The Kingsguard

I take my whiskey neat, my coffee black and my bed at three

-•┈┈∘┈>༒<┈∘┈┈•-

A large crack sounded from the fiery gemstone that sat in the middle of the land, shaking for a moment before silence. There was a moment of peace before another loud crack sounded, this time accompanied by the shattering of the gemstone, a small hole opening as a thick snout pushed out of it, along with a series of grumbles. Slowly he emerged, growling and grumbling as he pushed out of the egg like crystal and onto the ground below. For a moment, he stood there, looking around with narrowed eyes.

He didn't cry, didn't call out, simply stood there for a moment, taking stock of his surroundings, even though he had absolutely no clue where he was. Only after a few moments did he take a step, only to pause when he felt heat on his paw, looking down to see the ground singed slightly. He raised an eyebrow, slowly lifting his paw to look at it, feeling slight heat coming off of it. Interesting. He filed that away for later to figure out and instead, focused on searching around him.

"Speech"

Tagged: @Fahl

Words: 182

Notes: none

Unlike any other cave, in Polaris, magic had a presence far beyond a mere tingling of scales or prickling of static through fur. It mingled with the air, enriching every breath and strengthening the myriad powers it fueled. During such a recent period of widespread magical renewal that even encouraged the mosses and flowers to thrive, this already heady mixture had only thickened more so until one could almost taste this difference pouring past their tongue. Lingering here at this present time threatened to push anyone onto the edge of a euphoric high. The conditions were perfect for a mage, novice or otherwise, to test their boundaries.

Therefore it would come as no surprise this opportunity couldn't be overlooked by a certain marine iguana. The multicolored glow of the surroundings reflecting off his currently blackened hide, he existed in a state of total concentration, gaze fixed on a small outcropping of crystals in the distance. One paw was raised, extended towards the target to better guide his aim. The stance, although entirely unnecessary, had served him well in past spellcasting attempts; with luck, it'd prevent any unfortunate accidents dabbling in unknown magic could cause.

He inhaled, felt the telltale prickle of magic in his throat. Then great effort gathered this charge and redirected it down his trembling arm. Warmth built inside the appendage rapidly. Worse, it was refusing to exit its confines. Each second stood in silence throttled the temperature higher and higher until finally Fahl threw his paw down with a scream one part agony and the other frustration.

"Fuck!"

He was on the cusp of a breakthrough, and yet a wall prevented him from advancing his actions to a satisfying conclusion. There was something he was missing, whether in motivation or method. The difficulty would be in determining which.

@Nikolai

Nikolai Berkley

He had continued to wander when suddenly the sound of another caught his attention. His ears went up and he froze for a moment, listening. Slowly, curiosity got the better of him, though he knew that he should have just left, but he wanted to know who else was here. He just told himself that it was better to explore and learn rather than hide from everything around him.

Slowly he stalked forward, keeping his body low as he tried to remain hidden, but his legs were still a bit unstable. So, he decided to hunker down behind a rock formation, peaking out to see what looked like a... reptile thing? He cocked his head to the side, waiting and watching, wondering what the hell was happening and what the hell that slimy looking thing was.
"Speech"

@Fahl

Managing to shut off the flow of his magic before it cooked flesh didn't save Fahl from less than pleasant consequences. Acute pain continued to radiate throughout his arm, taking its sweet time to recede to more tolerable levels. He shook it around while keeping his mind occupied by furiously muttering a litany of vicious swears, an impressive collection though they'd likely never rival his teacher's own extensive vocabulary. As per usual, such a failure tasted bitter on his tongue. Nevertheless he would try again; often a couple stumbles needed to happen before someone could finally learn how to walk. What a misery though when he'd rather jump straight to running instead.

"Again," he mumbled at last. "Just... another angle."

Perhaps his forceful nature needed to be tempered. While most successes did hinge upon making undeniable commands of his magic, more recent discoveries gave the impression that in some instances he almost needed to treat it as a separate entity. So much power gathered in one place, his body, had made it stubbornly refuse to travel along established rails to the intended target. A nudge might serve better than a push in propelling it forward.

Unlike the full shove of before, once he resumed his original casting stance, Fahl poked the coalesced energy in his preferred direction. A request rather than an order. The effects were immediate.

Soundlessly, blinding white light engulfed the crystal outcropping. Heat skyrocketed in the space surrounding it to a deadly degree, leaving no opportunity for any clueless nearby wildlife to vacate the scene. This happened in the blink of an eye and faded away in the very next, the results clear to any observers: a molten puddle where an example of Polaris's beauty had previously existed.

@Nikolai

Nikolai Berkley

He watched for a moment, narrowing his eyes slightly as he noticed the creature using a fire ability, one that clearly surpassed what little thing he could do. For a moment, he just watched, hunkering down from the heat for a moment, his ears pinning back as he watched. And then, in a blink of an eye, it faded to a molten puddle, making his eyes widen slightly in shock. If a creature like that could do such a huge magic like that, than certainly he could do something, or lean how to make his stronger.... right?

For a moment, he considered just walking away without any interaction, but at the same time, he wanted to learn more and what better way to than talking to someone who clearly knew more than him. He wasn't prideful enough to not seek mentoring.

Finally, he would take a step out of his hiding place, lifting his head up to stand tall as he spoke, his voice low. "What was that?" He asked simply, glancing over at the puddle before looking back at the creature. He had a bunch of other questions that he wanted to ask as well, but right now, he figured one thing at a time would be better.

"Speech"

@Fahl

The results exceeded expectations, not that Fahl's imagination had ever anticipated such a tremendous light show to emerge from a concentrated dose of his power. At most, the thought had occurred to him that forcing his mastery of controlled heating to its highest limit would lead to a large eruption of gases, much like when he turned water to steam. Regardless, absolutely dismantling a crystalline structure until a glowing puddle remained certainly was a cause for celebration, and he did not hesitate in doing so. A strong golden hue suffused the iguana's scales, starting at his throat and spreading along his dark underside. He dropped his tired arm and expended most of his breath on proclaiming success.

"Yes!" Though Polaris's mosses absorbed the sound more than the barer walls of other caverns, the shout echoed throughout the area. A self-conscious wince seized his shoulders, and Fahl fell silent. But a moment later, still emboldened by his achievement, he allowed himself a rather Imp-like mutter of "fuck yeah."

Another rung climbed on the way to a true Master's title. So many more left to ascend.

His head fell as the sobering reality of the situation hit, remembering how low his magical status was compared to the formidable entities that held authority over the caves. His belly darkened a shade from the glimmering gold it'd become in reflection of this, threatening to turn a more solemn color. He couldn't dwell on this for too long, however, since a low voice interrupted the common refrain of these thoughts. The sudden announced presence of a stranger wiped scales entirely clean of a palette, washing them white, as he sprang to his toes and spun around.

What greeted his eyes, a young wolf much more grizzled in appearance than the only other one he knew, served to put him more at ease. Fahl's body settled into a comfortable mottling of gray, black, and red. Once he spoke, his voice was pitched down, smothering the alarm that'd briefly taken him. The uncomplicated nature of the question asked did well to kill most social anxiety.

"That?" he said with an outward puff of his chest. "That's magic, of course! Of the fire element. I've melted that rock by heating it far more than it could possibly stand. It's a hard task, much worse than boiling water... but I've done it."

@Nikolai

Nikolai Berkley

He caught the sudden movements of the other creature and for a moment, he tensed too, his hackles raising slightly only to pause when he noticed them relax almost instantly. Slowly he would also come to a relax again, flicking his gaze over to the remains of the magic use before going back to looking at the weird creature.

He thought for a moment on what to say but figured telling the creature of his own fire magic wouldn't put him in any disadvantage. "I also have fire magic, though not to that extent yet." Yet was the key word there, he wanted to learn more, to get better, and thus far he had been rather lucky to find others that were able to give him some advice and he hoped this weird lizard thing would be able to help him too.

"When I... hatched..." Was that was he did? "I found I could melt small things with my paws." He shrugged slightly as he picked up a single paw, placing it down in front of him and trying to use his own magic once more, though he wasn't sure how well it would go.

It seemed to take a moment but finally it seemed to work and he let out a very subtle sigh of relief. That would have been extremely stupid if it didn't work now. He let the magic work for a moment before lifting his paw and letting it stop, turning his attention back up to the lizard, mostly waiting to see what he would say.

"Speech"

@Fahl

Not too often did Fahl have the chance to take a trip down nostalgia lane. The last instance he could recall of doing so involved seeing another, far different youngster leveling a glare at a puddle in an attempt to will it to obey her magic. Back then that had invoked amusement at witnessing a moment of folly akin to one buried deep within his past. But this, the shimmering heat around a paw and the scorched ground beneath it, drew out a more personal feeling: the delight of meeting a fellow conduit for fire.

And, yes, perhaps a smidgen of mild shame followed too upon remembering his primary experience with this particular channeling of magic. His batgator mentor always did have a knack for knowing the exact way to shove a pin into his inflated ego. He addressed the demonstration given to him with a hum of acknowledgment, settled onto his haunches, and drew a deep breath.

"Ah, I know the other end of that sort of power well. Quite strong when in close contact with your enemy. A good burn... is one way to get someone to back off." Fahl paused, considering his next words. "For that though you'd have to become... adept at surging your magic there to do quick damage."

"I, personally, prefer to harm at range. Cast my intent and magic to a target instead of let them reach me. No one can hurt you if they're set ablaze first. Especially long before they're near enough to try doing so."

@Nikolai

Nikolai Berkley

He seemed to consider the man's words for a moment, slowly nodding as he maintained his silence, thinking quietly to himself. He liked the idea of physical combat, liked the idea of feeling teeth and claws against each other, but he wasn't stupid either, he did understand how ranged combat could help, especially against someone much larger than himself.

Finally, he nodded, flicking his gaze back to the remnants of the lizard thing's own magic he saw earlier. "I was to learn how to do that, or something similar." He seemed to think for a moment, eyes narrowing before looking back at the creature. "But isnt' something that big a bit.... stupid in battle." He wasn't one to soften his words when he spoke, blunt in what he said. "Something that large, in the middle of someone charging or attacking you, seems rather counter productive since you could get caught in it too, right?"

Unless there was something about it that he didn't understand, in which he wanted to, he wanted to learn from this weird fire lizard.

"Speech"

@Fahl

Age and practice might've honed magic and knowledge in equal parts, but emotionally, Fahl remained the same turbulent reptile who'd once rejected help in an underwater mission for the sake of his pride. Despite the comment being far from personal, the suggestion that his tactics could be foolish in certain circumstances drew a twitch to his eye. Although his tone remained even, an observant individual might have detected the harshening of an already present rasp in the following explanation. He loathed the idea of failure even in a hypothetical.

"That's why you maintain distance. It gives you time... to work your magic and move out of the way before getting caught up in your own blaze. Only idiots stick to one spot in a fight." He smacked his paw against the stone floor for emphasis. "If the concern... is the size of the attack," the iguana grudgingly conceded, "focus it into something smaller. Target a leg instead of the entire body. You're limited only by what your eyes see... and you can narrow that if you choose to."

An offer was proposed: "Bring me something. A large stick... or prey. Maybe a fish from the river. I can show you if you want."

@Nikolai