have stones. Yet, we are born from them and with them. I don't think we can survive without them." Azizos absently scuffed at the pebbles, watching as they scattered away from his hoof and into the water; ripples were sent out, cascading from the shore.

Magicka was not a tangible thing, as far as he knew, yet there were sources like the Spire, readily available. Gemstones of all sorts were conduits for magic, containing and transforming it into reality. "Could we, perhaps, imbue it within a magically-charged stone? Polaris must be full of them, if there is so much magicka. I---" there was a pitfall, here, in his logic, "I don't know how we would release it, or use it, once it was charged."

Anyways: the ceiling. There was some empty space above the Core, at least. The Spire could, possibly, host a trapped being --- one of infinite energy, it seemed. Death is a lie, and pain is eternal. It was an endless cycle which may not quite need repeating. "Is there a way up there, father? To see what lies beyond?" Azizos's ear flickered back, swatting at an insect that had strayed too close. His head dropped low, tail swaying: the implications of his father's admission were... striking quite a moral crossroads. To save one eternal being and give up consciousness, or to allow it to suffer longer and remain alive. A beat. "I hope that isn't true, as well."

It was too soon to draw conclusions, though; well, he could make one: "I want to see it all. I want to be the among the first to see what is outside --- if anything."

@Pride

"I do not think that there is a way out," he responded, slowly. "I met a... being, once, here in the caves. It was quite different from most of the Gembound one finds here: a great bird, swirling with violet colors, like Orion itself--flecked with brighter points. It said that it had come from another place, and had become trapped here. I tried to offer it some form of aid, but it said that it had for a very long time been trying to find a way out, and all plans had been exhausted--including those involving us. And that one could fly," he added, looking around, "as well as grant flight to others." This much was true--he'd seen the magical wings that Envy could sprout, see how they could flit through the air with them, if temporarily.

"If you were able to keep a grip, I would suggest finding Dread--he is a very large dragon, mostly in Monoceros-... That is a cave full of hot wind and red rock. But he is fickle, and could be very dangerous. He can fly, yes; but he might just as well incinerate or eat you and I would not risk that. But perhaps he could carry you, if you did not have hooves for feet," Pride added, the last bit a little amused.

"I could tell you more of the Kings, if you wish it," the stag went on, curiously glancing toward Azizos. "I don't know how much of their knowledge is truly useful, or how much may have been fanciful--I've been warned against believing beings older than ourselves. They do hold their own agendas. But it was interesting to listen to, nonetheless."

@Azizos

No way out --- Azizos's face was nigh-unchanging, at this possible fact; his jaw simply tightened in the most unnoticeable manner possible. He swallowed. This creature his father spoke of, it had tried to escape for ages. Holding on to hope, the lion-stag's mind began to race through possible explanations: the creature was not looking in the right place for escape, they weren't using the right magic, they weren't--- there had to be a reason to this. It couldn't be that Gembound came in and out of the ceiling as they pleased, yet there was nothing above. Why else would they stay up there?

Unless... nothing could survive up there. They were all tied to their stones, their magic, after all. The lion-stag clenched his jaw further, silvery eyes distantly troubled by this revelation. "Maybe... we are trapped as long as the Spire --- whoever or whatever is in it --- is as well." But, he had to try, right? He had to see for himself. Azizos's peered upwards, at Eridanus's own roof. "I think that I'll go to Monoceros and visit this Dread; I will be sure to use a duplicate of myself, so that if he strikes, it isn't at my actual self," he mused, carefully deciding on a plan already, "I will have a chance to flee, then."

There were the Kings, of course, a misty, starry bird that had tried to escape as well. Azizos's ears flicked forward, attention immediately drawn back to the creature. He wondered if they were large, standing atop elegant limbs, or if they were diminutive like the songbirds of his own home. "How is it that they gave flight to Gembound? That must be a method of redirecting magicka to another stone, to be used, correct?" He took a careful, eager step toward Pride, murmuring, "if you know, I mean..."

@Pride