The alligator Lior, while a common visitor to Cetus, was at heart a researcher and explorer. They formed theories and then they put them against reality. So, Lior visited all sorts of caves. Some Lior had not even been to yet, and they wondered if there was more to be discovered.

Wonderings were brief, however, for of course there was more to be discovered! There was always more. That was part of what Lior loved about knowledge! Of course, there were other things that Lior loved about knowledge. Such as... Everything!

Lior could not think of a single thing about knowledge that they disliked at the moment.

Yet, magic was something they had always struggled with. They wished to explain the phenomena of magic yet never found an answer.

If there was an answer to be found, it was in the core, Polaris. If there was any time to find it, too, it was during this storm.

Lior made their way towards the Spire. Towards knowledge!

At least, that was their hope.

@Sakhira

Sakhira had noticed the shift in the caves, in the magic that held it all together. Storms had become increasingly frequent, intense- charged. It worried yet fascinated her. Once she realized that this didn't seem to be a one time weather event, she had set out to find out the cause of it. And where better place than the Spire? It was the center of magic after all. Where it felt strongest, crackled through the air held within Polaris.

It seemed that there was someone else here. An alligator? Sakhira soared over to Lior on two pairs of wings- one her own, and another bright orange in color like the sunset, leaving a trail of stardust in her wake. Then she landed, turning her head to the other gembound. "Hello! Are you here to investigate the Spire as well?"

@Lior

Magic was nonsense, Lior felt once again as they witnessed a gembound flying with two sets of wings, one clearly made by magic. Dragon the other alligator had been able to do a similar trick, but these wings were even more impossible seeming than the ones Dragon had formed for a time.

But it was nonsense that they wanted to turn into sense. Lior's eyes were bright as they regarded the other, a fellow seeker of knowledge. "Indeed! I wish to know more about why magic is the way it is. After all, everything has a why!"

"This storm seemed the perfect opportunity to investigate the Spire- Did you feel the same?" Lior asked with curiosity. Always with curiosity.

An endless queue of questions existing in their head, but for now, this was all Lior voiced. Lior had learned some patience, a little bit.

@Sakhira

Sakhira was excited to see that Lior had similar motivations for being here. Someone who had the same interests she did! Although she didn't have a specific focus on magic like the alligator, her curiosity about everything had drawn her here. "I see we are really quite similar." She clicked her beak, head tilting as she looked at the Spire. "Yes, the storms have been rather intense lately. I am here to see if the Spire could be the cause. Or rather, how."

She was not sure about the safety about this investigation. But no knowledge ever came easy. Sakhira watched as magic crackled, some even in visible bolts that let out loud cracks as they fell upon the stone base. For a moment, she questioned whether it was a good idea once more. "Do you have a plan in mind? I was going to attempt casting spells upon the Spire, but I am unsure as to whether that is safe." Though if Lior did not object to this, the sphynx would simply go ahead with her plan.

@Lior

"How is an excellent question as well," Lior agreed eagerly.

"My plan had been to simply observe and see if anything seemed particularly noteworthy that I could research further, but you say your magic could be cast upon the Spire?" The alligator sounded fascinated, because they were indeed very fascinated.

"Could you explain that more to me, the magic you wish to use? Perhaps together we can ascertain the safety, though I do imagine that magic research always does come with some risk," They stated, clearly intrigued.

@Sakhira

"Observing is important. Perhaps I can experiment and you can observe?" Sakhira wondered what kind of magic the alligator had. Or perhaps they didn't use magic at all. She could see why someone would not want to physically contact the Spire. That seemed even more dangerous than what she had in mind! "Yes, I have earth magic. The Spire looks like some sort of rock. I do not know. But I have a spell that allows me to detect magic in the area, and I wanted to see if I can detect anything special about the Spire." Sakhira thought sense it was more of a sensing rather than interaction spell, it would be a safer start to the investigation. "It should be safe, but the Spire can be unpredictable. What do you think?"

@Lior

Lior's eyes are bright with excitement for discovery of knowledge. "Yes! Indeed, to observe your experiments would be an honor!" While they had grown more eloquent with age, their enthusiasm had not diminished in the slightest.

"It does look like a rock, I imagine your magic might indeed be the best to research it," Lior was beyond delighted at the way things had turned out. "I am not particularly skilled with magic, but even so I can only make things bright with light, or shaded in darkness, primarily."

They tried to temper their reckless wish to just throw themself into research. "I am happy to follow this procedure that you think best."

@Sakhira

Sakhira did not often use her magic in experiments, and she felt a bit embarrassed by Lior's enthusiasm to see her magic. But it also gave her confidence in her plan, and made her feel just a bit safer if someone else felt like it could work. "I am also not the most talented at magic, but I will try my best. Your light magic sounds incredibly useful in many other situations." she could think of a few ways it could be utilized. It just so happened in this instance it was not as helpful.

"Okay, I will try now." Sakhira reached out, trying to pick up on the magic of the Spire. She could already feel the adrenaline running through her, fueled by curiosity and caution.

The magic that Sakhira used was often comparable to peering through the murky dark, searching methodically for a tiny pinprick of light.

This--the Spire before her--was like a blinding flash, a flare so brilliant it could blind. Of course, she was not looking with her eyes: and thus the storm of power before her was like a searing light straight to the brain, to the gemstone, enough to stun with its intensity. Crackles of magicka like lightning could be felt flaring outward, and even stranger, the rest of the cave--rather than dim--was a faint glow of power.

It was as though all of Polaris--perhaps all the rest of the caves--were currently infused with magicka.

@Sakhira

Before, the usage of her magic had been to search for stones that contained life. Now she had a huge stone, the Spire, before her, and was searching for the magic within. The moment her spell cast, Sakhira found she did not have to search. It came. What could only be described as a blinding flash of power flooded her mind and her entire body flinched in an instinctive reaction to it. She was stunned, the brilliance of the Spire brighter than anything she had ever seen or felt before. Even stranger was how the magic from the Spire radiated outwards to the rest of the caves.

And then she blinked. The sensation faded. "Wow." Sakhira took a few moments to collect herself before turning her head to look at Lior. "The Spire- it contains more magic than we can imagine." it seemed it could not even be described in words. "The magic seems to go outwards to all the caves." and she stopped here, pondering this finding and giving the alligator time to think over the discovery as well.

@Lior