Winds howled like wolves over the top of the gorge where a large chrysalis rested. A layer of dust-like sand had made its home across the top of it and in each imperfection. The nook that the chrysalis had began to develop had hollowed out in the time it has taken to reach this point. It allowed for a peaceful place in the middle of a wind storm. Not even the occasional breeze touched the dip in the wall. It was safe, comfortable even. The sizable gembound inside sensed that it was time to leave this comfort. A mess of hooves and fur had been stuck in this comfortable confinement for as long as it could stand.

A muscle tensed in his hind leg, trying to draw it forward just enough to get enough space to slam his hoof into the wall of his home. Out The thought rang clear in his mind. He did it again, out. A crack similar to a spider web began to form. One more time, this time with more frustration, OUT. The stone cracked open in the space his hoof had made impact. A liquid poured out onto the dust ground and air hissed, flowing into the hollow spaces of the chrysalis. His nostrils flared as they took in the scent of dry air. His eyes were still shut, but the don't mistake this for hesitation. The calf kicked his back leg twice more before he was able to slide out into the word.

For a moment, he remained partially curled on the hard ground. His sides heaved as his lungs sucked in the air. To others it may seem dry, but to him it was better than anything he had experienced. Which, lets be honest, wasn't much. He let out an excited cry, lifting his head slowly. He was in the world. A place so full of potential. Yodox opened his eyes for the first time and found beauty in what he saw. It was a dry and barren place, a few scraggly plants were in sight. Beautiful It was all his.

He slowly rose. First, by pushing his front hooves against the ground. The action lifted his chest and belly, allowing him to gather his back legs under him. Push. In one, ungraceful, action the calf stood for the first time. He swayed unsteadily, his legs spread wide. At this moment, Yodox was quite a sight to see. He was all legs, his fur back was covered in a reddish dust, but it was almost hard to notice with the color of his fur.

His head hung low as he slowly began to take steps forward. Hunger was a pressing thought in his mind. The scraggly shrub like plants seemed to be his only option.

Days had passed in silence as within is tunnels a bright gryphon rested. He had returned to the world from his retreat to Eridanus, yes, but aside from the occasional greeting had barely interacted with anyone. The pain and fear of the wall was but a distant memory now, replaced by an eternal buzzing as his mind was filled with the 'voices' of the magic that resided within him now.

The twelve schools, even weeks after accessing the last of them it still astounded him how much of a change their completion had on his thoughts. Before he had sought out new uses as an intellectual curiosity, but now his innate power pulled like a siren's call. Even if right after the contest he had felt like he cheated his way into victory there was no doubt in his mind anymore. He was Amras, Champion of Magic, journeyman of the twelve paths.

He could actually see a bit why the last master had let the title go to their heads.

A loud crack resounded over the eternal lullaby of the winds, a herald of new life emerging in his area. Though he was certain this new gembound would find footing on their own the gryphon knew from first-hand experience just how unforgiving this room could be to the young.

Chloroplast-stained wings unfolded ever so slightly as the blue creature stretched his talons out and pushed himself up on all four limbs. He would leave the light here in his small home, a beacon of safety to any who might require shelter from the winds. His stomach gurgled a lie, having not been provided with food in a few days despite his plant element having provided him plenty of sustenance. His dry beak though indicated a much more truthful complaint of lack of water. It was time for him to awaken anyways.

By the time the gryphon had exited his abode and walked to the new life's location it had already been out of its shell for at least some time. A bovine, much larger and more prepared for this area than the odd bat had been so long ago.

"Hello!" he called out from a distance, not wanting to frighten the youth, "I'm guessing that noise a few moments ago was you?"

---

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: @Yodox
notes: None

Unlike the crystal that had rested in shelther, a gem, black as night, smooth as silk, and spotted with tiny white lights, was assaulted by the winds. Resting snugly in a crevice in the ground, the winds blew over it relentlessly, turning the surface once jagged and imperfect a smooth, tumbled shape. The creature inside, however, was oblivious to the howling torrent. They rested as peaceful as a baby could be.

But the time of its awakening was rapidly approaching. It took only a moment for its body to begin its functioning and for its eyes to flutter open. Woozy, half-awake, and barely alive, the bird had no idea where they were and what they were doing. Were they...trapped?

The thought of it, that this shell was holding them captive, it brought a searing fire through their mind and they couldn't contain themselves. They wouldn't stand for this, being caught in a cage. They wouldn't. They were going to get out!

Furious, the little bird struck out with its talons which, although very tiny, were as sharp as a baby's could be. Within a few kicks, the gem was starting to crack and, eventually, her talon bust right through. But it was only a tiny hole that began to drain the fluids within.

As his face broke the surface, he sucked in a deep breath and felt his mind awaken completely. The cage around him felt more compressing then ever, closing him off from the world. He grew angry at this, his first few moments of life surrounded by the frustration of being trapped. He would not be contained!

With a fluttering of feathers, he shoved himself against the wall of the chrysalis with all his limbs and all his strengths and the shell was no match for his attack. It shattered, the pieces exploding away as the tiny bird, an ugly, scraggly little thing, tumbled onto the ground.

The wind around him was wild, pushing his feathers up and drying him out quickly, the black fluid running off him like water. He struggled to stand, but he had to admit, this was much better then being trapped in a cage. The wind in this room was so wild, so free. He was invigorated just being here.

His blood rushed and he felt energy surging through his body. He couldn't just sit here.

Finding the strength in his adrenaline, the chick jumped to his feet and took off. Where he was running, he didn't know. But within a minute, he caught sight of the little buffalo and the strange bird and he knew he couldn't just pass them by.

Rushing in with gusto, the chick jumped between and let out a large screech. Well, as large a screech as a baby bird could muster.

@Yodox @Amras

Mongo didn't like Monoceros.

He was a jungle beast, through and through. The Fossa loved Eridanus - loved his little branch hammock even more.

But as he traveled, he tired. So he had ducked into the nearest cave - the dry and sandy Monoceros, and found a crevasse where he could rest.

But he wouldn't rest for long, as there was an audible crack. And then a second one, and several thumps.

Ah, he knew what that sound was. There was a new Gembound in the Caves - perhaps even two, from what he could gather.

It was time, he supposed, to welcome them to the caves. After all, if it weren't for Vincenzo, he likely wouldn't have survived. He had been nearly hairless, and senseless. While that, fortunately, seemed to be uncommon among newly Hatcheds, there was always a chance.

So the masked creature slunk from his hiding spot, stretching and enjoying the pops of his back. While he would have preferred to have branches to run across, he didn't, so he was forced to scurry across the sand.

Finally, he found the source of the sounds. Well, another sound helped. There had been a truly awful screeching noise, and he had followed it to find a rather peculiar sight.

There was a, rather large, bovine of some sort. Not far was something canid but not, blue feathered and winged. And in between the two was a baby bird. He took in the situation, eying the blue-thing warily. "What is going on?" he projected, his voice bouncing around inside his mask until it sounded like many were speaking at once.

@Yodox @Amras @Drake

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The calf had slowly ambled to the shrub on unsteady legs. He bent his large head and gave this plant a taste. It crunched in his mouth and tasted rather... salty. His damp nose wrinkled with distaste, but he powered through and chewed the plant into a pulp before swallowing it. Not good. He thought plainly, But not... bad. He was just about to lower his head to take another bite when his rather disproportionate ears caught the sound of something approaching.

For a moment he was not sure what he was looking at. As they got closer, the details got clearer. This other creature was blue, birdlike... but not a bird.. His mind, although perplexed, offered the helpful thought. A short snort escaped him, clearly this world was not all his. A slightly disappointing thought, but what is a place to own with no one else in it? He turned fully to face this new creature.

"Whooo are you?" The first word came out more like a bellowing moo than an actual word. His voice was low and raspy, for his vocal cords were still tight from disuse. "What is this place?" His voice hinted to a layer of intelligence that had already started to develop. One needed brains to dream big and achieve those dreams. What were his dreams? The calf wasn't sure but he felt that it was something big.

There was only a brief moment of silence between the small calf and the large gryphon. It was promptly disrupted by the sudden appearance of what Yodox could only discern as a ball of fluff. The only indicator that this ball was actually a bird was when it let out the worst sound the buffalo had ever heard. It was a short list.

The sudden sound, however, hurt his new ears. This pain that rang in his ear drums made him raise up on his back legs and bringing down his front hooves with a hard thud. The impact made the ground shudder just enough to disturb the sand ground and slide a few pebbles. Perhaps it was enough to silence the screeching creature, perhaps it did a little more. The act had startled Yodox, but when he did it he felt a satisfying power run from the stones between his shoulders down to his hooves.

However, he had little time to marvel for the appearance of another creature halted his thoughts. The voice that came from them seemed to be the voices of many all at once. Yodox's nostrils flared. When his mismatched eyes settled on the creature he felt confusion instead of anger anymore. They were small and cat like, but their face... was a skull? Did he kill the thing that had that skull? Interesting.

"What are you?" He inquired towards the cat like thing. "And what are you?" Yodox turned back to the blue bird creature. "And why are you yelling?" Turn his head to finally rest his gaze on the little fluffy bird.

@Amras
@Drake
@Mongo

"My name is Amras, resident of this room of…"

His words were interrupted as another youth suddenly dove into the scene, avian luckily and not a tiny land creature thrown by the wind, and made its presence quite well known. With all the noise it was no wonder that yet another individual, this one luckily a bit older-looking happened upon the surprise gathering.

Amidst the chaos the mage planted talons and paws firmly into the ground, ears twisting to try to discern if any more gembond were in the immediate area. What replied was not sound but static, likely imperceptible to the others around but making itself well known in the back of his head.

'Look' his thoughts seemed to say on their own, pulling his gaze to the newborn bovine. 'It hears a call and responds in native tongue'

The cryptic words of the gryphon's subconscious were understood almost immediately as his gaze zeroed in on the pebbles on the ground. 'It' was probably in reference to the ground itself, one of his external elements. If an earth spell was being cast now that was probably the bovine's natural element. It wasn't uncommon to see magic being used so soon after emergence, but this had been the first time he had recognized its use before sight or sound had identified it on a conscious level.

"It's okay, young ones, we are no threat" at least he hoped the skull faced one was no threat. " The winds roar but they are far away. You are safe here"

---

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: @Drake @Mongo @Yodox
notes: None

The screech the white fluff-bird had let out had been nothing more then instinctual reaction to seeing such large, impressive creatures, even if one was as young as he. He turned and eyed the skull faced one with large, round black eyes. Too young to understand exactly what a skull was, the bird took this to simply be part of its face. A strange face at that. But he had seen very few faces since his time of awakening so it was no surprise to him that he would see a face that was so odd.

He snapped his head up towards the other young one as it spoke to him and he opened his mouth to respond. All that came out was a soft chirping noise as he struggled to find his voice. After some strange, shifting noises as he tested his vocal chords, he came upon a noise that sounded a bit like speech. "Haaaaaaa." Finding that spot where he found he could put words together, he adjusted his wings comfortably and looked the bovine in the eyes. "I wanted to make sure you knew I was here." He turned towards the other creature and frowned as best a bird could frown. Did it think that he needed protection? He had made it through the storm at birth! Of course he was safe. "I'm not scared, you know." It was a challenge - of course he wasn't scared, but if they wanted to try and scare him they would pay the consequences.

@Mongo

Mongo looked between the rather awkward group. A bovine, a blue thing, and a bird. How odd.

The bovine, it seemed, proved itself to be a Greater. It spoke up, asking all of them what they were, in turn. And, to his surprise, and great glee, it turned out that the little beast was a brother - or sister? - in Magic, as it was quick to cast the earth shaking spell he had hatched knowing.

"My name is Mongo, child, and I am a Fossa. What might you be?" he asked. Although, really, he was addressing the lot of them. Never before had he seen a creature like the blue one, winged yet bearing four legs. And, while he had met many young birds, he had never learned to discern them from one another.

@Yodox

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Yodox looked to the blue creature. They seemed to possess a wisdom, it was in their voice. Amras. The name almost seemed ancient. The calf decided that this creature would more than likely deserve some sort of respect. They had decided to reassure the ragtag group. However, the large calf had felt no need for comfort. This was the world he was meant to belong to, thus belonging to him as well. The winds seemed to sing songs instead of roar. Their toiling cries left him feeling at ease for even the wind could feel the emotions he did.

"I like the sound of the wind." He stated plainly before turning once again to look at the small bird.

"You had me fooled." Yodox offered a snort of amusement. The fluffy thing did not even seem to flinch when he calf reared up. He knew this little creature did not feel fear. And neither did Yodox. He did not know what fear was and he hoped never to know. It seemed like something to be avoided. Unavoidable his mind seemed to whisper. He gave his head a quick shake, riding his young brain of such a thought.


"A fossa? Do all of them look like you?" He flicked his tail, a sign of curiosity. Yodox could tell the hard surface on the soft body was not there of natural causes. Or maybe it was. He was not sure. If a creature can look like Amras, it was more than likely one could look like Mongo. He did not fret, he was soon to find out.

"I am a..." Yodox hesitated. What was he? Buffalo. Cape. his mind chimmed in. Instinct told him what he was. But that did not answer to who he was. There was time for that. "..cape buffalo"

@Amras
Sorry for typos. I typed this on my phone whoop.

The gryphon's tensed muscles relaxed as the screeching stopped, and his smile softened as its source declared its bravery. This room did have a way of producing hardy gembound didn't it? His fortress of a chrysalis had been right in the midst of the strongest of the winds when he hatched, yet somehow he too had grown to regard them not with fear but respect.

"Your presence is duly noted in that case." he responded with kindly tone, still amused but trying his best not to tread upon the youth's pride.

As for the skull faced one, as they continued talking it became obvious that their odd accessory was no herald of ill will. A strange way of cladding oneself but the gryphon could pass no judgements given the small leather pouches along the front of his waist and large empty pouch on his back.

"And I in turn, am a gryphon. One of the more unusual species of this cave." Quite possibly the only one really. He had only met one other who seemed to match the gryphon descriptor and even they hadn't been seen in cycles upon cycles.

---

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: @Drake @Mongo @Yodox
notes: None